City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 6, 2014 The January meeting of council was held on Monday, January 6, 2014 immediately following the reorganization meeting at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, with President Jeff McLaughlin presiding. President McLaughlin called the meeting to order at 8:05 PM with the following members of council present: Dorothy Craig, Robert Craig, Karen Martinelli, Charles Rick Kamus, Frank Michaels & Deborah Troy. Also present was Mayor Andy Tuzinski, Chief Dan Hunsinger, Atty. Jack Haley, Michael Lombardo of Quad 3 Group, Manager Barbara Fairchild & Secretary Bonnie Arnone. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Mr. Craig to accept the minutes of the December 2, 2013 council meeting. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to accept the minutes of the December 16, 2013 council work session. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS: A letter from Luzerne County asking for Council’s input on the possibility of enacting a 1% sales tax for the county which would be shared by the county and the municipalities. This topic will be further discussed at the Jan. work session A letter from Chris Ercolani thanking the borough for the help given him in his recent endeavor to attain his Eagle Scout status and creating & erecting the new sign for the Forty Fort Park dedicated to Betty Mascelli. A letter from Amy Craig, Chairperson for the Families for Forty Fort Park thanking council and all borough departments who helped in any way during the prior year’s events and the great successes they have had. A letter from Joseph Chacke expressing an interest in filling the current vacancy on the Forty Fort Zoning Hearing Board. A letter from Robert Swaback expressing an interest in filling the current vacancy on the Zoning Board. A letter from Joseph Danowski expressing an interest in filling the current vacancy on the Zoning Board. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS: Robert Dick, 19 Orchard Place, Forty Fort, PA complimented the borough’s web site and would like to see council minutes, newly passed ordinances & resolutions also posted for the public’s viewing. Carol Seltzer & Melissa Tomascick of the Shade Tree Commission expressed concern that some local tree companies are topping trees which contributes to the tree’s decay from inside the tree. The ordinance will be checked to see if any fines can be levied against tree companies doing these such acts. Cheryl DeHaut, 398 River St., Forty Fort, PA asked what the date of the January work session would be in view of the fact that the third Monday of the month is Martin Luther King Day. She was told that the January 2014 council work session would be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 7:30 PM. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. ENGINEER’S REPORT: Michael Lombardo of Quad 3 Group congratulated all newly elected council members on behalf of Quad 3 Group & thanked council for appointing them as borough engineers once again. He updated council on the two large projects they are working on; Sewer Rehabilitation project & Street Renovation Project. He also spoke about the water issue problems resulting from the Koral Property. Mayor Tuzinski asked about the possibility of installing speed reducers on borough roadways to reduce speeding. A recent bill from Quad 3 Group was questioned for their engineer’s attendance at a Zoning hearing meeting. Mr. Lombardo stated that that bill was sent in error and would be refunded. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Craig to accept in toto the following dept. reports: Mayor/Police Dept., Forty Fort Volunteer Fire Chief, Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer & the minutes from the recent WVSA meeting. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: Mayor Tuzinski commended the officers who had been involved in recent events in the borough. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Bids for the sale of the 2008 Crown Victoria Police Cruiser, which had been advertised seeking a minimum bid of $3,500.00 were opened & read aloud. They were as follows: Chicago Motors ‐ $1,807.00 Grace Quality Used Cars, Inc. ‐ $2,755.00 Atty. Haley was asked if council was permitted to accept any of these bids despite the fact that they did not meet the minimum bid requested in the legal notice. Atty. Haley stated that this was council’s right to accept if so desired. Following a discussion, council felt the high bid of $2,755.00 was a fair one.  Motion by Ms. Martinelli to accept the bid from Grace Quality Used Cars, Inc. in the amount of $2,755.00 for the sale of the 2008 Crown Victoria Police Cruiser. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. It was noted that no bids had been received for the sale of the 1997 Ford Expedition. Chief Hunsinger stated that he felt he would be able to sell the tires as they are practically brand new and he could scrap the rest of the vehicle hoping to get approx. $500.00 w/out tires & approx. $250.00 for the tires. Motion by Mr. Craig to authorize Chief Hunsinger to scrap the vehicle and sell the tires separately. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to pass Resolution of # 1 of 2014 a Corporate Authorization Resolution for Franklin Security Bank for officer’s signature cards. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question: It was noted that these are standard signature cards that must be signed by all council and also by authorized check signers for all borough accounts. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to rescind all directives previously given to Borough Manager Barbara Fairchild by previous council president Joseph Chacke. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. PAYMENT OF BILLS: A bill for $275.00 from NEPA for 2014 dues was discussed by council. It was decided that the services they offer are similar to those offered by the West Side COG and therefore not a necessary expense. Motion by Mr. Craig to pay all bills as presented. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question: Council was told that they have lists of bills that had been authorized to pay as of December 30, 2013 to close the year out and bills that were to be voted on this evening. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint the following individuals to the Civil Service Commission: Bill Kammer for a six (6) year term; Sheryl Sealock for a five (5) year term; Sarah Haragadon‐Michaels for a four (4) year term. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: Mr. Michaels & Ms. Troy questioned if the vacancies for these positions was advertised. They were told they were not. They suggested that the vacancies on all boards be advertised in order to let all residents know what was available. Roll call vote showed: YES: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli, Mr. McLaughlin, Mr. Kamus & Ms. Troy NO: Mr. Michaels Motion passed 6‐1. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint the following individuals to the Zoning Hearing Board for a three (3) year term: Joseph Danowski & Eric Feifer. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: Again, it was questioned why these positions were not advertised. It was stated that it is up to the individuals to seek a position on a particular board and to know when their current position expires. They can approach any member of council or the Mayor or they can send in a letter of request to serve on a board. Roll Call vote showed the following: YES: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli, Mr. Kamus, Mr. McLaughlin & Ms. Troy NO: Mr. Michaels Motion passed 6‐1. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to appoint Robert Craig for a five (5) year term to the Wyoming Valley Airport Advisory Board. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint Frank Catina for a four (4) year term to the Planning Commission. Second by Mrs. Craig. It was noted that Mr. Catina had expressed interest in remaining on this Commission following the expiration of his prior term. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint Carol McCullough for a five (5) year term to the Shade Tree Commission. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint the following individuals to the UCC Appeals Board: James Berecin for a six (6) year term; Rob Swaback for a Five (5) year term and DJ Wojciechowski for a four (4) year term. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: Mr. Kamus questioned the experience these individuals had to serve on this board. He was told that there were no specific qualifications required to serve on this board. Roll call showed the following: YES: Mr. Craig, Mrs. Craig, Ms. Martinelli, Mr. McLaughlin & Ms. Troy NO: Mr. Kamus & Mr. Michaels Motion passed 5‐2. Motion by Mr. Craig to appoint the following individuals to the Property Maintenance Board: Jamie Berecin for a six (6) year term; Rob Swaback to a five (5) year term; DJ Wojciechowski to a four (4) year term. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to appoint the following individuals to the Luzerne Co. Tax Collection Committee: Barbara Fairchild and Karen Martinelli. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mrs. Seltzer asked why the name of Maria Butterwick was not included with the Shade Tree Commission. She was told that Ms. Butterwick had resigned from that Commission some time ago. She stated that Mrs. Butterwick has all of the Commissions records, etc. on her personal computer. She will be contacted to obtain all such records. At this point of 9:30 PM, Council adjourned to Executive Session to discuss Personnel issues. Council re‐convened at 11:00 PM from Executive Session. Motion by Mr. Craig to authorize the President of Council and the Solicitor to resolve a pending grievance filed by Fire Fighter Robert Pugh. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to authorize the President of Council and the Solicitor to resolve a pending issue with the FOP with a Memorandum of Understanding. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion with the exception of Mr. Michaels who abstained due to his relationship with a member of the Police Department. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to hold a special meeting on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 at 7:25 PM just prior to the work session for the purpose of voting on the land development subdivision application for the property at 72 W. Pettebone St., Forty Fort, PA. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Craig to authorize Manager Barbara Fairchild to develop a disciplinary policy with the Solicitor as needed. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to adjourn at 11:05 PM. Second by Mr. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. It was noted that the next meeting of council will be held on Tuesday, January 21, 2014 due to the Martin Luther King Holiday on Monday, January 20, 2014. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Borough Secretary