PORT JERVIS, NY — The Port Jervis Common Council meeting on December 21 started with public hearings on three local laws regarding town taxes. Nobody spoke up, and at the end of the meeting the laws were carried unanimously. They included giving the city the ability to override the city code tax limit, and to retain property from tax sales in order to develop the city.

The public hearing on the 2016 budget was set for December 28.

Brian W. Wona from the Civil Service Employees Association 7904 (CSEA) came to thank Mayor Kelly Decker and “everyone else” for their help in the long process of negotiations with contracts that were up for renewal.

Fire and Emergency Management liaison Robert Waligroski said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security gave the city a grant of $12,000 to use for emergency planning. Decker added, “We were hoping for $10,000—they gave us $12,000.”

Code and legislation liaison council member Stan Siegel introduced a resolution giving the city the right to permit hotels, motels, restaurants, microbreweries and brewpubs to sell beer and wine. Also, the city would be permitted to sell overnight parking passes to allow residents to park in city-owned parking lots, under the jurisdiction of the treasurer’s office and the mayor and police department.

Decker clarified, “The permits are given out to the Erie Hotel to be hung on cars, allowing them to park there overnight.” He added that if someone is over-intoxicated, they can also obtain a parking permit. The motion was carried unanimously.

A public hearing for a local law regarding zoning was set for December 28. It adds wholesale and retail establishments to commercial and central business districts. Siegel said, “You can have wholesale as long as there’s retail attached.” Decker added, “not wholesale by itself.”

The Industrial Development Agency committee chair Robert Ritchie reported that the committee met on December 9 when the Future Homes Technology attorney came to sign the documents to cancel the lease at their premises. He reported that the committee discussed William Paladino’s partially completed renovation project at Pike Plaza, saying, “There’s a lot of curiosity about what’s going on. We invited him to come to the next meeting on January 13, and asked him to send us pictures or video to show us what kinds of modifications have been done since the start. We want to keep up and keep residents motivated. They ask and have the right to know. Hopefully January 13 we’ll have a nice update for you.”

Siegel also said that on January 8, at 1 p.m. low-income seniors can go to Farnum House for information about various heating programs, including fuel assistance programs.

Siegel also responded to a complaint from Augustine Papay Jr. about the menorah that has been placed in front of the Town Hall, requesting it either be taken down or a Christmas tree be erected next to it. The complaint said it’s unconstitutional to have religious holiday displays on public property, and added he’d “contact Freedom from Religion Foundation and will request that they file a First Amendment lawsuit on my behalf against you and the City of Port Jervis,” unless the situation was corrected within three days.

The letter was dated December 12. Siegel said he would be happy to have a talk with Papay about religion and community cooperation.