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MINUTES OF THE DECEMBER 10, 2007 MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL The twenty-third regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2007 was held this evening at the Hamburg Municipal Center with President Tammy Wilkinson presiding. The meeting was opened with Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a Prayer. Members Present – Tammy Wilkinson, Roger Stetzler, Martha Bertolet, Elaine Swavely, Dale Schlenker, Heather Berger Members Absent – Jeanette Heckman Also Present –Solicitor Mike Zubey, Kim Y. Berger, Office Manager/ Recording Secretary, Manager Lynda G. Albright, Mayor Del Rosario Visitors- Chief Painter, Deena Kershner, Penny Hummel (Item), Maria Herne (Pottsville Republican) A motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Martha Bertolet to approve the amended agenda. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, T. Wilkinson, H. Berger NAYES – None COURTESY TO AUDIENCE Deena Kershner stated that the resolution between the Borough of Hamburg and DCED for $120,000 is actually $60,000 for operations and $60,000 for façade improvements. Ms. Kershner also stated that the cobra streetlights, which are on the agenda, should include State Street from 3rd Street to Primrose Alley, as there are some lights to be removed near Kurtz Florists. A motion was made by Heather Berger and seconded by Elaine Swavely to approve the minutes of the November 26, 2007 meeting.ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, T. WilkinsonNAYES – None A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Roger Stetzler 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, Code Enforcement report, Personnel Committee Report ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, T. Wilkinson, H. Berger NAYES – None BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of November, 2007 included the following: Held staff meetings with supervisors to discuss, provide and receive updates on various projects and issues taking place. Addressed complaints and other correspondence as needed on a daily basis. Work continued on both the Borough budget and Authority budget. Tentative approval of the 2008 Borough budget was given at the 11/26/07 meeting of Borough Council. The Authority budget has been presented and will be approved at their regular meeting in December. Continue to meet on a regular basis with John Leonforte to review various building projects and code enforcement issues he is working on, in particular, 4th and Hawkridge, the proposed access to Route 61, new subdivisions, proposed senior housing at the old Wright’s building, the Grandview, Arthur, Catherine Street curbing project, Streetscape and the Exide Building. Also reviewed several complaint issues he is working on. Completed and received approval of the 2006-2010 police contract. Other time spent working with solicitor regarding on-going police litigation. Met with Deena Kershner, OTF Manager, several times during the month to discuss and update on issues relative to streetscape and other ongoing planned projects in the community. Attended the ribbon cutting for the senior housing at the former Wright’s building. Met with Luann Oatman of the Berks County Senior Citizen Center to discuss the future of the Blue Mountain Senior Center. The Center will once again move to all-day and possibly evening activities. Discussion on a new monthly rate for their use will be discussed with the Property Committee. Kim Berger, Office Manager and I met with our representative from the Hart Agency to discuss updates and rates for the 2008 insurances for both the Borough and the Authority. We can expect minimal increases except for workers compensation which is increasing due to the increase population covered by the fire and ambulance in the surrounding townships. Met with a representative of EMC Insurance Co. to review operations in the various departments of the borough along with recommendations for review and consideration in the prevention of losses and/or accidents. Met with representatives of Dynatech, Burkhart and Yoder’s Heating regarding the HVAC system and proper protocol when problems arise with the system. Currently as problems arise, it is unknown which service representative should be contacted. We feel we now have a resolution in place for the future. Met with our cleaning service to discuss stripping and waxing the senior center floor next year, as well as cleaning twice a week. Also discussed redoing the lobby floor on the first floor of the building. Prices will be provided in order to include in the budget. Met with Guy Ketch, Rec. Director to discuss several issues he has regarding this past season as well as the 2008 season. Discussed and set a date for interviews of park and pool personnel for the 2008 season as well. Assisted in the application process for the Reading Company Technical and Historical museum to secure a $353,000 grant for ongoing improvements to their property on South 3rd Street. Started the process of obtaining a Tax Anticipation Note for 2008 in order to have operating funds for the beginning of the year. Also in the process of completing the documents for the lease of the new borough truck, which is anticipated to be finished by early December. During the month, attended two regular meetings of Council, Road, Finance, Property, Personnel, and Safety Committee meetings, as well as the Authority and Planning Commission meetings. 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 November, 2007. PUBLIC WORKS SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT Brush was cut behind the dam at the reservoir. Oil was changed in the 1997 police car. All trucks and the backhoe were serviced. The fire hydrant was rebuilt on Grand Street. The leaves are finally starting to fall and we started to collect them at the park as well as along the roads. Since the soccer season has ended, the park bathrooms were winterized. Signs were repaired at 4th and 61. A tractor trailer drove over the stop sign at 2nd and Island Streets. Luckily one of the officers saw this happen and went after the driver. We will be billing him for the cost of the sign, post and labor. Hot patching has begun around the borough. 5th and State, Mountain Avenue, Washington Street and Grand street were completed. Installed car stoppers at the parking lot on State Street. The storm drain on Port Clinton Avenue was repaired by a contractor. We assisted this contractor in completing the job. The weir at the reservoir was cleaned. The service road was dug our so the contractor could blacktop the road. Painting of the hallway in the municipal center has begun. All equipment for snow plowing/cindering has been prepared.
Water/Wastewater Superintendent’s Report November 2007 Water All production was again from the wells. The level and production from the wells is dropping and we are asking for voluntary cut backs in use. We have not reached any trigger points for mandatory restrictions and hope to avoid that. The water level in the dam is rising but we are not yet at the point where it is productive to go to surface water. Use is up significantly and we suspect a leak. The stilling basin at the head of the reservoir has been cleaned and brush cutting in the area of the dam has been started. Tony and I attended a seminar concerning the changes to the disinfection by-product rule and the Long Term 2 surface water rule. These rules are being administered by the USEPA and not PaDEP. Compliance with the LT2 rule could be quite costly and we are working on a schedule to meet the deadlines and access what the requirements and costs will be. The new control system is finished except for a few punch list items. We hope these things will be finished by the end of the year. Wastewater The construction at the wastewater treatment plant is complete except for a few punch list items. All treatment units are on line or have been on line and are in working order. The last of the meters have been tied into the SCADA system, which should eliminate some metering discrepancies. Effluent quality is very good and we are meeting all permit parameters. Keith L. Brobst Water/Wastewater Superintendent OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT Throughout the month of November, there were various letters mailed regarding rubbish, zoning issues, etc. Dell Computer had to be contacted regarding a PC that needed a new power source, motherboard and fan. Thankfully we had the extended warranty and these parts were all replaced at no charge. Workman’s compensation figures for the fire company and ambulance personnel were obtained from the insurance agent for 2008 and letters and invoices have been sent to the municipalities that receive this service. A lot of time has been spent this month on software issues. A long overdue upgrade was installed as well as issues dealing with the accounting and utility billing system. To date not all of the issues have been resolved, but I am anticipating they be resolved prior to year-end. Due to the change in contractors for trash, there will also be a change in collection days for the northward. Letters have been created and will be mailed in mid December to advise all residents of the change. The change will be from Friday collection to a Monday collection. Thursday collection days will remain the same. On November 20, 2007, attended a meeting with representatives from Dynatech, Burkhardt Inc. and Yoder’s regarding HVAC issues. This same day met with the auditor in regards to the Motor License fund. Various other letters, memos, etc. have been completed. Attended two Council meetings and staff meetings as necessary. Minutes were prepared for all the meetings. I also met with Red Cross representatives regarding disaster planning and preparedness.
Building, Zoning and Codes Report November 2007 Two (2) construction permits and one (4) zoning permits and five (5) paving/sidewalk permits were issued in November. Major projects ongoing or proposed are as follows: The Streetscape project. Issues that remain to be resolved are a sewer vent problem on State St and the curb and sidewalk at the north/west corner of Pine and South 4th St is lower than the street grade.Work is progressing to reconstruct some curbing, sidewalks, at Catherine, Grandview Terrace, and Arthur St. We have sent letters to each affected property owner asking that curb and sidewalk repairs be made. All but one owner has responded to our letter. We hope to complete curb and sidewalk work this fall with paving work to be done this spring or summer.Final drawings for phase one of the Grand Street extension has been sent to Penn Dot for their review. Penn Dot has returned our application with comments. Our engineers will address the comments and resubmit our application. DEP and Soil Conservation have reviewed our application and asked us to address Comments. This is now being addressed by our engineer. Additional soil testing has been requested by Penn Dot. We hope to get through the permitting process by spring 2008 and build Phase one months after that, with a hoped for completion date of fall of 2008 or spring of 2009. Ryan Kern with Barry Isett associates and I have met with Met Ed regarding right of way and construction easements needed to place a traffic light atHawk ridge and South 4th Street. We were received positively at the local level, but approvals from higher authority at Met Ed is pending. Exide Corporation site .The demolition contractor and, EPA continue the clean up and demolition of the battery plant, with expected completion in December of this year. At this point approximately 90 % of the complex has been demolished. Demolition of the Curves property has been completed. Completion of exterior finish to the Driscoll building is pending. Work on the Peach Alley Apartments project (former Wrights Building, at 239 Pine) is progressing. Inspections were completed for residential and light commercial previously permitted, work in the borough. Property Maintenance complaints of rubbish, high grass and Occupancy inspections continue to be addressed. Note: From Nov 1 to date, approximately 40 new Property Maintenance complaints were filed with 13 resolved and 43 still pending. Fire Safety Inspections Approximately 33 notices were sent to properties with cooking facilities for the public. Four properties were inspected.
HAMBURG BOROUGH POLICE DEPARTMENT NOVEMBER 2007 ACTIVITY REPORT
December 4, 2007 Personnel Committee Minutes 4:00 PM Those attending: J. Heckman, M. Bertolet, E. Swavely, L. Albright, Borough Manager. Items discussed: The following persons are recommended for continued service: Roger Kuhns, to the Municipal Authority, Pat Adams, to the Hamburg Library Board of Trustees, Jeanette Heckman, to the Hamburg Library Board of Trustees, Dale Schlenker, to the Planning Commission, Mary Alice Wertz, to the Zoning Board Anthony Merklinger, to the Zoning Board Ray Dunkle, to the Zoning Board Two persons are needed on the Library Board, one person from within the Borough, and one person from Windsor Township. The Solicitor, Mike Zubey, is reviewing the policy manual. Beginning next year, the majority of personnel committee feel it is necessary for the employees to start contributing to their health benefits. Respectfully submitted, Jeanette Heckman, Chairman OLD BUSINESS Nothing NEW BUSINESS On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Heather Berger and seconded by Elaine Swavely to make the following reappointments for 2008:
ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. Wilkinson NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Roger Stetzler approving the annual contract with the County of Berks, Purchasing Department for the Borough’s issuance of the dog licenses for 2008. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. Wilkinson NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Elaine Swavely and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve the Resolution between the Borough of Hamburg and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) for obtaining funds in the amount of $120,000 for the implementation of the exit phase of the Main Street program in Hamburg under the New Communities Program Guidelines.ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. Wilkinson NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Dale Schlenker authorizing the Borough Manager to execute and submit an Application for a permit to install and Operate Traffic Signal on South 4th Street and Hawk Ridge Drive. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. Wilkinson NAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Heather Berger and seconded by Roger Stetzler approving the removal of streetlights along S. 4th between State and Pine and along State Street between Primrose Alley and 3rd and authorizing the President and Manager to execute Resolution for same. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. WilkinsonNAYES – None On the recommendation of the Borough Solicitor, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Roger Stetzler to terminate the Indemnity Agreement dated April 13, 2007 made by the Partnership (The Knitting Mill at Peach Alley) in favor of the Borough, its agents, servants, employees, administrators, successors and assigns, and hereby releases the Partnership from its obligations there under and authorizing the Borough Manager to prepare and send a letter advising of this action. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. Wilkinson NAYES – None A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Heather Berger to approve payment of invoices totaling $120,967.34. ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, R. Stetzler, E. Swavely, D. Schlenker, H. Berger, T. WilkinsonNAYES – None (D. Schlenker abstained from invoices for Schlenker Motors and T. Wilkinson abstained from invoices for Reading Eagle). LIST OF BILLS AT & T 30.33 AT & T 353.33 ALBRIGHT COLLEGE 50.00 NORMAN BAILEY 89.99 BARKO CLEANING 160.00 COUNTY OF BERKS 2,357.36 BERKS PRODUCTS CORP. 155.15 BLUE MT. COMPUTER SERVICE 637.50 CAN SURETY 443.75 CERTIFIED LABORATORIES 300.00 DENISE CLARE 200.00 JOYCE CLAY 200.00 CODY COMPUTER SERVICES 2,500.00 D. S. DALIOUS FIRE EQUIPMENT 32.50 EMAC DAIRY BRUSH 104.40 EJB PAVING 1,981.93 ERNST CABINET WORKS 12.20 JE FINK & SONS 45.00 FIRST PRECINCT UNIFORMS 180.00 FISHER DAM AUTO 114.54 FORT DEARBORN LIFE INSURANCE 309.55 FOUR STAR ELECTRONIC SECURITY 796.00 GT DISTRIBUTORS 337.91 HAMBURG AUTO PARTS 67.00 HARTMAN JANITORIAL 710.00 HENN’S GARAGE 744.94 HESS EMBROIDERY 94.00 KUZANS 105.75 ANTHONY LASCALA 100.00 RICHARD LEYMEISTER 425.34 MET ED 5,563.71 MOUNTAIN VIEW SUPPLY 35.94 MEIT 117.00 PA DEPT. OF LABOR & INDUSTRY 162.00 PA LOCAL GOVT. SEC. ASSN 85.00 PPL GAS 1,120.59 PATRIOT COLLISION 806.80 PENN PRIDE 2,368.12 PITNEY BOWES 189.00 QUILL 352.29 RADIO MTCE 192.64 READING EAGLE 1,015.25 REPPERT’S AUTO 103.00 DONNA RIEGEL 200.00 SAM’S CLUB 39.85 SCHLENKER MOTORS 928.00 SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUND 212.69 SYSTEMS DESIGN 422.74 THREN’S AUTO PARTS 228.60 THYSSENKRUPP ELEVATOR 187.06 TRUCKO 3.48 UNIFIRST 307.04 VERIZON 409.53 WEIS MARKETS 51.31 ZEE MEDICAL 83.25 TOTAL 28,823.36 BILLS PAID DURING THE MONTH PENN FUEL 43.05 PURCHASE POWER 2018.99 T & C CONCESSION 25.00 BOROUGH OF HAMBURG – GROSS 81,093.47 BOROUGH OF HAMBURG – EMP SHARE SS 5,070.62 KEN RENTSCHLER 25.00 JEFF SEIDEL 25.00 WILLIAM LOWE 3,117.00 KUZANS 28.00 KIM BERGER 35.69 APRIL FREDERICK 10.00 HAMBURG YOUTH BASEBALL 250.00 SAM’S CLUB 185.22 PA STATE ASSN OF BOROUGHS 10.00 BERKS CO. TREASURER 16.50 FAYE GRAUF 28.49 HAMBURG SOCCER ASSC. 100.00 PETTY CASH 36.95 LYNDA ALBRIGHT 25.00 TOTAL $92,143.98 TOTAL FOR APPROVAL $120,967.34 SOLICITOR’S REPORT An executive session took place immediately following the regular meeting regarding litigation issues, however, no action was taken. INFORMATION ITEMS December 11, 2007 – 3 p.m. – Property Committee December 11, 2007 – 6 p.m.- Library Board meeting – in the Library December 18, 2007 - 4 p.m. – Safety Committee meeting December 18, 2007 – 7 p.m. – Planning Commission December 26, 2007 – 7 p.m. – Water/Sewer/Public Relations meeting December 26, 2007 – 7:30 p.m. – Year-End Borough Council meeting to reconvene on January 7, 2008 at 7:00 pm with reorganization at 7:30 p.m.There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m. on the motion of Elaine Swavely and seconded by Roger Stetzler. Attest: Kim Y. 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