MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL

The eighteenth regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2006 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, Martha Bertolet, Tina Yoder, Roger Stetzler, Roy Heffner, Dale Schlenker, Elaine Swavely

Members Absent – None

Visitors- Dennis Schwoyer, Nikki Murry (Hamburg Item), Alean Tray, Kerry Delong, Pat Delong, Chief Michael Painter, Maria Herne (Pottsville Republican), Greg Kohl

NAYES – None

COURTESY TO AUDIENCE

Kerry Delong was present to discuss the I-78 construction project. Mr. Delong stated that there was no coordination between the Borough, Borough Manager, PA DOT and the contractor when they closed down Port Clinton Avenue to remove the bridge. There was no notification to the residents. It was not advertised in any way. Mr. Delong stated that he feels there should be better communication and cooperation during this project.

Mr. Delong also stated that there was a major electric and telephone outage in the north end of town due to the construction. Mr. Delong stated that no one notified Met-Ed for over an hour. Again Mr. Delong stated that there should be better communication during this project. Mr. Delong stated that there are safety issues as well.

A motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Roger Stetzler to approve the minutes of the August 28, 2006 meeting.

NAYES – None

NAYES – None

BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT AUGUST, 2006

The Borough Manager’s activities for the month of AUGUST 2006 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.

Continuing with on-site inspections at the pool. They are currently working on the tiles and coping. Work is on schedule and should be completed in October.

Roger Stetzler, Chair of Roads, Rick Pickle, Public Works Supt. and I met with representatives from Balfour Beatty and PennDOT at North 4^th and Confer Avenue. PennDOT has indicated their work on Confer Avenue is now complete and that they will be sending the Borough a letter turning it back to the Borough for responsibility and maintenance.

Met with Solicitor Zubey to review and discuss outstanding issues with regard to the Police Contract.

Chief Painter and I met with Steve Jackson of Balfour Beatty and Bill Murry of PennDOT to discuss the upcoming closing of the N. 4^th Street ramp and the shutting down of Port Clinton Avenue for a 24-48 hour period while working on the bridge over Port Clinton Avenue.

Council President Wilkinson, Councilwoman Swavely and I attending a breakfast meeting with the County Commissioners with the main focus on a countywide police department.

Kim Berger, Office Manager and I met with representatives from Dynatech Controls for training on the computer system for the HVAC system. This will allow us to regulate the cooling and heating in the building through the computer system.

Councilwoman Swavely and I met with Neil Kinsey of DCED and John Kramer of the Center for Local Government to discuss a pilot program the borough will be participating in with regard to multi-year budgeting in conjunction with the Comprehensive Plan.

Kim and I conducted interviews for the clerk/receptionist position and a recommendation will be made to Personnel for the hiring of this position.

On-going discussions with PEMA-FEMA regarding repairs of the canal; we have secured quotes and will be discussing with the appropriate officials on moving forward.

During the month, attended two regular meetings of Council, Hamburg Municipal Authority, Recreation Board, Finance, Property, Road, and Safety Committee 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 AUGUST, 2006.

Mowing of the grass at the parks and around the borough continues. Weed spraying also continues.

Worked with contractors on researching prices for the damage to the canal.

Sandblasted and painted the diving board for the pool.

Due to vandalism, three windows below the stage had to be replaced.

Installed an inlet and 12" drainpipe near the street hockey rink.

Time was spent digging out and installing hot patch on St. John’s Road.

The weeds and brush were cut at the flood control dams.

Installed stone on the shoulders along Port Clinton Avenue from the storm in June.

Hot patched the water ditches on Maple Street, Raymond Avenue, 7^th St., Arch Street, 5^th Street and Confer Avenue.

Hauled cement from the pool.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard L. Pickel Public Works Supt.

Production for the month has been primarily from the wells. We restarted the plant after the dam cleared from the flooding in June, however it would not work properly. Chemical pacing became a hit or miss proposition and it became unworkable. Roberts filter made a site visit but was unable to find the problem and we will continue to use the wells until a solution can be found.

Wastewater

It has been another difficult month. The plant became upset, generating heavy foam across the aerator, which eventually killed most of the biomass. This resulted in BOD violations and during recovery there were total chlorine violations. We continue to feed soda ash to control ph and at this point the effluent looks very good.

The primary digester has gone sour and started foaming. At this point it is minor but I expect it will get worse before it gets better.

Two of the new pumps have been installed and started at the Pine Street Pumping Station. There are a few minor tweaks that need to be made and Flyte is working on the issues.

Construction of the new plant is moving right along and the ditch panels have been set. We are on schedule to be on line by the end of the year.

Respectfully Submitted

Keith L. Brobst

Water/Wastewater Superintendent

Assisted PA DOT with an audit of our Motor License funds.

Completed all necessary month end reports.

I researched minutes from 1987 regarding railroad property.

Again we have had two leaks in the senior center, which we had to call in the HVAC contractor.

Weed notice and letters of debris removal continue to be sent.

Spoke with the Army Corp of Engineers regarding the Canal that was damaged from the flood.

I continued working with PEMA and FEMA regarding the flood damage. Paperwork continues to be completed.

Met with an engineer regarding the flood damage

Attended some training on the computer system regarding the HVAC.

Compiled information and printed out worksheets for the 2007 budget.

Correspondence continues on several workmen’s compensation claims.

Information was obtained and I continue to work on the Act 902 recycling grant for the purchase of recycling containers.

Assisted with conducting interviews for the clerk/receptionist position.

Throughout the month I attended Council meeting and typed minutes for same.

Respectfully submitted,
Kim Y. Berger

Office Manager

August 2006  

Five construction permits and six zoning permits and two paving/sidewalk permits were issued in August.

Major projects ongoing or proposed are as follows:

Preliminary work continues, to reconstruct the curbing, sidewalks, and street at Catherine, Grandview Terrace, and Arthur St., with hope to ask for bids this fall for work to be done spring of 2007.

Penn Dot has been contacted regarding storm water problem at 5^th & State. Ricky and I did meet with Mark Cosica of Penn Dot 07/06/06. Mark said he would talk with the maintenance dept. I attempted to and will continue to follow up with Mark.

The former Wrights building, at Pine and 2^nd St, has been purchased and is being cleaned up, secured and repairs are being done. Preliminary plans for development have been shown to the planning commission.

Penn Dot 78 construction project is progressing.

Sewage Treatment plant upgrade is progressing.

Work continues at the municipal pool on schedule.

Barry Isett has been contracted to perform a preliminary study for the proposed extension of Grand Street to Rte 61.

Barry Isett has provided a preliminary plan and cost estimate to place a traffic light at Hawkridge and South 4^th Street.

Streetscape work is preparing bid documents for work to be done……..( in the spring?)

New sidewalk were placed at the Municipal Building.

Inspections were completed for residential and light commercial, previously permitted, work in the borough.

Property Maintenance complaints of rubbish, and Occupancy inspections continue to be addressed.

New notice letters are being developed, as it has been determined that previous notices may have been legally insufficient.

Present: Roger Stetzler, Tammy Wilkinson, Martha Bertolet, John Leonforte, Richard Pickel and Lynda Albright

NEW BUSINESS

On the recommendation of the Borough Manager, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Roger Stetzler to reimburse the General Account from the Capital Fund in the amount of $217,372.00.

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Tina Yoder to hire Gene Hartman as a Crossing Guard effective immediately. (Required background check has been done)

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Tina Yoder for the Borough Manager to advertise for a full-time borough crew person.

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Tina Yoder and seconded by Roger Stetzler naming Lynda Albright as the Security Officer for issues regarding HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and Kim Berger as the Alternate Security Officer.

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Tina Yoder and seconded by Dale Schlenker approving the HIPAA Security Policy that deals with compliance issues regarding electronic protected health insurance.

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Elaine Swavely and seconded by Martha Bertolet to take action to submit to the Governor’s Center for Local Government a Letter of Intent to provide an administrative study. (this is a study similar to what was performed in the police department)

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Tina Yoder to approve the updates and changes to the benefit packages for all non-uniform employees.

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Tina Yoder to approve on page 1, Section 1 – Items #2 and 3 for New Employees, of the Rules/Regulations for non-uniform borough employees

On the recommendation of the Chief of Police, a motion was made by Tina Yoder and seconded by Roger Stetzler to take action to hire Debra Reber as a substitute Crossing Guard, effective immediately. (Background check has been done as required by law)

On the recommendation of the Hamburg Planning Commission, a motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Dale Schlenker approving the final plans for the Weidman Subdivision, subject to the owner signing and notarizing the plans.

On the recommendation of the Hamburg Planning Commission, a motion was made by Roy Heffner and seconded by Roger Stetzler to approve amendments to the current zoning ordinance as had been recommended by the Zoning Officer and have the solicitor prepare the necessary ordinance and other documentation as required

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. on the motion of Tina Yoder and seconded by Roy Heffner.

Attest:

Kim Y. Berger
Recording Secretary/Office Manager