City Council

A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Hackensack was held at City Hall, 65 Central Avenue, Hackensack, New Jersey, on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 at 6:00 P.M. Mayor John Labrosse Jr. called the meeting to order and the City Clerk Deborah Karlsson announced that the meeting was being held in accordance with the Sunshine Law, notice having been published according to law, with a copy on file in the City Clerk’s office, and a copy posted on the bulletin board in City Hall. Attendance Ms. Karlsson called the roll: Mayor John P. Labrosse Jr., Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino, Councilman Leonardo Battaglia, and Councilman David Sims were present. Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis was absent. City Manager Ted Ehrenburg was present. Judge Carver and Attorney Kate Walsh were in attendance. Grant Writer Pete Blanos was also in attendance. Flag Salute Mayor Labrosse welcomed the new City Manager Ted Ehrenburg. City Manager’s Report This is my first official City Manager’s report for the Council. I want to thank the Mayor and Council and citizens of this community for allowing me this opportunity to hopefully prove you have selected somebody with their best interest at heart and I will work hard with the staff to achieve those goals that are set. I have met with every department head and have had nothing but great cooperation with the staff. I think we will move the City in a positive direction and enhance the things that need to be enhanced. This is a Special Meeting for Carver Park, which originally was for Staib Park, but because of certain requirements it was moved. The focus now is to address the tennis courts which need some rehab, which is a total project cost of $85,000. With the assistance of Millennium Strategies, we have a $42,500 match. The project would include improving the sidewalks, resurfacing the tennis courts, and improve the walkways and fencing. Our grant writer Pete Blanos will answer any questions you may have. Public Hearing – Application Park Improvement Grant – Carver Park Pete Blanos – Again I am from Millennium Strategies, the grants consultant for the City of Hackensack. The purpose of this hearing tonight is to obtain public comment on a grant application being submitted by the City to the County of Bergen for recreational improvements in Carver Park. The Bergen County Open Space Trust Fund Municipal Park Improvement Program is designed to provide funding for recreational improvements or the rehabilitation of existing recreational facilities within all seventy municipalities in the County. There is about $1.3 million dollars in funding available through this program which is then separated into six regions having ten or eleven municipalities. The City of Hackensack is in the central sub-region with nine others. There is approximately $300,000 dollars in grant funding available for those ten municipalities. There is a dollar-for- dollar match for this grant. The project that we have identified for the greatest need right now is the resurfacing of the tennis courts in Carver Park. There are a variety of erosion and cracking issues. This grant would also 10/12/2016 1 replace the fencing around the tennis courts and resurface the paths around Carver Park. We would make the application to the County, then we would probably hear back sometime next June what our award amount would be. The County would then give the City two years to complete the project. Councilman Battaglia – With the money we get, will the sidewalks around the park be repaired? Also, it would be nice to have some kind of electrical outlet to run the score board. Mr. Blanos replied that the sidewalks on the interior of the park will be resurfaced; anything outside of the limits of the park would not qualify. Councilman Sims – This will not be voted on until June of 2017? Mr. Blanos replied there is a process since there are seventy towns in the County so there are a lot of applications that they field on an annual basis. They will receive the applications and from there they will go to a committee which will look at the numbers. We are right in line with where we need to be with our request. Then it goes to a vote from the Open Space committee then they do a public hearing with the Freeholders who then vote on the projects themselves. By the time they develop the contracts and award letters for those, it is usually about a six to eight month period. Councilman Battaglia asked about the color of the paint for the courts and the Mayor asked if the nets are included as well. Mr. Blanos replied everything would be included in the specs later on in the process and nets are included in the overall rehabilitation of the facility. Deputy Mayor Canestrino – Obviously there is criteria which you have discussed with us, but is there anything in writing which will entice them to award us? Things they are looking for? A certain type of design? Anything other than meeting the specific criteria which will help us secure these funds? Mr. Blanos replied that the biggest criteria that they have is ensuring that the park will be accessible to the public. A tennis court is open to the public at any time to go play tennis obviously within the limitations of when the park is open. Access to recreation is the biggest criteria. A motion to open the meeting to the public regarding the Grant was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Sims. Regina DiPasqua – Parker Avenue – Hackensack – Why are we having a Special Meeting in October on Yom Kippur around sundown which prevented people from coming tonight for something that is not going to be awarded for another eight months? I don’t think it takes eight months to do that. Mr. Ehrenburg, you mentioned something about Staib Park, what got bumped at Staib and why? City Manager – It was explained to me that there were required DEP approvals needed to make what conditions were going to be approved in the park and because of the timeline, we would miss that opportunity. So, we moved to another park to meet this timeline. Ms. DiPasqua continued – And eight months is needed? Staib Park is looking for a dog park there. Carver Park already got a Splash Park and now we are doing something else in Carver. The DEP could have been worked around. Mr. Blanos responded – With respect to the Staib Park project, we had originally met to discuss ideas with Mr. Troast, Mr. Dib, Mr. Viresma, and myself, about projects that would be applicable to this grant. At the time we 10/12/2016 2 viewed Staib as being a viable project for improvements fitting within the confines of this grant. At that time we decided to move forward with it and advertised for the meeting and hearing for September. Boswell Engineering went out and did the site investigation and reviewed the site and determined that there would be significant permitting requirements for this project based on the proximity to Coles Brook. Those permits could have been an excess of $20,000 to obtain. Based upon the amount of funding available from the County, the cost-benefit of the improvements, the permitting costs were just cost-prohibitive at the time. There is a requirement to advertise within fifteen days prior to the hearing. By the time we reassessed the Carver Park project and were authorized to move ahead, there was not another Council Meeting so we called a Special Meeting to meet the requirements of the grant timeline. The initial advertisement for the meeting in September was done in August. By the time we identified the issue, we needed to start over and re-advertise for a new meeting to meet the fifteen day requirement. The grant is due tomorrow. Dee Puntasecca – Hackensack – All we want is a dog park. I called the Board of Health to see how many more dog owners there are – in one year there was an increase of over one hundred dog licenses given out. There are a lot of people who would really enjoy the dog park. How far would it have to be from Coles Brook to start a dog park? City Manager – In most cases, it is 300 feet from any waterway. I will check on that and let you know. I also know that the City has great intentions but there is only so much money in the pot and we are trying to take advantage of it as much as we can. Going forward, we will have some goal setting – identify these goals, fund these goals, and work towards them. A Dog Park is one of them. Mayor Labrosse – I would like to do some sort of polling of the area to see if they are in favor of the dog park, and I believe they will be. I am totally in favor of dog parks. Albert Dib – I just want to mention there was never a situation where it was Dog Park versus tennis court. We looked at Staib Park because we wanted to look at ways to protect the Brook since there is dumping that occurs there from time to time. Whenever we have an opportunity for grant funding, we want to make the best use of it. Mayor Labrosse – We should check with other communities. Maywood, I know they have a dog park, or the County has dog parks at Overpeck Park – one for small dogs and one for larger dogs. We will check into any insurance issues involved and cover our bases. I don’t think a dog park will be a tremendous cost either. It is really just fences. No one else wished to speak. A motion to close the meeting to the public was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Sims. 10/12/2016 3 Resolutions Council Intr Secon Abstai Absen Recuse Member o d Yes No n t d Battaglia X X Deputy Mayor Canestrino X Sims X X Keeling- X Geddis Mayor Labrosse X CITY OF HACKENSACK RESOLUTION NO. 372-16 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF HACKENSACK AUTHORIZING THE SUBMISSION OF A BERGEN COUNTY OPEN SPACE RECREATION, FARMLAND & HISTORIC PRESERVATION TRUST FUND – MUNICIPAL PARK IMPROVEMENT GRANT APPLICATION WHEREAS, the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation, Farmland & Historic Preservation Trust Fund, provides matching grants to municipal governments and to nonprofit organizations for assistance in the development or redevelopment of municipal recreation facilities; and WHEREAS, the City of Hackensack desires to further the public interest by obtaining a matching grant from the County Trust Fund, in the amount of $42,500 for the completion of recreational improvements within Carver Park; and WHEREAS, the governing body of the City of Hackensack has reviewed the County Trust Fund Program Statement, the Trust Fund Municipal Program Park Improvement application and the associated instructions and desires to make an application for such a matching grant and provide application information and furnish such documents as may be required; and WHEREAS, as part of the application process, the governing body received public comments on the proposed application on October 12, 2016; and WHEREAS, the County of Bergen shall determine whether the application is complete and in conformance with the scope and intent of the County Trust Fund; and WHEREAS, the applicant is willing to use the County Trust Fund in accordance with such rules, regulations and applicable statutes, and is willing to enter into an agreement with the County of Bergen and will ensure that any and all grant funds are utilized prior to the grant agreement expiration date. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City of Hackensack Mayor and Council:  That it is hereby authorized to submit a completed application to the County by the deadline of October 13, 2016, as established by the County; and,  That, in the event of a County Trust Fund award that may be less than the grant amount requested, that the City of Hackensack Mayor and Council have, or will secure, the balance of funding necessary to complete the project, or modify the project as necessary; and, 10/12/2016 4   That the City of Hackensack Mayor and Council are committed to providing a dollar for dollar cash match for the project; and,  That only those park improvements identified and approved in the project application, its Trust Fund contract, or other documentation will be considered eligible for reimbursement.  That the City of Hackensack Mayor and Council agree to comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations in its performance of the project; and,  That this resolution shall take effect immediately. Public Comment A motion to open the meeting to the public was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Sims. Regina DiPasqua – Parker Avenue – Hackensack – Last meeting I asked about the blue line. There have been some controversial statements made about it. Bottom line is towns are doing it and it shows support for the police; it does not take away from any other group. I have to question the agenda of anyone who is disturbed by it. The County is permitting it to be done on County roads. I do not understand why we have not done it yet and for all of our first responders – police, fire, and EMS. A simple low-cost show of support and I am asking it be considered. Any group who does not support the police or any first responders, I have to question. It is mid-October, the snow ordinance, snow committee – it’s been talked about for years. It will help everyone in Hackensack. People park on the streets instead of their driveways and then we have to shovel out to the middle of the streets to get out of our driveways. The plow comes by and we have to shovel out again. We need some relief on this because the system isn’t working right now. I had sent a sample city ordinance to the prior City Manager and to all of you and no one even responded. I would like it to be considered because it will help all of us. I wish you luck, Mr. Ehrenburg. I hope you will keep us informed. Some residents like to be keep informed. Recently there was a workshop at Teterboro, about the noise, it was informative and we put in our two cents. You never know what somebody may be interested in attending and putting it out there would be appreciative. It doesn’t all have to be on the website, but you can mention it at the meetings. Mayor Labrosse – We definitely want to tighten up on snow removal in the City. I think we all end up shoveling out to some extent but we shouldn’t have to shovel out half way into the street. Maybe we can work with Jesse and really get a plan going. Last year we started enforcing the parking on the streets which had never been enforced before but we definitely need to tighten up this year. No one else wished to speak. A motion to close the meeting to the public was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Battaglia. Council Comments Councilman Battaglia- None Deputy Mayor Canestrino – I look forward to any additional funds that we can bring into the City. We are trying to do the best we can in all of our parks. I like the dog park idea and we will look into it and see if it is realistic. Thank you. 10/12/2016 5 Councilman Sims- Dee, thank you for bringing the dog park to our attention. Regina, we will discuss the parking in the snow issue if we get this committee up and running. Parking on one side of the street or the other is something to consider and thank you for bringing it up. Good night! Councilwoman Keeling-Geddis- Absent Mayor Labrosse – I would like to let everyone know that Mr. Sims is being honored by the NAACP on October 29, 2016. That is a great honor. We are proud of you and will be there to support you. I am going to read a statement regarding Chief Zisa receiving his back pay and legal fees. There are still issues going on here and now the former Police Chief Charles Zisa is receiving about $3 million in back pay, benefits, and legal fees, I am calling on Mr. Zisa to stop seeking another $30 million dollars from tax-payers for so-called psychological and emotional distress among other claims. The City is already paying his $1.7 million in lost wages and benefits as required by State law after his final criminal conviction was dismissed in August and is reviewing its legal options regarding the $1.1 million in attorney fees owed to Mr. Zisa. I believe the State should be held accountable for these fees because the prosecution was done by State authorities not the City of Hackensack. Last year his attorneys filed official tort claims informing the City and the State that he would be filing lawsuits seeking another $30 million dollars in damages. Those claims are still pending and Zisa’s attorneys have refused to dismiss them. I want Hackensack residents to know that this administration will never allow Mr. Zisa to get away with this tax-payer rip off and we will vigorously defend the city against these outrageous legal threats. Mr. Zisa should drop any claims against the City immediately. I also want to go on to say that a lot of these decisions, it seems, said there was no viable witnesses and no credibility. I disagree with that. I do not believe that all these cops lied. To sit there and discredit our police officers as liars does not sit well with me. That is my opinion. I certainly do not believe that all our police officers stood there under oath and lied. Council Intr Secon Abstai Absen Recuse Member o d Yes No n t d Battaglia X X Deputy Mayor Canestrino X X Sims X Keeling- X Geddis Mayor Labrosse X A RESOLUTION CALLING FOR AN EXECUTIVE MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL FOR THE FOLLOWING PURPOSES: 10/12/2016 6  WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack deem it necessary to discuss certain actions under Section 7b7 & 7b8 of the Open Public Meetings Act which pertains to matters falling within attorney-client privilege, on-going litigation and personnel matters concerning the employment of a current or prospective public employee(s). WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack is of the opinion that such circumstances may presently exist; and WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council wishes to discuss the following issues: 1. Personnel Matters 2. On-going Litigation - Zisa 3. Matters involving attorney/client privilege NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack deem it necessary to exclude the public from this discussion. The outcome of the discussion will be disclosed within 90 days or at such time as the interests of the City do not require confidentiality. Judge Carver and Attorney Kate Walsh left at 7:48pm. A motion to adjourn the closed session was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Battaglia. There being no further business a motion to adjourn the meeting was offered by Deputy Mayor Canestrino and seconded by Councilman Battaglia. The meeting was adjourned at 7:51 P.M. Approved by Mayor and Council on November 1, 2016. ______________________________________ Mayor John P. Labrosse, Jr. ______________________________________ Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino ______________________________________ Councilman Leonardo Battaglia ______________________________________ Councilman David Sims ABSENT ______________________________________ Councilwoman Deborah Keeling-Geddis 10/12/2016 7 _______________________________ Deborah Karlsson, City Clerk 10/12/2016 8