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MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 8, 2004 MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL The fifth regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2004 was held this evening at the Hamburg Municipal Center with President Adam Dries presiding. The meeting was opened with Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a Prayer. Members Present – Adam Dries, Tammy Wilkinson, Dale Schlenker, Charles Figard, Jeanette Heckman, Martha Bertolet Members Absent – Tina Yoder Also Present – Kim Y. Berger, Recording Secretary, Lynda Albright, Borough Manager, Solicitor Shollenberger Visitors – Nikki Murry (Hamburg Item), Tim Neufeld, Garnetta Heckman, Donna Smith, Jayson Saarez, John Sterner, Peggy Sterner, Norman Taylor, Officer William McEllroy, Richard Boyd, Roy Heffner, Norma Berger, Geary Vasquez, Cheryl Vasquez, Lorrie Wolfinger, Brenda Burkey, Clara Moyer, Barbara Hess, Stacey Slifer, Moises Arce, Tom Nieder, Tom Ausolt, Stephen Rausch, Michael Painter, Acting Chief of Police, Crystal Sunday, Karl Sunday, Madison Rose, Jevin Kleeman, Richelle Rose, Shirley Nieder, Debbie Cashman, Scott Kreider A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve the amended agenda. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None COURTESY TO AUDIENCE Moises Arce was present and stated that there was an incident whereby a dumpster was emptied onto the ground with the contents left to remain on the property and the zoning officer didn’t do anything about it. There were animal carcasses, garbage and other disgusting things. It stank and nothing was done about it. Mr. Arce stated that Mr. Leonforte said that the borough didn’t have the funds or manpower to go after the violators. Mr. Arce stated that he believes that there is selective enforcement going on. Mr. Arce also stated that he has pictures of approximately 28 violations of the junk car ordinance on the west side of 4th street. Mr. Arce stated that Mr. Leonforte is not doing his job. Mr. Arce stated that the borough has a lot of violations and he is only citing certain ones. Mr. Arce also stated that one violation that did receive a letter was sent a letter only because a councilman turned in the complaint. However, the councilman went on private property to get the information. Mr. Arce has the video to prove that this particular councilman went on the property. This is illegal. This is also selective enforcement. President Dries asked that Mr. Arce submit his evidence to the Acting Chief of Police as well as to himself for investigation. Mr. Arce asked the procedure for abandoned vehicles. Acting Chief Painter stated that once a complaint is received, a five-day warning card is issued, then a certified letter is sent by the Borough Office. The owner then has to remove the vehicle, have the vehicle inspected/registered or obtain a junk car permit. Richard Boyd wanted to point out that there are still criminals walking around the Borough of Hamburg that the police department is unwilling or unable to address. Acting Chief Painter stated that he checked with Shoemakersville Police Department and Upper Bern Township and other police departments and there is crime there too. Mr. Boyd stated that there is a change to the EMA plan and when he stopped in this afternoon it was unavailable to be seen. He is requesting that Council postpone action on this action until the documents can be viewed by the public. Mr. Boyd also stated that since there was no Finance Committee meeting he would address his question to the Council; two meetings ago a motion was made on the collection of the fees for trash from a resident. Has that been received? Manager Albright stated that to her knowledge it has not come in, however, the time limit was not up yet. Scott Kreider questioned the street lights. He was sure that they are not being fixed as quickly because of the shortage of personnel. President Dries stated that the borough has been working with Met-Ed about this issue. Mr. Kreider also questioned the balance of what has been spent out of the $2 million line of credit. Manager Albright stated that she did not bring that information along with her but would give him a call and give him the information. Leon Balthaser stated that he would like the Council to explain to all the people in the audience as to why Hop Poh and the dance studio was closed down. Mr. Gary Reeser from Systems Design gave the following information: In November 2003 he met with Mr. Balthaser and has been working with him till January 2004. Since January, phone calls and letters have not been returned and in the best interest and safety of everyone, it was decided to issue a stop work order. There is no state occupancy permit for the building, no building permits issued. Mr. Balthaser stated that he has been running the business there for 14 years and this wasn’t a problem until now. Mr. Leonforte stated that he has been working on this issue with 312-314 State Street for 3 years. This is not a sudden issue. We are dealing with the safety of the children. This should not be a surprise to anyone. We did not put these people out of their businesses. Because Leon did not do what he was supposed to do, this is why the people are out of their businesses. Mr. Leonforte stated that they had just had a meeting with Mr. Balthaser prior to Council meeting and he thought they had reached an agreement. Mr. Balthaser stated that since we are talking about safety, what about the movie house. While showing the Christmas movie, the electricity went off. People had to be led out with flashlights, people were sitting in the dark. They weren’t shut down. Mr. Balthaser also mentioned that there are no emergency lights in this room. Councilwoman Wilkinson questioned what the solution is to this issue. At this time the rest of the public discussion in reference to this issue was moved outside of the Council Chambers. Officer McEllroy stated in reference to Mr. Boyd’s comments in reference to the police department’s unwillingness to apprehend criminals, he believes that the officers do a fine job in their duties as police officers. The police department is doing the best they can. A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve the minutes of the February 23, 2004 meeting. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None A motion was made by Tammy Wilkinson and seconded by Martha Bertolet to approve the following reports: Borough Manager's Report, Public Works Supt. Report, Water/Sewer Supt. Report, Office Manager's Report, Police Report, Treasurer’s Report and Property Committee Report. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None BOROUGH MANAGERS REPORT The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of February, 2004 included the following: Held Staff meetings to discuss various issues. Had several meetings and/or discussions during the month with County Court Administration and the architect regarding the finalization of the District Justice Office, as well as the renovation of the storage area. D.J. offices opened Monday, March 1, 2004 for regular business. June Hilbert, Recreation Director and I interviewed a candidate for the park and pool. Recommendation to hire will be made at the meeting. Attended a meeting in Shillington with Benecon and other member boroughs to review 2003 medical insurance costs. While several boroughs and townships ended the year with a surplus, the plan overall realized a half-million dollar loss which means little or no refunds to any of these participating boroughs and townships. Members of the Finance Committee, Kim Berger, Office Manager and I met with the Borough/Authority auditors to discuss GASB 34 and possible alternatives we may use in our accounting process. Monday, Feb 16 was a day we won’t forget. Received a call from Kim at approximately 7 a.m. this date and was informed that we had water coming down the back stairwell of the municipal building. Upon entering the building a short time later, I discovered that not only did we havewater coming from the second floor, we had water coming in the Senior Center. While we know that two HVAC units failed, the exact cause has yet to be determined. We are looking at damages somewhere around $25,000 - $30,000 plus. I have been working with the clean-up crew and insurance adjuster to get things cleaned up and restored as quickly as possible. Met with John Leonforte, Code Enforcement/Building Inspector several times during the month to be updated on on-going projects he is working on, as well as the proposed zoning ordinance and the new soon-to-be adopted Statewide Building Code. Met with representatives from the Pennsylvania Economy League to provide information they need in order to do an independent enrollment study for the future needs of the school district. Met with Barta representatives, Councilman Dale Schlenker, Deena Kershner of Our Town Foundation, Kay Greenawalt of Business Assoc. to discuss the Barta buses traveling through town and over to Cabela’s and back. The biggest problem seems to be with the traffic signal sensor at 3rd and Pine on Pine, which will have to be relocated in order to accommodate the bus maneuvering around the corner. Since we are permitted by PennDOT for this sensor, we must first obtain approval to have this work done. Spent time with Michael Painter, Acting Chief, working on the information required by DCED for the police management study. Met with Attorney David Spang relative to a former ambulance employee in an effort to provide information regarding the application of death benefits through the U.S. Dept. of Justice. Handled complaints as needed. In addition to the two regular council meetings and Authority Meeting, attended two property committee meetings, Finance Committee, Safety Committee, Road Committee, W/S/Public Relations. If anyone has any questions regarding my report, please feel free to ask. Attached with my report are the activities of my staff for the month of February, 2004. Lynda G. Albright PUBLIC WORKS SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT The salt spreaders, plows etc. were cleaned and any repairs were made while we had a break in the winter weather. There were signs that were damaged from wind and these were straightened, repaired or replaced. The winter process of install remote meters continues. The crew continues to cold patch potholes until spring when we can start using hot patch for a more feasible repair. After the municipal center had water damage, the crew spent the day cleaning up the water and damage. The fire hydrant at 4th and Rt. 61 was repaired. The 4" water main at the intersection of 4th and Pine was repaired. The 12" water main at the intersection of Windsor and Peach was repaired. The crew is building the bench, which was donated by Everlast Plastic. This bench will be placed at the swimming pool. Met with a representative from Systems Design Engineering to discuss storm drains. Some time was spent cleaning the municipal center and touching up areas with paint. In the beginning of the month plowed snow and cindered streets and then removed snow from intersections, parking lots and inlets. At the end of the month when the weather broke, started to clean up cinders with the street sweeper. As long as there are no more snow events, we will continue this on a weekly basis until street sweeping begins. During the month I attended staff meetings and the Road Committee meeting as required. Respectfully submitted, Richard L. Pickel Water/Wastewater Superintendent’s Report February 2004 Water All water for the month came from the surface source. At the suggestion of PaDEP we have throttled back the flow through the filters to keep the Water Filtration Plant running 24 hours a day. This not only saves water by not going through the start up procedure, it prevents turbidity spikes caused by stopping and starting the filters. The down side is that changes in consumption create the need to change the flow rate, and associated chemical dosage, on occasion to keep the supply in sync with the demand. Tony, and I, along with the Engineer met with 2 radon remediation contractors at the plant to discuss the best method to eliminate the radon in the building. Tony and I also met with PaDEP on the same problem and we now have 2 different approaches. We are running a trial to determine the best way to go about solving the problem. Early in the month we had 2 sprinkler leaks at Exide. We also repaired 2 system leaks. This has cut consumption by about 10%, however we still feel that there is another leak and are working on locating that. The 3 main system water meters were calibrated and certified. Wastewater Although the weather slowed things down considerably, the I & I work is continuing. We have televised the rest of the Windsor system and have been inspecting manholes, making notes for repair. We have also been doing above ground inspections of vents and cleanouts and have been notifying residents of problems. We plan to start in home inspections, starting in the southern end of the town, in March. We had one by-pass incident due to heavy rain and snow melt. The by-pass lasted for 5 hours. PaDEP was notified and proper paperwork was filed. The morning of the 13th I found the latch on the sewer plant gate broken. There was evidence that someone was inside the gate. Pa. State Police were notified. There was no damage to Authority property. While the plant is meeting the permit parameters we are having significant difficulty. The dechlorination pump shorted out and is being repaired. We also believe a toxic substance is being introduced into the system. The biomass is being killed off every now and again. It seems we cultivate a reasonable number of "bugs" and something then kills them, in the matter of one day to the next. We have been able to identify neither the toxin nor the source. Testing for NPDES renewal is proceeding on schedule. We had two visits from PaDEP. The first was a check with "grab samples" the second was a complete inspection. I anticipate no problems.
Keith L. Brobst
OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT Throughout the month I have been working with SSI to finalize the transition of the servers and the data of the PC’s. The schedule is for the first week of March to have the data transferred and the servers up and running. I researched information for the food certification program for the Recreation Director. Contacts were made to various departments and individuals. Assisted the Recreation Director in schedules of playground and pool activities and preparing printed copies to mail with season ticket applications. The web page and municipal access channel were updated at various times of the month. The auditors were with us for 10 days. I spent time working with them, answering questions and researching information when needed. Assisted the police department throughout the month on various issues. The emergency operations plan is in the process of being updated. This will be completed in March and go to council for approval of the resolution and promulgation. I assisted the District Justice staff a lot as well as the workers in locating items and making the transition. I believe that everything moved rather smoothly. Various letters, reports, minutes and correspondence was completed and mailed. Attended two council meetings, one EMA meeting and staff meetings as necessary. Respectfully submitted, Kim Y. Berger
PROPERTY MEETING - FEBRUARY 24, 2004 MUNICIPAL BUILDING - 4 PM ATTENDING: Lynda Albright, Tammy Wilkinson, Jeanette Heckman, Chuck Figard & Dale Schlenker
OLD BUSINESS A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to table the approval of Resolution #2-2004, approving the updated Emergency Operations Plan and the Promulgation for the Hamburg Emergency Management Plan. (This gives the council and public a chance to review it). ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard approving construction of the District Justice Storage area to ML Construction at a cost of $7,949.00. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None NEW BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to approve a Resolution to apply for a Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ), which will include the former Wright’s building and the parking lot across from the former Hahn Motors building. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Martha Bertolet taking action whereby the Borough will continue to cover the water/sewer charges for the Ambulance building for the year 2004. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Tammy Wilkinson to approve use of the park at no charge to the Park Resource Branch Executive Committee on August 11, 2004 to hold their annual "Park Operations School". (Scott Kreider questioned where they were from. Manager Albright stated that they were from Chester County.) ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard to hire Luke Morrow as a pool employee for the 2004 summer season. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve payment of invoices totaling $193,805.68 ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None LIST OF BILLS
BCMHIPG 19,428.40 BARKO CLEANING 653.00 BEE NET 500.00 BERKS CTY. CHIEFS OF POLICE 315.00 BERKS COURT REPORTING 670.26 COUNTY OF BERKS 1,743.14 BERKS MONT NEWSPAPERS 25.15 BLUE MT. COMPUTER CONSULTING 914.00 BURKHARDT MECHANICAL 328.50 EJB PAVING 133.77 EDENBURG WELDING 127.30 ENGLE-HAMBRIGHT & DAVIES 99.00 FORT DEARBORN 204.88 GALLS 90.97 HAMBURG AUTO PARTS 29.22 HEALTHSTREAM 180.00 HENN’S GARAGE 1,121.27 HESS EMBROIDERY 313.25 HILL-DONNELLY/CITY PUBLISHING 145.78 MIKE KERSHNER 114.25 EM KUTZ 131.04 MET-ED 5,321.04 MOUNTAIN VIEW SUPPLY 19.87 MEIT 188.50 NESTER’S SANITATION 15.00 SWIF 6,631.00 PPL 2,112.35 PENN PRIDE 798.35 REED SMITH 7,470.09 SCHLENKER MOTORS 133.98 UNIFIRST 548.72 VERIZON 430.90 WINDSOR PRESS 44.50 TOTAL 50,982.48 BILLS PAID PREVIOUSLY 142,823.20 TOTAL FOR APPROVAL $193,805.68 SOLICITOR’S REPORT An executive session was called at 8:07 p.m. to discuss personnel issues. Meeting reconvened at 8:45 p.m. A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve a temporary staffing agreement. This agreement allows the acting chief of police to propose remedial measures allowing for extending police coverage during the absence of Officer Zelinsky who is on medical leave and then will be taking extended vacation time. This will allow the Acting Chief the flexibility of scheduling for more coverage and creates 10 hour shifts. The agreement makes it clear that it is not extending any rights for the police officers under the contract and is voluntary. The officers have indicated their willingness to help the borough out at this time and provide this staffing. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None INFORMATION ITEMS
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:47p.m. on motion of Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard.
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