City Council

BOROUGH OF AKRON COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES- JANUARY 24, 2022 Council Members present- Nathan Imhoff, Council President; Justin Gehman, Council Vice-President; Kleon Zimmerman, Paul Swangren, Jr.; Randall Justice, Ryan Cochran, Bonnie Young. Others present- Mayor John McBeth, Susan Davidson, Borough Manager; Sean Molchany, Assistant Borough Manager; West Earl Police Chief Higgins, Larry Alexander, Lancaster Newspapers; Porter Stevens, Lancaster County Planning Commission; Denise Auker, John Taylor, Lois Flickinger, Rachel Stauffer, Bruce Stauffer, Michael Morris, John Williamson, Penn Talbert (Zoom). Roll Call Kleon Zimmerman-Yes Paul Swangren, Jr-Yes Randall Justice-Yes Ryan Cochran-Yes Bonnie Young- Yes Justin Gehman- Vice-President-Yes Nathan Imhoff-President-Yes Mayor John McBeth-Yes Meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Approval of Minutes Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to approve the January 10, 2022 Borough of Akron Council Meeting minutes. Randall Justice seconded the motion. Motion carried. Ryan Cochran made a motion to approve the January 17, 2022 Borough of Akron Council Meeting minutes. Justin Gehman seconded the motion. Motion carried. Visitors Nothing to report 1 Reports Police Chief Report Chief Higgins mentioned he will be out of town February 4 through February 11, 2022. Chief Higgins also mentioned Office Jordan Byrnes will be sworn in as a West Earl Police Detective on January 29, 2022. Higgins mentioned the process to fill the remaining Sergeant position will hopefully be completed by July 2022. Mayor Nothing to report Borough Managers Report Nothing to report at this time Community Relations Report Bonnie Young mentioned that she will be meeting with the Borough Manager on Thursday, January 27, 2022. Parks and Property Report Nothing to report Personnel Report Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned that he met with the Personnel Committee. The advertisement for the Public Works Supervisor is in the newspaper and Ziprecruiter. Streets Report Nothing to report at this time Public Utilities Kleon Zimmerman met with the Borough Managers to discuss I & I project work for 2022. Kleon also mentioned that the camera work done by Kline’s was not done very well. 2 Public Hearing/Presentations Akron Borough Implementation Committee Denise Auker, Chairperson for the Akron Borough Implementation Committee gave a brief presentation on the current Borough Implementation Plan that was adopted in 2018. 1) Priorities and Concerns 2) Vision Statement 3) Comprehensive Plan Survey Response was 25% 4) Themes A) Quality of Life B) Economic Development C) Transportation D) Infrastructure ( Water, Sanitary Sewer, Stormwater) E) Parks F) Housing G) Land Use 5) Implementation Chart showing recommended actions and responsibility Nathan Imhoff mentioned that Ephrata Borough is considering a dog park so that is something Akron Borough will not be pursuing. Michael Morris asked if the Comprehensive Plan will be on the webpage. Susan Davidson stated that the Comprehensive Plan will be on the new webpage which is in the process of being updated. John Williamson mentioned that the Akron Implementation Committee meets once a month and the town center idea was brought up by an Akron Borough businessperson. The Lancaster County Economic Development Company put together a proposal for Ten Thousand Villages and the Broad Street Park. The Broad Street Park does have deed restrictions. The design proposal is $16,000.00 and shared three ways. Akron Borough, $5,333.00; Ten Thousand Villages, $5,333.00 and 20 Akron Residents , $5,333.00. Nathan Imhoff asked if we contribute more money, do we get more of a say? 3 Kleon Zimmerman mentioned it’s still taxpayer money going into a private property. Nathan Imhoff mentioned this plan should have a broader scope. Paul Swangren, Jr. agreed with Kleon Zimmerman and asked if there are grants out there for conceptual ideas/plans. Denise Auker mentioned that Akron Borough does not qualify because of income. Bonnie Young asked, doesn’t the Borough have to apply for grants? Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned, what about the Ephrata Feed Mill. John Williamson mentioned there were more constraints on that project. Williamson asked if Council would spend the money? Sean Molchany mentioned putting together a conceptual drawing of what can be done in that area based on current zoning. Molchany also mentioned the number one project in the Comprehensive Plan is Infrastructure. Ryan Cochran asked how much of the proposal will focus on the park and how much on Ten Thousand Villages? Kleon Zimmerman mentioned that Council specifically asked for a broader scope on this project. Denise Auker mentioned we were sticking with this plan to keep the price down. Randall Justice asked what the scope of the cost would be to increase? Denise Auker state she did not know but the cost would be more. Sean Molchany mentioned that parking depends on usage. Molchany also mentioned that there is an accessibility issue on Route 272 and a limited sight issue, and you will not get that in a conceptual plan design. 4 Randall Justice stated we are at an informational stalemate. John Williamson apologized for not doing the expanded scope and concerned if that is done then Council could turn that down also. Bonnie Young mentioned there are other sources of funding and not sure if we want to spend money on something so defined. Bonnie also mentioned she would be willing to help out with writing grants and also serving as a liaison to the Implementation Committee. Nathan Imhoff stated that when the Akron Borough Implementation Task Force was formed each member was appointed by Council and any new members should also be appointed by Council. Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to appoint Fred Yochum, John Williamson and Lois Flickinger to the Borough of Akron Implementation Task Force Committee and to appoint Bonnie Young as the Council liaison. Randall Justice seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mayor John McBeth mentioned his concern about what we are getting into. The Mayor mentioned that the head of Ten Thousand Villages was at a meeting a few months ago. The Mayor mentioned a soil land contamination study, and would this be a stumbling block and money to develop that building such as adding apartments/businesses can cost millions of dollars and is Ten Thousand Villages prepared to put that money into that building and he said no. John Williamson mentioned that Ten Thousand Villages is not a developer. Sean Molchany mentioned that he could put a zoning concept together on that property and you would need an idea and an investor to move the concept forward. Nathan Imhoff asked for a bigger scoped project and to look at grants. The area should be from the Route 272 going east to Ninth Street and including the four corners of Ninth Street and to maybe have something by the February 14, 2022 Council meeting. 5 Michael Morris mentioned that he has no problem with his tax dollars paying towards this project. Nathan Imhoff thanked the Akron Implementation Task Force. Old Business Borough webpage update Susan Davidson mentioned that WebTek offered a tutorial last Thursday for Borough Administration staff and there is much needed information that needs to be uploaded. WalkWorks Grant Sean Molchany indicated a committee was being formed and that a meeting with the task force will be on February 9, 2022 and a Public Meeting is scheduled on March 3, 2022. Bank Loan Nathan Imhoff handed the meeting over to Justin Gehman, Vice-President at this time. Susan Davidson mentioned that she has received updated rates from Fulton Bank and Ephrata National Bank for loans and has not heard back from Members First. Council asked that this item be on the agenda for the next Council Meeting. Meeting was then handed back to Nathan Imhoff Council President. Manor Ridge/ Edgehill Drive Paving Project Sean Molchany met with the Engineer about the paving project. Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned that he is not opposed to a 2 year plan and is a little confused because he thought the plans and bid specifications were being put together by Hanover Engineering. Sean Molchany stated that all Hanover Engineering has done to date is prepare cost opinions for the budget. 6 Sean will contact C S Davidson about the project design and have information by the next meeting and contact residents with letters about sidewalks and how many households this would affect. Wolf Tract A letter dated (revised) January 12, 2022 regarding the Wolf Tract Punch list, As- Built Plan Review and Escrow Reduction Recommendation was distributed to Council and Mayor. Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned the latest letter from Hanover is requesting $261,510.00 and the last letter was $275,000.00 and that is only a $14,000.00 difference. Paul mentioned he has the same concerns; item#10 and #11; the retention basin does not drain, and this letter is not any better than the last one. No escrow will be released until the punch list is taken care of. Nathan Imhoff mentioned that the newly appointed engineer should have a list of projects and a timeline along with bill information and an agreement to move forward and should be in attendance at a Council meeting for a formal introduction. New Business Susan Davidson mentioned that the 2021 Annual Borough audit by Herbein and Company commenced today. Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ryan Cochran seconded the motion. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Davidson Borough Manager/Secretary 7 SD 8