Summit Dog Park to be Named in Honor of Late Common Council Member Matt Gould

SUMMIT, NJ - Very little on the Summit Common Council's July 18 agenda hinted that it would be anything but a mundane meeting. But the session, lasting less than two hours, ran the gamut from fond remembrances to raw emotion.

Council President Greg Vartan earned a hearty round of applause from the 20 or so residents in attendance when he provided an update on Broad Street West. "The relationship with the developers has ended, and it is the consensus of Council that one, we are not interested in developing any of the Broad Street West property under the current 2019 redevelopment plan. Second, we will entertain an ordinance repealing the plan, to be introduced in September."

Council Member At-Large Jaime Levine moved a Capital Projects & Community Services resolution naming the City's soon-to-be-completed dog park the 'Gould Dog Park'. Former Ward One Council Member Matt Gould, who passed away unexpectedly in 2019, "served with distinction during 2018 and 2019, during which time creation of a permanent dog park was one of his top priorities," said Levine. "Matt was a lover of animals and advocated for their protection and care. He believed in the power of government to bring neighbors together, and now he will do just that through this new dog park."

Vartan added, "Matt was a man whose service to his community was rooted so deeply in love, love for the planet and the living environment that we occupy, love for the City and the belief that government can do good, love for the people, for family, for pets, and for the sense of the community that truly makes this Summit such a wonderful place."

Family members, including Gould's widow Stephanie -- who was appointed to fill her husband's seat until the special election was held -- were present for the vote.

Crime Statistics Snapshot**BULLSEYE

Police Chief Steven Zagorski gave a snapshot of crime statistics for the first half of 2023, comparing them to the same period in 2021 and 2022. Overall, he said, the report was "pretty encouraging. We made a lot of progress over the last year … even in spite of the increased activity that we experienced during that two- or three-week period in June."

The overall crime index showed a total of 106 crimes from January to June 2023, a decrease from 2022 when there were 122 incidents and 2021 with 111. He then broke down the stats by category.

Property crime (thefts, motor vehicle thefts, burglaries):**STANDARD

* 2023 - 72

* 2022 - 99

* 2021 - 77

Vehicle theft:

* 2023 - 8

* 2022 - 16

* 2021 - 12

"As you can see, we made significant strides here. … This is evidence that the methods that we've been using to combat motor vehicle theft has been working." Zagorski cited the Department's two-pronged approach, using both community outreach to encourage residents to be more vigilant about crime prevention and an aggressive and proactive policing strategy.

Burglaries:**BULLSEYE

* 2023 - 14

* 2022 - 10

* 2021 - 6

Six of the attempts to enter a dwelling were unsuccessful. "Any increase in crime is a cause for concern … but we're going to keep an eye on that number," Zagorski said. He explained that typically, burglaries are committed by a small group that will hit a certain area and then leave. He did note that while burglars usually prefer unoccupied targets, the incident on Sherman Avenue involved perpetrators who couldn't get into a car. They then broke into the home; it was night and the residents were home. The thieves stole the key fobs to the two vehicles and then took the vehicle from the driveway. "When a crime like this occurs, it changes the whole dynamic of an investigation. We pretty much do a full court press with the cooperation of other law enforcement agencies. In the particular case of the Sherman Avenue burglary, we were able to quickly identify a suspect within a couple days and in cooperation with the New Jersey State. Police Stolen Car Task Force and the United States Marshals were able to make an arrest of the individual responsible for that burglary."

Larceny:

* 2023 - 50

* 2022 - 73

* 2021 - 58

In the first six months of this year 18 suspected car thieves, eight of them adults, were arrested. Four suspected burglars were arrested. On 19 separate occasions, patrols in residential areas intercepted and chased out of town suspected car thieves.

Zagorski said the Department will continue to make residential area crime an agency-wide priority. There will continue to be three additional offers deployed to the overnight patrol. The police are using both high-visibility preventive patrols and covert undercover surveillance and decoy operations. The department has also been upgrading its technology, including license plate readers in the patrol fleet. This year, nine License Plate Readers (LPRs) will be added around Summit, with another nine next year. The four existing locations with LPRs are being upgraded. Zagorski also vowed to continue communicating with the public to keep residents informed.

"I'll just ask the community to remain vigilant, to report suspicious activity, to basically just look out after your neighbor, look at after each other," Zagorski said. Recognizing that crime makes residents feel vulnerable, he said, "I just want to reassure that the community that the Summit police department is a dedicated and tenacious group of individuals, and they are committed to keeping the community safe and safeguarding property. Trust your police department."

Resolutions

In other business, Levine moved a resolution awarding a bid to Beach Electric Co. Inc. for a major overhaul of the electrical and operating components at the Constantine Place sanitary sewer pumping station for $998,412. The pump hasn't been overhauled since it was built and parts are becoming increasingly hard to obtain.

Her next resolution awarded a bid to S&L Contractors LLC for the Oak Knoll Road improvement project. This will include inspection and repair of storm and sanitary sewers, installation and repair of granite block curbing, and milling and paving. The project will likely take place this September and October. Department of Community Services (DCS) Director Aaron Schrager said that if the weather cooperates, paving may be completed this year, but otherwise, the job will be finished next year.

Next was a resolution to adopt the annual shared services agreement with Union County. Summit is scheduled to receive the following community development block grants for the 2023-2024 fiscal year: $50,000 for the Summit Housing Authority for security upgrades, $8,000 for wellness services at Summit Warm Hearts, $8,000 for GRACE, $5,000 for the Summit Youth Center, and $5,000 for the Summit Senior Citizens Social Services transportation program. A resolution must be adopted in order for the City to receive the funds.

Levine's final resolution applied for a 2023 'Greening Union County' grant. This is a matching grant program to cover trees and their installation for the 2024 planting cycle. The City has participated in this program for the past several years.

Delia Hamlet, Ward One Council Member, had two Community Programs & Parking Services resolutions. The first authorized an agreement allowing Summit High School Twelfth Man Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization, to enable internet connectivity at Investor's Bank Field. Although the organization was created to support the Summit High School football program, this request will enable all high school and youth sports that use that facility to livestream their games and other activities. Twelfth Man will cover all associated costs.

Twelfth Man representative Guy Haselmann, Ruthven Place, explained that the field has spotty Wi-Fi service. Verizon will install an Ethernet cable to be attached to a camera that will be mounted on the press box. The camera is driven by AI, and while it's set up for football, "the beauty of it is you can actually unplug it and manually operate it" for other activities, he said.

Ward Two Council Member Lisa Allen called this a "perfect example of public-private partnership" that's "creative, forward-thinking, it's way overdue," noting that the organization "got ahead of brand-new technology." She observed that other events like the high school graduation will also benefit.

John Miano, Park Avenue, bemoaned the lack of broadband service throughout Summit. He pointed out that the resolution included a call to Verizon to bring broadband to the stadium and suggested that the City needs a broader call to the carrier to bring that service to everyone in the City.

Haselmann said the resolution was "truly a community effort, and if everybody wasn't on the same page, it would not have happened" in time for the system to be operational for the coming season. He specifically recognized City Clerk Rosemary Licatese for her role in helping him navigate the ins and outs of City government and Mark Ozoroski, Department of Community Programs (DCP) director.

Unlike systems used by some other schools, this will not require a paid subscription by viewers. The system uses Hudl, which streams content to the school's Hudl page. Mayor Nora Radest asked whether groups other than athletes, such as the music, drama, and debate programs, could be included. Haselmann agreed that was a good idea and offered to talk to Hudl.

Hamlet's second resolution approved applying for a 2023 Union County 'Kids Recreation Trust Fund' grant. Summit's DCP is applying for funds to rehabilitate the Mabie Playground basketball courts, which haven't been upgraded in approximately 25 years. Summit is requesting $49,485, half of the total estimated project cost of $98,970.

Ward Two Council Member Marjorie Fox's Safety & Health resolution authorized three state contracts for fire headquarters furniture in the amount of $147,948.43. The resolution was being voted on at this meeting because these items are coming off state contracts and some may no longer be available under the contracts; prices may go up for others. She noted that some of the furniture for the fire headquarters is being paid for by donations and some from the capital budget.

All resolutions passed. Ward One Council Member Susan Hairston was not present at the meeting.

Public Comment

During public comments, speakers covered a variety of subjects. Vartan tried to limit speakers to three minutes, though several resisted. There was minimal back-and-forth between residents and Council, with more offers to follow up individually at a later date.

Jim Bennett, Fairview Avenue, has spoken at the last several meetings about debt amortization. He recently met with Silvio Esposito, the Hanover Township treasurer. Esposito confirmed that Hanover Township has been debt-free for about 20 years. Bennett said the township has been "adding $100,000 here and there to a cigar box – perhaps he should have said piggy bank … to pre-fund capital expenses, so that when the need arises for an infrastructure project or a dump truck, the township takes money out of the cigar box." The cigar box is actually a cash account earning 3% interest. Bennett's other comment applauded the intent to repeal the 2019 Broad Street West redevelopment plan. He pointed out that that plan superseded existing zoning, and he urged Council to include language in the new ordinance stating that the zoning that existed immediately prior to the adoption of the redevelopment ordinance is reinstated, safeguarding that area from becoming "unnzoned."

Gordon Stewart, Evergreen Road, had spoken in November about the traffic light situation on Morris Avenue where it intersects with Springfield Avenue and Kent Place Boulevard. For pedestrians during off hours – evenings and weekends – the wait to cross can be excessive. "You have to wait there a great period of time, even if there's not a single car anywhere in sight … unless you want to take the risk of getting run over." This could be remedied, he suggested, by the installation of a smart traffic light or a manually-operated crossing signal. While a traffic study is scheduled for September, when school resumes, Stewart pointed out that for "day situations that makes sense. But I've never heard of a traffic study where someone's there with a clipboard, at 10 o'clock at night, seeing what the traffic and the pedestrian situation is then." He expected that the County wouldn't be looking at the pedestrian perspective, "because all the County cares about is the traffic. They don't care about pedestrians."

Radest interjected that when she was first mayor, "I really didn't think much of the County, honestly. In the eight years I've been here, I've come to understand that they work hard, they try. So, I think to say that the County doesn't care about the pedestrians and the people, I don't think that's right."

Levine pointed out that there's a two-mile stretch of Morris Avenue with 13 traffic signals that haven't been upgraded in 20 years, "so we all agree and recognize that it needs to be addressed."

On County roads, said Schrager, the County pays for and installs traffic signals, but the City owns and maintains them. Summit also needs permission from the County to make any changes. Upgrading the City's entire traffic signal inventory would cost between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000. "Making alterations to some of the signals on Morris Avenue when we're about to take a holistic approach to all 13 of them is something I would love to do, but I don't also want to spend $10,000 to upgrade a control panel … when that report might say we have to do something totally opposite," he said. "Because right now, the biggest complaint we get is, 'I can't get up Morris Avenue within an hour because it takes forever with all the signals.' We're trying to change that." He assured Stewart that all the issues raised have been documented for follow-up.

Rachel Kramer, Elm Street, also addresses pedestrian safety, asking Zagorski about traffic stop data. She said she'd seen numbers that show "a significant decrease" compared to before the pandemic. While aware of education and engineering efforts to change driver behavior, she was interested in enforcement.

The police chief offered to follow up with her. He did say the Department's attention has recently been more focused on stolen cars and burglaries, with more vehicle stops focused on crime prevention of detection rather than pedestrian safety.

Ashwood Court resident Tara Gagliano's difficulties with the Habitat for Humanity project are ongoing, despite a meeting she'd had on July 10 that included Fox and Hamlet. "I'm tired of living like this. You finally came down and saw how deplorable the court looks. … I am embarrassed to say that I live in the City of Summit with the way that the front of my property looks." As for repeated trespassers, she said, "it is ridiculous that I had to secure a construction site." After finally resolving an error with the registration of her deed, Gagliano was able to get homeowners insurance. But after the inspection, her insurer cited her for her retaining wall, damaged by Habitat's workers. "I begged and pleaded that they would not cancel my homeowners insurance," she said, imagining what would happen if a trespasser fell on her property. "This is over a year now that my world has been broken. I just want to return to some normalcy. I want this over and done with, and I cannot get any time frames. ... Habitat is an awful organization. They ruin neighborhoods. … Nobody was against the affordable housing. My kids, my family should not have to live like this."

Bob Pawlowski, Crest Acre Court, and a candidate for Council, reminded the audience that under the settlement agreement between the City, Habitat, and the residents, the City is liable for fixing the wall and other issues. He understands why Summit would want to negotiate with Habitat and get them to do it, "but at some point in time, we've got to take care of our residents and just do it and send [Habitat] the bill or sue them."

Matthew Giacobbe, City Counsel, has written to Habitat's legal counsel, including sending a cease-and-desist letter to prevent repairs to the wall, insisting instead that it be replaced entirely to ensure it is built properly. A second letter listed "the whole series of things that are problematic with the site to bring it up to speed" by July 24. If that doesn't happen, the City will go to court, "but we're giving them the opportunity to cure their defects," he said.

When Dorrie Gagnon, Bedford Road, asked about two potential affordable housing units on Ashwood Court, Giacobbe merely said, "There's no status." Gagnon asked whether the three extra overnight police officers are new or on overtime. Zagorski replied that they represent a combination of overtime and reassignments. She requested a full-year report on crime statistics and was told it already resides on the City website. In closing, Gagnon thanked Council for its plans to repeal the redevelopment plan. "I think it's really important for people to understand how we got here in the first place, because we have a lot of financial mess to figure out. … We're all kind of figuring out what to do with Broad Street West now, and we have to figure out how we got here. … First do a financial analysis of what that property's worth, so can we get smart people in the room to think about what this property's worth and really think about what we're going to do with it before we just jump to something else."

Zagorski's response prompted Allen to ask what happened to the individuals involved in the Sherman Avenue burglary. The Chief replied that the suspect was a juvenile. He was arrested and not released because he was a suspect in other similar crimes. However, Zagorski wasn't aware of his present status. These decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, he said.

Gagliano returned to ask about additional issues, including a cleanup that was never done and fencing that wasn't installed. "My question to you is, is that ever going to be done at this point?" Giacobbe assured her he'd addressed it in his letter. When the exasperated Gagliano pointed out that she'd heard nothing further more than a week after her meeting with Council members, Fox countered, "It's been one day over a week. Give us a little time to get the work done." Radest added, "government takes time," to which Gagliano responded, "I'm aware of that, but there are the other safety issues should have been addressed a long time ago. That's my point."

Offering a counterpoint to the evident tension, former Council Member Millie Cooper, Euclid Avenue, said the meeting was "really a treat for me. I love this town. And I love you all. And you were really listening tonight. So many people hurt, and you were listening as best you could, I thought. And I really want to say, Greg, that it was such a joy to hear your first announcement [about BSW] and that September, you will be having an ordinance to get the kind of redevelopment taken away, and you'll be starting new…. I was really proud to be part of Summit I hope I live long enough to see what happens to Broad Street West. I think it'll be wonderful."

Radest invited Cooper to join her at the celebration when the City closes the existing firehouse and opens the new one. "We're going to have a parade down Broad Street. I truly hope you will walk with me."

Kevin McGoey, Woodland Avenue, expressed frustration with not getting responses to his emails and therefore having to raise his questions during Council meetings. He recalled December, when Levine floated the idea of an ordinance, similar to those enacted in other municipalities, to help deter car thefts. Nothing was said since then, until two months ago when, on Facebook, Levine said "we learned about existing state laws and how this ordinance could be used and misused." McGoey asked with whom in the community had she spoken, and how an ordinance could be misused and by whom. "I'm just concerned that the government was really just talking to a very small community of people and that was influencing decisions." He also characterized the BSW redevelopment plan as "fundamentally flawed." Last September, he tried to explain to Council Members privately that the redevelopment plan didn't work with the 1.6 acres available, "and that we needed to maybe take a step back and not do this anymore. Council Member Hairston said, 'we're not going to do that. We're going to make the best of this redevelopment plan and that's that.'" McGoey said he also reached out to former Council Member David Naidu, who "said the same thing – 'under no circumstances are we not going to use L&M or Toll because they've been great partners. They're partners; we owe it to them.'"

Vartan attempted to cut him off, for "attacking two people that are not here." Knowing his time was running out, McGoey continued, "Earlier you talked about Matt Gould. I liked Matt Gould, he was a great guy and he was a nice person. You said how Matt thought about how government could bring people together. And I look at the way things have transpired for the past year and a half and I see nothing but people, elected officials that we have, doing nothing but dividing people." As Vartan shut him down, McGoey added, "I'm just asking you in honor of Matt to maybe put politics aside a little bit."

Regarding the potential ordinance, Giacobbe said he'd looked at Holmdel's version. "I pointed out to [Council Members] that I thought there was a problem with the way Holmdel drafted it, because it's a very different municipality. Driveways are longer, they don't have lots of public places, and their ordinances said if somebody was within 20 feet of a car in a public place it could trigger something. I thought that was probably a little too broad." He explained it would be under police powers and is not a trespass ordinance. It would give the police the ability to fine people $1,000 for a first offense and $2,000 for a second offense. Giacobbe pointed out Summit has a lot of apartment buildings and public places. His solution is to redraft it to cover people on private property before the Safety & Health committee considers it.

After Vartan closed public comments, Radest stood and asked to speak.

"Many people have come up and spoken and talked about what is important to their communities, their town, their street, their neighborhoods. We talk about what they need, and we try – our City staff is unbelievable in how they respond and get things done. … I just think it's unbelievable how much has changed in eight years. … The people who work for this City, the volunteers who sit up here work for nothing other than making the City great. Everybody who has moved here probably inn the last 20, 30 years, they moved here because it's a really well-run city. … This City's been well run because we've got an enormous great staff and to say that all we're doing is trying to create difficulty in the City – that's the wrong word, I apologize. ... I'm really upset that everybody in this town seems to think the people up here have their own agendas. They're working as volunteers for you. I've never done this before, but I am heartsick."

Pawlowski returned to express his approval of progress on the crime deterrence ordinance, saying that residents want the peace of mind of not having people in their yards, "regardless of whether they're trying to commit a car theft or trying to break in." He asked if the City was considering broadening it beyond vehicles to include attempted house break-ins.

Giacobbe said "what we're trying to do is arm the police with more deterrence, and that's why we've put it under the police powers. We could look at that. But the issue with criminal trespass, once somebody goes into somebody's abode, it's a much, much different crime. We could look at that, but … this is not a criminal act, this is a civil penalty that goes along with a criminal act of theft.

Reports and Council Members' Comments

Fire Chief Eric Evers recognized the two Newark firefighters who'd lost their lives earlier this month battling a container ship fire and offered condolences to their colleagues and families.

Radest reminded listeners that Summit Police Department officer Karen Stenstrom Sauers, diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease at age 24, remains in need of a living kidney donor to survive. While there has been an outpouring of support from the community, a suitable donor has not yet been identified. More information about Sauers and the process of kidney donation is on the City website.

The Summit Police Youth Academy is under way, and Radest expressed her delight at being able to observe some of the cadets' activities in City Hall. The academy runs two one-week sessions for seventh- and eighth-graders. The students learn about the role of police in the community, do physical challenges, and have fun. The first group graduates this Friday and the second group begins on Monday.

Acting City Administrator Tammie Baldwin reported that milling and paving on Park Avenue is scheduled to begin the week of July 24.

Vartan expressed his thanks to the police department for its work in keeping the public safe and informed. He also thanked his colleagues for investing in the tools the police need to do their job, as well as for their advocacy at the state level. There was also appreciation for the community's support, especially in securing homes and vehicles.

He recognized the contributions of the students in this summer's recently concluded college internship program. Their activities include the creation of an interactive Hometown Heroes map, improving fleet management, streamlining the new hire orientation process, creating communications materials, and data conversion and field work in the tax assessor's office.

Evidently no one felt up to following the heartfelt speeches by Radest and Evers, so there were no Council Members' comments and the meeting was adjourned.

The meeting opened at 7:34 p.m. and adjourned at 9:16 p.m.

Council is now on hiatus in August and is next scheduled to meet on Tuesday, September 5.