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MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 12, 2004 MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL The seventh 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, Tina Yoder Members Absent –Martha Bertolet Also Present – Kim Y. Berger, Recording Secretary, Lynda Albright, Borough Manager, Solicitor Shollenberger, Mayor Del Rosario (7:35 p.m.) Visitors – Nikki Murry (Item), Tim Neufeld, Jay Kurtz (Eagle), Rick Boyd, Lori Guldin, Garnetta Heckman, Norman Taylor A motion was made by Tina Yoder and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the amended agenda by adding a motion under New Business giving the Hamburg Public Library permission to apply for a Keystone Preservation Grant to make repairs to the inside of the Library. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None COURTESY TO AUDIENCE NONE A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Tina Yoder to approve the minutes of the March 22, 2004 meeting. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Jeanette Heckman 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 Report and Property Committee Report. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None BOROUGH MANAGERS REPORT FEBRUARY, 2004 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 have water 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 MARCH 2004 On a few occasions the crew had to plow and cinder the streets due to various snow and ice incidents. We are going to be wrapping up the remote meter installation program in the next month, however, we continued to work on this project during the month. We spent a lot of time cleaning the equipment after the storms of February. The crew installed the pistol boxes in the entry way of both entrances of the municipal center. The crew has spent a lot of time cold patching the pot holes around the borough. The crew built benches that were donated from Everlast Plastic. These will be placed at the pool. The street sweeping schedules were delivered to the affected streets. We have started to clean up the streets with the sweeper as time and the weather permits. We have begun cleaning out the storm drains with the sweeper. Installed the handicap sign at 38 North 3rd Street. I met with Barry Weaver of Blue Mountain Surveyors regarding the upcoming street projects. Assisted Telco with the installation of the new pole for the traffic light at 4th and Pine. Repaired the curb box at 43 South 3rd Street. Cut brush and repair the groundhog holes at the flood control dams. The crew built the gate for 2nd and Island at the park. Installed the new 4" valve at the old Wright’s Knitting Mill in Peach Alley. Work has started on getting things ready for the ball teams and for the baseball fields. During the month I attended staff meetings and the Road Committee meeting as required.
Water/Wastewater Superintendent’s Report March 2004 Water All water for the month was from the surface source. There was another leak at the Exide property. This was under the floor and water has been shut off to that area till it can be repaired. We also located a leak on South 3rd St and that has been repaired and flows are now where we would expect for this time of year. The radon testing has been completed at the Water Plant and parts are here to install a venting system. Eastern Environmental will be doing the installation shortly. Scheduled meter changes have been suspended for this season. PaDEP has again informed me of late reporting violations for 2003. We are making procedural changes to prevent a recurrence of these sort of problems. Wastewater We continue to struggle with building a biomass. We start to build a healthy mass and for unknown reasons it then dies. We have been unable to relate this to any industrial or other discharge to this point. This lack of bacteria does not allow much of a solids reduction and we continue to haul sludge as liquid. We also continue to have trouble maintaining a chlorine residual. Demand is excessive, at times beyond what we can supply. This resulted in a fecal coliform violation this month. The dechlorination pump is finally back and in service. System and basement inspections continue. Approximately 60 % of resident in drainage zone 4 have responded to our letter and have scheduled an appointment. We have found significant inflow and infiltration through the in home inspections. As repairs are being made we are seeing a slight drop off in flows. I have contracted with M.J. Reider Assoc. to assist us in preparing for the coming laboratory accreditation required by the State. We had an initial interview and review of procedures. While we have a good start we still have work to do. This rules are expected to take effect in 2006. Respectfully Submitted Keith L. Brobst Water/Wastewater Superintendent OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT MARCH 2004 The server and computer upgrades have been completed. There were no problems on the server side and only a few minor glitches we are working on with the computer change over. Everything is working pretty well. Throughout the month I have been working with the engineer on various reports that he needs. The season ticket applications have been mailed to those individuals who have previously held season tickets in the 2003 summer season. Included in the packet was the park and pool activity schedule. I have updated the program to add the new season ticket holders to our computer system for an easy printout. Throughout the month I have worked a great deal on civil service items. Oral interviews were held on March 30 and March 31 for eight of the ten applicants. The next step is the physical agility testing which will be performed in May. Letters had been sent out to residents in a portion of the borough for inspections for inflow and infiltration. A lot of time was dedicated to preparation of the letters, mailings and then to scheduling appointments for over 430 homes. Second notices will be sent out the first full week of April for those who have not responded to the first notice. Attended a training course for the web page. The web page and municipal access channel continue to be updated. Along with Lynda, met with June and representatives of the ball teams to iron out some administrative details as far as scheduling, billing etc. Attended two council meetings, one Civil Service Commission meeting, one pension meeting and staff meetings as necessary. Respectfully submitted, Kim Y. Berger
PROPERTY MEETING – MARCH 23, 2004 MUNICIPAL BUILDING – 4PM ATTENDING: Lynda Albright, Tammy Wilkinson, Jeanette Heckman, Chuck Figard & Dale Schlenker Visitor - Michael Stasulli
Chairman of Property Dale R. Schlenker
HAMBURG BOROUGH POLICE DEPARTMENT March 2004 ACTIVITY REPORT
None due to illness
OLD BUSINESS NONE NEW BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Tina Yoder approving the request of the Hamburg Jaycees to hold their annual King Frost Parade on Saturday, October 30, 2004 with rain date of Saturday, November 5, 2004, along with the usual requests for equipment, as in the past. (Discussion: Councilwoman Wilkinson questioned if there was going to be some type of regulations on how fast the motorcycles/four-wheelers are going to be allowed to travel in the parade. It was way to dangerous last year. Mayor Del Rosario stated that last year those individuals were cited. The police will be handling it. Discussion was also held about the chairs being placed out too early. This will be discussed in committee.) ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve the Hamburg Public Library applying for a Keystone Preservation Grant to make repairs to the inside of the Library in the amount of $30,000 with matching funds of $30,000 that the Library has already raised. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve payment of invoices totaling $248,207.08 ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None List of Bills For Approval
AT & T 244.04 Albright College 470.00 American Rock Salt 803.35 B.C.M.H.I.P.G. 19,428.40 Boc Gases 22.03 Barko Cleaning Service, Inc. 842.00 County of Berks 1,743.14 Berks Products Corp. 145.32 Berks Mont Newspapers, Inc. 21.75 Blue Mountain Computer Service 1390.00 Christman, Sandra A 69.40 E-Mac Dairy Brush Co. 74.40 Fort Dearborn Life Insurance 229.49 GP Fastener, LLC 25.50 Hartz Concrete 8.65 Christopher Hartz 412.00 Hepner’s Glass Shop 156.00 Kantner’s Glass Shop 12.00 Mike Kershner 63.00 Koch Materials Co. 840.00 E.M. Kutz Inc. 201.90 Kuzan’s True Value 66.30 Laser Labs. 166.00 Lowe’s Business Account 79.70 Martin Stone Quarries 51.59 Met-Ed 5,324.48 Miller Municipal Division 345.70 Mountain View Supply 150.21 Municipal Employers Ins. Trust 188.50 PPL Gas Utilities 1,828.55 Penn Pride, Inc 1,141.24 Quill 353.21 Reading Eagle 39.15 Reo Mobile Systems 225.70 Software Systems 6,266.03 Roger Stetzler 8.75 Telco Inc. 8,595.00 ThyssenKrupp Elevator 160.37 Triangle Communications 359.50 Unifirst 256.93 Verizon 414.86 Western Auto 90.47 Windsor Press 1,101.95 Zee Medical Service Co. 28.85 M.L. Construction 9,209.00 A.H. Moyer Inc. 2,658.75 Edward A. Reider Inc. 13,661.40 The Warko Group 243.75 West End Electric Inc. 1,375.64 TOTAL $88,224.95 INVOICES PAID PREVIOUSLY 159,982.13 TOTAL FOR APPROVAL 248,207.08 BILLS PAID DURING THE MONTH BOROUGH OF HAMBURG – GROSS PAYROLL 120,473.41 BOROUGH OF HAMBURG – EMP. SHARE SS 6,513.00 HOLIDAY HAIR – REFUND OF TRASH PAYMENT 186.20 HAMBURG MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY – CORRECT DEP. 34.27 SAM’S CLUB 210.27 AT & T 273.70 M & T BANK – LOAN PAYMENT 21,230.04 YODER’S HEATING 480.25 BERKS CO. TREASURER 691.00 STEVE LEIBENSPERGER – OPT REFUND 9.60 PUROFIRST – WATER DAMAGE 9,826.86 DEPT. OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY – PLUMBING INSP. 50.00 PETTY CASH 3.53 SOLICITOR’S REPORT A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Tina Yoder to allow the solicitor to prepare bid specs for the land swap of mountain land with David Stewart. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker, T. Yoder NAYES – None INFORMATION ITEMS APRIL 13, 2004 – 6:30 p.m. – HAMBURG LIBRARY – IN LIBRARY BUILDING APRIL 19, 2004 – 7 P.M. – PLANNING COMMISSION APRIL 20, 2004 – 3:30 P.M. – SAFETY COMMITTEE APRIL 21, 2004 – 7 P.M. – AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 26, 2004 – 7:30 P.M. – BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m. on motion of Tina Yoder and seconded by Jeanette Heckman.
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