City Council

The Regular Monthly Meeting of Dupont Borough Council was called to order at 7:00pm on Tuesday evening, March 14, 2023 by President of Council Stanley Knick, Jr. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call: Mr. Knick – Present Mr. Kowalczyk – Excused Mr. Karkut – Present Mr. Price – Present Mr. Jones – Present Mayor Elaine Lello – Present MOTION TO ADOPT THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 14, 2023 REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING AND PLACE ON FILE. Motion: Mr. Karkut Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO ACCEPT THE CORRESPONDENCE PRESENTED. Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Price Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO APPROVE BILLS FOR PAYMENT, Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Karkut Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO APPOINT THE PART TIME POLICE OFFICERS FROM MARCH 14, 2023 TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING OF BOROUGH COUNCIL WITH NO GUARANTEE OF WORK: Bryan Besecker, Duane Saunders, Jennifer Polemitis, Christopher Fargione, Michael Sniscak, John Tamburello. Motion: Mr. Karkut Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. REPORTS: Treasurer’s Report - Submitted by Albert B. Melone Co. Business Consultants General Fund - $69,665.00 Payroll Fund - $7,624.43 ARPA Fund - $104,609.00 Admin Debit Card - $236.29 Police Debit Card - $ 201.45 Community Development Fund - $ 63.18 Refuse Fund - $149,865.95 Sewer Maintenance Fund - $291,161.78 Liquid Fuels Fund - $265,061.47 Police Pension Fund - $996,099.45 Town Clock - $87.19 Special Fund - $155,964.24 Tax Collector Report – Submitted by Susan Gregory, Tax Collector February 2023 Report – The Borough received a check in the amount of $46,545.73 which was deposited into the general fund. Additions During Month - $243,739.99 Less Face Collections - $47,495.62 Balance Collectable End of Month - $196,244.37 Less Discounts - $ 949.89 Total Cash Collected - $46,545.73 Mayor Report – None Police Report – Chief Doran read the February 2023 statistical report as follows: Criminal arrests-1; traffic citations issued-18; appearances in county court-1; appearances in magisterial court-4; motor vehicle accidents-4; assist to EMS/Fire-4; assist to other police dept. -5; alarms-1; thefts- 3; vandalism-2; disorderly conduct-3; domestic reports-5; suspicious activity-7; miscellaneous calls-15; building checks-51. Mileage: Car # 1 F-150 – 40,901; Car # 2 Explorer – 13,947; Car #3 Explorer – 11,785. Magistrate Fines Collected - $ 1,538.79. Solicitor’s Report – None. Engineer’s Report – Bob Naegele updated on the following: (1)Met to discuss the bank stabilization on Collins Creek by Florence and Heidi. We identify two areas, 40’ each area. That should take care of the residents concerns for now. The upper area is worse in his opinion. Long term he recommends looking into grant monies to address the entire area. Both culverts within that area were replaced and therefore it is a good time to do bank stabilization within that corridor. (2) Working on grants for the park and are prepared to go forward with the grant application. There is one issue that has to be addressed with county (3) Bids are in for the Growing Greener Project for Almond and Everhart/Holden. Crime Watch Report - Bob Price reported at the January meeting discussion were on issues happening in town. March 28th is the next meeting and the speaker is Jessica with Children’s Service Center who will be talking about current drug trends and treatments available. We hope to have a lot of people in attendance. Council President Report – Mr. Knick reported the following: Trash 52.36 tons; Comingle – 4.90 tons; Paper – 8.25. Mileage: 550-45,486; Mack – 4,497; Packer – 68,299; Recycler – 38,281; 6500 – 429; Green Pickup – 5,224; Bucket Truck – 896. Stan updated council on the sewer issue on Main Street between the tracks on February 26th. Himself, Joe Karkut and Ed Yedesko spent about 5 hours on site. Bob stopped by. We opened several manholes. We found a piece of pvc pipe and baby wipes in the line. It was clogged. We did get it open. Everything is open now. (2) The recycling truck broke down up by the landfill. It had to get towed back to here. Another person looked at the truck and fixed it. (3) We had a Growing Greener project construction pre bid meeting. (4) Bob talked about Florence and Heidi bank stabilization. (5) Letters will be sent to residents on Simpson Street with regard to the alley way. One resident has to move the fence. Another has a basketball hoop to be moved. Mark is willing to help with the work to be done on alley. MOTION TO ACCEPT THE REPORTS: Motion: Mr. Karkut Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO OPEN, READ AND AWARD THE BIDS FOR THE GROWING GREENER PROJECT Motion: Mr. Price Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. 6 Companies provided bids as follows: Addendum # 1 and Bid Bond all present with each bid. Rutlege Excavating - $497,700.00 James O’Hara - $496,700.00 Pioneer Construction - $ 521,259.15 Mitchell Knorr - $592,963.00 Linde Corp. - $497,833.50 Stell Enterprises - $ 239,184.00 Patty noted the grant amount awarded for this project is $326,000. Bob’s opinion is he recommends having a conversation with Stell based on that number. They still have the right to withdraw their bid within so many days. If they do withdraw their bid you are entitled to 10% bond or $24,000. Pina asked again to repeat the grant amount. Patty stated $326,000. Danielle Perrins questioned the match. Patty and Bob both were unsure of the match since they are working with so many grants. Patty will check this. Patty also noted that amount includes payment of engineering costs. MOTION TO AWARD THE BID FOR THE GROWING GREENER PROJECT TO STELL ENTERPRISES IN THE AMOUNT OF $239,184.00 UPON REVIEW of BID SUBMITTAL DOCUMENTS AND RECOMMENDATION BY ENGINEER AFTER CONFIRMING WITH STELL ENTERPRISES Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Karkut Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO APPOINT MARTIN KUNA TO 5 YEAR TERM AS LLVSA REPRESENTATIVE FOR DUPONT BOROUGH. Motion: Mr. Karkut Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO TRANSFER FUNDS FROM SPECIAL FUND TO GENERAL FUND TO REIMBURSE PAYMENT FOR AR POPPLE PROJECT Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Price Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO HAVE ENGINEER PREPARE SCOPE OF WORK FOR EMERGENCY DEP PERMIT FOR BANK STABILIZATION ALONG COLLINS CREEK BEHIND FLORENCE ST. AND HEIDI LANE PROPERTIES Motion: Mr. Price Second: Mr. Karkut Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO TRANSFER $20,000 FROM GENERAL FUND UPON TAX REVENUE RECEIPT FOR LOAN REPAYMENT TO SEWER FUND AS PART OF BUILDING REMODELING PROJECT Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Karkut Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO INVOICE PITTSTON TOWNSHIP AS PART OF THE COMMERCE/NAVY WAY ROAD AGREEMENT FOR 2023 FROM LIQUID FUELS Motion: Jones Second: Price Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO INVOICE PITTSTON TOWNSHIP SEWER AUTHORITY FOR SEWER PASS THROUGHS FOR 2023 AND REQUEST A CURRENT PROPERTY LISTING OF PROPERTIES USING THE SYSTEM Motion: Mr. Karkut Second: Mr. Jones Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2 OF 2023 APPROVING SUBMITTAL OF DCNR GRANT FOR RECREATION FOR LAND BEHIND THE HIGHRISE USING LSA GRANT FUNDS AS A MATCH Patty noted total grant is $478,000. $239,000 is being applied for through DCNR, and the $239,000 approved award from CFA will be the match. Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Karkut Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. MOTION TO APPROVE AND SIGN THE ROAD MAINTENANCE CO-OPERATION AGREEMENT WITH PITTSTON TOWNSHIP FOR THE PUBLIC UNIMPROVED ALLEY BETWEEN SIMPSON STREET AND BUTLER HEIGHTS DEVELOPMENT AS WRITTEN Motion: Mr. Jones Second: Mr. Price Roll Call Vote: Mr. Knick, yes; Mr. Kowalczyk, Excused; Mr. Karkut, yes; Mr. Price, yes; Mr. Jones, yes. Motion Carried 4/0. Matters from Residents: Lauren Zurek, 522 Main Street - Requested status of bills submitted for expenses due to sewer issue. Mr. Knick advised that the Borough will cover some costs and a letter will be sent from the solicitor addressing the matter by the end of the week. Pina asked again to repeat the DCNR grant amounts. Mr. Cigan, 211 Gill Street - Requested status of paving project for Gill Street. Engineer Bob explained the status of the project and the requirements of Penn DOT with regard to design of the ADA ramps. It is hoped the project gets scheduled this year. There are several streets in this project and Patty noted it includes Gill, Hill, Highland, Walnut, Center, Harding, Liberty, Monroe, Bridge. It is in progress. Bob did not anticipate the amount of work with field surveys, elevations, compliance with ada regulations. Mr. Battista, 302 Gill Street - Asked if the drainage work for Gill Street is included in that project. Mr. Knick stated yes it is. Stan stated we can look at another funding source, but talked about doing it all at the same time. Bob added that if this was LSA monies or another funding source we would have been out to bid by now. Penn DOT process is lengthy and covers a lot and we have to go through their checklist before we get the green light to move on the project. Matters from Council and Mayor. Mayor Elaine Lello noted the food drive is Thursday the 23rd of March and volunteers are needed. It is 830 am. at Holy Mother of Sorrows Church hall. Stan Knick was glad to see the turnout at tonight’s meeting. He understands everyone wants to see the roads get paved. Some things take time. We have a lot of projects going on right now. As long as we get the funding we will keep moving forward and try to do one thing at a time. As long as we get the streets done, get the park, the creek is getting done, we have done a lot so far. Be patient. All other council members had no comments at this time. Patty noted the following: (1) With regard to rental inspection program, there are 268 rental units in the Borough. Fifty letters have been mailed out so far to landlords for this program. Three or four returned the forms. There are several questions on the program. One question is from a property owner with five units who feels he should not have to pay 5 fees, but only 1 fee. The program is set at $75.00 per residential unit. There are many multi unit buildings in town. Joey Jones added information on the program since he currently works with this program in another town. Joey spoke with Jason, the inspector today. Once the payment is made at the borough building, Ellen will email Jason the rental sheet . He will reach out to the owner or property manager to schedule the inspection. It is a very good program. It is for the safety of the people living there. We are not making money on this. Pina asked what happens if people refuse to cooperate. Joey noted they will be taken to court. Mr. Cigan asked about the inspection time frame. It is every two years. $75.00 for every two years. Stan stated the money we get is for just sending out letters and postage. The inspector gets most of the fee. Mr. Cigan feels it is fair and encourages the borough to stay with it. Stan stated every apartment has to be inspected and therefore the fee is for each unit. This too took a little time to be put in place and we did this to clean up Dupont and make sure it is safe. (2) County grant for Electronics in the amount of $100,000 is on the County Council meeting agenda this evening. (3) Five grants are on the Commonwealth Financing Authority agenda for Thursday March 16th meeting. They include the DPW Garage building on this property, a Veteran Monument requested by VFW Post 4909 and AmVets Post 189 for the front lawn, Playground Equipment, Electronics for police and administration offices and police vehicles (same grant submitted to the County, and a Statewide grant for over $500,000 for recreation center behind the senior housing complex. Stan added we put in every grant we can, sometimes double up on grants and if we get both we can do a change order. Patty noted there are about 14 on going grants right now and it is a lot of paperwork. Pina asked about cameras that Patty mentioned. She asked if the cameras are up at the park. Patty stated yes they are at the park, but they still have to do the bridge so the cameras can be viewed from the borough building. Bob Price added the cameras are running and recording at the park, but the bridge has to be done once the weather is better to allow the cameras to be viewed from the borough building. Mr. Cigan – Grants are a great idea. You are handling it well. Right now the state not only Pennsylvania but states are flushed with money. I encourage you to apply why the money is there. They are well funded. It may not always be that way. Stan stated everything takes time. He brought up the packer we ordered for well over a year and a half and they keep pushing it back. We accepted it to be built and they came back and raised the price because of shortages and covid. We called all over and we had no choice but to keep this order because we could not find one elsewhere. This new packer is bigger size and hopefully can do the whole town. Sharon Ziobro, Lackawanna Avenue – Questioned if there are any ordinances in town now that address people not taking care of their properties. If there is not would the rental ordinance address it. Stan responded we do have BHW in place to address issues with properties. Once we receive a complaint they will go over and issue a warning or citation. Council is around town but does not see everything so neighbors are encouraged to call in and it will be checked out. Patty noted there is a complaint form on the website. Fill it out and get it to the office. Stan stated no names will be mentioned of who is making the complaint. Sharon asked if the address is good enough because the owner names are not known. Danielle Perrins, 4 Hemlock Street – On the grant application for Thursday for recreation center behind the housing is that different from DCNR. Patty stated it is basically the same thing. Bob noted it had four pavilions, this one has two pavilions, walk trail, playground, parking. Danielle questioned if that is awarded what happens with the DCNR grant. Patty noted we will not have to submit the DCNR grant. Secondly, Danielle asked about the pocket park. Last meeting it was said nothing can be done because we are using that as the match. Does that include any organization soliciting for donations for painting it or revitalizing it at this time. Patty stated she is not sure about that. She knows there was a request to paint it and put up a net for pickleball in the second basketball court. Patty said you are really not doing any construction that would change the use of it. Bob Naegele also agreed nothing is being altered there. Danielle said as long as there is no demolition it is just being maintained and painted it would be ok. The meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote at 7:40pm. One more thing, Patty also noted she has received several inquiries from residents about the billing from the Avoca Ambulance which is normally out in February. Patty spoke with Colleen who stated it is currently at the printer and should be out within the week. Pina added she spoke with Colleen also and as long as your bill last year was paid, it is still good until the new bills go out. Respectfully submitted, Adopted and Approved Patricia McDonald Stanley Knick, Jr. Borough Secretary Council President