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MINUTES FROM THE JANUARY 24, 2001 COUNCIL MEETING The second regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2001 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 Boyd, Roy Heffner, Charles Figard, Leon Balthaser, Diana Edwards, Jeanette Heckman, Scott Kreider Members Absent – None Also Present – Lynda G. Albright, Borough Manager, Mayor Del Rosario, Solicitor John Speicher, Kim Y. Berger, Recording SecretaryVisitors –Chief Thomas Zelinsky, Jr., Rosetta Zelinsky, Harold Holtzman, Dennis Schwoyer, Nikki Murray, Hamburg Item, Fred Sheeler A motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Diana Edwards to approve the amended agenda adding an executive session under the Solicitors Report. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None COURTESY TO AUDIENCE Chief Zelinsky awarded Officer Dennis Schwoyer with a certificate and a medal for earning his Criminal Justice Degree. It took a lot of time, 2 years and a great deal of effort on behalf of Dennis Schwoyer to achieve this degree. Officer Schwoyer wanted to thank the Borough Council for giving him the opportunity to achieve this degree. Councilwoman Heckman stated that Officer Schwoyer goes above the call of duty for the D.A.R.E. program at the Middle School and that he should be commended for that. Harold Holtzman was present to comment about why the committee reports are not reported at the Council meeting. He stated that when residents or individuals come to a Council meeting they walk out without anymore knowledge then when they came in. President Boyd stated that each Chairman submits a report and it is available for the public to read. In fact the newspaper receives them and they are available for anyone to read. Councilman Balthaser stated that he would like to hear the Mayor’s report verbally. A motion was made by Scott Kreider and seconded by Leon Balthaser to approve the minutes of January 8, 2001 meeting. (Councilman Kreider questioned the first paragraph of the minutes which states "The first meeting of Borough Council…". His concern is that it appears that this is the first Council meeting ever and thought it should be changed.) ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None A motion was made by Scott Kreider and seconded by Roy Heffner to approve the following reports: Engineer’s Report and Finance Committee Report ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None ENGINEER’S REPORT – JANUARY 2001 SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM
Flows at the plant are back to normal.
SDE inspected the floor drain located in the garage of a home on North Crescent Avenue. It was determined that the floor drain is in fact a French drain.
No issues this month.
SDE submitted calculations of new local limits to the EPA as required by the NPDES permit for the wastewater treatment plant. We are waiting for the EPA’s comments on this submission. WATER SYSTEM (COUNCIL: FOR INFORMATION ONLY)
Water is currently flowing over the spillway. Allied Control, a subcontractor for Robert’s Filter Group, was at the plant working on the controls. At the end of the day, the plant was functioning properly. However, when Tony arrived the next day, the plant would not start up in automatic. Plant personnel are attempting to contact Allied Control to determine what went wrong. Therefore, at the time of this report, the plant is only running filter-to-waste. Plant personnel are also working with Dave Fink Bonkovich to determine the loss of water in the system.
The following items are currently being worked on:
FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT – JANUARY 2001 Attending: Scott Kreider, Jeanette Heckman, Roy Heffner, Chuck Figard, Rick Boyd, Dianna Edwards and Lynda Albright Tax Anticipation Loan –We received quotes from M & T Bank (4.89%), Fulton Bank (5.77%) and will be expecting one from Leesport Bank (1/9/01 – early morning). Recommendation to Prepare Ordinance/resolution and any other necessary paperwork to accept and enact the lowest rate received for not more than $200,000 for the 2001 fiscal year. Respectfully submitted, Scott Kreider, Chairman OLD BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Safety Committee, a motion was made by Leon Balthaser and seconded by Roy Heffner to extend the handicapped parking at 512 South 5th Street for an additional 90 days. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None On the recommendation of the Safety Committee, a motion was made by Leon Balthaser and seconded by Charles Figard to direct the Borough Manager to prepare and advertise an ordinance to make the additional red fire zone on South 4th Street at the Fire Company permanent. (Councilman Kreider stated that if any fire personnel which to use the Keystone parking lot, it is permissible). ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES – None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Diana Edwards to appoint Anna M. Heffner as a member of the Recreation Board, term ending 12/31/03. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard R. Heffner abstained L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee and Borough Manager, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard to hire Carol Steeger as the Accounts Payable Clerk, retroactive to January 15, 2001 at an hourly rate of $10.00 and to serve a six-month probationary period. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Scott Kreider to hire the following persons for the park and pool area for the 2001 season: Aimee Benfer, Bradley Biehl, Erin Driscoll, Andrew Kozlowski, Melissa Reinhart, Viv Zweizig, Kristen Ketch, Ashley Trabosh, Lauren Smith, Ashley Freymoyer, Trevor Edwards, Kenny Freeman, Anne Marie Boran, Nicholas Buono, Robert Moyer, III and Brandon Rabold. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. Kreider NAYES - None A motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Jeanette Heckman to approve payment of invoices totaling $30,125.73 (Questions: Councilman Balthaser requested a copy of the CTG bill, which Kim provided to him immediately. Councilman Kreider questioned: Lehigh Valley Physician Group, PA State Assc. of Boroughs, Reading Auto Spring, Software Systems and Thompson Publishing Group.) ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES – None LIST OF BILLS AT & T 79.16 BCMHIPG 12,744.06 BOC GASES 21.83 Body Works 289.00 Berks County Conservation District 50.00 CTG, Inc. 1,287.50 David Dengler 24.39 Danka Corporation 47.94 Dietrich’s Men’s Wear 13.00 EMR 123.40 Edenburg Welding 282.00 First Precinct Uniforms 299.00 Fromm Electric 84.60 GPU 1,495.51 Interstate Supply 49.94 Lehigh Valley Physician Group 50.00 Lowes 226.68 MEIT 105.50 Medical Life Insurance 213.60 PA DARE Officers Association 10.00 PA State Assc. of Boroughs 40.00 Pitney Bowes 208.61 PPL 1,916.32 Quill 354.94 Reading Auto Spring 448.00 Savage, E. S. 45.00 Society Cleaners 16.00 Software Systems 5,042.56 Strausser Insurance Agency 50.00 Systems Design 1,706.63 Thompson Publishing Group 257.00 Triangle Communications 303.50 Verizon Wireless 136.36 YIS, Inc. 103.70 Total $28,125.73 Frank M. Vaccaro – Actuarial Service 2,000.00 Grand Total $30,125.73 SOLICITOR’S REPORT Solicitor Speicher reviewed the agreement with the phone company to install a pay phone outside the police department. The only problem he would have is that it is for a three year term and if it is decided to have this phone removed, there are penalties involved. This issue has been returned to the Committee for further discussion. An executive session was called at 7:55 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:50 p.m. A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Diana Edwards to appoint Solicitor Speicher as a shareholder of Leisawitz, Heller, Abramowitch and Phillips as of February 5, 2001. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Charles Figard authorizing Kozloff, Stoudt to release the borough files to John Speicher. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. Balthaser, S. KreiderNAYES - None A motion was made by Charles Figard and seconded by Diana Edwards to enter into an agreement for the activation of 10 Nextel phones effective January 31, 2001. ROLL CALL: AYES – R. Boyd, R. Heffner, J. Heckman, D. Edwards, C. Figard L. BalthaserNAYES – S. Kreider (Councilman Kreider stated that he has reservations about cell phones in general and while it may be a good idea, it may not be necessary). UPCOMING MEETINGS/INFORMATION February 5, 2001 – Rec Board meeting – 7 p.m. February 6, 2001 – PROPERTY COMMITTEE – 7 P.M. February 12, 2001 - Finance Committee – 6:30 p.m. February 12, 2001 – Council meeting – 7:30 p.m. A motion was made by Scott Kreider and seconded by Leon Balthaser to terminate Joseph S. Wertz, Jr. as Hamburg Borough Building/Zoning Officer and any other capacities he holds as an employee of the Borough of Hamburg. Discussion: President Boyd asked for reasons, did Councilman Kreider think that contractors should be able to do whatever they want in the Borough. Kreider stated no that he (Wertz) is doing a disservice to the Borough. President Boyd stated he wanted Councilman Kreider to be more specific – for the record. Councilman Kreider stated that Wertz was not communicating with the contractors. Councilman Kreider also stated that a business deal almost fell through for a property in the Borough because of Wertz’s lack of knowledge and that it was saved by the Borough Manager and some other people. Hamburg should be moving forward and he (Wertz) is not helping matters. President Boyd asked if Mr. Wertz represented any current regulations that were inaccurate on the Regal property? Councilman Balthaser stated this was not the issue. President Boyd again asked for specifics and he wanted them on the record as to why Balthaser and Kreider wanted him (Wertz) out. Councilman Kreider stated that other people wanted Wertz removed, not just Councilman Balthaser and himself. Councilman Balthaser said Mr. Wertz has created much controversy among the people of Hamburg and has cost the taxpayers a lot of money. President Boyd again asked for specifics. Discussion was held about a project that Mr. Balthaser had done as a contractor. Councilman Kreider stated - "CALL TO QUESTION" President Boyd stated that all the questions have not been answered. Councilman Kreider stated that CALL TO QUESTION means to take an immediate vote. Vote to end discussion: Roll Call: Ayes – J. Heckman, D. Edwards, S. Kreider, L. Balthaser, C. Figard, R. Heffner Nayes – R. Boyd Roll Call for the immediate termination of Joseph S. Wertz, Jr. Ayes – Diana Edwards, S. Kreider, L. Balthaser Nayes – C. Figard, R. Heffner, R. Boyd J. Heckman abstained at first. She wanted to give it another month of review. Mayor Del Rosario cast a vote of yes Motion carried. Solicitor Speicher stated that if Councilwoman Heckman abstains it should be recorded as a negative vote. Councilwoman Heckman changed her vote to yes. Motion carries and Joseph S. Wertz, Jr. is terminated immediately. On a lighter note: Councilman Kreider stated that he, Diana and Leon attended the Chamber meeting and there are a lot of good ideas. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. on motion of Leon Balthaser and seconded by Roy Heffner. ATTEST: Kim Y. Berger Recording Secretary/Office Manager
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