MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 13, 2000
MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL

The twenty-first regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council was held this evening at the Hamburg Municipal Center with President Richard Boyd presiding. The meeting was opened with Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a Prayer.

Members Present - Richard W. Boyd, Roy Heffner, Leon Balthaser, Scott Kreider, Jeanette Heckman, Charles Figard, Diana Edwards

Members Absent – None

Also Present – Lynda G. Albright, Borough Manager, Kim Y. Berger, Recording Secretary, Mayor Del Rosario

Visitors – Nikki Murry (Hamburg Item), Thomas Zelinsky, Jr. Chief of Police, Rosetta Zelinsky, Beryl Ayello, Michele Ayello, Terry Owens (Reading Eagle/Times)

A motion was made by Leon Balthaser and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the amended agenda

ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, C. Figard, L. Balthaser,
S. Kreider, D. Edwards

NAYES – None

Chief Zelinsky presented a plaque to Beryl Ayello from the American Police Hall of Fame in memory of her husband, Officer John Ayello.

A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Roy Heffner to approve the minutes of the October 25, 2000 meeting as submitted.

ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, C. Figard, L. Balthaser,
S. Kreider, D. Edwards

NAYES - None

A motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Scott Kreider to approve the following reports: Borough Manager's Report, Public Works Supt. Report, Water/Sewer Supt. Report, Office Manager's Report, Treasurer's Report, Police/ Mayor Report, Property Committee Report and Road Committee Report.

ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, C. Figard, L. Balthaser,
S. Kreider, D. Edwards

NAYES - None

The Borough Manager's activities during the month of OCTOBER, 2000 included the following:

On 10/2, met with Sandy Christman to work on and finalize the grant application on behalf of the Library with regards to funding for the cupola. Also spent time working on the Chief’s contract and putting in final form.

Approximately 10 years ago, the Borough had entered into an agreement
with Cougle’s Recycling with the Borough entering into a 10-year commitment for newspaper being taken to Cougle’s. This has always been included in the the recycling specifications so the recycling contractor is made aware of his responsibility to take newspaper collections to that location. Our contract with Cougle’s will be expired in July of 2001; however, in order to have Mascaro follow the contract specifications for the second year of their contract, we need to have the contract with Cougle’s renewed. I have been in contact with Bob Cougle, who has provided me with a new contract; this contract has been reviewed by the Solicitor and I will be presenting it to the Finance Committee on November 13 for their review and recommendation. This contract, once approved will not interrupt recycling service in 2001 and it may provide some additional income to the borough over the life of the contract.

On 10/3, Rick Boyd, Chuck Figard and I met with RPA representatives Frank Garton and Shmai Cylich to discuss the high utility bills for the municipal center and how we might be able to modify the HVAC/fresh air operations in an effort to reduce our electric costs.

A lot of time was spent this month regarding a personnel issue in the office. As you are aware, the individual involved is no longer employed and we are currently advertising for this position.

On 10/11 received a complaint from a non-resident regarding the condition of Catherine, Arthur and Grandview Terrace. I informed the individual that we were aware of the problems with these roads, however, there was no funding available at this time. Some of the residents of this area attended Council meeting and the matter has been turned over to the Road Committee for further review and recommendation.

Coordinated voting for Election Day in the Senior Center with the new Director. Debbie is most cooperative regarding community affairs. She has decided to close the Center for that day in November.

Spent time gathering and submitting water and sewer information to Gannett Fleming regarding the I-78 project. Attended a meeting, along with other members of Council on 10/30 to review traffic flows during this upcoming construction project. This project is tentatively scheduled to start either in the fall of 2001 or spring of 2002

On 10/17 held Staff meeting to discuss various issues with Department Supervisors.

On this same day, reviewed King Frost issues with Chief Tom Zelinsky.

On this same day, attended a special Personnel meeting to discuss the building/zoning officer position and the opening on Planning Commission.

Met with Troy Hatt on 10/18 and and 10/26 regarding the Red Zone extension at the Fire Company and Council’s recommendation. Also discussed the arrival of the new ladder truck and the need for the borough’s contribution for that, if possible. I explained to Troy I would do my best to see that the Fire Company receive this money prior to year-end. Otherwise, it would have to wait until 2001.

On 10-19, met with Doug Kramer and representative from Stirling Engineering to review outstanding issues yet to be completed or corrected in the municipal building.

On this same day, Keith Brobst, W/S Supt. and I met with representatives from L/B Water Supply to hear a presentation on electronic meter reading equipment. Keith and I will discuss this with the Authority to decide if there is an interest on their part to make this type of upgrade.

On 10/24, Chief Tom Zelinsky and I met with representatives of the Cable Company to coordinate placement of their scaffolding and equipment for the night of King Frost.

On 10/25, attended the Manager’s Luncheon in Mount Penn.

On Sunday, 10/29, handled numerous phone calls from home due to the fire at the former Algonquin Chemical.

On Monday, 10/30, Mayor Roy DelRosario and I attended the Ribbon cutting ceremony at Fulton Bank, formerly Great Valley.

Spent time during the month working on the proposed 2001 general budget and meeting with the supervisors to make necessary revisions and review their requests. Also spent a lot of time working on the proposed 2001 water and sewer budgets for the Authority.

In addition to the two regular meetings of Borough Council, I attended Authority Meeting, Finance Committee, Personnel Committee, Safety Committee and Property Committees.

If anyone has any questions concerning my report, please feel free to ask.

Following are the reports of my staff for the month of October.

LYNDA G. ALBRIGHT

During the month of October, the Borough Crew completed the following:

Numerous meter checks and meter changes were performed.

Hydrant flushing was performed the first week of October. One member of the crew and the water operator spent four days flushing hydrants.

The sewer plant field was cut by the crew.

Repaired a 6" main at 382 Turner Street. This main was very near a fire hydrant and water had broken the surface and was called into the Borough Office by a resident.

Mowing grass continues around the borough as well as picking up leaves at the park. We hope that the grass mowing season is over for the season.

Cold patching was performed around town.

The crew is preparing the equipment and trucks for winter so when the first snow comes we are ready.

The crew pulled the old guide rails on Port Clinton Avenue and assisted the contractor with the new guide rails. The project is now complete.

A lot of time was spent working on cutting weeds and cleaning up the brush at the flood control dams.

More time was spent changing the street signs.

Continued working on putting in an electric line at the park.

Richard L. Pickel
Public Works Superintendent

The water meters for non water customers in Windsor Township have been delivered and are being installed.

Mid Atlantic Canners got some bad cans and had to dispose of the soda in them. They were crushed and the waste sent to us over a period of several weeks. This was all diet soda and we saw no ill effects.

M&S Service did the fall service on the flo-matchers at the pumping station and at the plant. Everything was fine.

The secondary digester cover was painted. # 1 secondary clarifier drive motor was in the shop for new bearings. The # 2 raw sewage pump motor was arcing. It was pulled and sent to the shop for repairs.

The discharge pipe on the # 2 pump at the Ridge Lawn pumping station was leaking. A contractor has been contacted to make repairs.

The water plant is still down. All the damaged components are in except the streaming current monitor. The wells are supplying all our needs.

Hydrants were flushed and found to be exceptionally dirty. We did some sampling and found some elevated levels of iron and manganese. We have taken some follow up samples to confirm these numbers but the results are not yet in.

Keith L. Brobst, Superintendent

The month of October has come to a close, the following information has been completed for the month.

Update on the guiderail project. The job has been completed and the final report has been approved by PennDot.

Time was spent updating the web page. A few new things were added and I continue to try to add or change things daily. I have spoken with Eric Trubilla to try and have some forms added to the page. He is working on this.

I continue to communicate with the workman’s compensation carrier regarding the numerous claims that are outstanding as well as the two complicated claims we are working on at the present time.

Various letters were sent to residents. Board and committee lists have been updated and distributed to Council. Various memos were distributed to the office personnel to troubleshoot some problems which have been occurring. Updated the recycling and trash collection contracts and mailed to those vendors for execution. Updated the business security listing for all areas of borough owned property and submitted to the police department. Prepared the advertisement for a Building/Zoning Officer.

Prepared numerous items for King Frost, such as soliciting permits and parking passes. Reviewed data for that evening and prepared materials. The evening of King Frost worked for the police department answering phone calls and dispatching the officers to various locations. The evening was a fairly quiet one for the officers and I hope everyone enjoyed the Parade.

Completed numerous quarterly reports for payroll and submitted to the various agencies.

The month of October has been difficult one for me, due to a personnel issue within the Borough Office. As you already know, we are advertising for an accounts payable clerk. We have received a few applications at the time of this writing and within the next few weeks will be working to interview some of these applicants.

I attended two staff meetings, two Borough Council meeting, and one EMA meeting. Minutes and/or notes were typed for all meetings.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Submitted by,

Kim Y. Berger, Office Manager

MILES DRIVEN –

1997 FORD – CROWN VICTORIA – WHITE 666

1995 FORD – CROWN VICTORIA – WHITE 1792

1993 FORD – CROWN VICTORIA – WHITE 736

TOTAL MILES DRIVEN 3194

FINES COLLECTED

DISTRICT COURT 23-03-06 $ 836.33

TOTAL $ 1684.08

It has started off to be a new and exciting experience for me as Mayor. I would like to once again thank all the members of Council for supporting my interest in serving.

On October 13, 2000, I swore in Officer Scott Williams as a Police Officer for the Borough. He will be serving in a part-time capacity.

On October 14, 2000, Chief Thomas Zelinsky and I attended a memorial service by the Pennsylvania K-9 Association. Mrs. Beryl Ayello accepted a plaque honoring Officer John Ayello for his dedication to the association and also as the founder.

On October 18, 2000, attended the Hamburg EMA meeting.

On October 25, 2000 attended Borough Council Meeting.

On October 28, 2000 participated in the Hamburg Jaycees King Frost Parade.

On October 30, 2000 attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for Fulton Bank.

Once again, thank you to all the members of council for their support and assistance. I look forward to the New Year as mayor and look forward to working with all of you to try and improving on the quality of life in the borough. It is also my goal to make every effort to fill the vacant buildings with new and exciting businesses.

Respectfully,
Roy C Del Rosario
Mayor

1 ) Additional computer training for borough personnel will be delayed until the new year. Training at this time would be difficult due to the recent change of personnel and the year end workload.

2) Recreation Board has requested if they may rename the large ball field to obtain an advertising sponsor for this ball field. These funds would go to the maintenance of this ball field

3) A) In process of obtaining HVAC service contract for the system in the Borough Hall. The readjustment to the system for energy

savings, would be accomplished under this contract with no additional cost. Possibly by weeks end.

B) The ceiling leak was fixed in the Police Dept.

C) The second floor handicapped toilet still need to be addressed

D) The first floor lobby will be redone to level the floor. This was to have been done during the first floor renovation. The Borough will be responsible for the cost of the floor leveling as part of the original contract. Contractor will responsible for the cost of the new floor tiles and installation. Payment for this service will be held until March 2001.

E) Reviewed other minor issues with the building.

4) The EPA will be in and around our neighborhood investigating sites of battery casing dumpings. They anticipate this may take 3-4 years to complete. Some of the areas include the canal, towpath and the Exide facility.

5) Need to advertise for the rental of the open space in the Borough Hall. Office space to be rented out at fair market value. EPA has shown some interest.

6) Recommendation to Council for approval of the agreement between the Sewer and Water Authority and the Borough. This agreement to cover a one time financial charge to the Authority for the Building use. This agreement will satisfy the Auditors concerns. Agreement approval to be based on the Borough Solicitor's review.

7) Bldg. Inspector's position to be discussed at Personnel Committee.

8) Forestry management on the borough lands still under review. Contract under consideration would be delineating property lines and making specific recommendations to the Borough on land management. When specifics recommendations are made, we can approve all, part, or none of these recommendations. This proposal will cost around $5000.00. Any costs to the Borough may be deferred to next year and could be paid from the profits, when and if any harvesting of lumber can be done. At the very least, we would have established property lines for any future management of the lands.

ROAD COMMITTEE REPORT

Road and Building Code Committee Meeting, November 8, 2000 - 3:30 pm

Persons Present: Leon Balthaser, Lynda Albright, Borough Manager and residents of Grandview Terrace, Catherine Street and Arthur Street, Richard Pickel, Public Works Supervisor for Boro of Hamburg.

Items Discussed: The residents expressed their concern over the poor road conditions on Catherine Street, Arthur Street and Grandview Terrace. Lynda Albright reviewed the funding process and budget for road improvements. The budget does not have funds to allocate to this project until the year 2002.

Lynda is looking into funding options with the Community Development Block Grant which is available every three years. Richard Pickel, Public Works Supervisor for the Borough of Hamburg, was asked to get an estimate of costs for this improvement project. Rick discussed the problems of accessing these roads with borough equipment.

This discussion brought about the fact that neither of these three streets have a fire hydrant. The closest fire hydrant is located on Church Street. This issue will be brought to the attention of the Water Authority.

Also, in the event of an emergency, parking is an issue on these three streets. Emergency apparatus would have a hard time accessing these streets. This will be addressed with the Safety Committee.

The next issue discussed was a problem with erosion on Geary Drive due to water runoff. Domer Leibensperger complained to Lynda Albright about the erosion on his property. Rick Pickel suggested putting a drain in the area of concern.

Respectfully Submitted,
Diana L. Edwards, Chairman

OLD BUSINESS

NONE

On the recommendation of the Chief of Police, a motion was made by Leon Balthaser and seconded by Roy Heffner to approve the mobile computer system agreement between the Borough and the County. (This agreement has been reviewed by the solicitor and he concurs with the contents. Chief Zelinsky will be present to answer any questions regarding this agreement.)

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the contract for the police chief for period covering 1/1/2001 to 12/31/2003.

A motion was made by Scott Kreider and seconded by Diana Edwards to approve payment of invoices totaling $129,529.62.

AT & T 11.57
Amsterdam Printing 63.96
Barko Cleaning 507.00
Berks Products 13.49
Berks Mont Newspapers 144.80
Denise Clare 200.00
Classic Signs 45.00
David Dengler 100.00
Danka Corp. 47.94
PA Dept. of Labor & Industry 50.00
E-Mac Dairy Brush 109.20
First Precinct Uniforms 34.00
GPU 273.49
Garnetta Heckman 39.90
Hamburg Auto 28.10
Henns Garage 109.36
ICU Paint Centers 18.76
Interstate Supply 101.83
Kozloff, Stoudt 2113.25
Metrocall 9.95
Mountain View Supply 141.99
MEIT 64.50
National Uniform 170.76
Penn Pride 794.77
Postmaster 100.00
Quill 66.67
Reading Eagle 285.85
Randall Rentschler 4.93
Staples 118.83
Stetzler, Roger 7.50
Systems Design 405.65
Thyssen Elevator 135.00
Triangle 238.50
Voicestream Wireless 23.22
Verizon 492.71
Wengert’s Auto 80.38
Western Auto 47.88
Windsor Press 265.20
Thomas Zelinsky, Jr. 97.29
Total $7,563.23

BILLS PAID DURING THE MONTH OF OCTOBER

Chris Wade 34.50
Borough/ P/R 59,550.52
Dengler, Nancy 100.00
Sam’s Club 196.02
HMA 2,874.65
Classic signs 50.00
Boro – EMA fund 280.00
Smith Barney 56,632.10
Petty Cash 786.39
Sherry Dunkelberger 257.62
Beryl Ayello 1000.00
Postmaster 204.59

Total bills paid during the month $121,966.39

November 14, 2000 – 6 p.m. – Personnel Committee
November 15, 2000 – Water/Sewer Committee meeting – 6:30 p.m.
November 15, 2000 – Authority meeting – 7 p.m.
November 20, 2000 – Planning Commission – 7 p.m.
November 21, 2000 – Safety Committee – 7 p.m.
November 22, 2000 - Council meeting 7:30 p.m.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:37 p.m. on motion of Jeanette Heckman.

Attest: