[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.

08/12/2026 Council Meeting

Transcript