Here is the recap of last night's City Council Meeting:The ordinance for the $2.2 million in bonds DR-389 was voted down 4-3 with Zimmer and Ramos abstaining Cammerano, Giachi, and Labruno voting for it and Mason, Cunningham, Russo, and Castellano against. The main gist was that if the bill has already been spent then why bond? Common sense prevailed on this vote.
The Ordinance regarding the Parking violations fines increasing passed unanimously as there was little doubt that Hoboken needs to raise fees keep up with State surcharges.
On resolutions the following actions and discussions took place:
1) The application for grant money with NJ DOT to fix various streets in Hoboken. There were questions form the public as to how which roads were chosen and the answer was it is determined by an engineer who triaged them based on general conditions and use. This was passed.
2) Cali Carting got an extension on their contract for Recyling for the next 4 months. A full RFP will go out in July. Some citizens were concerned at the no-bid aspect of this but the City lost many certified drivers at the end of the year and this is a need that had to be filled now.
3) The resolution to officially confirm Sharron Curran as Tax collector was tabled. There were concerns over the 4 year term and it was pointed out by the City Counsel Steve Kleinman that this is a position that is protected from political whims by having a mandated 4 year term. It is also a State requirement that the person be certified. Theresa Castellano and Mike Russo had concerns over having the opportunity to get someone from Hoboken as it was pointed out that Sharron Curren is not a resident of Hoboken currently. Peter Cunningham stressed that this is a position that must be filled immediately and asked if there was anyone in Hoboken listening to come forward if they are certified.
Here is a photo Of Fred Bado "Old Newspaper Style":
4) Authorizing the Planning Board to do a preliminary investigation to the Northwest Region of Hoboken. This is a story that has been covered well by Hoboken 411 in the last week if you need more background. The discussion on this issue lasted over 2 hours with people on both sides of redevelopment and PILOTS speaking up such as Lane Bjardi, Dan Thompson, Fred Bado and some pro-developer guy who mumbled his name like Charlie Brown's School teacher.My take: Maybe PILOTS in some circumstances would be warranted if they were not so developer friendly but there does not appear to any PILOT under Roberts Administration that benefits the City in a positive way in this pundits preliminary opinion. This is a complex issue and the City has not been very forthright in given out information about these arrangements in the past.
5) The amending of a prior resolution awarding contract for appraisal services was taken off the agenda by Mike Russo.
6) The certification of the 3rd Quarter estimated tax bill was passed.
7) The Emergency Temporary Appropriations was not passed this time around by the City Council. Does this mean a government shutdown or is there enough money to go around for another two weeks? Stay tuned.
I didn't stay for the introduction of new ordinances or the open Public Comments section as it was 11pm and after two hours of Fred Bado Q& A on PILOTS I was done. Others left early too citing exhaustion of hearing Mr. Bado for such a long time.
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