City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 3, 2014 The February meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, February 3, 2014 at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., Forty Fort, with President Jeff McLaughlin presiding. President McLaughlin called the meeting to order at 7:30 PM with the following members of council present: Dorothy Craig, Deborah Troy, Charles Rick Kamus, Frank Michaels & Karen Martinelli via telephone. Robert Craig was absent. Also present was Mayor Andy Tuzinski, Atty. M. John Haley, Manager, Barbara Fairchild & Secretary Bonnie Arnone. Mayor Tuzinski led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by Ms. Troy to approve the minutes of the January 6, 2014 Reorganization meeting & Regular meeting. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to approve the minutes of the January 21, 2014 special meeting of council. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to approve the minutes of the January 21, 2014 council work session. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. COMMUNICATIONS: Request from Carol McCullough for reimbursement of a tree removal at 1814 Murray St. granted by the Shade Tree Commission. Letters from PAWC, Storb Environmental, PPL, Craft Oil regarding downstream notifications. Request from Bob Maloney for the removal of a tree on Yeager Ave. Request to send Barbara Fairchild & Alan Brezinski to the Luzerne County Conservation District’s seminar on Erosion & Sediment Control on 2/28/14 at a cost of $25.00 per person. A letter from George & Brenda Kuback thanking Tom Craig for his assistance with some code enforcement forms recently. Correspondence from Ron Vikara of 71 Tripp St. requesting cost sharing for the removal of a tree on his tree lawn which has been approved by the Shade Tree Commission. Motion by Mrs. Craig to reimburse Carol McCulough $135.00 for the cost share portion of the removal of her tree at 1814 Murray St. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to overturn the decision of the shade tree commission and allow the removal of a tree and stump grinding at 46 Yeager Ave. owned by Bob Maloney, at his own expense. He must plant an approved tree in its place within one (1) year. He will be required to pay a $200.00 deposit fee which will be returned once inspection has been made of the newly planted tree. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to allow Barbara Fairchild & Alan Brezinski to attend the Erosion & Sediment Seminar on February 28, 2014 from 8:30 AM to 3:00 PM at a cost of $25.00 per person. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to cost share with Mr. Vikara for the removal of his tree at 71 Tripp St. He will be instructed to have the tree removed and the stump ground and present council with the paid bill at which time a check will be given him for half the cost up to $250.00. The funds for this cost share will be reserved in the Shade Tree Commission fund. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS AND PETITIONS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS ONLY: Carol Seltzer of the Shade Tree Commission asked if council had spoken with anyone from the Dana Elementary Center regarding the improper pruning of trees on their tree lawn on Oak St. A letter had been sent but no response has been made. A second letter will be sent to the head of maintenance at WVW, George Gonzales. A discussion then followed regarding the current Shade Tree Ordinance, the need for Pruning Standards handbooks at the borough building, possibly a revised application and the need for regular meetings of the Shade Tree Commission. A meeting with the Commission and council will be scheduled in the near future. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the treasurer’s report as of January 31, 2014 as presented. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. ENGINEER’S REPORT: No one from Quad 3 Group was present at the meeting. However, Barbara Fairchild discussed with council the problems being encountered by Mr. Rehab concerning the Sewer Rehabilitation project; obtaining water for the water tanker, storage for the tanker truck. Solutions to these problems were discussed and suggestions were made for resolution. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Michaels to accept in toto the following dept. reports: Forty Fort Fire Chief, Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer & WVSA minutes. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mayor Tuzinski stated that since the Police Dept. server has been down, no Police Dept. report was made. He further informed council of his progress on the possibility of a centralized fueling station near the Soccer fields that can be used by Swoyersville Boro, Wyoming Boro, Levy Authority & Forty Fort Borough.  Mayor Tuzinski also related a situation at 71 Butler St. where large trucks are making a wide turn, going over the tree lawn owned by Andy Harco with the potential danger of damaging the gas line on the tree lawn. The DPW will be asked to check this location to see if there is a need for signs prohibiting truck traffic. Motion by Mr. Kamus to pass Resolution #3 of 2014 – Traffic Signal PENDOT for Wyoming Ave. & Dennison St. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to pass Resolution #4 of 2014 – The Robert Pugh Agreement. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to pass Resolution #5 of 2014 – the amendment to the LSA Grant indicating the change of Council President. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to pass Resolution #6 of 2014 – the amendment to the LSA Grant indicating the change of Council President. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mayor Tuzinski told council that he has spoken with Dave Lord, the HVAC Instructor at Fortis Institute. His HVAC class would be willing to repair the borough’s old Electric Heating Furnace with a new, modern furnace for the cost of parts only. This would be approximately $848.00. The project would be overseen at all times by the instructor with all necessary inspections done free of charge. A discussion of liability was discussed and agreed that Fortis would need to provide the borough with certificate of liability coverage for the students while working at the borough. Since the cost of this project was not a budgeted item, Mayor Tuzinski has offered to return his monthly salary which can be then used for this project. Motion by Mrs. Craig to allow the Fortis Institute HVAC students under the supervision of their instructor, Dave Lord, to replace the old electric heating system with a new modern electric furnace in the basement of the borough building for the cost of materials only. All labor & inspection costs will be free to the municipality. Fortis will provide proof of liability insurance for the students while working at the borough building on this project. The cost of this project will be paid for with the Mayor’s salary. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. PAYMENT OF BILLS: Motion by Mr. Michaels to pay all bills as presented. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS AND PETITIONS FOR GENERAL PURPOSES. Carol Seltzer of the Shade Tree Commission asked if there e were any funds available for the purchase of trees this year. She was told that there had not been any funds budgeted. She was encouraged to research grants available and forward the information to Barbara Fairchild. Barbara Fairchild told council that due to the injury of the DPW part time worker, Tim Whitman, he has been unable to work. This has left the DPW very understaffed.  Motion by Mr. Kamus to hire Dan Zukoski at a rate of $12.00 per hour as a part time worker for the DPW providing he pass his physical. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. It was noted that the February work session will be held on Monday, February 17, 2014 at 7:30 PM at the Borough Building. Motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Michaels at 9:20 PM. Seconded by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Secretary