The third 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, Mayor Roy Del Rosario, Solicitor Speicher

Visitors – Nikki Murry (Hamburg Item), Kimm Montone (Pottsville Republican), Andrew McClue (Reading Eagle), Richard Boyd, Kerry Delong, Pat Delong, Garnetta Heckman, Norma Berger, Leon Balthaser, Brad Breininger, Norman Taylor, Lori Guldin, Jeff Guldin, Bill McEllroy, Holley McEllroy, Moises Arce

A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Martha Bertolet to approve the amended agenda with the striking of letter "H" under New Business.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

Richard Boyd was present to state that there are still criminals walking the streets that the police are either unwilling or unable to apprehend.

Mr. Boyd stated that Council has access to all the transcripts, he handed a copy of an excerpt to the solicitor and to the press. It shows what is going on with the Mayor and friends of the Mayor. Mr. Boyd stated that the paper was testimony from a Hamburg Police Officer under oath. Mr. Boyd went on to read a part of the paperwork. It involved a traffic stop which was made due to a complaint that was made by Moises Arce over the Nextel to this officer. Mr. Boyd stated that either everyone in the borough have the Nextel numbers and call them on demand or that the access from the general public be terminated tonight. Mr. Boyd went on to say that the previous Chief of Police took out a non-qualified towing company on two occasions and the Mayor directed it be put back into the Nextel. Mr. Boyd stated this was done because he is friends with the Mayor. Mr. Boyd asked that Council straighten this mess out.

Brad Breininger questioned if Mr. Boyd can come up to the table like that. President Dries stated that Mr. Boyd did not become irate and Council will leave it alone for now.

Mr. Arce stated that before Mr. Boyd left office there was a policy put in effect that unless it was on the agenda it would not be addressed. Is this going to be adhered too? President Dries stated that since we have allowed other people to speak in the past it was okay.

A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the minutes of the January 26, 2004 meeting.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman 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, Road Committee and Property Committee Report.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of January, 2004 included the following:

January has been a busy month with the induction of four new council members. Have spent considerable with different new members discussing current issues, answering questions, and providing information as needed.

Met with Richard Hart, Borough Insurance Agent, to go over the Borough and Authority insurance policies for 2004. Insurance costs are increasing for both the Borough and Authority anywhere from 10 to 20%.

Met with a resident regarding the issuance of a handicapped parking space for use at her property.

Met with a resident business owner who has expressed interest in further development in the community and the need for EDU’s. We discussed what was currently available and the availability for additional EDU’s after April, 2004 when DEP does a review of the Authority’s progress.

John Leonforte, Building Inspector, Keith Brobst, W/S Supt. And I met with a developer who is interested in developing the open area at South 4^th and Woodland Road. There is plan for an Arby’s, a bank and a Turkey Hill. We discussed various issues regarding this particular area, most importantly the availability of EDU’s, which they have purchased and hopefully, this development will be moving forward in the next several months.

Met with Doug Kramer of Synergetics, Jim Stroehecker and Faith Phillips from the County regarding the District Justice office. Discussed several items regarding finalizing of project, projected move-in dates, storage, etc.

It is anticipated that the move will take place by the end of February, barring no unforeseen problems.

Met with one of the non-uniformed employees to discuss his upcoming retirement, along with pension benefits and questions regarding medical insurance.

Attended a meeting sponsored by Benecon (medical insurance representative) to hear a presentation regarding self-insurance on workers compensation. At the present time, it appears that we do not qualify due to our high experience modification; however, I will be submitting an application for future review. This could mean a substantial savings to the Borough should we be able to move in this direction. I will keep council informed as more information becomes available.

Attended a Grant Writing Seminar at Albright College, Center for Community Leadership, Rockland Center, along with Kim Berger, Office Manager, Tammy Wilkinson, Council Vice President, Michael C. Painter, Acting Chief of Police and Patrolman Bill McEllroy.

Had a meeting with June Hilbert, Recreation Director, as well as members of council to discuss baby pool restoration. It was decided to move forward on repairing the baby pool this year and a recommendation will be made for full council approval.

Due to one of our more recent storm events, a snow emergency had to be called. The crew did an outstanding job in getting the roads plowed and cindered.

In addition to the two regular council meetings, Planning Commission, Recreation Board attended two Personnel meetings, Safety, Road and Property.

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, 2004.

Lynda G. Albright

Borough Manager

Water

Most water for the month came from the surface water source. Well 5 ran for several days to accommodate some sampling. From this point well 5 will be run several days every month for that reason.

PaDEP has finished testing for radon at the water plant. Plant personnel will be meeting with the engineer and contractors within the next few days to determine the best course of action for remediation.

The extreme cold caused sprinklers to burst in several unoccupied buildings. In all cases water has been turned off and the owners notified. I am in touch with the building official on the status of those buildings.

We have had 2 instances of reporting violations. One case was because of an equipment failure where there was no data available. The other instance the report was late. We are putting in a back up system to prevent another loss of data.

Wastewater

The belt filter press has been down for most of the month. We have hauled a significant volume of sludge during this time. While the press is back in service I expect we will have to continue to haul. The cold has made handling of the aerobic sludge, difficult, at best.

Flows at the plant have come down to normal levels for this time of year. We are, however, still feeling the effects of the heavy rains of late last year. The biomass has not come back as quickly as we had hoped and the cold weather has further impeded the process. We have brought in several thousand gallons of seed sludge to give the process a "kick start". We are also experiencing an unusually high chlorine demand. The cause is unknown and controlling bacteria in the effluent has been difficult.

We, again, had to have several mains jet cleaned due to grease build-up.

The mains on the west side of Rte 61 have been televised. The tape shows leaks around the pipes where they connect to the manholes. We are working with a contractor to have them repaired. The east side of the highway will be done as soon as the contractor is available. We are doing above ground inspections of sewer facilities i.e. traps, vents and cleanouts. The I & I work is pretty much at a standstill due to the cold. Flows are down to normal and any precipitation is in the form of snow not rain. We will resume looking for I & I sources as soon as the weather permits.

Respectfully Submitted

I have been working with a representative from Met-Ed regarding the streetlights. I have received a report, which shows which lights have been repaired and which ones have still not been repaired. At this point there is a total of four that are still outstanding and these need parts. The representative and I are working together to get the problem corrected. In the near future I will be taking a look at those that are the problems and talking to her about them.

I am happy to report that Telco has installed the transfer switch at 4th and Rt. 61. This was done with the cooperation of the fire company and the police department who assisted with traffic control.

The capital expenditures were calculated for reimbursement.

Met with Sgt. Painter on several occasions and assisted the department on various issues.

I have been working with the Pepsi Company to obtain a Pepsi vending machine for the upstairs vending area. In addition I have contacted a vending service to install a snack machine. This will be happening in the very near future. We will have the business I am sure and it will give everyone some "food for thought".

The key cabinet has been completed with the help of Roger Stetzler. This project has been on my task list for quite a while and I am happy to report that it has been accomplished.

On behalf of the Authority, letters have been mailed to those who have either broken or missing sewer caps.

I spent time cleaning up the storage area and the filing cabinets. The project that we are working on in regards to households within the borough is more than halfway completed. We have found that we are in need of more filing cabinets, which we can get at the Federal Surplus at minimal cost.

A lot of things were happening the beginning of January and a lot of new material had to be typed or updated. This was accomplished and things were advertised on a timely basis.

Budgetary transfers were completed as well as closing the year and opening the New Year in respect to the accounting system.

Obtained traffic signal values for the traffic lights from Telco. These figures have been turned over to the insurance company.

Arrangements have been made with the Singer Equipment Company to have an account with their company for the summer for the park and pool.

Revamped the ordinance for limited parking in front of Hafer’s on 3^rd Street.

Assisted the police pension actuary on several issues.

I spent time working with the representative from the software company to finalize some figures as to what the borough needs to update the server as well as to finalize the updates that we need. In addition, I gathered information and figures to present to you for review regarding this information. The office has had considerable trouble with the server especially in the last month or so to the point where it is causing "down time" and it is unproductive. I feel confident that this can be rectified in short order if we take steps now to correct it.

The 2004 street sweeping schedule was compiled.

Met with the John Leonforte regarding issues with residents not clearing snow from sidewalks, pictures were taken. A letter was developed for him to utilize. Other issues were discussed with Mr. Leonforte as well.

I was in contact with PA One Call in regards to the KARL system. An automated way of identifying if the Borough/Authority has a conflict with any lines that have to be marked for excavation. I have identified the need and have set up the system and will call in the orders if necessary.

Due to a computer glitch of some kind, 2003 accruals had to be re-entered.

I have been working with the uniform company to adjust some issues some of the employees have been having.

Searched for information regarding Hamburg Ambulance as well as Floodplain Management.

I attended the Grant Writing seminar offered by the Center for Local Government.

The web page and municipal access channel continue to be updated on a regular basis. The 2004 minutes will be added shortly. There has been a problem updating the folders to which the minutes are inserted, but this is being worked on.

Attended two council meetings, one water/sewer and public relations committee meeting and staff meetings as necessary.

Respectfully submitted,

Kim Y. Berger
Office Manager

JANUARY 27, 2004

BOROUGH HALL 4 PM.

ATTENDING:

Lynda Albright, Tammy Wilkinson, Chuck Figard & Dale Schlenker

Visitors: Deena Kershner OTF, Leon Balthaser, Scott Kreider & Rick Boyd

1. Borough Manager, Lynda Albright was instructed to apply for a Keystone Opportunity Zone, in the Borough, with specific addresses mentioned strongly, in the application.

2. The Canal Property dispute with Lady "T’s" (formerly J & T Auto) should be resolved shortly, based on information received from the Court House.

3. The Property Maintenance Code will be addressed at a future meeting.

4. Synergetics Architects was given the approval to make the final adjustments needed for additional District Justice storage and the Borough Manager will coordinate the storage requirements and discuss the additional lease requirements and costs with the County.

5. Each attending Council Person was given the final Pool Feasibility Study for review and comments at the next meeting. Lynda Albright was instructed to contact Wade Associates for additional information.

6. The Borough has not received any further information on the following: Flood Insurance, The Game Commission rules & regulations, marking of electrical boxes at the park, Cougles’ fencing, and land swap of Mountain Land with Mr. Stewart, the former Hahn parking lot, former Wright’s building and painting of the fence at the Municipal Building.

7. The pedestrian cross walk on South Fourth St and the parking lines will be finished in spring as weather permits.

8. SDE has completed the initial zoning review and a draft has been submitted for review.

9. The Library Feasibility Study has been completed and Doug Kramer has submitted a review for Council. The plans are in the Borough Office.

10. The problem with the thermostats seems to be resolved with the replacement of the prior units in the Municipal Center. Thank goodness!

11. The property committee recommends to Council, Lynda Albright begin the process of updating the total computer systems including update of all software and purchase of three new computers. The system is going to "crash" any time in the immediate future and will cause considerable financial ramifications if allowed. Lynda was informed not to exceed $20,000.00 to accomplish this.

12. The Borough crew has done a wonderful job of clearing the intersections where there are Crossing Guards.

13. Lynda was instructed to coordinate a meeting with Barta, Representative Argall’s office, HBA, OTF and council representatives to solve the Barta bus concerns in the Borough.

 

Chairman of Property

Dale R. Schlenker

On the recommendation of Property Committee, a motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Dale Schlenker to authorize the Borough Manager to proceed with the purchase of two computer servers, 3 computers and other work as necessary to do an upgrade to the office computers at a cost not to exceed $20,000.

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 Jeannette Heckman to approve the contract with "The Outlaws and Crazy Elmer Show" for Hamburg Community Days at a cost of $750.00.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

An executive session was called at 7:35 p.m. to discuss personnel issues.

Meeting reconvened at 8:30 p.m.

Solicitor Speicher stated that in reference to the Heart and Lung case with Officer Richard Leymeister, we will be contacting the Internal Revenue Service and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania so that he can get tax refunds for the amount of tax dollars that were contributed while Officer Leymeister was out with an injury which is now being considered Heart & Lung.

President Dries will be forming a committee to discuss police contract negotiations.

On the recommendation of the Property Committee (and Solicitor), a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Charles Figard to approve the Lease Agreement between the Borough of Hamburg and the County of Berks for the leased space to be utilized by the District Justice Offices.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

On the recommendation of the Borough Manager and Acting Chief of Police, a motion was made by Jeannette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker to hire Barry Wisser as a Crossing Guard at a rate of $20.00/day or $10.00/half day.

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 Charles Figard to permit the Borough Manager to proceed with Synergetics Architects to finalize additional storage space requirements for the District Justice and have the necessary specifications prepared and put out for bid.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

On the recommendation of the Road Committee, a motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Martha Bertolet approving the following street work for 2005 and authorizing the Borough Manager to proceed with sending letters to those affected property owners to have curbing installed by the fall of 2004 – North Turner Street, Grandview Terrace, Catherine Street, Arthur Street, North 6^th Street (between the Service Road and S. Crescent Avenue) and Clover Alley.

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 Tammy Wilkinson to approve the contract amendment with the Department of Community and Economic Development for an additional $40,000 and authorizing the appropriate officials to execute same. Said contract is for the Our Town Foundation Improvements.

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 Jeannette Heckman to waive $784.91 in trash fees for property 312-314 State Street. Property owner is responsible for the other $784.90, plus any lien fees.

ROLL CALL: AYES – T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – A. Dries

On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Martha Bertolet to approve the pool season ticket increases.

(The increases would be $20 for families and $10.00 for individuals and students)

ROLL CALL: AYES – T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard,

NAYES – A. Dries, D. Schlenker

On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Jeannette Heckman to approve the contract with "The Mudflaps" for Hamburg Community Days at a cost of $1800.00

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

A motion was made by Jeannette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard to approve payment of invoices totaling $242,981.73 after discussion the motion was amended as follows: to approve payment of invoices by removing the Classic Harley bill until such time as a deal can be worked out to receive the parts. The new amount would be $242,038.17.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

LIST OF BILLS

TOTAL INVOICES 164,407.71

The Solicitor requested a motion for the following:

In accordance with the state law, a motion was made by Jeannette Heckman and seconded by Tammy Wilkinson to place public notices indicating that people entering the municipal building are subject to search and firearms will not be permitted except for law enforcement personnel due to the district justice being on the second floor. A storage facility will be purchased for the purpose to place the weapons.

ROLL CALL: AYES – A. Dries, T. Wilkinson, M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, C. Figard, D. Schlenker

NAYES – None

FEBRUARY 10, 2004 – 6 P.M. – LIBRARY BOARD – AT THE LIBRARY

FEBRUARY 16, 2004 – 7 P.M. – PLANNING COMMISSION

FEBRUARY 17, 2004 – 3:30 P.M. – SAFETY COMMITTEE

FEBRUARY 18, 2004 – 7 P.M. – AUTHORITY MEETING

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 8:45 p.m. on motion of Charles Figard and seconded by Jeannette Heckman.

Attest:

 

Kim Y. Berger
Recording Secretary/Office Mgr.