City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING AUGUST 4, 2014 The August meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, August 4, 2014 at the Forty Fort Boro Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., with President Jeff McLaughlin presiding. President McLaughlin called the meeting to order with the following council members present: Dottie Craig, Karen Martinelli, Deborah Troy & Charles Rick Kamus. Rob Craig & Frank Michaels were absent and excused. Also present was Atty. Jack Haley, Mayor Andy Tuzinski, Chief Dan Hunsinger, Manager Barbara Fairchild & Secretary Bonnie Arnone A moment of silence was held followed by the pledge of allegiance to the flag. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Motion by D. Craig to accept the minutes of the 7/7/14 council meeting with the exception of the second paragraph on page 3 dealing with the purchase of STOP & SLOW stencils for the roads. Second by K. Martinelli. On the question: Mrs. Craig felt that the wording of the minutes for this motion, made by Rob Craig at the 7/7/14 meeting was misleading. Due to the fact that Mr. Craig was not at this meeting & could not verify his actual wording of the motion, this portion of the minutes will be discussed at the next meeting. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. **Mayor Tuzinski asked that it be noted in the minutes that at the 7/7/14 meeting, he stated on the question that he was awaiting word from PENDOT to determine the specifications for the stencils prior to any purchases.** Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the minutes of the 7/21/14 work session. Second by Mrs. Craig. On the question: Ms. Martinelli questioned the amount that was donated for the pool’s Christmas in July party. The original minutes had erroneously stated that $2,500.00 was donated by Jenny Lynn Academy & $50.00 from Families for Forty Fort Park. This should actually read as follows: $200.00 was donated by the Jenny Lynn Academy & $100.00 was donated by Families for Forty Fort Park.” The work session minutes for 7/21/14 will be corrected to reflect this change. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. CORRESPONDENCE: Ms. Fairchild read a letter from John Gildea who praised the Street Dept. as well as council for their excellent care during storms, etc. A letter from Dr. Gail Gayewski thanking Ms. Fairchild for the work she did while attempting to have PENDOT repair large potholes in front of her River St. home which caused excessive shaking of the home when large trucks passed by. An invitation to a picnic at the Holland Preserve from the North Branch Land Trust extended to all council & Mayor on 8/9/14. An invitation to all council & mayor from ESSA Bank to a Railriders game on 8/12/14. A letter from Families for Forty Fort Park stating that there will be another Movies in the Park on 8/15/14 sponsored by Eric May/Dunkin Donuts with the movie being the Goonies. Amy Craig also invited everyone to view the newly placed engraved pavers at the park and stated that more orders would be arriving soon. Motion by Mrs. Craig to allow Families for Forty Fort Park to use the park for their Movies in the Park on Friday, August 15, 2014. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. RESIDENTS & TAXPAYERS COMMENTS & PETITIONS REGARDING AGENDA ITEMS ONLY: David Repshas, 135 Center St., Forty Fort asked council if his section of Center St. would be included in the street paving project. Ms. Fairchild stated that she would contact the engineers to determine if this section will be completed. Rob Swaback, 15 Susquehanna Ave., Forty Fort, questioned a topic on the agenda dealing with a proposed ordinance for Summary Arrests. Chief Hunsinger explained that this ordinance is necessary in order for the police dept. to have the power to do summary arrests without a warrant. This law has been in effect since 1996. MAYOR/CHIEF’S REPORT: Chief Hunsinger stated that PENDOT has determined a stop sign cannot be placed on River St. at Turner. He spoke about the need for an amended Stop Sign Ordinance that would list every stop sign in the Borough. The topic of placing stop signs on alley ways that intersect with main roads was also discussed. He feels that either none should be erected or all should be done. A cost study will be done to determine how many stop signs are needed & exactly where they are needed. He presented council with a picture of equipment that he hopes to be able to purchase for the borough which will electronically record the speed of vehicles along with the times that prove to have the most speeding along with the location of same. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to authorize Chief Hunsinger to write a letter to PENDOT requesting their consideration of placing delineators on Wyoming Ave. at River St. to help prevent vehicles from turning left off Wyoming Ave. into the Dunkin Donuts Driveway. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mayor Tuzinski asked Ms. Fairchild if the payment due from Kingston Borough has been received for the balance due on the Code Enforcement contract for 2013. She stated that she will contact Paul Keating to get the status. Mayor Tuzinski thanked council for their ongoing support of the police dept. and the good work they are doing. TREASURER’S REPORT: Motion by Ms. Martinelli to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented for July 31, 2014. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion in toto by Mr. Kamus to accept the following dept. reports: Mayor/Police Dept., Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement & Safety Committee. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to advertise the proposed ordinance for Summary Arrests. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Troy to purchase the Cyber Security Liability Insurance at a cost of $377.00 per year from the Wilson Flock Agency. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to have Chief Hunsinger & Manager Fairchild work together on a list of locations where stop signs will be needed & the costs related to the project. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to advertise the amended Shade Tree Ordinance. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mrs. Craig to advertise the proposed Borough Manager Ordinance changes. Second by Ms. Martinelli. On the question: The limit will be changed to state $4,000.00 for items that the Manager can purchase without authorization from council. It was previously $2,500.00. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to write a letter of support for the 902 Recycling Grant which Manager Barbara Fairchild is working on. Second by Ms. Troy. On the question: Ms. Fairchild stated that this grant, if received, may pay up to ½ the cost of the recycling truck and be up to $250,000.00. She also stated that if she provided educational programs to area schools, she will receive a match through the grant. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Ms. Fairchild presented to council a spreadsheet showing the savings from Key Energy and suggested that council put aside funds to replace existing lights with LED lighting. It was also suggested that the street lights on Welles St. be de‐commissioned due to the fact that all new street lamps were placed there during the Welles St. Gateway Project. Motion by Mr. Kamus to pay all bills as presented. Second by Ms. Troy. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. With there being no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Kamus & seconded by Mrs. Craig at 9:03 PM. The work session will be held on Monday, August 18, 2014. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Secretary