Council Meeting

22-Feb.-2014

    On Thursday 20-Feb. the Bogota Borough Council  held their regularly schedule meeting and work session. The main point of discussion  between the Mayor & Council Members was the hiring of a replacement for current CFO Frank Berardo who is resigning his post in Bogota at the end of February.  Mr. Berardo holds the same position in Ridgefield & Cliffside Park. The candidate put forward is Mr. Frank  DiMaria, who also serves as the CFO for Saddle Brook. The discussion began with Mayor Tito Jackson wondering why the salary of Mr. DiMaria would be more than what Mr. Berardo had been making, and why  he had not filed a RFQ with the Personnel Committee. Councilman Jorge Nunez explain that the salary suggested is midway of what is required for that position, and the Finance Committee was the one that needed to know his qualifications. Councilwoman Lisa Kohles also asked to know about Mr. DiMaria before voting on his appointment.  Finally it was agreed to voted on Mr. DiMaria appointment and to further discuss his salary in closed session.  During the course Mayor Jackson had to remind the members of the Public, who were in attendance, that calling, shouting out  to the members of Council was prohibited. This happen after there were shouts about wanting the vote to proceed.  Mr. DiMaria's appointment was passed on a 5-1 vote.
  During the Committee  Reports Councilman Chris Keleman took the time to thank the members of the DPW for their work in keeping the streets clear over the last few weeks of snow fall. This was supported by the rest of  Council and greeted with applause by the members of the Public. Councilman Nunez also took a moment to acknowledge the effort of Mayor Jackson as head of the Office of Emergency Management  as well as the Women & Men who volunteer their time as First Responders, that work to keep the Borough safe.
   The Aftermath of the snow fall was a key topic talked about when the floor was opened up for Citizen Comments.  Many felt the there was insufficient time to alert the Public about the emergency parking restrictions. Other questioned the timing, and amount, of tickets issued by the Police Dept. for parking violation. While it is unclear that the Council has the power to absolve, or forgive, any violations issued  Mayor Jackson  talked about learning from the past month of storms and working with the Police & DPW departments in order to refine the plan of such emergencies in the future.
  The next Council Meeting and work session will be held on Thursday 6- March starting at 7:30p in the Borough Hall Council Chambers located on the second floor at 375 Larch Ave. Bogota, NJ. This is an open meeting , and the Public is welcome to attend.

Today 22-Feb. the Bogota Police have added all Business Areas in the Borough to the list of permitted on
street parking. The alert is as follows:

The Borough of Bogota is still under a State of Emergency As per B.O. 7-3.2 and parking on all streets at all times of the day are prohibited with the exception of: 

-All Business Areas 
-West Shore Avenue (west side of street) 
-Ridgefield Avenue (east side of street from West End to E. Fort Lee Rd.) 
-East Fort Lee Road (north side of street) 
-West Fort Lee Rd (north side of street) 
-West Grove Street (north side b/w Elm Ave & Linden Ave) 
-Orchard Terrace (west side from W.Fort Lee Rd. to W. Main St) 

These measures will remain in place until the roads can be properly cleared for safe passage. Any vehicles parked on the street will be ticketed and towed. Compliance is necessary as the borough has acquired the equipment to begin removal today. Please comply with the NO PARKING requirement or we will be forced to continue the restrictions for a much longer time than is necessary. 

Residents with fire hydrants in front of your homes are requested to shovel them out for everyone's safety. The recent weather events and the conditions left behind have created trying times for all and I want to Thank All Residents for your patience and cooperation. 

Chief John Burke

Contact Information:
Bogota Police Department
Bogota Police Department
201-487-2400
info@bogotapolice.org