Borough Council

MEETING MINUTES FOLCROFT BOROUGH COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING SEPTEMBER 19, 2023 Location: 1555 Elmwood Avenue, Folcroft PA 19032 President Papaleo called the meeting to order at 7:04pm. Mayor: Flag Salute and Invocation. Roll Call: Council President Papaleo was present, Councilmember Leigh Daly was present, Councilmember Tawana Grayson was present, Councilmember Malinda Isaac was present, Councilmember Lorna Fyffe was present, Councilmember Stephen Ropski was present, Councilmember Frank Redding was absent, Mayor Franny DiCicco was present, Solicitor Colleen Marsini was present, Secretary/Manager Andrew Hayman was present. Audience Participation President Papaleo noted that an executive session was held prior to the meeting to discuss personnel matters. Darlene Taliaferro – 504 Folcroft Avenue – said the alleyway behind her home which is really a street is being treated like an alley and she does not believe the residents care. Ms. Taliaferro said she thought the code enforcer was handling this. Ms. Daly said the code enforcer is no longer working for the Borough. Ms. Grayson noted which properties are damaging vehicles as they go by. Ms. Taliaferro noted the abandoned house and a home which she says looks like it is abandoned. Manager Hayman agreed to meet with Ms. Taliaferro at the site to discuss this matter. Public Finance & Administration - Mr. Papaleo ** Ms. Daly made a motion to approve the bill list for the month of August, 2023 seconded by Ms. Fyffe. The motion passed unanimously. ** Mr. Ropski made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report for the month of August, 2023 seconded by Ms. Daly. The motion passed unanimously. **Ms. Grayson made a motion to approve the August 1st 2023 Meeting Minutes seconded by Mr. Ropski. The motion passed unanimously. **Ms. Isaac made a motion to approve the 2024 MMO payment seconded by Mr. Ropski. The motion passed unanimously. Public Works - Ms. Grayson • Ms. Grayson had no new business. Public Safety– Mr. Ropski **Mr. Ropski made a motion to approve Resolution 2023-05 authorizing an application for the 2023 Local Share Account grant seconded by Ms. Daly. The motion passed unanimously. ** Mr. Ropski made a motion to approve the August 2023 Police report seconded by Ms. Isaac. The motion passed unanimously. **Mr. Ropski made a motion to approve the August 2023 Fire Chief’s report seconded by Ms. Fyffe. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Grayson asked to have the document reformatted since it was not clear from the document provided. Ms. Daly said she had asked for this information previously. ** Mr. Ropski made a motion to approve the August 2023 Fire Marshal’s report seconded by Ms. Daly. The motion passed unanimously. Public Health and Literacy - Ms. Fyffe • Ms. Fyffe had no new business but mentioned that she is looking for two members to the board to fill one vacancy and one spot that was already vacant. Mr. Papaleo asked who resigned. Ms. Fyffe said Ms. London had resigned. Public Parks and Recreation – Ms. Daly • Ms. Daly said that community day is Saturday from 12-6 followed by fireworks at dusk at Montgomery Park but said weather is not looking good, although she hoped this would change. Ms. Daly said that in the event of rain she was planning to reschedule to October 28 th as a large trunk-or-treat on Delmar Drive with the same vendors, DJ and activities as currently scheduled. Ms. Daly said that she can’t just push it to the following weekend as the vendors are already booked. Ms. Isaac suggested just moving the event to October as she heard it would be a wash out this weekend. Ms. Daly said she would wait to call it until Friday. Ms. Isaac said that she heard about events that are already being cancelled. Ms. Daly said that this would be a good idea. Ms. Daly said that in the event this would happen there was a backup plan. Mayor DiCicco and Ms. Daly discussed events that day and whether or not the event would be cancelled as the rain could change. Municipal Ordinances and Code Enforcement – Mr. Redding **Ms. Isaac made a motion to appoint Andrew Hayman as a deputy code enforcer seconded by Mr. Ropski. The motion passed unanimously. **Ms. Grayson made a motion to appoint Andrew Caponi as a deputy code enforcer seconded by Ms. Isaac. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Daly asked if this would be an every day thing or as needed. Mr. Hayman said that this would only be as needed and to check for work being conducted without a permit until a new enforcer was hired. Municipal Planning and Borough Beautification – Ms. Isaac • Ms. Isaac said that due to inclement weather she was unsure how she would be able to get pictures of resident gardens. Ms. Isaac said this may not be good weather for this. Ms. Isaac said she is now thinking of making the event a Halloween House Contest. Mr. Papaleo suggested asking residents to take their own photos. Mayor DiCicco asked why she was asking for residents to delay now as gardens are not as nice now and have been inundated. Ms. Isaac said she believed the heat was a part of it. Ms. Grayson said that gardeners are into their gardens and that the time of year does not matter to those residents. Members discussed the status of their plants at the current time. Ms. Grayson said that most gardeners now have mums. Mayor DiCicco asked how Ms. Isaac went to Halloween decoration contest. Ms. Isaac said she was thinking that maybe this would be better for a best house contest. New Building – Ms. Grayson • There was no new business Driveways and Parking Permits – Ms. Daly • There was no new business Police Chief’s Report Mr. Bair said the anti crime unit was back out last week and did good work and that this work was put out on social media and that he is still putting in the time and doing good work. Ms. Daly said good job on the stop sign enforcement and she was satisfied that she received many complaints. Mr. Bair said there were many complaints from residents that day including some who tried to sabotage the event. Mr. Bair said that with opening the school things were worse. Ms. Daly said she believed that consistent enforcement would make things better and make residents more aware. Mr. Bair said that there would be another one in the near future. Mr. Papaleo asked what residents complained about. Ms. Daly said that residents complained saying that they did not stop. Ms. Grayson suggested getting more signs. Mr. Redding arrived. Solicitor’s Report Mr. Gallagher said he spoke to Chief Bair about the rules and regulations for the civil service commission with the requirements around the full time employee requirements. Mr. Gallagher explained that current full-timers can only come from part-timers who have worked for more than one year which limits to two potential candidates right now although this number could go down. Mr. Gallagher said he was working with the chief. Mr. Bair said that the current plan was if the Borough was to hire two officers there are only two to be picked from. Mr. Bair said changing the guidelines to active officers to date gives five potential applicants, or this could be expanded to any previous or active Folcroft officers if they choose to come back. Mr. Bair said the Borough is such a small department and that many employees who were trained have left. Mr. Bair said he would assume that a significant number of employees who have left would probably come back. Mr. Bair said that sometimes when employees have their foot in the door they don’t want to leave. Ms. Daly said that the Borough would figure that out. Mr. Papaleo said that his understanding is that the commission would have to revise it’s rules and then Council would have to approve it. Mr. Bair asked if this would come from Council. Mr. Bair said that the commission would recommend this and then council would approve and explained his understanding of the situation. Mr. Ropski said that Council should not be involved. Mr. Papaleo encouraged members of Council who are on the board to speak with Mr. Bair about the pitfalls of hiring which he deemed legitimate issues that must be accounted for or considered. Mr. Bair said that expanding the number of potential employees would allow for more great officers. Mr. Redding said he would work with the chief and then interact with them and council does not want to interfere with this in any way. Mr. Papaleo said that ultimately the commission serves the Borough and the department. Finance Director’s Report Ms. Stilwell said there is a second budget meeting on October 1 st and asked about the MMO and asked for clarification about the amount. Ms. Stilwell asked if this was the market value or the minimum amount. Ms. Daly said the difference was about $200,000. Ms. Stilwell suggested approving the minimum and then considering more if possible, however Ms. Stilwell said that the number could be increased at a later date as it is due by the end of September. Ms. Daly said this was probably a smart thing to do with the new building. Ms. Stilwell reiterated the understanding about the MMO for the year. Members agreed that this was the minimum amount. **A motion to clarify that the addendum to the motion was to pay the minimum amount for 2024 was made by Ms. Daly and seconded by Ms. Isaac. The motion passed unanimously. Borough Manager’s Report Manager Hayman said he had no report as one had been given previously. There was no old or new business. **Ms. Grayson made a motion to adjourn at 7:41pm seconded by Mr. Ropski. The motion passed unanimously.