Council Approves E-Tickets, Handicapped Parking Space at Regular Meeting Thursday

Buried among the lengthy list of items passed by the Borough Council at Thursday’s Mayor and Council regular meeting was a resolution awarding an $8,700 contract to GTBM of East Rutherford for an electronic ticketing system for the Fort Lee Police Department.

The contract, an issue that had been championed for some time by Councilman Jan Goldberg, comes with a minimum annual commitment of 6,000 tickets at $1.45 per ticket.

“I’m really happy that we’re getting these e-tickets started,” Goldberg said. “It’s important. It’s going to increase productivity, and it’s going to save a lot of costs.”

Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich pointed out that the move isn’t intended to increase tickets, but rather “to more readily process them.”

Goldberg explained that once tickets are written, they go directly into the state Department of Motor Vehicles’ database and can be paid almost immediately if the unlucky recipient is so inclined.

“This will eliminate a lot of work that has to be done with manual input into computers over at the police station and the court system,” he said. “So this is really a big benefit to the town.”

Sokolich agreed with Goldberg, adding, “We’re now allowing technology to replace some of the voids that have been created by virtue of these policies of attrition that we’ve had. I’m happy that we can continue to maintain the same levels as when we were full-staffed.”

Fort Lee’s governing body also held a public hearing on an ordinance they ultimately passed to put a handicapped parking space at 263 Warren Ave.

Sokolich explained that such a matter is not as simple as it may seem, and that the government goes through an extensive vetting process for placing handicapped spaces in the borough.

“Someone doesn’t just merely make a request, and then a handicapped space is granted,” Sokolich said. “Parking here in Fort Lee is a prized asset. We’re all well aware of that. The request goes through government, through the clerk’s office and ultimately an investigation is undertaken by the police department to determine the necessity of the space. After that’s vetted, after the appropriate confirmations are then in place and the appropriate applications filed, then government will take action.”

More importantly, the mayor continued, the borough monitors handicapped parking spaces once they’ve approved them.

“There’s an ongoing level of diligence that’s required to make sure that the space is continued to be needed as years and years go on, to make sure that the space doesn’t lie dormant or unused,” he said. “We continue to monitor that.”

Earlier in the meeting—during his opening remarks, in fact—Sokolich reminded Fort Lee residents that their representative in Congress, U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-9) of Fair Lawn, will be holding one of his “listening sessions” in town next week.

“Congressman Rothman was nice enough to schedule one here in Fort Lee,” Sokolich said of the listening sessions, of which Rothman announced four this week. “Congressman Rothman is a captivating elected official. You’ll definitely enjoy hearing from him. He’s an open-minded person, and any question you have or may be on your mind, he answers in a very transparent and informative way.”

Rothman’s Fort Lee listening session is scheduled for next Thursday, May 19, from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at the Fort Lee Recreation Center located at 8th St. and Stillwell Ave.

Other Business Thursday

A public hearing was scheduled for June 9 on an ordinance on construction code fees, and the council also approved the sole resolution on the agenda, a resolution accepting a proposal from McNerney Associates of Glen Rock to provide $10,000 worth of professional appraisal services for 2100 North Central Rd., Block 6155, Lot 1.

The complete consent agenda approved by the council was as follows:

• CA-1 – Payment of claims
• CA-2 – Approval of special item of revenue: $50,340.64 Clean Communities grant from the state
• CA-3 – Approval of special item of revenue: $150,000 NJDOT grant for Linwood Ave. roadway improvements
• CA-4 – Accepting the retirement of Joseph Terzi, Senior Maintenance Repairer for General Services, effective Sept. 1
• CA-5 – Authorizing additional title for Alan Batch as Senior Maintenance Repairer/Supervisor for General Services with no additional remuneration
• CA-6 – Authorizing settlement of tax appeal litigation (Shtark at 1170 Cumbermeade Rd., Block 1351, Lot 12, for tax years 2009 and 2010)
• CA-7 – Awarding $139,310 bid to DLS Contracting of Fairfield for Linwood Ave. roadway improvements
• CA-8 – Awarding bid to DLS Contracting for asphalt milling services on an as-needed basis for $18,000 per eight-hour day, estimated at 6,000 square yards per day
• CA-9 – Authorizing purchasing consultant to prepare specifications and advertise for bids for a new roof for Borough Hall and janitorial services for the Fort Lee Community Center and Police Department facility
• CA-10 – Accepting proposal not to exceed $6,400 from Boswell McClave of South Hackensack for surveying services for the dedication and vacation of Central Rd. for Block 4851, Lots 1.02, 2 and 3 and Block 4855, Lot 2
• CA-11 – Accepting proposal from McNerney Associates for $6,500 worth of surveying services at 2050 Center Ave., Block 4751, Lot 33
• CA-12 – Awarding $8,700 contract to GTBM Inc. of East Rutherford for an electronic ticketing system for the Police Department with an annual minimum of 6,000 tickets at $1.45 per ticket
• CA-13 – Authorizing agreement with the Borough of Woodcliff Lake to borrow Fort Lee Fire Department’s mobile cascade system, a mobile SCBA filling station
• CA-14 – Authorizing ambulance billing agreements with Holy Name Hospital and Englewood Hospital

The complete agenda from Thursday's regular meeting is available for download here.