HOBOKEN — The Hoboken City Council was scheduled to convene on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for a special meeting to vote on a $7.7 million contract for park renovations, the first step in a process to reopen Sinatra Park and Castle Point Park, two waterfront recreation areas.
The council meeting was cancelled last week after allies of Mayor Dawn Zimmer walked out of the meeting, since there was no quorum. The council members walked out because they realized they would not have the majority, and the mayor’s opponents were set to put forward a controversial resolution about when to hold school board elections.
Councilman Tim Occhipinti said he would bring forward the resolution again this week — but no new resolutions or ordinances can be considered during a special meeting. Sources anticipate that the Board of Education will vote to move April elections to November at their Feb. 14 meeting.
The parks renovation resolution would award a contract to EIC Associates of Springfield.
The goal is to complete the soccer field at Sinatra Park for the fall season, Zimmer said in a memo to the council, while construction continues on the rest of the project.
The council will also address a resolution to increase a contract for special legal counsel for bankruptcy issues related to the sale of Hoboken University Medical Center by $50,000. The contract is for Okin, Hollander & DeLuca, LLP. Paul Hollander, of the firm, has been working for the city since summer 2010 on issues related to HUMC.
Watch the meeting live here and comment below. — Ray Smith