Northfield City Council Annual Reorganization Meeting

i've seen you already
good evening this is the reorganization
meeting of northfield city council
january 4th of 2022.
this meeting was properly advertised in
accordance with public law 1975 chapter
231
in the press of atlantic city on
december 20th of 2021.
based on cdc guidelines related to
covid19 the city of northfield has
suggested that everyone two years or
older who is not fully vaccinated should
wear a mask in indoor public spaces and
visitors are made aware of this decision
with signs at the entrances to the
building
to ensure the health and safety of our
employees and visitors we are also
continuing to adhere to social
distancing requirements in our indoor
public spaces and as a result there are
limited seats for in-person attendance
by members of the public this evening
in order to ensure that the public may
fully participate despite the limited
in-person capacity this meeting is also
being presented simultaneously as a
remote public meeting live streamed
using zoom conferencing service
zoom meeting participants can dial in by
telephone and listen to the proceedings
or they can access the meeting using a
web browser and be able to view and
listen
instructions on how members of the
public could reserve one of the limited
seats as well as how they can access
zoom have been made available on the
municipal website and were published in
the press of atlantic city
the full text of the public meeting
notice has been posted at the entrances
to the municipal building and includes
zoom instructions information on where
to find the meeting agenda and relevant
documents as well as instructions on how
members of the public could submit
comments in advance of tonight's meeting
for those participating via zoom all
participants will be muted upon entry to
the meeting and web browser participants
will not be able to share their screens
or see the camera view of anyone other
than the host which is the city of
northfield
zoom participants wishing to exercise
their right to participate during the
public comment portion of the meeting
should wait until the specific
announcement is made to open the public
comment period
at this time one by one any telephone
users will be asked to identify
themselves and will be unmuted to permit
commentary
for web browser participants comments or
questions may be submitted via the chat
function but will not be acknowledged
outside of the designated public comment
portion of the meeting chat users must
also provide his or her name and address
for the record in order to be heard
any written comments submitted in
advance of tonight's meeting would be
read aloud and addressed during the
public comment portion and for this
evening's meeting there were none may
have a flag led by mayor ciao please
please rise
i pledge allegiance 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 please
remain standing
tonight we're gathered here this evening
intent of doing good work
we seek to represent fairly and well for
those of us with this task
we ask that your efforts that our
efforts be blessed with insight
guided by understanding and wisdom
we seek to serve with respect for all
and may our personal face give us
strength to act honestly and well in all
matters before us
i just have one other statement that i
have to make it is with deep regret
of the passing of the former councilman
council president and mayor philip
monafo
so just for a moment of silence please
thank you
please be seated
roll call mr doterra
uh here mr palastina here mr utz yes mr
smith here
okay the first order of business on the
agenda is for the council to adopt
resolution one of 2022 which
acknowledges the letter of resignation
of the councilman from the second ward
mr greg duis
may have a motion please for the
adoption of resolution one of 2022 i'd
like to make the motion to adopt
resolution
roll call mr notaro yes mr palastina yes
mr smith yes and mr rutz okay moving on
to the fun stuff the oaths of office for
the newly elected officials we have the
councilwoman from the second ward mrs
caroline bucci would you please step
forward
mrs buchi will be sworn by senator vince
polistina and she's accompanied by her
son nick and her husband george
and you're congratulations win and be
great when i asked you how you liked it
in the summer and you said i love it i
can't believe i didn't do it sooner
[Laughter]
that i will support the constitution of
the united states
and the constitution of the state of new
jersey
that i will bear true faith
and allegiance
in the united states
according to the best of my ability
according to the
best congratulations
[Applause]
okay
and next on the agenda we have the oath
of office for
it says second word on the agenda i
apologize that's council at large mr
greg duis to be administered the oath
will be administered by the atlanta
county clerk mr joe geraldo and greg is
accompanied by his wife jackie
you ready i
am a lot better today than it was when
we're knocking on doors
i state your name hi gregory you
solemnly swear
and i will support the constitution
of the united states of the united
states and the constitution in the
constitution on the scene
of new jersey
that i will bear true faith
and allegiance to the same to the same
and to the governments
and
foreign
[Applause]
she does everything
thank you
and roll call mrs boochie
here mr deweese
yes
mr nutero
here mr palestine mr smith mr hutts
okay uh the floor is now open for
nominations for council president for
calendar year 2022.
tom paul
are there any other nominations
seeing none the floor is closed for
nominations for council president for
calendar year 2022. i will need a motion
and a second to elect mr palastina
with the motion to elect tom palestine
as president
and roll call mrs bucci
yes mr deweys yes mr notaro yes mr
palastina yes mr smith yes mr rutz
congratulations motion carries mr
president thank you
i'd like to open the floor now to uh
take nominations
for president pro-tem
thank you any any others
okay before he's now closed for
nominations
and roll call please
you need a motion and a second motion is
second to elect
and roll call
mrs bucci
mr deweese yes
mr notaro yes mr smith yes mr rutz mr
polisina yes motion counts for the
election of greg duis as council
president pro tem for calendar year
2022.
thank you
uh we uh uh next we have to
excuse me
based on the vacancy in the second ward
seat
uh the republican committee has provided
three names
to fill those seats
uh
the floor is now open for nominations to
fill the second ward council seat for
the balance of the unexpired term
mr president uh just for protocol what
are the three names that have been
submitted by the republican organization
uh the three names submitted by the
organization were eric leeds susan
player
and
paul mcswirl
thank you
i'd like to nominate eric leeds
second
any others
so
not a
motion to elect
make the motion to elect eric leeds for
the vacancy
so mr eric lee's name will be filled in
on resolution 2 of 2022 the resolution
to fill a vacancy on council right now
that resolution does contain a blank
line where the name should be
so there's a motion on the second on the
floor
shall i call roll sir roll please
mrs boochie yes mr dewees mr notaro yes
mr smith mr rutz
and mr palastina yes motion carries for
the adoption of resolution 2 of 2022
congratulations mr leeds there you are
um mr leeds would it now be sworn in to
um
the oath the office of council second
ward and the oath will also be
administered by senator vince palestina
thank you
[Laughter]
wonderful to see somebody in law
enforcement be involved in local
government at that time we absolutely
need to support law enforcement so
looking forward to you serving the city
of north field
last daniel right in the air repeat
after me i state your name hi dudes do
you solemnly swear the song is for every
support i will support the constitution
of the united states the constitution of
the united states and the constitution
of the state of new jersey
in new jersey that will bear true faith
and justly and just to perform all the
duties
of the business council second award of
the office of council second board
member of the city of northfield member
cities
congratulations
[Applause]
yes
you guys can just leave those on the
table i'll collect them
and the final roll call of the evening
for the fully assembled council mrs
buche yes mr dewees here mr leeds here
mr notaro here mr smith
mr otts and mr palastina here
mr president thank you
uh before we take a recess i'd just like
to thank uh those attending the
senator paulistina
where did he go ah there he is
assemblyman gardner guardian
clerk geraldo
and of course who else uh
commissioner
donahue is he going
he left well he was okay thank you all
for coming we will now take a brief
recess and uh and then we'll reconvene
take it lower
early this morning
and right in front of preno's this car
is driving slow in front of me there's
plenty of space and he does a 360. he
lost control
out of a clear blue side was not like he
stopped or
and what
okay meeting is back in session
all
right on the agenda
we have one additional resolution that
the
number 37
that is included in the packet that was
here today
was not emailed out uh
something happened today uh we have to
appoint a deputy tax assessor current
tax assessor is is taking a leave of
absence due to uh
illness
and
uh as i said so that that's that's
included in there
uh solicitor will you have to read that
into the record yeah if it's included in
the consent agenda i can read it at that
time
okay um
okay
moving forward to the consent agenda all
matters listed under the consent agenda
are considered to be routine in nature
and having been reviewed by council will
be enacted by one motion any item may be
removed from the consent agenda at the
request of any council member if so
removed it will be treated as one
separate matter
any items requiring expenditure have are
supported by a certificate availability
of funds
are there any matters that anyone would
like paul
to
before we proceed with that uh
uh we can do that now uh
yeah
we'll do that uh
just before the public session
okay i'd like to make that motion to
approve the meeting the minute to the
last meeting on december 14 2021 as
presented a copy of which are available
at the clerk's office
second
thank you
uh roll call
mrs bucci yes mr dewees yeah mr notaro
yes mr smith yes mr leeds
mr rutz yes mr palastina
yes mission cares for the approval of
minutes
i've already announced the vote so she
can't
once i announce the vote you can't
change it
okay
are there any matters from the consent
agenda that anyone would have would like
pull
okay um
yeah
at this time we're going to open the
meeting to the public
anyone from the public wishing to speak
on any subject please state your name
and address for the record and we ask
you observe a five minute
limit per speaker
[Laughter]
anyone wishing to speak
anyone on zoom
not at the moment but let's give them a
just a minute because sometimes there's
a delay okay
nope i think we're good
okay
public session is not closed
uh consent jenna please
do i have over first
uh mr paul could i i'm sorry
one more thing i'm sorry the mayor would
like to uh
take a moment to
give a report uh yes uh thank you
council president and um
i would like to uh
first give my state of the union address
as mayor for the city of northfield i
would like to wish all of our residents
and businesses in our in our city a
happy healthy and prosperous new year
first i want to recognize our public
works department
their supervisor mr quinn vitale
and councilman dewees
who is in charge of this department for
the outstanding coordination and work
done last night to address the snow
removal off our streets
the public works men worked tirelessly
throughout the last 24 hours to clear
our salt and clear our streets as well
assault our streets
i also want to congratulate this time
our newly elected city council members
councilwoman fuji of the second ward
councilman eric leeds of the second ward
and councilman at large mr greg dewees
as we begin a new year we tend to
reflect on the past year and begin a new
and positive look ahead to the new year
and achieving our resolution and goals
azure mayor i've had the opportunity to
meet with many city residents local
groups and organizations across our city
and county who have all worked at a
grassroot level
for the benefit of our communities
we should not underestimate their
contribution and i look forward to
working with all of them in this
upcoming year
certainly 2021 unfolded in an unexpected
way and the pandemic impacted on most
aspects of our lives
while many of the major challenges of
the past year are now behind us
hopefully we can look forward to the
next 12 months
and with some hope and optimism
yes we still need to be cautious and
diligent but with the development and
rollout of the covet 19 vaccines with
the luck the worst may be behind us
at our local level our city government
infrastructure such as our planning
board police and emt services city
clerk's office and city council
committees continue to support and
stimulate our local economy and city
operations
there were significant projects in the
planning or underway that will continue
the growth and development of our
community this year or i should say past
year as well
to recognize several of these projects
during the 2021 year
northfield saw at least seven new
businesses
a new access ramp that included a
handicap across
and access into city hall
the official opening of our birch grove
bike trail
a new private preschool that will be
located in new road and ridgewood drive
and within our police department a
police officer whose duties will include
code enforcement
furthermore under the leadership of our
orlando county executive dennis levinson
his goal to have the consolidation of
atlanta county municipal courts
our municipal court will join a
centralized atlantic county court
administration
that will provide greater services and
benefits as well as a more cost
efficient court system
i also want to recognize all of our city
employees i especially want to recognize
our police chief paul newman and fire
chief bruce cummins and their department
members who continue to protect and keep
our community a safe environment for our
families to live
and let's not forget to recognize our
outstanding northfield community school
system and staff who provide our
children an excellent education
in the next several months city council
will be reviewing our annual city budget
which will include but not limited to
road repairs and drainage resolutions
and improvements to our birch grove park
facilities and i also want to recognize
at this time our city government
who have made efforts to assist our
restaurants and businesses
to help regain lost revenue during this
covet 19 pandemic
northville is a very resilient community
and with a versatile business community
and a host of many volunteers and
organizations
i am confident we will navigate the
future responsibly and with confidence
again i thank and want to all of our
residents for their trust and support as
their mayor and thank you and god bless
all of you
as far as my report is con i just again
i want to recognize as i said the
passing of former mayor philip monafo
and that is the reason why i've asked
that the united states flag outside the
city hall will be flown half-ness for
seven days in his tribute of his passing
and also my only report is
at this time i received an update on the
county central administrative courts
everything seems to be going well
there are some things that we have in a
temporary measure
such as we in northfield as well as
linwood
will be doing zoom
through eht and if any particular cases
have to be appeared before the court it
will occur at eht
the ticket systems and the logistics in
terms of recording will continue here in
northfield until such time when the
centralized court system goes into
effect um the excuse me the resolution
on the um
security the first year at this time
will be picked up by the atlantic county
government so that's a nice thing uh as
far as what they're doing for us on that
respect there
so
i believe at this time there's that's
the majority and i will get back we do
have a meeting later on this week and if
there's any questions that council has
please forward it to me and i will
answer it and get the answers excuse me
the response as soon as possible
uh that's the end of my report thank you
council president and congratulations uh
council president on your uh term of
office here as the new president or i
should say returning president and
councilman dewees as the pro tem
thank you again thank you and thank you
for the state of the city
uh resolutions
i'm ready this time all right it's going
to make a motion to adopt resolutions 3
20
second
all in favor
did we do 37
i apologize did he include 37 yes yes mr
fiscenda has to read that in full please
resolution 37 2022 is the appointment of
a temporary deputy tax assessor whereas
pursuant to njsa 40 a colton 9-146 a
municipality shall provide for the
appointment of a tax assessor and such
deputy tax assessors as it may deem
necessary
and whereas due to a temporary and
unforeseen leave of absence in the
office of the tenured tax assessor the
city of northfield has an immediate need
to fill
the position of temporary deputy tax
assessor in order to ensure continuity
in the office and ensure statutory
statutory regulations are met and
whereas
njsa48 calling 9-146
the common council of the city of
northgate wishes to appoint william
johnson to the position of temporary
deputy tax assessor and whereas the
appointment of temporary uh deputy tax
assessor shall be for the duration of
the leave of absence of the tenured tax
assessor and shall expire when the
tenured tax assessor returns from leave
of absence
and whereas the
compensation for the temporary deputy
tax assessor shall be 55 per hour as
separately set forth in the city's
salary ordinance i'm mary canisi
municipal clerk in the city of
northfield you hereby certify the
foreign resolution was adopted at the
reorganization meeting of the common
council of the city of northfield held
this fourth day of january 2022.
thank you thank you all in favor of
voting by consent agenda on resolutions
one two three through 37 of 2022.
hi
any opposed
motion carries
we can make a motion to adopt the
consent agenda for resolutions 3 2022
through 37-2022
oh second sorry
long day
roll call
mrs buchi yes mr dewees yeah mr leeds
yes mr otero yes mr smith yes mr rutz mr
paulstina yes motion carries for the
adoption of the consent agenda
i have a motion to introduce ordinance
1-20-22
i can make the necessary motion to
introduce coordinates
second
ordinance 1
of 2022 is an ordinance providing for
and establishing salary ranges of
officers and employees of the city of
northfield and repealing all ordinances
heretofore adopted the provisions of
which are inconsistent here with
this is the introduction there will be
no public input the ordinance will be
published in the press of atlantic city
on january 8th
it is presently posted in full on the
municipal website as well as in the
lobby of city hall
if adopted this evening it will be taken
up for a second reading there will
excuse me if approved this evening it
will be taken up for a second reading
there will be a public hearing and the
matter will be considered for final
adoption on january 18th of 2022.
all right are there any questions from
council on the on the ordinance
okay seeing none roll call please mrs
bucci
yes mr deweese yes mr notaro yes mr
palastina yes
mr smith yes
mr leeds mr rutz
i did that all out of order but i did i
miss anybody
emoji carries sorry about that
uh motion for payment bills
please 61
485.93
second
roll call
you really want me to try this again
any order is fine
um
mrs bucci mr deweese yeah mr notaro yes
mr leeds did it again mr palastina yes
did it again mr smith
mr hutts
much carries for introduction of
ordinance
one of 20 22. is that by height it's
alphabetical with the body chair last is
how it works
but
yeah meeting notices
gave that to me i did
um our next city council meeting is uh
january 18th uh 6 pm work session with
the regular session to follow
thank you mr president before we adjourn
um paul did you want to mention about
our planning board meeting what we're
going to have the two applicants
uh the mason property and the ice cream
place across from yeah
they've had um each time
but the real big one is the senior
citizen complex to go on the arthur
henry lot that we may need additional
pump station for for
and so therefore could cost the city
but will also help with our koa
obligation because a certain amount of
this project are set aside as uh
uh affordable uh
so
um but important there's a difference
so this uh you know i don't know if the
neighbors are going to show up or
whatever but it's a big
it's a big project some infrastructure
is going to cost us some money by the
same token there will be sewer hookup
fees that hopefully will negate some of
but we did do it we did do a sewer study
um you did they did they did do a test
at the pump stations back
last summer beginning the summer right
yeah we did and there's no need to
upgrade oh we don't have that at this
point
wow
yeah that was uh one yeah
and as well as the developers
all in favor
aye any pose
tom don't leave