City Will Lease Lots from iStar for Oceanfront Parking

The City of Asbury Park's elected council brought forward from executive session an item worked out under the Sunshine Law exemption of Contract Negotiations in order to vote its approval. The item was an agreement with iStar Financial, which bought Asbury Partners' shares in the oceanfront redevelopment, whereby the City will lease iStar's vacant lots in order to turn them into municipal parking lots. The City estimates it will cost about $150,000 to surface the three lots, and three years to work down the debt through parking fees, which it will share with iStar.

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Reporters' Notebook – additions, corrections, clarifications -send to asburyradio@aol.com

Council meeting – August 4, 2010

Workshop session – John Loffredo, Sue Henderson, Kevin Sanders, James Bruno, No clerk/ Kiki Tomek taking notes.

Presentation wash av redev plan –  with Don Sammet, director of redevelopment and planning –

Been some time coming, process started 2000 when designated in need of redev.

Master plan noted need / hsg auth/ draft of plan started few months ago, went to Planning Bd, which had recommendations, worked w/ grp to amend the plan/ w hv now what I believe to be the best possible plan.

Mr. George Williams – planner, equal parts of the planning process/ council plans to adopt tonight by ordinance the plan/

Summary of plan – commissioned by hsg auth/ full redev plan is …how many acres? [can’t be heard] Plan is not…?...was designed to support existing as well as new…site layout, pros and cons of layouts/ fronting on wash ave/ all dev// pkg lots w/ be recessed…

Scale is slightly decreased, as per patterns on wash ave/ density decrease slightly/ number of editorial changes…

Planning process long time in mkg/

JL asked a q about design but cdn’t be heard/ no one using mics yet.

Tom Gilmour – Commerce dir

Mics are turned off. They chk mics

Gilmour spks louder/ youth grp wants us to waive fee to use beach /

JL hv they been informed we no longer waive fees.

Terry Reidy – were told last yr

JL – VFW has agreed to sponsor 20 and council sponsor 10

JBruno – visitors may bring paying people with them/ may pay for Marquette to sponsor w/ 100 tickets

Trinity church parish picnic northern end Asbury beach/ no cooking/ no alcohol/

Fun in Sun – applicant was invited to come to discuss w/ council. Hasn’t had chance to attend.

35th annual Clearwater/ 10 yrs now/

Wedding aug 29th 6th av beach, Jennifer santos, ok

Sunday sept 19th 7 am to

City arts event – artscap has decided do as ap event/ Fri to Sunday 9/24 – 26

Big brothers/big sisters volley ball/ 4th ave

Denise keller wedding 5th av beach/ 9/25

Latino festival sunset park – 500 people/

Dept of recreation – sunset pk, annual recog of recreation dept aug 12th

Memo from Madison Marquette – green space for music paramount show/ profile music outdoors for benefit hunger bank / wkg w/ mm very closely on that/ 4, 5, 6 of Sept sev’l green spaces near pony.

Mayor’s ball requests arcade be closed at 4 pm, for setup. Aqua bar can stay open, one door and other will be closed off. Other merchants w/ hv to close/ TR says other retial will be open.

Matters introduced by council –

Bruno – outside seating on boardwalk, asked u to lk into it.

Sidewalk café,Chief Kinmon answers. We wnt out/ they all had permits/

Bruno – got print out of all merchants who had space last yr/ Madison mar asked everyone to put tbls and chrs outside/

Kinmon – did inform them wd hv to have permit if didn’t.

SH – I support revision theater and went to see Tommy and it was amazing…got two more events coming up/ wd love to see them find a home, too.

TR – they’re close

Sanders – offmic

TR – reason city went to the 3 yr was req from one of our restauranteurs/ process too cumbersome/ this was effort to streamline process /

City atty fred raffetto - Council may tk action on 2 issues discussed in private session today/ lease agreement where city wd be tenant, Asbury partners w/d be landlord/ pkg facilities too. Second – resolution redev agreement city and interfaith neighbors/ project council has been referring to, which senior ctr w/ be part of that complex
TR – thousands of people coming to town on weekends/ what a great job police are doing, challenge to do this not confrontational or aggressive/ prosecutors office, surrounding police depts. Mark networks with/ congratulate you on..

Close work session.

Break for 5 mins.
Public –

Pam Lamberton – chr sustainability committee

Status of green bldg chk list? So it can be applied to the redev plan.

JL thank you will be passed on.

Raffetto –

Vernice McGriff – no mics working / second motion come out to chill out Friday night at train station.

We’ll be invaded by topless people Aug 22? Think seriously we hav to giv out information/ I was talking to lady in Flor. There they had wagon set up, so when they try to come in ticket them/ hav to ask our capt how they handle it. In fla gave tickets and put them in the wagon/ there is a newspaper pushing it. Don’t think it shd be pushed on us. Think police dpt

Chief of Police Kinmon – we are planning and preparing for it/ history of it/ what’s happened in past/ as far as arresting, not an arrestable offense/ summons, yes. Like riding bike on boardwalk-

McGriff – we shd make a strong statement against it.

Lou Parisis – representing all veterans. A memorial is a remembrance of important people who’ve passed on. That mission was adopted by present council, enhanced mem’l , held fund raiser, led by dep mayor john loffredo, council presence and those who attended in support of fundraiser.

Rita Marano – 8th av

For one wk didn’t hav receptionist just machine/ then another machine/ when shift commander at police dept there shd be someone/

Kinmon – option first is zero if want the operator

Marano – wnt to know what you’re going to do about it/ we’re entitled to hav a person at the end of that phone/ they hv nothing but contempt for taxpayers/ nobody in this whole bldg can tk the phones.

TR – sprinkled into that request rita/ variety of claims I feel ungrounded/ city employees hv contempt…not true. Use caller id to avoid residents – not true. If not getting return calls he’ll look into that. You can’t hv both ways, too many employees got to get rid of, then we reduce staff and you complain no on to answer phone. Every resident who calls deserves a response.

Wayne May – status of baronet/ eminent domain/ fishman said he wdn’t tear it down unless cd move it otherwise wd be restored. There was ref since condos not being sold some areas may be taken out of plan. Who owns it now?

TR - iStar owns now/ I know that bowling alley is under new ownership, hv been proposal for baronet to use as theater. Redevelopment plan is under review w/ be amended/ don’t belive 4th will be cut out of plan though, don’t believe use as…is impossible.

Wayne – so I should get my friends who expressed interest in buying it.

JL – I myself suggested that to a theater grp – mold problem inside it/ so to be accused of letting it rot is not fair/ if u hv someone interested in buying it go ahead.

Jim moran – grand av

Know hv rules re dogs on boardwalk/ dog on beach lifeguard said nothing/ little dog into ocean, as dog wd try to get out, individual wd take into deeper water, lifeguard said nothing about the dog/ police walked by no comment re dog/ certainly was abuse of this animal. No one did anything about…..

End of Public session

Expansion of Cameo bar to outside courtyard – all yes

Beach Bar permit for fourth av and have green spaces for special event Madison Marquette is running

Resolution – bchfront and sewer utility – monies to 5 million/ +

Council passed Emergency Temporary Budget Appropriations for the following payments

MCIA Payment Bond Principal $293,750

MCIA Bond Interest $127,000

NJEIT Debt Payments $472,000

Lease agreement – city to re surface empty lots belonging to iStar for pkg spaces on wtrfront/ Cost – $150k construction, to be recouped from revenue from the pkg/ city and iStar for 3 parcels it currently owns, lot behind Paradise Bar, another next to Adriatic Restaurant and the old Charms lot, outfit with lighting, striped and used as municipal pkg lots/

istar and city w/ share revenue that comes out/ estimated return on city’s investment will take 3 yrs approx to get return/ if iStar decides to use for its own use, city wd be repaid whatever cap investment it made at that pt.

Resolutions mon. county redev agreement between city and Interfaith Neighbors for Stars dev area/ which includes building that will house senior ctr/ parcels 27, 466 SF mixed use structure/ 2nd flr for senior center/

Sept 1, 2010 ords above w/ be up for passage

Two more ordinances but not on agenda sheet/ w/also come up for passage, 9/1/10

Upstage – ordinance – all voted to approve – don’t now what it’s for…

Sewer connection fees moved to carry…

Motion to adjourn