City Council

Borough of Beaver, PA Council Meeting February 8, 2022 Minutes • A regular scheduled meeting of Beaver Borough Council was held in the Community Room and was called to order on Tuesday, February 8, 2022 at 7:00 PM by Council President, Alexander Andres. • Council Representatives in attendance: Alexander Andres, Michael Deelo, Roberta Good, Whitney Learn- Conjeski, Margaret McKean, Jim Perini, Alex Sebastian, Sean Snowden, and Amy Stettler. Borough officials in attendance: Mayor Thomas Hamilton, Solicitor Garen Fedeles, Borough Manager/Chief of Police Dan Madgar and Borough Secretary Rebecca Phillips. • Visitors in attendance (signed in): Rick Sprecker, Midge Sefton, Jeff Hamilton, John Grosskopf, Chuck Copeland, Robert Snider, Jim Woolley, and Cheryl Hansen. Approval of minutes Motion by Ms. McKean to accept the January 11, 2022 Council Meeting minutes and the January 25, 2022 Work Session minutes. Seconded by Mr. Perini. Voice vote passed unanimously. Treasurer’s Report – • January 2022 Financial Report included in the Council Packet. • Mr. Deelo – Asked how often the Transfer Tax Revenue was received from the county. o Mr. Madgar – Unsure of how often, will find out and report back to Council. Review invoice and authorization to pay bills Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski to authorize and pay submitted invoices for the Borough. Seconded by Mr. Snowden. Voice vote passed unanimously. Public Participation – None Motion – Parking Waiver for The Puzzle Place, LLC Motion by Ms. McKean, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve The Puzzle Place, LLC (also known as Your Wellness Puzzle, LLC) the requested parking waiver under section 1601(2)(C) of the Borough’s Zoning Ordinance at 309 College Avenue with the following conditions: 1.) This approval is limited to The Puzzle Place, LLC, Your Wellness Puzzle, LLC, and the businesses as defined on the oral presentation to Council and as submitted to the Zoning Hearing Board. This approval must be resubmitted to Council to be reevaluated upon any significant change in businesses at the location, transfer in ownership of any of the businesses, or any new businesses added to the location. 2.) Approximately six months after this facility opens to the public, Council will review the parking waiver approval at a public meeting. Emily Tiberio will be notified of this meeting and will be February 8, 2022 Page 1  invited to attend. Based on quantifiable criteria, some adjustments may be made to the parking waiver. • Mr. Snowden – What is quantifiable criteria? o Ms. McKean – This will prevent opinions of whether there has been a change in the parking/traffic. Some kind of measurable data must be presented showing that there has been any type of change. A parking study could be done to have this type of data. o Solicitor Fedeles – The police department is able to track number of tickets, calls, and complaints in the area of the business. o Ms. McKean – This measurable data needs to be tracked now so there is something to compare the future data to. o Mr. Madgar – Asked Ms. Tiberio to notify the Borough once business operations begin. o Solicitor Fedeles – If the business gets all necessary permits/approvals and operations begin, the recommendation is not expected to shut the business down. Adjustments such as finding additional parking spaces, hiring a crossing guard, etc., may be considered after a review. o Mr. Andres – Council’s intentions after a review would to help resolve any issues there may be, not shut the business down. o Ms. Stettler – Asked if there was any way that traffic flow or volume could be measured through the traffic light/camera. ▪ Mr. Madgar – This would fall under a traffic study as we do not have the capability of doing this with our current system. o Mr. Madgar – These conditions were added to protect the Borough and surrounding businesses, they are not to hurt Ms. Tiberio’s business. Council would like to see Ms. Tiberio’s business succeed. o Ms. McKean – Added the term “quantifiable” because when she spoke with Ms. Tiberio, she expressed concern that data could be subjective. o Ms. Learn-Conjeski – Factors such as the weather and the elementary school in session/summer break should be considered into data collected on the area. • Mr. Perini – Thanked Ms. Tiberio for bringing her business to Beaver, as there is a demand for these child care services. Seconded by Mr. Perini. Voice vote passed unanimously. Reports – Commissions / Authorities Mr. Andres requested that for future meetings, any items that would like to be addressed at meetings be added to the agenda. Council of Governments (COG) – No report February 8, 2022 Page 2 Civil Service Commission – Reported by Mr. Jim Todd • January 24, 2022 meeting minutes and certified list included in the Council packet. • Applicants on the certified list have been notified. • Mr. Madgar, Mr. Andres and Mayor Hamilton thanked the Civil Service Commission for their time, effort, and research to provide this list. • Mr. Sebastian – The responsibilities of the Civil Service Commission are more important than ever to the community as the number of applicants continues to decline. Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) – Reported by Mr. Sprecker • A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, February 17 th at 7:00PM in the Community Room for the following: o Request from Frank and Jennifer Malone for an appeal of a stop work order issued for the erection of a fence at 344 Buffalo Street in the R-1 zoning district without receipt of a permit and in excess of the maximum allowable fence height. o Request from Bristal and Brian Ellefson for approval from the Zoning Hearing Board to allow a modification of a restaurant non-conforming use status in order to permit a “drive-through” for the Dairy Queen restaurant located at 1115 Third Street in the SC zoning district in accordance with zoning section 1706.B.1.a. • A copy of the legal notice was included in the Council packet. Planning Commission – • December 20, 2021 meeting minutes included in the Council packet. Tree Commission – No report Code Enforcement Officer Report – • January 2022 Code Enforcement Officer report included in the Council packet. Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) – No report Municipal Authority – • January 19, 2022 meeting minutes included in the Council packet. • Municipal Authority Engineer report for mid-December 2021 through mid-January 2022 included in the Council packet. • Mr. Sprecker – The air monitor has been installed and electricity has been put in place. • Mr. Madgar – A portion of the main street was shut down today to repair a water line. The company that was used to assist the repair was not able to do the work at night due to safety precautions, freezing temperatures, etc. Tomorrow, work will begin on a clogged main sewage pipe. The railroad has worked with the Municipal Authority and Municipal Authority Engineer to allow equipment to be transported along the side of the tracks to get the work done in a timely manner. • Mr. Perini – Asked for details regarding Bridgewater having an outstanding water bill. February 8, 2022 Page 3  o This issue is currently being handled by attorneys in litigation. Shaw Park/Pool – Reported by Mr. Andres • Reached out to the committee members and requested a report be provided to update Council members. • Fundraiser originally scheduled for February has been pushed to May 2022. • A meeting is in the process of being scheduled. • Mr. Snowden asked what fundraising goal the Pool Committee has set. o Mr. Andres – The committee has a goal of $3 million to $5 million. o Ms. Stettler asked how much has been raised so far. ▪ Mr. Andres – Unsure of the exact amount but it is a very small amount. The funds are held at the Beaver County Foundation. ▪ Ms. Learn-Conjeski requested that the amount of fundraised be reported at the next meeting. • Any requested funds must be approved through Council. • The committee is focusing on getting larger donations first. Council Committees Finance – No report General Government – Reported by Mr. Snowden • Would like to touch base on items such as potential renovations of the Borough building, pool house and Shaw Park to start addressing needs we may have in the future. Highways – Reported by Mr. Deelo • Working with the Borough Manager and Borough Engineer to continue the partnership with Columbia Gas and others as gas lines are replaced and roads are repaired in 2022. Public Safety / Code Enforcement – Reported by Mr. Sebastian • Thanked the Civil Service Commission for their work to put together the eligibility list. • Mr. Madgar – Explained there are currently four open rotations within the current police schedule that are filled by part-time police officers. Currently there is adequate coverage and there is no safety issue but a discussion will be needed sometime this year to create a plan. Recommended hiring the top candidate on the eligibility list, Bob Applegarth. Mr. Applegarth is currently a full-time officer in Beaver Falls and a part- time Beaver Borough police officer. • Mr. Perini – Asked if the police department still had the pickup truck and if it could be sold due to the high demand of pickup trucks. o Mr. Madgar – Yes, the police department still has possession of the boat, it was awarded through a grant submitted with Center Township. It is used to pull the policing boat. Other vehicles are not able to haul the boat and is still needed. February 8, 2022 Page 4 • Mr. Perini – Asked if the utilization of the current police vehicles could be reviewed to see if the department could drop one or two vehicles. o Sergeant McCoy – Two vehicles were dropped previously when the vehicle rotation began. Dropping more vehicles would be putting the department below the bare minimum vehicles needed. Recreation – No report Reports Manager/Secretary Report – Reported by Mr. Madgar • Reminder that Statement of Financial Interest forms need to be completed and returned to the Borough Office. • Reviewed process of the rotation of police vehicles. Will have motion to purchase two police vehicles that are part of the established rotation. • Motion at the next Council Meeting to approve the upfitting of the two new police vehicles. • Invited Recreation Committee and General Government Committee to attend meeting with EPD on February 25th to discuss Quay Park Designs. Mayor Hamilton – • The Beaver Library contacted him to thank and recognize the Highway Department for removing the snow on their sidewalks. President’s Report – Reported by Mr. Andres • Thanked the Civil Service Commission for their work. • Complimented the Highway Department for the snow removal in town. • Recognized the Municipal Authority and Police Department for their work handling the water line repair on the main street. • Mr. Perini – Asked what was used for snow removal on the sidewalks in the parks and that the sidewalks were widened to fit the brush that was purchased to remove the snow so that the grass on either side was not damaged. o Mr. Madgar – Will get an answer and report back. Police Department – No report Fire Department – Reported by Chief John Grosskopf • Invited Mr. Sebastian to come to the Fire Department to see the facility and understand the works of the Fire Department. • Last month there were nine fire calls. • Department submitted for two grants. One was co-submitted with six other departments for digital radios. o Mr. Madgar – The police department is also applying for a grant for radios. The grant application requested was for full reimbursement of $120,000.00. February 8, 2022 Page 5 Emergency Management Coordinator – No report Borough Engineer – No report Solicitor Report – Reported by Mr. Fedeles • Distributed a draft of potential changes to the ordinance restricting recreational and larger vehicles from parking on public streets. Asked Councilmembers to review for discussion at the February Work Session. Motions Motion – Purchase of Two Police Vehicles Motion by Mr. Sebastian, per the motion passed on October 12, 2021, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached Laurel Ford Invoice #2022-007 dated January 11, 2022 in the amount of $68,720.00 for two police vehicles (vin numbers ending in 27356 and 27202). This is part of the established rotation. Seconded by Mr. Snowden. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion to adjourn by Mr. Snowden. Seconded by Mr. Sebastian. Voice vote passed unanimously. Adjourned at 8:16 PM Submitted by Rebecca Phillips February 8, 2022 Page 6