6. The Amboy Guardian *August 17, 2022Perth Amboy Catholic School's Performance ofDiney's Encanto, Perth Amboy 7/30/22 & 7/31/22*Photos Courtesy Perth Amboy Catholic SchoolPERTH AMBOY - Perth Amboy Catholic School spent the summerputting on the Musical Disney's Encanto. Over 400 people attended 2performances. Miss. Michelle Diaz 4 th Grade Teacher was the Directorand Miss. Espinal 3 rd Grade Teacher was the Co-Director of the firstPACS Musical, Disney's Encanto.Perth Amboy Fire Department Promotions, PAFD Fire House, Perth Amboy 8/3/22 *Photos by Paul W. WangPERTH AMBOY - Congratulations to Battalion Chief Robert Bunten, Captain Thomas Macri, Captain Eric Lewis, Captain Kevin Metz, Captain Jon Fedor, FirefighterGregory Perez, Firefighter Manuel Garabito
August 17, 2022 * The Amboy Guardian .7*Continued from Page 2areas. This will also isolatethem away from families in theparks. With the drought, anyflammables are dangerous, andsmokers will be able to discardtheir materials in safe containers.It will not be appealingwhen children see these individualsbeing isolated.”City Clerk Victoria Kupschspoke up next, “We had a concernfrom a resident who spokeabout this.”Law Director Opel said,“State law allows us to designatesmoking areas in publicplaces.”Council President Petrick thenasked, “Can we have a publicshooting range?”Opel responded, “I’ll look intoit.”Pabon then spoke up, “Shootingranges are permitted if theyare at least 100 feet away from abuilding. At the end of the day,parks are for kids – not smokers.”Petrick then spoke up again,“I agree with Pabon’s last statement.Children should comefirst. It is not a good messageif you allow smoking on cityproperties. Tobacco companiestargeted our youth and say ifyou hook them (at an early age),they will probably be smokersfor lifetime.” He also mentioned,“This shows how out oftouch the administration is withthe community.”Torres then asked, “Have anytickets been given out to smokers,now?”Petrick remembered, “Thereused to be No Smoking Signsthat were taken down. I vote totable this ordinance.”Pabon said he would secondthat motion.The only person who voted“No” to table was CouncilmanTorres.Torres said, “I see city employeessmoking in city parksand while sitting in city vehicles.I’m a former 20-yearsmoker and I don’t like to havecigarette smoke around me.”Pabon spoke up, “A memoshould be sent out to city employeesstating that they shouldnot be smoking while on duty.”Greene responded, “We willdo that, and give them warningsthat they should not be idlingtheir vehicles.”Petrick had something to sayabout that, “I saw that there wasa city vehicle that was idling,and it was stolen, but it was recoveredshortly afterward.”Torres then spoke a similarincident. “I saw a city vehicleidling while two of its workerswere in the park. I got insidethat vehicle and could havestolen it while the city workerswere away from it. It was16-passenger van. We shouldtighten our belts like other familieshave to do.”Petrick changed the subject,“Several city buildings haddamage and need to be fixed.”There was a discussion on OrdinanceNo. 7 (First Reading) –A lease agreement between thecity and New Cingular Wireless,PCF LLC. (AT&T) withrespect to certain real propertylocated at Runyon Watershedwithin the Township of OldBridge.Luis Perez Jimenez, Directorof Operations at the USA-PA (Utility Service AssociatesPerth Amboy) Middlesex WaterCompany) said, “This will be apermanent tower.”Opel stated, “This is anamendment for RedevelopmentFocus 2020 Plan which willchange plans in the footage for2 single-family units that wouldhave 7-feet between both buildings.”Petrick said he would like tosee the drawings of the plansfirst.Opel stated he would requestthat information and mark it asExhibit A.City Clerk Kupsch said,“This will be the first reading,and it will be Ordinance No. 8to be put on the 8/10/22 Agenda.”Kupsch then talked aboutR-382-8/22 – Authorizing the2022-2023 Renewal of CertainPlenary Retail ConsumptionLicenses effective August 11,2022. She stated, “There aretwo bars that did not get a taxclearance on time. El Patio Bargot an extension to operate fromthe State, but not from the city.”Petrick spoke up, “I want tomake it clear that the councildid not approve on the El PatioBar getting an extension.Let the ABC be aware that thecouncil did not approve of this.”Opel said, “I will contact theagency (regarding this) and wecan do an appeal on your behalf.There are procedures and requirementsfor filing to the ABCon both sides (El Patio Bar andthe City). It is in the administration’scourt.”Kupsch concluded the discussion,“The El Patio Bar can stilloperate while the appeal is takingplace.”Petrick then discussed R-383-8/22 – Overriding the Mayor’sVeto of Ordinance Entitled, “AnOrdinance Amending an OrdinanceEntitled, “Public Entertainment.”He said, “This is justto reduce the time (on festivals)by one hour on Saturday andSunday. The mayor wants toveto this.”Opel then reminded the councilthat it would require fourvotes to veto this.”Pabon then commented, “I’msurprised that the mayor tookthis stance. I thought it wouldsatisfy both sides and maybe themayor misread the ordinance.”Petrick said, “You have toconsider the residences in theareas how it would affect them.”Luis Perez Jimenez spoke onR-390-8/22 – The insertion ofrevenue in the CY: 2022 Budgetfor an NJDOT (Pulaski, Parker,Jane, Lynd, Additional Streets)Road and Drainage ImprovementsGrant in the amount of$750,000. He said, “This willbe for sewer separations. Thereare certain sections of thesestreets that are getting flooded,and this will take care of that.”Opel spoke briefly aboutR-392-8/22 – Approving a seasonalfixed location peddlerlease at the foot of SadowskiParkway and Madison Avenuewith Carlos Rodriguez d/b/aUnresolved Issues Addressed8/8/22 CaucusTorres Café. He said, “Thehours will be from 9 a.m. to 9p.m. and it will be a 3-year term.It was oversight on my part, andthis will be a final agreement.”Petrick then questionedR-393-8/22 – Directing the TaxCollector to place a lien on 600Jacques Street in the amount of$268.70 for charges incurredby the Department of PublicWorks to cut and trip and clean.Petrick stated, “This a low numbercompared to what would becharged in the past.”Greene explained that it dependedon the type of cleaningthat was done.Greene then explained R-396-8/22 – A refund of an applicationfee and escrow payment inthe amount of $4,000 to Pay-Chem II LLC for a property locatedat 406 Alpine Street. Hesaid, “This is for an additionalbedroom that was added.”R-400-8/22 – Approving theissuance of a mural permit tothe Emerging Leaders of theSchool Base Youth ServicesProgram Artwork at the BrightonAvenue Teen Center.Gretchen who is the ProjectManager of the emerging leaderssaid, “This has been approvedby the Arts Council. Isubmitted the application to theArts Council and to the CityCouncil. If you want, I can doa presentation now via Zoom.”JohnLuke Chapparo who isthe Camera Operator/VideoCoordinator informed the councilthat they were not set up forher to a video presentation viaZoom right now.IT Technician John Allemancame up to the mike and saidwe can do a screen shot at alater date.Gretchen stated that she couldgive a brief presentation onwhat the Emerging Leadersdo by having different peoplespeak about different projectsand programs that they are involvedin.Petrick stated that was fineand they could coordinate withthe City Clerk and the IT Departmentto do a brief presentationvia Zoom on Wednesday(8/10/22).Gretchen said that this particularprogram would be endingsoon, and she preferred to talktonight with no screenshots.It was decided for the EmergingLeaders to speak brieflyduring the public portion.Greene spoke briefly onR-401-8/22 – RescindingR-641-12/21 – Authorizinga contract with Spatial DataLogic for Enterprise License forMedium/Large Towns for up toa 5-year contract in the amountof $276,000 funded through theAmerican Rescue Plan Act. Hestated, “It’s a 5-year deal to accessBroadbands so citizens canpinpoint problem areas such aspotholes and send those photosto appropriate departmentheads.”John Alleman from the IT Departmentadded, “It is for a longerterm than in the past. In thepast, they had to use temporaryfunding.”Council President Bill Petrickhad a question about R-410-8/22 – A contract with Consulting& Municipal Engineers forPlanning Services in an amountnot to exceed $65,000. Heasked, “What is the Scope of theWork?”Tashi Vazquez from the Departmentof OECD spoke viaZoom, “It is for municipal planningpurposes which gives themthe authority to testify for thecity. They are project-basedconsultants.”Greene then spoke up, “Thiswill also be for renovation andupgrades throughout our buildings.This is money that wehave gotten from our congressman.This is an autonomousagency.”Vazquez spoke up again, “Wewill be working with the Boardof Trustees to identify projectsin the building and on the outsideon the parking lot. Finalimprovements will be madethrough HUD.”Council President Bill Petrickstated, “There should free parkingfor library patrons.”Councilman B.J. Torres asked,“Are they still looking for a LibraryDirector?”B.A. Greene replied, “TheLibrary Board of Trustees doesthat.”Petrick spoke up and stated,“The State Legislatures dictatethe qualifications of a LibraryDirector.”Greene said, “They are presentlylooking at an interim Director.”Torres said, “It is not listedfor a job opening for a LibraryDirector, and we have all thismoney coming in.”Petrick spoke again, “Thereare many websites and optionsto advertise for a permanentLibrary Director. They shouldhave a background in librarysciences.”Greene responded, “I wouldtalk to the Board of Directorsabout what they have been doingto fill this position.”Torres continued, “We havean additional library employeewho has no qualifications.There was supposed to have abeen a plan to have them takeclasses to qualify as a director.There is no experience, ability,or resources to draw on. In theschool system, the librariansare qualified. We need researchlibrarians to help students withtheir projects. I can’t emphasizethat enough, especially withdisinformation being spread.”Petrick said, “The Caba Administrationhas not moved onthis for two years.”Greene said he would talk tothe Board about the council’sconcerns, and it was the LibraryBoard of Trustees whodecided who they wanted fromthe administration to work onthe Board, and they chose JoelRosa. They are the ones payingJoel Rosa, and not the city.”Torres continued, “The LibraryBoard was cherry-pickedby the Administration. We areasking that they have peoplewho have the expertise to workin the library system.”Law Director Opel spoke up,“There are no state statutes forLibrary Director Qualifications.It gives the Library Board ofTrustees free reign to appointwho they want.”Greene then spoke aboutR-413-8/22 – A Contract withMorris Habitat for Humanity inthe amount of $220,000 for calendaryear 2022. He stated thathe would sign off on all of thesecontracts.He said, “I am the one whosigns off on these contracts.”The next resolution discussedwas R-416-8/22 – A contractwith the Jewish RenaissanceFoundation Alternative EducationInstitute in the amount of$17,000.Tashi Vazquez spoke viaZoom, “This is a Perth Amboybased program that has beentaught online since Covid.”To give a more detailed informationon this programwas Deborah Robinson fromthe JRF Foundation spoke viaZoom, “Thirty students use theservices and at least of ten ofthose students were Perth Amboyresidents. The classes areequivalent to the High SchoolEquivalency Test and on June19th of this year, seventeen studentsgraduated from that program.The organization suppliesall the computers and materialsneeded for learning.”Police Chief Larry Cattanowas called up to the mike tospeak regarding CommunicationNo. 10 – Mayor HelminCaba appointing eight membersof the police force to the positionof Special I Police Officerseffective July 15, 2022. “Mostof them were prior auxiliary policeofficers and two used to beparking attendants.”Public Portion (in-person first):The first person to speak wasVince Mackiel. He referencedthe last meeting where therewas a presentation from twomembers of the BorinqueneersPark Committee. “The AmericanRescue Plan Funds weregoing to be used to fund part ofthat park. We need to use someof the money for the rebuildingof the railroad bridge. Whatare the difficulties of this project?It’s important for the publicto comment, and who is responsiblefor the repairs (of thebridge)? The military took partin planning of waterways in thepast.” He then talked about theKing High Garage Walkway onState Street. “There is a HeadStart Facility nearby. There isunsafe wiring (that needs tobe addressed). I’m glad to seeimprovements of some of theproperties in that area, and it hasbeen noted by Pallone and others.”Council President Petrickresponded, “In regards to theBorinqueneers Park, more environmentalwork needs to bedone (removing contaminantsand capping of the property).They can start the cleanup afterthat, but they are still in the stateof recovery.”Mackiel continued, “Munitionsmight be in the waterways.You should get the militaryinvolved. Some of the thingsthey find may have governmentmarkings on them.”Petrick then said, “The LSRPwill take care of it and call the*Continued on Page 13
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