The Hudson County Board of Commissioners held their first regular meeting of the year yesterday, where they approved contracts and reappointments, among other agenda items.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
At the top of the meeting, the board approved a laudatory resolution honoring the North Bergen High School Marching Band for their 2025 Championship Season.
They earned multiple first place finishes and distinctions throughout the 2025 competition including for best visual, best music, and best percussion.
According to the resolution, the NBHS Marching Band earned first place at the Tournament of Bands Atlantic Coast Championships with a school record score of 95.48, first place at the Region 10 Championships with a score of 92.36, and first place at the New Jersey State Championships with a score of 92.69.
Commissioners Albert Cifelli (D-9), Caridad Rodriguez (D-7), and Bob Baselice (D-8) gushed about the band for their historic winning season.
“I just want to commend the band. I know that very often, the band unfortunately sometimes takes a back seat to things like football players and basketball players, but the amount of time and energy and dedication that these young people put into is very commendable and I wholeheartedly endorse and applaud their success,” Cifelli exclaimed.
“I want to congratulate the band, the town. My children attended North Bergen High School and we were very, very proud of it,” added Rodriguez.
“What an accomplishment. Champions. You’re champions. I did children services, juvenile justice for a long time … This is an honor. You’re making Hudson County, North Bergen proud. All I want to say is, you’ve made me very, very proud and just keep going. You’re going to be tremendous musicians,” Baselice declared.
After that, the board moved on to appointments, when they approved a resolution appointing Jennifer Rivera, of Bayonne. to the Local Advisory Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse.
This was followed by the appointments of Dr. Joel Nunez, of Bayonne; Debbie Meier, of Secaucus; Orlando Rivera, of Jersey City; Lynette Medeiros, of Secaucus; and Dawn Odom, of Jersey City, to the Hudson County Mental Health Board.
Next up were contracts, with the board approving a resolution for the Office of Health and Human Services with the W-T Group, LLC to extend their contract for two months until March 31 at no additional cost to conduct an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and develop a transition plan for Hudson County.
Another resolution approved additional funding to the tune of $15,000 for the Office of Aging and Veterans Affairs from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Grant Project running through 2027.
The board also approved $755,177 in purchases made under state contracts, with the bigger line items including $270,000 for moving services from Flatbush Moving, $100,000 for gasoline from Rachles/Micheles, and $240,159 for a mission critical software system, among other smaller purchases like $30,000 for cellular service from Verizon.
The Verizon contract was the only one not approved unanimously, with Chairman Pro Tempore Bill O’Dea being the sole protest vote after the cell service provider experienced nationwide service outages the day prior.
“In protest, I’m going to vote no. I think we should defeat it and make ti come back to the next agenda,” Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) said.
Rounding out the agenda were resolutions: awarding a contract for an Art War Memorial in Bayonne’s Stephen Gregg Park; qualifying professional consulting firms for “on-call” architectural services to the Hudson County Engineer’s Office; and applying for a $250,000 grant for the Office of Aging and Veterans Affairs for a Senior Wellness Pilot Program Grant from the New Jersey Department of Human Services; and an ordinance to amend bus stop regulations in Guttenberg; among other smaller items.
