Council Meeting In A Nutshell

After a long and passionate talk about $9 million in emergency appropriations, other notable things happened during last night's council meeting. 

Council approved that fines on St. Patrick's Day—the parade will be held on Saturday, March 6—can be as high as $2,000. Councilman Ravinder Bhalla said he had concerns about the high amount of the fines and said that he hoped all the fines would be given on a case-by-case basis.

"There will be a zero tolerance policy like this city has never seen," said Council President Peter Cunningham. 

Council also approved the creation of a special fund to help pay for the St. Patty's Day parade.  The fund will be a dedicated trust with a specific purpose. 

Councilman Michael Lenz said that the city will have to be largely reimbursed for the money its about the spend on the parade. The money that's not reimbursed will eventually be paid by Hoboken's taxpayers. 

"If we really want to cut the budget, we're going to have to give things up," Lenz said. "If we don't see the costs covered I think it's the last time we should do this."

Mayor Dawn Zimmer met with a group of bar owners recently, in which she announced that those who profit from the St. Patrick's Day weekend will have to contribute money to the fund. This will be done as a "good faith effort," Zimmer said. 

Zoning Board 

Originally the meeting's agenda stated that new members would be nominated for the Zoning Board. This item was taken from the agenda, because new applications had come in for the open positions. Council will also revisit everyone who is currently on the list, said Council President Peter Cunningham. 

"We really need to figure out how we're going to proceed with this," said Councilman Michael Russo. "It's just not fair to the public, especially to those who think they actually stand a chance." When asked if there were any candidates for the open Zoning Board spots in the room who wanted to speak, nobody got up.

Applications will be accepted up until Tuesday, Feb. 9. More information can be found on the City's Web site.

Directors become official

Three directors were officially affirmed: Ian Sacs (parking), Leo Pellegrini (Health and Human Services) and Brandy Forbes (Community Development). All council members praised the directors and their work, but expressed concerns that they had not been affirmed earlier. 

New hospital authority board member approved 

Eric Kurta was approved as a member of the Hoboken Municipal Hospital Authority for a 5-year term through June 30, 2014. After a short period of questioning all council members but Michael Russo voted in favor. Kurta described himself as a "retired student," and said he donated $1,000 to Zimmer's campaign. 

Closed Session

After the meeting, Council members went into a closed session to discuss the progress of the city garage.