Borough Council

COLLEGEVILLE BOROUGH MEETING MINUTES JULY 7, 2021 The meeting was called to order at 7PM by Council President Catherine Kernen. ROLL CALL: Council President Cathy Kernen, VP Shannon Spencer (via ZOOM), Craig Farr, Marion McKinney, Kathy Costello, Valarie Beckius and Mayor Aidsand Wright-Riggins. PPT Hoffmann was absent. ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Solicitor Dan Grieser, Engineer Dave Leh, Police Chief Bart Bucher, Manager Tamara Twardowski and Assistant Suzanne Robertson. MOTION to approve the minutes from the June 2, 2021 meeting by Ms. McKinney with at second by Ms. Beckius. MOTION carries 6-0 Ms. Kernen noted that that was an Executive Session prior to this meeting to discuss a personnel matter. PUBLIC COMMENT: None COMMITTEE REPORTS BUDGET & FINANCE: Ms. Twardowski noted the fund balances in the General Fund ($205K) and the Money Market General Fund ($834K) and payroll and ACH withdrawals of $168,361.19. MOTION to approve check numbers 4943-4988 and the Treasure’s Report by Ms. McKinney with a second by Ms. Costello MOTION carries 6-0 Ms. Twardowski shared a rough mid-year budget report that highlighted 2020 YTD through June 30 and 2021 YTD through June 30 and showed that we are trending to be under budget this year. She said that she and Mr. Hoffmann are working on a full report that will be shared at the August meeting. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT: Ms. Kernen noted that at the last meeting, she asked the members to share their vision of how our Main Street should look. Do people want to maintain the small town feel, or do residents want the larger mixed use buildings seen in other towns like Phoenixville. She noted that they plan to hold meetings via ZOOM, as well as setting up information tables at the concerts in the park and movies on the lawn to get resident input before moving forward with any development. COMMUNICATIONS: Ms. Spencer said that she is collecting photos for the website and that the latest newsletter is close to finished and should go out this week. REGIONAL PLANNING: No report. Next meeting will be July 19 CTMA/PUBLIC WORKS: Ms. McKinney reported that construction for Freeland Square is set to begin after July 4th. All but 3 of the manhole maintenance repairs are complete. It was noted that 82 red tags for delinquent sewer bills were delivered to homes in the borough. Ms. McKinney wants everyone to know that the Sewer Authority is willing to work with any resident who is having trouble paying their bill. Please reach out to Public Works to set up a payment schedule. The Ursinus paving project was discussed as well as the slow progress on the interceptor project. She noted that they are prepared for their audit this month. LPVRSA: No report PARKS: Ms. Costello reported that two concerts have been planned: August 19th at 7PM Trout Fishing in America and September 9th at 6PM Smooth Slide. Steve Gehringer from Ursinus College completed the repair and painting of the Scout Cabin. The cabin is available for group meetings. He also has three plans for revamping the backstop to stop foul balls from leaving the field that will be discussed with the committee and brought to Council next month. Chuck Draksler 484 Shakespeare Dr. asked if grass for the infield has been discussed. Ms. Kernen said they will look into it. Ms. Costello asked if it is permissible to use $2K from the Memorial Fund to install ground cover around the Memorial at the park. It would alleviate the constant weeding. MOTION to approve using $2000.00 from the Memorial Fund to install ground cover by Ms. McKinney with a second by Ms. Beckius MOTION carries 6-0 Ms. Costello said she is working with Ms. Twardowski to update the field schedule and policies for next year. PERSONNEL: The Mayor announced the newly appointed members of our Human Relations Committee: Leda Peterson, Rev. Terri Ofori, Damien Brewster, Peg Schultz-Green and Pamela Bunyon. ENGINEER: Mr. Leh reported that demolition is substantially complete on the Freeland Square site. We have received the first escrow release request for this project and recommend it for approval. MOTION to release Escrow #1 in the amount of $248,636.50 by Ms. McKinney with a second by Mr. Farr MOTION carries 6-0 The signal contractor for the Second Ave. & Main St. traffic signal has made some adjustments to the Main St. cameras to improve traffic flow. However, there are still issues being experienced due to a utility line being in the field of vision of one of the cameras. We are working to have this adjusted. As of this report, the contractor for the 2021 Paving Project is hopeful to commence paving operations in early August. Mr. Leh explained the process for the new boat launch on First Avenue and asked Council who they think is best to be involved in the next steps. SOLICITOR: Mr. Grieser explained the class action suit against Perdue Pharma regarding their part in the opioid crisis. Our participation in the suit would not result in any actual money to the borough, but could gain NARCON for our Police department. Currently Perdue Pharma has submitted a bankruptcy plan and part of that plan would allocate a total of $4.5 billion to the United States to be used for the Opioid Crisis and they are seeking votes to approve the plan. MOTION to approve the bankruptcy plan filing by Perdue Pharmaceuticals by Ms. McKinney with a second by Ms. Beckius MOTION carries 6-0 Mr. Grieser noted the changes and updates to our outdated sign ordinance. Due to the extensive information in the new ordinance, Council decided to wait until all members had a chance to review to vote. Ms. Kernen will work on scheduling a work session to discuss the ordinance. POLICE: Chief Bucher noted his monthly report is on file. He reported to everyone a letter or gratitude he received from the Chief from Lower Providence Township that commended Officer Barnshaw for his heroism on June 10th while assisting Lower Providence. Officer Barnshaw ran into a burning building to save two children that were home alone during the explosions set off by their neighbor in his attached house. The home ultimately burned to the ground. The family also publicly thanked Officer Barnshaw for his selfless act. FIRE CO: Mr. Brian Freas reported 25 incidents for the month with an average of 10 minutes to on site. There were 385 hours of service to the community. He highlighted two events coming up: The Collegeville Car Show on August 15 and the 10th Anniversary of the Hero’s Run on September 12. TRAPPE AMBULANCE: Ms. Twardowski reported 112 calls, 23 of which were for Collegeville with an average time to on site of 7.088 minutes. MAYOR: The Mayor expressed his appreciation for our Chief signing on to the County drug addiction program that allows for those arrested for minor drug charges to opt in to rehab programs. He noted he is working on his “State of the Borough” report. The Mayor has been appointed as the President Elect for the Collegeville Rotary and is looking forward to finding more ways the Rotary and Borough can collaborate. MOTION to approve the administrative and committee reports by Ms. McKinney with a second by Ms. Costello MOTION carries 6-0 PUBLIC COMMENT: Chuck Draksler 484 Shakespeare Mr. Draksler asked if there has been any update for a business taking over the Sears location. Ms. Kernen said nothing yet. Craig Penuel 208 5th Ave Mr. Penuel does not agree that speed pillows should be installed on Park Avenue as it will slow emergency personnel. Steve Gerhinger Ursinus College Mr. Gehringer said he has a meeting with the paving contractor for the sidewalks and it is set to begin soon. All permits from the state and borough have been attained. Ms. Kernen noted to everyone that all of the summer events are listed on the Borough website and encouraged everyone to attend! Meeting Adjourned 8:32PM