Vineland City Council Regular Meeting - October 14, 2025

The Vineland City Council held its regular meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, at 5:30 PM. Council President Paul F. Spinelli called the meeting to order; all five members were present: Elizabeth Arthur, Scott English, Albert Vargas, Cruz Gomez Jr., and Paul Spinelli. Staff present included Business Administrator Robert E. Dickenson Jr., Associate City Solicitor Alan Giebner, Deputy City Clerk Maryanne Wolf, Director of Public Safety Edwin Alicea, and Director of Public Works H. James Neher. Petway Elementary School students led the Pledge of Allegiance, and the City Clerk certified public notice under the Open Public Meetings Act. The meeting adjourned at 6:14 PM. Note: the provided raw transcript was empty, so this summary is based on the agenda and official minutes.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No members of the public spoke during General Public Comment or during any ordinance public hearing; the presiding officer called for comment and none was offered.

Consent Calendar

• There was no formal consent calendar; every agenda item received an individual motion and roll-call vote.

Ordinances - Public Hearing and Final Reading

• Ordinance 2025-66 (classification and compensation plan for City Engineer and Supervising Engineer): hearing opened and closed with no public comment; adopted unanimously (5-0).
• Ordinance 2025-67 (authorizing contract of sale for acquisition of Block 2201, Lot 64, 34 W. Park Avenue Rear, and Block 2201, Lot 62, Amos Avenue): hearing opened and closed with no public comment; adopted unanimously (5-0). The minutes contain a duplicated motion entry for this ordinance.
• Ordinance 2025-68 (classification and compensation plan for Account Clerk): hearing opened and closed with no public comment; adopted unanimously (5-0).

Ordinances - First Reading

All six first-reading ordinances passed unanimously (5-0), with public hearings scheduled for Tuesday, October 28, 2025, at 5:30 PM:

• Ordinance 2025-69: classification and compensation plan for Fire Chief.
• Ordinance 2025-70: classification and compensation plan for Deputy Fire Chief.
• Ordinance 2025-71: amends Ordinance 2025-13 concerning transfer of industrial property to the Vineland Industrial Commission and approves the sale of that property pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55-1 et seq.
• Ordinance 2025-72: revises handicapped parking space locations and establishes an additional handicapped parking space along Landis Avenue.
• Ordinance 2025-73: no-parking restrictions along Freddy Lane.
• Ordinance 2025-74: no-parking restrictions along a portion of E. Pear Street.

Resolutions

All 33 resolutions were adopted. Thirty-two passed by 5-0 votes; Resolution 2025-517 passed 4-0-1 with Council Vice President Gomez abstaining. Notable items:

• Res. 2025-500: terminated restrictions, reservations, and charges on Block 7304, Lots 34, 34.01, and 34.02. The minutes label this roll call as NAYS while listing all members present, which appears to be a clerical error; the resolution was adopted.
• Res. 2025-517: approved a UDAG/CDBG Small Business Loan Program award to Inclusion Café, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
• Res. 2025-496: ratified appointment of Ryan Headley as City Engineer.
• Res. 2025-497 and 2025-498: approved employee agreements with Fire Chief Mark Cifaloglio and Deputy Fire Chief John Hendershott for January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028.
• Res. 2025-499: received and filed the Vineland Downtown Improvement District Management Corporation audit for the year ending December 31, 2024.
• Res. 2025-501: voided the construction contract with Gemini General Contracting for the North Ascher Woods Drainage Rehabilitation and Repaving Project.
• Res. 2025-502: declared an emergency for immediate repair of a failed pipe system at West Chestnut Avenue and South West Avenue and authorized payment.
• Res. 2025-503: awarded Airnova, Inc. a contract for stack emissions and RATA testing services not to exceed $236,190.00.
• Res. 2025-504: authorized purchase of a Western Star RamVac HX9 hydro excavator from Jet Vac Equipment, Inc. for up to $546,849.44 under a Sourcewell cooperative agreement.
• Res. 2025-505: authorized purchase of a 2025 Ford F350 4x4 SuperCab pickup with utility body from United Ford, LLC under a TIPS cooperative contract.
• Res. 2025-506 and 2025-507: authorized change order No. 1 to Lexa Concrete, LLC contract C24-0140 and to Altec Industries, Inc. Sourcewell contract 110421-ALT in the amount of $28,572.00.
• Res. 2025-508: exercised option to extend open-end contract C24-0088 with Northeast Plumbing Services, LLC for as-required plumbing repair services.
• Res. 2025-509 through 2025-514: inserted special revenue items and appropriations into the CY 2025 budget: $1,994,971.04 (NJDOT/FHWA), $125,000.00 (NJDCA Neighborhood Preservation Program), $23,231.00 (Cumberland County Municipal Alliance), $97,546.62 (NJDOT/FHWA), $99,439.10 (NJDOT/FHWA), and $30,584.86 (NJDOT/FHWA allocation).
• Res. 2025-515: authorized a Vineland Revolving Loan Fund LLC recoverable grant to the Vineland Development Corporation for joint acquisition with CCIA of 1100 College Drive, Block 7001, Lot 1.
• Res. 2025-516: approved Vineland Revolving Loan Funds for DGM Enterprises, LLC (or assigns).
• Res. 2025-518 and 2025-519: approved land-clearance charges to become liens and imposed liens for unpaid property registration fees under N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.12s3 and City Code 530-13.
• Res. 2025-520 through 2025-524: approved surety reductions/releases/renewals, tax refunds, tax cancellations for CY 2025 and CY 2026, cancellation of outdated checks, and payment of bills.
• Res. 2025-525: donated a 14-foot aluminum boat and trailer to the Vineland Board of Education for the Vineland High School crew team.
• Res. 2025-526: accepted a donation of 2,000+ construction blocks from 4200 East LLC for a Public Works building.
• Res. 2025-527: authorized original, renewal, and/or transfer taxicab licenses for 2025.
• Res. 2025-528: authorized the Mayor to endorse Eastern Pacific Development's NJDEP treatment works approval application for a sanitary sewer line extension for Oakhill Farms Family Apartments, subject to listed conditions.

Announcements & Privilege of the Floor

• Councilmember Arthur thanked the Petway Elementary students for leading the Pledge of Allegiance.
• President Spinelli thanked Sheena Santiago for organizing the Columbus Day ceremony and lunch and promoted upcoming events: Taste of Vineland, Voice of Vineland in November at the Savoy Inn, and the Pumpkin Patch weekend following the Landis Park basketball court dedication on Saturday morning.

Key Outcomes

• Minutes of the September 23, 2025 Pre-Meeting Conference and Regular Meeting and the October 7, 2025 Special Meeting and Work Session were approved unanimously.
• Ordinances 2025-66, 2025-67, and 2025-68 were adopted on final reading by unanimous 5-0 votes and sent to the Mayor for approval.
• Ordinances 2025-69 through 2025-74 passed first reading unanimously; public hearings are scheduled for October 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM.
• All 33 resolutions were adopted: 32 by 5-0 votes and Resolution 2025-517 by 4-0-1 with Council Vice President Gomez abstaining.
• The meeting adjourned at 6:14 PM.