Borough Council Workshop Meeting

MEETING MINUTES FOLCROFT BOROUGH COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING NOVEMBER 1st, 2022 Location: 1555 Elmwood Avenue, Folcroft Pa 19032 President Papaleo called the meeting to order at 7:00pm Mayor DiCicco led the 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 absent, Councilmember Stephen Ropski was present, Councilmember Ike Wilson was present, Mayor Franny DiCicco was present, Solicitor Alex Baumler was absent, Mr. James Gallagher was present on a phone conference Secretary/Manager Andrew Hayman was present) President Papaleo mentioned there was an executive session to discuss personnel matters and potential litigation last week. Audience Participation Ms. Dawn Andonian 537 Crotzer Ave came to discuss bamboo and mentioned that the bamboo at her neighbor’s house was overrun with it. Ms. Andonian said that she wanted to the bamboo to be removed and the fence as well and reported that the property owner would not return her calls and suggested Manager Hayman should contact them. Ms. Andonian said there are bungee cords holding up the fence which said is very old. Ms. Andonian said there is bamboo coming through the shed which she said will repopulate within a few months however she believes the owner doesn’t want to do anything. Ms. Andonian said the shed is only two or three feet from the property owner and that she has a copy of the new ordinance and reiterated that the property owner. Ms. Andonian noted that there is also bamboo at 524 Primos Avenue as well. Mr. Papaleo asked if Mr. Woods is also taking note of this. Ms. Andonian identified the neighboring property owner in the audience and said that this owner is also addressing the matter. Ms. Andonian said that she does not believe the bamboo was adequately removed. Mr. Papaleo said that if the remediation is not inspected property there is now ay to assume that the roots won’t come back. Ms. Andonian identified the address of the rental property in question. Mr. Randall Woods said he had spoken with the owner of the property and that there is a professional bamboo removal company that will come out this week to remove the bamboo. Ms. Andonian asked what will be done with the bamboo and roots under the shed. Mr. Woods said that this was their job and they would remove it. ENTER BAMBOO DISCUSSION. Ms. Andonian said that she was afraid the bamboo would travel up the line. Lastly, Ms. Andonian thanked council for repaving Primos and Crotzer avenues. Public Finance & Administration - Mr. Papaleo • Mr. Papaleo asked if members had taken a look at the 2023 budget. Ms. Daly said that most of the budget was fine but noted that last year she had a budget of $30,000 and this year she has spent $21,698. Ms. Daly said it looked like there was a separate line item for community day donations and her concern was that members had briefly discussed wanting to do fireworks again this year and with a budget of $12,000 that may not be possible. Ms. Daly said she believed she got just under $10,000 donated this year and that she did not believe it was safe to assume that this money was a guarantee this year as well. Ms. Daly said that this took into account the economy being a bit wonky. Ms. Daly said that fireworks weren’t terribly expensive this year but that they could be more expensive next year. Mr. Papaleo said that this was cheap this year. Ms. Daly said she wanted to put this out here. Mr. Papaleo said he would find a way for Ms. Daly. Ms. Daly said that she had little more to spend this year but it was over the $18,000 next year. Ms. Isaac said that everyone enjoyed this and it should be done again. Mr. Papaleo asked if this money included the $9,000 for fireworks. Ms. Daly said it did not. Ms. McMenamin said that community day expenses were tracked separately. Ms. Daly said reiterated the difference in the budget between community day and her overall expenses. Mr. Papaleo said that Council has always found a way. Ms. Daly said she just wanted to make sure all of this was taken into account. Ms. Daly said council could not anticipate $10,000 each year as some people may not be as generous. Ms. Daly said she was fine with fireworks again but she wanted to make sure there were finances backing it up. Ms. McMenamin said she did believe this was in the budget. Ms. Daly said next year she only has a budget of $18,000 and this year she still has two or three events left. Mr. Andrew Caponi said the hallloween money is in the budget. Ms. Daly said that she did not want to cut expenses for events as she believes they were critical for the community. Mr. Papaleo said that council would probably be fine with a supplemental allocation. Mr. Papaleo said he wanted members to be aware that there would be a scaleback with inflation and with millions spent on the new driveways and the new municipal complex which he likened to conservativism. Ms. Daly said she was fine with it but she wanted to just mention the issue with fireworks which Mr. Papaleo said he supports. Ms. Isaac made a motion to approve the preliminary budget for 2023 seconded by Ms. Grayson. The motion passed unanimously. Public Works Committee - Ms. Grayson Ms. Grayson said that this was discussed previously and that it was worth discussing again. Ms. Daly said she was in support of this and the tonnage costs did not go up as much as expected and that she advised putting this out for bid. Ms. Daly said part of the bid is looking for smaller, lighter trucks. Ms. Grayson asked why trash can’t get picked up out front. Ms. Daly said that it would be a mess. Ms. Grayson said this is already done if Folcroft. Ms. Daly said that it is not done in the village and it would be a mess. Ms. Grayson said that it is done in Philadelphia which has smaller streets. Ms. Grayson said that it does not. Mr. Woods said that it is already a problem. Ms. Grayson said that she did not want to see the rate increase substantially. Mr. Papaleo said that people hate the way things are but they don’t want anything to change. Ms. Daly said she is against trash being picked up out front. Mr. Papaleo said that he has directed manager Hayman to have a discussion with Mr. Payne to unwinterize the sweeper as the roads are so bad. Mr. Papaleo said he understood this looked like an easy solution but he lives there. Ms. Isaac said even in her area this is a problem. Ms. Grayson asked if this was just because it was new. Ms. Daly said she would not want to live like that and said that. Mr. Papaleo said he did not want people to see the neighborhood like that. Manager Hayman explained his role in the decision making process behind moving the location of trash collection,. Mr. Papaleo said he believed that smaller trucks would mean more trips to the dump and more fuel costs and described the reasons why. Mr. Papaleo said that a smaller vehicle driving to and front the dump on diesel fuel could be more than a 10 percent increase. Manager Hayman said it could be 25%. Ms. Daly said that residents would need to understand the increased cost. Ms. Daly said that curbs and trash services is not a required service for residents. Mr. Papaleo reviewed the projected costs and said that these fees would have to go up. Mr. Papaleo said that residents could get their own trash services if needed. Mr. Papaleo said that this is a reasonable fee and advised that residents could do this on their own. Mr. Papaleo said for $5 per removal this is a good fee. Mr. Papaleo said that there is no free lunch and said cost increases should be expected and Mr. Papaleo said he supports putting this out for bid as you get what you pay for. Mr. Papaleo said that during his first week in office one of the sanitation workers was urinating on someone’s driveway and did not even walk behind their shed. Mr. Papaleo said that this is the quality of work from the low paid sanitation workers. Mr. Papaleo asked the average household payment. Ms. Daly said $250 per month. Ms. McMenamin said that without even putting this out to bid she is recommending a 4% increase as tonnage and tipping fees are going up. Mr. Papaleo reviewed the numbers and based on what is seen in neighboring municipalities. Ms. Daly said that this was recommended due to projected increases. Mr. Papaleo asked if increases can be made after the year. Mr.Gallagher said there is a difference between millage rates and trash. Mr. Gallagher confirmed that trash fees are easier to adjust than millage rates. Mr. Papaleo asked if Ms. Grayson is asking if the engineer should draft the trash. Mr. Gallagher said normally the solicitor only drafts RFPs for legal services or tax matters. Mr. Van-Otoo said that an appropriate sized hauler would matter but also the section of pavement also matters, too. Mr. Van-Otoo said there’s not a lot of substance in the ground to hold up the weight of the vehicle. Mr. Van-Otoo said reducing the size of the vehicle can help but compared it to walking on paper versus walking on wood and said that what is underneath can help even more. Mr. Van-Otoo said the expected life of what is being put down depends on the size of the truck. Ms. Daly said that trash pickup would be extended timewise with smaller vehicles but was still possible. Mr. Papaleo said he wanted it specified in the bid that 25 yard vehicles would be used. Ms. Grayson said that she wanted to see the size of the vehicles in writing. Mr. Van-Otoo said he would get back to council. Ms. Daly said Mr. Payne recommended a 25 yard truck which would also be easier for going around corners and over inlets. Ms. Daly said this is damaging the areas where the driveway touches grass. Ms. Daly presented photos of damage to shared driveways. Ms. Grayson said she just wanted to make sure that members did their due diligence for accountability’s sake. Ms. Daly said that this issue is not just in the village. Mr. Isaac said that also by Llanwellyn park this is already starting again. Ms. Isaac asked if parking could be adjusted for trash days. Ms. Isaac suggested this for adjustments to make trash collection easier. Ms. Daly said that this is already a problem and even if there isn’t a car anywhere it is still hard to make turns. Mr. Van-Otoo said that if there was an issue with parking through neighborhoods matters with fire trucks should also be considered, noting that it was worth talking to the fire chief. Ms. Daly said that this is why council had just purchased a new truck. Mr. Papaleo said he thinks Mr. Van-Otoo is right and it may be worth lining the streets. Mr. Bair said that the biggest problem with the trash truck and parking used to be on Llanwellyn ave but there haven’t been any recent complaints. Mr. Bair said the worse turn is in the alleyway at Delmar Drive and grant road and also at the bottom of Delview Drive. Mr. Bair said that this is none of his business and that it seems that they use a big truck and with a lot of money in the driveways they may not withstand this abuse. Mr. Papaleo noted that there are no curbs so the side erosion is more common. Ms. Grayson made a motion to direct the engineer to draft an RFP with a properly sized truck in mind. Ms. Daly seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. Public Safety– Mr. Ropski • Mr. Ropski made a motion to approved the September 2022 Police Report – tabled from the 10/18 meeting. Ms. Daly seconded the motion. Ms. Grayson said there still is a typo for January for burglaries and thefts and she was unsure what number should be in it’s place. Ms. Grayson said everything else has been fixed. Ms. Daly confirmed with Manager Hayman that the January report has been approved. Ms. Grayson said she would approve this as the big issue had been taken care of. Ms. Grayson noted her concerns about the typo with this column. MS. Daly said that council is only approving September’s numbers. The motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gallagher said that the issue should be amended. Mr.Papaleo asked Mr. Ropski and Ms. Grayson to work with amended numbers to have this approved for the next meeting. Public Health and Literacy - Ms. Fyffe • Mr. Papaleo took over and had no new business to discuss. Public Parks and Recreation – Ms. Daly • Ms. Daly had nothing to report. Municipal Ordinances and Code Enforcement – Mr. Wilson • Mr. Wilson made a motion authorizing the solicitor to draft a commercial inspection ordinance setting fees. Mr. Wilson said that this update would set fees for fire safety inspections. Mr. Wilson read through what the fees would be. Mr. Wilson said he looked up the current ordinance under general legislation and said that there is no written fee and that it just says that council has the ability to draft resolutions for fees at certain times. Mr. Wilson said he was unsure if there was anywhere. Manager Hayman said that this would more fairly compensate the borough for these expenses and that he was aware of a similar ordinance in Upper Darby and Sharon Hill. Ms. Daly said that when looking at increases the idea should not be to chase out businesses. Mr. Hayman said that this was just matching municipalities which also have the same commercial development like Sharon Hill. Mr. Ropski said that these fees were being charged in the 1990s in Folcroft. Ms. Daly said that she just wanted to make sure that this did not chase out businesses. Mr. Papaleo said that only two businesses showed up to the symposium and that they cannot complain if they do not participate. Ms. Daly said she was fine if it was comparable. Mr. Papaleo said eh did not think this was unreasonable. Ms. Daly reiterated that if it was less than or comparable she had no issue with it. Mr. Papaleo said that no matter what the fee is there will be some residents who do not want to comply. Ms. Grayson said that she appreciated that this would not harm the small businesses and allow them to compete. Mr. Wilson made a motion to authorize the solicitor to draft a commercial inspection ordinance setting fees seconded by Ms. Grayson. The motion passed unanimously. Municipal Planning and Borough Beautification – Ms. Isaac • Ms. Isaac had no new business. New Building – Ms. Grayson • Ms. Grayson made a motion to accept a proposal from Remington & Vernick for engineering services related to the new municipal complex. Mr. Van-Otoo said that this is a proposal for projects being worked on based on each situation with an anticipated proposal for the amount of work based on the project size and scope. Mr. Van-Otoo said that this is for site inspections and lasts until March 2023. Mr. Papaleo said that councilmembers were probably not aware of this process but members would just receive a bill and didn’t know what they were spending ahead of time. Mr. Van-Otoo said there was a not to exceed section without council approval. A motion to accept a proposal from Remington & Vernick for engineering services was made by Ms. Grayson and seconded by Ms. Daly. The motion passed unanimously. Driveways and Parking Permits – Ms. Daly • Ms. Daly said that driveway repaving has been adjusted somewhat due to weather and some mechanical issues however it is happening. Ms. Daly said that repaving of Taylor Drive has started as the milling machine was broken. Ms. Daly said that last week she directed Mr. Hayman to have residents put trash out front as there were too many issues with the current system. Ms. Daly said social media, robocalls and a postcard which was delayed due to political mail. Ms. Daly said that Mr. Hayman had asked to have it still picked up out back but Ms. Daly said that she had refused saying that residents will not learn if this is done. Ms. Daly said that she was unsure when regular pickup would return and asked anyone to tell their neighbors to put their trash out front. Ms. Daly said she has apologized numerous times that this was a decision made in the midst of the system not working. Ms. Daly said that progress is happening and when it is all done it will be worth every text message and call about it. Ms. Isaac said that the driveway behind the diner looks beautiful. Ms. Daly said that this would be done everywhere and currently trash is out front. Ms. Daly said that yesterday there was much more trash outside than the week prior and she still. Manager Hayman said some calls of people not knowing that the driveways are being repaved have been received. Ms. Daly said the most important thing is to put out as much information as possible as some residents don’t know that they live in the Delmar Village and gave examples of this confusion. Mr. Papaleo said that this tells him that some people do not keep themselves informed and do not talk to their neighbors. Mr. Wilson said he had noticed that some neighbor’s garbage disappears. Mr. Papaleo said that once this trash matter is concluded to be patient with residents in correcting them again. Mr. Papaleo said there probably was no other way to do this. Ms. Daly said that there were milled alleys which were being restored driving through the base restoration. Old Business Mr. Ropski asked about the storm inlet on Ashland Avenue and Delmar Drive. Mr. Van-Otoo said there is a pre construction meeting for this project scheduled with the contractor Premier Concrete and that he expected the work to start soon. Mr. Van-Otoo said that in the contract it does not stipulate repaving the street. Manager Hayman said that there is currently a metal plate covering the hole and reiterated that the contracted presented previously by Ms. Catania did not include the material and work to seal the road. Ms. Grayson asked if there was any movement on the 7/11 project and the grass and weeds at 540 and 542 Folcroft Avenue. Mr .Van-Otoo said he had not heard anything. New Business Ms. Daly said that there is a coat giveaway on November 17 th and that this was on social media, the website and has a signup genius. Ms. Daly said that if anyone knows anyone who needs coat let her know. Ms. Daly said that Ms. Petty had sourced turkeys and bags of supplies for turkeys with meals that would be delivered by councilmembers. Ms. Daly said that some had also been received by Detective White like last year but that instead of a giveaway these would be delivered as she thought this would be more intimate. Ms. Daly asked members to let Ms. Petty know if they have anyone in mind. Lastly, Ms. Daly said that now Ms. Isaac has planning and beautification she should take community cleanup day and all of the holiday decoration contests as this would go under beautification as it is a lot of extra on the recreation committee and suggested several ideas. Ms. Grayson said she would like this idea. Ms. Isaac said she would do it if she could get help as she had never done this before. Mr. Papaleo and Ms. Grayson agreed to help. Ms. Isaac said she would not mind doing this. Ms. Daly said she would help as well but she felt that Ms. Isaac could help make it grow into something more amazing. Ms. Daly said most or all of the supplies are already at borough hall. Mr. Papaleo said that the event is usually on earth day. Ms. Isaac said that she would pick a date and said that her concern is that she works weekends. Mr. Papaleo said tha the works weekends as well but that they would figure it out. Mr. Bair asked the date of the event. Ms. Daly said she would send it. Mr. Papaleo said that with the World Series craze he has asked Mr. Hayman and Mr. Caponi to see what it could take to have outdoor watch parties. Mr. Papaleo said that the Borough has purchased the projector and screen and that everything is in place for an outdoor watch party for a world series game. Mr. Papaloe said that the hardware is now here into perpetuity and that this would also be for recreation. Mr. Papaleo said that members were concerned about the licensing for the show which Mr. Hayman said that Mr. Gallagher said he had obtained. Mr. Gallagher said that as long as no tickets are sold the MLB had no issues with this. Ms .Daly said there was a game on Thursday night with the Eagles as well. Mr. Caponi said that Thursday would be the best day to have enough time to get the information out. Mr. Caponi said he didn’t think there was enough time for tomorrow and that having it prepared to show it to a crowd it would be impossible to set up. Manager Hayman said staffing was an issue and that currently the kinks for this idea were being worked out – internet at the site and the necessary equipment. Mr. Papaleo mentioned that he believed Thursday night would be best and he would come. Manager Hayman was directed to put out a social media blast. Mr. Ropski made a motion to adjourn at 8:16pm seconded by Ms. Daly. The motion passed unanimously.