Council Meeting 3-5-26

And pull my knees up to my chest, I
understand that. So, I won't
Monday, but like she called me on Friday
and like hey,
Wednesday Wednesday is now At this time,
I'll call the meeting to order.
We'll start the flag salute, Mayor.
Please.
to the flag of the United States of
America and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation under God,
indivisible, with liberty and justice
for all.
ROLL CALL. CLARK. HERE. EVANS. HERE.
ROTUNDA. HERE. LIGHT. HERE. PARKER.
HERE. SYKES. HERE. And Dorizas is
absent.
Sunshine statement. This is to advise
that certain advance notice has been
given to the date, time, location, and
to the extent known, the agenda of this
meeting in accordance with the provision
of the Open Public Meeting Act.
And notice of this meeting has been
posted prominently at the bulletin board
in the municipal complex lobby, on the
city's website, and communicated through
the newspaper designated by the
governing body.
This is also to further advise that this
meeting is being recorded electronically
and can be viewed on the city's website
at absecon nj.gov.
THIRD ONE THERE.
OKAY.
AT THIS TIME, I'd like to
offer a presentation by Joe Henry of
Hardenbergh Insurance.
I'm right here. Can everybody hear me?
Yeah, sure.
Yes.
Perfect.
All right. So, I'm Joe Henry. As a
member of the Atlantic City, you're
required to have an RMC, so we serve as
your risk manager. Also, you're required
to have a safety committee.
Just wanted to let you know, your safety
committee meets four times a year, and
you
achieved the award last year, the
monetary award for doing all the things
that are required in your safety
incentive program. One of which is to
discuss safety on
at one council meeting a year at least.
So, as you know from having been here
last year, I bring a topic to you. And
this year, if you take a look at here,
the topic is going to be service
dogs and emotional support animals.
This came about because if you take a
look at that, that's a guy on the
Wildwood boardwalk.
That is a wolf. Oh my god. Yes.
It was confirmed it was a wolf.
Does anybody in the audience It sparked
a lot of conversation in the Atlantic
City because naturally down here, a lot
of towns have boardwalks. So, what do we
what do we do if we encounter a
situation like this? So,
I will move on and tell you a little bit
about service dogs and leave you. Under
the American Disabilities Act, the ADA,
which we're all familiar with, it's a
service animal defined as a dog that has
been individually trained to do work
and perform tasks for an individual with
a disability.
If you take a look at that, that is a
miniature horse. There is a separate
provision added to allow miniature
horses.
I I don't know, but
uh this the statute does specifically
state dogs. If you've ever been in the
company of these service dogs, they are
incredible animals and they will do
specifically what is expected of them.
Moving on to page three, some of the
things that they'll do
for their owner, they can guide a person
who is blind, alert a person who is
deaf, pull a wheelchair.
Uh it's pretty amazing that these dogs
can feel a seizure coming on to their
handler and hopefully alert that person
so they're not injured in a fall. And
also, they certainly help people with
PTSD.
These dogs do have legal rights as I
mentioned, they're covered under the
ADA, which is a very strict law.
Uh the law enables people with
disabilities the right to be accompanied
by their service animals in public
places. Service animals are allowed to
be taken into a person's workplace.
Facilities with no pet policies must
adhere to the law, and service animals
are not pets under the law. They are
considered medical equipment.
As with everything else in life, there
are a few exceptions. Restricted areas
such as sterile environments for in
hospitals for obvious reasons.
Uh they are allowed in the public
swimming pools, but not in the water.
They can be on the decking area. And
also, boarding schools, naturally you'll
run into some students that may be
allergic to some type of pet dander, so
they would make special provisions for
that. And also, at a zoo, they can't
they may be directed away from certain
animals, obviously, because they're in
enclosures and they can be disruptive.
In identifying a service animal on page
six, and this is really the key to the
whole thing. There's only two things you
can ask.
Is the dog a service animal required
because of a disability, and what work
or task
has that dog been trained to perform? As
I mentioned, they're remarkable animals
and they will be in the owner's control
throughout.
In identifying a service animal, I did
mention the two things you may ask. You
cannot ask these under any
circumstances. The nature of a person's
disability, for a demonstration of a
task that the animal may perform, for
certification, licensing, identification
cards.
Uh there's no such thing. They can be
trained, you find a trainer, you get a
trained uh the only really the only
identifiable thing would be that jacket
that
almost all dogs will have that because
their owners want them identified. And
you cannot ask how and where the animal
was trained.
From page eight, service animal
handler's responsibilities. The handler
will have the following
responsibilities. It must remain under
their control at all times. Must be
housebroken and must remain in the
handler's custody as I mentioned. And
the handlers are responsible for any
damage caused by the animal, which is
very unlikely that that would be the
case.
Uh I've encountered three of them in the
last few months after dinner, and they
simply sit with the jacket on. They're
They're sitting at their handler's feet
and just waiting for the next thing
they're called to do. So, they're
incredible animals. And we do work with
school districts also. And uh
we know organizations that have service
dogs that uh the districts have
worked with them bringing them into the
school for the kids. And also,
uh
on page nine, I listed emotional support
animals. You'll see that, that's a
peacock. People with emotional support
animals, they do not fall under the ADA.
Totally separate from service animals.
Uh some people will claim a peacock,
some people claim snakes, some people
claim lizards. There's no debating that
it gives them emotional support, but
they're not covered under the ADA. So,
registration is not required and holds
no legal value.
And also, ESA letters are written and
signed by licensed mental health
professionals. So, if it does come into
question in any private area,
they can produce those and it's up to
the individuals in the private zone to
decide if they want those animals in
their place.
I've listed the sources on page 10. You
can take a look if you'd like to get a
little further into it, but basically,
those two questions that I mentioned
covers it all.
That's this year's topic. Any questions
you're related to or your safety
committee, please feel free to ask. If
not, I'll just get out of your way.
Thank you, Joe. Thank you. Thanks.
Thanks. Thank you for your time. Thank
you.
Okay.
Regular meeting agenda.
Do I hear a motion for the second
reading of ordinance 5-2026?
Motion.
Second.
Those in favor. Roll call. Clark. Yes.
Evans. Yes. Rotunda. Yes. Light. Yes.
Parker. Yes. Sykes. Yes.
Ordinance 5-
2026, an ordinance of the City of
Absecon repealing and replacing chapter
224, article 25 of the Land Use and
Development Ordinance entitled
Affordable Housing. May I hear a motion
to open the meeting to the public for
comment and discussion of this
ordinance? Motion. Second. All in favor?
Aye. Aye. OPPOSED?
DO ANY OF THE PUBLIC LIKE TO SPEAK ON
THIS
TOPIC?
OKAY.
MAY I HEAR A motion to close the public
portion? Motion.
Second.
I'll second. Here we go. All in favor?
Aye. [laughter]
All in favor?
>> [laughter]
>> All right, back to May I hear a motion
for the final reading and adoption of
ordinance 5-2026?
>> Motion. I'll second.
>> [laughter]
>> ROLL CALL. CLARK. YES. EVANS. YES.
ROTUNDA. YES. LIGHT. YES. PARKER. YES.
SYKES. YES.
Ordinance 5-
2026, ordinance of the City of Absecon
repealing and replacing chapter 224,
article 25 of the Land Use and
Development Ordinance entitled
Affordable Housing. This ordinance has
been heard and is finally approved.
Consent agenda.
Number 57, authorizing to prorate,
cancel, and refund property taxes for
the first and second quarters of
2026 on the property located 8 Cortez
Ave, block 95, lot 12.
Number 58, authorizing a refund of an
overpayment of taxes for the first
quarter of 2026 on the listed property.
Number 59, a resolution determining the
form and other details of not exceeding
2 million general obligation bonds of
the City of Absecon and providing for
their sale to the state to the New
Jersey Infrastructure Bank in the State
of New Jersey pursuant to the Waterbank
financing program of the New Jersey
Infrastructure Bank and authorizing the
execution and delivery of certain loan
agreements and an escrow agreement in
connection therewith.
Number 60, a resolution determining the
form of the details of its note relating
to the construction financing program of
the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank to be
issued in the principal amount of up to
2 million
in one or more series and providing for
the issuance and sale of such note It
won't It should say notes No, okay. of
such note in one or more series to the
New Jersey Infrastructure Bank and
authorizing the execution and delivery
of such note in one or more series by
the city of Absecon in favor of the New
Jersey Infrastructure Bank or pursuant
to the New Jersey Infrastructure Bank
construction financing program.
Number 61, approving IT services by
Network Connectivity for the municipal
complex building. Number 62, approving
for HVAC services by Bishop Mechanical
Services Inc. for various department.
Number 63, authorizing the city clerk to
issue boat ramp permits to local
marinas.
Public portion, consent items only.
Do I hear a motion to open the meeting
to the public for agenda items only?
Motion. Second.
All in favor? Aye.
>> Aye. Opposed?
We have anyone from the public that
would like to speak on consent agenda
items only?
Anyone?
Okay.
Do I hear a motion to close the meeting
to the public?
>> Motion. Second. All in favor? Aye.
>> Aye. Opposed?
Consent agenda. May I hear a motion to
move to the consent agenda? Motion.
Second.
Roll call. Clark? Yes. Evans? Yes.
Fartunda? Yes. Light? Yes. Parker? Yes.
Sykes? Yes.
Approval of the bill list, 3,525,576
and 40 cents. May I hear a motion to
accept the bill list? Motion. Second.
All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? I'm
sorry, roll call. I skipped it. I'm
sorry. Roll call. Clark? Yes. Evans?
Yes. Fartunda? Yes. Light? Yes. Parker?
Yes. Sykes? Yes.
Approval of the minutes, regular meeting
minutes
for [snorts] February 5th, 2026. May I
hear a motion to accept the minutes?
Motion.
Second.
Roll call. Clark? Yes. Evans? Yes.
Fartunda? Yes. Light? Yes. Parker? Yes.
Sykes? Yes.
Okay, we will move into reports of our
council committees and we will start
with Nick. We have not met since our
last meeting. Uh, code enforcement will
meet on March 17th uh, at 4:00 p.m. All
welcome.
>> [clears throat]
>> Okay, we will go into Mike Sykes. Um,
parks and rec met on the 17th of
February. We discussed the concerts. Um
we're still waiting to hear the official
lineup. I think we do have everybody
set. We just got to pick the dates. Um I
think I already sent out the email the
other You sent it to me the other day.
I did. Okay. So, we did see that. Um,
we're going to try to get that out to
community affairs and have something
posted.
Um, Christine and I usually do a nice
job typing something up. So, we'll try
to get that out to the public.
Um, I'm giving Christine credit for
that. That's right. I haven't done it
yet.
>> [laughter]
>> So, we'll try to get that out to
everybody so you guys can plan
accordingly, you know, set the summer
schedule up for that. Um, again, it'll
be every Sunday, tentative uh, tentative
weekends.
Um, we discussed a couple things about,
you know, the lights that we talked
about and the gold post. All those
things are still on the table. Um, we're
going to try to plan and plan
accordingly.
Um, also, big kudos to um
public works for the last snowstorm. Um,
I know, you know, a couple complaints,
people didn't understand the ice of the
previous snowstorm and this last one. I
saw that they did plow around the uh,
the walkway here and things like that.
So, um, these guys did a really good
job. It was a lot more snow than we had
the first time uh, and again, with a
limited crew of six,
uh, I think they did an outstanding job
at the city. So, pretty soon we'll have
that.
Councilwoman Parker.
Public safety met this past Monday. Um
just like the February meeting, the
theme of the meeting was our past storm.
Um, again, our police and fire
department and our ambulance squad did a
great job of keeping us safe during our
last snowstorm and also went above and
beyond in some of the things they did. I
know the fire department really helped
me out with the trees in my neighborhood
um, and I know they did the same
throughout the city.
Um, I think
from the tone on Facebook and other
social medias, you can tell Absecon
really came together with this last
storm and it was something nice to see.
There was a lot of good positive
feedback after the storm for public
safety, public works and everything. Um,
so, great job to all who came in and
worked um, during this storm.
Chief, do you have anything to add?
No, just to reiterate what you're
saying. Um, the fire department in this
town um, responds out and removes trees
from the roadway.
Not exactly always their job. Um, and
you know, for the residents that they
moved the trees from their yard back
into their yard, that's your job to to
make sure you make removal of that. Um,
but we really
>> [laughter]
>> we really want to thank we really want
to thank the fire department for helping
us out. Um, in regards to the
frustration for some of the people with
the plowing, again, we have six we have
six people on public works and six
plows.
Um city hall here was down approximately
18 to 20 hours without power. So, we
were on backup power here, which is
limited. Uh, which means there was
several residents. I think it's
something that we need to remember. This
has been a pretty uh, rough year as far
as winter, right? We haven't had like a
winter like this in a long time. So,
when our forecasters and and you see on
the news that a historic storm's coming,
I think we need to prepare ourselves
individually and and be ready for this
more or less. Um, of course uh, first
responders will always be there for you.
Uh, I'm very proud of the police
department. Um, just so everybody knows
when the power goes out, that means the
lights go out. So, I had um, officers
out on a couple of the intersections for
up to 18 hours.
Uh, and so those things are are are are
tough to deal with in these kind of
inclement weather and things like that.
So,
uh, thank you to all the residents that
abide by all the rules
uh, and um, you know
next, we're we're ready for the next the
next storm, the next thing. Um, you
know, unfortunately uh, you know, these
are the things that we deal with all the
time.
Uh, we got lucky with the flooding this
time, but you know, we could deal with
the flooding every month. Uh, but know
that the fire department, the police
department and public works are always
here to serve you to the best of our
capacity. Thank you.
Thank you, Chief.
Councilwoman Evans.
Um, community affairs met this evening.
Um, we went over some upcoming dates
that uh
are um
going to happen. The first thing will be
the Easter egg hunt, will be March 28th
and that'll be at the Absecon school
with details to follow. Earth Day will
be held here at city hall and that's on
April 18th and we will be doing uh
collecting electronics along with
shredding and also a cleanup around
town. So, we're looking for volunteers
for uh, the kids who need um, community
service hours, please reach out. Our
senior brunch will be on Saturday, May
2nd.
And we the next big thing will also be
the Memorial Day parade, which will be
on uh, Monday, May 25th. So, a lot going
on. Um, community affairs meets uh, the
first Thursday of every month uh, before
the council meeting. So, anybody would
like to come out and join any of these
committees, we are always looking for
new ideas.
Thank you. Thank you.
Councilman Light.
Thank you, Alex. Good to see up there.
>> [laughter]
>> We didn't meet on this month. Uh, it was
canceled because of conflicts with the
schedules with uh,
our engineers, some of our staff. Some
things that we're constantly working on
is just kind of building on working on
our road projects.
Um, some of the
long-term and short-term projects that
we'd like to do with the city for
improvements.
We will meet on the the 4th of April,
excuse me, the 6th of April 20
at 6:00, excuse me, 5:00 on the 26th.
That would basically APRIL 6TH
>> [laughter]
>> 5:00
FOR THE MATH PEOPLE. I HAVE IT WRITTEN
DOWN, 4 6 26. So, 4 6 26,
we will meet at 5:00. So, we'll let
everybody off the hook.
>> [laughter]
>> And we'll go
and we'll fill us in with anything else
that we have going on, his progress. And
then uh
just to piggyback is uh, very short is
I'm very proud of our city staff
entirely as we work through some of
these little glitches through the
weather and I'm very proud of everyone
that we have here. Thank you.
Thank you. Councilman Light.
All right, finance report. We meet in 2
weeks, which will be March 19th. Right
now is budget season. We are doing a lot
of preparing behind the scenes. I meet
with the CFO, our committee. Uh, we're
meeting with the financial advisory
committee next week.
And we will go over stuff and get
prepared for our budget to get that
done. And the next meeting will be March
19th at 5:00.
With that being said, we'll go into
mayor.
Thank you, Mr. President.
I would like to add
in my
the over 3 years of being an elected
official you are in the top four
>> [laughter]
[laughter]
>> Don't you yell AT ME.
I WANT TO THANK PUBLIC WORKS, OUR PD,
OUR OUR city staff for getting here when
they could. Um
these storms were really tough this
winter and I I really appreciate all the
hard work from everyone. Um Chief had
mentioned the flooding was not as bad as
it has been.
I have
been a huge proponent since I started
here getting Shore Road breezed
because it's no longer a nuisance.
It's public safety hazard.
And I'm contemplating stealing your
thunder right now.
>> it, man.
You you earned it. Go ahead.
I'm going to seed my time and let Ed
give us the good news now that he's
here. That's very gracious of you to
have it. All the mayors I've worked WITH
>> [laughter]
>> I'M LOSING CONTROL OF MY LIFE.
I I DO HAVE ONE major update, but to
further build [laughter] the suspense, I
do want to just clarify for the benefit
of the public. There were two
resolutions on the agenda tonight that
talk about $2 million in bonds and
notes. I just want to make it very clear
the city's not going to borrow $2
million for these projects. These are
grants more or less.
Um the I-Bank requires you to
um borrow the money and then they
immediately forgive the loan. So, that's
what that is. Without further ado, I am
very happy to announce that the Shore
Road project went out to bid for
construction on March 3rd, 2026 after
about
I don't even know how long. I don't even
know. More than 5 years. Four council
presidents ago. Yeah, for sure.
Um so, uh we're finally out to bid.
Um
you know, the county's administering the
bid process, so they're the ones
handling it. We'll help them with any
questions that come in from contractors
and in a couple council meetings we'll
we'll know who the contractor is and
we'll have a much better picture on when
construction would be starting. So,
major major milestone. Um it was an all
hands-on deck situation to get
this to happen. Um but we were finally
able to work through the county
engineer's office to get this project
out to bid. So, big news. How long did
they go out for it? This one will be out
for about a month, I think.
Big kudos to the mayor and Ed for doing
that and getting us to the finish line.
I know the county is getting giving us a
lot of obstacles with it, so I'm glad we
got through that. So. Yep. Thank you.
And that's all I have. Thanks, Ed. Uh
Jessica, do you have anything to add?
Admin report. Sure, the street bond
seeking tax sale will be held on
Wednesday, March 18th at 8:30 a.m.
online at realauction.com
uh for delinquent prior year taxes. The
last day for delinquent property owners
to pay is Tuesday, March the 17th
um at the close of business, which is
4:30 p.m. And anybody with any questions
with regards to the tax sale can reach
out to the tax office.
Thank you. Public works, do what? Do I
hear a motion to open the meeting to the
public? Motion. Second.
All in favor? Aye.
Opposed?
Any of the public wish to speak?
>> [laughter]
>> Greg Sattler, 65 Yarmouth Avenue. Uh I'm
just here tonight as the uh planning
board chair, newly elected planning
board chair. Uh we are starting the
process of our master plan,
uh 10-year redo, I guess you could call
it re-examination. Uh so, I just wanted
to let the public know with all the
people here tonight that obviously are
going to get this. Maybe someone's
watching at home, I don't know. Uh you
know, we want this process to be as
public and open as possible. Um all the
planning board meetings where we discuss
it, you know, we'll we'll make sure
everyone's aware that's going to be at
that meeting, they can come and provide
their input. Um they can, you know,
reach out in other ways too to the
board. Uh we want everyone involved. The
past the the past uh re-examination,
there were some recommendations that
they never got done. So, obvious by the
governing body since then. So, we
obviously want to make sure we're
coordinating well and um you know,
Christine and and um Tom are both on the
planning board. So, we'll we'll hope to
craft something that has some good
ordinances that the city can act on and
and you know, kind of take those
recommendations to heart to help develop
the town. So. Great. Great.
Thanks, Greg. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. I just want to say it's been
a breath of fresh air. I mean, the past
people on planning board were great.
Greg and his preparation um before our
first meeting talking about the master
plan, he had it sent to everyone so we
could review it. It's 75 pages. So,
we're we're we're all working through
it. And Greg had asked that everyone
kind of read it and and make notes cuz
some of the stuff doesn't quite apply
anymore. But uh I really appreciate um
you're doing
spectacular job up there. Thank you.
Do I hear a motion to close the meeting
to the public? Motion. Second. All in
favor? Aye.
Opposed?
Okay, at this time we're going to enter
into closed session.
All right, so we'll just give the
>> resolution essential the resolution um
What's that?
First, uh resolution
um
the city pursuant to subsection 12b of
the open public meetings act, the
governing body is able to go into closed
session for particular uh publicly
excluded items. In this scenario, it's
contract negotiations and or litigation
with respect to uh discussion as to the
police police chief's employment
contract and a third party collections
matter related to municipal court fines.
Um so, we'll need a motion and a second
to adopt this resolution before entering
closed.
Motion. Second.
All in favor? Aye.
Opposed?
Authorize the adoption of the execution
of contract.
We'll walk right back over there. The
chief still here? Okay. We're back in
public.
All right. Okay, number 65, authorizing
the mayor to sign an employment
agreement between the city of Absecon
and Chief James L. Abbott for position
of chief of police.
May I hear a motion to move resolution
number 65-2026?
Motion. Second.
Roll call.
Clark?
>> Yes. Evans?
>> Yes. La Rotonda? Yes. Light?
>> Yes. Parker?
>> Yes. Sykes? Yes. Okay.
That's it. Mayor and Jordan? Yep.
May I hear a motion to adjourn the
meeting? Motion. Second, Mr. President.
All in favor?
Aye.
Opposed? This guy. Aye, Mr. President.
He's nice. He's nice.