City Council

FORTY FORT, PA APRIL 2, 2012 Regular Council Meeting The regular meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, April 2, 2012 at the Forty Fort Borough Building, 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, with President Joseph Chacke president. Council members present were as follows: Dorothy Craig, Charles Rick Kamus, Frank Michaels, Robert Craig and Karen Martinelli, via telephone. Betty Mascelli had an excused absence. Also present were Carl Schimmel of Quad 3 Group, Mayor Boyd Hoats & Bonnie Arnone, Borough Clerk. Solicitor, Sam Falcone, was absent. President Chacke called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM. A moment of silence was held followed by the pledge of allegiance to the American Flag lead by Mayor Hoats. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Mr. Craig to approve the minutes of the Regular meeting held on March 5, 2012. Second by Mr. Michaels. Roll Call: YES: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli, Mr. Chacke, Mr. Kamus & Mr. Michaels. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to approve the minutes of the continued meeting of council held on March 19, 2012. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to approve the minutes of the work session held on March 19, 2012. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council in favor. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to approve the minutes of the Reorganization meeting held on Jan. 2, 2012. Second by Mr. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to approve the minutes of the Special Meeting of Council on Jan. 16, 2012. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council in favor. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to approve the minutes of the work session held on Jan. 16, 2012. Second by Mr. Craig. **Note that Ms. Martinelli was in attendance** All council in favor. Motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS: Mr. Chacke read a letter from Brenda Nighbert of 50 Filbert St., Forty Fort, who offered their thanks and praises for the emergency services provided to her by the Forty Fort/Kingston Departments during their recent incidents of need. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS: Andy Tuzinski, 501 River St., Forty Fort, distributed to council an article regarding a nearby community that hired their police chief as interim manager. A motion was made by Mr. Craig to hire Chief Fredric Lahovski, Jr. as interim Borough Manager. Second by Mrs. Craig. On the question: Ms. Martinelli asked at what salary he would be hired. Mr. Michaels stated that this was being done without any notification in the newspapers. Mr. Chacke stated that it was unfair to put the Chief on the spot at this time. Mr. Kamus asked if council could enter an executive session with the Chief to discuss it further. Mr. Chacke stated that this did not fall under the guidelines for conducting an Executive Session. Roll Call: YES: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli NO: Mrs. Michaels, Mr. Kamus, Mr. Chacke. MAYOR: YES Motion passed with Mayors vote of YES. Mr. Tuzinski also stated that he felt the portion of the agenda which now is at the end of the meeting where residents may speak about items other than what is on the agenda should be moved up. Jason Kilgore, 83 Shoemaker St., Forty Fort, made suggestions to council as to how they may evaluate the new Borough Manager once they are hired. Robert Swaback, 15 Susquehanna Ave., Forty Fort, gave council a worksheet that he suggested they complete in which a benefit/cost equation could be reached to see if it is prudent to hire a borough manager based on whether they can bring in enough money to cover their expenses. Mr. Swaback also asked when the cracks on the dike were going to be fixed. Mr. Tuzinski stated that he has calls in the county about this situation. Mr. Swaback also stated that he felt the job done on Welles St. by Popple was poor. He stated that the light posts were un‐painted, tipping over and the trees that were planted were either dead or dying. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Mr. Michaels to accept the treasurer’s report of March 20, 2012 as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. All Council in favor. Motion passed. ENGINEER’S REPORT: Carl Schimmel of Quad 3 Group, told council they were nearly finishing the televising of the borough’s sewer system. Mr. Kamus asked Mr. Schimmel to inspect the inlets between Owens & Hughes St. on Murray St. for effectiveness. The possibility of floating a bond to pave all the streets in the borough was also briefly discussed. GENERAL BUSINESS: A Motion by Mr. Michaels to accept the reports of the Mayor/Police Dept., Forty Fort Volunteer Fire Co, Kingston Fire Chief and Code Enforcement Officer. Second by Mr. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. GENERAL BUSINESS: A motion by Mr. Craig to adopt a Resolution of Congratulations to Forty Fort resident, Ryan Kozich for earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Second by Mrs. Craig. Motion passed.  A motion by Mr. Craig to adopt an ordinance of the Borough of Forty Fort authorizing participation in PLGIT as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. A motion by Mr. Craig to adopt an Ordinance of the Borough of Forty Fort establishing a procedure whereby property owners may appeal a decision of the Shade Tree Commission to plant a tree or trees within the tree lawn abutting the property owner’s property line as presented. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council in favor. Motion passed. A motion by Mr. Michaels to adopt a Resolution of the Borough of Forty Fort declaring its intent to follow the schedules and procedures for disposition of records as set forth in the municipal records manual approved on July 16, 1993. Second by Mr. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. A motion by Mr. Craig to adopt a Resolution to adopt a Borough Manager Job Description with changes to some items, specifically to eliminate the need for a minimum of two years experience in local government administration. Second by Mrs. Craig. Roll call: YES: Mrs. Craig, Mr. Craig, Ms. Martinelli NO: Mr. Michaels, Mr. Kamus & Mr. Chacke. MAYOR: NO Motion failed with NO Vote by Mayor Hoats. A motion by Mr. Michaels to adopt a Resolution to adopt a Borough Manager Job Description stating the need for candidates to have a minimum of two years experience in Local Government Administration. Second by Mr. Kamus. Roll call: YES: Mr. Michaels, Mr. Kamus, Mr. Chacke NO: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli MAYOR: YES Motion passed with YES vote by Mayor Hoats. A motion by Mr. Michaels to advertise for the position of Borough Manager. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question: When does council want the applications in by? What papers should this be advertised in? The advertisement should begin on Wednesday, April 4, 2012 in the Citizens Voice & Scranton Times, along with the Borough News and other job websites. Applications will be due by April 18, 2012 and a Committee meeting will be held on April 20, 2012 with a possible vote at the May 7, 2012 meeting. All council in favor. Motion passed. PAYMENT OF BILLS: A motion by Mr. Michaels to pay the bills as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council in favor. Motion passed. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS FOR GENERAL PURPOSES: Harry Sponseller, 81 Bidlack St., Forty Fort spoke about the increasing vandalism that is occurring in his neighborhood and speeding of vehicles on Murray St. Chief Lahovski will be notified of these conditions. He also stated that he had requested the removal of a tree on his tree lawn last summer and had not received a response.  Andy Tuzinski, 501 River St., Forty Fort, PA asked council to adopt the ordinance which would eliminate parking on the even side (north) of Turner St. from a point starting ninety (90) feet from the intersection of Turner & Susquehanna Ave. This ordinance will be advertised and voted on at the May meeting. Jerry Rausher, 130 Slocum St., Forty Fort stated that his neighborhood is overrun with stray cats and wants to know if there is anything that can be done. Chief Lahovski will meet with him to discuss the situation. Luther Bonning, 69 Oak St., Forty Fort, stated that he would like to see borough financial reports published or distributed for residents to view. They will be posted on the bulletin board in the downstairs area of the borough building for public inspection. Donna Kilgore, 83 Shoemaker St., Forty Fort, stated she would like to see the Borough web site updated and kept up. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Council adjourned to Executive Session to discuss matter of personnel and legal issues and reconvened at 10:20 PM. GENERAL BUSINESS (CONTINUED): A motion by Mr. Michaels to have a two (2) month evaluation period where the Forty Fort Fire Engine & all apparatus would be stationed at the Kingston Fire Station 24/7. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question, Mr. Craig & Mrs. Craig expressed concerns over response time to areas of Forty Fort with the engine coming from Kingston. Fire Fighter Robert Sgarlat who was at the meeting stated that there was very little difference in response times coming from Forty Fort of Kingston stations. Roll call: YES: Mr. Michaels, Mr. Kamus, Mr. Chacke & Ms. Martinelli NO: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig Motion passed 4‐2. ADJOURNMENT: President Chacke recessed the meeting until 7:25 PM on April 16, 2012 where the regular meeting would be continued prior to the Work Session. Meeting was recessed at 10:40 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Bonnie Arnone Borough Clerk