City Council

Borough of Beaver, PA Council Meeting June 14, 2022 Minutes • A regular scheduled meeting of Beaver Borough Council was held in the Community Room and was called to order on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7:00 PM by Council President, Alexander Andres. • Council Representatives in attendance: Alexander Andres, 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, Rebecca Phillips, and Debbie Hindman. Absent: Michael Deelo. • Visitors in attendance (signed in): Frank Bovalino, Midge Sefton, Robert Snider, Rick Sprecker, Robert Rice, Anthony Perini, Don Hare, and Lucas Klenovich. Approval of Minutes Motion by Mr. Snowden to accept the May 10, 2022 Council Meeting minutes and the May 24, 2022 Work Session minutes. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Treasurer’s Report – • May 2022 Financial Report included in the Council Packet. Motion by Ms. Stettler to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Mr. Snowden. Voice vote passed unanimously. Review invoices and authorization to pay bills Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski to authorize and pay submitted invoices for the Borough. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Public Participation • None Reports – Commissions / Authorities Council of Governments (COG) – Reported by Mr. Andres • Local Governments Conference has been delayed until September. • Manager/Secretary roundtable monthly meetings now being held at Beaver Borough Civil Service Commission – No report Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) – No report June 14, 2022 Page 1 Planning Commission – • April 18, 2022 meeting minutes, May 16, 2022 draft meeting minutes, and notes regarding the proposed overlay district included in the Council packet. Tree Commission – No report Code Enforcement Officer Report – • May 2022 Code Enforcement Officer Report included in the Council packet. • Mr. Snowden – Asked if there could be a progress update on the vacant retail space located at Third Street and Insurance Street. The building could use some attention. o Mr. Sprecker will contact the owners. o Ms. McKean – Spoke with the owners of the building and they stated that the space is to be occupied in September by a retail business.  Mr. Madgar – The Borough is aware of this but due to confidentiality clauses, details may not be discussed. Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) – Reported by Mr. Rice • Draft June 6, 2022 meeting minutes included in the Council packet. • Reviewed the Historic District Porch Emblem Program currently taking place. • Reviewed HARB’s possible role in the proposed overlay zoning amendment and some concerns regarding Ed Hancock’s professional insurance liability. Will discuss this matter further with the Brough Manger. • Requested to make a presentation at the August Work Session regarding Council’s consideration to adopt HARB ordinance amendment recommendations. Municipal Authority – • May 18, 2022 Meeting minutes and the Municipal Authority Engineer report for mid-April through mid- May 2022 included in the Council packet. Shaw Park/Pool – No report Council Committees Finance – • Budget discussions to begin in August. General Government – No report Highways – • Mr. Madgar – Mr. Martone and Ms. Learn-Conjeski went through town to review the condition of the roads and start to create of list of roads to be considered for paving later this year. Mr. Madgar and Mayor Hamilton are also going to drive through town to look at a few other possible areas in need of attention. June 14, 2022 Page 2  o Mr. Bovalino, 200 4th Street – Commended the Municipal Authority for fixing the manhole on East End and 4th Street Public Safety / Code Enforcement – Reported by Mr. Sebastian • Police CBA discussions ongoing. Recreation – Reported by Ms. McKean • Water lot - Requesting the Highway Department clear off the surface dirt behind the reservoir sometime by the beginning of August to look for the cisterns. • Quay Park update: o Mr. Madgar – Sidewalks: A request was made to the concrete company to see if we could get some assistance with the cost of the concrete. Also, the Heritage Foundation is going to discuss possibly contributing or donating to help the Borough offset some of the cost so we can complete the project. Mayor Hamilton stated our Borough Engineer is following up with the concrete company. Stage: Per Mr. O’Leary, there is enough money to complete the stage with the approximate $80,000 that was contributed – just waiting for the sidewalks to be completed. Hope to have the project completed by the end of the year. Reports Manager/Secretary Report – Reported by Mr. Madgar • Reminded council members not to give legal advice on decks, additions or permits – to give the residents Rick Sprecker’s contact information. • Received $101,250.00 for the Recycling Grant for the recycling bins and new leaf-vac. o Still waiting on materials to complete the new recycling area – should be completed sometime next year. • Beaver Falls decided to purchase an additional vehicle for $19,000 for a total of two police vehicles – motion enclosed in council packet • Pool bath house renovation motion enclosed in council packet o Cherie Moshier, Moshier Studio from Pittsburgh – Firm that completed the Brighton Township 2 Mile Run and Grange Hall as well as the Bradys Run 4 Season Pavilion.  Received a $11,700 proposal for a schematic design of the pool bath house.  There was $15,000 budgeted for match money for a Keystone Grant to put towards the Water Lot Reservoir. Beaver Borough was not awarded this grant. Council could possibly use this money to pay for this proposal.  Suggested a possible partnership with the Heritage Foundation to complete the renovations. • Solicitor Fedeles – to apply for grants, the state looks favorable on combining private and public entities. June 14, 2022 Page 3  • Ms. Good will inform the Heritage Foundation members know that they are welcome to look at the pool house prior to their August meeting. • Brunner motion regarding terminating residential recycling pickup o No rate increases in 11 years o Residents can use whoever they want as a trash hauler o Residents have requested additional recycling pickup since it’s currently only once a month o Borough currently pays $1,136 per month for pickup of once per month this equates to $13,632 per year.  Brunner’s notified the Borough they will be increasing their rates to $1,500 per month, which is an increase of $4,368 per year, for a total of $18,000 per year. o Brunner’s wants to send out a letter to residents with the rate increase by the end of the month. We need to decide if the Borough wants to continue to pay for recycling or have the residents pay. o Brunner’s stated the cost for residents to pay for recycling pickup twice a month will be $6.08 plus the additional cost of the trash pickup. Mayor Hamilton – • Garrison Day was a success. Received complements of how nice the event was and how nice the parks looked afterwards. o Mr. Snowden – There were several clubs from our school district that helped with the trash pickup.  He will try to find out who the clubs were to thank them. • Ms. Good and Mayor Hamilton were requested to meet with Dr. Oz, candidate of U.S. Senate, to give him a tour of our Business District. Dr. Oz was impressed with our town and our high occupancy rate. o Ms. Good – The businesses that were visited were all busy and he was able to talk to the business owners. President’s Report – Reported by Mr. Andres • Thanked Police Department for their work in solving who vandalized the Clark Park Memorial. • Ms. Good and Mr. Deelo represented Beaver Borough at the PSAB yearly conference. o A topic was brought up at the conference, Ms. Good asked the Solicitor if people need to identify themselves when speaking at a public meeting.  Solicitor Fedeles stated we are allowed to do is to limit questions and comments to only residents and or taxpayers. He recommends we follow our current protocol. Police Department – Reported by Chief Madgar • Still down one officer – will review during budget discussions • One officer still out with injury Fire Department – Reported by Mr. Perini • June 4th Fire Department and Heritage Valley Health System 5K/10K walk/run race was well attended. o Thanked the Police Department for their support and assistance June 14, 2022 Page 4 Emergency Management Coordinator – Reported by Mr. Perini • June 7th had a drill in conjunction with Beaver Valley Power Plant Borough Engineer – • May 2022 report included in the Council packet. Solicitor Report – No report Motions Memorandum of Understanding with the Beaver Pool Committee Motion by Mr. Andres, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached Memorandum of Understanding with the Beaver Pool Committee. Seconded by Ms. McKean. • After Council discussion, the timeline will be changed from two years to three years. • Voice vote passed unanimously. Protech Asphalt Maintenance, Inc. Invoice for 2021 Road Paving Project Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski, based on the Borough Engineer written recommendation dated June 5, 2022, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached Protech Asphalt Maintenance, Inc. invoice dated May 13, 2022 in the amount of $127,356.09 for the 2021 Road Paving Project. Columbia Gas has agreed to reimburse Beaver Borough 75% of this invoice. Seconded by Ms. Stettler. Voice vote passed unanimously. Protech Asphalt Maintenance, Inc. Invoice for Patchwork Motion by Mr. Sebastian, Based on the Borough Engineer written recommendation via email dated June 10, 2022, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached Protech Asphalt Maintenance, Inc. invoice dated June 6, 2022 in the amount of $14,411.50 for asphalt road patchwork. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Sale of Two Police Vehicles to City of Beaver Falls Motion by Mr. Sebastian, I move that Beaver Borough sell two 2018 Ford Explorers (VIN’s ending in 99511 and 21186) owned by the Borough and used by the Police Department to the City of Beaver Falls for $19,000 each. Seconded by Mr. Snowden. Voice vote passed unanimously. Schematic Design of Bath House by Moshier Studio Motion by Mr. Snowden, I move that Beaver Borough request a schematic design of the bath house at Shaw Park conducted by Moshier Studio with a cost not to exceed $11,700.00. Seconded by Mr. Sebastian. • After council discussion, this motion will be further reviewed at the next Work Session. • Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski to table the motion. Seconded by Ms. Stettler. Voice vote passed 6-2. No votes, Mr. Snowden and Mr. Sebastian. June 14, 2022 Page 5 Authorization to Advertise Public Hearing for Amendment to Zoning Ordinance Motion by Ms. Good, I move that Beaver Borough Council authorize the Borough Solicitor to advertise a public hearing for the proposed amendment to the Beaver Borough Zoning Ordinance to establish a traditional neighborhood development overlay district and proposed amendment to the Beaver Borough Zoning Ordinance changing the zoning map to include this overlay district. This public hearing is to be scheduled for Tuesday, August 9, 2022 at 6:30 p.m. Seconded by Ms. Stettler. Voice vote passed unanimously. Terminate Contract with Joseph J. Brunner, Inc. for Recycling Pickup Motion by Mr. Snowden, I move that Beaver Borough Council terminate the agreement with Joseph J. Brunner, Inc., in which the Borough pays on behalf of residents, for residential recycling pickup and hauling, effective July 1, 2022. Residents will now be billed directly by the hauler for recycling pickup. Seconded by Ms. McKean. • After council discussion, it was decided to table the motion so Mr. Perini can discuss and review the rates with Mr. Brunner and vote at the July Work Session. • Motion by Ms. McKean to table the motion. Seconded by Mr. Perini. Voice vote passed 7-1. No vote, Mr. Snowden. Progress Payment to DemEx, LLC for the “Remove and Regrade the Beaver Borough Municipal Pool Project” Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski, Based on the Borough Engineer’s recommendation via email dated June 10, 2022, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the attached DemEx, LLC invoice dated June 7, 2022 in the amount of $94,505.86 for 9% completion of the “Remove and Regrade the Beaver Borough Municipal Pool Project”. Final payment will be issued upon completion of the project. Seconded by Mr. Snowden. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion to adjourn by Mr. Sebastian. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Adjourned into Executive Session at 8:32 p.m. Submitted by Rebecca Phillips June 14, 2022 Page 6