City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 1, 2013 The April meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, April 1, 2013 at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, PA with V‐P of Council, Frank Michaels, presiding. V‐P Michaels called the meeting to order at 7:30 pm with the following council members present: Dorothy Craig, Charles Rick Kamus, Betty Mascelli & Karen Martinelli, via telephone. Joseph Chacke arrived shortly after the start of the meeting and Robert Craig was excused. Also present were Mayor Boyd Hoats, Solicitor Sam Falcone, Mike Lombardo from Quad 3 Group, Barbara Fairchild, Manager & Bonnie Arnone, Secretary. Rev. Lukish of the Presbyterian Church led with a prayer followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag led by Mayor Hoats. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Mrs. Craig to approve the minutes of the March 4, 2013 council meeting. Second by Ms. Martinelli. Roll call vote: YES: Mrs. Craig, Mr. Kamus, Mr. Michaels, Ms. Martinelli NO: Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to approve the minutes of the March 18, 2013 council work session. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion with the exception of Ms. Martinelli who abstained due to the fact she was not present at the meeting. Motion carried. COMMUNICATIONS: Ms. Fairchild read the following communications: A letter from E. Kraynak re: a dispute in the tax bill. This has been referred to the county for resolution. Atty. Falcone will review and upset sale distribution report from N.E. Revenue and report back to council. Property maintenance will look into an issue with M. Yeosock asking for leniency relative to a 3 strike ordinance violation. There will be Home Improvement show on 4/19/13 at Luzerne Lumber. Ms. Fairchild also stated that there would be a Confined Space webinar in the near future. Regarding a request from Tara Koretz for the placement of a large banner across Wyoming Ave. announcing their upcoming Autism walk, a motion was made by Mr. Kamus to allow the placement of the banner on the fence at the corner of River & Wyoming Ave., with permission from the Cemetery Authority. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. ENGINEER’S REPORT: Mike Lombardo of Quad 3 Group stated that they are working on the sewage rehab project, the road resurfacing project and the storm water management outfalls update. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mrs. Craig to accept the following reports: Mayor/Police Dept., Code Enforcement officer. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. At this time, the newly hired part time administrative police chief, Daniel Hunsinger, was sworn into office by Mayor Boyd Hoats. Chief Hunsinger was welcomed by everyone. At this point, President Joseph Chacke arrived and took the president’s seat. Motion by Mr. Kamus to approve the Code Enforcement Agreement for Forty Fort/Kingston 2013 as presented. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Dotty Craig to raise the fees for the 2013 season of the Forty Fort Pool as follows: Residential – 2 Hour Rental $60.00 Residential – 3 Hour Rental $90.00 For Pool parties Non‐Residential – 2 Hour Rental $90.00 Non‐Residential – 3 Hour Rental $130.00 FAMILY – RESIDENT $100.00 FAMILY – NON‐RESIDENT $135.00 INDIVIDUAL – RESIDENT $70.00 Membership fees INDIVIDUAL – NON‐RESIDENT $85.00 COST PER BADGE $3.00 DAILY PASS $4.00 Second by Mr. Michaels. On the question: Mr. Michaels stated that currently, the resident fees are available to those families living in Swoyersville and Luzerne. He would like to see that the resident rates only be for those families in Forty Fort. After some discussion, it was decided to leave the rules as they currently are. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. OPEN DISCUSSION: Regarding the manholes on Welles St., Atty. Falcone stated that he would like this discussed in Executive Session due to the pending legal issues that may arise. Ms. Fairchild stated that classes will be held on May 6, 2013 for the pool chemical certification classes. DPW employee, Leo Smith, has volunteered to take the classes and council stated that there must be one other DPW employee who becomes certified for this job. In rank of seniority, the next lowest employee w/ seniority in the dept. would be Robert Johns. There will be a public hearing on Monday, April 15, 2013 at 6:00 PM just prior to the council work session that evening for the proposed franchise agreement with Comcast.  An estimate of repairs to the pool has been received from Bruce Dadurka Masonry in the amount of $4,300.00 ‐ $4,800.00. A motion to have the pool fixed by Mr. Dadurka was made by Mrs. Craig and seconded by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Ms. Fairchild told council that she had received a letter from FEMA regarding possible grant money for a flood study in the next few years. Correspondence has been received that indicates $22,586.03 of EIT funds has been received which represents the 1st & 2nd Qtr. of 2012 receipts. It was further noted that the 3rd & 4th qtr. 2012 sewer bills should be mailed out this week. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS FOR GENERAL PURPOSES: Robert Swaback, 15 Susquehanna Ave., Forty Fort spoke about the fact that Forty Fort did not received any funds from the recently awarded Gaming Funds Grants. He encouraged council to continue applying for any and all grants out there. Carol Seltzer of the Shade Tree Commission asked that the water company be contacted to have the concrete removed on the tree lawn in front of the Dana Elementary School on Dana St. She also stated that caps are missing from water lines on Oak St. She asked that council erect a new tree at the borough bldg. as soon as weather permits in honor of the borough’s 125th anniversary. Clark Stewart of, 90 Slocum St., Forty Fort, questioned the Code Enforcement agreement with Kingston Borough asking if Kingston’s officials would be coming into Forty Fort. He was told no. Joe Danoski, 1621 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, asked why nothing had been publicized about a rape case in the borough for 2 months. Council stated that this was an ongoing police matter and could not be discussed. PAYMENT OF BILLS: Motion by Mr. Kamus to pay all bills as presented. Second by Mrs. Mascelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. At this time, a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Mr. Michaels and seconded by Mr. Kamus at 8:30 PM. Council immediately convened in Executive Session to discuss pending legal matters. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Secretary