City Council

Borough of Beaver, PA Council Meeting October 11, 2022 Minutes • A regular scheduled meeting of Beaver Borough Council was held in the Community Room and was called to order on Tuesday, October 11, 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 and Amy Stettler. Borough officials in attendance: Mayor Thomas Hamilton, Solicitor Garen Fedeles, Borough Manager/Chief of Police Dan Madgar, Finance Manager Andy Kennedy, Sargent Ken McCoy, Rebecca Phillips, and Debbie Hindman. Absent: Sean Snowden. • Visitors in attendance (signed in): Mary Anne Peluso, John Berenbrok, Rick Sprecker, Midge Sefton, Jeff Hamilton, Jim Todd, Robert Snider, and Jim Woolley. Mr. Andres announced there will be an Executive Session after the Regular Meeting adjourns to discuss a personnel matter. There will be no action taken following the Executive Session. Approval of Minutes Motion by Ms. Good to accept the Council Meeting Minutes of September 13, 2022, and the Work Session Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2022. Seconded by Ms. Learn-Conjeski. Voice vote passed unanimously. Treasurer’s Report – • September 2022 Financial Report included in the Council Packet. Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski to accept the Treasurer’s Report. Seconded by Ms. Stettler. Voice vote passed unanimously. Review invoices and authorization to pay bills Motion by Ms. Stettler to authorize and pay submitted invoices for the Borough. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Public Participation • Mary Anne Peluso and John Berenbrok - Beaver Area Memorial Library o Thanked Council for their continuous support. o Reviewed various programs the Beaver Area Memorial Library offers to the community. o Asked Council to consider increasing their annual donation to the library to help continue providing various programs and resources to the community. o Mr. Madgar – Borough is currently working on the 2023 Budget and will be asking a member of Council to sponsor a motion to increase the annual donation. • Amanda Bradley – Scout Master for Girls Troop 406 o Scouts of the troop attending meeting to earn badge by reporting what they learned. October 11, 2022 Council Meeting Page 1 Reports – Commissions / Authorities Council of Governments (COG) – Reported by Mr. Andres • Reviewed the 2022 Local Government Conference. • COG looking into how bordering communities can partner on services and resources. Civil Service Commission – Reported by Mr. Todd • Had a meeting on October 3rd and will have a continuation of the meeting on October 17th to review current requirements (including application and physical requirements) and possibly suggesting changes to those requirements. • Clarified that the physical and psychological testing is not completed by the Civil Service Commission but by the Borough. • Mr. Madgar – Suggested to change the application requirements to include the following. These align to the requirements of surrounding communities: o Act 120 and 60 college credits o Act 120 and two years full-time experience o Act 120 and four years part-time experience Zoning Hearing Board (ZHB) – No report Planning Commission – • September 19, 2022 draft meeting minutes included in the Council Packet. Tree Commission – No report Code Enforcement Officer Report – Reported by Mr. Sprecker • September 2022 Code Enforcement Officer’s report included in the Council Packet. • Structure at 151 Walnut Street was recently condemned due to the structure being unfit for human occupancy. The owner is in the process of bringing the property into compliance. Historic Architectural Review Board (HARB) – Reported by Ms. McKean • Ms. McKean is working with Mr. Rice to present the HARB recommendations on design guidelines to Council. More information is expected at the October Work Session. Municipal Authority – Reported by Mr. Deelo • September 6, 2022 and September 21, 2022 meeting minutes and Municipal Authority Engineer report included in the Council Packet. • Explained that the Municipal Authority is a separate organization operating independently under the Pennsylvania Municipal Authority Act of 1945. • Reviewed the project being planned to renovate the Waste Water Treatment Plant, which is estimated to cost approximately $3 million, and the financing options the Municipal Authority is considering. October 11, 2022 Council Meeting Page 2  o Mr. Perini asked how these recommended and major upgrades would extend the life of the Waste Water Treatment Plant.  Mr. Martone – Expects the upgrades to last over 30 years. o Mr. Perini stated that he had attended the last Municipal Authority meeting to understand what types of investments the Municipal Authority Board is making. Mr. Perini referenced the financial report to state that the Municipal Authority currently has $2 million. Mr. Perini asked that the Municipal Authority Board consider selling the Waste Water Treatment Plant or merge with another plant, such as Vanport, before starting this project.  Mr. Deelo – The Municipal Authority Board has considered these other options and determined it was not feasible.  Mr. Martone – A study was not completed to review pumping the waste water to Vanport because the expected costs of installing the necessary infrastructure to accomplish this would be too costly. Financing a study to determine this would cost thousands of dollars.  Mr. Perini asked that every option be reviewed before a project of this size begins.  Mr. Andres – As more information becomes available, this can be discussed more during a Working Session. Shaw Park/Pool – Reported by Mr. Andres • Report included in the Council Packet. • A second private fundraiser is scheduled for November. Will report back to Council with more information. Council Committees Finance – Reported by Mr. Perini • Review of the draft 2023 Budget will continue at the October Work Session. General Government – No report Highways – Reported by Mr. Deelo • Reviewed paving to be completed this year. • Mr. Martone – Prep work has begun. There is not a set start date for paving to begin as of yet. Will continue to keep Council updated. • Mr. Perini asked why the residents on River Road Extension, where paving is to be completed this year, are not required to install sidewalks. o Mayor Hamilton – Believes this was looked into years ago and it was determined a legal issue to require property owners to install new sidewalks. Additional costs as removing utility poles and removing existing landscaping is also a concern. Public Safety / Code Enforcement – Reported by Mr. Sebastian • Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions are still ongoing. October 11, 2022 Council Meeting Page 3 Recreation – Reported by Ms. McKean • Asked Mr. Martone to create a cost estimate to repair the water lot reservoir. Reports Manager/Secretary Report – Reported by Mr. Madgar • Trick or Treat will be held on October 31st from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. • Continuing to work with Western Beaver School District and Beaver Area School District regarding School Resource Officers. • Would like to continue discussions of increasing the contribution to the Beaver Area Memorial Library at the next Work Session. • Duquesne Light has contracted a company to trim branches around the power lines in town. Some trees have been requested to be removed. Ms. Lonnett-Roman of the Shade Tree Commission is working with Duquesne Light and their contractor to review the trees in question. o Mr. Fedeles – Stated that if Duquesne Light determines a tree is hazardous and the tree is not removed, that liability would fall back on the Borough if something were to happen. o Ms. McKean – Discussed concerns of residents removing trees and not removing the stump. Ms. McKean stated she believes that this should be enforced within the Borough.  Mr. Fedeles will look into the ordinance regarding tree removal if stumps are required to be removed as well. • The next regular Council Meeting is scheduled for November 8, 2022 which is also Election Day. Council agreed to cancel the November 8th meeting and allow the November 22nd Work Session to be a voting session. • Reviewed Shell Contract closeout. • Resolution to be proposed at the October 25th meeting regarding the DCNR Grant submission to renovate Bouquet Park to be ADA accessible. This is a special fall grant round with a shortened application period. Mayor Hamilton – • The Veteran’s Day Parade will be held on Friday, November 11th in New Brighton. President’s Report – No report Police Department – No report Fire Department – Reported by Mr. Perini • Reviewed the repairs needed to the generator at the Fire Department and potentially needing to purchase a new one. Emergency Management Coordinator – No report Borough Engineer – Reported by Mr. Martone • Submitted the MS4 annual status report at the end of September. This permit will need renewed in 2023. October 11, 2022 Council Meeting Page 4 • Reviewed status of getting a gas line to the Highway Building and Municipal Authority buildings. Solicitor Report – Reported by Mr. Fedeles • A resolution will be proposed at the next Council Meeting to implement Act 57 of 2022. Pennsylvania is mandating that this resolution be approved to direct the tax collector to waive additional charges for real estate taxes in certain situations. This resolution would go into effect January 1, 2023. • The Beaver County Commissioners sent a request to Beaver Borough requesting additional ADA accessible parking spaces along Market Street. It will be the County’s responsibility to ensure that the parking spaces are compliant with ADA accessible requirements. Motions Hire Robert Applegarth as a Full-Time Police Officer Motion by Ms. Learn-Conjeski, I move that Beaver Borough Council hire Robert Applegarth as a full-time police officer with the Beaver Police Department with a start date of January 15, 2023. This offer is conditioned upon passing physical and psychological testing by Beaver Borough. Seconded by Ms. Stettler. Voice vote passed unanimously. SRO Agreement with Beaver Area School District Motion by Ms. Good, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the agreement with the Beaver Area School District to provide a School Resource Officer (SRO) for the 2022-2023 school year at a cost of $80,000.00. A second SRO will serve at the College Square Elementary School at a billed rate of $35.00 per hour. Seconded by Mr. Sebastian. Voice vote passed unanimously. SRO Agreement with Western Beaver County School District Motion by Mr. Sebastian, I move that Beaver Borough Council approve the agreement with the Western Beaver County School District to provide a School Resource Officer for the 2022-2023 school year at a cost of $76,320.00. Seconded by Ms. Good. Voice vote passed unanimously. Motion to adjourn the regular meeting and enter into Executive Session by Ms. Learn-Conjeski. Seconded by Mr. Perini. Voice vote passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 8:24 p.m. to enter into Executive Session. Executive Session ended at 9:04 p.m. Submitted by Rebecca Phillips October 11, 2022 Council Meeting Page 5