Borough Council

5:45 – Public Hearing, Conditional Use Request (EC Area School District) ELLWOOD CITY BOROUGH COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING – 6:00 P.M. – COUNCIL CHAMBERS February 20, 2023 MINUTES CALL TO ORDER President George Celli called the meeting to order. ROLL CALL Present: Mr. Barry, Mr. Cragle, Ms. Dici, Ms. Lamenza (via phone), Mr. Ovial, Ms. Williams, and Mr. Celli Also Present: Borough Manager Kevin Swogger and Solicitor Ed Leymarie Absent: Mayor Anthony Court and Kaden Schlichtkrull (Jr. Councilperson) INVOCATION – Dave McQuaid, First Baptist Church PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE VISITORS 1. Dan Kennedy, Wilmington Township – RE: Candidate for Lawrence Co. Commissioner Vacancy 2. Chuck Rubino – RE: Wine & Bourbon walk COMMUNICATIONS APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Special Meeting 1/4/23, Regular Meeting 1/16/23 A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the Minutes of the Special Meeting held 1/4/23 and the Regular Meeting held 1/16/23, as submitted. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS: Pre-Paid Voucher List 2/15/23 and List of Vouchers to be Paid dated 2/17/23 A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to approve the Pre-Paid Voucher List dated 2/15/23, in the amount of $1,770,875.75, and the List of Vouchers to be Paid dated 2/17/23, in the amount of $208,555.83. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the Departmental Reports, as submitted. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. BID OPENINGS ORDINANCES RESOLUTIONS 1. Food/Health Permit Fees A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to adopt a Resolution, as submitted, amending the Borough’s Food/Health permit and associated fees. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 2. Berkheimer A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to adopt a Resolution, as submitted, designating the Borough Manager, Administrative Assistant, Billing Clerk and Borough Secretary as authorized contacts with Berkheimer, the collector of certain local taxes. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Borough of Ellwood City Regular Council Meeting – 2/20/23 Page 2 of 5 APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS 1. Board of Health A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to appoint Kevin Swogger to the Board of Health for a term that expires 12/31/27. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. COMMITTEES OF COUNCIL Finance: (Williams, Lamenza, Dici) 1. Exonerate Tax Collector A motion was made by Mr. Cragle, seconded by Ms. Lamenza, to exonerate the tax collector from further collection of the 2022 real estate taxes charged to her. The tax collector has accounted for all monies as either collected, exonerated or liened in accordance with her report. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Health/Public Safety: (Ovial, Lamenza, Cragle) Public Works: (Barry, Williams, Ovial) 1. Approve Quote - SEI A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to approve the quote in the amount of $32,645 (Costar Pricing) for a plow, salt spreader and converting the hydraulics on the 2021 Chevy 5500 dump truck. This amount will be paid from the General Fund. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 2. Proposal – Sanitary Sewer System Upgrades (Greenman-Pedersen) A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to approve the feasibility study proposal, as submitted, from Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI) for the sanitary sewer system upgrade (siphon lines) in an amount not to exceed $30,000. This amount will be paid from the Sewage Capital Reserve Fund. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 3. Proposal – Geographic Information System Implementation (Greenman-Pedersen) A motion was made by Ms. Williams, seconded by Ms. Lamenza, to approve the proposal, as submitted, from Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. (GPI) to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset of the Borough’s sanitary and storm sewer infrastructure in an amount not to exceed $24,970. This amount will be paid 50% from the General Capital Reserve Fund and 50% from the Sewage Capital Reserve Fund. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Utilities: (Dici, Barry, Williams) Parks/Recreation: (Cragle, Lamenza, Barry) 1. EC Area School District - Girls Softball A motion was made by Mr. Cragle, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to approve the request by the EC Area School District to use the Women’s Field at Stiefel Park for girls softball March 1 – June 30, Monday – Friday 12pm – 9pm, Sat/Sun 12pm – 6pm. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 2. Ellwood City Girls Softball A motion was made by Mr. Cragle, seconded by Ms. Lamenza, to approve the following: * the request by the EC Girls Softball to use the Girl’s field at Stiefel Park, March – November, Monday – Friday 3-10pm & Saturdays/Sundays 10am – 7pm and the SW corner of the multipurpose field, March – November, Mondays - Fridays, 4-10pm * the request by the EC Girls Softball to use the Girl’s field at Stiefel Park, July 15 & 16 from 6am-10pm. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Borough of Ellwood City Regular Council Meeting – 2/20/23 Page 3 of 5 3. Ellwood City Fast Pitch Softball (Time Travelers) A motion was made by Mr. Cragle, seconded by Ms. Williams, to approve the request by the EC Fast Pitch Softball (Time Travelers) to use Merit Book field March 27 – August 3, Monday - Thursday from 5pm-8pm. 4. EC Area Chamber – Easter Egg Hunt A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the request by the EC Area Chamber of Commerce to use Ewing Park and the swimming pool parking lot for the annual Easter Egg Hunt on April 8 from 11-4pm. This request is also asking for permission to invite food trucks to the event and paying the appropriate fee to the Borough. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 5. EC Area School District – “Careers on Wheels” A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the request by the EC Area School District to use the swimming pool and tennis court parking lot on May 18 (rain date May 19) for the 3rd and 4th graders career day called “Careers on Wheels”. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 6. Boy Scout Troop #806 A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the request by Boy Scout Troop #806 to camp at shelter #8 on April 21 & 22 during the Earth Day Festivities and to have a small camp fire. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 7. EC Ledger 10K Race A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Mr. Barry, to approve the request to hold the Ellwood City Ledger 10K Race on Saturday, July 1 at 9am. It is further requested to utilize the changing facilities at the Veteran’s Memorial Swimming Pool as well as the parking lot from 7am to 11:30am. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Administration/Personnel: (Lamenza, Ovial, Cragle) 1. 2023 Employee Hourly Billing Rates A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to establish the 2023 employee hourly billing rates as follows: 2023 Proposed Standardized Billing Rate Schedule Hourly Overtime Billing Billing Department Group Rate Rate Supervisors 50.53 75.79 Clerical 31.80 47.71 Police Full Time 46.79 70.18 Police Part Time 20.69 31.04 Fire 42.69 64.03 Public Works, Electric, WWTP 45.46 68.19 Parks Labor 15.33 23.00 Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 2. YMCA Pool Mgmt. Agreement A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the 2023 YMCA Swimming Pool Management Agreement, as submitted. The cost for the YMCA to manage the pool is $13,800. This amount will be paid from the General Fund. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Borough of Ellwood City Regular Council Meeting – 2/20/23 Page 4 of 5 3. Diane Daubenspeck – Clerical Support Services A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Ovial, to approve utilizing Diane Daubenspeck for clerical support services on a limited, as needed, basis for $100.00 per hour (not to exceed $5,000). Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 4. Travel Request – Basic 1 Lineworker Training (Devin Marshall) A motion was made by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the travel request of Devin Marshall to attend Basic 1 Lineworker Training in Columbus, OH. September 11-14 and October 9-12. The total cost will be $4,610. This amount will be paid from the Electric Fund. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 5. Travel Request – PSAB Conference (Dici, Court, Swogger) A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Mr. Barry, to approve the travel request by Judith Dici, Anthony Court, and Kevin Swogger to attend the PSAB Conference June 4-7 in Hershey PA. The total cost is $3037.71 plus any meals, and mileage. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Community Development/Buildings: (Ovial, Barry, Cragle) 1. Conditional Use – Ellwood City Area School District A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Mr. Barry, to approve the Conditional Use request by the Ellwood City Area School District to erect a 24’ x 60’ storage building at 531 Carmen Beatrice Blvd., without conditions. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 2. Award Bid – 1219 Crescent Avenue A motion was made by Mr. Cragle, seconded by Mr. Barry, to award the bid on the sale of 1219 Crescent Avenue (11-016100) to Cecil Ables, 1220 Border Ave, at the cost of $5,000. Roll call vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 3. Wine & Bourbon Walk A motion was made by Mr. Barry, seconded by Mr. Cragle, to approve the request to hold a Wine & Bourbon Walk on May 13 from 12-4pm along Lawrence Avenue from 4th – 8th Street. It is also requested to block off parking on the north side of Crescent Avenue between 5th and 6th Street from 11am – 6pm for registration and purchase pick up. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. 4. EC Farmers’ Market A motion was made by Mr. Ovial, seconded by Ms. Williams, to approve the request by the Ellwood City Farmers’ Market to use the Beaver Avenue parking lot, stage and comfort station Saturdays from June 3 – October 7 from 8:00am – noon. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. Blight: (Dici, Ovial, Barry) Technology: (Cragle, Williams, Dici) UNFINISHED BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS MAYOR’S REPORT MANAGER’S REPORT ANNOUNCEMENTS Picnic shelter reservations will begin on the fourth Monday in February (Feb. 27) for Borough residents and beginning on the fourth Monday in March (Mar. 27) for non-Borough residents EC Community Gardens are seeking volunteers to cultivate garden plots in Ewing Park, call Kelly Brack to volunteer (see Press Release) Borough of Ellwood City Regular Council Meeting – 2/20/23 Page 5 of 5 ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the meeting adjourned on a motion by Ms. Dici, seconded by Mr. Ovial. Voice vote; all in favor. Motion carried. ____________________________________ Linda M. List Borough Secretary