City Council

FORTY FORT, PA FEBRUARY 6, 2012 Regular Council Meeting The regular meeting of Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, February 6, 2012 at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, with President Joseph Chacke presiding. Council members present were as follows: Dorothy Craig, Charles Rick Kamus, Betty Mascelli, Frank Michaels & Karen Martinelli. Robert Craig & Mayor Boyd Hoats were absent. Also present were Michael Lombardo/Quad 3, Solicitor Samuel Falcone & Ass’t. Borough Secretary, Bonnie Arnone. President Chacke called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. Invocation was given by Reverent William Lukish of the Forty Fort United Presbyterian Church followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Ms. Martinelli to approve the minutes of the January 29, 2012 special council meeting. Second by Mrs. Craig. Yes: Dorothy Craig, Charles Rick Kamus, Betty Mascelli, Frank Michaels, Karen Martinelli, President Chacke = 6 No: 0 Abstain: 0 Motion passed with dissent. COMMUNICATIONS: None. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS: Jeff McLaughlin, 25 Yates St, Forty Fort, PA, discussed his issues with the advertised Ordinance Amendment dealing with the elimination of the position of Borough Coordinator/Secretary and creating a position of Borough Manager. A lengthy discussion ensued between Mr. McLaughlin, Council and Atty. Falcone regarding Council’s reasoning for this move. Eric Greco, 50 Yates St., Forty Fort, PA stated that he was asking council to re‐consider the decision to not allow him to remove a nuisance tree from his tree lawn in front of his property. He stated that the sidewalks are heaved greatly because of this tree. He assured council that he will replace the tree with another tree acceptable to council. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Mr. Michaels to adopt the treasurer’s report of January 20, 2012 as presented. Second by Mr. Kamus. Motion passed without dissent. ENGINEER’S REPORT: Michael Lombardo, Quad 3 Group, updated council on the storm water issues at the Koral Development. Mr. Koral has a new engineer and they are hoping for a Land Planning Development by the end of February 2012. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the reports of the Mayor/Police Dept., Forty Fort Volunteer Fire Chief, Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer. Second by Mr. Michaels. Motion passed without dissent. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to table the passing of the Borough of Forty Fort Amending Forty Fort Code Chapter 1 Part 2 Section C Subsection 221 – Borough Manager until Atty. Falcone was able to excuse himself and research issues regarding this matter. Second by Mrs. Craig. Motion passed without dissent. Motion by Mr. Michaels to appoint Bonnie Arnone as temporary HIPPA Officer. Second by Ms. Martinelli. Motion passed without dissent. Motion by Mrs. Craig to allow the resident of 50 Yates St. to remove the troublesome tree on his tree lawn. Second by Ms. Martinelli. Motion passed without dissent. PAYMENT OF BILLS: Moved by Mr. Michaels to pay the bills as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. Mr. Chacke abstained on the payment of the bill from NEPA as that is his employer. Motion passed without dissent. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS FOR GENERAL PURPOSES: Phil Mertz, 93 Virginia Terrace, Forty Fort, PA addressed council about his displeasure in hearing that the water run off problems originating at the Koral Development were once again being stalled until the end of February. Michael Lombardo of Quad 3 assured Mr. Mertz that this was a complicated matter and that they were doing all that could be done. He promised to call Mr. Mertz every week with an update on the progress of the matter. Lois Post, 64 Yeager Ave., Forty Fort, PA told council that she was proud to be a resident of Forty Fort and she commended Council on the fine job that was being done in the Borough.  Carol Seltzer of the Shade Tree Committee stated that she was concerned over the delay in getting the paperwork in for the Tree City USA Grant. She also stated that there are some individuals who are waiting for their deposit to be returned after fulfilling their commitment to replace tree’s on their tree lawns. Mr. Chacke assured Mrs. Seltzer that these matters would be looked into. Al Spangenberg of 1385 Murray St. commended Mrs. Seltzer for the job she is doing to keep Forty Fort beautiful. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Council adjourned to Executive Session to discuss matters of personnel and legal issues and reconvened at 10:00 P.M MOTIONS RELATING TO MATTERS DISCUSSED IN EXECUTIVE SESSION: Motion made by Mr. Michaels to increase the hourly wage for Alan Brezinski to $10.50 per hour. Second by Mrs. Craig. YES: Mrs. Craig, Mr. Michaels, Mr. Kamus, Mrs. Mascelli & Mr. Chacke NO: 0 ABSTAIN: Ms. Martinelli Motion passed. Motion made by Mr. Michaels to re‐advertise the Borough Manager Ordinance with the following changes: Regarding the duties & powers of the manager, language will be taken directly from the Borough Code to read: The council, by ordinance, may delegate, subject to recall, any of the nonlegislative and nonjudicial powers and duties of the council, the planning commission and the shade tree commission, to the borough manager. With approval of borough council, the mayor may delegate to the borough manager any of his nonlegislative and nonjudicial powers and duties. Regarding the number of council votes for the hiring and/or firing of the Borough Manager: It will now read that there must be four (4) affirmative votes to hire and six (6) affirmative to fire the borough manager. Motion seconded by Mr. Kamus. YES: Ms. Craig, Mr. Kamus, Mrs. Mascelli, Mr. Michaels NO: Ms. Martinelli ABSTAIN: Mr. Chacke Motion passed. ADJOURNMENT: President Chacke announced that council would meet in council chambers on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 5:30 PM in Council Chambers. Motion by Mr. Kamus to adjourn. Second by Mrs. Mascelli. Motion passed without dissent. Meeting adjourned at 10:15 PM. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Assistant Secretary