HOBOKEN – The council didn’t all come to them, so environmental service workers in Hoboken arrived with their outdated equipment parked in front of City Hall hoping to convince a supermajority (six of nine council members) to vote in favor of a $3 million capital improvement bond that had failed at two other meetings. On Wednesday night, they got their wish.
The bond ordinance had previously been voted down at two other meetings by the four council opponents of Mayor Dawn Zimmer.
After a brief plea from Police Chief Anthony Falco and a presentation by Environmental Services Director Leslie Shenkler, Councilwoman Theresa Castellano became the required sixth vote to jump on board and approve the measure aimed at updating outdated equipment for city workers and improving city facilities.
Council members Beth Mason and Tim Occhipinti were not present for the vote. Council President Ravinder Bhalla and council members Jen Giattino, David Mello, Peter Cunningham, and Carol Marsh (Zimmer’s allies) voted in favor of the capital improvement bond with Castellano. Councilman Michael Russo voted no, and said he thinks the upgrades should be done with a large scale capital improvement plan, not by bonding.
Falco said before the vote that the bond ordinance would “considerably help [him] in the police department.”
Shenkler said there are necessary upgrades needed for the Police Department, including installing a partition at the front desk, as is done in other municipalities, to protect the officers. He also said the police headquarters infrastructure “is pretty shabby” and spoke about a lack of energy inefficiency and the unsafe conditions in the building.
After the presentation by Shenkler, Bhalla invited the council and members of the public to inspect some of the equipment that was parked in front of City Hall, which included a pay loader (or excavator that helps during snow removal) that was made in 1984 and a 12-year-old container with holes in the bottom. Employees from the city’s environmental services department said that upgrades were necessary for them to work safely.
Only Zimmer’s council allies and some members of the public took Bhalla up on his offer to go outside for the quasi-demonstration – while others decided to stay inside.
Part of the bond ordinance would also upgrade an “antiquated” phone system in City Hall and the police station. The city will also be able to purchase a new street sweeper – something that workers say is desperately needed.
Shenkler said the city recently had to borrow a street sweeper from Secaucus.
“They thought they were giving it to us for two weeks, but we kept it for eight,” Shenkler said.
For more from the meeting, keep reading HudsonReporter.com. – Ray Smith
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