The Jersey City Independent "

Turnout was relatively light at Wednesday’s City Council meeting; about 75 people came to council chambers, many of them holding signs in quiet protest of the elimination of the Second Chance jobs program at the Jersey City Incinerator Authority (JCIA). Also in attendance by the end of the meeting was Jersey City’s newly minted business administrator, Jack Kelly. The council considered two first reading ordinances, five second reads and 52 resolutions in about three hours. For the third meeting in a row Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson was absent, with city clerk Robert Byrne reporting that she was attending to an ill family member; Byrne also stated that Richardson is expected to return for the next meeting.

There’s a New BA in Town

Jack Kelly, the 21-year veteran Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the City of Orange, was confirmed as Jersey City’s new business administrator (BA) by the city council on Wednesday. As we reported last week, Mayor Healy’s nomination of Kelly met with little resistance from the council, and the confirming resolution passed with a vote of 7-1. The lone nay was cast by Ward E councilman Steven Fulop.

Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan summed up his opinion of Kelly by saying that he was “very impressed” when he met with him, and stated that after conferring with “at least ten financial people and business people … in Hudson County and also people that are in [Kelly's] field in other counties, [he] didn’t have one negative report.”

Other council members, including Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano, focused their remarks on Kelly’s long municipal experience and past work on property revaluations when casting their ayes. Sottolano noted that Kelly is a certified assessor, and said “the fact that we’re going through a reval at this time” was a deciding factor for him.

Fulop also said his vote was based on the reval. Noting that he is opposed to the timing of the reval that Mayor Healy has requested, Fulop said he “cannot support anybody who comes in” intending to carry it out. Fulop has stated that he would like to see the reval delayed until the housing market reaches its lowest point, something he believes has yet to occur.

Although Council President Peter Brennan motioned to defer to a vote on Kelly’s confirming resolution before the public hearing, the move was kiboshed after protests from Fulop.

“I think in the public speaking portion there probably are gonna be people who want to speak on that,” Fulop said. Brennan’s motion was not seconded and after a brief sidebar conversation with Sottolano, Brennan withdrew his motion.

A small number of residents did address the council during the public hearing portion of the meeting to disapprove of the Mayor’s choice. Yvonne Balcer told the council that she takes issue with Kelly’s part-time employment as the tax assessor for Caldwell and Essex Fells.

“I do not want a person in Jersey City that will … perhaps be doing the work of another town here,” Balcer said.

Dale Hardman, who like Balcer is a longtime Downtown resident, opposed Kelly’s appointment for other reasons. He pointed to a 1998 report by the State Commission of Investigation (SCI) which leveled allegations of “irregular purchasing procedures and avoidance of public bidding laws” during Kelly’s tenure as Orange CFO, as well as improper pressure on Orange city staffers to contribute to former Orange Mayor Robert Brown’s campaign war chest that came from Brown and members of his administration. No charges were ever brought against Kelly or any other individual as a result of the SCI’s findings, but some citizens here have seized on the report as evidence that Kelly is corrupt.

“Jack Kelly, if voted as our new business administrator, will continue the same malfeasance,” Hardman said. “This guy is bad news for Jersey City and the city council should deny his approval.”

In accepting the confirmation, Jack Kelly did not respond directly to his critics, but promised that he “plan[s] on winning each one of them over simply by hard work, integrity and honesty.” He thanked the council for its “vote of confidence.”

Kelly is set to begin work in his new position on Tuesday, May 18. Outgoing business administrator Brian O’Reilly is scheduled to remain on as an assistant BA until July 31 in order to facilitate the transition.

Some Litter Patrol Employees Reinstated, Others Left Hanging

Although the city announced this week that it would shell out $71,000 to the JCIA to reinstate 31 litter cleanup positions for developmentally challenged adults, several other litter patrol employees whose jobs were cut but not reinstated were on hand to lodge their protests.

About two dozen members and supporters of the Second Chance program, many carrying signs with slogans like “Help Us” and “I Love My Job,” sat and stood quietly at the back of council chambers until the public hearing portion of the meeting.

Unlike the pool of 70 participants in Hudson Community Enterprises’ (HCE) vocational rehabilitation program, the 26 litter patrol employees who participate in the city’s Second Chance program did not see their jobs reinstated this week. The city created the Second Chance litter removal program last year after homeless service organization The Doe Fund suspended their Ready, Willing & Able program in Jersey City due to a lack of funds. Second Chance, which is funded by the state Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) program, provides formerly incarcerated people with steady employment and job training.

Dorothy Wilson, who said she “was a Second Chance employee at the JCIA until we lost the funds,” asked the council to restore the program.

“I speak for all those here tonight and more,” Wilson said. “We may have made mistakes in life, but we also love this beautiful city. Please give us our jobs back.”

Speaking to JCI on Wednesday, JCIA CEO Oren Dabney called the litter patrol a “great program” and said he is pleased the HCE contract was reinstated. However, he acknowledged the 26 “other Second Chance people that we had to let go,” and said he hoped to find funding to continue that program as well.

“Right now we’re just hoping the economy [gets] better,” Dabney said. “With a $4.1 million shortfall, it’s tough.”

HCE CEO Maureen Walliser thanked the council for their support of HCE’s request to have their 31 positions restored, but she acknowledged that after the contract expires on June 30 it may be difficult to find funds to renew it.

“I would ask you to please in the coming weeks to work with me in terms of identifying some additional funding to continue this very valuable program,” Walliser said.

But Dabney did not sound hopeful. Referring to impending citywide layoffs, he remarked that the JCIA “can’t just renew contracts if we’re gonna lay off union employees that work permanently for the service.”

Speaking at the council meeting, deputy mayor for economic development Rosemary McFadden reminded the council and the assembled program participants that the Second Chance program is funded by a UEZ grant of which the future is uncertain. Gov. Christie froze UEZ funds earlier this year as part of his slash-and-burn efforts to pare down the state budget.

Meanwhile, Fulop took the opportunity of the discussion of a shortage of funds at the JCIA to beat the drum on health benefits for members of that board, an expense he tried to eliminate by ordinance earlier this year. Fulop’s proposal to completely eliminate health benefits for the part-time board members of the JCIA and the Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) failed, but a less comprehensive proposal made by the administration was passed in its stead.

On Wednesday, Fulop called the cost of health benefits as a percentage of personnel costs at the JCIA “astronomical.” He suggested that the funds used to pay for health benefits be transferred to the Second Chance program.

“This program has to be restored,” Fulop said. “Those board people do not need benefits.”

Ward B councilman David Donnelly reported that the cost of reinstating the Second Chance program would be “only another $42,000,” adding that “we need to figure this out.”

Speaking on behalf of the administration, deputy mayor Kabili Tayari told the council that he “was surprised to see the individuals here with placards” on Wednesday evening, thinking that the matter had been resolved.

“We’re just understanding tonight that it was greater than just Hudson [Community] Enterprises,” Tayari said. He added that the administration has “already moved to … get director Dabney in here … and begin to start some real fiscal discussion about what this issue is.”

Council President Peter Brennan, while telling the assembled Second Chance participants that he was supportive of their request, suggested they “go to the board of the Incinerator Authority and lodge your complaints.”

“They’re the ones who released you, not us,” Brennan said. “But we will try to help you out.”

Police and Fire Contracts Approved

Despite all the saber-rattling and hot-tempered outbursts heard at the April 14 City Council meeting, when the council rejected proposed police and fire contracts, the approval of revised contracts at Wednesday’s meeting was not marked by much comment.

At Monday’s caucus meeting, assistant business administrator Bob Kakoleski asked the council to approve five labor contracts on this week’s agenda, including three of the four police and fire contracts that the council voted down last month.

Council members had cited a lack of city funds to pay for negotiated raises as the reason for rejecting the contracts. Although the unions had conceded a change to their health care plan that according to business administrator Brian O’Reilly would save the city about $1 million annually, the raises called for in the contract would have cost an estimated $8 million over the four-year contract period. The rejected contracts provided for a retroactive 3 percent pay raise for 2009, 3.3 percent in 2010, 3.4 percent in 2011 and 3.5 percent in 2012.

“I can’t in good conscience vote for a contract that gives these raises out when other employees are being furloughed,” said Ward B councilman David Donnelly as he voted no last month.

The revised contracts instead promise raises of 2.75 percent in each year of the contract, or a total of 11 percent over the four years. Kakoleski told the council on Monday that the reduced raises and additional health plan givebacks from the unions will decrease the overall cost by over $4 million compared to the earlier contracts.

The revised contracts were approved 7-1, with Ward C councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez casting the lone nay. While her council colleagues were positive about the cost reductions that came with the contract revisions, Lopez said it was “difficult … to approve any contract that includes raises.” While she thanked the police officers and firefighters for their service to the community, she stated that “their apathy for the economic crisis and how it affects our citizens, that’s not commendable.”

However, Lopez acknowledged that if the contracts were to be rejected again and move to arbitration, the process could end up costing the city a great deal in legal fees and the gains that the city had already negotiated might be lost.

“Regardless of how I vote, I feel stuck between a rock and a hard place,” Lopez said. “I don’t know which is the least damaging.”

In supporting the contracts, several council members commented that the negotiation process had been productive.

Sottolano thanked “both sides for their level-headedness,” while Gaughan remarked that “in all [his] years here this is probably one of the healthiest [contract negotiations] that we’ve had.”

Fulop justified his support for the contracts by pointing to the unions’ concession of the traditional health care plan, also called the “Cadillac” plan because of the comprehensive and affordable coverage it provides. The business administrator’s office estimated that this giveback alone saved the city over $5 million over the life of the public safety contracts.

“What this contract does is it lends itself to clarity for the city,” Fulop said. “I understand that a salary increase in this environment is very unpalatable but at the same time this is a big giveback that they’re giving.” The contract that Fulop voted against on April 14 also provided for the concession of the Cadillac plan.

Local 1066 Firefighters Union president Joseph Krajnik was at the council meeting on Wednesday, but he did not speak during the public hearing. Krajnik told JCI after the meeting that although “it was a tough thing to give up the traditional plan,” he was “comfortable” with the revised agreements.

Kakoleski noted on Monday that the Police Superior Officers Association, which represents officers of upper ranks, has not agreed to a contract and is “in full-blown arbitration.”

Now that the council has approved the contracts, the unions must ratify them before they take effect. The unions are under some pressure to ratify the contracts before May 21, when a new state law is to be enacted that will require all government employees to contribute 1.5 percent of their salaries to the cost of their health benefits.

In addition to the agreements with Firefighters 1066, Fire Officers Association Local 1064 (which represents firefighters of upper ranks) and the Police Officers Benevolent Association, the council approved contracts with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 68-68A (which represents the city’s boiler operators) and Jersey City Public Employees Local 245 (which represents employees in the Department of Public Works).

Redevelopment Plan Amended

One second reading ordinance attracted the attention of Lycel Villanueva, a professional planner and resident of Pine Street who recently won a victory leading an effort to prevent the construction of a proposed community center on her block.

Early this week, Villanueva submitted a letter to the council lodging a concern about amendments the Planning Board had recommended for the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan that would create a new Transit-Oriented Development subdistrict (TOD-South) in that area. In the letter, Villanueva claimed that the building height permitted in the TOD-South plan, while perhaps appropriate for Suydam Street, did not consider the “residential” and “desirable” qualities of adjacent Pine Street.

“Whereas the gist of the proposed amendments promote commendable planning principles,” Villanueva wrote, “the amendments call for a minimum of four stories up to a maximum of eight stories in a small street primarily occupied by buildings no taller than three stories.”

As a result of Villanueva’s appeals to Planning Department director Bob Cotter and staffer Kristin Russell, the amendments plan was itself amended before it was unanimously approved by the council on Wednesday. Russell told the council that changes were made to the TOD-South plan that would limit the height of buildings on Pine Street to four stories or 45 feet; she told city clerk Robert Byrne that the Planning Department would soon provide an updated copy of the plan for inclusion in the public record.

Villanueva told the council that although the revised plan caps new buildings at “one more story than [she] would want,” she was pleased with the changes. However, she also took the opportunity to say that the process by which city planners and developers consult with communities affected by development is wanting.

“The system is not functioning properly, because by the time the plan was presented to the community it was already weeks after it was presented to the Planning Board,” Villanueva stated. “The intent of the plan to involve the community did not happen.”

Still Waiting for Movement on Food Trucks

Returning the council’s attention to an issue that has been up in the air for over a year, Christine McDaniel of the Louisiana Spice Truck asked the council for a status update on the revised food truck ordinance. Local vendors have asked the council to change the existing ordinance, which prevents mobile food trucks from remaining in a given location for more than 20 minutes during a four-hour period; some have complained that the law is obscure and selectively enforced.

Since a February 2009 request from longtime food truck vendors working near New Jersey City University, food truck vendors have come to a number of council meetings, an ordinance to fix the problem was drafted but never introduced, an investigation was launched against now-retired health department official Joseph Castagna for potentially issuing illegal food vendor permits and the city’s promises to fix the problem in a timely fashion have been broken.

A council subcommittee made up of Brennan, Gaughan and Fulop was created last October and charged with drafting an ordinance that both eases the burden on the food truck vendors and creates a policy for handling the potentially large number of excess food permits currently out in the city. As of the January 13 meeting, the subcommittee had not met. Fulop told city attorney Bill Matsikoudis at that meeting that there has been no progress because of “a lack of clarity” on the number of potentially illegal food vendor licenses. Matsikoudis responded that he thought “there [had] been some type of determination” made about the number of illegal licenses, and said he would get an update to the council members.

However, when asked for that update by Fulop on Wednesday, Matsikoudis denied that he had promised it and said he couldn’t supply the information because the matter is “still under investigation.” He told the members of the subcommittee instead to decide “how many [licenses] you think should be in the city, period.”

Fulop insisted that a reasonable policy could not be drafted without at least a ballpark figure on the number of illegal licenses. At-Large councilman Mariano Vega* chimed in to agree.

“We needed that number in order to frame a better policy,” he said.

McDaniel indicated that her truck’s permit expires on June 30 and asked the council to clarify what steps she and other vendors need to take to make sure they don’t “lose [their] investment.”

“There’s been no sort of dialogue with the vendors,” McDaniel stated.

Matsikoudis once again said that the Law Department would work with the subcommittee to “get something together for the next caucus” and promised McDaniel that the city would “try to get it resolved, certainly well before June 30.” (He later visited the truck to say the city will have answers on the permits next week, according to a tweet from the vendor this morning.)

Hudson Regional’s Contract Approved

Back in March, a resolution to approve a nearly $88,000 contract to expand the services of the Hudson Regional Health Commission (HRHC) was withdrawn in an effort to pressure the agency to improve its response the Reliable Wood Products processing plant on Caven Point Road.

HRHC is under contract with the city to respond to certain types of health and safety complaints, but the council withheld approval of the contract after Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson first said in January that she had a “problem renewing this contract” in light of what some think is a poor record of responding to complaints about the foul smells and oily airborne residue coming from Reliable’s plant.

HRHC director Bob Ferrauiolo came to that March caucus to make the agency’s case for the contract, in spite of his acknowledgment that it “[has] to do something a little more” to satisfy the demands of the area’s residents to act against Reliable. Ferrauiolo and HRHC deputy director Gary Garatano explained to the council that some of the policies that the community and council see as “not constituent-friendly,” most notably that a complainant must be at the site at the same time as the HRHC inspector in order to register a complaint, are required by statute.

The council was not particularly warm to Ferrauiolo at that meeting, expressing frustration that it would take so long to find an actionable complaint.

“Jeez, you get there and the place stinks,” Sottolano exclaimed to Ferrauiolo. “What the hell’s the difference if the complainant’s there or not?”

Ferrauiolo returned to the caucus room on Monday to update the council on HRHC’s progress on Reliable. He reported that he and members of his staff had met with Richardson and affected community members and taken some “extraordinary steps” to rectify the situation, including instituting daily surveillance of the plant. Ferrauiolo said that to date four violations have been written against Reliable, carrying fines of up to $15,000 apiece.

“We have been all over that particular complaint,” Ferrauiolo assured the council. He added that HRHC “does so much more than odor complaints” and has performed its services without an increase in billed costs for two years in a row.

The council was apparently satisfied with Ferrauiolo’s report, as they unanimously approved HRHC’s contract on Wednesday.

First Reads

The council considered only two first reading ordinances, both of which passed. You can see the full text of the first reads here.

• Ord. 10-069 would dissolve four appointed commissions that the administration considers to be of no further use to the city: the Ellis Island Commission, the Human Rights Commission, the Municipal Drug & Alcohol Abuse Alliance and the Tourist Commission. According to the ordinance, these boards “no longer serve important government functions and have been left unfilled for a number of years.” Although city clerk Robert Byrne noted at Monday’s caucus that all of the boards eliminated by this ordinance “have been absorbed by other functions at the city and county level,” Vega* apparently did not agree. Voting against introduction on Wednesday, he argued that “it’s a mistake to eliminate the Human Rights Commission and the Tourist Commission.” The bill was introduced 7-1 over the At-Large councilman’s objections.
• Ord. 10-070 would expand on Ord. 10-058, which was adopted at the council’s April 28 meeting. That ordinance established rules for on-street reserved and metered parking on Skinner Memorial Drive near the Jersey City Medical Center. Jersey City Parking Authority CEO Mary Spinello explained at the April 26 caucus that the new parking spaces would provide additional parking for hospital workers as well as teachers at nearby P.S. #3 and bring in revenue from sales of parking permits. The new ordinance, drafted at Fulop’s request, creates similar rules on the south side of Grand Street between River and Tidewater Streets.

Odds and Ends

• In addition to the ordinance amending the Morris Canal Redevelopment Plan, all other second reading ordinances passed unanimously. You can read about these ordinances here.
• Aside from the five labor contracts approved by the council and the resolution appointing Jack Kelly as the new business administrator, the council considered 46 other resolutions; of these, 38 passed unanimously.
• One approved resolution authorizes the Bank of America to serve as the custodian of the city’s Section 108 loans. Section 108 is a program of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that permits municipalities to assume the role of guarantor on loans to private developers. Bank of America receives $750 annually from the city for this service. While Donnelly voted in favor of the resolution, he warned that “unless they start to treat the city better” he would withhold future votes favoring the bank. The bank caused a stir and faced public protest when it closed its branch at the MLK Hub in Ward F earlier this year.
• Fulop abstained from a vote to approve almost $257,000 in refunds and credits for successful tax appeals; the resolution passed 7-0-1.
• Fulop voted against a resolution to authorize the city to go out to bid for a contract to perform the upcoming property revaluation; the bill passed 7-1. As noted earlier in this story, Fulop says he opposes performing a reval at this time.
• A contract for up to $35,000 with engineer Nicholas Setteducato of Bloomfield was approved 7-1, with Fulop voting no. Setteducato is hired annually by the city to review “Site Plans, Subdivisions, Franchise Ordinances, Street Vacations and Dedications, TWA permits and other similar services” for the Division of Engineering, Traffic and Transportation. At Monday’s caucus, Fulop asked why these services cannot be performed in-house given that “we have a whole traffic and engineering department.” As he cast his nay on Wednesday, he remarked that “every dollar counts.”
• The city accepted a grant of over $22,500 from the state Division of Law and Public Safety Body Armor Replacement Fund.
• The council approved two resolutions to amend the 2010 budget, inserting close to $1.5 million in late-breaking grant revenues coming from the federal Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) programs as well as the state Clean Communities Grant program, as well as reducing by a total of almost $185,000 the allocations for the closed-circuit television (CCTV) and Summer Food programs.
• The city was authorized to use a competitive bidding process to purchase or license computer-aided mass appraisal software that the Tax Assessor’s office will need after the completion of the property revaluation.
• The council authorized the city to apply for three grants: one for $200,000 from the state Division of Criminal Justice Safe and Secure Communities Program to partially fund salaries for eight police officers; one for an amount to be determined from the federal Department of Justice Bulletproof Vest Replacement Program; and another for an unspecified amount from the USA Swimming Foundation for the Make a Splash Water Safety and Learn to Swim program.
• The council approved a second amendment to a redevelopment agreement between the city, the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA) and redeveloper Impact-JC. The agreement pertains to a proposed office, garage and retail project on city-owned property on Skinner Memorial Drive. At Monday’s caucus, JCRA executive director Bob Antonicello told the council that the agency is “still in the process of valuing” the property and needs more time to make a formal recommendation for how the property should be used.
• Two lawsuit settlements were authorized: $35,000 for Monica Preciado, who alleged that she was severely and permanently injured when she was struck by a vehicle driven by Division of Forestry employee Kenneth Jackson; and $15,000 for Leonard Sutton, who claimed that he broke his ankle while being arrested by city police officers.
• Technical support firm AECOM was authorized to submit an application to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) on behalf of PPG for approval of its plan to use several large water holding tanks during chromium cleanup at 880-900 Garfield Avenue.
• Several appointments to boards and commissions were made: Martin King Jackson and Mary McDonald to the Jersey City Alcoholic Beverage Control Board (ABC); Marcos A. Beria to the Jersey City Cultural Affairs Arts Commission; Elba Perez Cinciarelli and Raj Mukherji to the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA); Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan, Rodney Hadley and Larry Ross to the Insurance Fund Commission; Angelica Harrison to the Jersey City Parking Authority; and Ward F councilwoman Viola Richardson and Ward A councilman Michael Sottolano to the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency (JCRA). Gaughan and Sottolano abstained from the votes on their own appointments and Ward C councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez abstained from the vote pertaining to Cinciarelli, whom she identified as her cousin. All other appointments were unanimously approved.
• The council honored the Queen Esther Chapter Number 2 of the Order of the Eastern Star on its 103rd anniversary; teacher and athletic coach Major Brown, Jr., who passed away on April 23, was eulogized by the council.
• The following bus stops were eliminated: southbound far-side on Central Avenue at Congress Street; northbound far-side on Monticello Avenue at Belmont Avenue; westbound near-side on Newark Avenue at Monmouth Street; northbound far-side on Ocean Avenue at Myrtle Avenue. A westbound near-side bus stop was created on Newark Avenue at 3rd Street. The southbound bus stop on West Side Avenue at Logan Avenue was changed from a near-side to a far-side stop.

What Are We Buying?

The council approved the following purchases on Wednesday:

• $175,000 and $150,000 to increase contracts with Verizon for monthly charges for data circuits and the Centrex voice telephone service, respectively; the previous contract amounts were $175,000 and $124,000, respectively.
• Over $110,000 to increase a contract with the Goldstein Partnership of Millburn for property surveying associated with the construction of a new West District Police Precinct; the previous contract amount was $745,750.
• Close to $82,000 to Dimension Data US of Happauge, N.Y. for a VOIP phone system.
• Almost $38,000 to Lawman Supply of Egg Harbor City for police ammunition.
• Over $17,000 to increase a contract with Dresdner Robin of Jersey City for environmental assessment and site investigation at the 6th Street Embankment; the previous contract amount was close to $21,500.
• $16,000 to Dr. Joseph Popovich of Jersey City for medical consulting services associated with the designation of parking spaces for the disabled.

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