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MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 14, 2005 MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL The third regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2005 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, Charles Figard, Jeanette Heckman, Dale Schlenker Members Absent – Tammy Wilkinson, Martha Bertolet, Tina Yoder Also Present – Lynda G. Albright, Borough Manager, Kim Y. Berger, Recording Secretary, Solicitor Speicher Visitors- Norma Berger, Heather Breininger, Nikki Murry (Hamburg Item), Jean Bowers, Chief Michael Painter, Officer Robert Mengle, Office Bill McEllroy, Holley McEllroy A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the amended agenda adding the Personnel Committee report under approval of reports. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None COURTESY TO AUDIENCE Chief Painter to presented an award to Officer Robert Mengle for outstanding police work and to Officer William McEllroy for outstanding police work. A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Jeanette Heckman to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2005 meeting. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker 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, Building/Zoning/Codes Report, Treasurer’s Report, Police Report, Property Committee Report and Personnel Committee Report ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None BOROUGH MANAGERS REPORT The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of JANUARY, 2005 included the following: Held Staff meetings to discuss various issues. Addressed complaints as needed. Met various times during the month with John Leonforte, Code Enforcement Officer, for updates on projects he is working on. Had one major snow event in which a snow emergency had to be called. Things went smoothly and roads were cleared and passable within a reasonable time. Opened pool bids for the wading pool. Only two bids were received, which were higher than anticipated. Recommendation is being made to reject and rebid later on this year. Keith Brobst, Water/Sewer Supt. and I attended a pre-construction meeting in the Penn-DOT office of Allentown regarding the I-78 project. Also met with Penn-DOT officials and other borough officials in the Municipal Building for further updates on this project, which is scheduled to start within the next month or so. Project will continue until December of 2007. Kim Berger, Office Manager, advised me that we had another frozen coil and leak in the senior center, as had been discovered by the President of Council. Kim has been working with the insurance company to have the necessary repairs made. I am happy to report that there was very little damage to the center this time. In an effort to avoid this happening again, I authorized the installation of a freeze stat control, damper and motor and a new hot water control valve. This apparently was to have been installed during the original installation, but was never done. I am currently working with the solicitor to seek reimbursement for damages done as a result of problems we have had with our HVAC system. June Hilbert, Rec. Director and I conducted a few more interviews for park and pool personnel for the summer season. A recommendation for hiring will be made to Personnel Committee. A grant in the amount of $300,000 has been applied for through the DCNR towards the renovation of the main swimming pool. We should hear something in March or April if we were successful. In addition to the two regular council meetings, Planning Commission and Hamburg Municipal Authority attended Property committee, two Safety Committee meetings, Finance, Personnel and Road. 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 January, 2005. PUBLIC WORKS SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Throughout the month assisted the water department in installing remote meters. Even though spring is not here yet, the crew started servicing the John Deere mowers for spring weather. Repaired doors in the municipal building again. The doors seem to be wearing very fast and we have to keep making adjustments with some of the office doors. Cold patching continues around the borough. We are doing the best we can however, the patching that is being done is not lasting. We had the first significant blast of "old man winter" and the crew was plowing and salting the roadways. Along with the plowing, we hauled the snow away from the parking lots and intersections around the borough. After the storm, the crew spent lots of time cleaning up the trucks and greasing the salt spreaders. Sidewalks were cleared. In the beginning of January, the Christmas trees that were dropped off at the designated site were shredded. The crew painted the curb on the State Street Bridge to prohibit parking in the morning for the crossing guard at the Weis Markets. At the request of PA DOT, the crew relocated the 35 mph speed limit signs on Windsor Street. The crew worked at the reservoir digging a hole for the light pole for Well #3. We repaired the valve box on S. 6th Street for the dead end water line. The crew took care of servicing the police vehicles. Attended staff meetings and Road Committee as requested.
Water/Wastewater Superintendent’s Report January 2005 Water The lion’s share of the water for the month was from the surface source. Well 5 did run for a short time to test repairs and calibrations on the controller. We are still experiencing problems with both filters in going back to service after backwash. Tony is trying different flow rates with varying degrees of success. Wastewater The TV and grout work has started. Sewer Specialties, the low bidder, has started in the South Ward. So far little has been found. We expect them to do manhole repair shortly and that should go a long way to reducing wet weather flows. We still have some outstanding issues with residents making repairs and corrections to their property. In some instances it has been turned over to the solicitor. The plant is not working all that well. There is significant digestion taking place in the aeration basin, (this is a good thing), which is driving the ph down dramatically. There seems to be a shortage of alkalinity and we are adding bi-carb as needed, however we did have a ph violation during the month. The month also brought heavy rain and both Ridge Lawn and Edenburg pumping stations overflowed. The appropriate authorities were notified and paperwork filed. We also had a short by-pass at the Pine Street Pumping Station. A clogged line caused a raw sludge pump to fail. After draining the line we installed a valve to drain the line without having to take it apart. This should save considerable time and effort in the future. The heat exchanger was down again. It has been repaired temporarily and a new
burner has been purchased. We are looking for a few warm days for installation. OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT Throughout the month I have been working with two workman’s compensation claimants. One, a fire police officer, is back to work full time with no restrictions. Since the beginning of the year is here, the web page was updated extensively with new dates etc. The municipal access channel continues to be updated. After consultation with the solicitor for the Authority regarding non-compliance with Inflow and Infiltration issues, letters were mailed from his office and calls were received. In the beginning of the month this took up a lot of time. All year end reports were processed for the utility billing, accounting and payroll. Everything was readied for the arrival of the Auditors on January 31, 2005. All the start of year procedures were implemented for the accounting and payroll processes. The big project of compiling information for the new EMST tax were prepared and were either sent or handed out. Updated the ordinance book and sent the new ordinances to the publishing company for codification. A lot of time was spent with the supervisors and assisting them with numerous projects, issues. There was a problem in the senior center on January 27, 2005 whereby a coil broke and we had water damage. Assisted with the clean up and met with the representatives from the restoration company, insurance adjusters etc. Various letters regarding junk cars, debris, memos to employees and boards were completed. There was a leak on the second floor at the elevator, which brought down tiles and water. This was cleaned up and reported to the HVAC Company. I conducted a streetlight survey on 3 streetlights, which have been plaguing us since October. They are located on 4th Street between State and Pine Streets. I contacted the supervisors of Met-Ed with my findings and as of this writing have changed both heads of the lamps and photo cells. I am hoping that this is the end to our problems with these lights. Worked with the Water/Wastewater superintendent in obtaining specs for a new truck as well as computer specs. I attended EMA training at the fire-training center in Reading. Attended two council meetings and staff meetings as necessary. Respectfully submitted, Kim Y. Berger Building, Zoning and Codes Report January 2005 Five Building permits and four zoning permits were issued in January. Major projects ongoing or proposed are as follows: I had discussions with Larry Ernst regarding zoning and building requirements for expansion of his cabinet shop facility. Both zoning and building permits were issued to Cedar Shopping Centers for the renovation of the former Ames site into a Redners store. I met with the Labor and Industry inspector and with Chris Madera at American hotel regarding the second phase of permitting and construction. The restaurant area on 4th St is expected to be open by June. I had discussions with Dave Bahsine, developer of Hamburg Commons with respect to status of PennDot approval and signage. Final inspections were made for the 12 new apartment units at Pine Terrace Apartments. Inspections were completed for residential and light commercial, previously permitted, work in the borough. Property Maintenance complaints of rubbish, noise, lack of heat, and junk cars continue to be addressed Incidents of sump water pumped onto the streets and subsequently freezing has been addressed at four locations and is no longer creating a public safety issue. I have helped the public works department with respect to storm water and curbing and paving projects. The N 6th St curbing and roadbed base are in place. Bids for paving will go out soon. I attended meetings with Our Town Foundation, regarding facade improvements, Streetscape improvements and zoning issues regarding signage. John Leonforte
HAMBURG BOROUGH POLICE DEPARTMENT JANUARY 2005 ACTIVITY REPORT
PROPERTY MEETING ATTENDING: Lynda Albright, Tammy Wilkinson, Chuck Figard & Dale Schlenker Ford VISITOR: June Hilbert – Director of Recreation
The canal property was appraised and will be acted on shortly.
Chairman of Property Personnel Committee 4:00 PM Persons Attending: T. Wilkinson, C. Figard, J. Heckman, and L. Albright, Borough Manager. Discussed: -recommended hiring the park/pool personnel for the summer. -recommended hiring Ilenia Romerez as spanish interpreter when needed. -clarified the benefits for supervisors for call outs ( 2 hr. minimum.) -discussed the SRO program (contract states during school year SRO officer’s -schedule is at the discretion of the school district) with at least a 40 hr. minimum is followed. -discussed Officer Leymeister’s request for Heart and Lung benefits. Meeting adjourned 5:00 PM. Respectfully submitted. Jeanette E. Heckman Personnel Committee Feb. 4, 2005 4:00 PM Persons Attending: T. Wilkinson, C. Figard, J. Heckman, Tina Yoder and L. Albright, Borough Manager. Business discussed: interviewed and recommend an appointment of new person to library board, recommend hiring the extra part-time employees for the swimming pool and discussed a private police personnel matter. Respectfully submitted. Jeanette E. Heckman OLD BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to reject all bids received for the wading pool. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None NEW BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Road Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to purchase a 47-inch quick-hitch snow blower at the state contract price of $2,344.32 for the Public Works Department. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, 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 Charles Figard to approve having a wetland delineation done on the old Dolly Haupt property owned by the borough at a cost of $1,050.00. (Possible site for a borough garage). ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker to hire the following personnel for the 2005 park/pool season: Kyle Fritz, Amber Travaglini, Charles Gilmore, Joshua Von Haack, Brandon Blank and Zack Tracey. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard to appoint Susan Hanlon as a member of the Hamburg Library Board, term ending 12/31/05. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to keep the compensation for the tax collector at the same level as has previously been done. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Sewer Engineer, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard approving the resolution and transmittal letter for the sewage facilities planning module for the Hamburg Commons Development on South 4th street and Woodland road and authorizing the Borough Manager to execute this resolution and transmittal letter. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, 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 authorizing reimbursement to the general account out of the line of credit in the amount of $42,423.50. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard amended rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission by amending section 5, b, b, 4, dealing with appointments. (The Borough Council may at its sole discretion, appoint any applicant who has passed the required examinations for appointment although the applicant’s name does not appear on the certified list of three when the applicant qualifies for veteran’s preference.) (Discussion: Chief Painter discussed the issue to clarify a few things.) ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, 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 the contract with the Department of Community and Economic Development for the $10,000 grant (for use in renovating the wading pool) and authorizing the appropriate officials to execute same. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, 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 $192,068.40 ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None List of Bills For Approval
AT&T 26.00 AT&T 381.10 A.R. Adam & Sons 660.00 American Rock Salt Co. 888.08 American Rock Salt Co. 1,771.13 Bks Cty chiefs of Police Assoc. 360.00 County of Berks 1,867.26 Berks Products Corp. 81.25 Berks-Mont Newspapers 347.00 Blue Mountain Computer Service 125.00 Burkhart Mechanical 847.00 E-Mac Dairy Brush Co. 51.50 Edenburg Welding Co. 144.00 Fort Dearborn Life Insurance 230.68 Hamburg Auto Parts 47.94 Hartman Janitorial 850.00 Henn’s Garage 701.97 Hess Embroidery & Uniform 102.00 Mike Kerschner 382.30 Kuzan’s True Value 222.38 Leisawitz, Heller, Abramowitch 2,786.19 Met-Ed 5,318.91 Miller Municipal division 255.60 Municipal Employers Ins Trust 188.50 Nextel Communications 798.74 PPL Gas Utilities 2,638.97 Penn Pride, Inc 1,402.02 Pennsylvania Leaque of Cities 65.00 Pepperball Technologies Inc. 381.99 Reading Eagle. Co. 1,002.52 Reed Smith LLP 410.95 Randall Rentschler Inc. 6.54 Reppert’s Auto Service 1,652.62 Sa-So 93.18 Sam’s Club 111.00 Software Systems Inc. 23.19 Software Systems Inc. 708.56 Stationer’s 45.61 Synergetics Architects 200.00 Tee’s Plus 1,416.11 Thren’s Auto Parts 261.65 ThyssenKrupp elevator 165.18 Triangle Communications 170.50 UniFirst 259.45 Verizon 370.71 Wade Associates Inc. 1,800.00 Windsor Press 65.00 YIS/Cowden Group Inc. 498.00 TOTAL 33,183.28 Landis R. Deck & Son 33,525.00 Invoices to be paid 66,708.28 INVOICES PAID PREVIOUSLY 125,386.12 TOTAL FOR APPROVAL 192,094.40 BILLS PAID DURING THE MONTH Borough of Hamburg – Gross Payroll 81,743.20 Borough of Hamburg – Emp. Share S.S. 4,415.31 State Workers’ Insurance Fund 15,051.00 EJB Paving & Materials 22,559.90 Animal Rescue Leaque 350.00 Berks County Treasurer 1,096.00 Albright College 75.00 PA Dept of Community & Economic Dev. 18.00 American Red Cross 25.00 Petty Cash 52.71 SOLICITOR’S REPORT Solicitor Speicher stated that a letter had been sent to Spotts Bros. the original installer of the HVAC. They have not responded. A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to send a certified letter to Spotts Bros. and if they do not respond to have Burkhardt Mechanical do the repairs. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to prepare an agreement of sale of $5,000 for the property at Front and State Streets, which is currently owned by Ken Chubb, Dake Inc. ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker NAYES – None INFORMATION ITEMS February 15, 2005 – 3:30 p.m. – Safety Committee February 21, 2005 – 7:00 p.m. – Planning Commission February 22, 2005 – 4:00 p.m. – Property Committee February 28, 2005 – 7:00 p.m. – Water/Sewer & Public Relations Committee
Councilman Schlenker stated that a letter needed to be sent to the Christmas Committee regarding the clean up of the municipal lot at 4th and Pine Streets. The rope, Santa’s workshop and Christmas tree things must be removed as soon as possible. Manager Albright will take care of this. Councilman Schlenker mentioned some information regarding the Elm Street program. Councilman Schlenker stated that there should be something done for Dick Etchberger our local hero. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. on the motion of Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker. Attest: Kim Y. Berger
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