City Council

The Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Hackensack was held at City Hall, 65 Central Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, on Tuesday, January 20th, 2004 at 8:00 P.M. Mayor Zisa called the meeting to order and asked everyone to stand for the flag salute. The Mayor then asked Ms. D’Auria to call the roll. Present – Mayor John F. Zisa, Deputy Mayor Roger B. Mattei, Councilwoman Juanita Trammell, Councilmen Mark A. Stein and Jesus R. Galvis, City Manager, James S. Lacava, Acting City Clerk Debra A. D’Auria and City Attorney Richard E. Salkin. Ms. D’Auria: "In accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act, Chapter 231, Laws of l975 adequate notice of this meeting was provided by sending a notice to the Record and by posting a copy on the Bulletin Board in City Hall". Mayor Zisa called for a motion to approve the minutes of the meeting held January 5th, 2004. Motion offered by Councilman Stein and seconded by Councilwoman Trammell that the minutes be approved as submitted. Carried. RESOLUTION #014 OFFERED BY: STEIN SECONDED BY: MATTEI BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack that the proper officers be and are hereby authorized to make the following refunds for the reason stated: AMOUNT BLOCK LOT NAME YEAR REASON $ 4,257.00 504A 14C Nashel Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Traum LLP 2003 STB 13,480.50 504A 14G “ “ “ 2003 STB 1,971.00 135 25 Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 2003 ERR PMT 250.00 227 5C Bridges, Eva Henderson 2003 SC Allow 1,525.81 435 1,C0N2E Gross, Edward D & Judy F 2003 ERR PMT $7.00 refund to Stephen Nicholas Trocolar, 54 Minnehaha Boulevard, Oakland, NJ 07436 for a birth record payment collected in error. $50.00 refund to Vicky Bellis, 208 Anderson Street, 3B South for a cancelled registration for Hackensack Youth Basketball. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #015 OFFERED BY: TRAMMELL SECONDED BY: STEIN WHEREAS, the Mandatory Source Separation and Recycling Act, P.L. 1987, C.102, has established a recycling fund from which tonnage grants may be made to municipalities in order to encourage local source separation and recycling programs; and WHEREAS, it is the intent of the Act to use the grants to develop new municipal recycling programs and to expand existing programs; and WHEREAS, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is publicizing recycling regulations to implement the Mandatory Source Separation and Recycling Act; and  WHEREAS, the recycling regulations impose on municipalities certain requirements as a condition for applying for tonnage grants, such as the keeping of accurate verifiable records of collected materials; and WHEREAS, Hackensack’s authorization to apply for a tonnage grant will honor its commitment to recycling; and NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack hereby endorse the submission of the recycling tonnage grant application for the years 2003 - 2004 to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and designates Arthur Koster as the Recycling Coordinator; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the monies received from the recycling tonnage grant be deposited in a trust fund to be used solely for recycling purposes. Roll Call:Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #016 OFFERED BY: MATTEI SECONDED BY: GALVIS BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack that Art Koster be and is hereby reappointed Constable for the City of Hackensack, for a one (1) year term; effective January 1, 2004. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the duties/activities are limited to those City related activities as directed by the City Manager. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #017 OFFERED BY: STEIN SECONDED BY: TRAMMELL WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack desires to secure several grants from NJDOT titled Hackensack Bicycle Connector and Anderson Street Bikeway Project; and WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack desires to secure a project extension from NJDOT for the aforementioned grants; and WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack has experienced significant delays in obtaining necessary permits from NJDEP to advance the project; and NOW, THEREFORE, the Mayor and City Council authorize the following: (a) Request a project extension from NJDOT (b) Complete all necessary design and construction th documents by the May 30 2005 deadline (c) Provide NJDOT with any necessary information to assist with this request. WHEREAS, the State shall determine if the request should be granted and will notify the City upon its decision.  Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #018 OFFERED BY: MATTEI SECONDED BY: GALVIS WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack desires to secure several grants from NJDOT titled Hudson Street Revitalization Project; and WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack desires to secure a project extension from NJDOT for the aforementioned grants; and WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack has experienced significant delays in securing underground utilities. NOW, THEREFORE, the Mayor and City Council authorize the following: (d) Request a project extension from NJDOT (e) Complete all necessary design and construction th documents by the May 30 2005 deadline (f) Provide NJDOT with any necessary information to assist with this request. WHEREAS, the State shall determine if the request should be granted and will notify the City upon its decision. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #019 OFFERED BY: TRAMMELL SECONDED BY: STEIN WHEREAS, First American Tax Service made three incorrect payments on Block 344 Lot 16 C005G for 2003 taxes; and WHEREAS, these payments should have been applied to Block 344 Lot 16 C003I unpaid 2003 taxes. NOW THEREFORE be it resolved by the Mayor and Council the Tax Collector should transfer $2378.40 from unit C005G and, apply $2285.78 to 2003 taxes and $92.62 to 2004 first quarter taxes on unit C0031. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #020 OFFERED BY: STEIN SECONDED BY: GALVIS BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack that the following organization be granted permission to conduct a Raffle in accordance with the application on file in the office of the City Clerk: RA:1721 – Columbians, Inc. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #021 OFFERED BY: MATTEI SECONDED BY: STEIN BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack that the bills in the following accounts be and are hereby ordered paid:  Current Account $2,891,846.91 Capital Account 160,890.44 Public Parking System Account 64,866.70 Trust Account 27,881.00 Payroll Agency Account 119,689.25 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that said bills are on file as a public record in the office of the Chief Financial Officer. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #022 OFFERED BY: TRAMMELL SECONDED BY: GALVIS WHEREAS, various Year 2003 bills have been presented for payment this year, which bills were not covered by order number and/or recorded at the time of transfers between the 2003 Budget Appropriation Reserve in the last two months of 2003; and WHEREAS, N.J.S. 40A:4-58 provides that all unexpended balances carried forward after the close of the year are available, until lapsed at the close of the succeeding year, and allow transfers to be made from unexpended balances which are expected to be sufficient during the first three months of the succeeding year; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack that transfers in the amount of $65,000.00 be made between the Year 2003 Budget Appropriations Reserves as follows: FROM TO Police S/W $15,000.00 Police O/E $15,000.00 Street Cleaning S/W 2,000.00 City Garage O/E 2,000.00 Street Cleaning O/E 8,000.00 Streets & Roads O/E 8,000.00 Community Dev O/E 8,000.00 Garbage & Trash O/E 8,000.00 Community Dev Consultant O/E 15,000.00 Recycling O/E 15,000.00 Recycling S/W 6,000.00 Sanitary Landfill O/E 6,000.00 Streets & Roads S/W 5,000.00 Sewer O/E 5,000.00 Celebrate Public Events S/W 5,000.00 Celebrate Public Events O/E 5,000.00 911 S/W 1,000.00 911 O/E 1,000.00 ____________ ___________ Total $ 65,000.00 $ 65,000.00  Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #023 OFFERED BY: MATTEI SECONDED BY: TRAMMELL WHEREAS, the City Clerk received a request for the confidential minutes of the September 8th, 2003, Executive Session portion of the Committee of the Whole meeting (work session); and WHEREAS, N.J.S.A. 10:4-12, 13, and 14 of the “Open Public Meetings Act” authorizes disclosure of such minutes when confidentiality is no longer required for the furtherance of the best interests of the City of Hackensack or the protection of individual rights of privacy; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the approved minutes of the aforedescribed September 8th, 2003, Executive Session; and WHEREAS, the portion of the minutes dealing with the topic “purchase of property” pertaining to an ongoing, and yet unresolved matter, is not appropriate for release; and WHEREAS, the identity, address, and any physical condition of a person pertaining to a request for the establishment of an on-street handicapped parking space may entail personal private health information pertaining to a resident; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Hackensack, that the City Clerk be, and she hereby is, authorized to provide a redacted copy of said minutes, upon payment of the normal copying costs to the person making the request; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the redactions to said minutes shall be consistent with the findings in this Resolution. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa RESOLUTION #024 OFFERED BY: TRAMMELL SECONDED BY: STEIN WHEREAS, a Bergen County Community Development Grant of $75,000.00 has been proposed by Christ Church Community Development Corporation for support of the operation, for six months, of an emergency homeless shelter program in the municipality of Hackensack; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the State Interlocal Services Act, Community Development funds may not be spent in a municipality without authorization by the Governing Body; and WHEREAS, the aforesaid project is in the best interest of the people of Hackensack; and WHEREAS, this resolution does not obligate the financial resources of the municipality and is intended solely to expedite expenditure of the aforesaid CD funds. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Governing Body of Hackensack hereby confirms endorsement of the aforesaid project; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution shall be sent to the Director of the Bergen County Community Development Program so that implementation of the aforesaid project may be expedited. Roll Call: Ayes – Mattei, Galvis, Trammell, Stein, Zisa Ms. D’Auria advised the Mayor that the docket was completed. The Mayor thanked her and asked the City Manager and the members of the Council if they had anything to report. The City Attorney advised that for the past year the City had been involved in litigation with the Record newspaper arising out of a request made under the Open Public Records Act. He went on to further advise that the complaint made by the Record was ultimately heard before the Government Records Council in Trenton and that the City’s position was upheld. Councilman Stein reported that the auditions were going to be held at the Cultural Arts Center tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. for the show “Fantastics”. Mayor Zisa stated that he wanted to acknowledge the holiday celebration held yesterday for the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. hosted by Varick Church and thanked Reverend Saxton and Reverend Whitfield for their participation. The Mayor opened the meeting to the public for discussion of City business. Eric Martindale, 100 Second Street, presented the Mayor and Council with a map detailing the progress of the riverfront walk and expressed various concerns with the on-going process. The Mayor commended Mr. Martindale for his efforts pertaining to this project all of these years and Councilman Galvis echoed his sentiments. As no one else wished to be heard, a motion was made by Councilwoman Trammell and seconded by Councilman Stein that the meeting be adjourned. (Carried 8:40 p.m.) __________________________ MAYOR JOHN F. ZISA ____________________________ _ DEPUTY MAYOR ROGER MATTEI ____________________________ COUNCILWOMAN JUANITA TRAMMELL ___________________________ _ COUNCILMAN JESUS R. GALVIS ___________________________ COUNCILMAN MARK A. STEIN ATTEST:_______________________ ACTING CITY CLERK