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Close to 80 people, including many municipal department heads, signed on for Wednesday night’s virtual City Council Meeting held through Zoom Conference.

Mayor John Moor opened the meeting by asking residents to remain vigilant about social distancing guidelines.

“Let me be clear, it may be the easiest sacrifice you will ever be asked to make,” he said before imploring that residents only venture out for necessities.

Deputy Mayor Quinn said Asbury Park now has six confirmed cases and that playgrounds and basketball courts are now closed to the public. She said the city officials will continue to access social distancing practices along the boardwalk and beachfront. 

“Make no mistake, if the social distancing is not being followed, we will shut it down,” Quinn said.

Quinn then asked residents with flu-like symptoms to call their physician and said those needing emergency response should let the dispatcher know if they are responding to a home where someone is experiencing flu-like symptoms.

The Mayor and City Council also thanked the community and businesses for their responses, including delivering meals, making masks for first responders and AP Distilling Company’s shift to making hand sanitizer for seniors and first responders and hospitals across the state.

“I’ve been on conference calls with state and federal officials at every level,’ Moor said. “We are in unknown waters. There’s is no such thing as a stupid idea or recognition; We are open for constructive criticism because this is new for all of us. You all have our email addresses and phone numbers, share your thoughts with us. By doing that, we can get through all of this together.

Approved Resolutions Include: 

A $53,432 contract to disinfect municipal buildings;

A $17,500 to $25,000 one year contract with St Petersburg, Fla-based Public Resources Advisory Group [PRAG] to handle administrative oversight of Redevelopment Area Bond [RAB] properties, which includes the Vive, Monroe, The Asbury, South Grand, and Asbury Ocean Club;

A $12,500 contract with Nicholas Enterprise of Belmar to install a sidewalk, pavers and stone in St. John Island Park; 

Awarding a one year City Manager contract to Donna M. Vieiro, who was appointed Interim City Manager in December. Her annual salary is $165,000.

Awarding a three-year City Clerk contract to Melody Hartsgrove. Her annual salary is  $92,000.

Ordinances introduced with an April 22 hearing date:

A  $5.25 million bond for Memorial Drive improvements, which is inclusive of an expected $339,686 New Jersey Department of Transportation [NJDOT] grant;

A mandatory 20 percent ‘Affordable Housing Set-Aside’ for any new multi-family or attached residential development consisting of five or more new units; 

A 20 percent Affordable Housing component added to the Springwood Avenue and Main Street Redevelopment plans;

The creation of a Deal Lake Drive inclusionary affordable housing overlay district from Webb to Emory streets; 

Consolidating guidelines and permitted uses to incentivize inclusionary housing in the downtown, Main Steet and Neighborhood Commercial districts; 

And, a comprehensive outline of the City’s affordable housing guidelines with an amendment that middle outcome units cannot outpace affordable housing construction, new regulations for the Central Business District [CBD], and affordable housing changes to the zoning map. 

Approved Ordinances:

A $1 million bond to advance phase II detail design work for a parking garage at the transportation center; 

A shift in parking regulations surrounding the Thurgood Marshall School, which maintains a no parking zone from 6 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday; 

And the creation of a City of Asbury Park Social Services identification cards, which will help residents and members of the homeless community access to rehabilitation and other social service programs. There will be a $10 fee for adults, $5 for children but no one will be denied the id card due to financial hardship.

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