City Council

BOROUGH OF AKRON COUNCIL MEETING- APRIL 11, 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; West Earl Police Chief Eric Higgins, George D. Wolf, John D. Taylor, Katrina Zimmerman, Pam Wolf, Frank D. Wolf, Travis Wolf, Daniel Rogers. 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-Present Mayor John McBeth-Present Meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Approval of Minutes Ryan Cochran made a motion to approve the March 28, 2022 Borough of Akron Council meeting minutes. Justin Gehman seconded the motion. Bonnie Young mentioned under the Community Relations Committee the April article was about “Changing Times” and the May article will be the Summer Concert Series and Akron Day in the Park. Motion carried with the changes. Visitors Katrina Zimmerman was present at the Council Meeting to discuss the dog shelter. Katrina researched and found a post on the Reading City about Code Blue 1 and Code Red where an animal must be brought indoors depending on the outdoor temperature. Nathan Imhoff asked Police Chief Higgins about animal shelter issues and Chief Higgins had some familiarity with this and in New Jersey had one officer who served as a humane officer. In West Earl there are some issues with farm animals, but the rules are different for farm animals vs. domestic animals. Sean Molchany mentioned this is a difficult enforcement issue. Kleon Zimmerman mentioned we can access temporarily from a specifically trained person to be an enforcement officer. Chief Higgins can research this for the borough and not opposed to enforcing this. Randall Justice mentioned that he spoke to colleagues about this and the general advice was to stay out of it and not because he does not care about the issue but this is not an area of his expertise and it could make for unanticipated and unexpected work for ourselves. Katrina Zimmerman mentioned that can set a good precedent for Akron. Nathan Imhoff mentioned we will continue to discuss and do more research on what we want to see and what needs to be done. Frank Wolf, Pam Wolf, Travis Wolf and Daniel Rogers were present at the Council meeting to ask about the rumors of the borough removing the sand volley ball court at Roland Park. This was an Eagle Scout Project back in 2008 and the cost was $4,100.00. It was also mentioned that it has drainage underneath. Justin Gehman suggested the Scouts put up a plaque when done. Nathan Imhoff suggested the Scouts give us a list of Scout projects that were completed over the years to see what is in need of repair and to let us know of all the projects. Bonnie Young mentioned she could write a story about the Scouts and if there is some current events, please email her. Nathan Imhoff mentioned that Council will be discussing the volleyball court maybe later this evening. It was suggested to put more sand in the volleyball court (maybe 1 ton). Sean Molchany mentioned that the court is in disrepair, underutilized, local cats digging and it’s a sanitary issue. Randall Justice mentioned people play volleyball elsewhere in the park. Frank Wolf mentioned the volleyball court was placed there for a drainage issue. Justin Gehman mentioned it was a Boy Scout project and the Scouts put a lot of effort into the project and it would be more to remove it. 2 The volleyball court will stay and the scouts will rototill the sand. The Borough will purchase a new net and sand. It was also mentioned that the Akron Pines Playground had 40-60 tons of new mulch added last June 2021. Ryan Cochran asked the Scouts to give staff a list of scout projects at the park. Bills Ryan Cochran made a motion to approve the April 2022 Board of Akron Disbursements and fund the appropriate account for the disbursements as reviewed by the Finance Committee. Ryan Cochran read into the minutes the April 2022 disbursements. General Fund- $170,849.94 Water Fund- $39,033.12 Sewer Fund - $4,140.87 New Year’s Eve Fund -$75.45 Payroll Fund - $2,574.01 Kleon Zimmerman seconded$170,849. the motion. Motion carried. Police Report West Earl Police Chief Eric Higgins stated there is no written police report because he was having computer issues and will have a report for the next meeting. Chief Higgins mentioned there a Liaison meeting on April 5, 2022 at the Borough of Akron Municipal Bldg. The next Liaison meeting is scheduled for September 6, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. at the West Earl Municipal Bldg. Mayor Report Mayor McBeth mentioned the 2022 first quarter Ephrata School Resource Officer Report has been disturbed to Council. Borough Manager Report March 2022 financials have been reconciled and the April 2022 bills have been reviewed by the Finance Committee. The ethics forms are due by May 1, 2022. 3 The grant reimbursement for the water loop project was received in the amount of $214,653.00 and this money was deposited into the Water Reserve Fund. Sean Molchany will be meeting with staff from C.S. Davidson to look at the proposed paving project on Manor Ridge Drive and Edgehill Drive. Street Sweeping is scheduled for April 21 (east side) and April 22 (west side). Affordable Paving will start prepping S. Ninth Street (between New and Oak Streets) on Friday, April 15 with the final paving week of April 18, 2022. Work has been completed at Pavilion 1 & 2 and the pavilions and bathrooms are now opened at both Roland and Broad Street parks. Roof quotes for pavilion 1 and Roland Park bathroom was submitted to the Park Committee and Council and currently waiting for the Akron Lions Club decision from their meeting on April 12, 2022. Mr. Rehab has been contacted and will put the Borough on their scheduled for I & I work. Contacted Congressman Lloyd Smucker’s office for assistance in reaching out to the IRS in regard to the PA Water Assistance Program. The newly hired substitute crossing guard has been trained and the Borough now has three substitute crossing guards. Bonnie Young has scheduled concerts in the Roland Park and these concerts are being sponsored by Haggerty, Silverman & Justice. The Active Transportation Steering Committee met on Thursday, April 7, 2022 and reviewed the survey and the next step is to have the draft plan reviewed by the steering committee in June 2022. Sean Molchany is updating the current zoning ordinance and will have a draft by mid-year to present to the Akron Borough Planning Commission for review. 4 There are no Planning Commission meetings or Zoning Hearings scheduled at this time. Staff will have a phone conference with WalkWorks on April 13, 2022 in regards to the grant on sidewalks. The next Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2022 at 8:00 a.m. The American Rescue Plan Reporting The final rule offers a standard allowance for revenue loss of up to $10 million, allowing recipients to select between a standard amount of revenue loss or complete a full revenue loss calculation. Recipients that select the standard allowance may use that amount-for government services with streamlined reporting requirements. Most municipalities are doing the standard allowance, it makes reporting much easier for both parties. This first report is due April 30, 2022. Council should make a motion on how that want to report the revenue. Herbein & Co., the Borough Auditor suggested we go with the standard allowance reporting. Ryan Cochran made a motion to select the standard allowance for reporting requirements for the American Rescue Plan Reporting as recommended by Borough Manager and the Borough Auditor. The first report is due on April 30, 2022. Justin Gehman seconded the motion. Motion carried. Community Relations Report Bonnie Young wrote articles on “Changing Times” and volunteer Dick Wanner in April 2022 and will write articles on Akron Day in the Park and the Summer Concert Series. Bonnie attended a meeting a Lancaster County Supervisors Meeting on March 29, 2022 at Enck’s in Manheim PA Bonnie mentioned that the 2022 Concerts in the Park will be sponsored by Haggarty, Silverman & Justice. Bonnie mentioned she is putting an article in the Borough newsletter asking Akron residents for suggestions on ideas for a town motto. 5 Bonnie mentioned at the last Implementation Task Force Meeting it was suggested to patronize Akron businesses by listing the Akron Businesses in the Borough webpage. The Borough Manager mentioned to Council this is not a good idea to promote businesses on our webpage. In the past businesses have sponsored our newsletter to cover the printing costs. Nathan Imhoff suggested to put the Lancaster Chamber link on the webpage and that way people can get a list of area businesses through the Chamber. Parks & Property Report Randall Justice mentioned that he and Mayor McBeth will continue to look at the proposed Colonial Park pavilion project and invite representative from Rosenberger to that meeting in the next week or two. Once the details are pinned down then staff will be invited to discuss the project. Nathan Imhoff mentioned that the push buttons for the rail trail signals are smart, and Ryan Cochran mentioned the detectors never worked well we should just have the push buttons. Kleon Zimmerman suggested to add push buttons and keep the detectors. Council will wait to hear back from staff. Staff is waiting on information from C.M. High. Staff will get a cost opinion /recommendation on the park house and a list of what is a priority. Personnel Committee Randall Justice mentioned that the Borough consider using a transcribing service for minute taking at Borough meetings. The meeting would be recorded in ZOOM and the link would be provided to the note taking service. This is a process of listening and discerning the relevant information requited and not necessarily typing the meeting verbatim. Staff is looking into this alternative. Paul Swangren, Jr. would like to have an Executive Session to discuss a personnel issue at the end of this meeting. 6 Streets Committee Nothing to report Public Utilities The Borough received a Notice of Violation letter from the SRBC in March 2022 for exceeding water withdrawal from Borough wells in the fourth quarter 2021 due to water main breaks. A response letter was submitted from the Borough to the SRBC. Paul Swangren, Jr. mentioned to shut down the wells and turn on Ephrata water. Staff will get more information on this and also the cost to produce a 1,000 gallons of water. Other Business Broad Street Park Deed Sean Molchany mentioned that the deed is still enforceable and that the terms in the deed such as ballfields should be interpreted as active and passive park issues. Letter of Credit Release Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to release the letter of credit from the Ephrata National Bank in the amount of $4,369.94 to Front Street Akron, LLC for the property located at 113 Front Street, Akron PA 17501. Kleon Zimmerman seconded the motion. Motion carried. Executive Session Paul Swangren made a motion to go into Executive Session to discuss a personnel matter. Randall Justice seconded the motion. Motion carried. Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to reconvene the meeting at 9:12 p.m. Kleon Zimmerman seconded the motion. Motion carried. Paul Swangren, Jr. made a motion to move forward with the formal offer for the Borough of Akron Public Works Supervisor Position which is included in the 2022 budget. Ryan Cochran seconded the motion. Roll call: Bonnie Young -Yes Ryan Cochran -Yes 7 Kleon Zimmerman-Yes Randall Justice-Yes Paul Swangren, Jr.-Yes Justin Gehman-No Nathan Imhoff- Yes Motion carried 6 to 1. Paul Swangren, Jr, made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Randall Justice seconded the motion. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 9:14 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Davidson Borough Manager/Secretary SD 8