Sometime last evening, the city acquired a theme song.
I had checked the web site to see whether the Board of Adjustment meeting was still on for 7 p.m. and found no indication it was canceled, so I set off on foot for City Hall in the rain. As I approached, I saw few cars in the lot and then went up the back steps to find a notice on the door - no meeting.
Later I went on the city web site again and surprise! - a song began playing as soon as it opened.
Having been a reporter, I was curious about the who, what, et cetera and found out some of that by searching the interwebs. But before saying what I found out, I am interested in my blog readers' thoughts on having a city theme song. So ... what do you think?
--Bernice
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Lights, Camera, Action!
The very long-running story of city surveillance cameras is about to go live with an agreement to post them on utility poles.
The 21-page agreement with PSE&G will be up for a vote at the March 9 regular meting, 8 p.m. in Municipal Court. The utility company will charge an annual fee of $28.06 per pole, for a total of $1,673.44. In addition, PSE&G will expect the city to take out insurance policies in amounts varying by type from $1 million for liability to a $10 million "umbrella" policy. The complete agreement may be seen in the new electronic packet online at the City Council link on the city web site.
The camera story goes back at least to 2005. Former Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said at a 2006 public safety forum that they would "go far" to help fight crime. In 2007, the city-owned space in the former Tepper's building was considered as a surveillance center for the cameras. In 2008, use of $1 million in Urban Enterprise Zone funds was proposed to pay for the cameras and associated costs.
Plans for the Tepper's basement surveillance center went forward in 2009, but were still all talk in 2010. Six years after the allocation of UEZ funds, the money remained unspent in 2011. An update in 2012 found the Tepper's basement unsuitable and construction starting on a surveillance center in the basement of police headquarters.
The latest proposal came in December and now we have the promise perhaps of getting the cameras up to monitor certain areas. The locations will not be made public and the cameras may be moved around as needed. Council approval Monday will finally get this show on the road.
--Bernice
The 21-page agreement with PSE&G will be up for a vote at the March 9 regular meting, 8 p.m. in Municipal Court. The utility company will charge an annual fee of $28.06 per pole, for a total of $1,673.44. In addition, PSE&G will expect the city to take out insurance policies in amounts varying by type from $1 million for liability to a $10 million "umbrella" policy. The complete agreement may be seen in the new electronic packet online at the City Council link on the city web site.
The camera story goes back at least to 2005. Former Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow said at a 2006 public safety forum that they would "go far" to help fight crime. In 2007, the city-owned space in the former Tepper's building was considered as a surveillance center for the cameras. In 2008, use of $1 million in Urban Enterprise Zone funds was proposed to pay for the cameras and associated costs.
Plans for the Tepper's basement surveillance center went forward in 2009, but were still all talk in 2010. Six years after the allocation of UEZ funds, the money remained unspent in 2011. An update in 2012 found the Tepper's basement unsuitable and construction starting on a surveillance center in the basement of police headquarters.
The latest proposal came in December and now we have the promise perhaps of getting the cameras up to monitor certain areas. The locations will not be made public and the cameras may be moved around as needed. Council approval Monday will finally get this show on the road.
--Bernice
Yet More Innings for Baseball Controversy
Late in Monday's City Council meeting, Rev Jason Greer made a couple of pitches for the Joseph Black baseball league he says has formed as a nonprofit organization.
One was for a "letter from the city" to get money from donors. I think I heard him name a Mr. Dunn, presumably Danny Dunn, as the person who would solicit donations.
Whoever the agent may be, it struck me as highly irregular to ask the city to authorize solicitations for a nonprofit group. It was a similar situation that led to trouble for a former superintendent of Recreation - cloaking a solicitation with the mantle of government. I hope the governing body will run this request by Corporation Counsel Vernita Sias-Hill to see whether it squares with ethical guidelines.
The other pitch was for equipment that Greer said was purchased in the past for the city-sponsored league. He said he wrote to the new superintendent of Recreation about handing over the equipment.
"We would like to have that," Greer said.
If the city paid for equipment for a city-sponsored league, can it now donate the city-owned balls, bats and bases to a nonprofit? In the arcane argot of the youth baseball fanatics, Greer contrasted the cost of the equipment with a $1 million budget increase and said he was puzzled. Me too.
He said something about "such hurray" which puzzled me even more, though I must admit I was ready to say "hurray" to the end of that meeting.
--Bernice
One was for a "letter from the city" to get money from donors. I think I heard him name a Mr. Dunn, presumably Danny Dunn, as the person who would solicit donations.
Whoever the agent may be, it struck me as highly irregular to ask the city to authorize solicitations for a nonprofit group. It was a similar situation that led to trouble for a former superintendent of Recreation - cloaking a solicitation with the mantle of government. I hope the governing body will run this request by Corporation Counsel Vernita Sias-Hill to see whether it squares with ethical guidelines.
The other pitch was for equipment that Greer said was purchased in the past for the city-sponsored league. He said he wrote to the new superintendent of Recreation about handing over the equipment.
"We would like to have that," Greer said.
If the city paid for equipment for a city-sponsored league, can it now donate the city-owned balls, bats and bases to a nonprofit? In the arcane argot of the youth baseball fanatics, Greer contrasted the cost of the equipment with a $1 million budget increase and said he was puzzled. Me too.
He said something about "such hurray" which puzzled me even more, though I must admit I was ready to say "hurray" to the end of that meeting.
--Bernice
Sick Leave Law Postponed to April
After hearing an outpouring of concerns from business owners, the City Council decided Monday to put off final action on a paid sick leave ordinance that they had endorsed unanimously last month.
The ordinance was proposed as a public health measure and would permit workers to earn several paid sick days per year. Speaking in favor of it, resident and labor organizer Christian Estevez recalled his mother's struggle without benefits and the hard choice between going in sick or losing pay that put food on the table. Stressing the public health aspect of the proposed law, he drew applause when he said, "I don't want to buy my ice cream from somebody with the flu."
But business owners, even those who saw the need, said if it was passed the law would deter new entrepreneurs and squeeze those with just a few employees.
"I take care of my employees, or they'd be gone," Special Improvement District President and service station owner Nimrod Webb said, but objected to facing fines and outsiders checking his books if the new legislation passed. He said "a long list of business associations" had banded together to try to overturn Trenton's sick leave law as being unconstitutional and unenforceable.
Jeffery Dunn, president of the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce, said Plainfield was on the verge of major growth, but the sick leave law would "push people away."
Bakery owner Arturo Marroquin traced the growth of his business from all family-run to having outside employees after the first five years, but felt having to pay sick leave would put him out of business.
Pharmacy owner Oliver Nkwonta questioned how the law would affect his hiring of part-time students and also went so far as to link the legislation to unemployment and crime. He said his store window had been smashed, adding, "Such crime will escalate."
New Labor organizer Craig Garcia explained that employees would earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours of work. The proposed ordinance says employers with more than 10 employees would not be required to provide more than 40 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, while those with fewer than 10 need only provide 24 hours per year, with exceptions for those in child care, home health care or food service.
Computer Store owner David Holmes voiced a sore point shared by many, saying the business community was not informed of the legislation, but only learned of it from a blog.
Others who spoke included Donna Albanese of Dairy Queen, McDonald's owner Angela Adderley and Burger King owner Jeff Lichtman and Orlando Espana, who just opened a restaurant downtown but was perplexed over how such a law would affect his business.
The issue brought New Jersey Citizen Action Executive Director Phyllis Salowe-Kaye to the meeting. She praised businesses that have adopted the sick leave plan, saying there should be a sticker identifying them. She said nobody wants to have someone come in to work "sneezing in their linguine."
Salowe-Kaye said research indicated the benefits of paid sick leave far outweighed the cost, which she compared to perhaps a five-cent increase on a $2.50 slice of pizza.
She said three years after a sick leave law was implemented in San Francisco, 70 percent of business owners reported no impact, two-thirds supported it and small business increased.
Council President Bridget Rivers asked both Economic Director Carlos Sanchez and Finance Director Ron West to give their impressions of a meeting Friday with business owners and both said no specific requests were made regarding the legislation.
After nearly 20 speakers expressed their views, the council took a recess.When the meeting resumed Rivers said a majority of the council agreed to bring back a possibly amended ordinance next month. To see the full text of the ordinance, click here and scroll down to page 15.
--Bernice
The ordinance was proposed as a public health measure and would permit workers to earn several paid sick days per year. Speaking in favor of it, resident and labor organizer Christian Estevez recalled his mother's struggle without benefits and the hard choice between going in sick or losing pay that put food on the table. Stressing the public health aspect of the proposed law, he drew applause when he said, "I don't want to buy my ice cream from somebody with the flu."
But business owners, even those who saw the need, said if it was passed the law would deter new entrepreneurs and squeeze those with just a few employees.
"I take care of my employees, or they'd be gone," Special Improvement District President and service station owner Nimrod Webb said, but objected to facing fines and outsiders checking his books if the new legislation passed. He said "a long list of business associations" had banded together to try to overturn Trenton's sick leave law as being unconstitutional and unenforceable.
Jeffery Dunn, president of the Plainfield Chamber of Commerce, said Plainfield was on the verge of major growth, but the sick leave law would "push people away."
Bakery owner Arturo Marroquin traced the growth of his business from all family-run to having outside employees after the first five years, but felt having to pay sick leave would put him out of business.
Pharmacy owner Oliver Nkwonta questioned how the law would affect his hiring of part-time students and also went so far as to link the legislation to unemployment and crime. He said his store window had been smashed, adding, "Such crime will escalate."
New Labor organizer Craig Garcia explained that employees would earn one hour of sick leave for every 30 hours of work. The proposed ordinance says employers with more than 10 employees would not be required to provide more than 40 hours of paid sick time in a calendar year, while those with fewer than 10 need only provide 24 hours per year, with exceptions for those in child care, home health care or food service.
Computer Store owner David Holmes voiced a sore point shared by many, saying the business community was not informed of the legislation, but only learned of it from a blog.
Others who spoke included Donna Albanese of Dairy Queen, McDonald's owner Angela Adderley and Burger King owner Jeff Lichtman and Orlando Espana, who just opened a restaurant downtown but was perplexed over how such a law would affect his business.
The issue brought New Jersey Citizen Action Executive Director Phyllis Salowe-Kaye to the meeting. She praised businesses that have adopted the sick leave plan, saying there should be a sticker identifying them. She said nobody wants to have someone come in to work "sneezing in their linguine."
Salowe-Kaye said research indicated the benefits of paid sick leave far outweighed the cost, which she compared to perhaps a five-cent increase on a $2.50 slice of pizza.
She said three years after a sick leave law was implemented in San Francisco, 70 percent of business owners reported no impact, two-thirds supported it and small business increased.
Council President Bridget Rivers asked both Economic Director Carlos Sanchez and Finance Director Ron West to give their impressions of a meeting Friday with business owners and both said no specific requests were made regarding the legislation.
After nearly 20 speakers expressed their views, the council took a recess.When the meeting resumed Rivers said a majority of the council agreed to bring back a possibly amended ordinance next month. To see the full text of the ordinance, click here and scroll down to page 15.
--Bernice
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Scaled-Back Fiestas Up for Consideration
Fiestas that are popular with participants but not so much with residents are proposed this year with earlier music cutoffs and more consideration for downtown merchants.
The resolutions are on Monday's agenda and if a council consensus approves, will be up for a vote on March 9. The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court.
Nightclub owner Edison Garcia is seeking use of city parking lots on two holiday weekends, one in July celebrating U.S. Independence Day and the other in September billed as "Outdoor Fiesta," but on a weekend traditionally marking Central American Independence.
Garcia began the fiestas in 2009 on parking lots 8 and 8A behind stores on East Front Street between Somerset Street and Watchung Avenue. Another night club owner followed suit with fiestas in a city parking lot across Watchung Avenue and even proposed a downtown rodeo, which was denied. The two nightclub owners began competing for favored weekends in September.
While the events attracted thousands of visitors to Plainfield, they also displaced shopper parking and included amplified music that residents said could be heard a mile away.
Over the years, the council approved the fiestas only with increasing restrictions on noise, imposition of fees, demands for police presence and rules for beer sales. For 2015, the events will begin at 1 p.m., with music to cease at 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays, in contrast to 11 p.m. closings in the past. The City Council approved a $2,500 per day fee for the fiestas in 2012 and also began requiring greater police presence due to the size of the crowds. The proposed resolutions for Garcia's fiestas stipulate that all equipment debris and litter must be removed, and all vendors must obtain city permits..
Garcia wants to hold his first fiesta on July 4, 5 and 6 and the second on Sept.11, 12 and 13.
--Bernice
The resolutions are on Monday's agenda and if a council consensus approves, will be up for a vote on March 9. The meeting is 7:30 p.m. in Municipal Court.
Nightclub owner Edison Garcia is seeking use of city parking lots on two holiday weekends, one in July celebrating U.S. Independence Day and the other in September billed as "Outdoor Fiesta," but on a weekend traditionally marking Central American Independence.
Garcia began the fiestas in 2009 on parking lots 8 and 8A behind stores on East Front Street between Somerset Street and Watchung Avenue. Another night club owner followed suit with fiestas in a city parking lot across Watchung Avenue and even proposed a downtown rodeo, which was denied. The two nightclub owners began competing for favored weekends in September.
While the events attracted thousands of visitors to Plainfield, they also displaced shopper parking and included amplified music that residents said could be heard a mile away.
Over the years, the council approved the fiestas only with increasing restrictions on noise, imposition of fees, demands for police presence and rules for beer sales. For 2015, the events will begin at 1 p.m., with music to cease at 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 6 p.m. on Sundays, in contrast to 11 p.m. closings in the past. The City Council approved a $2,500 per day fee for the fiestas in 2012 and also began requiring greater police presence due to the size of the crowds. The proposed resolutions for Garcia's fiestas stipulate that all equipment debris and litter must be removed, and all vendors must obtain city permits..
Garcia wants to hold his first fiesta on July 4, 5 and 6 and the second on Sept.11, 12 and 13.
--Bernice
Electronic Packet!
A snowy day is perfect for all you meeting mavens out there to explore the new electronic packet for Monday's meeting. Just click here and choose the date, March 2
The entire 163-page packet will appear!
The entire 163-page packet will appear!
Third-time Charm for Fleet Manager?
City Council activities resume Monday with an agenda-fixing session that includes yet another pitch for the twice-rejected "manager motors" position and salary.
Mayor Adrian O. Mapp brought up the plan for one person to be in charge of all city vehicles in January, but the council rejected proposed ordinances to establish the title and salary.
Mapp called a special meeting on Jan. 26, at which both ordinances passed on first reading. The vote followed explanations by Personnel Director Karen Dabney and Public Works Director Eric Watson on the rationale for the new title. The city's vehicle fleet is worth $7.1 million and at present various employees earning a total of $322,000 are monitoring it.
But at an agenda-fixing session on Feb. 9, a council majority declined to move the ordinance to the regular meeting for a final vote. Readers may recall that the Feb. 2 agenda-fixing session was canceled due to bad weather and the council held a marathon double meeting on Feb. 9.
The flip-flop was perceived by some to be based on behind-the-scenes politicking by Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green, whose allies on the council dominate. Green supported Mapp for election in 2013 against incumbent Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, but the tables turned soon after Mapp's win. Mapp led the progressive "New Democrats" political club for several years and was often in opposition to the Regular Democratic Organization led by Green. After winning in November, Mapp faced a council majority of Green backers who blocked some of his initiatives and Green explicitly condemned Mapp in a citywide mailing.
Another issue for some was the perception that the job was being created for a specific person. In addition, Councilman Cory Storch voted "no" because his questions to the administration were not fully answered.
Now the ordinances are once again up for introduction on first reading. The hurdles again include gaining a consensus to be put up for a vote at the regular meeting. Then if passed on first reading at the March 9 meeting, the process of consent at the April 6 meeting and passage on April 13 would be necessary for them to take effect 20 days later. That's four steps to go in what is now Round Three.
--Bernice
Mayor Adrian O. Mapp brought up the plan for one person to be in charge of all city vehicles in January, but the council rejected proposed ordinances to establish the title and salary.
Mapp called a special meeting on Jan. 26, at which both ordinances passed on first reading. The vote followed explanations by Personnel Director Karen Dabney and Public Works Director Eric Watson on the rationale for the new title. The city's vehicle fleet is worth $7.1 million and at present various employees earning a total of $322,000 are monitoring it.
But at an agenda-fixing session on Feb. 9, a council majority declined to move the ordinance to the regular meeting for a final vote. Readers may recall that the Feb. 2 agenda-fixing session was canceled due to bad weather and the council held a marathon double meeting on Feb. 9.
The flip-flop was perceived by some to be based on behind-the-scenes politicking by Democratic Party Chairman Jerry Green, whose allies on the council dominate. Green supported Mapp for election in 2013 against incumbent Mayor Sharon Robinson-Briggs, but the tables turned soon after Mapp's win. Mapp led the progressive "New Democrats" political club for several years and was often in opposition to the Regular Democratic Organization led by Green. After winning in November, Mapp faced a council majority of Green backers who blocked some of his initiatives and Green explicitly condemned Mapp in a citywide mailing.
Another issue for some was the perception that the job was being created for a specific person. In addition, Councilman Cory Storch voted "no" because his questions to the administration were not fully answered.
Now the ordinances are once again up for introduction on first reading. The hurdles again include gaining a consensus to be put up for a vote at the regular meeting. Then if passed on first reading at the March 9 meeting, the process of consent at the April 6 meeting and passage on April 13 would be necessary for them to take effect 20 days later. That's four steps to go in what is now Round Three.
--Bernice
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