City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MARCH 4, 2013 COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES The March 4, 2013 meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, PA with President Joseph Chacke presiding. President Chacke called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM with the following members of council present: Dorothy Craig, Robert Craig, Frank Michaels, Charles Rick Kamus, Betty Mascelli & Karen Martinelli, via telephone. Also present were Mayor Boyd Hoats, Atty. Sam Falcone, Manager Barbara Fairchild & Secretary Bonnie Arnone. Invocation was led by Rev Lukish of the Presbyterian Church in Forty Fort followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag led by Mayor Hoats. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Mrs. Craig to accept the minutes of the February 4, 2013 meeting of council. Second by Mr. Craig. Roll call vote: YES: Mrs. Craig, Mr. Craig, Mr. Chacke, Ms. Martinelli, Mr. Kamus, Mrs. Mascelli & Mr. Michaels. NO: None Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to accept the minutes of the February 18, 2013 work session of council. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS: Ms. Fairchild noted that council had received a letter from Jennifer Amato asking permission to use the Forty Fort Park for their organizations Easter Egg Hunt to be held on Saturday, March 23, 2013 from 10:00 AM to noon. Motion by Mr. Craig to allow the Parents Association to hold their annual Easter Egg Hunt in the park on March 23, 2013 as requested. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor. Motion passed. The dates & times for the Luzerne County Electronics Recycling collection were noted. Mayor Hoats has been invited to participate in the Wilkes‐Barre St. Patrick’s Day parade which will be held on Saturday, March 16, 2013 at 2:00 PM in downtown Wilkes‐Barre. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS ONLY: Andy Tuzinski, EMA director, presented council with the proposed evacuation plan for the Borough of Forty Fort. Mr. Tuzinski asked that council formally adopt the plan to be an addendum to the Flood Protection Plan. Motion by Mr. Craig to adopt the evacuation plan as an addendum to the Flood Protection Plan. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question: Mr. Michaels asked if this plan was only predicated on the case of flooding. Mr. Tuzinski stated that in the event of any other type emergency, the evacuation routes would simply be altered to ensure the safety of all residents. All council was in favor of this motion. Motioned passed. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Ms. Martinelli to accept the treasurer’s report as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the following reports: Mayor/Police Dept., Forty Fort Volunteer Fire Dept., Kingston Fire Chief and Code Enforcement Officer. Second by Mrs. Mascelli. All council was in favor of this motion, with the following exception: Ms. Martinelli abstained due to the fact that she had not received a copy of the Code Enforcement Officer. Motion passed. Mr. Michaels noted that thanks was due to the Forty Fort Methodist Church for their recent donation to the Police Dept. of $1,200.00 Mayor Hoats also thanked the police dept. for once again obtaining the Aggressive Driving Grant campaign. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to hire Tim Whitman as a part time DPW worker at the rate of $12.00 per hour. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to hire Dan Hunsinger as the part time administrative Police Chief with an annual salary of $25,000.00. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to hire Raul Ortiz as a part time police officer. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: Mr. Michaels stated that he thought it would be a better idea to let Chief Hunsinger get familiar with the borough & his duties and then re‐visit the topic of hiring a new p‐t officer if needed. Following further discussion, both Mr. Kamus & Ms. Martinelli rescinded their motions. Motion by Mr. Michaels to approve the amended code enforcement agreement for Forty Fort/Kingston for $50,000.00 per annum. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question: A lengthy discussion ensued concerning the amount of time Stephen Nowroski is spending on a current building plan in Kingston. Following this discussion; Motion by Mr. Michaels to rescind his motion to approve the amended code enforcement agreement for Forty Fort/Kingston for $50,000.00 per annum. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed.  Motion by Ms. Martinelli to instruct Ms. Fairchild and Mr. Nowroski to further discuss the terms of this agreement with Kingston. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to adopt a Resolution for the First Keystone Community Bank note for Debt Services. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to adopt a Resolution for Participation and Voting by Telecommunication’s devices. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion carried. A discussion was held concerning the timing of sending the sewer invoices by Berkheimer Agency. It was decided to instruct Berkheimer to immediately send out the invoices for the second & third quarter of 2012. Shortly thereafter, another mailing will be sent for the 1st Qtr. of 2013. The second quarter will be mailed by May 15, 2013, with the 3rd qtr. being sent by August 15, 2013 and the 4th qtr. by November 15, 2013. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS FOR GENERAL PURPOSES: Carol Seltzer of the Shade Tree Committee stated that there is a location on Dana St. where two trees were removed and they were supposed to replace the area with grass. Instead, concrete was put in. The Code Enforcement officer will look into this matter. Eric Reinhart, 112 Dana St., Forty Fort spoke to council about the possibility of placing disc golf courses at the soccer field location. He was told that these fields belong to Luzerne County, not Forty Fort Borough. PAYMENT OF BILLS: Motion by Mr. Craig to pay all bills as presented. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion with the following exception: Mr. Craig & Mrs. Craig both abstained on voting for bill 413.334 (mileage reimbursement to Thomas Craig) only. Motion passed. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Council adjourned to Executive Session to discuss the civil rights lawsuit and arbitration hearings at 8:45 PM. Council re‐convened at 8:47 PM and with no further business to discuss, a motion by Mrs. Craig to adjourn at 8:47 PM seconded by Mrs. Mascelli. All council was in favor. Motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Secretary