City Council

BOROUGH OF AKRON COUNCIL MEETING- FEBRUARY 28, 2022 Council Members present- Nathan Imhoff, President; Justin Gehman, 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; Jeff Shue, C. S. Davidson Inc.; John Taylor, Tina Tripi. Roll Call Kleon Zimmerman-Present Paul Swangren, Jr. Present Randall Justice- Present Ryan Cochran- Present Bonnie Young-Present Justin Gehman- Vice-President-Present Nathan Imhoff- President-Present Mayor John McBeth-Present Meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance Nathan Imhoff clarified the purpose of the Executive Session on February 21, 2022. Nathan Imhoff stated, “I believe I made a statement about information regarding a legal matter, and Council member Justin Gehman made a motion to go into Executive Session regarding a legal matter. To clarify, the purpose of the Executive Session was for informational purposes regarding a potential legal matter. The Manager and the Assistant Manager conveyed a conversation they had with the Solicitor.” Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to approve the February 21, 2022 Borough of Akron Council meeting minutes. Ryan Cochran seconded the motion. Paul Swangren, Jr. stated the minutes should reflect the clarification of the Executive Session as stated by Council President, Nathan Imhoff. Mayor McBeth did not attend the Executive Session. Motion carried. Visitors Tina Tripi from Diller Drive was present to observe the meeting. Jeff Shue from C. S. Davidson thanked Council for the appointment. Currently his firm is addressing issues and moving forward. Jeff mentioned that he submitted a monthly report to staff and is big on reporting on projects. Jeff also mentioned that he has worked with municipalities for a long time. Kleon Zimmerman mentioned that he really liked the engineer’s report. 1 Police Report West Earl Police Officer Mertz was at the meeting to answer any questions by Council and the Mayor. West Earl Police Chief Higgins was unable to attend the meeting. Coffee with West Earl Cop is scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 (7 a.m. – 9 a.m) and Thursday, March 10 (4 p.m. – 6 p.m.) at the Borough of Akron Municipal Building. Finance Report Susan Davidson mentioned that she is waiting on information from the Ephrata National Bank about the loan that was approved by Council at the last meeting. Herbein & Company will meet with staff and Ryan Cochran on Monday, March 7, 2022 to review the annual audit and DCED report. Community Relations Report Bonnie Young has forwarded a grant application to Ephrata National Bank requesting funds for Concerts in the Roland Park at Pav#2 this summer. The concerts are proposed from late May through September, once a month for five months on Sunday afternoons. Bonnie Young mentioned that Sandra Glatfelter from Wellspan reached out regarding the utilization of the Roland Park for the Get Outdoors Program for the summer of 2022. This program encourages children to explore outdoor hiking trails and parks in their County. The programs runs from June 1 to August 13, 2022. Bonnie will forward more information to Council about this program. Parks & Property Report Randall Justice and Mayor McBeth will discuss the proposed pavilion at Colonial Park. Randall also mentioned he received a call from a resident on Akron Road about the corner bldg. with a bright light that is shining on his property (location is Well 5 in Roland Park) Staff will check it out. Randall will pass the email along to Staff and Council. Personnel Report Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned there was a Personnel meeting at 6 p.m. and there are no action items. A couple of interviews are scheduled for the Public Works Supervisor position and will be advertised in the Ephrata Review the next few weeks. Staff is also looking for a minute taker for Council meetings. 2 Streets Report The Manor Ridge/Edgehill Street Project will be discussed at the March 14, 2022 Council meeting. Public Utilities Report Kleon Zimmerman mentioned he received an email from a resident about high sewer bills and forwarded to staff. Staff reviewed the email and will reach out to the resident. Sean Molchany mentioned that he forwarded the sewer televising information over to C.S. Davidson, Inc. Mr. Rehab was contacted to put Akron Borough on their schedule for I & I work. Old Business Webpage Council was holding the check for WebTek because work was not completed on the Borough webpage including updating minutes, pictures etc. and other information was not forwarded. Staff should have been involved from the beginning of the process. Nathan Imhoff asked staff to check when emails were sent to WebTek to try to find out what happened. Council told staff to go ahead an pay the outstanding invoice to WebTek. Street Project Staff will mail out letters to residents on Edgehill Drive and Manor Ridge Drive informing them of the 2023 street project. Other letters to follow in regard to curb and sidewalk (this will be mentioned in the first letter). Wolf Tract The Wolf Tract will be on the March 14, 2022 Council Meeting agenda. Park House Rental Council received a letter from the Park House tenants asking for relief on the rent increase. Council asked staff to do a walk through of the house and get a list or repairs and replacement. Randall Justice mentioned that property values increase. Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned what else can this property be used for other than a rental property. Sean Molchany stated that if there is a change of use then we need to bring it up to code. Mayor McBeth asked how we evaluated the building. Molchany mentioned we looked at the Lancaster County Assessment and the fair market value. Council made no decision at this time and will get a report from the walk through. Randall asked if we also get pictures. 3 Household Water Assistance Program The PA Department of Human Services has requested municipalities to participate in the Low Income Household Water Assistance program. The purpose of this program is to provide payment of existing arrearages caused by COVID-19 pandemic and to prevent the disconnection of drinking water or wastewater services for low income households and ensure continued access to drinking water and wastewater services. Akron Borough would have to approve the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Vendor Agreement. Randall Justice made a motion to approve Akron Borough participate in the PA Dept of Human Services as Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Vendor and complying with all Vendor responsibilities in the Vendor agreement. Bonnie Young seconded the motion. Roll call vote Bonnie Young -Yes Kleon Zimmerman-Yes Ryan Cochran- No Randall Justice- Yes Paul Swangren, Jr.- No Justin Gehman-Yes Nathan Imhoff- Yes Motion carried 5 yes- 2 no. Rail Trail Signal The Rail Trail signal detectors need replaced at both Main and Fulton Streets. Ryan Cochran mentioned a cheaper option would be to put a stop sign or install a button for pedestrians to use. Sean Molchany mentioned we should check with our engineer and all signage needs to be approved. Jeff Shue mentioned that the Borough should have a permit from the state for the traffic signal and any modification must go through the state. Staff will check for the permit. Sean Molchany mentioned we need to take care of this quickly because it is a safety issue. Jeff Shue said it would cost the Borough a few thousand dollars to change our safety plan. Mayor mentioned to put up a stop sign for bikes and pedestrians. Stop signs are not enforceable outside the right-a-way. New Business Randall Justice and Bonnie Young mentioned there is a grant for to get additional lighting in the Roland Park. Porter Stevens who works with the Akron Implementation Task Force found this grant opportunity and shared it with the Task Force. The grant is through PA Dept. of Community and Economic Development and is to be used for planning, acquisition, development, rehabilitation and repair of greenways, trails, open space parks and beautification projects using the Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program. Sean Molchany 4 mentioned we need a design for the grant. Bonnie Young will forward Susan Davidson the information on this grant. Kleon Zimmerman stated that we could use LED lights along the Rail Trail. Kleon Zimmerman mentioned that pavilion #1 in the Roland Park needs a new roof, it is leaking and losing shingles. Molchany mentioned the roof joists are fine but should be re-shingled. Molchany will have a professional roofer look at it and get estimates. Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Kleon Zimmerman seconded the motion. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Davidson Borough Manager/Secretary 5