City Council

Borough of Beaver, PA Council Meeting April 13, 2021 Minutes • A regular scheduled meeting of Beaver Borough Council was held remotely on Zoom due to COVID- 19 social distancing restrictions. Meeting was called to order on April 13, 2021 at 7:01 PM by Council President, Sean Snowden. • Council Representatives in attendance: Alexander Andres, Frank Bovalino, Michael Deelo, Chris King, Margaret McKean, Jim Perini, Adam Rathbun, Alex Sebastian (7:03PM), and Sean Snowden. Borough officials in attendance: Solicitor Garen Fedeles, Borough Manager/Chief of Police Dan Madgar, Borough Secretary Debbie Hindman, and Borough Engineer Dan Martone. Absent: Mayor Thomas Hamilton. • Visitors in attendance: Midge Sefton, Whitney Conjeski, Robert Snider, Gillian Leytham, Amy Stettler, and Everett Turner. Approval of minutes Motion by Ms. King to accept the March 9, 2021 Council meeting minutes and the March 23, 2021 Work Session minutes. Seconded by Mr. Rathbun. Voice vote passed unanimously. Treasurer’s Report –  Report will be submitted at the April Work Session for review. Review invoice and authorization to pay bills Motion by Mr. Bovalino to authorize and pay submitted invoices for the Borough. Seconded by Ms. King. Voice vote passed unanimously. Public Participation – None Reports – Commissions / Authorities Council of Governments (COG) – Reported by Mr. Andres  March 2021 meeting minutes enclosed in council packet.  Short term rentals were discussed and resources were forwarded to the Planning Commission. Civil Service Commission – No report Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) – No report Planning Commission – Reported by Mr. Martone  February 15, 2021 meeting minutes enclosed in council packet. April 13, 2021 Page 1  Continuing to finalize recommended zoning ordinance updates. Expected to have recommendations to Council next month. Tree Commission –  Ms. King asked if the Tree Commission has been having meetings. o Ms. Hindman – Reaches out monthly for reports but has not received anything. Code Enforcement Officer Report –  March 2021 report from Code Enforcement Officer enclosed in council packet.  Mr. Martone – Completing the final remediation on the 4th Street project after last year’s gas line replacement project. Mr. Martone and Mr. Sprecker walked through and identified 28 properties with non-compliant sidewalks/curbs. Of those 28 properties, Mr. Sprecker has met with 26 and they are in the process of making the repairs to be compliant. Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) – No report Municipal Authority –  March 17, 2021 meeting minutes enclosed in council packet. Council Committee Reports Shaw Park/Pool – No report Public Safety / Code Enforcement – No report Finance – Reported by Mr. Perini  2021 budget is still going as scheduled. Highways – Reported by Mr. Bovalino  Discussed the road deterioration on Third Street in front of Wendy’s and McDonalds. o Mr. Madgar – There has been some progress made. PennDot has completed testing on this portion of the road to see why the deterioration keeps happening. o Mr. Martone – PennDot has stated they hope to have this section of the road fixed by June or July this year. Mr. Martone is also trying to get a commitment from PennDot for repairs on Market Street, as it is also a state road. General Government – Reported by Mr. Andres  Sent out a survey to Council members to prioritize projects and has received two responses. Would like to have results to present to council at the next Work Session. April 13, 2021 Page 2 Recreation –  Ms. King asked when the misting station will start in Shaw Park this year. o Mr. Madgar – Unsure if a misting station will be provided this summer. Many glass bottles had to be cleaned up last summer and could be a liability. Discussions will continue, no decision has been made.  Ms. King asked what happens to new trees that did not make it through the winter. o Mr. Madgar – A joint effort is made between the Tree Commission and Borough workers to identify any dead trees to be removed and then plant something else in its place. Currently waiting the Tree Commission’s recommendations as to what to plant on Third Street. Reports Manager’s/Police Report – Reported by Mr. Madgar  Reviewed Borough Manager report provided in council packet.  Hostetter Auctioneers will be starting the inventory process at the pool on April 26 th. This process is expected to take a few weeks.  Bruce Pollock of RSSC Architecture will be attending the next Work Session to show potential blueprints/construction of Borough Building. Blueprints were completed when potential construction of pool and Borough building simultaneously was being considered. Eventually, the Borough Building construction was put on the back-burner. Asked that this discussion be put on the Work Session agenda.  Mr. Martone, Mayor Hamilton and Solicitor Fedeles are in current negotiations with Columbia Gas regarding road paving reimbursement.  Mr. Martone – Handicapped ramps are being installed along 4th Street (approximately 25 locations, totaling approximately 45 ramps). This installation costs approximately $100,000 and will be paid fully by Columbia Gas to make the intersections ADA compliant. This will be at no cost to Beaver Borough or tax payers. This project started last week and is expected to be completed by the end of April.  Mr. Andres – Thanked Borough workers for clearing fallen limbs in Boquet Park and suggested that caution tape be placed in the future to prevent children from playing. o Mr. Madgar – Fallen limbs were caused by high winds. When the limbs were being cleared, it was found that the tree was rotted and needed removed.  Mr. Andres – Noticed that a couple trash cans were missing in Bouquet park as well, asked if they were damaged by the fallen limbs. o Mr. Madgar – Some trash cans were removed because of pet litter, diapers, and household garbage were found in the trash cans. The trash cans will be repositioned so people using the park will be able to access them easier.  Mr. Andres – Noticed bikes at the corner of College Avenue and Third Street and have been there for a few weeks. April 13, 2021 Page 3  o Mr. Madgar – The bikes belong to residents that live nearby. There are also bike racks there to be used.  Mr. Andres – Asked if there were any policies regarding flags in town, had noticed that some flags are flying at half-mast while others are not. o Mr. Madgar – The Highway Department Supervisor has a state calendar with all of the official days the flag is to be at half-mast, but some organizations do it for personal/individual reasons such as to honor someone.  Mr. Andres – Wanted to comment on the Borough Building blueprints/designs. Unsure what Council is going to do with these designs, as there is no capital for a pool and Council won’t be able to have capital for the Borough Building. Capital should be made first before designs are looked at. o Mr. Madgar – This process was started approximately two years ago and these designs are already paid for. The designs were then put on the back burner once Council started looking into potentially installing a new pool.  Mr. Perini – Now that Rental Registration has done a complete cycle and properties are being inspected a second time, should the program be looked at closer to see if any improvements or changes need made? o Mr. Madgar – Changes are constantly being made to adapt as potential issues are encountered.  Ms. Hindman – Inspections and collections are going well within the program. Only suggestion is for the Borough to look into some kind of software to make tracking and billing more efficient.  Mr. Madgar – Software is being researched. The Borough has also reached out to surrounding communities with a Rental Registration program to see what software they are using. o Mr. Perini – Wants to ensure that the program is meeting the Borough’s expectations. o Mr. Snowden – Suggested that the Borough reach out to Bob Bickerton to see if he has any or knows of any software that could be used. o Mr. Deelo – Suggested to reach out to PSAB for help as they have been helpful with code enforcement in the past. President’s Report – Reported by Mr. Snowden  Asked that discussion regarding the Water Lot be added to the next Work Session’s agenda.  After reading through the comments made on the pool, there were mentions of Shaw Park needing cleaned more. Mr. Snowden has not noticed the park with garbage and sees Borough workers there frequently cleaning. Asked those to reach out to the Borough if there is ever any issue noticed with the parks so it can be taken care of.  Mr. Andres – Wanted to clarify that the Borough is not shutting down any parks in town. o Mr. Snowden – The Borough is not associated with any of the events in town that may be canceling or postponing. No parks are being shut down. April 13, 2021 Page 4 Mayor Hamilton – No report Police Department – No report Fire Department – Reported by Mr. Perini  The Fire Department is still working on finding a suitable location for training. Discussions are ongoing with the Municipal Authority and Borough Engineer. Emergency Management Coordinator – Reported by Mr. Perini  Will not have the normal June exercise due to COVID-19. Borough Engineer and Borough Municipal Authority Engineer –  Borough Engineer March 2021 report included in packet.  Municipal Authority Engineer mid-February 2021 through mid-March 2021 report included in packet.  2021 Gas Line Replacement Project is moving along well and is ahead of schedule. The majority of the main lines have been put in. The Borough is getting close to finalizing reimbursement of paving with Columbia Gas. Once the reimbursement is finalized, the 2021 Paving Project will be put out to public bid. This will include the roads from Columbia Gas and also other roads in town. o Mr. Perini – Asked if paving will be done all at once or street by street.  Mr. Martone – Fourth Street will be done once the ramps are completed, probably the beginning of May. Other streets such as River Road, Bank Street and other side streets will probably not be done until the end of the summer/beginning of fall. This will depend on when the Gas Line Replacement Project is completed.  Meetings have been held regarding the yard waste/recycling area. The location has been finalized and will be located behind the sewage treatment plant; this property is owned by the Municipal Authority. The Municipal Authority will make a motion at their next meeting the approve the location and project. The project will be able to move forward after this motion is made.  Mr. Bovalino – Asked if there is a reasoning to when and how frequent the water lines are flushed. Flushing seems to be more frequent this year. o Mr. Martone – When there is less movement in the lines and the water becomes stagnant, the lines need flushed to clear anything that may have accumulated out. The Municipal Authority ultimately follows DEP guidelines. Solicitor Report – Reported by Solicitor Fedeles  Reminded Council members to complete and turn in their Statement of Financial Interest form, as they are due by the end of the month. April 13, 2021 Page 5 Motions Motion – Water-lot Project Motion by Mr. Bovalino, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the agreement with Zayo Group, LLC to install telecommunications infrastructure within the public right-of-way in various locations of the Borough. Seconded by Mr. Sebastian. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion – Auditor Contract – Borough Yearly Audits Motion by Mr. Perini, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached three (3) year engagement letter from J. Martin & Associates, LLC to perform our 2020, 2021 and 2022 Borough audits. Seconded by Mr. Bovalino. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion – Auditor Contract – Real Estate Tax Duplicate Receipts and Disbursements Motion by Mr. Perini, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached three (3) year engagement letter from J. Martin & Associates, LLC to perform our 2020, 2021 and 2022 Borough Real Estate Tax Duplicate Receipts and Disbursements audits. Seconded by Mr. Bovalino. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion – Expand Current Pool Committee Motion by Mr. Andres, I move that Beaver Borough Council expand the current Pool Committee from 3 council members to add no more that 6 at large members for a maximum total of 9 members. The expanded Ad Hoc Committee would explore financial contributions to the Pool Project. Members could include, but are not limited to, government officials from outside the Municipality as well as, foundation representatives, corporate donors, grant writers, community organizers and philanthropists. The committee would act in an advisory capacity to the Council with no legislative power. The terms of this committee would be 18 months. Seconded by Mr. Bovalino. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion – Environmental Planning & Design Invoice Motion by Mr. Bovalino, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached invoice from Environmental Planning and Design dated February 16, 2021 in the amount of $19,500 for Stage 1 and Stage 2 of Aquatic Facility Design, Inc. pool designs. Seconded by Mr. Sebastian.  Additional information and documentation were requested by Council to be presented at the next Work Session. Council President approved that this motion be voted on at the next Work Session. April 13, 2021 Page 6 Motion by Mr. Andres to table the Environmental Planning & Design Invoice motion. Seconded by Ms. McKean. Roll call vote; Mr. Sebastian – yes, Mr. Bovalino – no, Ms. King – yes, Mr. Andres – yes, Ms. McKean – yes, Mr. Deelo – yes, Mr. Perini – yes, Mr. Rathbun – yes, Mr. Snowden – no. Roll call vote passed 7-2. Motion – Beaver County BOOM Fireworks Sponsorship Motion by Mr. Andres, I move that Beaver Borough Council support Beaver County BOOM at the rate of $1,250, Silver Sponsorship, for the annual fireworks display. Seconded by Mr. Deelo. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion – Designation of Agent Resolution for COVID-19 Reimbursement Motion by Mr. Perini, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached Designation of Agent Resolution naming Daniel Madgar as the designated agent for the FEMA submission for COVID-19 expense reimbursement. Seconded by Mr. Bovalino. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion to adjourn by Mr. Deelo. Seconded by Mr. Bovalino. Voice vote passed unanimously. Adjourned at 8:21 PM Submitted by Rebecca Phillips April 13, 2021 Page 7