[0:02] Good afternoon.
[0:06] » This is the caucus meeting for August
12, 2026. right now is 5:37 p.m. The
[0:12] residing officer of the council, Mady
Taheda, wishes to advise the audience
[0:17] that notice of this meeting has been
filed with the home news tribune, the
[0:21] Star Ledger, and posted in the bulletin
board in the city clerk's office and in
[0:26] the city's website indicating that
today's meeting is being held in the
[0:30] council chambers, city hall, 260 High
Street, 5:30. Right now it's 5:38
[0:39] um p.m. The council meeting will follow
the caucus and close session. Council
[0:44] President Taheda, as a courtesy of the
governing body, I will ask all
[0:49] individuals present, including members
of the audience, to please turn off all
[0:53] cell phones and electronic devices.
Should you need to make a telephone
[0:57] call, please go out into the hallway and
speak in a low voice so as not to
[1:02] disturb the ongoing meeting. Roll call,
please. Councilwoman Cruz Batista,
[1:07] » present.
>> Councilwoman Morales,
[1:09] » present.
>> Councilwoman Peralta,
[1:12] » present. Counciloman Puchio,
>> present.
[1:14] » Council President Tada,
>> present. Before we continue with
[1:18] tonight's agenda, I would like to take a
brief moment to recognize a very special
[1:23] young person from our community. We are
proud to have with us tonight Isabella
[1:27] Partardo, a 2026 graduate of Perth
Hamboy High School and an outstanding
[1:34] student athlete who has represented
Perth Hamboy with tremendous dedication
[1:39] and accomplishment. At this time, I
would like to turn it over to Mayor
[1:43] Helman J. Kava for a spe special
presentation and recognition. Mayor,
[1:49] » thank you, Madam President. Um, thank
you, um, council members. Um good
[1:54] evening everyone. Good evening ladies
and gentlemen. Um for me it's an honor
[1:59] um to present a mayor citation to this
uh another amazing student athlete that
[2:05] we have in the city of Pamboy. This is a
special moment for all of us and uh we
[2:11] believe that we should be recognizing
ele and also help elevate student
[2:17] athletes um that go beyond right as far
as giving back to the city of Peran boy
[2:24] going beyond what they're uh normally
are asked to do and at this moment uh if
[2:30] Isab is a particle please come forward.
[2:37] » [applause]
[2:51] » Yes, you could have a seat there. And uh
like I mentioned, it's for me, it's an
[2:58] honor for all of us. which I'm sure is
an honor uh to have you here, president,
[3:02] and uh to recognize the tremendous
accomplishment that you have uh
[3:08] accomplished here in our beautiful city
of Perth. And uh this mayor citation is
[3:14] presented to Isabella Partardo, the city
of Perth Amboy proudly recognizes you.
[3:22] Perth Danboy High School class of 2026
for her distinguished career as a
[3:28] student athlete for setting a standard
of excellence for those who will follow
[3:34] her. A four-year varsity starter
in both basketball and softball,
[3:42] Isabella concludes her high school
career holding alltime peran boy high
[3:48] school records in both sports.
In bass, yes, in basketball, she became
[3:56] the school's all-time leading scorer
with 1,67
[4:03] career points,
[applause]
[4:11] surpassing the previous record of 1,282.
[4:18] and earned first team allconerence
honors.
[4:22] On the softball field, Isabella became
the school's all-time hits leader with
[4:30] 135 career hits, also earning first team
allconerence honors. Her achievements
[4:38] earned her a softball scholarship to the
University of Albany where she will
[4:45] continue her academic and athletic
career. Isabella has also competed in
[4:51] women's softball in Puerto Rico and
represented Puerto Rico in international
[4:57] tournament competition. Beyond
competition, she gives back as a youth
[5:03] instructor, mentoring girls ages 8 to 16
and helping young athletes develop their
[5:11] skills and their confidence.
Isabella legacy is reflected not only in
[5:17] the records she leaves behind, but in
the example she sets for the next
[5:23] generation of Perth and boy student
athletes.
[5:27] Therefore, on behalf of the city of
Perth, Amboy, we proudly congratulate
[5:34] Isabella Partardo on her historic
achievements and wish her continued
[5:38] success in the next chapter of her
academic and athletic journey.
[5:44] Congratulations.
[applause]
[5:52] You know what? I'm going to stand here,
right? That way I could be her size.
[5:57] [laughter]
[6:00] » All of this.
>> We should call her family over.
[6:02] » Yes. And you know what? If you want to
share a few words.
[6:06] » Come on. You can do it. [laughter]
>> What's your gift from?
[6:11] » Um,
[6:16] thank you for this citization.
Wait, right. That's Thank you. Um, I
[6:22] enjoyed every year at Perth Boy High
School and I'm very grateful for my
[6:25] teammates and the coaching staff and for
this award. Thank you.
[6:29] » Congratulations. [applause]
[6:34] » Come forward.
>> Take a picture with her and her family.
[6:38] See you.
>> We can stand.
[6:57] noticed.
[7:19] One more.
[7:23] Congratulations.
[7:36] [applause]
[7:41] » Congratulations.
>> Congratulations.
[7:45] Yes.
>> Uhhuh.
[7:50] Council
[8:01] President, if uh if I might may continue
um before
[8:07] um we continue with the council meeting.
I know today is another important u
[8:12] meeting due to our 2026 um budget and I
just want to say a few words.
[8:20] Thank you
[8:24] » ladies and gentlemen. Um, tonight marks
the final public hearing of the Perthan
[8:29] Boy's 2026 municipal budget. And I want
to begin by simply saying thank you.
[8:36] This budget comes at a time of
significant financial pressure. Like
[8:41] many of you, the city is facing
increased utility costs, higher health
[8:47] care expenses, rising pension
obligations, inflation, and other costs
[8:54] that are largely beyond our control.
We also continue to manage the financial
[9:00] and operational impacts of last year's
cyber incident.
[9:06] We know these pressures are real and we
know they are being felt by many
[9:14] families throughout our community.
Despite these challenges, we have worked
[9:20] hard to produce a fiscally responsible
budget that keeps our city on a path of
[9:27] safety, stability, and continue
progress.
[9:32] Throughout this process, our goal has
been clear.
[9:37] Maintain the services that matter most
to our residents. Continuing investing
[9:43] in the city of Perth Danboy's future,
and keep the impact on taxpayers as low
[9:50] as possible.
We protected essential services. We
[9:55] prioritized public safety. We continue
investing in our infrastructure, in our
[10:01] parks, our neighborhoods, technology,
and our quality of life.
[10:08] And we worked hard to balance those
priorities with our responsibility to
[10:13] taxpayers.
This has been a demanding budget year,
[10:19] but it has also demonstrated that we can
accomplish or what we can accomplish
[10:27] when we work together with a shared
commitment to our beautiful city.
[10:33] I'm particularly proud of the
transparency of this year's process.
[10:38] We did more than introduce a budget. We
explained it. We opened our department
[10:45] departmental budget
hearings to the public. Gave our
[10:50] directors an opportunity to discuss
their operations, their accomplishments,
[10:56] challenges, and priorities.
provided detailed information to our
[11:03] city council and worked to help
residents better understand where their
[11:09] tax dollars go and what they receive in
return.
[11:15] That is important because transparency
is about more than making information
[11:20] available.
It is about making information
[11:24] understandable and giving people an
opportunity to participate.
[11:30] I sincerely want to thank our business
administrator, our chief financial
[11:35] officer and the finance department,
our department directors, employees and
[11:43] professionals for the tremendous amount
of work and that brought us to this
[11:49] point. Also want to thank our city
council for its review,
[11:55] its input, questions, and leadership
throughout this process. While we may
[12:02] not always agree on every issue, we
share the same fundamental
[12:07] responsibility
to do what we believe is in the best
[12:12] interest of the people of the city of
Perth Avoy. And most importantly, I want
[12:18] to thank all of you, our residents.
I appreciate the time so many of you
[12:24] have taken to attend meetings, to ask
questions, share your thoughts with me
[12:30] and with our city council members, and
participate in this process.
[12:35] Your involvement makes our city
government stronger and I am grateful
[12:41] for your continued partnership as we
move our beautiful city forward
[12:46] together.
We know that every dollar matters to our
[12:51] families in the city of Perth Ambu. We
take seriously the trust you have placed
[12:57] in each and every one of us to manage
those dollars responsibly and to
[13:03] continue delivering the services and
improvements you expect and you deserve.
[13:11] This budget reflects that
responsibility,
[13:15] but it also reflects our confidence in
the future of our beautiful city.
[13:22] We are strengthening public safety.
We're improving our neighborhoods and
[13:26] infrastructure. We are modernizing city
government. And we are building a
[13:32] stronger foundation for the future.
There's always more work to do, but
[13:39] there's also much to be proud of.
Bertham is a city with extraordinary
[13:46] history, strong families, hardworking
people, and tremendous potential. Our
[13:52] responsibility is to honor that history
while continue to build a city that the
[13:58] next generation will be proud to call
home.
[14:02] We believe in the city of Perth Hanboy.
We believe in our people. And together,
[14:08] we will continue moving our great city
forward together.
[14:13] Thank you. May God continue to bless the
city of Perth Amboy and all who call it
[14:20] home. Much gracias and God bless each
and every one of you. Thank you,
[14:25] council.
>> Thank you.
[14:30] » And now before we continue, we also have
a resident who
[14:37] who wants to appeal a denial of um of a
parking space, a handicap parking space.
[14:43] Uh, Patricia Brown, is she here? Okay,
come on to the mic.
[15:00] » Good evening, council members. My name
is Patricia Brown and I live at 84 Lewis
[15:06] Street and I'm here to appeal the denial
of a residential handicap parking space
[15:12] application which was rejected solely
due to there only being 15 feet in front
[15:18] of my property.
I have provided you the documentation
[15:24] of my formal appeal. And as you review
this paperwork, I ask you to consider
[15:30] three critical points.
I've lived in the home for 36 years.
[15:36] It's the only house on the entire block
that doesn't have a driveway.
[15:42] There are no off- streetet parking
options, making a designated street
[15:47] space my only safe access to my home.
For decades, I have successfully has
[15:54] parked full-size Lincoln Town Cars in
the spot in front of my home, and there
[16:00] was never an issue with blocking the
neighbors or blocking traffic or any of
[16:06] that. And
[16:11] let's see. Oh, and today I drive a much
smaller Jaguar, so it it fits in there.
[16:18] I have a picture on my cell phone how it
sits. Um,
[16:23] and it's safely within boundaries that
I'm not blocking anybody.
[16:28] And if a variance for the space directly
in front of my house is deemed
[16:34] impossible, I'm officially requesting a
compromise. I am entirely open to the
[16:40] city designating a standard handicap
space slightly further down as close to
[16:47] my home as possible to satisfy the
ordinance of 22 feet while meeting my
[16:54] medical necessity.
And I'd like to thank you for your time
[16:58] and your empathy and your help in
finding a safe solution tonight.
[17:03] » Okay. Um the way it works you come and
present then the city council review the
[17:10] paperwork and then we will contact you
letting you know the decision of the
[17:15] council. So you will receive some
information whether
[17:21] » whether we approve or not
>> because I have a severe heart condition.
[17:25] » Okay. We understand and we will look at
the paperwork.
[17:29] » Okay.
>> Um so we cannot make like a decision
[17:32] right now. We just have to review it.
>> Okay. And how will you contact me? By
[17:37] phone or
>> um you have your email here?
[17:41] » Yes. Or um we usually go through the
clerk and let you know.
[17:45] » Okay.
>> Okay.
[17:46] » Okay. Thank you.
>> Thank you so much.
[17:56] » Okay. Ordinance public hearing. Three
minutes maximum per speaker per
[18:00] ordinance. Number one bond. Ordinance
providing for the removal and
[18:05] replacement of aers for the Renian water
treatment plant in in and by the city of
[18:12] Perthboy in the county of Middle Sex,
New Jersey appropriating
[18:17] 3,891,523
[18:21] therefore and authorizing the issuance
of 3,891
[18:27] 523 bonds or notes of the city to
finance the cost thereof. Number two, an
[18:34] ordinance of the city of Perthboy County
of Middle Sex amending and supplementing
[18:39] the general ordinances of the city
chapter 430 zoning and land development
[18:46] article 10 parking to establish the
requirement for payments in loop of
[18:53] parking.
Agenda public comment. Citizen may
[18:58] address the council on any matter on the
agenda which does not have his own
[19:03] scheduled public hearing. Citizen shall
be permitted to speak once for the
[19:07] maximum of three minutes.
Minutes June 29, 2026 council meeting
[19:15] reports. Number one, following Bareski
tax collector submitted the monthly
[19:20] report of collection for the month of
June 2026.
[19:25] Number two, Jill A. Goldis controller
CFO submitted the following investment
[19:31] report for the for June 2026.
Check register report for the month of
[19:36] June 2026 in the total amount of
12,981,66328.
[19:47] PKF O Connors Davis submitted the report
of audit for years ending December 31st,
[19:56] 2025 and 2024.
Ordinance first reading, not public
[20:02] discussion. An ordinance of the city of
Perthboy to amend an ordinance entitle
[20:07] an ordinance designating
restricted parking spaces for use by
[20:12] handicapped persons. Ordinance number
380-85
[20:16] and amendments. was adopted July 2nd,
1985, also known as chapter 255A
[20:24] seek of the code of the city of Perthboy
and this is about additions and
[20:28] deletions.
Number two,
[20:32] an ordinance to amend an ordinance
entitled vehicles and traffic ordinance
[20:36] number 194-78
as amended adopted September 19, 1978,
[20:43] also known as chapter 414 s of the code
of the city of Perth Amboy and this is
[20:49] about stop intersection and through
streets.
[20:54] I guess the following one is number
three. U Vicki, right? Yes.
[20:59] » Okay. This ordinance, the ordinance of
the city of Perth and boy county of
[21:03] Middle Sex approving certain amendments
to the focus 2020 redevelopment plan
[21:08] area one pursuant to the local
redevelopment and housing law. Um
[21:14] I feel that the council needs some type
some more information. So we would like
[21:21] to remove that ordinance for the
following until we get the information
[21:25] that we need to just continue.
[21:37] » Okay. Number five, a ordinance of the
city council of the city of Perth Boya
[21:44] County of Middle Sex, New Jersey,
authorizing the acquisition of the
[21:48] property designated to the tax maps of
the city of Perthboy as black 399.27
[21:55] 27 lap 41 commonly known as 564 North
Park Drive for a public purpose pursuant
[22:03] to NJSA4A
column 12-5 and NJSA
[22:10] 20 column 3-1
[22:14] president.
>> Yes.
[22:16] » I have a question for the
>> Okay. Is this the
[22:21] house that borders Conry Boulevard? The
last house
[22:26] on North Park Drive 5.
[22:30] » You know, you know, across the street
from the high school, there's a house on
[22:33] the corner that that's next to the
property that we own where the the staff
[22:39] is using as parking lot, the old
firehouse property. Is that the house?
[22:48] It is on the corner. Yes. So
>> that's it. So this pass.
[22:51] » Yeah.
>> The director know where is she?
[22:54] » No. The property is it is on the corner.
Uh it's that corner property 564.
[22:59] » It's probably that house. But while
while we're at it before we go on to
[23:02] number six. Is number six the property
for the firehouse?
[23:08] Um it's
>> so for number six um it's it's not
[23:13] determined just yet. That's been talked
about. It's a possibility.
[23:17] » But that's what we're talking about
there, right?
[23:19] » Okay.
>> The corner of Fyet and High Street.
[23:23] » Yeah, that's fant.
[23:27] » Five is um five is the public purpose is
also is is contemplated for parking.
[23:31] » All right.
>> You good?
[23:35] » Yeah, I'm good.
>> Okay. I just wanted to make sure.
[23:38] » Okay. Number six, ordinance of the city
of Perthamboy County of Middle Sex, New
[23:42] Jersey, authorizing the acquisition of
the property designated on the tax maps
[23:47] of the city of Perthboy as black 127 LA
15 commonly known as 329-
[23:55] 331 High Street for public purposes
pursuant to NJSA48
[24:01] column 12-5
and NJSA
[24:05] 20 column Three
dash one number seven. I mean we're out
[24:13] of order five and six or actually
>> that should be really six. An ordinance
[24:19] of the city of Perthboy Middle Sex
County, New Jersey to amend an ordinance
[24:24] entitled vehicles and traffic ordinance
number 194-
[24:30] 768 as amended adopted September 19,
1978,
[24:35] also known as chapter 414 s of the code
of the city of Perth Amboy. And this is
[24:40] about loading zone Corland street
location.
[24:47] This is the one that has to be amended,
right? Correct.
[24:50] » Okay.
>> Resolution R297826
[24:56] authorizing the reading of the 2026
budget by the title only. Budget to be
[25:04] read by the title prior to the public
hearing. Public hearing on the calendar
[25:08] year 2026 municipal budget R2572.
[25:17] 726.
That will be there will be an open
[25:21] public hearing and then we'll close it.
R 298826
[25:26] adopting the calendar year 2026
municipal budget
[25:32] and it requires a DLGS approval prior to
the adaptation.
[25:38] R299A26
authorizing emergency temporary
[25:43] appropriation to extend the calendar
year 2026 temporarity budget in the
[25:48] amount of 7,492,32
[25:54] R 3826
certifying to the local finance board
[25:59] all members of the governing body have
review as a minimum the section of the
[26:04] annual audit entitled comments and
recommendations.
[26:10] R301826
directing the tax collector to place a
[26:14] lean on 697 Hansen Avenue black 307 lot
14.01 in the amount of $428 was 65
[26:26] for charges incurred by the Department
of Public Works to remedy a public
[26:31] nuisance. R302 A26 directing the tax
collector to place a lean on 554
[26:39] Johnston Street, block 266,
lots three and four in the amount of
[26:45] $644
with 59 for charges incurred by the
[26:50] Department of Public
Works to rem to remedy a public
[26:56] nuisance. R303
A26 consenting to the 2026-2027
[27:05] renewal of plinary retail consumption
license number 121633-102-00002
[27:14] held by in the name of the of United
Polls in American Enterprise Inc. 281
[27:21] Grace Street, effective August 13, 2026.
R304A26,
[27:29] authorizing the person-toperson transfer
of plenary retail consumption license
[27:34] number 1216-32-024-006
[27:43] held in the name of ACONA
LLC, TA Gas Liquors at
[27:50] 434 State Street to Crystal Liquor
LLC
[27:56] R305926
authorizing a refund in the amount of
[28:00] $100 to Justin
Jouki for the return of one gate key and
[28:08] one restroom key at the Harborside
Marina. R306826
[28:15] authorizing accumulated leave payout for
Jonathan Coronado dash Castillo in the
[28:22] amount of $1,129.11
[28:28] based on separation from service on July
1st 2025
[28:33] R307826
authorizing a contract with approve C
[28:38] McDermott Master and Murphy to represent
the city in labor and and employment
[28:45] matters for a period of one year
commencing January 1st, 2026 and
[28:51] terminating December 31st,
2026 in an amount not to exceed
[28:57] $100,000.
[29:01] R308826
authorizing the temporary closure of
[29:06] Saddowski Parkway for Perthboy Day 2026
on September 12, 2026 from 800 a.m.
[29:14] through 6:00 p. p.m. R309826
authorizing the submission of an
[29:20] application to the New Jersey Urban
Enterprise Zone authority for the Urban
[29:26] Enterprise Zone Assistance Fund funds
for the Independence Day celebration in
[29:32] an amount not to exceed $175,000
for fiscal year 2027.
[29:41] R 318A26
authorizing the submission of an
[29:45] application to the New Jersey urban
enterprise zone authority for the urban
[29:50] enterprise zone assistant funds for
public safety purposes in the in the
[29:57] urban enterprise zone program in an
amount not to exceed $450,000
[30:02] for fiscal year 2027.
R311826
[30:09] authorizing the submission of an
application to the New Jersey Urban
[30:12] Enterprise Zone Authority for the Urban
Enterprise Zone Assistance Funds for a
[30:19] seasonal clean team project in the
amount not to exceed $200,000.
[30:25] R312826
authorizing the submission of an
[30:30] application to the New Jersey Urban
Enterprise Zone Authority for the Urban
[30:35] Enterprise Zone Assistant Funds for a
facade and signage program in the amount
[30:40] not to exceed $300,000.
R3A13A26
[30:47] authorizing submission of an application
to the New Jersey Department of
[30:51] Community Affairs for the fiscal year
2027 recreation opportunities for
[30:58] individuals with disabilities grant
R314A26
[31:05] authorizing a contract with Hannon A.
Bis Esquire to represent the city as a
[31:12] public defender for the period
commencing
[31:15] January 1st, 2026 and terminating
December 31st, 2026
[31:20] in an amount not to exceed $38,000.
R 315A26
[31:27] supporting redevelopment
as a at 252nd Street block 10 lots 1.01
[31:36] 01
1-12
[31:39] block 11.01
block 16 lats 1.01
[31:47] 1-1415.01
[31:50] 01
R 316A26
[31:55] authorizing change order number one to
the contract with Rapid Pump and meter
[32:00] Services Corporation for the furnishing
and replacement of three variable
[32:06] frequency drives at the Second Street
Sewer
[32:11] pumping station prog
not to exceed $5,000.
[32:17] R317826
[32:20] authorizing change order number four to
the contract with Maui Construction
[32:26] Company, Inc. for the Veterans Memorial
Youth League Complex Field House
[32:32] renovation located at 691
Darathy Avenue in the amount of $5,737.
[32:41] R 31826
authorizing change order number five to
[32:46] the contract with Maui Construction
Company, Inc. for the Veterans Memorial
[32:51] Youth League Complex Field House
renovation located at 691 Dorothy Avenue
[32:59] in the amount of 8,118.
[33:08] R319826
authorizing change order number one to
[33:14] the contract with PNA Construction Inc.
for roadway improvement to Penn Street,
[33:20] Johnston Street, and Westside Avenue,
reducing the original contract amount by
[33:26] 76,562
[33:29] with 18 cents to which reduces the
contract amount from 1,283,150
[33:39] with 51
to1,26,588
[33:46] with 33 cents. R 32826
authorizing an affiliation agreement
[33:54] between Brockers, the State University
of New Jersey School of Social Work and
[34:00] the City of Perthboy Office of Aging for
Student Practicum Placement.
[34:07] R 321 A26 authorizing success bond
partnership with Middle Sex College
[34:14] $5,000.
R 322A26
[34:19] authorizing the planting of a liberty
tree and the installation of a
[34:24] commemorative sign within city hall
circle park R 323A26
[34:31] authorizing change order number two to
the contract with aquatic service
[34:37] commercial pool servicing for
contracting services related to the
[34:41] removal and replacement of the
competition pool pump in an in an amount
[34:47] not to exceed $8,766
[34:52] with 58.
R324826
[34:58] authorizing a refund in the amount of
$50 to Mark Reovich
[35:05] for the return of one gate key at the
Harborside Marina. R 325826
[35:12] authorizing extension of injury leave
for Sergeant Joel Pontiel until November
[35:20] 3rd, 2026.
326 and 327 being removed. R 328826
[35:29] recognizing the 25th anniversary of
September 11th, 2001 of rescending R
[35:37] 5141 1225
R 329 A26 avoiding the issuance
[35:45] approving I'm sorry the issuance of a
public entertainment permit to live love
[35:53] life PA for a fundraising to be held on
August 15, 2026 from 12 noon to 5:00
[36:00] p.m. at the Rudy Park.
[36:09] R 330A26
accepting fiscal year 2025 locus
[36:15] solicitation Edward Burn Memorial
Justice Assistant Grant of $158,358.
[36:24] Madam President.
>> Yes.
[36:26] » Uh Mr. Cryan, do you do we know what
this money would be utilized for in the
[36:32] police department?
>> It's $158,000.
[36:40] » I can call the chief up to have a
question.
[36:52] » Good afternoon, council. I I could not
hear you, sir. I'm sorry.
[36:55] » Oh, it's the uh
>> Edward Burn Memorial Justice.
[37:00] » You have to get closer to your
>> How about now? Do you hear me now?
[37:03] » I have you now. Yes.
>> All right. It's it's the Edward Burns
[37:07] Memorial Justice Assistance Grant. I
mean, that money, what would it be
[37:10] utilized for?
>> Yes, that's the it's refer refer to it
[37:14] as the JAG grant. As you know, we
administrated for the entire county for
[37:17] all of the other towns and there were
one or two other towns that were picked
[37:19] up. So clearly all of that money is not
going towards us,
[37:22] » but we get a piece of it.
>> Yeah, we get a piece. 20 something
[37:24] thousand.
>> What would What would we usually use
[37:26] some of this funding for though?
>> We've used it in the past for computer
[37:30] equipment for the vehicles. We've used
it for a motor on one of the boats. Um
[37:36] different things that that little
>> So it wouldn't it wouldn't be earmarked
[37:39] earmarked particularly to anything. Just
the use of the police department like an
[37:46] engine blew up. You would use that money
to replace an engine.
[37:50] » Correct. Yes. For for equipment. Yes.
>> Okay. That's cool. I'm good.
[37:54] » I just wanted to know.
>> Thank you.
[37:57] » Thank you, sir.
>> R 331826
[38:01] application for 2026 drive sober or get
pulled over. R 332826
[38:09] contract with Collier's Engineering and
Design Inc. Rison Riverfront Park
[38:16] project. $116,641
[38:24] with 25.
[38:29] Does that goes for bid or how do how do
we get to that?
[38:35] » Which one is that? I'm sorry.
>> It's number 332.
[38:40] » Pull
[38:44] yours.
Call yours.
[39:06] If I may.
>> Okay. Go ahead.
[39:10] » I don't have all the specifics, but I
can speak somewhat to it. My
[39:14] understanding is for the Raron
Riverfront Park
[39:19] um improvements that we're doing. There
was a uh contract originally given to
[39:25] Kier's engineering and design
uh regarding the development of the
[39:31] designs and such for the park itself and
that was awarded through a professional
[39:37] service contract. Now what's happening
is because there's uh a lot of
[39:44] um issues with the park property and we
have to do ongoing monitoring of uh
[39:52] various construction efforts that we're
making there. There's this proposal now
[39:57] for uh additional services to Kier's
engineer and design um for observation
[40:08] of the construction to make sure that
we're meeting certain requirements. Um,
[40:12] and they were picked specifically
because we had a professional services
[40:17] contract with them previously uh related
to those park improvements and this is
[40:22] now an additional service that they
found to be needed for the project.
[40:28] » Okay. Thank you.
>> You're welcome.
[40:32] » R 333826
professional service contract with
[40:36] Suburban Consulting Engineer Inc.
Proposed Veterans Park sanitary sewage
[40:42] pump station $14,150.
[40:48] R334A26
authorizing submission of an application
[40:52] to the NJD
hazardous discharge site remediation
[40:58] fund for a preliminary assessment site
investigation remedial investigation
[41:04] grant in the amount of $50,480
for the Seaman Avenue property.
[41:10] » Madam President,
>> yes.
[41:12] » I mean before we go on to to the next
section, right? I want to ask Middle Sex
[41:17] Water a couple questions.
[41:30] » Good evening, council.
>> How are you?
[41:32] » Good.
>> Um, recently, at least in the last month
[41:36] or so, up in the Columbus Circle area
next to the reservoir, the water's been
[41:44] shut off or not working more than I'd
say a handful of times. I mean, is there
[41:49] a problem up there that
is causing every so often the water to
[41:55] be shut off?
>> So, we are replacing the VFD. We have a
[41:59] project underway. Um, we're replacing
the VFD and pump number one at the
[42:05] Florida Grove reservoir.
>> And the only reason why I'm asking you
[42:09] is because I live up there and my
neighbors don't have a problem coming
[42:13] and knocking on my door and asking So
now I have a an answer for that.
[42:17] » We're in the process of that uh getting
the VFD this week and the pump is going
[42:24] to be replaced if not later this week,
early next week.
[42:28] » Okay. And so it could happen again until
the pump I mean
[42:32] » was that
>> until we replace it. Yeah. We have to
[42:36] switch it manually.
So that that's why
[42:39] » now the the second question I have for
and I had spoke to Ken
[42:45] » Kenny Millie
>> right um you know Louis God rest his
[42:49] soul had proposed about trimming the
trees
[42:54] unfortunately before we could have
another discussion
[42:59] passed away.
I believe there is still a problem and
[43:03] when I spoke to Ken about it, you know,
not to the extent
[43:07] » get closer.
>> The original plan was to take them all
[43:11] out. I think
>> we're trying to figure out a better way
[43:16] because
>> to at least trim some of those trees
[43:19] there, especially the ones that are
leaning.
[43:21] » Yes, sir. We could uh trimming the trees
would be the best course of action
[43:25] because if you remove the trees, the
roots is really what's holding the soil.
[43:30] pulling the BM up.
>> Correct. So, I think trimming the trees
[43:33] is the best course of action and
>> will be attacking that soon
[43:37] » because the people that live on that
side of the reservoir, you know, again,
[43:41] they don't have knocking on the door and
telling me or when I'm walking, they
[43:46] tell me. Yes, sir.
>> All right. Well, just I guess keep us
[43:49] advised then.
>> Yes, sir.
[43:50] » All right. Thank you. Thank you.
>> Good evening. I have a quick question as
[43:53] well.
>> Sorry. Along the same lines of a
[43:56] resident asking about the waterfront
area. Are there any issues within the
[44:00] Brighton Avenue street?
>> Not that I'm aware of.
[44:04] » Okay.
>> What What's the complaint?
[44:05] » The complaint was the water quality and
the color.
[44:09] » If if there's any complaints about water
quality or color, we what we would do is
[44:14] flush the hydrant, keep the water moving
>> because sometimes there's a buildup of
[44:18] iron in the old water manes and that
could cause a discoloration. So, we
[44:22] could we would flush a hydrant in the
area and then that usually rectifies the
[44:27] problem.
>> Thank you.
[44:28] » All right. You're welcome.
>> Thank you.
[44:33] We have some communications and um may
ask what the reason if there's a reason
[44:40] why they're okay.
>> Just go ahead.
[44:43] » Oh, council president. Um I don't know
who this would be directed to to Mr.
[44:50] about the number seven. Is there reason
was the reason as to why
[44:58] um their license is
they're seeking a 75day suspension for
[45:04] that
>> number seven
[45:08] » and the communication
>> and the communication
[45:11] » there are quite a few u violations
I can pull it out for you. Hold on.
[45:32] I don't have it. Um, there were quite a
few. There was things like, um, they
[45:36] didn't have their true books of account
on the premises. Um,
[45:40] » they didn't have their Well, I'm sorry.
>> True books of account. That's what the
[45:43] ABC refers to. All of their accounting
records. They didn't have them on site.
[45:47] there was uh most of it was to do with
paperwork and they I think the ABC has a
[45:53] um like a scale to you know if there's
any violations what how many days or
[46:00] that they would ask for a suspension
my guess is normally they'll they'll
[46:06] meet and then the ABC will accept cash
in lie of suspension that's normally
[46:11] what happens
>> okay
[46:13] » but I believe I you know you should have
it in your packet I just I don't know
[46:16] why I don't have it with me right now.
>> There's two separate charges. It was and
[46:20] it's consistent with what Vicki just
said. It's the the books of account were
[46:23] um not maintained on premises and then
um full fully failed to fully disclose
[46:30] that uh they had agreed to permit uh
someone else from entering into the
[46:35] business with them. One carried a 30-day
suspension, the other a 45. So that's
[46:39] where the 75day.
So, uh, another person entered, you
[46:43] said, um, into business with them.
>> Please try to get closer to the mic
[46:48] because people are complaining.
>> There's a business and they entered into
[46:52] an agreement apparently with a business
entity and in when you're going when you
[46:56] have a lency, the business entity that
owns the license has to get approval
[47:00] from the state. if they're going to
transfer a portion of the of the
[47:05] business to another entity and have them
come onto the license, profit from the
[47:09] business, they have to get approval from
the state and apparently there are some
[47:12] discrepancies with with that. So that's
that's the other aspect of the penalties
[47:17] » unless they disclose even silent
partnerships.
[47:20] » Okay. And so let's say that this gets um
corrected after you know within the
[47:24] 75day time frame.
I don't want to I don't really want to
[47:30] comment on that because the state ABC is
handling these disputes. Okay. They have
[47:35] to notice municipality because we're the
the licensing entity for ABC municipal
[47:40] licensing entity. So, we're notified of
this. their dispute is going to be with
[47:44] the state uh the license holder and
that's why I'm saying apparently with
[47:49] regard to these violations because the
license holder has an opportunity to
[47:53] respond to the charges presented by the
state make their case and then it'll be
[47:57] resolved at that point. So we should
probably let that regulatory process
[48:00] play out before you know making any
determinations on on what happened here.
[48:05] But these are the allegations presented
by the state.
[48:07] » Okay. They will notify us one way or the
other.
[48:10] » Okay. All right. Thank you.
>> Okay. Anything else?
[48:15] » No.
>> Okay. Close session resolution R296
[48:20] authorizing a close session at the
August 12, 2026 meeting to discuss the
[48:26] following. Does anyone have anything?
>> Yes,
[48:29] » I do.
>> Okay. Ladies first. [laughter] Go ahead.
[48:33] » Uh litigation.
>> Okay.
[48:36] » Ditto. Me too. And personnel. I was
going to say personal
[48:44] » and it seems like
>> is it general litigation or just you
[48:47] have a specific case in mind? Could I
say? Oh, I don't know. I don't know. Can
[48:53] she mention what litigation?
>> I I don't It was Is there a specific
[49:00] case?
>> The email The received um recently.
[49:05] » Okay. Yeah, it's um related to the Quile
settlement Q
[49:10] » the Qless.
>> Yes.
[49:14] » You want that?
>> U litigation.
[49:18] Right.
>> Um [clears throat]
[49:21] I got
>> Nick, I'll tell you what.
[49:25] » Do you want personal
>> all litigation involving the police
[49:28] department
and uh actually there's a workman's comp
[49:33] too?
[49:38] » A workman's comp.
>> Do you do you have a name for me?
[49:41] Because generally I would put them on
there but there isn't a settlement on so
[49:45] just workers comp.
Uh Timothy Simon
[49:54] » I don't know if it's actually workman's
cop
[49:58] I believe it is
>> Mr.
[50:02] You have something or no?
>> I mean besides what?
[50:06] » Talk about whatever you want to talk
about, but I don't have anything in
[50:08] addition.
>> Okay. All right. So, I need a motion.
[50:10] » Oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. There's one
more. I bet Miguel P.
[50:19] » Okay.
Sorry.
[50:21] » Timothy S.
>> Thank you.
[50:23] » He's a retired Italian chief.
[50:30] » Okay.
296826
[50:33] authorizing a close session at the
August 12th, 2026 meeting to discuss the
[50:39] following quill litigation personnel and
workers comp and also all litigation
[50:45] with the police department. I need a
motion move.
[50:49] » Second all
[50:53] go ahead. [laughter]
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[50:56] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales.
[50:58] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta. Yes.
[51:00] » Councilman Puchio.
>> Yes.
[51:02] » Council President Dega.
>> Yes. Um public portion three minutes
[51:07] maximum per speaker. I need a motion to
open to the public.
[51:11] » Move.
>> Second.
[51:12] » All in favor?
>> I against.
[51:15] » Anyone who wants to to come up to the
mic about anything?
[51:30] I have no idea.
>> Okay,
[51:34] » I'm tall. Okay. Hi, good evening.
Virginia Morales, 745 Barry Avenue,
[51:40] Perth, Amboy, New Jersey. Um, do can we
hand out some information to the
[51:46] council? Okay, thank you so much. Okay,
so I am Virginia Morales. I am the
[51:53] director, president, whatever the title
you want to give me of Genie Meow's
[51:57] Animal Rescue. I am here to um speak to
the mayor and the city administration
[52:03] and anyone who's here to listen. Thank
you to those of you that are here to
[52:06] support us. I am here as a concerned
Perth Amboy resident animal rescue
[52:11] advocate and representative of Genie
Meow's Animal Rescue formerly All for
[52:15] the Pause to ask the city of Perth Amboy
to partner with us on a coordinated
[52:19] funded trap new to return TNR program
for our community cats. We are grateful
[52:25] to have a TNR ordinance since November
9th, 2015, but an ordinance alone cannot
[52:31] solve the problems that we are
experiencing. This has become a quality
[52:35] of life issue affecting residents,
neighborhoods, animal control, the
[52:39] shelter, police, taxpayers, and city
resources. It is also an animal welfare
[52:44] issue that cannot be solved by
volunteers and private rescues alone
[52:49] like my rescue and CASA, as well as
others that have helped us throughout
[52:52] the many years. We are already doing the
work. Genie Mail's Animal Rescue has
[52:58] been rescuing animals and performing TNR
since 2009 and became a 501c3 nonprofit
[53:04] organization on May 19th, 2025 this
year. Along with local rescuers such as
[53:10] CASA, we have spent more than 17 years
trapping, spaying, neutering,
[53:14] vaccinating, providing medical care,
rescuing kittens and friendly cats,
[53:19] fostering and finding homes for them.
Every day we receive calls, texts,
[53:24] emails, Facebook, Instagram messages,
social media requests from Perth Amboy
[53:28] residents as well as other areas needing
help WhatsApp as well. Thank you.
[53:33] Needing help with cats and kittens as
well as other animals. We receive calls
[53:37] when animal control is closed. We even
get calls from police officers that have
[53:42] contacted us for assistance. We're
talking about 12 1 2 3 4 in the morning.
[53:48] This is not our job. We are all
volunteers. We are proud residents of
[53:51] Perth Amway and many of us are not and
yet we still answer the call. Volunteers
[53:56] are already filling a community need. We
are asking the city to work with us so
[54:00] that this effort can become more
organized, consistent and sustainable.
[54:05] TNR has already produced results in
Perth Amboy. We have firsthand evidence
[54:09] that TNR works. The SAR a colony that I
started had approximately 60 cats in
[54:15] 2009. to there. Today, sadly in a way,
there are only about five, but that is
[54:21] the goal of TNR. The Plagita colony,
which is the waterfront, had
[54:25] approximately 53 cats. Since TNR efforts
began there February of 2024,
[54:32] not too long ago, the population has
been reduced to approximately 24.
[54:38] » Okay.
>> May I continue?
[54:40] » Someone else from your team can come up
and continue.
[54:44] You want to
Where were you?
[54:48] » Right here. [clears throat]
>> State your name and your
[54:52] » My name is Elizabeth Pereira.
>> Address.
[54:56] » Uh I was a resident of 903 Harbortown
Boulevard for eight years. I just moved
[55:02] about four months ago.
>> Um where was she? These reductions were
[55:08] achieved through consistent trapping,
sterilization, vaccination, monitoring,
[55:13] and preventing new litters. TNR works
and we have the local results to
[55:18] demonstrate it. It is one of the most
effective and compassionate ways to
[55:23] reduce community cat populations and
prevent the continuing cycle of unwanted
[55:29] litters and suffering.
The city would not be starting from
[55:33] zero. Genie Meows already has traps and
transfer equipment, experienced rescuers
[55:40] and volunteers, veterinary and lowcost
spayneuter connections,
[55:45] transportation and transfer connections,
foster and adoption resources, colony
[55:52] management experience, resident training
experience, relationships with other
[55:57] rescue organizations, and established
community cat reporting and tracking
[56:02] system experience. experience with
adoption and educational events.
[56:09] Our volunteers currently travel hours to
affordable clinics such as APL NJ's
[56:16] Kitty Cab in Flemington and All Pets
Lowcost Bay and Neuter Clinic in
[56:20] Southampton. often relying on donations
and paying expenses out of pocket.
[56:28] A $5,000 startup fund would allow us to
put these existing resources to work
[56:34] more efficiently and begin
systematically addressing colonies
[56:38] throughout Perth Amboy. We also asked
the city to consider a modest recurring
[56:44] monthly allocation such as the
approximately
[56:48] $300 per month model used in South Amway
so that CNR can continue consistently
[56:56] rather than depending entirely on
donations and fundraisers.
[57:01] We already have the tracking system. The
city also does not need to create a new
[57:07] reporting system from scratch. Through
gieme.org,
[57:11] residents can report community cats they
see at different locations. Genie Meows
[57:17] also has a section for authorized
rescuers and city officials who are
[57:23] given permission to access the system to
track and monitor established colonies.
[57:33] The system can help document colony
locations, estimated population,
[57:38] sterilized cats, cats still needing TNR
kittens, and friendly cats available for
[57:44] rescue, and changes in colony numbers.
With municipal participation, this
[57:50] existing resource can help the city
measure progress and identify areas
[57:58] requiring attention. Thank you.
[58:06] » Go ahead.
>> Hi, my name is Janine. I run CASA
[58:10] Rescue. It's coalition of advocates for
shelter animals.
[58:13] » Your address, please.
>> I live in Syville, 23 Kendall Drive, but
[58:17] I've been volunteering at the shelter
for the past 15 years. Coincidentally, I
[58:21] started my rescue after volunteering at
the shelter. That's another story for
[58:25] another time.
>> Can you bring your the mic down a little
[58:28] bit? Okay. Go ahead. Okay. So, since
then, I've helped the shelter many times
[58:31] by pulling cats, kittens, and dogs,
whether sick or healthy, bringing them
[58:36] into my rescue medically, treating them,
and then putting them up for adoption. I
[58:40] would come in to talk, educate, and
clean if needed. I also had many
[58:43] meetings with different administrators
um over the years proposing ways I could
[58:47] help the shelter, but unfortunately, it
has fallen on deaf ears. This town is
[58:51] overrun with strays, and there needs to
be a solution. We have taken in hundreds
[58:55] of strays and TNR dozens out of my own
rescue from my own town to help this
[59:00] town. The people of Perth Amboy pay
taxes and services and one of those
[59:04] services are not are being ignored. Time
and time again people are being turned
[59:08] away when asked for help when it comes
to the stray population.
[59:12] These these innocent animals did not ask
for this life and only by funding the
[59:16] TNR ordinance things can change. How is
it possible that there are kittens
[59:20] running right behind the shelter? Why
isn't that situation in particular being
[59:24] addressed? Trap neuter return is
designed to control community cat
[59:29] population without harming the cats. The
process involves humanely trapping cats,
[59:33] taking them to veterary to be spayed,
neutered, vaccinated against rabies, and
[59:38] then returning them to their original
colony. All of this will not happen
[59:43] overnight, but it will happen because we
have compassionate rescuers
[59:49] like myself and Jeannie Meows that want
to help, that are willing to help.
[59:53] Change can only happen if the
administration starts funding the TNR
[59:56] ordinance. There is ways to fund that
TNR ordinance by using the money that
[1:00:03] people license their dogs with. You can
start there just taking one specific
[1:00:08] fund to help the program. We want to
help the city of Perth Amboy. We want to
[1:00:13] help the people. We want to help the
animals and that's one way to start and
[1:00:17] we are all willing to help. Thank you.
>> Thank you. [applause]
[1:00:24] » Anyone else?
>> Anyone else?
[1:00:26] » Hi. Good. How are you?
>> My name is Gail. Bill initial Azik. Zi
[1:00:32] C. All right. I I live at 417 Augustine
Place. I am not a volunteer, but I am
[1:00:38] one of the citizens of Perth Amboy that
this TNR program helped on Augustine
[1:00:43] Place. As people move out, they leave
their cats, they leave a lot dogs,
[1:00:47] sometimes they leave a lot of different
animals. At one time about three years
[1:00:52] ago, there had to be 15 to 18 cats
living on Augustine Place. When this
[1:00:58] lady over here got in touch with me, she
helped me. There are now three. And I I
[1:01:03] just want to let you know the TNR
program does work. I never believed it
[1:01:06] before, but I believe it now. Thank you.
>> Thank you.
[1:01:11] [applause]
>> Anyone else?
[1:01:13] » Hello, my name's Evelyn Shanahan. I live
in Saraveville and I started trapping
[1:01:20] cats about four years ago as a
volunteer. And I can tell you, they're
[1:01:25] all asking you to do TNR. I'm going to
tell you what happens when you do. In
[1:01:29] Saraveville, there's a truck, a
business, and a trucker came out with a
[1:01:34] dying kitten in his hand and asked for
help on Facebook. I went over there and
[1:01:39] what I saw was like the apocalypse. I
saw cats being run over by 18 wheelers.
[1:01:44] I saw kittens running everywhere. It was
insanely bad. But because Saraveville
[1:01:51] has a TNR program, I was able to trap
those cats and they all got neutered. I
[1:01:59] started with a hundred cats. Every
single one of those cats was trapped and
[1:02:05] neutered. We found homes for the kittens
and the other cats live in that
[1:02:11] truckyard happily ever after right now
being maintained by my my company. I'm
[1:02:16] I'm a CN love straing Saveville. We're a
501c. We build shelters. We feed them.
[1:02:23] We maintain them. And here's the good
news. I started that three years ago in
[1:02:27] that truckyard. Not one kitten has been
born. Not one. We are going to win this
[1:02:34] fight if everyone does this. It's not a
question of should we, it's do it now
[1:02:43] because I have never seen what I've seen
in Perth Amboy. It is the worst I have
[1:02:49] personally seen. So please, I am begging
you, if these were dogs running around
[1:02:53] the streets, everybody be doing
something.
[1:02:56] » These cats are suffering and we need to
help them.
[1:02:59] » Thank you.
[1:03:03] » I will ask everyone, please, please,
everybody can get a turn to speak, but
[1:03:11] when someone is speaking, I need the
public to also be quiet. so everybody
[1:03:17] could be heard. Thank you. Go ahead.
>> My name is Christine Culie. Uh I live at
[1:03:22] 368 Recctor Street, Unit 418. I'm
finishing Jeanie's speech.
[1:03:26] » Okay. Go ahead.
>> The city would be investing in
[1:03:30] prevention rather than continually
paying to respond to consequences of
[1:03:34] uncontrolled reproduction. A $5,000
startup investment followed by modest
[1:03:39] ongoing funding is an opportunity to
address the root of the problem while
[1:03:43] potentially reducing future costs. We
must remember Tini Maple and the others.
[1:03:48] We also cannot forget the animals who
have already suffered, including Willow
[1:03:52] Bean, who was just put down today.
Please remember Tini and Maple along
[1:03:56] with the hundreds of other cats who have
died and suffered slowly from untreated
[1:04:01] injuries, disease, starvation, exposure,
and repeated reproduction. We cannot
[1:04:06] bring them back, but we can honor them
by doing better. Education must be part
[1:04:10] of the solution, including educating
residents and young people about
[1:04:14] sterilization, responsible pet
ownership, community cats, and humane
[1:04:18] treatment of animals. What we are asking
the city to do, we respectfully request
[1:04:24] that the mayor and city administration
meet with Genie Meow's animal rescue,
[1:04:28] CASA, and other local rescues,
veterinarians, animal control, shelter
[1:04:33] representatives, and concerned residents
to establish a coordinated Perth Amboy
[1:04:37] community cat TNR program. Specifically,
we ask for a $5,000 TNR startup fund to
[1:04:45] immediately begin addressing existing
colonies. A reoccurring monthly
[1:04:49] municipal allocation to m maintain
consistent spay and neuter efforts. A
[1:04:54] formal partnership with local rescues
utilizing existing equipment,
[1:04:58] volunteers, veterary connections, foster
networks, and expertise. Resident
[1:05:04] training and education for safe
trapping, recovery, monitoring, and
[1:05:07] reporting. Municipal participation in
the existing G& Meow's tracking system
[1:05:12] to document colonies and measure
progress. A coordinated foster and
[1:05:16] adoption effort for kittens and friendly
cats. Community and youth education
[1:05:21] focused on responsible pet ownership and
preventing unwanted litters. Measurable
[1:05:26] goals and reporting so the city and
residents can see what the investment
[1:05:29] accomplished.
We have already demonstrated what can
[1:05:32] happen with limited We have already
demonstrated what can happen with
[1:05:36] limited resources. S Avenue
approximately 60 counts 60 cats down to
[1:05:41] approximately five. Pya approximately 53
cats down to approximately 24. Imagine
[1:05:48] what could happen throughout the Perth
Amboy if the city invested in expanding
[1:05:52] this work. We have the experience,
equipment, veterary connections,
[1:05:56] volunteers, tracking system, foster
resources, adoption opportunities, and
[1:06:01] community relationships.
[1:06:05] What we need now is a municipal partner
willing to invest in a proven solution.
[1:06:09] Doing nothing will not make the problem
disappear. It will allow the population,
[1:06:12] suffering, complaints, and costs to
continue. Perth Amboy has the
[1:06:16] opportunity to address this issue
humanely, responsibly, and cost
[1:06:19] effectively while giving residents a
tangible, measurable benefit from their
[1:06:22] tax dollars.
>> Thank you.
[1:06:25] [applause]
[1:06:28] » Anyone else?
[1:06:32] Hi Anna Kroska from Grove Street Perth
Amboy. Can I pass something out?
[1:06:37] » Okay,
>> these are this is our financial
[1:06:40] statement just based on our bank account
for the rescue. So from January to July
[1:06:46] 31st this year, we spent over 21,000
already. Um we spent about 7,000 on TNR
[1:06:55] so far from January till July. uh over
7,000 way over 7,000 on vet visits and
[1:07:02] this does not include our out-ofpocket
expenses because not everything goes on
[1:07:07] the rescue card.
Um I started at the PLA at the
[1:07:14] waterfront and with a GoFundMe in 2024
I fixed over 50 cats over there. Um
[1:07:24] raised over $2,000.
So, that colony is 100% tanned,
[1:07:33] [snorts]
[1:07:35] and I just had to put one of the cats
down right now, right [snorts] before
[1:07:39] this meeting.
Um,
[1:07:47] and the next colony I'm working on is by
the yacht club. Um, and recently with
[1:07:54] all the with all the deforesta
deforestation,
[1:07:59] sorry.
Um, all the raccoons are moving out of
[1:08:04] their environment. So, they're showing
up at people's houses.
[1:08:11] So, somebody saw a raccoon by the yach
club. They called the HOA. They called
[1:08:16] it an exterminator. They set up a trap
to catch raccoons, but instead they
[1:08:21] caught kittens. So at 1 in the morning,
I went to get the kittens from the
[1:08:26] raccoon trap.
Um,
[1:08:30] so with more funding, um, with more
help, there's so many calls that we get
[1:08:36] all the time, um, we can help so many
more cats in town and we can prevent by
[1:08:44] tnring all the cats. um they'll have
less babies, they'll need less vet
[1:08:49] appointments. Um
[1:08:58] yeah, and
yeah, the shelter I was told there's a
[1:09:03] TNR program, but this year they said
there's no funding, so
[1:09:12] and they they don't have room for the
kittens or
[1:09:17] Yeah, their cages are empty. [laughter]
>> Thank you for your time.
[1:09:22] » Thank you. [applause]
[1:09:26] » Okay, Joe sat here and listened for
approximately 30 minutes
[1:09:31] » on these wonderful ladies give you
facts, figures, numbers.
[1:09:34] » I'm sorry. Get close to the
>> mic. Say your name.
[1:09:38] » My name is I'm sorry. I'm This is the
first time I've done this and it's just
[1:09:41] blowing my mind. Uh my name is Tia
Glenn. I live I 64 Carson Avenue with my
[1:09:46] husband. Um we've lived here for about
15 years. It wasn't until a year ago,
[1:09:52] two years February that a cat showed up
on my back porch. This is Turtle. Okay.
[1:09:59] I call her my porch cat because I have
two cats that I adopted from Perth Amway
[1:10:02] Shelter 5 years and 12 years ago. They
both have medical conditions. They never
[1:10:08] would have been adopted. They would have
been euthanized. One just needs special
[1:10:11] food. The other one has not had a solid
poop in five years. Would you want a cat
[1:10:17] like that in your house? I take the ones
that nobody wants because they deserve
[1:10:22] to live. And that's what these ladies
do.
[1:10:26] February, if anybody knows anything
about cats, female cats don't roam. They
[1:10:31] create their colonies and they stay.
Male cats move for territory. This
[1:10:37] female showed up on my porch in
February, two years ago. February. Cats
[1:10:43] don't roam in the middle of winter. They
have no source for food. They have no
[1:10:46] source for shelter. They don't know
where they're going. This cat was dumped
[1:10:50] on my street and showed up on my porch.
Hungry, dirty, and scared. And that's
[1:10:56] why her name is Turtle. T U R D L E. She
was flea ridden and dirty because
[1:11:01] somebody didn't want her. We want them.
We want to help them. These ladies have
[1:11:06] been doing this for 15 years. I've been
involved with them for a year because
[1:11:10] after her second litter, my husband and
I decided we needed to do something. We
[1:11:14] convinced her we were okay. We took her
off the street. We put her in our
[1:11:17] basement. And I reached out to people
because you don't know what you don't
[1:11:22] know. And I've never been on the other
end of this with a mother cat having six
[1:11:27] kittens in my basement. And now I've got
to spay, neuter, vaccinate, and find
[1:11:32] homes for them. All while there's some
crazy lunatic in New York who's
[1:11:37] sacrificing cats.
This happened last September.
[1:11:44] So all I'm asking is that you consider
their request because now I see them
[1:11:50] everywhere. In fact, I have a Siamese
and a black and white and a tabby who
[1:11:55] have showed up in my backyard. Two of
them I know for a fact are unneutered
[1:11:59] males. My cat busted through the screen
door to go after the tabby yesterday
[1:12:04] morning.
We just need help. They spend every
[1:12:08] Sunday at Tractor Supply trying to dot
these animals out. They spend Saturdays
[1:12:13] of their own time having yard sales.
They're literally nickel and dimming
[1:12:18] this to death. They're using their own
credit cards
[1:12:22] when we don't have donations.
We just need help. We just need people
[1:12:28] who have the resources to help. Thank
you.
[1:12:32] » Thank you. [applause]
[1:12:35] Anyone else?
[1:12:42] » I'm surprised that I'm here talking
about this topic. I am not a cat person,
[1:12:46] but about two months ago,
>> but I knew name.
[1:12:49] » Okay. I'm sorry. My name is Andrea
Sucados. Ts O U K A T O S. I live about
[1:12:54] a block away from here on Gordon Street
between High and Karnney, the Sunshine
[1:12:58] Alleyway. Anyway, someone's negligence
became my problem. Two innocent cats, a
[1:13:05] male and a female, probably a brother
and sister, were abandoned. The end of
[1:13:10] June. About two weeks later, we had the
heat wave. I don't know where those cats
[1:13:14] went. Probably in someone's yard under
the bushes. A week later, they're around
[1:13:19] me because my neighbor introduced me to
them. my neighbor who's your they were
[1:13:22] probably in super friendly cats, lovable
cats. They were home cats. Someone cared
[1:13:27] for them and nurtured them when they
were when they were born and so on.
[1:13:30] Anyway, I reached out to Jenny. I went,
first off, I went to the city where I
[1:13:35] called animal shelter and they didn't
pick up. Okay. Well, I didn't know that.
[1:13:42] I'm thinking they're going to do their
job, right? So,
[1:13:47] on July 10th, I call. No one picks up.
On Monday, I called Woodbridge, uh, one
[1:13:53] of those organizations. They said, "Hey,
they didn't pick up. Go to the mayor's
[1:13:56] office." So, I went to the mayor's
office, blah, blah, blah. I spoke with
[1:13:58] to the major secretary for about an
hour, mostly talking about dogs and the
[1:14:02] cat is the issue, and the animal shelter
is the issue. She said, "Go in person."
[1:14:06] So, on Wednesday of that week, let's say
it's the 10th or something like that, I
[1:14:10] go in person.
All they did was, "Oh, we'll give you
[1:14:14] our information. Say broke and ser blah
blah blah blah blah." Never got any
[1:14:18] information. And listen, this is the
story. One cat, a female cat, which the
[1:14:22] cat know
>> just,
[1:14:24] » okay, it can have four or five kittens,
okay? And those become furl cats. And
[1:14:29] I'm not even a cat person. The male cat,
like they like the woman before me said,
[1:14:34] they roam, okay? Then they mate, so and
so on and so on, right? And it's a whole
[1:14:39] cycle. So two cats becomes like 12 and
so on and so on. So, these two really
[1:14:43] nice, lovable cats who are being
attacked by, mind you, raccoons that my
[1:14:48] neighbor has under his deck. And the
male cat got two leg injuries, which
[1:14:51] Jill, who's a woman here, was nice
enough three weeks later cuz the animal
[1:14:56] shelter, which I went there in person
twice. Once without the cats and once
[1:15:01] with the cat, with a female cat. They
would not take the cat. Ma'am, we told
[1:15:06] you to blah blah blah and say, "We're
not a vet." Blah blah blah blah blah.
[1:15:10] Luckily, Jill came out of nowhere and I
guess his name is Tom.
[1:15:15] I guess God sent them down because these
cats were super friendly. I'm not even a
[1:15:19] cat person. And I love these cats. I was
feeding them, hanging out with them,
[1:15:24] playing with them. You know, I was able
to pet them and all that stuff. They
[1:15:27] bonded with me. They call it They owned
me. I had to learn all that
[1:15:31] communication about cats blinking and
whatever. I knew nothing about cats.
[1:15:37] You know, Jenny did follow. Now, Jenn,
right, Jenny?
[1:15:40] » She did eventually follow through. She
put her info on my info on Facebook
[1:15:43] because I was harassing her because I
wanted homes for these cats because I
[1:15:47] was realistic. I could not take care of
these cats.
[1:15:52] So, you get the picture, right?
>> Two cats to become [applause]
[1:15:56] [cheering]
out of pocket.
[1:15:59] » And so does Jill who is right here.
>> Hi. Hi, Jill Wilson. High street. My
[1:16:04] husband and I uh moved here from Staten
Island about three and a half years ago.
[1:16:07] I never had a pet. I never had a cat. I
hated them. Um, sorry. So, we moved in
[1:16:12] in February of 23 and in August, a
little kitten was meowing in our
[1:16:16] neighborhood. I'm sorry, in our bushes.
Um, so three and a half years later, 50
[1:16:21] cats have gone through our home. I
currently have six in my house. Um,
[1:16:25] including two of our own for a total of
eight. I have two in the garage and we
[1:16:28] feed. I never thought I would be
involved with this. My friends don't
[1:16:31] know who I am anymore. I want my life
back. I want to look pretty. I want to
[1:16:35] not be covered with cat hair. However,
this has become our calling. They do a
[1:16:40] wonderful, wonderful thing. My husband
and I are not a 501, 3B, ABC. We do this
[1:16:45] out of our own pocket. We need help.
Sometimes we go into Staten Island. We
[1:16:50] get some help through those rescues.
They're wonderful, but they really need
[1:16:54] help because I told Jeie, I don't want
to go out at 3 in the morning. I don't
[1:16:59] want to go out and do this. I'll throw
money at you. I just don't want to do
[1:17:02] this. But they put their heart and soul
in it. And I know that cats don't vote,
[1:17:07] but we all vote and we all need for you
to maybe help out and step up with this
[1:17:12] cat population because I've never seen
anything like it. Thank you. Have a good
[1:17:16] night.
>> Thank you. [applause]
[1:17:22] » Hello. My name is Lenya Reid. I just
moved here in November. Um I live on
[1:17:27] Palasi Avenue. There are a thousand cats
out there and I feed them every day and
[1:17:33] I feel so bad, you know, for the cats
out there. I have four at home though
[1:17:37] that I take care of and she had another
litter, you know, but I love taking care
[1:17:42] of the cats and I I love the cats and,
you know, I just wish they get help.
[1:17:47] It's sad. It's sad to see them like
that. I'm really a cat person and I'm
[1:17:50] really an animal person. Put it that
way. I'm an animal person. I love
[1:17:53] animals and I really want to go to
school to be a vet and I'm going to do
[1:17:57] that. This has really changed my life.
Um, I didn't have a lot of cats before,
[1:18:02] but now it's like my calling. I feel
like this is my calling now. I really
[1:18:05] do. And I'm sorry for the outburst
earlier, but I really care and it really
[1:18:09] hurts me. It really hurts my heart.
Thank you.
[1:18:13] » Thank you. [applause]
>> Anyone else?
[1:18:22] So the truth is we can sit here and talk
about feelings and how sad it is to
[1:18:27] Andrea.
>> Address,
[1:18:29] » name and address.
>> Name and address. Okay. 44 Door Bransky
[1:18:32] Drive here in Perthboy. So we can sit
here and talk about feelings and feeling
[1:18:36] bad for the cats, but the truth is we do
have ordinances that are not being
[1:18:40] followed. The shelter does not answer
calls. They do not really help the
[1:18:45] people when they come for help. Um, I've
had people in the Pamboy Library tell me
[1:18:50] that they asked for help about cats that
were very hurt outside and the shelter
[1:18:54] just told them, "We'll leave them there.
What do you want us to do?" It's I've
[1:18:59] had Perth Boy Housing ask us for help.
They've asked the shelter for help and
[1:19:05] they've been turned away as well and we
get stuck with the work. We're 501c3,
[1:19:10] but we're people with jobs and kids. We
don't have time to be trying to get
[1:19:16] money from people, right? That takes a
lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of
[1:19:21] expertise. Like, not just anybody can do
that. Um, I made a web page for a rescue
[1:19:26] which I hope eventually um, we can get
the shelter on board with so that we can
[1:19:31] put TNR requests where people can go and
visually be able to put it and hopefully
[1:19:36] we can have something implemented so
that we can have a TNR system because
[1:19:40] there are way too many cats outside and
they are hurting people's plants,
[1:19:46] gardens, and they're peeing all over
their walls and we feel bad for the cats
[1:19:50] but it's also hurting people's
properties and people are very upset
[1:19:53] about that and also we really do feel
bad for the cats but it's affecting
[1:19:57] people in many different ways. Um so I'm
trying to implement a system where
[1:20:02] people can actually put how many cats
they see outside and we're hoping we can
[1:20:05] get our residents to actually input that
information so that we can come with
[1:20:09] numbers because at the end of the day I
know you guys only care to see numbers
[1:20:13] and see that there's actually a problem.
So we can sit here and talk about it all
[1:20:17] we want but we're not showing you
numbers right now. So that's what I'm
[1:20:21] hoping to do and I hope that I can work
with the shelter. Um, and I hope to have
[1:20:25] you guys' support because the shelter
has not been very helpful in any way. So
[1:20:29] I would love to implement the system and
it's taken me a lot of time. It's
[1:20:33] software engineering. It's not just
[laughter] it's not just writing a
[1:20:37] document, right? Um, so I would love to
implement it, but I do need support and
[1:20:42] I can't do that when we have people in
our shelter that don't care. So, I would
[1:20:47] love if we could have some connection in
some way, have you guys help us connect
[1:20:54] with the shelter and have them I
understand that they're busy. They have
[1:20:58] a lot of work. We're not sitting here
only saying, "Oh, they don't, you know,
[1:21:03] um I know they're overwhelmed, but we do
need to do something." And I am doing my
[1:21:08] part in my way in the way that I can
because we do need numbers and we need
[1:21:12] everything organized and we need a
database and we need a way to like
[1:21:16] actually see what's happening and we
need to know how much it's going to cost
[1:21:19] because we can't just go oh let's give
this much and then it's not enough.
[1:21:24] » Okay.
>> Thank you.
[1:21:24] » Thank you. Thank you. [applause]
[1:21:32] » My name is Frank Staplefelt. I own 283
Recctor Street. And I just want to speak
[1:21:36] uh again to what the last speaker just
said. When I discovered I had a cat
[1:21:40] problem around my area, I went to the
shelter. The shelter pushed me off to
[1:21:44] the vet. The vet gave me Anna's phone
number and Virginia's phone number of G
[1:21:49] uh Jenny Mouse. That night they were
there. They walked through the different
[1:21:55] areas where I had seen cats. They took
note of it and then they helped me trap
[1:21:59] multiple cats. They TNRed them. We've
instantly had a reduction in the cat
[1:22:05] population around here. And that's not
blocks away. That's literally right
[1:22:10] outside these chambers. It's It's at
your front door. There's plenty of them.
[1:22:15] And these they're all doing it out of
pocket. Even myself, you feel bad. So,
[1:22:20] you just I took two cats in myself. Um
paid out of pocket. Paying still paying
[1:22:25] out of pocket for the healthcare of them
because one of them was dumped. It was a
[1:22:29] house cat that was dumped. wound up on
my porch. And again, I'm just a
[1:22:32] community member. I'm not part of this
rescue. I'm just somebody that's been
[1:22:36] affected by it. And to speak on going to
your shelter and asking for resources
[1:22:41] and being told, "I don't know. Go to a
vet." It's it's despicable.
[1:22:47] Thankfully, the vet gave me a phone
number. And again, when I
[1:22:50] [clears throat] say they came out, they
came out in the ice and in the snow at
[1:22:55] night without any hesitation. It's
worthwhile. and they're not asking for
[1:23:00] much. So, let's do it. Thank you for
your time.
[1:23:03] » Thank you. [applause]
>> Anyone else?
[1:23:08] » Go ahead.
[1:23:14] » Are you a cat?
>> Very nice. Very nice. There's a story
[1:23:17] behind that. Orlando Perez, 278 Madison
Avenue. That's nice what they're doing
[1:23:22] about the cat. But here's something
nobody talked about. How many people get
[1:23:26] a cat? Nice kitty. They when they leave
this town, they leave the cat here.
[1:23:31] » They don't take the cat with them.
That's another thing nobody ever
[1:23:35] mentioned.
>> There was a fire down here about six
[1:23:38] cats on by that pizza place there on
Smith Street and about bunch of cats
[1:23:44] were in there.
They left them abandoned. That's the
[1:23:48] problem you have here. People abandon
their pets when they pets when they
[1:23:52] leave here. That's normal. Okay.
Now we get to the the serious part. With
[1:23:58] all due respect, you need to get out of
fantasy land. We had illegal housing
[1:24:03] here problem. This problem, a lot of
problems here.
[1:24:08] And talking all this stuff, this this
this let me tell I lived there all my
[1:24:12] life and you know something, this town
hasn't accomplished anything since I've
[1:24:17] been here.
The biggest joke back, I hate to bring
[1:24:20] it up, when the Vos administration made
all these promises and nothing happened.
[1:24:26] It was nothing but a scam.
Now they want to rebuild this, rebuild
[1:24:30] this, rebuild this, all these little
nice cute tax breaks. Nothing's going to
[1:24:34] get accomplished here.
The only thing you get accomplished here
[1:24:38] is favoritism.
And I bet some of you here, I'm not
[1:24:43] being sarcastic, have friends of city
members
[1:24:47] or city employees, our city employees
here. And your friends, that's all it's
[1:24:52] about here. It's all about favoritism.
Too busy wor about politics and
[1:24:56] favoritism.
[1:24:59] You're not going to get nothing done
here by that. It's time to get out of
[1:25:04] fantasy land. You got major problems in
this town.
[1:25:10] That's the real problem here. Everybody
wants a favor, but nobody wants to
[1:25:14] accomplish anything.
Yeah. I asked Wilder for a favor. I'll
[1:25:19] admit it. I said, "Willer, do me one
favor. Upgrade the fire department." And
[1:25:24] she did it. I told her it's going to
cost money. Big money. She didn't like
[1:25:28] it, but she did it. She upgraded the
party department. A lot of people don't
[1:25:32] know about that. We had a nice little
talk about it.
[1:25:35] That's why you got that big nice little
rescue truck and that other good stuff.
[1:25:41] Do us a favor.
Listen to the people here.
[1:25:46] They're not asking for the world. They
just want something to be accomplished.
[1:25:53] And with all due respect to the police
department here, okay? Maybe the order
[1:25:57] have what they call the public
relations.
[1:26:00] Maybe the cops of this town should get
around say, "Hey, how you doing?" They
[1:26:03] do it in New York City. They do in other
towns where cops walk around, they talk
[1:26:07] to the people. What's the problem?
What's going on? This this this going to
[1:26:12] get 100% results, but it might worked.
And I noticed that because the police
[1:26:18] department and the people, it's a little
uh, you know, spread out a little.
[1:26:22] » Thank you.
>> Okay.
[1:26:25] » Anyone else?
[1:26:32] Oh, before you hit the clock
because I have to show a little video
[1:26:36] right quick. Two second video
>> and then I'm going start talking. This
[1:26:42] is a two second video. I'm sorry. This
is a My name is Roy Smith. No, no, no.
[1:26:47] » My name is Roy Smith. I live at 634 uh
Cara.
[1:26:50] » Excuse me,
>> ma'am.
[1:26:52] » You have to address the council. You're
not
[1:26:54] » This is This is This is Perfam Boy
Hospital right here. This is underwater
[1:26:58] right here. Okay. I hope y'all see this.
Okay. So, this is Perfoy's hospital,
[1:27:03] right? Okay. Now, I hear this mayor talk
about the history of Perfboy. This guy
[1:27:08] right here. This guy right here. He's
one of the first black voters right
[1:27:12] here. This guy right here. Right. Now,
let's go right here to this to this guy
[1:27:16] right here. This is the Lapi tribe right
here. Why is there's no Lape tribe in
[1:27:22] Perf and Boy? Okay. You know why there
ain't no Lape tribe in Perf and Boy?
[1:27:27] Because let's tell Perf and boy what
happened to the Lape people and why they
[1:27:31] not here. Okay, Benjamin Franklin is the
one who took the Lape people out of
[1:27:36] here. And not only did they take them
out of here, the Lape people was was
[1:27:40] known to make furs, known to make bees,
known to have three sisters. They they
[1:27:46] they made uh corn, squash, and uh other
things, right? To make sure that we
[1:27:52] could function as people, right? So now
we that they know that we could function
[1:27:56] as people that we only needed three
crops to function as people to make a
[1:28:00] whole community, right? They know this
now. They see this, right? So they come
[1:28:03] over here and they see this going on,
right? So not only they they see this,
[1:28:07] they take our land. They take our land.
They give us bed bugs. Not only they
[1:28:12] give us bed bugs, they give us lice.
They give us measles. And not only give
[1:28:16] us all of this,
they give them liquor. So what? This is
[1:28:21] what happened to these peoples here, the
Indians. of Perfanboy. This is what
[1:28:24] happened to these people of Perfanboy
where y'all trying to hide this where
[1:28:28] there's nothing in here about the Lape
people. This is crazy.
[1:28:32] » And this guy right here is the first guy
that try to stand up for the people and
[1:28:35] he puts this right here, but there's
statues out there of of people that we
[1:28:39] don't even know about. This is crazy,
man.
[1:28:43] We need to wake up here and see what's
going on here and defund the police
[1:28:46] here. We just had another robbery
Woodbridge about a jewelry store because
[1:28:53] it's 50 million police want to show out
acting like they a beating on their
[1:28:58] chest. Why they big and bad with they
little pistols 20 cars deep for what
[1:29:02] reason? I had A POLICE OFFICER RUN UP on
me for not having a helmet on and for
[1:29:07] not driving on the sidewalk. So now you
have me pulling up, writing me tickets,
[1:29:13] doing all this crazy stuff. But now here
we go right here where we got people
[1:29:18] working on our sewers
and why they don't even have a hard hat
[1:29:22] on. Do we need kosher OSHA here and and
report these people here? But you could
[1:29:26] write me a ticket for not having a
helmet. But people are working on our
[1:29:30] sewer, right? And they working on that
sewer capping it up so they don't smell
[1:29:34] nothing because y'all ain't doing a job.
This is what's going on. And the mayor
[1:29:39] needs to know what's going on. And he he
is not getting elected this year. This
[1:29:43] is not going down. The people's going to
know what's going down. And my name is
[1:29:47] Roy Smith and I'm done.
>> Thank you, church.
[1:29:52] » Anyone else?
[1:29:56] » I'll see you next more information.
[1:30:02] » Vince M 215 Sheridan Street. Um, can you
address anything about the budget or is
[1:30:09] that the next meeting?
>> Next meeting.
[1:30:11] » Next meeting.
>> Okay. We'll have the hearing and
[1:30:14] » Thank you. Um I'd like to just um report
that it's the year 2026, correct?
[1:30:22] August. If I'm not if not I'm not doing
anything wrong. It's August 2000.
[1:30:29] Mr. Opel reported that the bridge at O
Elm Street, he's had some discussions
[1:30:36] with New Jersey Transit. During those
discussions,
[1:30:42] um, have you mentioned the elevator
which according to the project,
[1:30:49] um, I believe was pretty well supposed
to be completed, the elevator for the
[1:30:54] American with disabilities,
people who need a wheelchair, who need
[1:31:00] to move throughout the metropolitan area
for whatever reason, need to use that.
[1:31:07] Did you, Mr. Opel, did you discuss
anything about that? Because I think
[1:31:12] that's um pretty much New Jersey Transit
catered to the uh uh the soccer
[1:31:19] tournament. You would think that they
would uh complete the project here in
[1:31:22] Bertham and boy. Simple as that. And
then I have a couple questions uh about
[1:31:28] the budget later on. But one one major
thing I'd like to and it this really the
[1:31:36] the uh discussion you had with the
different department heads did not go
[1:31:42] into the library I believe. So, I'd just
like to mention we need to have access
[1:31:47] to copies that we make because people
need those for licenses, for rental
[1:31:53] things, for uh just the business of
living uh that carry on normally within
[1:32:01] Perth Amboy. They need to have those uh
copies to be and this is in no way
[1:32:07] commenting on the staff. The staff is
excellent. They're good people. All I'm
[1:32:12] saying is you need to start returning
that people can make copies not uh
[1:32:18] transfer that to a email address which
actually compromises a person's identity
[1:32:25] and different factors uh important
things that they're doing in life. So I
[1:32:31] I I just like to ask that they could do
something for that. They have a copy
[1:32:36] machine which requires some change in
it. if they just need a dollar or two
[1:32:41] for those copies, I think that's
reasonable because people are
[1:32:45] negotiating different parts of their
life. And uh I appreciate that being
[1:32:51] returned. This is not me talking. It's
other people and the technological
[1:32:56] struggles that people in Perth Amway
have gone through. the uh staff here I'm
[1:33:03] sure as well needs to be rectified so
people can use the technologies for
[1:33:09] themselves.
>> Thank you.
[1:33:13] [applause]
[1:33:21] » No mercy.
>> Um hello my name is Gonzalez. I live in
[1:33:25] 177 Market Street and um my issue here
is that Rosen Garden, they started
[1:33:32] working that was going good since that
last second snowstorm. They stopped
[1:33:37] work. Um
they brought some equipment there like
[1:33:42] for two days in a row and uh they come
back and they put that uh fence every
[1:33:47] time it falls down. They put a lot of
money into that. But I would like to
[1:33:50] know what's that's the what's the
process of that because it been pretty
[1:33:54] long already like over six months since
they started working there and um is
[1:33:59] there an issue with that or could we
know?
[1:34:02] » Okay. Um is that all your questions? I
can have somebody else answer. Vasquez
[1:34:09] is moving up.
[1:34:20] Good evening, council. Just today, we
got word that the permits were issued.
[1:34:25] There were some uh changes to the
design, so they had to resubmit plans
[1:34:31] and those permits were reviewed by the
code officials and uh permits were
[1:34:35] issued today. So, the construction team
should be back on we requested a new
[1:34:40] timeline
um and a date of start. So, we're
[1:34:45] anticipating that they'll be back on
site by next week and that the project
[1:34:50] at that point should take anywhere from
3 to 5 weeks to be completed.
[1:34:54] » Thank you.
>> No problem.
[1:34:57] » Anyone else?
>> Seeing none, I need a motion to close
[1:35:01] public.
>> Second.
[1:35:04] » All in favor? I
>> I against Okay.
[1:35:08] » Uh Madame President, I'm sorry. I have a
couple comments because you know by the
[1:35:13] time we come back everybody will be
gone.
[1:35:15] » Okay. Go ahead.
>> First of all, I find it
[1:35:20] » close to the mic. M
>> I thought my voice carries
[1:35:23] » because nobody hears you in the back.
You know, I find it very very
[1:35:28] interesting and such a big asset
that these people came here today and
[1:35:35] they do so much work with the feral cats
and the cats in the neighborhood and
[1:35:40] they do it all on their own without, you
know, they have to beg, borrow, and
[1:35:45] steal. Uh, you know, I I could remember
back in the 80s when I lived on Lewis
[1:35:50] Street, a little kitten wandered on my
back porch and I named the Lucky the
[1:35:56] Cat. And Lucky the Cat lived 17 years.
Probably one of the best cats I ever
[1:36:01] owned. But with that said,
you know what disturbs me is that the
[1:36:07] city who benefits from the service that
they provide cannot be we can't help
[1:36:14] them in some way. The second thing that
disturbs me is hearing all the negative
[1:36:21] negativity around the shelter. Not
it's not disturbing that you're saying
[1:36:26] it. It's disturbing the answers that
you're getting because you know what and
[1:36:31] I've as long as I've been here I've
worked for this city on and off. I'm not
[1:36:35] for over 40 years to say that we work
for the people that live in the houses
[1:36:42] and they we provide a service and you
know if the animal shelter is underst
[1:36:48] staffed and the and these people are
helping them we should be helping them.
[1:36:54] It doesn't seem like it takes a lot to
help them,
[1:36:58] you know, and at the end of the day, you
know, and and that nice lady, the lady
[1:37:02] from Carson Avenue who talked about the
cats, you wanted to talked about the
[1:37:06] cats being tortured in New York. Yeah, I
was right. Well, that's just the tip of
[1:37:11] the iceberg. What you didn't say was how
the people that
[1:37:16] have dogs that fight that they use the
cats to blood the dogs. So there, you
[1:37:22] know, that's another thing that needs to
be said. So you can't you can't thank
[1:37:27] these people enough for what they do.
And I think that this, you know, the
[1:37:32] administration should give them the
courtesy to sit down with them and hear
[1:37:37] them out. And I'll tell you what, just
like I said at the last meeting about
[1:37:42] 911, I want to talk about this until the
day I leave in December. Let's meet with
[1:37:48] them. you know, they're all volunteers.
Don't we talk about that all the time?
[1:37:54] All our volunteers
and you know, and they and they are
[1:37:57] providing an asset. So, my position is
we should help them. And I I'll only
[1:38:03] speak for myself.
All right. the administration and and
[1:38:08] the women up here, you know, they have
their own opinions, but I I think it
[1:38:13] would be more than an excellent idea to
sit down with Jeie,
[1:38:22] my neighbor.
I [laughter]
[1:38:26] » I also
>> and you know not for nothing but I know
[1:38:30] that when I had a problem once I did
call her and she provided a service
[1:38:36] because you know what people dump cats
all the time up in Columbus Circle
[1:38:42] but but thank you Madam President for
letting me speak.
[1:38:46] [applause]
>> I I also have to commend all of you for
[1:38:51] all the work that you do. It is not easy
and it is heartbreaking to hear. Um, and
[1:38:57] it is it's it's a lot of work and it
it's it's a thankless job and I thank
[1:39:02] you for all that you do for caring. I
also am an animal person. I just lost
[1:39:07] two of my cats as well which I did
rescue from from the street myself. So I
[1:39:12] do um care and I and um I agree with
Councilman uh Pucho here that I think
[1:39:18] the administration should be able to
help. you guys are providing service for
[1:39:24] the city and the city should in turn um
help as well whatever that we can do
[1:39:29] even if it's you know some something um
it does disturb me that we are getting
[1:39:35] complaints and this is not the first
time I've heard complaints about the
[1:39:38] shelter and since um I don't know if the
chief might want to say something about
[1:39:43] what we can do to improve
um
[1:39:49] the communication and and the service
that's being, you know, provided by our
[1:39:54] our own shelter. Um because they need
help. We need help. We need to
[1:39:58] collaborate. And I I highly agree with
that. Um the website so we have
[1:40:04] communication with them and with the
people.
[1:40:07] » Correct. And and and if we help each
other, maybe we can reduce the
[1:40:12] population of of the cats and we won't
have such a big problem. So I do I I do
[1:40:18] agree and hopefully we can work
something out and hopefully this
[1:40:21] administration would you know and and
the city would collaborate.
[1:40:27] » Okay. Um
>> yes.
[1:40:29] » Okay. So um I think the business
administrator have taken all this in.
[1:40:35] » Yeah. A lot of notes [laughter] a lot of
notes
[1:40:37] » and then um but we thank you for all the
work that is being done and um and
[1:40:43] throughout the city. But um I think
something that is the administration
[1:40:48] have to look into it and then have that
conversation with
[1:40:53] » also just want to make a comment as
well. Um we thank you for those those
[1:40:57] volunteers um reaching I know it's a lot
of work and dedication whether it's
[1:41:01] getting um calls from Facebook getting
text messages coming out of your own
[1:41:05] funds and those who are aren't even
volunteers who mentioned you know the
[1:41:09] the animals have just showed up in your
porch. So, we appreciate it and I agree
[1:41:13] with Councilman Bucho in terms of having
that open line of communication with the
[1:41:17] council and I'm working with the
administration to see what what can be
[1:41:21] done, what realistically can be done,
even reading more into Seerville and
[1:41:25] reading more into their program to learn
more. And I agree with our councilwoman
[1:41:30] as well, Miss Morales, opening that line
of communication because I know
[1:41:33] residents have called us in dire need
for the animal shelter. And we want that
[1:41:38] communication open because if if they
don't answer any of our calls, then
[1:41:42] what's the next step of communication?
Is it emails or showing up in person?
[1:41:45] Just working together so it's not it's
not so much of a battle. was working
[1:41:50] together to open open those lines of
transparency within us, helping the
[1:41:54] animals and helping the residents who
might need help that they can't even
[1:41:58] house the cats. I know that's a lot of,
you know, a lot of the issues as well.
[1:42:02] So, thank you for your knowledge and for
your, as I mentioned, your advocacy and
[1:42:07] may we just have communication here on
and out and may God bless all of you for
[1:42:11] all the work that you've done. It does
do the work does not go unnoticed.
[1:42:17] » Yes. And I have a very brief comment. Um
I just wanted to say it is amazing to
[1:42:22] see such a strong group of people here
today. I wish this was every meeting
[1:42:27] because unfortunately you know just like
you all do we have jobs too aside from
[1:42:32] this and we don't know of the issues
unless it is brought up to our attention
[1:42:36] and so we can address them right. So I
appreciate you guys coming out here
[1:42:40] today expressing your concerns and all
that you do. Um, and that is something
[1:42:45] that we will definitely look into. Thank
you.
[1:42:48] » Thank you. Okay, I need a motion to go
to close session. Move.
[1:42:53] » Uh, second the motion.
>> All in favor?
[1:42:57] » I against.
>> Okay, we're going to go to close
[1:43:00] session. After the close session, we'll
be back for the
[1:43:03] » council meeting.
>> Thank you.
[1:43:09] » Okay, we're back from close session. I
need a motion to return. Move.
[1:43:13] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[1:43:16] » I against.
>> Okay. I need a motion to adjurnn the
[1:43:19] » Council president clerk just reminded me
[1:43:22] if you just want to add that ordinance
back right now, we can we can just take
[1:43:26] it straight through.
>> Okay. So, before we close the
[1:43:31] the caucus meeting at the beginning, we
removed uh ordinance number
[1:43:37] » three, which is labeled four, but it is
three.
[1:43:42] um because we needed some information
while we were in close session. We got
[1:43:47] the information that we needed and we're
putting it back. So, I need a motion to
[1:43:52] bring it back.
>> Move.
[1:43:54] » I'll make a second.
>> Unanimous.
[1:43:58] » We're all
>> unanimous. You don't just need to do a
[1:44:00] roll call. No.
>> Okay. So, all in favor?
[1:44:04] » I against. Okay. So, now I need a motion
to adjurnn the caucus meeting.
[1:44:10] » Second. All in favor? I against.
>> Okay. So,
[1:44:18] good evening. This is the council
meeting for August 12, 2026. residing
[1:44:24] officer of the council lady Taheda
wishes to advise the audience that
[1:44:28] notice of this meeting has been filed
with the home news tribute in the star
[1:44:32] ledger and posted on the bulletin board
in the city clerk's office and on the
[1:44:37] city's website indicating that today's
meeting is being held in the council
[1:44:41] chamber city hall 260 high street right
after the caucus and close session right
[1:44:47] now is 8:30 council president Taha as a
courtesy of the governing body I will
[1:44:53] ask all individual present, including
members of the audience, to please turn
[1:44:58] off all cell phones and electronic
devices. Should you need to make a
[1:45:02] telephone call, please go out into the
hallway and speak in a low voice so as
[1:45:07] not to disturb the ongoing meeting. Roll
call, please.
[1:45:11] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista,
>> present.
[1:45:13] » Councilwoman Morales,
>> present.
[1:45:15] » Councilwoman Peralta,
>> present.
[1:45:17] » Council Puchio,
>> present.
[1:45:19] » Council President Tahada,
>> present. Let's stand for the invocation.
[1:45:23] And uh
[1:45:28] dear Lord, please watch over this
governing body. Provide us with the
[1:45:33] wisdom and the understanding of the
needs of our residents of our city.
[1:45:38] Also, we want to pray for our troops
wherever they are. also for our
[1:45:46] people in Colombia and Venezuela who
have been going through very rough time
[1:45:51] with the earth earthquakes.
And for our student who are now um still
[1:45:59] in on vacation, protect them and guide
them so they can come back to a a
[1:46:05] successful year back to school. Let's
pray for our troops wherever they're at
[1:46:11] abroad or at home for their family and
protect every single one of them and
[1:46:18] bring them home safely. Amen.
>> Amen.
[1:46:23] [clears throat]
>> I pledge algiance to the flag of the
[1:46:26] United States of America and to the
republic for it stands one nationy
[1:46:35] and justice of all.
>> [clears throat]
[1:46:43] » I want to ask everyone whoever is going
to speak to get close to the mic
[1:46:49] because it seems like um our people
cannot hear unless you get close. All
[1:46:55] right.
>> How's this good?
[1:46:57] » That's good. Mr. Pucho,
uh ordinance public hearing three
[1:47:03] minutes maximum per speaker per
ordinance number one. bond ordinance
[1:47:07] providing for the removal and
replacement of aators for the Running
[1:47:14] Water treatment plant in and by the city
of Perth Amboy in the county of Middle
[1:47:18] Sex, New Jersey appropriating
three mi $3,891,523
[1:47:26] therefore and authorizing the issuance
of 3,891,523
[1:47:32] bonds or notes of the city to finance
the cost thereof. I need a motion
[1:47:38] » second to the public.
>> All in favor?
[1:47:42] » I against anyone? Seeing none, I need a
motion to close public hearing.
[1:47:49] » Move. Second.
>> All in favor?
[1:47:52] » I
>> against I need a motion to adopt.
[1:47:56] » Move.
>> Second.
[1:47:59] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[1:48:02] » Councilwoman Morales.
>> Yes.
[1:48:04] » Councilwoman Peralta. Yes. Council
>> Puchio.
[1:48:07] » Yes.
>> Council President Dea.
[1:48:09] » Yes. Number two. An ordinance of the
city of Perth and Boy County of Middle
[1:48:12] Sex amending and supplementing the
general ordinances of the city. Chapter
[1:48:17] 430 zoning and land development article
10 parking to establish the requirements
[1:48:24] for payment in loop of parking. I need a
motion.
[1:48:29] Move it.
>> Open to the public.
[1:48:31] » Second.
>> All in favor? I
[1:48:34] » against.
>> Seeing none, I need a motion to close
[1:48:38] the public hearing.
>> Move it.
[1:48:40] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[1:48:42] » I against. I [snorts] need a motion to
adopt.
[1:48:46] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista,
[1:48:49] » yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales,
[1:48:52] » yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta,
[1:48:54] » yes.
>> Councilman Puchio,
[1:48:56] » yes.
>> Council President Dea,
[1:48:58] » yes. Agenda, public comment. Citizen may
address the council on any matter on the
[1:49:04] agenda which does not have its own
scheduled public hearing. Citizen shall
[1:49:09] be permitted to speak once for a maximum
of three minutes. I need a motion to
[1:49:14] open to the public.
>> Move it. Second.
[1:49:18] » All in favor? I
>> I against
[1:49:29] » [snorts]
[1:49:32] » Vince Mul live at 2:15 Sherin. Is it all
right to address the um a budget?
[1:49:40] » Uh the budget has its own
>> Yeah. public hearing.
[1:49:43] » You're going to include that. I'd like
to reinforce my
[1:49:48] um opinion and comments concerning that
something's
[1:49:53] uh being done. I'll call this week to
American with Disability organizations
[1:49:58] to ask why the um why the elevator has
not been installed at this point of time
[1:50:05] 2026.
That's basically
[1:50:09] » Thank you.
Anyone else? Seeing none, I need a
[1:50:15] motion to close public comments on
agenda items.
[1:50:19] » Move it.
>> Second.
[1:50:20] » All in favor? I against
uh minutes June 29, 2026 council
[1:50:28] meeting. I need a motion to approve the
minutes.
[1:50:31] » Move.
>> Second.
[1:50:34] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[1:50:36] » Councilwoman Morales,
>> abstain.
[1:50:39] » Councilwoman Peralta,
>> yes. Council Puchio,
[1:50:43] » yes.
>> Council President Tada,
[1:50:46] » yes. Reports. Fallen Beski tax collector
submitted the monthly report for
[1:50:51] collection for the month of June 2026.
Number two, Jill A. Goldis controller
[1:50:58] CFO submitted the following investment
report for June 2026.
[1:51:03] Check register report for the month of
June 2026 and the total amount of
[1:51:08] 12,981,66328.
[1:51:15] PKF O' Conor Davis submitted the report
for audit for years ended December 31st,
[1:51:22] 2025 and 2024.
Ordinance first reading, no public
[1:51:27] discussion. Number one, an ordinance of
the city of Perthboy to amend an
[1:51:32] ordinance entitle an ordinance
designating restricted parking spaces
[1:51:38] for use by handicapped persons.
Ordinance number 380-81
[1:51:42] and amendments adopted July 2nd 1985
also known as chapter 255 seek of the
[1:51:49] code of the city of Perth and boy and
this is about additions and deletions. I
[1:51:54] need a motion.
>> Move it.
[1:51:56] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[1:52:00] » Yes. [snorts]
>> Councilwoman Morales.
[1:52:03] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta.
[1:52:05] » Yes.
>> Council Puchio.
[1:52:07] » Yes.
>> Council President Tada.
[1:52:08] » Yes. Number two, an ordinance of amen to
amend an ordinance entitled vehicles and
[1:52:14] traffic ordinance number 194-78
as amended adopter September 19, 1978
[1:52:21] also known as chapter 414 seek of the
code of the city of Perth Amboy and this
[1:52:26] is about stop intersections and through
streets. I need a motion.
[1:52:31] » Move it.
>> Second.
[1:52:33] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[1:52:36] » Councilwoman Morales.
>> Yes. Councilwoman Peralta,
[1:52:39] » yes.
>> Councilman Puchio,
[1:52:40] » yes.
>> Council President Tahada,
[1:52:42] » yes. Number three, ordinance of the city
of Perth and boy county of Middle Sex
[1:52:48] approving certain amendments to the
focus 2020 redevelopment plan area one
[1:52:54] pursuant to the local redevelopment and
housing law. Um, Mr. Oppo, do you want
[1:53:00] to give like a little
um summary of what that entails?
[1:53:06] » Sure. Um these
[1:53:11] these proposed amendments uh relate to
uh what's known as the gateway area
[1:53:18] within the focus 2020 redevelopment
plan. Um as I become aware, a lot of
[1:53:23] people think that the gateway area just
refers to the area on Convy and Smith
[1:53:28] and Market Street. Uh however, it's a
it's a larger area within the city uh
[1:53:34] that's encompassed within the the
gateway area under focus 2020. So with
[1:53:39] regard to the two proposed areas within
the gateway that will be impacted by
[1:53:44] these amendments, it'll be uh certain
properties on Meuire Place and Fyat
[1:53:51] Street. And this will set the
development standards for development at
[1:53:55] those properties. Uh it's about it's
seven lots. It's um 428 FET Street and
[1:54:01] uh 361 and 371 Magguire Place are the uh
the street addresses. And then the other
[1:54:06] area is uh property along Conry
Boulevard and Cam Street. Uh it's five
[1:54:15] um five separate lots, but the the
street address is 717 Convary Boulevard.
[1:54:20] And again, same thing. It sets
development standards for those areas.
[1:54:24] Right now, there's no proposed
development projects. Nobody has really
[1:54:28] reached out to the city to um you know
propose building anything there. There's
[1:54:34] a number of different uses. There's
residential uses. There's restaurant
[1:54:37] uses. There's commercial and
recreational uses that are proposed. So
[1:54:42] um there are properties that are that
have met that you've designated as areas
[1:54:46] need of redevelopment and these uh these
amendments will will set development
[1:54:50] standards for anybody who wants to
consider a project in those areas.
[1:54:54] » Thank you. I need a motion.
>> Move it.
[1:54:58] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[1:55:01] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales.
[1:55:03] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta.
[1:55:05] » Yes.
>> Council Puchio.
[1:55:07] » Yes.
>> Council President Tahada.
[1:55:08] » Yes. Number four. Ordinance of the city
council of the city of Perthamboy County
[1:55:13] of Middle Sex, New Jersey, authorizing
the acquisition of the property
[1:55:18] designated on the tax maps of of the
city of Perth Amboy as black 399.27 27
[1:55:26] lot 41 commonly known as 564 North Park
Drive for a public purpose pursuant to
[1:55:34] NJSA
48 column 12-5 and NJSA
[1:55:40] 20 column 3-1
I need a motion
[1:55:45] » second
>> councilwoman Cruz Batista
[1:55:49] » yes
>> councilwoman Morales
[1:55:51] » yes
>> councilwoman Peralta
[1:55:53] » yes
>> council Puchio Yes. Council
[1:55:56] » President Dega.
>> Yes. Number five. Ordinance of the city
[1:55:59] of Perth Amboy County of Middle Sex, New
Jersey, authorizing the acquisition of
[1:56:03] the property designated on the tax maps
of the city of Perthboy as black 127 LAT
[1:56:10] 15, commonly known as 329-331
High Street for public purposes pursuant
[1:56:18] to NJSA48
column 12-5
[1:56:22] and NJS20
column 3-1.
[1:56:27] I need a motion.
>> Move it.
[1:56:30] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[1:56:33] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales.
[1:56:36] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta.
[1:56:38] » Yes.
>> Council Puchio.
[1:56:39] » Yes.
>> Council President Tada.
[1:56:41] » Yes. Uh number six, an ordinance of the
city of Perthboy Middle Sex County, New
[1:56:46] Jersey to amend an ordinance entitled
Vehicles and Traffic Ordinance number
[1:56:52] 194-768
as amended. adopted September 19th,
[1:56:57] 1978, also known as chapter 414 s of the
code of the city of Perth Amboy. And
[1:57:04] this is about loading zone Cland Street
location. I need a motion move.
[1:57:10] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[1:57:13] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales,
[1:57:15] » yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta,
[1:57:17] » yes.
>> Councilman Puchio,
[1:57:19] » yes.
>> Council President Tahada,
[1:57:21] » yes. Resolution R 297826
authorizing the reading of the 2026
[1:57:28] budget by the title only. I need a
motion.
[1:57:32] » Move.
>> Second.
[1:57:34] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[1:57:37] » Councilwoman Morales.
>> Yes.
[1:57:39] » Councilwoman Peralta.
>> Yes.
[1:57:41] » Council Puchia.
>> Yes.
[1:57:42] » Council President Tada.
>> Yes. and CFO Goldie will
[1:57:49] will do the pleasure to read it.
[laughter]
[1:58:01] » Thank you, Council President.
The 2026 budget for the city of Perth
[1:58:06] Amboy. The general budget. Uh the
following are the revenue categories by
[1:58:11] title.
Usage of surplus 6,342,456.13.
[1:58:20] Am I loud enough?
>> I don't know. That mic is a little low.
[1:58:25] » Is that better?
>> That's better.
[1:58:27] » Okay. [clears throat]
Total miscellaneous revenues
[1:58:31] 25,919,61.39.
[1:58:37] Receipts from delinquent taxes $41,000.
Even
[1:58:42] local tax for municipal purposes
68,6,174.58.
[1:58:51] The minimum library tax 1,897,82.114.
[1:58:59] The total amount to be raised by taxes
for support of the municipal budget
[1:59:03] 69,93,976.72.
[1:59:10] giving us total revenues for general
purposes
[1:59:14] 102,26,49424.
[1:59:22] The appropriations for 2026.
Operating expenses for salaries and
[1:59:27] wages 39,80,314.17.
[1:59:34] Operating expenses for other expenses
40,171,135.15.
[1:59:44] Deferred charges and other
appropriations
[1:59:47] 11,557,797.32.
[1:59:54] Capital improvements $392,000.
Even
[2:00:00] debt service 10,95,24760.
[2:00:08] Reserve for uncollected taxes $100,000
even bringing us to total general
[2:00:15] appropriations
$12,26,49424
[2:00:23] and the total number of budgeted
employees for the general budget 504.
[2:00:30] We then go to the 2026 dedicated water
wastewater utility budget. Revenues
[2:00:36] surplus anticipated $330,750.
[2:00:43] Miscellaneous revenues 29,265,854.17
[2:00:51] giving us total revenues for the water
wastewater utility 29,596,64.17.
[2:01:01] The appropriations for the water
wastewater utility budget. Operating
[2:01:06] expenses for salaries and wages 317,666.
[2:01:13] Operating expenses other expenses
15,323,9489.
[2:01:23] Capital improvements 1,710,000.
Even debt service 11,846
[2:01:34] I'm sorry 11,845,63
[2:01:39] deferred charges and other
appropriations 68,63628
[2:01:47] and surplus for the general budget
$330,750
[2:01:53] bringing total appropriations to 29,59.
96,64.17
[2:02:01] and the total budgeted employees for the
water wastewater utility is four.
[2:02:07] Next we have our 2026 dedicated parking
utility budget. Under revenues, surplus
[2:02:13] anticipated $176,423.
[2:02:19] Miscellaneous revenues 1,34,000
even for total revenues of 1,210,423.
[2:02:30] Under appropriations for the parking
utility budget, operating expenses for
[2:02:35] salaries and wages, $478,393.
[2:02:40] Operating expenses for other expenses
$69,136.
[2:02:47] Debt service $122,894.
[2:02:53] Bringing us to total appropriations for
parking utility 1,210,423
[2:03:01] and the total number of budgeted
employees is 11.
[2:03:06] Lastly, the 2026 dedicated marina
utility budget under revenues surplus
[2:03:12] anticipated $13,368.96.
[2:03:18] Miscellaneous revenues $417,700.
[2:03:23] Even total revenues $431,68.96.
[2:03:31] And then under appropriations for the
Marina utility, operating expenses for
[2:03:35] salaries and wages, $116,578.
[2:03:41] Operating expenses for other expenses,
$270,380.96.
[2:03:49] Debt service $44,110.
[2:03:53] giving us total appropriations for the
dedicated marina utility budget
[2:03:57] $431,68.96
[2:04:02] and the total number of employees
budgeted for the marina are two
[2:04:08] » thank you very much
>> I also want to thank you for all the
[2:04:13] effort that you did to get this budget
balanced um you and everybody else but
[2:04:18] you are the main
>> person welcome it's my pleasure
[2:04:23] Thank you. Um, Mr.
Brian Brian.
[2:04:29] » Sure. Yes. Thank you, Council President.
>> I'm just going to do a real quick uh
[2:04:36] slide presentation. You're used to it by
now. Uh, they're pretty much um some of
[2:04:41] the slides that have been talked about
at the last two meetings. Um so um thank
[2:04:47] you for the opportunity, council
president, members of the council, um
[2:04:50] residents and and members of our city
team who are still here. And um you
[2:04:55] know, as we reach the final public
hearing uh with the 2026 municipal
[2:05:00] budget, just want to take a few moments
to provide some administrative
[2:05:03] perspective on the work that brought us
here and what this budget represents for
[2:05:08] the city. It has not been an ordinary
budget year. Um, in my experience in
[2:05:14] other municipalities and I'm sure your
experience here in Perth Amboy, this
[2:05:18] definitely was not an ordinary year. Uh,
we entered 2026 continuing to address
[2:05:23] the operational and financial
consequences of the October cyber
[2:05:27] incident
which significantly disrupted um access
[2:05:32] to our financial, payroll, purchasing
and budget systems. At the same time, we
[2:05:37] faced increasing pension obligations,
utility and f fuel costs, uh technology,
[2:05:43] cyber expenses, contra contractual
obligations, and the same inflationary
[2:05:48] pressures affecting families and
businesses throughout our community.
[2:05:52] Also, you uh experienced a new
administrator through this process uh
[2:05:56] which uh interrupted things too. Those
circumstances made the process more
[2:06:01] difficult, but they also made it more
important that we took the time
[2:06:06] necessary to get this budget right. And
we did get this right. Thanks to as
[2:06:11] council president said earlier, uh uh
the great guidance of our CFO Joe
[2:06:16] Goldie, um the finance team, the
department heads, uh and and especially
[2:06:22] the leadership and guidance of this
council and Mayor Cava. Um without that
[2:06:27] uh none of it would have been possible.
From the beginning, Mayor Cabba gave us
[2:06:32] clear directions. Uh protect essential
services,
[2:06:37] um prioritize public safety,
continue investing in the city,
[2:06:42] strengthen our financial and operational
foundation, and remain mindful of the
[2:06:47] burden placed on taxpayers. George, this
isn't going
[2:07:02] But it's okay. Yeah, just turned it off
and turn it back on.
[2:07:08] Let you do that. So basically
[2:07:13] this was a very transparent process and
we're grateful to have been able to
[2:07:18] provide that. Starting with before the
budget getting the uh department heads
[2:07:23] you know together we reviewed
departmental operations and requests. We
[2:07:27] examined revenues and expenditures. We
evaluated staffing contracts equipment
[2:07:32] technology capital obligations and
service needs. We worked through
[2:07:36] financial reconciliations following the
cyber disruption, coordinated with our
[2:07:41] professionals and with the state and
where questions were raised, we worked
[2:07:46] to provide the documentation necessary
to support the city's financial
[2:07:50] position.
Throughout the process, we came back to
[2:07:54] the basic question. What value are we
providing to the residents of Perth
[2:07:58] Amboy for the dollars we are asking them
to invest? That's a standard that should
[2:08:03] be applied to every municipal budget and
it's a standard that Jill and I and
[2:08:07] mayor, this council uh uh stood by.
The costs that we uh
[2:08:16] experienced are the same costs that
you're experiencing every other
[2:08:19] municipality experienced. Okay, good.
That's good. So pension must be funded,
[2:08:24] contractual obligations must be honored,
utilities must be paid, debt must be
[2:08:27] serviced, technology systems must be
protected, police, firefighters, public
[2:08:32] workers, uh, inspectors, rec staff, and
many other professionals who provide
[2:08:36] municipal services must have the
resources necessary to do their jobs.
[2:08:41] Our responsibility is to manage those
obligations carefully while making
[2:08:44] deliberate choices about where
additional investment is warranted. And
[2:08:50] I believe this budget does that.
Protecting services and investing in the
[2:08:53] city. The 2026 budget protects the
fundamental services our residents rely
[2:08:58] on uh while continuing important
investments in Perth Amboy.
[2:09:03] One of the uh most important parts of
this was making it a more transparent
[2:09:08] process that
so we made a conscious decision that
[2:09:13] introducing the budget should not be the
end of the explanation. It should be the
[2:09:18] beginning of the public conversation. We
provided the council and residents with
[2:09:22] detailed budget information and
departmental operational operating
[2:09:26] budget. We publicly explained the major
financial pressures affecting the city.
[2:09:31] And on uh July 28th, we conducted public
departmental budget hearings involving
[2:09:37] the police, fire, public works, human
services, and code enforcement. Uh those
[2:09:42] hearings were very important to give you
an understanding of those five major
[2:09:47] budgets that don't just deal that take
it beyond the numbers and deal with the
[2:09:53] services that are provided for our
residents uh that justify those costs.
[2:09:59] Our directors had an opportunity to
explain directly to council and to the
[2:10:03] public what their departments do, what
they accomplish, the challenges they
[2:10:06] face, how resources are being used, and
what they are working to accomplish
[2:10:10] next.
We asked questions, the council asked
[2:10:14] questions, members of the public asked
questions, and they were able to get
[2:10:18] answers directly. So, the municipal
budget, as we've talked about, Mrs.
[2:10:24] Glance, is it's a 4.587
increase to the municipal tax levy.
[2:10:31] That equates to a $21327
estimated annual municipal impact. Uh
[2:10:39] and that's per year obviously. Um that's
based on the average assessed value of
[2:10:44] $250,900.
So it's a $17.77
[2:10:49] impact monthly for our residents. And
that's just the municipal portion.
[2:10:54] That's the only portion we control.
So
[2:10:58] this is um
what we talk about is it's important to
[2:11:03] just not only talk about the increase,
but talk about what went into the
[2:11:07] increase. And the important here is, you
know, Jill and I worked together on this
[2:11:13] and Jill came up with a good way of
allowing the residents to understand
[2:11:18] this part. So the primary drivers of the
2026 municipal tax levy increase um are
[2:11:24] attributable to a limited number of
significant cost drivers, many of which
[2:11:27] are either statemandated or necessary
investments to protect essential
[2:11:32] municipal operations and public
services. So as we talked about and we
[2:11:36] showed in the first presentation that
behind the scenes the professionals talk
[2:11:41] about cents. So this was a 9 cent
municipal tax increase. So over seven uh
[2:11:48] of those cents are attributed to the
five major factors. Technology
[2:11:52] modernization and cyber security
responses 577,000.
[2:11:57] So following the cyber incident, the
2026 budget includes approximately
[2:12:02] 462,000 for critical technology
infrastructure, cyber security,
[2:12:07] software, hardware, and system security
enhancements together with 115,000 for
[2:12:12] specialized staffing and technical
expertise needed to strengthen the
[2:12:16] city's cyber resilience and protect
municipal operations. [clears throat]
[2:12:21] So that's about 1.6 cents. Utility and
fuel costs about 385,000.
[2:12:26] Your gas is going up. Our gas is going
up. There's there's no difference. And
[2:12:30] our gas is probably going up even more
because you're able to shop it around.
[2:12:34] We have to choose one which they they
know they're getting uh uh that we have
[2:12:40] to choose that gas um uh company. Um
estimated tax uh impact is 1 cent on
[2:12:48] that and that you know includes your
electricity uh natural gas, water fuel
[2:12:53] and other utility related costs um as
well as the gas prices. Debt service
[2:13:00] capital investment 300,000 uh that's
about 1 cent. Increased debt service
[2:13:04] reflects the city's continued investment
in critical infrastructure, equipment,
[2:13:08] long-term capital improvements that
preserve public assets, support future
[2:13:12] growth. Salary and wages 432,000. That's
about 1.2 cents, primarily attributable
[2:13:18] to negotiated collective bargaining
agreements, contractual wage
[2:13:22] adjustments, and other personnel
obligations necessary to maintain
[2:13:27] municipal operations and service
delivery. Uh the last category which is
[2:13:32] a big one is statemandated pension
contributions 715,000
[2:13:36] that uh estimated tax rate impact is 2
cents. So pension costs increase
[2:13:42] significantly in 2026 driving driven
largely by a 622,000
[2:13:47] increase in the police and fire
retirement system contributions required
[2:13:52] by the state of New Jersey. the uh
people who put into that uh those funds
[2:13:59] deserve to receive uh funding when they
retire. The promise needs to be kept and
[2:14:05] we as a municipality have to continue
and make sure we maintain that promise.
[2:14:09] But it's at a cost two cents of this uh
9-cent increase. [clears throat]
[2:14:15] So collectively, these five cost drivers
account for approximately seven of the
[2:14:19] nine cents municipal tax increase. The
remaining increase is distributed across
[2:14:24] numerous operating departments and
reflects the cumulative effect of
[2:14:28] inflation, higher operating expenses,
contractual obligations, insurance
[2:14:32] supplies, and other costs required to
maintain the high level of municipal
[2:14:36] services residents rely upon every day.
[2:14:43] This is a breakdown of understanding
your um uh budget or the tax increase.
[2:14:50] So, the municipal portion is 4.58%.
Um,
[2:14:55] municipal that's $213 that we said.
Library is a $23 increase. County $143
[2:15:01] increase. Open space $20 increase.
Schools $178 increase. So, total uh
[2:15:07] increase is roughly about $577. All we
control is 37% of that or the municipal
[2:15:14] portion equates to 37% of uh uh the
increase. The rest is all those other
[2:15:20] entities which we all we do is uh
provide the tax bill for them and
[2:15:27] collect tax dollars for them. We have no
control over the school budget, the
[2:15:31] county budget, open space or library.
Those are mandated.
[2:15:39] So alto together this is a budget that
is responsible and responsive and tried
[2:15:45] to maintain what we were uh our goal of
making sure that um the residents are
[2:15:52] served that we were providing the public
safety aspect for our residents and
[2:15:57] making sure that um we are doing what
we're supposed to do for you um and we
[2:16:03] are doing it responsibly. So the 20 26
budget it's it's you know more than just
[2:16:11] numbers as hopefully this shows. It's
promises that we keep to serve you and
[2:16:16] hopefully you're you're feeling those
services every day. Um,
[2:16:21] you know, before I close out and, you
know, let this get to uh, uh, the public
[2:16:27] hearing a vote, I just want to say that,
you know, we appreciate
[2:16:34] everybody who is involved in this
process. Jill, uh, of course, the
[2:16:39] finance department, all of the
department heads, particularly the city
[2:16:43] council and Mayor Cabba for their
leadership in all of this, but most
[2:16:47] importantly, the residents, as Mayor
Cava said it earlier, the residents who
[2:16:51] called um, gave questions,
gave advice, reached out to the city
[2:16:57] council, uh, gave advice and and
thoughts uh, to uh, this budget. It
[2:17:03] means a lot. So, it means accountability
for us. It means efficiency. It means
[2:17:08] teamwork. And above all, it means
results for you. So, we really
[2:17:12] appreciate everything. And um we've
accomplished a great deal to this point
[2:17:17] and we're going to accomplish more as we
go through this year. Um and I'm
[2:17:21] confident that working together we will
do that. Thank you very much, Council
[2:17:25] President.
>> Thank you.
[2:17:28] Okay.
So now public hearing on the um calendar
[2:17:34] year 2026 municipal budget. Um I need a
motion to open to the public.
[2:17:41] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[2:17:44] » I against Okay, it's open to the public
about the budget.
[2:17:54] » Vince Miel, 215 Sheridan Street. During
your um presentation to the different
[2:18:01] departments,
um council member Peralta
[2:18:07] asked the fire chief um were there any
um challenges that he foresees going
[2:18:13] forward uh in the new year or whatever.
I don't think he's here at this time,
[2:18:19] but I'd like to address that. I think
his answer was that overtime would be
[2:18:25] one challenge. I do believe I question
it, maybe you could question it
[2:18:30] yourself, whether Woodbridge closing the
uh CaseB firehouse would be some sort of
[2:18:39] challenge going forward to the future.
The city has a lot of developments along
[2:18:44] the uh Smith Street corridor and I think
that you need to be safe about and
[2:18:52] protect the residents of the city. I
like to second of all I heard the public
[2:18:59] works director I think he was thorough
and th those men work hard that's why
[2:19:05] and why do I say that I've seen that in
the morning when they pick up garbage
[2:19:10] I've seen that in cleaning the parks and
being respectful I like to say there the
[2:19:16] park is being used right now sure by
trainers so I'd like to uh say that
[2:19:21] directly that those gentle and work
hard. I did not see exactly how many um
[2:19:29] staff or how many workers he actually
had during his presentation.
[2:19:34] So th those are something I addressed.
Uh the third point is according to uh
[2:19:41] the record I see there is much
accumulated leave time that's due people
[2:19:47] who are major administrators the fire
chief the police chief the uh human
[2:19:54] service director in terms of almost a
half a year to do them. The city has to
[2:20:00] be responsible and understand how
programs can go forward if these people
[2:20:06] unfortunately lose uh through sicknesses
or something that they have to take time
[2:20:12] off. Uh specifically say to human
service we have a rent board that needs
[2:20:18] vivid support thorough support for the
city. I've yet to see that the city is
[2:20:24] going to do that in significant ways.
That evidence by that is is there was a
[2:20:32] recent uh case and that that case should
be actually before us by this time but
[2:20:39] it's being put off because there is not
enough concern or enough human capital
[2:20:46] being put into that. I know that the
city has uh moved ahead towards you
[2:20:52] utilizing Ruckers University as a
resource for human service office and
[2:20:58] that could be rent. I compleimement that
because the city thoroughly needs to get
[2:21:04] on board with protecting the renters and
the landlords.
[2:21:10] » Thank you. Anyone else on the budget?
[2:21:19] Uh, hello. My name is Hector Gonzalez,
477 Market Street. I have a question
[2:21:24] here. Uh, it says 4.8. The municipal
came out to $213.
[2:21:30] How come the library is not included
with that? How come it's in like in a
[2:21:33] different slide,
>> C?
[2:21:37] Sorry.
>> Okay. Do you want to let him finish and
[2:21:40] then you can address every question you
got?
[2:21:42] » Okay.
>> Go ahead. Are you done? The second part
[2:21:45] about that is
>> I see you have the county, the open
[2:21:49] space and the school. Uh could it can
make that a little simpler and could all
[2:21:54] that be adding the total percentage that
the taxes is going up? Because over here
[2:21:58] it's like hard to figure out like what's
it when you add all this up what's the
[2:22:04] total? Is it over 10% 9%? How much is
it? That's all I got to ask. Thank you
[2:22:10] very much.
>> Thanks. Um, as far as the uh library,
[2:22:14] the state mandates the library cost. So,
the tax isn't set. We don't change the
[2:22:19] tax uh on the library. We have no
control over that. That's why it's
[2:22:23] broken out separately. Um, and that all
of the other ones are broken out
[2:22:27] separately because we have no control
over that. All we have control over is
[2:22:30] the 4.587%.
That's what we have control over.
[2:22:39] if they do that library, the county
[2:22:46] » I think it was on the slide.
>> Yeah, I had it. I think it was like
[2:22:50] seven or eight%. I forget what it was.
>> I if I may, I actually have
[2:22:55] » Okay.
>> Uh the overall percentage uh we use the
[2:22:59] average assessment for residential
property of $250,900.
[2:23:06] um they would see a 7.24%
increase overall.
[2:23:11] » Oh,
>> yeah.
[2:23:15] » Thank you. Anyone else?
>> Seeing none, I need a motion to close uh
[2:23:22] public hearing.
>> Move.
[2:23:24] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[2:23:27] » I against We're going to wait for um
>> Stacy. She had to step out for a little
[2:23:33] bit. She'll be right back.
[2:23:44] » Council President, just so you're aware,
the uh CFO advised that the state has
[2:23:48] approved the budget for adoption.
>> Yeah, that's the part that I wanted to
[2:23:56] resolution.
This is the one from December.
[2:24:13] Mr. Opal,
>> don't sign it.
[2:24:14] » This is
[2:24:25] sir.
>> Time is up for
[2:24:30] Thank you, sir.
[2:24:38] Okay.
[2:24:41] » Oh, sure. Uh, council president, I just
want to advise that we did clear through
[2:24:46] with the division of local government
services on the review of the budget and
[2:24:50] we are cleared to adopt uh should you
choose to do so this evening.
[2:24:55] » Thank you.
Okay. Um R 2988266
[2:25:01] adopting the calendar year 2026
municipal budget. I need a motion.
[2:25:09] » Second.
>> Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
[2:25:14] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Morales.
[2:25:16] » Yes.
>> Councilwoman Peralta.
[2:25:19] » Yes.
>> Councilman Puchio.
[2:25:21] » Yes.
>> Council President Tada.
[2:25:23] » Yes. Okay. That will eliminate 299.
Correct?
[2:25:28] » Yes. Um so we don't need 299 which will
be authorizing an emergency temporary
[2:25:34] since it was adopted. Now we don't need
that. Um our 299
[2:25:42] » just cross that out.
>> Yes.
[2:25:47] » Okay. So
I know Miss Bucho which one is your
[2:25:52] » I'm going to tell you right now. Uh,
which what number is it? 328.
[2:25:56] » Uh, 328 326.
[2:26:02] » 328 326. Okay. So, does any We'll do
that one separate. Um, anyone else wants
[2:26:10] to do some separate?
>> No.
[2:26:12] » Okay. So,
>> are you good?
[2:26:15] » Yep.
>> Okay. So the consent agenda is R 3826
[2:26:23] through
R 325,
[2:26:28] 326 and 327 were taking out and R 329
through
[2:26:37] R 334826.
I need a motion.
[2:26:41] » Move it
>> for the consent agenda. Second.
[2:26:46] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[2:26:48] » Councilwoman Morales.
>> Yes.
[2:26:50] » Councilwoman Peralta.
>> Yes.
[2:26:52] » Council Puchio.
>> Yes.
[2:26:54] » Council President Tahada.
>> Yes. Okay. Mr. Pucho, I give you the mic
[2:27:00] for 328.
>> Thank you, Madam President.
[2:27:04] » Okay. Get close to the mic.
>> I'm going to do that right now. How's
[2:27:08] that?
>> Good.
[2:27:09] » Okay. Good.
Uh back in December,
[2:27:13] uh we passed an ordinance uh honoring
the people that were assigned to ground
[2:27:19] zero. And at that time, I was under the
belief it was six police officers.
[2:27:25] And come to find out during the course
of the last several months that I missed
[2:27:31] somebody.
>> Okay. So I'm going to read the
[2:27:34] resolution again if you don't if I have
that and
[2:27:39] I will include his name.
Resolution of the city of Perth. Uh
[2:27:45] resolution number R 328826.
Resolution of the city of Perthboy
[2:27:50] County of Middle Sex, New Jersey
recognizing the 25th anniversary of
[2:27:55] September 11, 2001 and rescending R514
1225.
[2:28:03] Whereas nearly 3,000 civilians were
killed in the attacks on September 11,
[2:28:07] 2001.
Whereas the fire department, police
[2:28:11] department, first responders, government
workers, emergency personnel, volunteers
[2:28:16] respond immedely to horrify those
horrific events. Whereas New York City
[2:28:21] suffered the loss of 400 first
responders, 343
[2:28:27] uh
fatalities involving the fire
[2:28:30] department. September 11, 2001 is the
largest loss of life in the emergency
[2:28:36] response in United States history. Now,
Perth Amboy answered the call, whereas
[2:28:41] the city of Perth Damboy also lost two
community members that day, Isaiah
[2:28:46] Rivera and police officer Richard
Rodriguez. And I just like to note that,
[2:28:53] you know, I don't think the city or the
council or anyone would ever forget the
[2:28:57] sacrifice that Richie Rodriguez made on
that day. And this resolution doesn't
[2:29:03] reflect any of of to discredit him in
any way, but always to honor him.
[2:29:11] But
there when Perth Amboy answered the
[2:29:15] call, the following first responders
were told to go to ground zero.
[2:29:21] And they were from the police
department. Miguel Pellet Jr., Eddie
[2:29:26] Padilla, Frank Zeg, Carlos Jimn, Carmelo
Gimenez, John Marino senior, Richard
[2:29:33] Zeleleski, and the person that I missed
the first time, Steven Kla.
[2:29:38] from the fire department. Abraham Petri,
God rest his soul, Brian Clearary, Steve
[2:29:44] Bargo, Robert Coochie, John Reyes, Scott
Burski,
[2:29:49] Timothy Gaul, Robert Anderson, Mike
Anderson, Brian Kenny, Robert Morowski,
[2:29:57] Anton Wamichek,
Aaron Zolinowski, and George Miller. And
[2:30:02] it should be also noted on this night
that there are several people that I've
[2:30:08] mentioned here that are ill from their
exposure at ground zero.
[2:30:16] Whereas the impact of that day on public
health continues throughout 2026 as
[2:30:20] thousands of people are at risk or
suffering from negative health effects
[2:30:24] as a result of the events of September
11th.
[2:30:28] Whereas nearly 25 years later, the
people of United States and around the
[2:30:33] world continue to mourn the tremendous
loss of innocent life
[2:30:37] on that fateful day. Now therefore be
resolved that the mayor city council of
[2:30:41] the city of Perth and boy will recognize
2026 the 25th anniversary of those
[2:30:48] events on September 11, 2001 and offer
their deepest and most sincere
[2:30:53] condolences to the family and friends
and loved ones of the innocent victims
[2:30:58] who lost that were lost that day. Honor
the heroic service, actions, and
[2:31:03] sacrifice of first responders,
law enforcement personnel, state and
[2:31:08] local officials, volunteers, and
countless others who aided the innocent
[2:31:12] victims of those attacks in doing so
bravely and risked their own and gave
[2:31:16] their lives. And there were other people
that went on their own and were
[2:31:20] assigned. One of them is Chief Katano,
who went not only because Richie's wife
[2:31:28] needed to find out what was going on
with Richie, but Chief Katano went
[2:31:34] Joanne, Captain Joanne Marx, Billy
Dylan,
[2:31:39] Billy Tent,
uh just to name a few that went on their
[2:31:43] own. Frankie Cruz, I you know, I wish I
could have known more. the volunteer
[2:31:48] firefighters from the city of Perth boy
that went.
[2:31:52] So, you know, at the end of the day, it
wasn't just the people that were
[2:31:55] assigned, there were volunteers that
went.
[2:31:59] So, be further resolved that on the 25th
anniversary of this tragic day, the
[2:32:05] mayor and city council of the city of
Perth and boy will call upon all
[2:32:09] citizens of Perth and boy to observe a
moment of remembrance on September 11,
[2:32:14] 2026. Thank you, Madam President.
>> Okay, I need a motion.
[2:32:19] » Move it.
>> Second.
[2:32:22] » Councilwoman Cruz Batista.
>> Yes.
[2:32:26] » Councilwoman Morales,
>> yes.
[2:32:28] » Councilwoman Peralta,
>> yes.
[2:32:30] » Council Puchio,
>> yes.
[2:32:32] » Council President Dea,
>> yes.
[2:32:35] » All right. We had communication that we
spoke about late
[2:32:40] earlier. Uh, also we had the close
session. Now we go to public portion.
[2:32:46] Three minutes maximum per speaker. I
need a motion to open to the public on
[2:32:51] any matter.
>> Move.
[2:32:53] » Second.
>> All in favor?
[2:32:54] » I against
[2:33:06] Vince Miel 215 Sherton Street. Tonight
you appropriated from a bond over $3
[2:33:13] million for air raator at the Renion
Watershed.
[2:33:18] I think that's indication the city is
moving forward
[2:33:23] with trying to get better water and to
service the people who need that. That's
[2:33:31] from my point of view. The residents are
a major part of why we need better water
[2:33:37] in Perth Amboy. Our council member
Puchio
[2:33:42] elated alluded earlier in the meeting
how he's concerned directly asking
[2:33:48] Middle Sex water questions about why
there was a lower water pressure and it
[2:33:53] it was murky. I experienced it myself. I
took a I don't want to show you but I
[2:33:59] have a a camera view of of the water in
that. So I think that's u important as
[2:34:07] United States citizens here in Perth and
boy we need water for our own use to
[2:34:13] wash our bodies and to be able to drink
some of it not be in danger. I like to
[2:34:19] point out one thing that I saw in the
budget was if there's any agreement that
[2:34:26] the city has in shared service provided
I like to I think you should provide it.
[2:34:32] I think it's demonstration tonight
amongst the animal uh service people
[2:34:38] cats I mean that uh in deserving of
their service to the community something
[2:34:44] should be done to provide uh them with
uh a minimal uh compensation for the
[2:34:50] duties that they're doing. I see cats in
my area as well. And I think the
[2:34:56] sensitivity that I felt in listening to
that group was uh real. So again, um
[2:35:04] here's the sheets that I saw shared. Uh
is there anyone that was filled out in
[2:35:09] the budget? Does the city have any
shared service agreements uh at all?
[2:35:15] Uh so and I think it's important as I
address the um the situation with the
[2:35:23] fire house closing in the Kisby area
that the fire chief would probably say
[2:35:31] this that there has been uh uh and I've
only lived in Perth Amway for 13 years
[2:35:38] so maybe I don't have all the
information but I'm sure there's been
[2:35:43] consistent
communication with the Woodbridge. Uh
[2:35:47] I'm a health care worker. I know people
interact in various uh facilities in in
[2:35:54] this town in Perth Amboy. It's some
something to investigate sometimes.
[2:35:59] Thank you.
>> Thank you. Anyone else?
[2:36:04] Seeing none,
I need a motion to close public portion.
[2:36:09] » Move.
>> Second.
[2:36:11] » All in favor? I
>> I against
[2:36:14] Okay. Council comments. Councilwoman
Bruce Batista.
[2:36:19] » Good evening everyone and thank you so
much for those who have participated.
[2:36:23] And I do want to say thank you to
Councilman Puchio for reading resolution
[2:36:28] 328 and for your advocacy and and chief
as well and all the officers and all
[2:36:34] those who were there at the line of
duty.
[2:36:38] Um, I know that September 11th is coming
up, so it's it's crucial to remember
[2:36:42] those who gave the ultimate sacrifice
and we pray for those who are continuing
[2:36:48] to to feel the ramifications and the
effect of of what occurred that day and
[2:36:52] I know that our council president was
there as well that day um on September
[2:36:58] 11th. Um, additionally, I just want to
say thank you as well for the budget. It
[2:37:02] was a very transparent budget and here
we are. Thank you so much. And just as
[2:37:07] summer is approaching and I'm finishing
up, just keep in touch with all the
[2:37:12] events that are occurring. And that's
pretty much it. Have a good evening
[2:37:14] everyone and stay safe.
>> Thank you, Councilwoman Morales.
[2:37:19] » Um, just want to also thank everyone
again that came and participated. uh
[2:37:25] especially also to that group um that
with the with the cats um that it was uh
[2:37:33] great to see them here uh voicing out
their uh concerns and and opinion. Um I
[2:37:39] just wanted to say I know he's not here
anymore but he was here earlier. I
[2:37:43] wanted to wish uh miss our deputy mayor
Miguel Morales. I mean Morales.
[2:37:48] » Hello.
>> No, Miguel Aro. It was his birthday
[2:37:52] today. Um wishing him a happy birthday.
Uh congrats to Isabelle Partardo. I mean
[2:37:58] I love hearing and and you know having
them being presented by Citation. Um
[2:38:04] these are the children of our future and
they're such great inspiration for other
[2:38:09] children um as well. Um They're shaping
our future. You know, they're great
[2:38:15] model to others. Um, and congratulations
to the United Dominican um of Pamboy
[2:38:22] organization. You guys put together
another um wonderful festival. I was
[2:38:27] able to attend on Sunday and wow the the
turnout and and I'm sure you guys are
[2:38:32] exhausted
>> and the challenges with the weather and
[2:38:34] and everything, but it's people still
came out and had a great time. Um, and
[2:38:40] wow, the turnout was was phenomenal.
Great job. Kudos to you guys. Um, also,
[2:38:47] uh, just a reminder, um, we have the
ebike ordinance in effect now, right,
[2:38:53] Chief? And how is that going? Is
everything,
[2:38:57] you know, going okay? Hopefully
everything's going okay with that. Um, I
[2:39:02] know that's probably going to be some
challenges, you know, because it's still
[2:39:06] fairly new, but hopefully everybody gets
to understand that, uh, that is very
[2:39:11] important, you know, the safety of
everyone. And last, but not least,
[2:39:16] summer is ending
and, um, unfortunately,
[2:39:21] uh, school is around the corner and so
just, um, check the websites for more
[2:39:27] events coming up. I'm sure we still have
a lot coming up. And um that's it until
[2:39:32] our next meeting in September. Have a
good evening everyone.
[2:39:36] » Thank you Councilwoman Peralta.
>> Good evening everyone. I'm going to
[2:39:41] piggy back off of Councilwoman Morales.
Um I just wanted to say um thank you to
[2:39:49] all of those that attended to the
Dominican Festival. The United
[2:39:52] Dominicans did an amazing job um with
this festival regardless
[2:39:58] the yucky weather. Um it was a great
turnout. Um nothing occurred that I know
[2:40:03] of. Thank you to the police department
for all that they have done and keeping
[2:40:07] the residents safe during um this
weekend. Um in addition to summer is
[2:40:13] ending. So happy first day of school. I
know we will not get to
[2:40:18] see everyone or meet prior to then. So
happy first day of school. Enjoy the
[2:40:23] last very short weeks left of summer
with your loved ones. Um,
[2:40:30] and that is pretty much it. Have a great
evening everyone.
[2:40:33] » Thank you, Councilman Puchio.
>> Thank you, Madame President. Um, I just
[2:40:39] have to give a a large shout out to the
BA and Joe Goldie because they made it
[2:40:45] simple to understand how where the money
is, how it comes in, where it goes, and
[2:40:51] that, you know, it's not complicated to
look at. And that takes a lot of work to
[2:40:56] make it that way and make it
a reader simple
[2:41:00] » and believe me for me that was good
and you know and I understand that
[2:41:05] sometimes I talk a lot about September
11th but it means something to me you
[2:41:11] know I don't know what it's like to to
be the council president who was there I
[2:41:15] mean I went on my own there you know and
aside from you know the council
[2:41:20] president me and I know the chief was
there you know
[2:41:25] those are things that will never be
erased in the in minds. And matter of
[2:41:29] fact, tonight
uh the guy that came here with his wife
[2:41:34] to talk about with the cats, I was
talking to him in the hallway. He's a
[2:41:38] retired New York City firefighter that
was also there on September 11th. So,
[2:41:44] you know, as we get closer, it is
important never to forget. And we will
[2:41:49] never forget, you know, I said it
before, we'll never forget Richie and
[2:41:54] we'll never forget Isaiah.
And you know, and for the go for the
[2:41:59] people that are ill right now, you know,
it's important for us to remember them,
[2:42:04] too. So, but I I want to thank the
council president for putting up with
[2:42:07] me, my council mates for putting up with
me, and definitely the BA and the city
[2:42:13] attorney for putting up with me, and
>> the clerk for putting up with me.
[2:42:19] [laughter]
But, you know, when the time comes, I'm
[2:42:22] going to miss you guys when I'm not here
anymore. And you know, look, everything
[2:42:27] I do comes from my heart.
And you know what? Sometimes I wear that
[2:42:32] on my sleeve also. You know, I don't my
intention is always to look out for
[2:42:37] people. You know, sometimes I might get
people aggravated, but believe me, it's
[2:42:44] not personal.
It's just that I always want to do the
[2:42:48] right thing. So, thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. Pucho. And I
[2:42:55] I also want to um say thank you for
everyone who came in tonight. I think
[2:43:01] the ladies that were uh the ladies and
gentlemen that were here talking about
[2:43:06] the animals um we're taking that very
serious and we going to have
[2:43:13] conversation about it and we'll continue
to provide the best service that we can
[2:43:18] for all our residents. Um, I also want
to say congratulation to Isabella
[2:43:27] Partardo. Uh, we're so proud. We have so
many
[2:43:34] » talented people,
>> talented,
[2:43:36] um, students, uh, residents and, um,
that makes us very proud. Um, these are
[2:43:43] the the future that is going to be
sitting here and taking care of our
[2:43:49] city. So, um I'm glad that we're doing
this that from time to time we bring
[2:43:56] them to you to recognize them and we
also feel um I know that you feel proud
[2:44:03] about them. Thank you to their parents
because the parents are behind every
[2:44:08] child that does great things in our
city. Um thank you Mr. Cryan. um Jill
[2:44:20] Goldie and everyone who was involved,
all the directors that also worked so
[2:44:25] hard with this budget. Um,
and I know there was a lot of
[2:44:30] speculation out there that were sending
the negativity that
[2:44:37] that is common on their comments and uh
but um this this administration and I
[2:44:45] know um
uh the work that they do is to make the
[2:44:50] best for our residents and this budget
represents that. Uh thank you Mr. are
[2:44:56] crying for that presentation. I think
like Mr. Bucho said, it made it very
[2:45:02] simple for us and everyone who attended
the Dominican festival, thank you for
[2:45:07] being there. Um, I know we had rough
time, but it's amazing how people like
[2:45:14] to go and
have a good time. Um, thank you that to
[2:45:20] the police, to all the volunteers, to
United Dominicans of Birth and Boy and
[2:45:26] ID Entertainment who makes this possible
every year. Thank you and thank you for
[2:45:32] behaving to all who attended because I
know the chief gets a little nervous
[2:45:37] about uh all those people, but um thank
God everything went well. I'm very proud
[2:45:43] of my community, of everybody who
attends. I know people come from all
[2:45:47] over and they behave. So, thank you. Um,
looking forward to have good things
[2:45:55] happening in Perth Amboy. Good luck to
the new school year to all the kids. Get
[2:46:02] ready. Start going to bed early because
you have to get up early again. Um,
[2:46:08] thank you. Enjoy your the rest of the
summer and have a good night. I need a
[2:46:13] motion to adjurnn.
>> Move it. Second.
[2:46:16] » All in favor? I against.
>> Have a good night everybody.