00:28
okay good evening everyone welcome to
00:31
our second meeting of september
00:35
and um let's get the show going
00:40
okay good evening and welcome to the
00:42
regular meeting of the council of the
00:43
city of long beach held tuesday
00:44
september 15th 2020 at 7 p.m
00:47
we'll have a roll call councilmember de
00:48
laurie here
00:50
councilmember mandel president
00:53
councilmember tristan
00:58
here okay uh vice president mcginnis
01:01
president president pendo present
01:05
let the record indicate the presence of
01:06
city manager donna gayden and
01:07
corporation council simone freeman will
01:09
now salute to the flag
01:10
uh commissioner mirando could you lead
01:12
us tonight
01:21
just be sure to emulate yourself first
01:24
commissioner
01:26
can you hear me yes sir
01:29
okay right hand over heart and veterans
01:33
right-hand salute i pledge allegiance
01:36
to the flag of the united states of
01:37
america and to the republic for which it
01:40
stands
01:40
one nation under god indivisible with
01:43
liberty and justice for all
01:51
okay thank you very much so
01:54
with that i guess we can begin with the
01:57
city managers report
02:00
good evening everyone um i have a few
02:04
department heads that will be speaking
02:05
tonight
02:06
on the first one is robin lynch
02:10
and she will be talking about zoning the
02:13
zoning board
02:14
robin
02:20
you muted robin
02:27
can you hear me now yes yes
02:31
hi good evening everybody my name is
02:33
robin lynch i am secretary to the zoning
02:35
board of appeals
02:37
and don asked me to come on to speak a
02:40
little bit about the upcoming
02:41
hebrew academy meeting
02:45
just so you know there will be a special
02:47
meeting of the zoning board of appeals
02:49
on tuesday september 29th at 6 pm
02:52
and let me just start by saying that
02:54
there will not be a vote
02:56
on the application at the september 29th
02:58
meeting
03:00
this meeting has been scheduled so that
03:01
the zoning board may receive comments
03:04
to the draft environmental impact
03:06
statement and the subject
03:07
application right now the vba
03:10
is currently working with its council
03:12
and environmental consultants
03:14
to come up with a preliminary time frame
03:17
which will be followed in accordance
03:18
with secret
03:19
processes and requirements and again if
03:22
i could just say there will not be a
03:23
vote on the application
03:25
at the september 29th meeting
03:28
we put up on the website the directions
03:32
on how to access the september 29th
03:34
meeting
03:35
if you go to long beachny.gov backslash
03:39
zoning
03:39
it has the registration link for the
03:42
zoom meeting
03:44
we're asking that all people that would
03:47
like to speak at the meeting
03:48
participate in the meeting please
03:51
register
03:51
by that link by three o'clock on
03:53
september 29th
03:56
and additionally the public can observe
03:57
the meeting by the city's youtube
03:59
channel
04:00
as well the environmental impact
04:03
statement the draft environmental impact
04:05
statement
04:06
may be viewed and downloaded on the
04:08
city's website so again the zoning page
04:10
which is long beach
04:11
ny.gov zoning and there's a specific
04:15
link for case number 2773 which is the
04:19
hebrew academy
04:21
additionally all comments can be
04:23
continued to be sent to me
04:25
r lynch rlync
04:28
at longbeachny.gov or in writing to the
04:32
city of long beach zoning port of
04:34
appeals
04:36
one westchester street long beach new
04:38
york
04:40
11561 rocco morelli chairman
04:45
any comments received so far have been
04:47
posted to
04:48
the city's link that's on the website
04:50
that goes directly to our environmental
04:52
and
04:53
consultants website so any
04:55
correspondence received any comments
04:57
received are posted there
04:59
so again the zoning board would just
05:01
like to mention that there will not be a
05:03
vote on september 29th
05:06
in terms of the preliminary time frame
05:08
that the zoning board is working
05:10
on with the environmental consultant and
05:12
council
05:14
public comment will stay open after the
05:17
september 29th meeting
05:19
until october 9th at that time
05:23
the applicant will prepare or begin to
05:26
prepare i should say the final eis
05:29
typically it takes about two months
05:31
again these are just estimates
05:33
and at the september 2019 hearing the
05:36
zoning board will have a better sense of
05:37
timing
05:40
after the applicant prepares the final
05:42
environmental impact statement
05:44
the zba reviews it for adequacy and
05:47
acceptance
05:49
that typically takes four weeks for
05:50
review
05:53
the applicants would then revise the
05:55
final environmental impact statements
05:57
and address any comments
05:59
this could take another four weeks
06:02
if the zoning board members are ready to
06:06
accept it for adequacy that could take
06:08
another four weeks
06:10
again none of these are definite these
06:12
are all estimated time frames
06:15
but at this point going with those
06:17
estimates
06:18
there would be another 10-day public
06:21
comment period
06:21
in march of next year so
06:25
um if any of the councils have any
06:27
questions about that or don if you have
06:28
any questions i know simone is on as
06:30
well
06:31
in terms of legal so
06:34
um again i just did want to reiterate
06:36
there will not be a vote at december
06:38
term or 29th meeting
06:39
and it will be accessed by you zoom
06:44
uh robin just one quick question uh so
06:48
any public input could be done at the
06:50
meeting on the 29th
06:51
uh as well as i assume any subsequent
06:55
hearings that are held
06:57
yeah okay yes
07:00
um robin this is karen uh it's my
07:03
understanding that
07:04
um several of the appointments on the
07:06
zoning board have expired
07:08
so we might have new members how does
07:10
that affect the schedule
07:16
simone do you have comments on that sure
07:19
i can jump in
07:19
um well it could have an impact to the
07:22
schedule because the
07:24
if there are new members that are
07:25
appointed they will have an obligation
07:27
to review and become
07:29
familiar with all the documents um the
07:32
draft environmental impact statement um
07:35
in total i think it's close to seven
07:37
hundreds of a thousand pages including
07:39
the most recent revisions to it
07:42
um and in addition to that they need to
07:44
be familiar with the plans and
07:46
also all the variants requests that have
07:48
been submitted
07:49
uh in connection with it so i think it
07:52
would depend on how quickly the board
07:53
could get up to speed on all of the
07:55
the information that's available in all
07:58
the comments and
07:59
what stage of the project that we're at
08:01
i think i think that's a little bit
08:02
unfair
08:03
i think the if there's any new
08:04
appointments they deserve adequate time
08:06
to review them
08:07
and i hope we can figure out a timeline
08:09
if that becomes necessary
08:12
this is this is not a decision to take
08:14
to be taken lightly
08:16
and i don't think any new board member
08:17
should be rushed into a decision
08:22
i don't disagree thank you robin
08:26
this is liz i have a question on the
08:28
29th is that just
08:30
residents will have the opportunity to
08:32
talk about the environmental
08:33
impact study or the plan as a whole
08:38
both thank you
08:43
karen and to address your question um
08:46
yes
08:47
if new members are appointed or as new
08:49
members are appointed
08:51
the goal is to bring them up to speed
08:52
and give them the adequate time to make
08:55
a professional decision
08:57
on how to move forward we can't bring
08:59
them on
09:00
and then not give them the information
09:02
they need
09:04
train them and go through the proper
09:07
steps to make sure that they make a
09:09
sound decision perfect thank you
09:14
um robin this is mike delore hi
09:18
um the the draft
09:21
eis put forward
09:25
some information that at the time
09:29
as far as water consumption and sewer
09:32
did not
09:33
have the ida's approval of the
09:36
what we'll call the engel burnham
09:38
project which seems to now be moving
09:41
forward
09:42
so will the applicant
09:46
update their draft environmental impact
09:49
statement to include
09:53
the possible consumption of another
09:56
project
09:58
and i don't know if that's something in
10:00
the scope but one seems to be
10:03
the information that we do know today
10:07
has not been incorporated into that
10:09
draft eis
10:13
when the public comment period closes on
10:16
october 9th the zoning board will be
10:18
sending over
10:19
to the applicant their comments which
10:22
um comments about the water concerns can
10:25
be included as well
10:31
and so the applicant would have to
10:33
address those matters
10:37
so just so i understand it that
10:42
in all likelihood a
10:46
a vote on this proposed development
10:49
after all of the environmental impact
10:52
reports are done
10:53
and finished will probably not happen
10:56
until the
10:57
the second quarter of next year or or
11:00
possibly
11:01
march at the earliest
11:05
based on the preliminary time frame and
11:07
again like like i said these are
11:09
estimates
11:09
that would seem to be the earliest would
11:11
be march of next year
11:13
it could go it could go later than that
11:15
okay thank you robin
11:17
you're welcome
11:21
does anyone else have any questions for
11:23
robin
11:26
thank you very much robin don't hang up
11:28
just in case we have a couple of
11:29
questions uh
11:30
doing good in welfare um the next
11:33
department head we'll be speaking is mr
11:35
john mirando
11:37
commissioner john miranda
11:41
good evening how's everybody uh city
11:44
manager gayden asked me to report on
11:46
monies we've just received from
11:48
fema and i want to give an overall
11:50
snapshot of
11:51
of all the money that was approved for
11:54
uh
11:54
for super storm standing under dr4086
11:59
so less than two weeks ago we received a
12:01
progress payment for the permanent peach
12:03
structures of one million one hundred
12:04
and twenty three thousand dollars
12:07
and also a progress payment for work
12:09
done at 150 west pine street which is
12:11
the main public works garage for
12:13
sanitation beach maintenance and uh
12:16
and uh street maintenance we received
12:19
one million three hundred and ten
12:20
thousand
12:21
three hundred fourteen dollars so
12:23
between the two we see a little over
12:25
uh 2.4 million and we will be receiving
12:28
the
12:29
state share soon which will be another
12:30
ten percent of that total
12:33
up since sandy uh and work and the
12:36
numerous projects that have been
12:38
done uh we had a total value of projects
12:40
that were approved by femur
12:42
of one uh 129 million 276
12:46
320 dollars
12:49
from that we needed to deduct the
12:50
insurance payment to cover the portion
12:53
not approved by fema which was 10
12:54
million dollars leaving total funds to
12:57
be received from fema
12:59
119 million 276 320
13:03
320 to date
13:06
we've received on a 90 federal share
13:09
we've received 105
13:11
987 157 uh
13:14
million and the federal share
13:17
outstanding is 1 million
13:19
three hundred and sixty one thousand
13:20
five thirty one
13:22
the ten percent state share we've
13:24
received to date five million eight
13:25
hundred ninety seven thousand
13:27
and the state uh outstanding share is
13:30
six
13:30
just a little over six million dollars
13:33
projects which have been closed and
13:36
documents submitted for payment total
13:38
one million nine hundred ninety four
13:39
thousand two fifty five in other words
13:41
those are projects that have been
13:42
complete
13:43
and all the paperwork has been submitted
13:44
to fema we're just waiting for final
13:46
approval
13:47
and submittal of that check uh
13:50
projects which are in progress and
13:52
progress payments requested some
13:53
projects we are
13:54
able to get progress payments as we go
13:56
along a total 750
13:59
601 dollars so we expect shortly to be
14:02
receiving
14:03
another 2.6 from uh
14:06
from fema now these were just for uh
14:09
projects that were related to
14:11
uh repairs that were required to get up
14:13
and running from sandy
14:15
we presently under their 406 hazard
14:18
mitigation project have submitted
14:20
for approval for 11 projects uh this is
14:23
under their 406 hmp
14:25
uh area we've requested eleven million
14:29
seven hundred and eight thousand dollars
14:31
worth of projects
14:32
and to date uh funds have been approved
14:34
for fema for six million
14:36
uh 6.1 million of those projects we've
14:39
only
14:39
completed one of those projects and 10
14:41
others are in various states of design
14:44
so these none of this includes either a
14:48
hazard mitigation plan that's being
14:49
submitted by nassau counties
14:52
consultants on behalf of nassau county
14:54
and long beach
14:56
uh for the consolidation of the
14:57
wastewater plant which will total uh
15:00
approximately 95 million dollars um
15:03
and we also
15:06
have does not include the nearly 30
15:09
million dollars that's been
15:11
to shortly be approved by fema for the
15:13
critical infrastructure bulkhead
15:15
so as you can see i i have to take a
15:17
minute to really
15:19
thank my staff joe fabrizio bill martone
15:22
i mean besides the work that goes into
15:24
getting these projects designed
15:26
built and then the paperwork to go
15:29
through the
15:30
two government agencies to receive the
15:31
money these guys have done a yeoman's
15:33
job they've really
15:34
really been tremendous as you can see
15:36
we've really received a lot of support
15:38
from
15:39
fema and if anybody has any questions
15:42
this is just a
15:43
like i say a 30 000 foot snapshot of
15:45
where we are it doesn't specifically
15:47
talk about individual projects
15:49
well john i want to say from the city
15:52
manager's office tell your staff
15:54
thank you very much we have worked very
15:57
hard to go out to start collecting some
15:59
of the funds that we've been looking for
16:01
and all of it is appreciated and all of
16:04
their hard work is recognized so tell
16:06
including yourself thank you very much
16:09
you're welcome
16:11
john i assume you have what you just uh
16:14
told us in writing could you uh
16:16
possibly send that to us tomorrow
16:18
absolutely
16:19
thanks appreciate that i couldn't
16:20
remember all that without writing it
16:22
yeah
16:23
yeah mr delore's got his hand up
16:29
good evening commissioners good to see
16:31
you i just have one
16:32
general question uh the hazard
16:35
mitigation
16:36
plan does any of the fema money
16:39
that was approved deal with the garage
16:44
yes there is a 650 000
16:47
approval for the garage that's not
16:50
included in these 11 new hazard
16:51
mitigation projects
16:53
uh that was to redo the floor and
16:54
there's you know the floor really floods
16:56
inside it was put up drainage system and
16:59
we've held off on proceeding with that
17:00
project because if we end up moving the
17:02
city garage it doesn't really make sense
17:04
to invest that money and that's money
17:06
that we can
17:07
then return to fema thank you
17:10
and justin the leading question to that
17:13
i'm sure would be
17:14
can we repurpose that money for
17:16
something else and we've already gone
17:18
through that process with fema to try to
17:19
do that and we
17:20
are not able to do that for that project
17:23
okay
17:24
you read my mind thank you
17:28
any other questions
17:32
i have one quick question commissioner
17:35
when you say
17:36
state funding do do you mean ghoster
17:38
funding
17:39
government spending recovery or
17:40
something separate this is something
17:42
separate goes
17:43
up in the state of the ghoster projects
17:46
what happens on the fema
17:47
uh reimbursements we get a 90
17:50
reimbursement from fema from the federal
17:52
share
17:53
and a 10 reimbursement from the state
17:55
share as soon as we close a project out
17:57
and fema approves it
17:59
shortly after that we'll get the 10
18:01
share from the state
18:02
thank you so much
18:06
all right any other questions
18:10
all right again just thank you to you
18:11
and your staff for for bringing that uh
18:15
well needed money in yes thank you
18:20
the next person would be ina resnick
18:28
you have to unmute either
18:32
yeah yes hello yep we can hear you
18:36
okay good good um okay
18:39
good evening i'm in a rosneck and i'm a
18:42
city controller
18:44
so uh the office of the city controller
18:47
um was i was asked by donna
18:51
to prepare a quick summary um
18:54
and the status update of
18:57
what we're doing and
19:00
uh i will start with saying that the
19:03
office of the city comptroller duties
19:05
are defined in the city charter section
19:08
27. um the operations of
19:12
this office were severely compacted
19:15
impacted
19:17
uh by the high rate of turnover and
19:20
two-year vacancy
19:21
um in this position that i took 14
19:25
months ago
19:27
this lack of continuity in the world
19:29
since 2012
19:31
contributed to the findings um in both
19:34
city annual reports
19:36
management ladder that's many pages long
19:39
um as well as the state comptroller's
19:42
report
19:42
all those documents are posted on the
19:45
city's website
19:48
while transactional functionality of the
19:50
office was maintained
19:52
strategic direction and overall
19:54
management of the accounting and
19:55
financial reporting were for most part
19:58
neglected
19:59
and um also for section 27
20:03
of the city charter my office is tasked
20:07
with providing city council
20:09
with up-to-date uh reports on a
20:12
condition
20:13
of the city in addition one of the
20:16
requirements of the
20:17
frb report also on the city website
20:21
um says that once the budget is adopted
20:24
the council as well as the city manager
20:26
should monitor
20:27
actual results in comparison to the
20:29
budget if actual results are not in
20:31
accordance with the budget
20:33
it's important for the council to take
20:35
prompt action
20:36
to adjust the budget and monetary
20:39
operations to stay within the adjusted
20:41
budget
20:43
so it's imperative that i provide timely
20:46
and accurate reports to the city manager
20:49
and the city council that helped them in
20:52
management of the city
20:54
um my goal is um
20:57
um to to to uh
21:00
make this most accurate and most timely
21:05
and i strive to design and implement
21:09
procedures
21:10
in my office as well as the city as a
21:12
whole
21:13
that will allow for this timeline and
21:16
accurate recognition
21:18
of all period related revenue and
21:20
expenses
21:21
um since february 2020 i provided city
21:25
council with financial scorecards
21:28
these are summary reports built by using
21:32
city gl system i believe that
21:36
city taxpayers can find these documents
21:39
online on city's website
21:41
um in the process um the most recent one
21:44
was for
21:45
june uh 2020 and i'm in a process of
21:48
preparing july and august scorecards
21:51
which should become available in the
21:52
next couple of days
21:55
um this should also um
22:00
preparing this report and providing them
22:03
on a city's website um should improve
22:06
the transparency
22:08
and cities of residence reliance
22:11
on the financial management and
22:15
on the financial management of the city
22:21
during my tenure strive to establish
22:23
strategic direction and improved
22:25
financial planning
22:27
management of financial risk record
22:29
keeping
22:30
and financial reporting um i worked with
22:34
others at the city
22:35
and our outside consultants cma to
22:38
develop
22:38
variable financial various financial
22:41
policies
22:42
to provide a roadmap for various
22:44
processes
22:46
at the city um such would be procurement
22:49
ground management
22:50
cash management fan balance as well as
22:53
other policies
22:56
one of my favorite and major areas of
22:59
focus is review of existing control
23:01
procedures and valiating because
23:03
efficiency of existing controls
23:06
where i deem existing controls not to be
23:09
adequate
23:10
i try to implement procedures to
23:13
mitigate existing previously
23:15
unadjusted trees um to date various
23:18
manual controls
23:19
and forms of reconciliation checklists
23:22
etc were already implemented
23:24
many still need to be addressed
23:28
while talking about controls it's
23:30
important to mention that system
23:32
controls
23:33
if properly designed and implemented are
23:35
always stronger than manual controls
23:38
that's one of the reasons why i'm
23:40
advocating so strongly
23:42
and pursuing persistently implementation
23:45
of
23:46
payroll time and leave management
23:48
software
23:50
exactly time we talked about it a couple
23:54
of weeks ago
23:55
other automation that's in process of
23:58
being implemented
23:59
where i work with our it department and
24:02
procurement department
24:04
is moving procurement process from
24:06
mostly manual to mostly computer
24:08
environment i also
24:11
had worked with our
24:15
software provider and with the help of
24:18
the staff from my department
24:20
um i believe that we had successfully
24:22
addressed the
24:23
management letter comment as it pertains
24:25
to the capital
24:26
assets where capital assets are now
24:29
properly reflected and us
24:31
in our system of records and not just
24:34
maintained
24:35
on an excel schedule for the purposes
24:38
of the financial reporting
24:42
of course budgeting is an important part
24:45
of what office of
24:47
a city comptroller is responsible for
24:49
there are several important
24:50
aspects to this specific area a proper
24:53
analysis of trans and actual results
24:55
from prior periods
24:56
good analysis is the backbone of
25:00
a reliable budget a once adopted budget
25:04
uh once adopted budget needs to be
25:09
maintained controlled and to achieve
25:12
that uh
25:13
we provide uh reports to the
25:16
departmental managers and schedule
25:19
meetings with them
25:21
um and make sure that the city
25:24
department stay within their adopted
25:26
budget
25:26
and that also um to to evaluate revenues
25:30
and um to to see if revenue projections
25:35
appear to be appropriate
25:37
um real-time analysis is vital to
25:40
know so necessary changes can be made
25:42
that would allow the city to maintain
25:44
its financial integrity
25:46
while it's always true it's even more so
25:49
this year
25:50
um with virtually exhausted city-bound
25:54
city fund balance and corvid 19
25:58
and its erosive effect on revenues
26:02
the city is in the process of creating
26:04
multi-year plan
26:06
i work closely with the financial
26:08
consultant to make sure that historical
26:10
information
26:11
used by them and those assumptions
26:14
taking in preparation of this document
26:17
are appropriate conservative and well
26:20
documented
26:21
um my department also working directly
26:25
with outside auditors
26:26
what it is about to um start in uh
26:30
in a month or so um
26:33
so we um another aspect of
26:37
what i do is um borrowing
26:41
um so just a few weeks ago city closed
26:44
on
26:44
over 40 million dollars of general bonds
26:48
of which about over 2 million dollars
26:51
was for
26:51
new dev and the rest was just to
26:54
refinance existing short-term
26:56
financing that was obtained in prior
26:58
years
26:59
i'm not going to bore you with how
27:02
that's accomplished but
27:03
40 million dollars is a lot of money
27:07
um talking about borrowing next week
27:09
we're about to
27:10
close on the lease purchase agreement
27:13
for two caterpillar equipment
27:16
uh for beach maintenance department this
27:18
was also previously discussed at the
27:20
city council meeting
27:22
um well in conclusion i would like to
27:25
say that what i find incredible about
27:27
the city as a whole
27:29
and the city controllers department in
27:31
particular is the number of challenges
27:33
that we all face but every challenge is
27:36
also an opportunity an opportunity to do
27:38
better to deliver better value and
27:40
improve
27:41
operations of controlled department and
27:43
positively impact operations
27:45
of other city departments and
27:49
i thought i will
27:53
open it to the questions
28:00
hello yep just seen it anybody have any
28:03
questions
28:06
this is karen i have no questions i just
28:10
um
28:10
that was a very thorough explanation of
28:14
the the vital role that you play
28:17
you and your team play to um steer the
28:19
city
28:21
um and we're forever grateful for all of
28:23
your hard work
28:24
and especially your professionalism that
28:26
you bring to the table
28:28
um sure i will say
28:31
that the value of your role is only as
28:34
good as your city manager
28:36
and right now we have an apolitical city
28:38
manager that understands and appreciates
28:42
all of her deputies and the vital role
28:44
that they play to make this city better
28:46
and that's where we work hand in hand
28:49
with
28:50
each function providing and being guided
28:52
by a city manager
28:54
that has the best interests of the
28:56
residents
28:57
residents first so thank you both
29:02
thanks eric um ina i want to say thank
29:05
you and your staff i know
29:07
we have been working extremely hard in
29:10
moving
29:11
um and working on the finances even
29:14
today
29:14
with working with cma on the multi-year
29:17
plan and
29:18
we have a lot of things going on but you
29:21
all have kept
29:22
everything very professionally we have
29:24
moved forward
29:25
we talk about the budget i think almost
29:28
every day
29:29
so that we make sure that we stay within
29:31
the budget if we thought we were going
29:33
if a line item was going over the budget
29:36
that we
29:37
already had approved where we can find
29:39
money to decrease to offset that so we
29:42
don't change the bottom line of the
29:43
budget
29:44
so i want to go on record and saying i
29:47
appreciate you
29:49
and all the hard work that you and your
29:51
staff have done
29:53
thank you
29:59
are there any other questions
30:04
all right our next speaker is mr joe
30:06
brand
30:14
you need to unmute
30:17
did i get it you got it
30:21
thank you dave uh good evening everybody
30:25
uh city manager gaiden asked me to hop
30:27
on tonight's call to provide
30:29
an update uh with regards to parks and
30:31
recreation
30:33
if you were still on last thursday
30:36
night's
30:36
work session call somewhere around
30:39
the two plus hour mark uh i gave a brief
30:42
update then
30:43
so if i'm sounding redundant tonight
30:46
i apologize but uh i don't know how many
30:49
people were still on at that point
30:50
so i'll run through it quick
30:52
additionally i would like to address
30:55
uh some questions that i've received
30:57
from both the council
30:58
and the public over the course of the
31:00
last several days
31:02
through email with some of the changes
31:04
that we've made here
31:05
at the recreation uh and how we plan to
31:08
move forward in the immediate future
31:10
uh the wreck pool and the weight room
31:13
are up and running they have been for
31:15
several weeks now
31:17
they continue to be for members only and
31:19
you must book your appointments in
31:21
advance
31:22
so we can schedule within the guidelines
31:24
of culverd restrictions
31:26
i also mentioned the other night bears
31:29
mentioning again today
31:30
uh we started out on with a fairly
31:32
limited schedule just to get
31:34
a lot of the kinks out at the wreck we
31:37
will be expanding
31:38
our hours uh the early morning hours and
31:40
the later evening hours
31:42
in both the weight room and the swimming
31:44
pool
31:45
beginning the week of september 28th
31:48
yesterday morning we began our before
31:51
and after care programs as well as our
31:52
sandbox and pre-k programs
31:55
went off without a hitch all the kids
31:57
were happy
31:58
and everything seems to be running
32:00
smooth small window only two days but
32:03
i'll continue to provide updates with
32:05
that uh
32:06
programming at the rec has continued
32:09
men's softball continues now
32:11
uh applications are out are available
32:14
for our fall programs
32:16
we have a kids soccer program a running
32:19
running club program and a kindergarten
32:22
football program that we'll be offering
32:24
this fall
32:25
as well as an additional sunday morning
32:27
men's softball league
32:29
the ice arena is just about ready to go
32:31
we had a
32:32
successful building inspection this
32:34
morning uh to get a number of items
32:37
cleaned up
32:38
uh scott kemmons will be by tomorrow
32:42
we have one additional item to go
32:44
through today one safety
32:45
lighting uh inspection and test that
32:48
will be performed either very late this
32:51
evening or very early tomorrow morning
32:53
by uh tom canner and his building
32:56
building maintenance department team
32:58
they've done an unbelievable job with
32:59
getting the building ready
33:01
the ice is down uh happy to report
33:04
there'll be a lot of happy hockey
33:05
players
33:06
in long beach because the park will drop
33:08
at 150 west bay drive
33:10
in the very near future with regard to
33:14
some of the questions that have come up
33:16
uh by both the council and
33:20
by the public we made some changes with
33:23
how we are handling the before and after
33:26
care
33:27
sign up process um
33:30
in the past and i know ian is on the
33:32
line and and she'll back me up with this
33:34
uh we had a very uh very involved
33:38
uh aftercare billing process uh that was
33:42
yeah i mean you basically needed to be
33:44
an accountant to figure out
33:46
um it wasn't something that we think
33:49
uh should have continued we what we
33:52
decided to do was institute
33:54
a monthly registration form
33:57
whereby you receive a monthly calendar
34:00
there's am
34:00
obviously for the morning care pm for
34:02
the evening care for each day of the
34:04
month
34:05
you check it off you know the number of
34:07
days that you come in times
34:08
the fee that we charge for that
34:10
particular slot uh
34:11
and and you you pay for it for the month
34:14
um
34:14
i think where people were
34:18
lost concern or or were confused
34:22
uh we have to make sure number one that
34:25
we have enough staff there
34:26
for the number of kids that can be there
34:28
uh we are
34:30
also uh have to be conscious of
34:33
covert guidelines and the number of kids
34:35
that we can allow there
34:36
each day and then obviously the staffing
34:39
and the cost
34:40
to run the program uh if we're just
34:43
putting staff members there and and
34:46
trying to guess how many kids are going
34:47
to show up that day
34:48
i think you can see how quickly uh the
34:51
budget would balloon for something like
34:52
that
34:53
what we do with this is you fill it out
34:55
we know how many kids are coming on each
34:57
day
34:58
and we have the appropriate number of
34:59
staff members there
35:01
we are guided by um ocfs with
35:05
with uh minimum staffing ratios
35:09
so we have to bear that in mind when we
35:11
staff
35:12
and like i said we can't have more
35:14
people there
35:15
than we're allowed to uh by law with the
35:18
the number of kids and and spacing them
35:20
out in the facilities that we have
35:22
so a couple wrinkles uh the one thing
35:24
that i will add to that
35:26
uh which a number of people have
35:28
inquired about
35:30
you pay your fee for the month ahead of
35:32
time
35:33
we will also credit you for days that
35:36
are missed that was something that the
35:38
school district was
35:39
was adamant about with all four groups
35:42
that are doing the before and after care
35:44
so if i paid for five and i only used
35:46
four the following month you'd have one
35:48
uh
35:48
one uh one visit banked already
35:52
so i hope that clears up a little bit of
35:54
the confusion
35:55
other than that everything else is
35:56
pretty much the same with the before and
35:58
after care programs
35:59
with the exception of uh there's no
36:02
longer
36:03
much movement from school to school in
36:05
other words we run the west school
36:06
program
36:07
and the leader school program primarily
36:10
the only students that are allowed to
36:12
participate in our before and after care
36:14
programs
36:15
are kids that attend either west school
36:17
or lido school
36:18
we're not bussing kids from school to
36:20
school to school um
36:22
again a part of the covered restrictions
36:24
and part of the school district's
36:25
reopening plan
36:27
additionally uh we've had an
36:30
enormous inquiries about the swim team
36:34
the competitive swim team that operates
36:36
out of our facility i'm happy to
36:38
announce and i made mention of it on
36:40
thursday's work session as well that we
36:43
were uh
36:44
we were very very close to um
36:48
entering into a partnership with a
36:50
another swim
36:51
organization to partner with long beach
36:54
aquatics
36:54
uh the long island aquatic club or lyac
36:57
as most people know it
36:59
is a competitive swim program that's
37:01
been around for decades
37:02
uh they they have a swim program that
37:05
caters to
37:06
the the youngest to olympic athletes uh
37:09
there are going to be
37:11
hopefully uh once the the final
37:14
eyes are dotted and tease across uh a
37:16
wonderful addition to our program
37:18
i think there'll be a a tremendous asset
37:21
to our uh swimming rich community
37:23
and they'll and they'll continue and
37:25
more importantly they understand
37:27
uh how much the swimming community means
37:29
means to long beach
37:31
additionally uh we're also in the
37:33
process of partnering
37:34
partnering with uh scrutin swim to help
37:37
give our
37:38
swim lesson program a shot in the arm
37:41
again
37:41
two very reputable programs two very
37:45
reputable organizations
37:46
uh both of whom are very cognizant of
37:50
the long beach product here and and the
37:52
long beach community
37:53
and really looking forward to working
37:55
with us so once those plans are
37:56
finalized which should be very soon
37:59
i'll make all that information public to
38:02
everybody
38:04
all i got you got questions far away i
38:06
have a quick question
38:08
um joe scott mandel thank you for the
38:11
summary can you just
38:12
and i apologize if you said already can
38:14
you just advise where parents can access
38:16
the before and after care forms and how
38:18
they can make payment
38:19
yep go on to the uh city website
38:22
and it's it's it's listed uh under parks
38:25
and recreation
38:26
download the form and what people can do
38:28
is i
38:29
i believe in one of the emails scott
38:31
that you saw
38:32
uh one of the woman's uh complaint that
38:35
was made was
38:36
now i have to go to the wreck every
38:37
month you you can send it in with your
38:39
child to school as well
38:41
it doesn't have you don't have to come
38:42
and do it in person okay thank you joe
38:45
you're welcome
38:50
are there any other questions i just
38:54
procedurally joe thank you for the
38:55
reports mike
38:57
um when people sign in is how is that
39:00
documented you know people sign in the
39:03
person the parent
39:05
attends or how does that
39:09
you know how does that the internal
39:12
controls work okay
39:14
every day the the parent will come to
39:16
the school
39:17
they have to fill out uh and sign a form
39:22
that answers questions about how the
39:24
child's feeling that day it's a it's a
39:26
standard
39:27
operational form it gets filled out
39:29
every day they sign it we take the
39:31
child's temperature
39:32
and then we allow them into the building
39:34
but everything is signed off for
39:36
each day okay thank you joe
39:40
you're welcome any other questions
39:45
all right the next person to talk is
39:48
simone freeman
39:49
corp council
39:53
good evening i apologize i am having
39:56
some technical difficulties so my
39:57
camera's not working
39:59
um city manager again has
40:02
just asked me to do a bit of a follow-up
40:05
and just i guess a recap of uh
40:07
our conversation regarding the mlk
40:10
center last week
40:11
and just to reiterate we
40:15
still in discussions uh we're attempting
40:18
discussions
40:19
still working out some kinks and issues
40:23
with respect to the reopening plan
40:27
i think as we have as i noted during our
40:29
work session
40:32
the activities that take place in the
40:34
building relating to community services
40:36
break down to recreational use and also
40:39
to educational use
40:41
uh with that the activities or most of
40:44
the activities and types of activities
40:46
did not
40:47
reopen or given give where we're not
40:50
given the green light to reopen until
40:52
the end of august or the beginning of
40:54
where this last week of september so
40:56
with that you know we did reach out to
40:58
the
40:58
to the to the board of
41:02
the mlk center inc and uh we
41:05
attempted to start looking toward
41:07
reopening plans
41:09
in late july we did have
41:12
one meeting with them discussed it um
41:16
and then had scheduled another meeting
41:19
and they had requested some additional
41:21
time
41:22
and requested an adjournment of the
41:24
meeting in order to
41:26
follow up and try to get some i guess
41:29
better assistance from
41:30
you know on their own and legal
41:31
assistance because the reopening
41:34
and site safety plans that are required
41:36
for
41:37
the different types of activities that
41:39
they would like to proceed with
41:40
is a bit complicated um you know as i
41:44
discussed the the city has
41:47
specific and site-specific site safety
41:49
plans for each type of activity
41:51
each thing that we're doing as joe just
41:53
said he has a number of different
41:55
activities we've had to come up with
41:56
site safety plans for
41:58
different centers for the pool for the
42:00
beach for the boardwalk um
42:02
you know and i mean my office has
42:04
handled them for the city
42:05
as i said we did reach out to you know
42:08
the mlk center
42:09
in order to you know provide them with
42:12
any assistance that they needed
42:13
um but they have requested time for them
42:17
to actually look into that on their own
42:19
we also are working toward
42:23
developing a new lease with them because
42:26
they have not
42:27
had a lease with us for over two decades
42:31
um and have not been paying rent
42:34
uh or providing some financial
42:36
information that we've been requesting
42:38
so we're still you know awaiting
42:41
documentation
42:42
um i believe i don't believe ina has
42:44
heard from their treasurer yet
42:46
um since last thursday so we are
42:50
we're still basically waiting on them
42:52
the
42:53
you know activities are still awaiting
42:55
reopening
42:56
as well uh contingent on their site
42:58
safety plan
42:59
and on them making some adjustments to
43:02
their
43:04
programming schedule
43:09
i think that's pretty much it does
43:12
anyone have any questions
43:16
thank you simone thank you
43:20
um and i we just want to reiterate that
43:24
we the city is not trying to
43:28
move mlk out of the building that's why
43:31
we're working on a lease
43:34
with trying to work on the lease with
43:36
mlk
43:38
we are not trying the city is not
43:41
we are not trying to put mlk out of the
43:44
building
43:45
um if there's no further uh questions
43:47
then the last person on my list
43:49
is john mcnally
43:56
thank you i will be relatively
43:59
easy breezy compared to all of the
44:02
appreciating department heads
44:03
city manager gabe just asked me to give
44:05
some quick updates on a couple of events
44:07
that we have coming up on the city that
44:10
long beach obviously has a long and
44:12
proud history
44:13
of supporting environmental causes being
44:16
a barrier island
44:18
and wanted to figure out even in the
44:20
covid universe
44:21
how we could still move forward with a
44:23
few of the programs that
44:25
have historically taken place here so
44:27
the first one is
44:28
this saturday is what i believe to be is
44:31
the 30th anniversary of international
44:33
coastal cleanup day
44:35
typically we have had in conjunction
44:38
with a few non-profits
44:40
a rather large centralized effort for
44:43
cleaning up our coastline and beaches
44:45
where 200 people would get together
44:48
get all the supplies they need and then
44:50
strategically be deployed throughout the
44:52
beach
44:52
uh in order to join in clean up efforts
44:54
and then record
44:55
the debris that they they were able to
44:58
gather
44:59
um through the american littoral society
45:02
under coveted restrictions that is
45:03
obviously not uh the way to go
45:06
in this day and age so what we're simply
45:08
asking people to do is
45:10
go to our website as a first step
45:13
longbeachny.gov
45:14
backslash iccd which is
45:18
international coastal cleanup day uh and
45:21
download the information for
45:22
the american littoral society and
45:25
whether it be with your family
45:27
or other people that you domicile with
45:29
or are close friends with that are in
45:30
your your respective covid bubbles
45:33
um but no large gatherings head out to
45:35
the beach of your choosing on your own
45:37
engage in the cleanup a number of us
45:40
will be out there as well
45:41
uh the garbage cans will be out in the
45:43
back of the beaches you can dispose
45:45
you know of the trash that you collect
45:47
that day uh
45:49
and report back up to the american
45:51
littoral society what was collected so
45:53
that we can continue this tradition
45:55
in what is obviously a most unusual year
45:58
for such things
46:00
the next one up is actually next friday
46:03
which would be for long island the
46:04
eighth annual car free day
46:07
another very strange one given kovid
46:11
there's obviously a number of people
46:12
that continue to
46:14
work remotely from home public
46:17
transportation
46:18
is not necessarily widely encouraged at
46:21
this stage of the game though it's
46:22
obviously a necessity for many
46:24
so we're asking folks to again on our
46:26
website you can get all the information
46:28
it's longbeachny.gov backslash
46:32
carfreedayli
46:35
that can take you to a pledge and we i
46:37
believe
46:38
the city collectively including all of
46:40
our residents
46:42
received a bronze award last year from
46:45
the car free day larger national
46:48
organization for the number of people
46:49
that took the pledge to participate so
46:51
we would ask people to take the pledge
46:53
and avoid any trips that you might take
46:56
that day
46:57
get on your bike take a walk go visit
46:59
the you know a local store as opposed to
47:01
driving to a chain store whatever it is
47:03
that you can do in
47:04
once again these truly unique and
47:06
hopefully one-off times
47:08
uh to you know eliminate a car for your
47:10
life for the day
47:12
um and you know even beyond that as well
47:15
but please take the pledge
47:16
uh keep these initiatives going because
47:18
we are obviously a community that is
47:21
very reliant upon living in a clean
47:24
and environmentally uh friendly manner
47:26
so that was really it from my standpoint
47:33
are there any questions
47:36
well thank you well as you can see
47:40
the team and i we've all been working
47:42
very hard
47:43
and you just got a couple of people
47:46
out of the whole um management team of
47:49
some of the things that we've been doing
47:51
in the city so that concludes my report
47:57
all right thanks donna uh a lot of
47:59
information there
48:01
so why don't we uh move on to the agenda
48:05
dave
48:06
okay our first item is a public hearing
48:08
for resolution granting waiver of wall
48:09
street parking requirements
48:11
for premise 28 west park avenue street
48:13
floor for an early learning education
48:15
center
48:16
and we have tim who's uh the proprietor
48:18
of the
48:19
shop uh he's on the panel right now
48:22
great all right i missed the i hope i'm
48:24
saying it right mr khanhai
48:26
yes can i okay can i uh
48:30
sorry about that so uh could you just
48:32
tell us a little bit about the business
48:35
so basically i um i'm running early
48:38
learning center for
48:39
uh ages one through five and i'm
48:42
breaking it down to three sessions at
48:44
two and a half hour
48:45
increments uh the first class will be
48:48
eight to ten thirty eleven to one thirty
48:52
and two to four thirty
48:54
and uh fifteen children match as far as
48:58
the cdc allows us to have and uh the
49:01
half hour breaks is to
49:03
allow us to clean and sanitize the place
49:07
okay and this is uh preschool children
49:11
uh one through five so
49:14
okay so it makes ages and we're also
49:17
catering to children with knees as well
49:20
i also have a sensory room and um
49:23
some my staff for therapists as well
49:26
okay and just for the information for
49:29
the people that might be listening
49:31
in uh this is the old uh ocean ride
49:34
cycling space above tutti frutti uh
49:37
frozen yogurt place
49:39
so that's an interesting place to have
49:41
all those kids
49:42
gonna have him probably running trying
49:43
to run downstairs all the time
49:47
well yeah i i thought about that i put a
49:49
fence uh
49:51
to try to stop that but hopefully he'll
49:53
give her business as well
49:57
maybe the parents especially right um
50:00
what do you anticipate your your hours
50:02
being
50:03
uh eight eight a.m to 4 30 p.m monday
50:06
through friday
50:08
all right and and about how many
50:09
employees do you anticipate having
50:12
i have right now i'm anticipating four
50:17
uh three part time one full time
50:21
okay great uh
50:25
there any questions from the council
50:26
members yes hi tim this is karen how are
50:29
you
50:30
blowing yourself good thank you um can
50:33
you tell us a little bit about yourself
50:34
and how long you've been in long beach
50:37
well
50:38
i as far as my background i've been here
50:41
well almost five years i had a house on
50:44
east
50:45
chester street and now i live on east
50:47
bay drive
50:49
and uh my wife and i
50:52
i have three children uh two of them go
50:54
to
50:55
they just started school a couple days
50:57
timothy and ethan
50:59
[Music]
51:02
by myself as far as my background my
51:04
education you're asking
51:06
no that's enough you have children you
51:08
know you're you're
51:09
you're a resident you're one of us you
51:12
know and and you're going with this
51:13
adventure so uh i give you a lot of
51:16
credit
51:17
[Laughter]
51:18
oh thank you i i think it's needed
51:20
especially in this situation
51:22
most of my clients were concerned about
51:23
the covet and uh
51:26
coveting sanitizing so some of them are
51:29
afraid of sending children back
51:31
but i'm doing it in small increments and
51:33
uh
51:35
i have more than enough space to provide
51:38
uh proper education for these children
51:40
socialization as well that's right
51:43
thank you very much and best of luck
51:45
thank you
51:47
mr can i this is uh liz i just wanted to
51:50
say
51:50
that the moms are all abuzz about
51:53
sensory
51:54
uh integration classes and i
51:58
saw you when you were standing for the
51:59
pledge that you saluted so i just want
52:01
to say thank you for your service as
52:03
well
52:04
thank you
52:08
all right any other questions from the
52:11
council members
52:15
all right uh dave why don't we go ahead
52:17
and maybe uh uh
52:18
move on to the vote for this so we don't
52:20
have to uh have him stay on the call for
52:23
the uh okay
52:24
for the others i'm just checking to see
52:25
if there's any questions from the public
52:26
but i have oh yeah sorry
52:28
i have no raised hands at this time so
52:30
yes we can move on to that
52:31
okay okay so this is for item
52:35
voting for item number two which is a
52:37
resolution granting waiver of wall
52:38
street parking requirements for premise
52:40
28 west park avenue
52:42
street floor for an early learning
52:44
education center who introduced move the
52:46
adoption of this item
52:49
i will second
52:52
i will
52:55
voting councilmember delorey yes
52:57
councilmember mandel
53:00
yes councilmember tristan yes
53:03
vice president mcginnis yes president
53:06
pendo
53:07
good luck and yes okay
53:10
okay good luck look forward to seeing
53:13
you open
53:14
thanks tim thank you have a great night
53:17
you too
53:19
okay next is on to the regular calendar
53:21
first item is approval of minutes for
53:22
prior meeting of august 18th
53:24
2020. do i have a motion to approve
53:29
uh i will but i have a uh two
53:34
modifications minor okay
53:37
um you want the now do you want to do
53:40
the
53:40
first and second and then there's this
53:42
one i kind of need him first
53:44
okay well usually we do the discussion
53:46
for a second uh but on
53:48
what would be page nine i know it's not
53:50
page numbered
53:51
um uh on resolution eight
53:55
it was a skin care and home goods retail
53:58
store
53:59
uh right now it says skin care and home
54:02
gods
54:02
okay and the same on page 11.
54:06
that needs to be updated yeah that's
54:07
that's a quick typo that's easy enough
54:09
to fix
54:29
wait i think i just lost everybody here
54:31
for a second
54:38
there's definitely a freeze dave all
54:40
right folks just stand by
54:44
yes the stream just got interrupted too
54:45
hang on i gotta
54:47
come up okay
54:51
hey uh everybody's you're muted on pawn
54:53
entry so you have to unmute
54:55
yeah i don't know what happened i got
54:56
kicked out everybody everybody
54:58
yeah everybody froze and they everybody
55:00
get kicked out it looks like yeah okay
55:01
the stream is back
55:02
up and we have everybody back on
55:06
i believe so yeah i don't know if
55:09
scott's on
55:11
uh no i don't see him curious
55:14
there he is okay so okay
55:17
getting back to where we left off so uh
55:20
president benno made the motion who will
55:21
second the motion
55:22
to to accept
55:26
anyone second
55:29
okay uh voting council member to lurie
55:32
yes
55:33
councilmember mandel
55:36
yes thank you uh councilmember trusted
55:39
yes vice president mcginnis yes
55:42
president bendel yes
55:46
okay
55:50
double check when we all got booted off
55:53
our
55:54
attendees did not get booted off did
55:56
they some might have but it looks like
55:58
i'm still showing a full list of 14
56:00
attendees and
56:02
i'm watching i'm monitoring the youtube
56:03
feed and uh that the feed is
56:05
um is streaming thank you yep
56:09
which we have 24 people watching on on
56:11
youtube right now
56:12
okay so on to item three is an ordinance
56:15
authorizing
56:16
financing for the cost of fiscal year
56:18
2020 2021 separation payments
56:20
two or for the benefit of employees of
56:22
the city upon separation from employment
56:25
stating the estimated total cost thereof
56:27
is two
56:27
2.7 million dollars appropriating set
56:29
amount therefore and authorize the
56:31
issues of not to exceed 2.7 million
56:32
dollar bonds
56:33
of said city to finance said
56:35
appropriation
56:39
okay um so we had at the
56:42
public hearing at the at the previous
56:45
meeting but
56:46
uh are there any additional questions
56:48
from
56:49
the uh council
56:55
okay seeing none do we have any
56:57
additional questions from the public
57:03
yes i have i do have one right hand
57:05
raised
57:07
two hands raised okay oh no back down to
57:10
one hold on
57:12
okay so i have robert anders i'm going
57:14
to
57:15
unmute you sir
57:18
whoops you jumped up on the list there
57:21
hang on a second
57:23
dina you can answer this question please
57:26
okay
57:28
robert anders i will try
57:41
hey dave yeah god do we ask the person
57:45
where they live in long beach when they
57:47
come on
57:47
like when otherwise robin anders long
57:49
beach they think
57:51
if if they if they wish to state their
57:53
their name
57:55
at the very least we need the name uh
57:57
it's up to them if they want to state
57:58
the address
58:00
no nothing addressed but it's a long
58:01
beach resident that will be coming on
58:04
i i don't know that until they state
58:06
where they're from
58:07
okay thank you so mr anders you need to
58:10
unmute yourself
58:12
yeah i've i've i'm gonna hit you one
58:14
more time
58:15
and he has to do it yeah i already
58:20
asked him to unmute uh a few times
58:26
well he typed a question in the chat
58:30
i'm not quite i don't quite understand
58:32
it but it says why are you selecting the
58:34
maturity
58:34
you are
58:38
so it might be the maturity dates i'm
58:40
not sure because it says why are you
58:42
selecting the maturities you are
58:44
just in case he can't unmute right um
58:47
you know i think he's looking for the
58:49
the five years of
58:50
that question he says why five years i
58:52
don't think we have a choice in in that
58:54
um decision but go ahead either no
58:57
you're right
58:58
you're right um mike so
59:01
this uh this is actually
59:04
um we have to follow the
59:07
municipal finance law and that's what it
59:10
dictates
59:17
thank you sure i have no additional
59:20
hands
59:22
okay then uh saying hearing none let's
59:25
uh move on
59:27
okay our last items item four resolution
59:29
authorizing publication for notice oh
59:30
wait
59:31
sorry dave before you move on so we have
59:33
to close the hearing
59:34
okay so now we can move on okay
59:38
so item four is a resolution authorizing
59:40
publication of a notice of public
59:42
hearing of an application wave or street
59:43
parking requirements for premise 6 west
59:46
park avenue for a health products retail
59:48
store
59:48
this item is for publication only the
59:50
hearing will be held october 6th at 7
59:52
p.m
59:53
now we'll go on to the voting for the
59:54
last two items that we didn't vote on
59:56
yet
59:56
so item three is ordinance authorizing
59:58
financing for the course of fiscal year
60:00
2020 2021 separation payments to
60:03
or for the benefit of employees of the
60:04
city upon separation from employment
60:06
stating the estimated total cost thereof
60:08
is 2.7 million dollars
60:10
appropriating set amount therefore and
60:11
authorizing the issuance of not to
60:13
exceed 2.7 million
60:14
bonds of said city to finance said
60:16
appropriation
60:18
who introduced a move the adoption of
60:20
this item i'll make a motion to adopt
60:22
that
60:23
second i will
60:26
voting councilmember delorey yes
60:29
councilmember mandel
60:30
yes councilmember treston yes
60:34
vice president mcginnis yes president
60:36
bendo
60:37
yes and finally item four is a
60:40
resolution authorizing publication of a
60:41
notice
60:42
of public hearing of an application to
60:43
waive all street parking requirements
60:46
for premise uh six west park avenue
60:49
street floor for health products retail
60:50
store who introduced move the adoption
60:52
of this item
60:54
i will i'm sorry who got that
60:57
liz okay second
61:00
i will okay voting councilman delury
61:06
yes thank you uh councilmember mandel
61:10
yes councilmember tristan yes vice
61:13
president mcginnis
61:14
yes president bendo yes
61:17
we'll make a motion to close the meeting
61:20
i will second
61:25
i will oh scotland john we both will
61:29
we both vote i'll flip a coin okay
61:32
uh councilmember delorey
61:36
yes thank you councilmember mandel
61:39
yes councilmember treston
61:43
yes thank you uh vice president mcginnis
61:46
yes and president pendo yes
61:50
okay okay so on to
61:53
good and welfare so
61:57
before we move on i'm sorry mr anders is
61:59
still
62:00
on the panel part
62:13
that's only because i had asked him to
62:15
mute
62:17
to unmute so hold on i believe that's
62:19
taken care of now
62:20
yeah that's there you go okay so there
62:23
we go all right
62:24
so uh good and welfare uh
62:27
you have three minutes uh
62:30
and if you would like to speak just
62:32
please uh
62:34
raise your hand uh hit the raise your
62:35
hand button um
62:38
obviously uh we asked that you uh
62:40
exercised uh decorum
62:42
and okay so our first speaker
62:46
is ellen wiewell
62:50
ah hey ellen
62:53
good evening it's good to see you all
62:55
and join you on my first zoom city
62:57
council meeting how's everybody doing
62:58
tonight
62:59
good thanks good good to see you thank
63:02
you
63:03
my name is ellen vivel and i live in the
63:05
west home neighborhood of long beach
63:07
could long beach please commit to
63:09
keeping the boardwalk
63:10
and beach entrances open through the
63:13
winter
63:14
and through any future changes with the
63:17
covid pandemic
63:19
last spring the city closed the
63:21
boardwalk and limited beach entrances
63:23
citing the large number of coveted cases
63:26
in our city
63:28
although people close to me had been
63:29
struggling with shortness of breath from
63:31
the disease
63:32
friends had family members pass away and
63:35
relatives were furloughed
63:38
somehow it was the announcement that our
63:40
town's boardwalk was closing
63:42
that made me cry for the first time
63:46
it also seemed ironic to crowd dozens of
63:49
blocks of residence into just a few
63:51
beach entrances
63:53
we know a lot more about the virus now
63:55
than we did in the spring
63:57
as we approach six months of social
63:59
distancing and masking
64:01
we're all trying to keep ourselves
64:02
healthy sane and connected
64:04
the outdoors is a relatively safe place
64:07
for people to be and our beautiful beach
64:09
and boardwalk are tremendous local
64:11
resources that can help us get through
64:12
the months ahead
64:14
this winter they may be enjoyed even
64:15
more than usual
64:17
yet a new retractable barrier was
64:20
installed on the laurelton
64:22
boardwalk entrance recently not sure if
64:25
there are barriers at other blocks too
64:27
what's this for and every winter the
64:30
boardwalk has some time where it's
64:31
covered in ice or snow could long beach
64:33
commit to keeping the boardwalk and
64:35
beach entrances open throughout the
64:37
pandemic by which i mean
64:38
avoiding multi-day closures and could we
64:42
plan to assertively clear the boardwalk
64:44
of snow and ice
64:45
thank you
64:48
okay bunch there um
64:54
let's see let's uh start with and i
64:56
don't know john
64:57
donner or joe with probably actually
65:00
rich
65:00
burial should rich burials should answer
65:03
that um he is on the call
65:06
okay and i assume we're talking about
65:08
here the uh
65:10
closing and closing at a boardwalk
65:12
closing up the boardwalk
65:14
really talking about closing the
65:15
boardwalk when we had to do everything
65:17
beaches adjust the hours um
65:21
okay rich yep come on can everyone hear
65:23
me yes
65:25
and can everyone see me
65:32
ellen how are you um so i think what
65:35
you're asking for is a commitment from
65:37
the city i can't i can't commit the city
65:39
to anything
65:40
um i can kind of give you the process of
65:42
how this all unfolded
65:44
um it was just as shocking and and crazy
65:47
uh for us as it was for every resident
65:49
who was here
65:50
um initially the boardwalk closing was
65:54
based on numbers and the sheer
65:55
development of something that was very
65:57
unknown to the entire nation
65:59
um and the world so we were going by
66:03
a lot of what governor cuomo was
66:06
talking about in terms of emergency
66:09
orders and executive orders and
66:11
we had to make the city had to make a
66:13
really tough choice on
66:15
safety especially when the warmer
66:18
weather was coming around so
66:19
we did close the boardwalk for a period
66:21
of time and an abundance of caution
66:24
with the mindset or at least i believe
66:26
the mindset is better to be safe than
66:28
sorry
66:29
as far as the commitment to permanently
66:31
keep it open throughout the pandemic
66:33
i think if the development of this
66:36
pandemic has shown us anything is that
66:38
the numbers change and circumstances
66:41
change
66:42
and we will do our best to keep our
66:44
residents safe
66:45
while simultaneously balancing the need
66:48
for you know
66:49
outside exposure and human interaction
66:52
but we've had to we've had to close the
66:54
boardwalk we've had to open the
66:55
boardwalk we've had to modify
66:57
hours we've had to modify beach hours
66:59
we've had to seek permission from the
67:01
department of health to do all of these
67:02
things
67:04
because i don't know if you know but
67:05
governor cuomo in his executive orders
67:07
required
67:08
any local authority who was taking some
67:11
sort of emergency action or order
67:13
to get permission from them first uh so
67:16
it was a lot of
67:17
uh jumping through hoops just to get to
67:18
where we are but
67:20
um on my end to the extent i can make
67:23
any representation to you rest assured
67:25
we take all of those things into
67:26
consideration before
67:28
closing something down before
67:30
prohibiting access to anything
67:32
and just know that safety is really our
67:34
number one
67:35
concern the safety of all our residents
67:37
and the public
67:43
all right and i guess there was uh then
67:45
she was asking
67:46
about the uh those prototype gates they
67:49
were
67:50
they had put up on a couple of the
67:51
entrances i don't know who wants to
67:54
um i know tommy's not on so i know john
67:57
do you want to address that one or
68:00
sure and this was i won't go too too
68:02
deep in it as it was
68:04
um i think thoroughly discussed at our
68:06
working meeting last thursday but
68:08
it was essentially towards the end of
68:09
june when we were having a confluence of
68:12
rather
68:12
undesirable situations unfold in the
68:14
city where we had
68:16
weekend high school parties taking place
68:18
where there was groups of
68:20
800 to 1200 uh youths utilizing
68:24
our beach and boardwalk as a place to
68:26
celebrate
68:27
graduation or any number of things uh
68:30
two such events
68:31
where successful successfully took place
68:33
uh unfortunately for
68:35
all involved uh and our police deterred
68:38
at least one other one
68:39
if not two uh at the same time we were
68:42
also seeing a
68:43
rather large influx of individuals
68:45
coming to enjoy the beach after hours
68:47
which is
68:49
typical any given summer um but it was
68:52
even more so this particular summer with
68:54
so few options for
68:55
anyone to gather anywhere not being able
68:57
to go to baseball games not being able
68:59
to
69:00
you know go to amusement parks or
69:01
anything that people would typically go
69:03
to
69:03
so a decision was made after the
69:06
the second party that took place on the
69:08
beach uh where there was 1200
69:10
individuals
69:11
not social distancing not behaving as
69:14
anyone would wish they would behave
69:16
uh and simultaneously really was that
69:19
next day
69:20
our lifeguards had to pull 17 people out
69:23
of the water
69:24
over the course of just an hour hour and
69:26
a half so
69:27
the the team met the following day after
69:30
our city manager received a phone call
69:32
from governor cuomo on sunday evening
69:34
saying what's going on there get this
69:36
under control
69:37
uh and the decision was made that we
69:39
needed to limit hours for the beach in
69:41
the boardwalk and the two are obviously
69:43
you know inextricably linked if you're
69:44
gonna close off the beach at eight
69:46
o'clock
69:47
that process was going to take
69:48
approximately an hour at which point in
69:50
time
69:50
you'd then close off the boardwalk if
69:53
you left the boardwalk open even later
69:54
then you were going to get recidivism
69:56
where folks were going to start drifting
69:58
back out of the beach so we felt that
70:00
we've needed to keep those two tight
70:02
at the time we obviously didn't have
70:04
supplies as nobody had
70:06
previously contemplated having to close
70:07
the boardwalk in the beach earlier than
70:09
we typically do
70:10
we were just using snow fencing and we
70:13
said to the council we said at the
70:14
public meetings
70:15
you know this is what we're doing to
70:17
immediately uh
70:19
make this operational but that we were
70:21
going to be ordering you know those
70:22
extendable accordion fences
70:25
uh as a possible long-term solution not
70:27
knowing how long we were going to have
70:28
to do this so
70:29
those came in our beach central
70:32
maintenance department
70:33
has been you know providing prototypes
70:36
there was
70:36
one very large wall that went up about a
70:38
month ago
70:39
that immediately came down uh the the
70:42
young man
70:43
who works for our beach maintenance crew
70:45
did a
70:46
stupendous job giving us something where
70:49
we requested
70:50
put up something that will keep people
70:51
out and that he did
70:53
but it was obviously not the right look
70:55
or feel for what we wanted on the
70:56
boardwalk so we thanked him profusely
70:58
and asked him to then take it down
71:00
then we had the accordion gates come in
71:03
uh and he gave us a couple of prototypes
71:04
of that there was a wider one that went
71:06
up on
71:08
i believe it was laurelton no
71:11
washington again um that was again still
71:14
not quite the feel that we were looking
71:15
for and then so he put down a slim down
71:17
version at laurelton which
71:18
the council obviously had an opportunity
71:20
and members of the public have now had
71:22
an opportunity to take a look at
71:24
there was some suggestions made for if
71:26
this was moving forward
71:28
uh what it would you know some uh some
71:30
adjustments that could be made to it to
71:32
make it more aesthetically pleasing more
71:33
efficient more tamper-proof
71:35
so that's being explored right now um
71:38
and
71:39
we're you know this is still an ongoing
71:40
course of discussion of
71:42
whether the hours will get relaxed or
71:44
not um
71:45
and whether the gates you know
71:46
ultimately if they come up with a
71:47
solution that works
71:49
but it's it's a situation that there is
71:51
nothing predictable about this time
71:53
there is nothing precedent
71:54
precedented about this time so we're
71:57
being vigilant we're only
71:58
you know one weekend out from what was
72:01
one of our peach beak days
72:03
our peak beach days and we don't really
72:07
know what
72:08
an off-season is going to look like at
72:10
this stage of the game so
72:11
we're we're continuing to work with city
72:13
manager's office is continuing to work
72:15
with and have discussions with our
72:16
police department our fire department
72:19
the lifeguards our beach maintenance and
72:22
obviously beach park staff
72:24
to continually evaluate and um make
72:26
adjustments as we see fit so
72:28
for right now it's status quo or at
72:30
least the new status quo
72:32
um and we'll see where we are in another
72:34
week or two
72:37
okay and then uh i guess
72:41
tommy cantor's not on but uh about
72:43
clearing the uh
72:44
snow and ice off the boardwalk um
72:48
i don't know john if you want to address
72:49
that but i i i don't believe we can run
72:52
plows up there because it
72:54
might destroy the wood but uh
72:57
i don't know what the mechanism they use
72:58
is
73:00
uh commissioner morando might be better
73:02
suited to answer that than that
73:07
hello you can hear me
73:10
yep yeah we have uh some uh
73:14
quads that we use with plows on the
73:16
boardwalk
73:17
but one thing everybody should realize
73:19
depending on the severity of snowstorm
73:21
our first priority is to clear all the
73:23
streets so that emergency vehicles fire
73:25
trucks police cars
73:27
ambulances all have access to all the
73:29
streets and occupants
73:30
so the boardwalk unfortunately during a
73:32
snowstorm has to be our last concern
73:34
however we do uh as soon as we can get
73:38
to it and we've opened up all the
73:39
streets
73:40
we do send the uh the quads up there
73:43
with snow plows and do
73:44
do clear it
73:48
all right uh i hope we got everybody so
73:51
much for your responses i really
73:52
appreciate it
73:53
have a great night okay thanks ellen
73:55
take care
73:58
thank you ellen all right dave who's
74:00
next on our
74:01
list next on our list is rory lester
74:05
let's uh all right mr lester
74:08
i just asked you i'm mute go ahead oh
74:11
roy i was hoping we'd be able to see you
74:15
uh i wish um
74:19
this was actually my last question but
74:21
since uh going on
74:22
ellen's question about the boardwalk my
74:25
question was when it was going to reopen
74:27
at night
74:28
um and i guess what's bothering me is
74:31
i'm looking at
74:32
our neighbors joan's speech kept their
74:34
boardwalk open the entire time
74:37
never shut it not once rockaway same
74:40
thing
74:41
and i know we had problems and i i know
74:43
nobody wants a thousand kids or 1200
74:46
kids
74:46
on their beach partying but you know
74:50
that could happen anywhere
74:51
but with enforcement it doesn't happen
74:55
and you know what we're doing basically
74:58
by keeping the boardwalk
74:59
shut for the people who live in the town
75:02
and we're saying well people abuse it so
75:05
we're gonna
75:05
take it away from everybody that's like
75:08
second grade stuff we should be able to
75:11
at this point be able to enforce our
75:13
rules
75:14
i understand the beach the beach can get
75:17
a little dangerous at night
75:18
and jones beach just doesn't let people
75:21
on past a certain point
75:22
but they let the boardwalk stay open and
75:25
i just don't understand why we can't do
75:28
that
75:28
why we can't enforce our rules and let
75:32
the people enjoy the boardwalk
75:34
but that was just one thing um i have a
75:36
couple of questions
75:38
the we just voted on separation pay 2.7
75:41
million
75:42
what's the projection for the cost of
75:44
separation for next year the upcoming
75:46
year
75:47
now i know that we don't know who's
75:49
going to retire i don't
75:50
you know there's a lot of unknowns but
75:53
everybody who runs a business projects
75:56
what is our projection for next year and
75:59
that's one question and the other
76:01
question i had is
76:02
enos said we refinanced 40 million
76:04
dollars worth of debt of
76:06
2 million which was new debt what rate
76:09
were we paying before
76:11
and what was the what's our new rate in
76:14
the refinance
76:15
and was there any cost to the refinance
76:18
you know when you refinance a house
76:20
you're always paying points and stuff
76:21
like that i
76:22
i don't think in municipalities we pay
76:24
much
76:25
but i'm just curious what the end effect
76:27
of the refinancing was
76:33
that's it okay i didn't use up my three
76:35
minutes
76:38
not yet at least nope a few seconds left
76:42
okay all right i guess that's you ina
76:46
okay i will try um
76:49
so so um as we're talking about the
76:53
projections for the um
76:57
for for the separation p for
77:00
next year um it probably will be
77:04
around three million dollars that's uh
77:07
seems like that's what the trend is uh
77:10
for the last i think five years it was
77:14
approximately two and a half million
77:16
dollars on average from year to year
77:19
that's where the city at
77:21
um obviously this could be
77:24
a fact that um one way
77:28
or the other uh by many different
77:32
factors how the markets do how the
77:35
city contracts will do so um
77:38
i'm just going to say that that that's
77:41
on
77:41
average we um paid
77:44
2.5 million dollars we budgeted 2.7 this
77:48
million dollars
77:49
and that would project that we should be
77:51
in the neighborhood of about 3 million
77:55
for the foreseeable future um
77:58
as far as i'm sure that i i want to add
78:02
to that that we know there is a known
78:04
piece to that
78:05
and then there is an unknown piece to
78:07
that right
78:08
so the known piece is what we have
78:12
um calculated the separation
78:16
uh p to be for the
78:19
um those people that had already
78:21
separated
78:22
and for whom we either started or about
78:25
to start their separation payout
78:28
and then um a large portion of that is
78:31
also
78:32
what we just estimate based on the
78:34
historical data
78:36
um as far as um
78:40
i just want to make sure that we're in
78:42
the same page when i was talking about
78:45
the refinancing
78:47
um it was not like a decision of the
78:50
debt where we issued a new data to
78:52
retire all that
78:55
um that was long term um
78:58
i think i mentioned that it was
79:01
previously financed through the
79:03
short-term financing and if i did not
79:06
i'm sorry i'm gonna say it now uh so
79:09
when
79:09
city first um finances
79:13
um its capital projects will always
79:16
do it uh via issuance uh of the
79:19
short-term note
79:21
why it's done that way is because what
79:23
we need for each particular project
79:26
is um an estimate right so we might
79:30
think
79:31
that it was that something would cost a
79:33
million dollars
79:34
um and then um will come
79:38
lower than that uh so we're not gonna
79:41
finance
79:42
the whole let's say something that will
79:44
um
79:45
have a useful life of 30 years so we're
79:47
not going to issue a bond of a million
79:49
dollars
79:50
um until we really at the point where we
79:54
will know
79:55
um how much we've spent
79:59
or about to spend on this project and
80:02
that's when
80:03
we finance it um long term
80:06
um and yes there is a uh cost divisions
80:09
obviously
80:10
it's costly to issue bonds um
80:13
just to put it in perspective for you
80:15
there it's a necessary evil we
80:18
paid maybe 35 000 or 34
80:21
000 um i think 35
80:24
to moody's our rating agencies
80:27
agency and um that's built into the
80:30
course divisions and
80:32
into the operations of the city and
80:35
um i hope i answered your question
80:39
comprehensively
80:41
yes yes you know you did but the one
80:43
question i have
80:45
you're projecting and i know it's just a
80:47
projection three million for next year
80:49
which i assume we all have to bond for
80:52
too
80:53
and uh we bonded this year's 2.7 was a
80:56
five-year bond was that correct
80:58
correct yes okay so then
81:01
next year we'll be bonding three million
81:03
that will also be
81:04
i and i not i know nothing's definite
81:06
that'll also be a five million
81:09
no no not five million i mean up five
81:10
five year five year
81:12
correct okay all right thanks
81:15
that was my question so we're really
81:19
yeah okay
81:23
you see where i'm going mike yeah mr
81:25
lester i just have to and thank you for
81:27
you know having this conversation if the
81:29
council doesn't mind i'd like to
81:31
uh just comment on a few things
81:35
um number one
81:38
we didn't start this process
81:42
this process was here inherent
81:45
in this structural
81:49
budget which existed
81:52
long before this council was
81:55
in office we collectively
81:59
are trying to create a long-term plan
82:03
called a multi-year plan and if you
82:06
heard
82:06
what i had mentioned a couple of months
82:09
ago maybe
82:10
that there's no quick fixes to this this
82:12
is going to take three to five years
82:14
in my opinion but
82:17
there are obligations that
82:21
are going to occur
82:24
next year and the city controller in the
82:28
resdic is
82:29
has done an excellent job and is
82:32
continuing to monitor it
82:34
and i'm the hardest person on her and
82:36
i'm satisfied
82:38
uh at this point uh i do not like debt
82:43
i think that with this management team
82:47
of donna gayden and ena and others and
82:52
you know
82:53
we will get through this roy i just
82:56
don't know exactly
82:58
when um but i'm confident to remain
83:02
here if the people want me uh
83:06
to to monitor this going forward because
83:09
once it's done and satisfied
83:12
i'll be happy to uh
83:15
to hand over the reins thank you
83:19
thank you mike i i really hope you're
83:21
right but going back on all the budgets
83:23
you got to read them they you know the
83:25
statement
83:27
year after year says it was the other
83:30
guys
83:30
and we're going to pull us out of it and
83:32
but i think we you do have the right
83:34
team now
83:35
so let's hope and roy i've been to those
83:38
budget meetings so i know exactly what
83:40
you're talking about thank you
83:41
okay you're welcome hey roy this is
83:43
donna was that a compliment to the team
83:48
please donna you want to ruin my
83:50
reputation
83:54
roy i thank you roy thank you very much
83:58
all right don't ruin it but i just want
84:00
to bring up a point of
84:01
clarification here so there there as
84:04
xena pointed out there's been a trend
84:05
over the past several years
84:07
of the city borrowing two to three
84:08
million dollars a year
84:10
to make separation payouts
84:14
a few years ago mr bendo
84:17
pointed out that he would like the
84:20
substantiation
84:22
for those payouts when he requested that
84:26
there was research done and it turned
84:28
out
84:29
that some of the payouts did not follow
84:32
the code of ordinances of the city
84:35
that resulted in a payout quote-unquote
84:38
scandal
84:40
that was over two years ago and the
84:42
nassau county district attorney
84:44
has still not made any decisions on that
84:46
or notifications to this council
84:50
so that aside the city has done a very
84:54
good job
84:55
to verify to their best ability that all
84:58
of the separation payouts since then
85:00
comply with the code as best as they can
85:04
so that means that we have an
85:08
obligation this year and next year and
85:10
going
85:11
it forward but that this council has
85:13
done
85:14
everything they could to verify that the
85:16
payments they're making
85:18
going forward comply with the code as
85:20
best they can
85:23
does that help you no that uh
85:26
i assume i i assume that's what you were
85:29
doing
85:30
all right listen karen i listened to you
85:32
i listened to john and i listened to
85:34
mike
85:34
for years complaining about both the
85:37
borrowing
85:38
i've listened to you guys you were right
85:40
on you know and i
85:42
the sooner we get rid of it the better
85:44
so that's all i'm saying
85:47
i'm not sure i'm not sure i realized
85:49
that the adopted budget for the general
85:51
fund
85:51
this past year is actually 2.1 2.4
85:55
million dollars lower
85:56
than the previous budget but we borrowed
85:59
4.2 right after that
86:03
but that was because that was partially
86:05
because of coven right
86:07
can't i don't my crystal ball doesn't
86:09
predict coving i
86:11
i know that so that's why we are trying
86:14
to put this city in a position
86:16
to be able to replenish our fund balance
86:20
so that we can deal with crises that
86:22
happen in the future
86:23
and don't have to borrow to the extent
86:25
that we had to now
86:27
this and i applaud you for that right so
86:30
this way
86:30
we're making the payouts that we're
86:32
obligated to we're lowering the expenses
86:35
we're providing better revenue
86:37
productions and we're trying to turn the
86:39
ship around
86:39
as best we can and it's not going to
86:42
happen overnight
86:43
but i'm not attack i'm not attacking you
86:46
i'm not really i know but i appreciate
86:49
your diligence in asking the questions
86:50
because again
86:51
you've made me look look back and try to
86:54
explain to you
86:55
that this is not made up this is a very
86:58
tough decision
86:58
to borrow again and it's not made
87:00
lightly so i appreciate you
87:03
you know holding me to task okay
87:07
okay all right thanks roy um
87:11
and just uh does us make on a closing
87:13
note and this is one of the reasons why
87:15
this the city is currently working on a
87:18
long-range financial plan
87:20
so we can get out of this
87:23
basically this cycle of borrowing which
87:26
we shouldn't be doing for operational
87:28
expenses
87:29
um but it's a process you know
87:32
so um but the process is at least taking
87:36
place now
87:37
so all right uh who is next on our
87:41
list next is uh dina fiore
87:47
hello dina
87:57
uh deena yeah
88:12
she gets shy on us all of a sudden uh
88:15
she's showing unmuted but
88:16
yeah hope she didn't fall asleep
88:21
can we circle back to her uh yeah why
88:25
don't we go
88:25
is there someone next then we can circle
88:27
back yes hold on one second let me move
88:30
her back down
88:31
uh james lynch ah mr lynch
88:38
well i gotta promote him up to the panel
88:41
because his version's not compatible
88:43
okay go ahead mr lynch
88:45
there you are all right we can see you
88:48
ah just unmute yourself there james
88:53
hey we even get to see him too yes
88:59
good evening to the council um
89:15
[Music]
89:22
if you're watching it on another device
89:24
you got to mute that device
89:33
jamie try it again jamie
89:41
hello yep all right we got you
89:45
can you hear me yes yes and
89:54
yeah we're able to hear you okay your
89:56
goat you're good mr lynch
89:58
we hear you yeah
90:04
looks like he may not be hearing us
90:08
can you hear me yes we can
90:11
yes okay thank you i was on multiple
90:14
devices so i didn't want to get dropped
90:16
um now i realized where i am uh i just
90:20
wanted to double back
90:21
on the uh these accordion gates that are
90:24
on the board of war
90:26
and i would ask that uh whatever
90:30
you pick you hold off on
90:33
this is not something that we need right
90:35
now i understand that it was
90:37
it was something that was needed or the
90:39
idea was needed
90:41
to suppress a problem that happened back
90:44
in june early july
90:45
this is not this is not a good signal uh
90:48
to
90:49
the residents and the people that come
90:52
and visit the boardwalk
90:53
on a daily basis that were closed or
90:56
closing
90:56
down for business this is something
90:58
that's never been done before
91:00
i understand it's unprecedented times
91:03
but
91:03
we really need to think rethink
91:07
this solution and i really hope that you
91:09
didn't purchase all these
91:11
uh for every entrance i tried to get
91:15
some background
91:16
uh through the council uh and city
91:18
management but i suggested that i come
91:20
to a council meeting
91:22
um to discuss this and i really
91:25
think that uh what we're looking at is
91:28
is is a bad object
91:32
there are other ways that you can go
91:34
forward
91:35
to deploy some type of fencing when
91:37
needed if
91:38
if the need arises and that would
91:41
basically
91:42
be closer to the central part of town we
91:44
don't need to see these on grand
91:46
washington
91:47
new york um they're just very bad optics
91:51
and it gives people an
91:52
unsafe feeling that we can't control the
91:55
boardwalk
91:56
as much as you want to try to control
91:59
what's going on
92:00
it just it gives people an unsafe
92:03
feeling and it's not good for
92:06
long beach as a whole when it gets on
92:08
the news so
92:10
i think the the threat that was out
92:12
there
92:14
and it happens virtually every year
92:17
and maybe not at that uh at the size
92:19
that it was this year
92:21
but it happens and it happens almost
92:22
every year and i
92:24
said you rethink what you're doing and
92:27
whoever
92:27
you know came up with that idea uh pause
92:30
it
92:31
permanently and uh and look at other
92:34
options
92:35
to deploy uh closures that aren't uh so
92:38
offensive to the
92:39
to those that live here and to those
92:41
that will come and visit the uh
92:43
the city thank you
92:47
okay thanks jamie
92:51
um dave uh inez
92:54
texted me i guess she was
92:57
it seemed like she was on multiple
92:59
devices seeing which one worked so
93:02
uh she still wants to speak
93:05
i'm just trying to see uh how she's
93:08
getting back
93:09
in let me see still show her as active
93:13
okay okay also i think um
93:16
uh phil regola wants to say
93:20
something okay okay i'm sure is he on
93:24
he is on phil go ahead hi everybody
93:28
um i just want to address jamie uh i
93:31
understand what you're saying in regards
93:34
to the gates um
93:36
and what happened in the past on the
93:39
beach in the boardwalk
93:40
but i have to say there's no quick cure
93:45
for what's going on i don't think we can
93:49
just remove
93:50
these gates and stop people from coming
93:52
on the beach
93:53
and boardwalk we didn't um
93:56
we didn't stop him totally he just
93:58
modified the hours
94:00
so instead of 11 o'clock
94:03
you can't come on the beach at eight and
94:05
the boardwalk at nine
94:07
and i really and truly believe that is
94:10
going to keep our residents safe
94:13
because if we do not do that it's still
94:16
warm out
94:17
we'll have groups coming back out so
94:20
i understand what you're saying but i
94:23
don't believe
94:24
we can stop doing what we're doing at
94:27
this time
94:30
i'm sorry may i respond
94:35
of course uh phil no
94:38
no question about the eight nine o'clock
94:40
uh closures
94:41
not a problem with that my my problem is
94:45
the optics of of putting up accordion
94:48
gates
94:48
uh when there's a perceived emergency
94:52
there's there's temporary fencing they
94:54
can be stored at the bottom of the
94:55
boardwalk i've spoken to
94:57
i believe john uh i know de laurie
95:01
and mr delorean i think maybe mcnally
95:03
about the process
95:04
that the temporary gates that could be
95:06
deployed you know six by ten
95:08
uh that they do in emergencies and so
95:11
forth
95:12
um to have something up there
95:13
permanently isn't is it's an eyesore
95:17
optically it's it's it hurts
95:21
it hurts the beauty of the boardwalk it
95:23
hurts
95:24
everything about what we're doing i
95:26
understand it's a safety protocol but
95:29
that that came and went and and to say
95:32
that uh what about what are we gonna do
95:34
next
95:35
april the next may it's it's it's
95:38
something that's never been done before
95:40
i don't think it's something that is
95:41
actually needed at this time
95:45
yeah jamie i respectfully disagree um
95:48
i don't think it's an eyesore i actually
95:50
was there when they were putting them up
95:52
i don't think it's an eyesore at all i
95:53
think snow fencing
95:55
is a paper tiger i
95:58
when you put that up even at the bottom
96:00
of the thing it gets knocked down
96:02
it doesn't really do much and it's kind
96:04
of a waste of everybody's time
96:06
um the fence the the gates they have
96:10
certainly at warrelton i was there today
96:13
um
96:13
i do not think is an eyesore they they
96:16
go against
96:17
sides it doesn't look bad it's
96:20
it's it's not aesthetically
96:23
um and we'll have to readdress it as we
96:26
move on but
96:27
i think it's necessary and i think we
96:29
should have it there
96:32
phil not not to believe not to believe
96:34
the
96:35
the point i wasn't talking about snow
96:36
fencing what i was talking about
96:38
is six by ten chain link fencing um
96:41
it's free standing and deployed and you
96:43
could uh you could uh
96:45
set it up with the commercial zip ties
96:48
uh
96:48
probably each entrance at uh
96:52
probably in about 15 minutes my point is
96:55
that uh
96:56
what happens between magnolia and long
96:58
beach road
96:59
uh it doesn't happen uh on other areas
97:02
of the beach
97:04
and i think that should be taken into
97:06
consideration
97:07
um listen i'm all about uh safety first
97:10
but
97:11
we have to start thinking about optics
97:13
and and and people
97:14
people are feeling resonance of feeling
97:16
threatened that
97:17
oh jesus it's not safe to go up on a
97:19
boardwalk and and
97:21
that's something that needs to be
97:22
addressed i have to say jamie i think
97:24
the person you're talking about
97:26
is more offensive than the fencing
97:28
that's up there excuse me
97:30
bill excuse me jamie we will take your
97:33
comments
97:34
and under consideration um i'll take
97:36
them back to the team
97:37
and then we will discuss um and if we
97:40
have any questions we'll reach out to
97:42
you
97:42
to ask you more about what your ideas
97:45
are
97:46
and then we'll take it all under
97:47
consideration and report back
97:50
thank you so much i appreciate it great
97:52
thanks no objection just
97:54
there's just a pitch all right thank you
97:57
so much
97:58
i appreciate your pitch thank you so
98:00
much all right thanks
98:03
uh i think we have dina back on
98:07
uh dave yeah i'm gonna okay dina i just
98:11
unmuted yeah i think she's done through
98:12
the phone uh
98:16
she's still yep now she's unmuted okay
98:19
go ahead dina
98:28
you know we still can't hear you
98:39
okay i'm showing arizon being on twice
98:44
i'm only seeing because i see a phone
98:48
number
98:49
i see a phone number and then i see her
98:52
phone number and then i see her
98:53
looks like she's in through through a
98:55
computer too hold on one second
99:06
can you hear me now now we hear you ah
99:09
okay something out you to unmute me
99:11
somehow or another
99:13
yeah you're on twice that's why i well
99:15
because i
99:17
you don't get the the sound on the
99:18
computer it's not working properly so i
99:20
call in and watch
99:21
i mute the computer anyhow i don't want
99:24
to waste my three minutes or
99:25
your time hello everybody how are you
99:28
long time no see
99:29
um i just want to go back and first i
99:31
want to thank robin for giving us the
99:32
update on the zba meeting
99:34
um and it's important i think that you
99:36
as a as a council
99:38
i'm sure you're receiving um emails
99:41
through long beach neighbors against
99:43
over development and
99:45
while um it's a little disheartening
99:48
that this meeting is happening or
99:50
potentially could happen i think we just
99:52
need to go on the record
99:53
there was a meeting held back in june on
99:55
june 2nd
99:56
2020 where um our attorney was never
100:00
notified of that meeting
100:02
so there was no opportunity for us as an
100:05
as a group to
100:07
make a presentation at that time so
100:10
um respectfully i believe uh chairman
100:12
morelli
100:14
postponed the meeting and at that point
100:16
at that time he said it would be
100:17
probably
100:18
we wanted to wait and see what would
100:19
happen with kovid and
100:21
we would probably be looking to talk
100:23
about it again to talk about it to
100:24
discuss it again
100:25
early october here we are on september
100:29
16 15 we received the first notification
100:33
yesterday
100:34
that the meeting is going to be held in
100:36
two weeks and again
100:38
going on the record that it is rather
100:41
um sad i i don't think we're with this
100:44
group this organization is taken
100:45
seriously enough
100:46
that they're given the the courtesy of
100:50
this meeting or being told about this
100:52
meeting in a timely fashion
100:54
if that meeting was going to happen on
100:56
the 29th i'm not really sure how long
100:59
they've known that this meeting was
101:00
going to take place on the 29th
101:02
and to be given less than two weeks to
101:04
make a presentation uh um
101:06
for the opposition is is rather um
101:10
i i think inconsiderate i don't know if
101:12
that's the right word and i don't
101:14
want to upset anybody we're not being
101:16
given the equal opportunity to present
101:18
in a public forum with our expert
101:20
testimony it's really going to be quite
101:22
difficult
101:23
to get our experts that live in
101:25
different parts of the united states
101:27
back here like we did in march of 2017.
101:32
three years this project has been on
101:34
hold
101:35
uh it's been on ice for lack of a better
101:37
word waiting on enviro impact
101:39
environmental impact studies et cetera
101:41
et cetera and
101:42
now all of a sudden uh june it was
101:44
shoved down our throats
101:46
with no notification and now it's being
101:48
shut down our throats with two
101:49
less than two weeks notification to try
101:51
to coordinate
101:52
our opposition once again where the
101:55
plans are are only viewed
101:56
only able to be viewed online our
101:59
attorney has not been sent any current
102:00
plans
102:01
we've not been sent a copy of an
102:03
environmental impact study
102:05
everybody says oh it's a thousand pages
102:07
i would respectfully request that a copy
102:09
be made
102:10
for for the organization even if it
102:13
means putting it on a zip drive
102:15
and even if it means somebody coming to
102:16
pick it up i will also state this
102:19
as i did send an email out this morning
102:22
our attorney has reached out
102:23
for corp council for the zba and
102:26
because we're very upset and we'd like
102:29
to know the details of what was going to
102:31
transpire and as of now
102:33
we still have not gotten any response
102:35
back or he has not
102:37
been responded to at all i would like
102:39
the city council to know that long beach
102:40
neighbors against overdevelopment
102:42
is a very legitimate group of people of
102:44
residents
102:45
that number in the thousands who are in
102:48
opposition against this project and who
102:50
deserve
102:51
an opportunity to present a full
102:54
full opposition with experts etc so
102:58
that said maybe you can talk to the
103:00
zoning board
103:01
and while they can have their meeting on
103:03
the 29th we
103:04
too should be given a date at a later
103:07
time at a later date
103:09
an opportunity at a later date to
103:11
present
103:12
the opposition i will tell you after
103:14
tonight
103:15
after tonight and watching on this
103:17
little you i tried youtube
103:19
zoom call and zoom if i had a packed
103:22
room i have a pack of zoom meeting
103:24
of 400 people like we did in march of
103:26
2017
103:27
i'm not sure your systems will be able
103:30
to handle
103:31
that kind of dropping calls and not
103:34
being able to speak and
103:35
and not being able to hear a clear
103:37
clearly
103:38
their point of view so i would think
103:40
that before anything happens i
103:42
understand
103:43
no decision is going to be made because
103:45
we're going to have a chance to respond
103:47
giving us a chance to respond via email
103:50
and taking comments
103:51
is to me when you had a 400 plus people
103:54
who were there until 2 a.m in the
103:55
morning who had something to say
103:57
is really not fair so i just need to go
103:59
on the record of saying that
104:01
your time is expired thank you okay
104:03
that's it
104:07
uh john you're muted
104:11
hello simone is there anything you want
104:13
to add
104:17
hi actually i think robin has some more
104:19
information than i do
104:22
i and i just dna if you could i'm sorry
104:25
who is representing you is it charlie
104:27
because he yes it is
104:29
did not reach out to my office this time
104:32
around
104:32
he has in the past and we have
104:34
definitely worked with him
104:36
uh when we had the june 4th hearing he
104:38
had requested some
104:40
additional time some additional leeway
104:42
we coordinated with him
104:44
we did provide him with everything he
104:46
had asked for um this time around he has
104:48
not actually reached out to me directly
104:51
um we're always happy to coordinate with
104:53
him
104:54
um i think robin also is on and i don't
104:58
i don't know if robin if anyone's
105:01
requested a copy of the
105:03
deas from your office
105:07
if they haven't i'm requesting it now
105:12
are you still on robin is
105:27
[Music]
105:29
okay um i just missed the last part of
105:31
what simone has said
105:35
oh i ain't said that charlie hadn't
105:37
reached out to my office
105:38
um and i don't think they had requested
105:41
a copy
105:42
of the like of actual hard copy um
105:47
but i think you would know better than i
105:49
would
105:52
i mean i know it is on it is online we
105:54
can certainly get it
105:55
to a zip drive we can have the applicant
105:57
produce a zip drive and i can get it to
105:59
whomever requested
106:00
so they're there they need to provide as
106:04
many copies as requested
106:10
okay so it sounds like there needs to
106:12
probably be some communication
106:14
between uh whether it's robin or simone
106:18
and and charlie to
106:22
get exchange whatever information needs
106:24
to be exchanged and
106:26
maybe to potentially discuss in his idea
106:29
of a uh separate meeting for them to
106:31
present their case
106:35
so uh you're not speaking can you please
106:40
yeah yeah mike i have a question
106:43
yeah i think dina probably does has her
106:46
computer speakers
106:47
on so it's creating a echo feedback loop
106:51
for everybody that speaks tina so just
106:53
make sure that your computer's
106:54
mic or volume is completely off
107:02
john i have one question for dina and i
107:04
don't know if she can hear me or if she
107:06
can answer this
107:07
i thought i heard her say she didn't
107:11
get the plans or was unable to get the
107:14
plans
107:15
i don't know what plans specifically
107:17
she's mentioning
107:18
are these building plans are these draft
107:22
environmental impact statement plans
107:25
i don't know but if if she
107:28
is requesting or needs access to
107:32
a plan or plans that are available
107:36
on the website or somewhere i would just
107:40
i'm hopeful that try to make that happen
107:43
if it's possible
107:45
all right so whatever like i said there
107:47
needs to be a conversation between
107:51
their attorney and either robin or
107:53
simone so they could
107:55
get a list of what they need and they
107:57
get the necessary information
108:02
all right um so
108:06
i guess uh do we have any more hands
108:08
raised dave
108:11
uh no we do not okay
108:14
so i guess that means uh
108:18
so ends another one another night and uh
108:20
thank you everyone for joining us
108:23
and uh we will see you at the next
108:26
meeting
108:27
liz you want to say anything about the
108:28
sentence my final
108:31
city council
108:34
request that
108:37
you tell five people that you know
108:41
to fill out the census it takes 10
108:43
minutes
108:44
for 10 years of funding that's your
108:47
assignment for this evening long beach
108:49
have a good night and then we actually
108:51
had a census worker come to our door
108:53
we had done the census but they were
108:55
coming around door-to-door
108:56
and the census worker said that long
108:59
beach was uh
109:00
pretty low compared to other communities
109:03
on response rate
109:05
come on long beach we could do much
109:06
better it affects how much
109:09
uh federal aid we get in state
109:20
do your part um i sound like my mother
109:24
and we had we had a gentleman make a
109:26
comment online about the
109:28
the boardwalk and the gates issue so we
109:29
should just try to make sure
109:31
to get back to him um offline
109:36
okay all right thanks everyone for uh
109:40
joining us and we will see you next time
109:42
have a good night