MINUTES FROM THE APRIL 9, 2001 MEETING OF HAMBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL 

The seventh regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2001 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, Gary Reeser, Commercial Building Inspector

Visitors – Thomas J. Zelinsky, Jr. – Chief of Police,  Nikki Murry (Item), Brian Ray (Reading Eagle/Times), Rosetta Zelinsky, William Kramer and Doug Brown of the Jaycees.

A motion was made by Scott Kreider and seconded by Roy Heffner to approve the amended  agenda.

ROLL CALL:  AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner,  J. Heckman, C. Figard, L. Balthaser, S. Kreider, D. Edwards
                     NAYES – None

 COURTESY TO AUDIENCE
 None

A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard  to approve the minutes of the March 28, 2001 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 Diana Edwards and seconded by Roy Heffner to approve the following reports:  Borough Manager's Report, Public Works Supt. Report, Water/Sewer Supt. Report, Office Manager's Report, Treasurer's Report and Police/ Mayor Report.

ROLL CALL:  AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner,  J. Heckman, C. Figard, L. Balthaser, S. Kreider, D. Edwards                      NAYES – None 

BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
MARCH, 2001

 The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of March, 2001 included the following:

 Called snow emergency on March 4 based on impending snow storm.  Again, old man winter passed us by and we received no significant  snow.  The snow emergency lasted for two days.

 Met several times during the month with both John Leonforte and Gary Reeser to discuss on-going problems and concerns regarding the High School project, Windsor Industries, Reppert’s Garage, Penn Steel, etc.

 Also, Gary Reeser and I met with Doug Mehrkam of Windsor Industries regarding code violations.  Gary and I allowed the pallet business to continue operations during completion of demolition, with temporary restrictions and conditions attached.  I also spent time investigating reasons why the sewer line to Windsor Industries was plugged, when in essence, Mr. Mehrkam purchased the property free and clear of municipal liens.  It was determined that Mr. Mehrkam was required to pay the EDU fee, which he has not done.  As soon as that is paid, the plug will be removed. 

 On March 7, had a meeting with the police actuary to review the actuarial report for 1/1/2000, along with President Boyd, Councilman Scott Kreider, Sgt. Painter and Officer Richard Leymeister.

 Spent time during the month working on and revising borough policies, job descriptions, rules, regulations and benefits.  As progress is made, copies will be provided to the Personnel Committee for their review and recommendations for adoption by Council.

 On March 12, attended the Berks County Purchasing Coop Group.  Discussed ongoing purchases for salt for next winter season, gas and oil and office supplies.

 On March 13, Kim Berger, Keith Brobst and I attended a Personnel Management Seminar.  The seminar was very informative and I will be applying what I have learned in updating the job descriptions.

 Spent time working on land ownership of the watershed property.  It has been determined that most of the land in Windsor Township surrounding the dam and reservoir are, in fact, owned exclusively by the Hamburg Municipal Authority.  The Borough owns a couple of very small tracts in that area, but most of what the borough owns is well above the dam area and located in Albany and Greenwich Townships.

 On March 19, Kim and I attended Ray Yerger’s funeral service.  As you all know, Mr. Yerger was both a former member of Hamburg Borough Council and the Hamburg Planning Commission.

 Met with Tonya Gerner, Recreation Director, to discuss new hires at the Park/Pool as well as those yet to be interviewed.  Reviewed several items regarding Hamburg Community Day.  Tonya is confident that Community Day will be a successful event this year.

 Held interviews for pool personnel;  we have a few applicants for this position yet to be interviewed.  All positions for the food stand and park have been filled.

 Held two staff meetings during the month with department supervisors to discuss various issues.

 Met with Sal Fiore regarding his property on Franklin Street (former Regal) and discussed his concerns, as well as his need for L&I plans, etc.  Plans for the area will be provided in the near future.

 Met with pension auditors to review several issues.  They will be coming back and expect to be here for approximately 2-3 weeks to complete both pension plans.

 Kim, Keith and I met with Pat Mulqueen, sewer plant employee currently out on workmans compensation regarding his current medical condition.  Mr. Mulqueen has indicated to us that he will not be able to return to full time gainful employment with the Borough and I have prepared a letter to the insurance company advising them of our meeting.  I have also started advertising for a replacement.   

John Leonforte, Gary Reeser and I met with representatives from Skully and Loy, the engineering firm representing Getty Mart, to review and discuss their plans for a groundwater extraction system at that location and which is required by DEP.  Getty Mart will be required to file for a variance for placement of a temporary building. 

Took care of various complaints during the month. 

In addition to the two regular Council meetings, attended Authority meeting, Recreation, Planning Commission, Personnel, Safety, Road, Finance, and two Property committee meetings.  Also attended two Police Negotiating meetings.

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

 Attached with my report are the activities of my staff for the month of March, 2001.

                                                             LYNDA G. ALBRIGHT
                                                            BOROUGH MANAGER

PUBLIC WORKS SUPT. REPORT

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

 AUTHORITY PROJECTS

 The crew performed numerous meter checks and removed the meters from PA Steel.

 A  4” water main was repaired at the sewer plant.

 Installed some piping at the reservoir for the wells.

 The crew repaired a 2” blow off In Edenburg.

 GENERAL WORK

The crew cut brush and trimmed tress along the canal and along the greenway.

The crew replaced and repaired numerous signs around the borough.

In a continuing effort to maintain the streets of the borough, a lot of time was spent cold patching. 

PARK/POOL 

The crew installed some drain pipes on the baseball field to help remove the water that “stands” on the field.

 The crew cleaned some streets with the sweeper.

                                                                         Richard L. Pickel
                                                                        Public Works Superintendent

Water and Wastewater Superintendent’s Report  March 2001 

Wastewater

            We have started to haul liquid sludge off site.  Poor settling and difficulty dewatering on the belt filter press have combined to give us a capacity problem in the aerobic digester.  We have hauled in excess of 100,000 gallons in March.  Unfortunately the problem is getting worse and based on recent history may continue for some time.

            A preconstuction meeting was held on the sludge pump project.  Completion is expected in June.

            Pa DEP conducted a sampling and interview  inspection at the wastewater treatment plant.  I expect no problems.

 Water

            The leak has been found and repaired.  We located a water leak in the driveway at the wastewater treatment plant.  The 4” service line was cracked about 2/3 of the circumference.  Usage has dropped to normal levels for this time of year.  The leak was about 150,000 gallons /day. 

            The blow off for wells 2,3 & 4 has been installed. Dave and Tony did an excellent job. 

The area above the inlet weir of the impounding dam has been cleaned.  This is normally a late summer, low flow job, however the storm the week before Christmas washed an extreme amount of dirt into that area and we had to clean it now.

PaDEP will conduct a full inspection at the water treatment plant April 11.  This is the first time they have done any sort of inspection since the plant went on line and I would guess it will be quite thorough.

                                                      Keith L. Brobst
                                                     Water and Wastewater Superintendent

 OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT FOR MARCH 2001 

Well the beginning of March turned out to be a very very busy month for the office.  The auditors finished their reports and left us with a lot of things to clean up.  This clean up has been completed. 

The street sweeping program pamphlet has been updated and the Borough Crew has distributed to the residents in the affected areas.  This has been posted on the web page and the municipal access channel.

 Prepared notices for the paper for the flushing hydrants, help wanted for the sewer plant, as well as others.

 Continued training Lynda on the payroll process.

 Keith, Lynda and I attended a seminar in Allentown regarding Personnel Management.  It was a very informative meeting and we gathered a lot of helpful information as well as handouts.

 Gathered information for an audit which was conducted by Jim Henninger from St. Paul.  This audit was for workman’s compensation.

 I would like to say that things are running smoothly in the office.  We have our bumps in the road every now and then, however, it is going real well.  We are still working on the utility billing program and there are some wrinkles to be ironed out, however, it is coming along.

In addition to my other duties, I continue to complete the accounting work.  I have received the auditors adjustments and I am working with them to complete the processing. 

Quarterly reports, PURTA information and grease trap letters have been prepared and will be mailed out by the end of March. 

 Tenant listings will be processed for mailing on March 30, 2001.  The season ticket applications have been prepared and will be mailed in early April.

 I attended two staff meetings, one Rec Board meeting (no quorum), two regular Borough Council meetings 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