Council - Regular Meeting

I think we're good.

Calling this meeting of the Hackensack City Council to order. It is Tuesday, September 15, 2026. It is 5.30 p.m. If you can call the meeting to order, please.

This meeting is being held in accordance with the Open Public Meeting Act, NJSA 10-4-6 at SEC, notice of which was posted on the municipal website pursuant to Public Law 2025, Chapter 72.

Thank you. Roll call, please.

Mayor Gaines here deputy mayor to me here. Councilman Carol Councilwoman Clark Collins here we have a quorum thank you. I can't do that.

Okay, if I can have a motion to approve the minutes of the September 1st, 2026 council meeting.

I'll offer. I'll second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Okay, I'm going to ask for a motion for a resolution to go into executive session to discuss ongoing litigation, matters involving attorney-client privilege, matters involving the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real property, and or any pending or anticipated litigation or contract negotiations. Can I have a motion, please? I'll offer second all in favor I and he posed any abstentions great we will return back as soon as possible, thank you. Okay, welcome back. Thank you for your patience. We have no proclamations this evening. We have no presentations this evening. We are going straight to our city manager's report. You're up, nice and early.

You have to be ready, you have to be ready.

Got me off guard there.

Good evening, everyone. Just two updates from some resident concerns from last meeting. We had a resident from Euclid Ave concerned about the private lane between Euclid and Clinton. We brought that to the police department, and I'm happy to say that Today they installed a dead end sign which should prevent cars from driving down that lane thinking they can get out on the other end. So that was a a nice accomplishment to get done very quickly. We also had some concerns from other residents on Euclid about speeding. They had also requested some speed humps HPD traffic division. They're going to monitor the area for speeders but they do not recommend speed humps. They also just today installed a speed monitor box on the roadway so that they can do a study on the actual speed of vehicles and then we could take some action moving forward based on those results. Kaplan Avenue resident was concerned about the speed humps being very high and possibly not in compliance. I did check with our engineers. They sent me their report from the original installation. and Nagley Engineering has confirmed that the humps were installed per New Jersey DOT specs. I know Mister Freddie had some concerns about documentation he requested for his business refinancing and I'm happy to update you that the city attorney has worked with him and hopefully assisted him to the extent that was possible. We had a resident concerned about Herman street parking and cars parked too close to the corners causing a sight line issues traffic division will increase enforcement in the area and conduct a study to determine the president parking stickers should be considered. Different note for some city updates. just want to acknowledge and give a big thank you to the city clerk's office for bringing the mobile mobile to a vote of Eagle Commission trailer back into town on September 4th we had a great overall turn out and provided a fantastic service to our residents. A huge thank you to the hack sack Friday problem for putting together such a wonderful 9.11 ceremony, your care and respect helped us honor those we lost support their families to bring our community together in solemn remembrance. Thank you for your daily service and for keeping this important tradition alive. And lastly, some community reminders for Hack Pack. Current artist on display is The Other Gaze, a solo exhibit by Bong Jung Kim, runs from 9-3 to 9-26. And Joe Fernandez is at the Pack the House series on 9-19. Please visit the Hack Pack website for full event details. That's all I have to report.

Thank you. With that, I'd like to ask for a motion to open up to the public on agenda items.

I'll second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Any member of the public wishing to speak on any agenda item, please, when you come forward, state your name, your municipality, which agenda item you are commenting on. So just give us what resolution number or what item on the agenda please direct your comments to me and please limit your comments to three minutes I will keep time for you I will get that set up and when we get to the three minute mark I will politely ask for you to bring your point to a close and I ask that you politely oblige any member of the public wishing to speak on any agenda item

So I wrote it so you won't have to tell me to keep it under three minutes.

No problem.

Hi. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. City council, city manager, deputy clerk's office. My name is Marlene Somerville, and I am the chairperson for the Hackensack Environmental Commission and the Hackensack Green Team. And I'm here to speak on behalf of resolution 262-26. And that is authorizing the award for the contract to Princeton Hydro for the performance and preparation of an environmental resource inventory for the city of Hackensack. So I am just going to read my prepared statement. And as chair of the Hackensack Environmental Commission, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge and thank the members of the commission for their persistence, patience, and hard work in advancing the environmental resource inventory. This has not been a simple or quick process. The commission identified the ERI as a priority because Hackensack needs accurate current environmental information to support responsible planning and decision making. Our members worked hard to secure a $20,000 PSE&G sustainable jersey grant, reviewed competing proposals, evaluated digital and traditional format, raised questions, concerns, hosting mapping capabilities, future updates, cost, grant compliance, compatibility with the city systems, and continued following up as the project moved forward through the municipal review process. There were delays, difficult decisions, changing proposals, and moments when we were genuinely concerned that the city could lose a portion of the grant funding. Nevertheless, the commission remained focused on the larger goals, giving Hackensack a modern, useful, and accessible environmental resource inventory. So tonight's resolution is an important step forward, and I want to thank the mayor, the council, for recognizing the value of this project and allowing the work to proceed, to thank the city manager, city staff, and everyone who helped move the process forward at this point. And most importantly, I thank my fellow Environmental Commission members. You continue asking questions, reviewing information, attending meetings, and advocating for a project that will benefit Hackensack well beyond our individual terms of service. So when completed, the ERI will help the city better understand its natural resources, environmentally sensitive areas, underdeveloped parcels, and opportunities for green infrastructure. It will support more informed decisions about development, resilience, conservation, beautification, and the continued improvement of the city we all love. So tonight, we should celebrate this progress while recognizing that the real work now begins.

the commission looks forward to remaining engaged helping ensure that the final inventory becomes a practical living resources for hackensack thank you thank you miss somerville thank you anyone else from the public wishing to speak on any agenda item seeing none motion to close the public on agenda items i'll second all in favor aye any opposed any abstentions thank you Okay, we have no ordinances for 2nd region moving on to our ordinances for first read resolution to 52 dash 26.

Resolution to 52 dash 26 is the introduction of ordinance 17 dash 2026 in ordinance to amend chapter 107 of the code of the city of Hackensack licenses and permits updating various fees throughout the city.

Thank you can I have a motion please. Roll call please.

Deputy Mayor Toomey.

Yes.

Councilwoman Clark-Collins. Yes. Councilman Carroll.

Yes.

Mayor Gaines.

Yes.

Be it resolved that the above ordinance, being ordinance 17-2026 as introduced, does now pass on first reading, and that said ordinance shall be considered for final passage at a meeting to be held on October 6, 2026, at 5.30 PM, or as soon thereafter as the matter can be reached at the regular meeting place of the city council. And at such time and place, all persons interested be given an opportunity to be heard concerning said ordinance, and that the clerk be and he is hereby authorized and directed to publish said ordinance according to law with a notice of its introduction and passage on first reading, and of the time and place when and where said ordinance will be further considered for final passage.

Thank you. Tim, take a sip of your water because we're going to do the consent agenda. Thank you. If we can move on to the consent agenda once you're properly hydrated.

The following items are considered to be routine in nature and will be enacted in one motion. Any items requiring expenditure are supported by a certification of availability of funds. Any item requiring discussion will be removed from the consent agenda, and consent agenda items will be reflected in full in the minutes, including any exceptions and or additions. The consent agenda includes resolution 253-26, resolution authorizing payment of bills, resolution 254-26, resolution authorizing tax refunds, Resolution 255-26, resolution authorizing 80% veteran tax deduction for 493 West Anderson Street. Resolution 256-26, resolution authorizing the mayor as signatory on treatment works approval permit for 74 First Street and 199 to 201 Atlantic Street. Resolution 257-26, resolution authorizing raffle licenses. Resolution 258-26, resolution approving accumulated leave payout to Fire Lieutenant Jason Conkle. Resolution 259-26, resolution approving accumulated leave payout to Police Sergeant Clay Peralta. Resolution 260-26, resolution approving accumulated leave payout to DPW employee William Box. Resolution 261-26, resolution awarding contract to Boswell Engineering for engineering services related to the procurement of stormwater equipment through the NJI Bank. Resolution 262-26, resolution authorizing award of a contract to Princeton Hydro LLC for performance of a professional preparation of an environmental resource inventory for the city of Hackensack. Resolution 263-26. Resolution authorizing tax collector to convert below charges to property lien as per NJSA 40-48-2.14. Resolution 264-26. RESOLUTION QUALIFYING PROFESSIONAL SERVICE PROVIDERS AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE CONTRACTS WITH SUCH QUALIFIED PROFESSIONALS. RESOLUTION 265-26 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING PAYMENT TO CHARLES K. ZIZA OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS FROM SELECTIVE INSURANCE COMPANY. RESOLUTION 266-26 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE USE OF COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING FOR PROCUREMENT OF LEAD-BASED PAINT INSPECTION AND TESTING SERVICES.

Thank you. Can I have a motion to adopt the consent agenda?

I'll second.

Roll call, please.

Deputy Mayor Toomey.

Yes.

Councilwoman Clark-Collins.

Yes.

Councilman Carroll.

Yes.

Mayor Gaines. Yes. The consent agenda passes. Thank you.

Moving on to the regular agenda resolution 267-26.

Resolution 267-26. Hold on one second.

If I may, Mayor, may I step down? I have a conflict on this one. Sure.

Thank you. Of course. Resolution 267-26 is a resolution authorizing change order number one, final, to new Prince Concrete Construction for the 2025 city-funded road improvement project.

Okay. Thank you. Can I have a motion, please? I'll offer.

I'll second.

Roll call, please.

Deputy Mayor Toomey?

Yes.

Councilwoman Clark-Collins?

Yes.

Councilman Carroll? Yes. Mayor Gaines? Yes. The resolution passes. Thank you.

Resolution 268-26.

Resolution 268-26 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign employment agreement with Fire Chief Keith G. Rosazza.

Can I have a motion, please?

I'll second.

Roll call please.

Deputy Mayor to me. Yes, Councilman Clark Collins. Yes. Councilman Carol. Mayor Gaines. Yes. Resolution passes.

Thank you. Resolution 269-26.

Resolution 269-26 is a resolution authorizing the mayor to sign an employment agreement with Deputy Police Chief Gregory Ziza.

I have a motion please.

I'll offer.

Second.

Thank you will call please deputy mayor to me. Councilman Clark Collins, yes, Councilman Carol. Mayor gains, yes, resolution passes, thank you.

Can I have a motion to open to the public.

Second.

All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? OK, so this is our second and final public comment of the evening. Any member of the public wishing to speak on any item can come forward. You can have three minutes. I will keep time for you. Please direct your comments to me. Please state your name, your municipality. I will keep time for you. And when time arrives, I will ask you to bring your point to a close. And just please help me out.

Marty Smith, Prospect Avenue, member of the Condo Co-op Advisory Board. Thank you. I'd like to speak about the police department this evening. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I believe that the police department are on 12-hour tours. And I think those tours are rather long in nature. It's very hard for us to expect our offices to be at optimum efficiency over a period of 12 hours. The other thing I'm concerned with is that those officers that are on patrol for 12 hours with the exception of their meal break are in a patrol car for a long period of time which could cause embolisms to develop in their calves or thighs unless they have been directed to get out of their police cars periodically to walk around to stimulate their circulation. The first question I have for you is, can you tell us how many officers are on patrol on each tour? And also the second question is, when officers leave headquarters after muster, have they been assigned to specific areas to patrol or are they on patrol randomly throughout the city?

Is that the conclusion of your comment? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Smith.

Okay.

Thank you. Is there anyone else? Yes, please.

No, sure, please. Just state your name again, please. Marlene Somerville, resident Hackensack. So quick question. I don't know if it's to the city manager. So for property maintenance and property development, a lot of times you're walking the dogs. You're walking past on the sidewalk. A lot of the residents don't prune the trees that grow, so the branches, the bushes are on the sidewalk. my daughter had to step off and like twisted her ankle in the road, right, because she was avoiding the trees on the sidewalk. So, you know, that being said, one is, is there any plan, and I meant to ask Ryan, for paving Third Street, I think it is, and Second? And then the second, from the property maintenance department, who goes around without you calling to say, hey, the bushes are overgrown? Is there somebody that does it as routine maintenance to kind of go around and then just ring, not ticket, but ring the doorbell and kind of say to the homeowner, this needs to be taken care of?

Thank you, Ms. Somerville. Anyone else from the public wishing to speak? Seeing none, motion to close to the public. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? Mr. Manager, would you like to take any of those?

Sure, I'll try. Mr. Smith, the patrol officers do work a 12-hour shift. Typically it is I believe 5 to 6 patrol cars out per shift if Manning permits. They are assigned a specific area of the city to start their that they're responsible for however, they obviously would respond outside of that area if help is needed outside of their area, but they do get assigned to a specific post in the city. Ms. Somerville, property maintenance has two property maintenance inspectors that drive the city on a daily and they write violations. Lately, they've been writing a lot of sidewalk violations. I'll also remind you and the residents that there is on their website, on the property maintenance website, there is a way to report any issues that you come across that you want to have them address it if they don't find it on their own. And I don't know that they will ring the doorbell. They usually would write a violation and give you time to correct it. You'd get the violation in your mail and tell you it has to be corrected by a certain date, and then they'll go back and re-inspect. And if it's not corrected, then they'll issue a violation. And 2nd and 3rd Street, Ryan left, but I believe 2nd and 3rd Street have been long overdue for paving, but it's part of the next sewer separation project. So it's going to get dug up. So they've been holding off on it. And Councilman, did you want to correct anything on the patrol that you may know?

No. I was on patrol. Mr. Smith, I was on patrol for many years, and I did get into the years of the 12-hour tours. We are taken care of. You do get a 45-minute lunch. You get two 15-minute breaks in between. And if you're tired, they tell you to come in and sit down and relax, because they don't want us falling asleep either. So the position with the police department is well taken care of, and we hope that the officers adhere to everything that we offer to them.

Thank you for that, Councilman. Deputy Mayor.

Okay. Good evening, everyone. I'd like to thank everyone that's here for coming out and joining us this evening. I don't have much to report, but I just wanted to say, as we come to the end of the summer, we're also looking ahead to the beginning of a new season. Fall brings with it many exciting events and opportunities for our community to come together. Specifically, we have Illumination 250 and Oktoberfest coming up on October 3rd, and we encourage everyone to come out, enjoy the festivities, and celebrate with friends, family, and neighbors. Thank you again to everyone who continues to support our community and make Hackensack a wonderful place to live, work, and visit. Thank you. Have a good evening.

Thank you, Deputy Mayor. Councilwoman.

Just keep supporting the city. There's a lot of businesses that have been opening. The last one was Dojo Dumplings, correct? Dumpling Dojo. So when you support us, it builds revenue. And that's what the city needs. So keep on coming out. And as the deputy mayor said, there's a lot of events coming up. So no reason not to keep busy. Keep it moving. Thank you for coming and have a good night.

Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilman.

Wow, I can't believe that I have a bigger speech than you, Councilwoman. All right, so I want to start with the rainstorm Friday night into Saturday. And I went, I took it upon myself to ride around the city to see how things were going. It was slow going because some of the sewers couldn't handle it I went down especially by route for Madison Avenue the river edge border Underwater The guys working Tirelessly our DPW guys. I want to put a shout out to my friend Francisco that owns Presto's pizza. He sent those guys a pizzas and to keep them Motivated so is it was nice to see that although the situation, you know could not be helped. It was just rain store openings Don't remember it, but it was 264 Main Coffee Shop that just opened. We were there. I apologize. I didn't write it down. Presto's also. They opened up what they call Presto's Late Night right next to Toledo. It used to be House of Pizza. And it's a pizzeria now that's going to be open until 1 o'clock in the morning. So he's trying to do his business there. September 11th, we were here for the 25th anniversary of 9-11. We had a lot of dignitaries, especially Our friend, Congressman Josh Gottenheimer, we got some time to spend with him, his people. He spoke, and again, I think I tried to reiterate that before. Whatever we need in grants with the fire department, the police department, All we have to do is apply and know what we're looking for. They're willing to help us. And I'm really going here. I want to thank our building department for putting up a fence at the Den and the Coolidge place. Not because I live there, but it's been years in the working and it has been completed. So thank you. We had a complaint of a tree that was rotting and went down on central right before prospect is a bus stop area there. There's a garbage can and it's a on central. I was able to talk to the DPW that old stump was grinded out and they put a brand new tree there so that's beautiful for them uh oh the second place that opened it was Sarah's Kitchen 602 Main Street it's a Spanish type restaurant that's the second restaurant uh Kyber. Okay. Kyber Coffee. Located at 264 Main. Where are we? 131 Main last Saturday, too. We went and it's a... not-for-profit organization that had a backpack giveaway before school. It was in the walkway between Maine and State by C-Town there. And what a great success that was for them.

Dedication over

i didn't get there but dedication do you want i was helping you out no i mean dedication over everything they're located at 131 maine uh great people nice event what else did i do oh okay so i want to congratulate us the city we just purchased four brand new garbage trucks with well it was in we had started this a while ago, but the trucks took a while, but we have 4 brand new garbage trucks with 4 brand new plows and then we also added 2 extra large pickup trucks with plows and salt is on them that we bought use from United rentals. Which are guys went down we inspected. We made sure Mister mangan had all the money for all of this stuff too before we did anything thank you. And that's it I'm going to end it.

Thank you okay. so um first I want to really take a moment and commend the city manager and his office for his responsiveness to resident concerns oftentimes people will email us and we forward those emails and those emails are acted upon, and even in these meetings, and I don't say this to disparage anyone before you, but I've been to many meetings over many years, and I've never heard a, someone raises a concern at meeting A, and then they get a response sometimes in meeting A with more information, and if not, definitely by meeting B, and you go through thoroughly. Or E. Right, or E. And it's really what government is supposed to be. As someone who was out in those seats, it's frustrating to raise an issue, to come out on a weeknight, to stand at a microphone. There shouldn't be a prerequisite to be a public speaker to raise a concern. But that's what it ends up being. And it's a little thing that I hope You don't feel those unnoticed, but it is definitely noticed and I hope that our residents notice that as well. You know that you're going to get a response when you reach out. Additionally, we'll get a resolution on for next, not a resolution, a proclamation on for next meeting, but today's the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, so just acknowledging that as well. Ms. Somerville, thank you for bringing up the ERI, and I want to echo your congratulations and thanks to the Environmental Commission It was probably about this time last year or thereabouts where I believe yourself and Ms. Cohen did a presentation for us and talked about the virtues of the ERI. And to me, this is an example of the way that this should work. You came forward from a committee. had some concerns you were able to secure a grant which was amazing and now this is being updated a lot of municipalities as you presented before have updated this i think it's something like every 10 years the city of hackensack hasn't since the 1970s so um And that's thanks to the work of that committee. And we hope that all of our committees are doing that work. Even if they are advisory committees, their job is to research and use their expertise and advise. So thank you for that. And thank your committee, of course, for that. Echo everything about 2nd and 3rd Street. I take 2nd Street every single day. It's outrageous. I want to echo what folks have said, certainly what The councilman has said about the 9-11 ceremony. I thought it was absolutely beautiful. It's a beautiful day for it. And we did get some positive feedback about it being in the afternoon as well. It seemed like it was a little bit more accessible for some people. So thank you for that. And... Yes. And the last thing is just today, we talk a lot about businesses opening in terms of restaurants opening, and there are lots of restaurants opening. But I had the ability today right before this meeting to go to a great new facility called Spectrum Designs. I have this shirt here that I'm going to show off. And if anyone wears a large out there, they can actually take this shirt. I said that I was going to give it to someone who's in the audience. So you're welcome to take it. But it's a great facility, new facility here in Hackensack. They opened in May, but today was their official grand opening. And they are on 120 more. No, not more. Meijer. Meyer Street, 120 Meyer Street. And they do all sorts of branded material. They do hats. They do pens. They do shirts. And I got to watch them do this. It took, for them to make this, and I had Phil try and scratch off the letters earlier. You can't do it. If you want to try, you can try. You can't do it. But it's a really good quality print. They did this, no exaggeration, in 30 seconds. And so it's not just if you're looking for a bulk order. They also do one offs. So if you were doing shirts for any sort of function, hats, they do embroidery. But the best part. Oh, sorry. Yeah, please. But the best part of all is that they are a nonprofit and their mission is to employ individuals who are on the autism spectrum. And they call it AI for autism intelligence. And they have, I believe it's about 70% of their workforce are individuals who are on the spectrum. This is their fourth location, their first in New Jersey. And they were very happy today because with this location, they crossed over 100 employees who are on the autism spectrum who are now employed by their company. They now have 103. And this is the facility that helped them to do that. So when we talk about supporting our businesses, as the councilwoman said, There are so many great businesses here in Hackensack. Some of them go under the radar. But because their grand opening was today, literally right at the same time this meeting started, I ran over a couple of minutes earlier as they were getting set up. And I just wanted to elevate and let people know about Spectrum Designs, one of our new businesses here in Hackensack as well. And with that, I'm going to ask for a motion to adjourn.

I'll offer. Second.