City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING DECEMBER 7, 2015 The December meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, December 7, 2015 at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., with President Jeff McLaughlin presiding. President McLaughlin called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM with the following council members present: Deborah Troy, Dottie Craig, Joe Lynch, Charles Rick Kamus, Frank Michaels & Karen Martinelli, via telephone. Also present were Mayor Andy Tuzinski, Atty. M. Jack Haley, Solicitor, Chief Dan Hunsinger, Rich Kresge of Quad 3 Engineering & Manager Bonnie Arnone. The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by newly sworn Eagle Scout, Joel Sorber, of Forty Fort, who was introduced by Mayor Tuzinski. CONSENT AGENDA FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the Consent Agenda for Administrative Issues. Second by Mr. Lynch. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. The consent agenda consisted of the following items: 1. Minutes of the Regular Council meeting of 11/2/15 2. Minutes of the Work Session meeting of 11/16/15 3. Treasurers report as of November 30, 2015 4. Payment of all bills 5. Bonnie’s Time Sheets of 11/11/15, 11/25/15 & 12/9/15 6. Dept. Reports of: Mayor/Police Dept., Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer, WVSA meeting minutes, Safety Committee meeting minutes, Civil Service Commission meeting minutes & WSCOG meeting minutes 7. Communications of the two Police Actuarial reports that had been requested for the Police Pension Plan; the Civil Service Eligibility list; a Holiday Request Letter from Kingston Fire Dept., and letters from the Civil Service commission regarding resignations & appointments REPORT OF DEPARTMENT HEADS: CHIEF OF POLICE AND MAYOR: Mayor Tuzinski introduced Eagle Scout Joel Sorber of Forty Fort and a member of Troop 143 to council and read a proclamation Resolution congratulating him on attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Also in attendance were members of Troop 143, Ian Heidcavage, James Mullholland, Nick Magistro and Matthew Tocket, who were working on their citizenship badges. It was noted that as part of his project for the Eagle Scout award, Joel organized a blood drive which garnered a 48 pints of lifesaving blood.  Motion to by Mrs. Craig to adopt Resolution #27 of 2015 acknowledging the attainment of Eagle Scout on Joel Sorber. Second by Mr. Lynch. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A round of applause followed with photos taken of Joel with all of council. REPORT OF BOROUGH MANAGER: Bonnie Arnone reported that the Budget meetings had gone well and that as a result of proper fiduciary measures, the borough would not be applying for a Tax Anticipation Note for 2016. A copy of the proposed budget, which calls for no tax increase, and a budget overview report, have been distributed to council. REPORT OF THE BOROUGH ENGINEER: Rich Kresge of Quad 3 Group reported that the Sanitary Sewer Project is nearing completion. Mill and overlay work on River St. and trench restoration is complete. Trench restoration pavement on Arlington Rd. is finished. Contractor needs to seal joints. Regarding the paving work, USDA has reported that they reviewed the bidding documents and directed Quad 3 Group to move ahead with the execution of the Construction Documents, which is currently being done. It was noted that several residents have stated that while travelling on River St. since the paving work, they hear a hum. Also, on Snowden St. & Colonial Gardens, reports from residents have come in regarding man hole covers and storm drains. American Asphalt have been notified of these items. Gayle Gayeski of 98 River St. continues to experience sanitary sewer problems due to a break in the line on the roadway which is the responsibility of the borough. An HOP has been requested from PENDOT, PA One call has been notified and contractor Ed Krasavage will be performing the work as soon as possible. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS AND PETITIONS: Walter Robbins of 1 Oneida Place, Forty Fort, PA reported that he has had an ongoing problem with a female who walks her Doberman pincher on the dike without a leash. He has continuously asked her to leash her dog as it has been aggressive at time towards him. He was told that he needs to call 9‐ 1‐1 immediately during such an encounter so that an officer can have the opportunity to observe the situation. CONSENT AGENDA FOR GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the Consent Agenda for General Business. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion with the exception of an abstention of Mrs. Craig on Article 21 of Resolution #26 concerning the salary of Code Enforcement Officer Tom Craig as she feels this to be a conflict. Motion passed. The Consent Agenda for General Business contained the following:  1. Resolution #20 of 2015 noting Jeff McLaughlin and Bonnie Arnone as the authorized signers for the USDA Paving Contract. 2. Resolution #21 of 2015 naming the Berkheimer Agency as the collector of the borough’s Earned Income Taxes. 3. Resolution #22 of 2015 – LSA Application for safety upgrades at the Wyoming Valley Children’s Association. 4. Resolution #23 of 2015 – LSA Application for Technology grant for the Police Department & Administrative Department. 5. Resolution #24 of 2015 – LSA Application for Forty Fort Pool and Park renovations. 6. Resolution #25 of 2015 – LSA Application for David Koral Building renovations. 7. Resolution #26 of 2015 – 2016 Salary Resolution 8. Ordinance #12 of 2015 – Advertisement of the 2016 Tax and Sewer Ordinance with no increases to be voted on at the Special council meeting set for 12/21/15. 9. Hire Dwayne Harrison to work with the Street Department as he is available. He will be working on 11/27, 12/28, 12/29 & 12/30 of 2015. 10. Accept the resignation of Robert Boyer as a part time police officer with Forty Fort Borough. GENERAL BUSINESS: A motion by Mr. Michaels to accept the resignation of Charles Suppon, Jr. as an alternate member of the Civil Service Commission. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A motion by Ms. Troy to accept the resignation of Anthony Smith as a member of the Civil Service Commission. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A motion by Ms. Martinelli to appoint Kathy Washko to fill the vacancy on the Civil Service Commission created by the resignation of Anthony Smith. Second by Mrs. Craig. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A motion by Mr. Kamus to appoint Joe Lynch as an alternate member of the Civil Service Commission created by the resignation of Charles Suppon, Jr. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A motion by Mr. Lynch to appoint Francis Curry as an alternate member of the Civil Service Commission created by the advancement of Kathy Washko to a member of the commission. Second by Ms. Martinelli. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. A motion by Ms. Martinelli to assign Anthony Smith as a clerk for the Civil Service Commission to do the secretarial work of the commission. Second by Mr. Lynch. On the question: Ms. Troy asked if he could do that to which Atty. Haley replied that this was allowable. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed.  Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the 2016‐2020 Police Contract. Second by Mr. Lynch. On the question: Mayor Tuzinski and Chief Hunsinger commended the Police Contract Committee for their diligent work during the negotiations to reach a contract agreed upon by both parties, stating that this is a win‐win for residents as well. All council was in favor of this motion with the exception of Mr. Michaels who abstained due to a family member being part of the Police bargaining unit. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to advertise an amendment to the Police Pension Ordinance. Second by Mr. Lynch. On the question: This amendments includes the changes that are present in the new Police Contract such as raising the retirement age to 55 from 50; reducing the disability benefit to 65% from 75%; increasing the service increment provision to allow a member to accrue an additional pension or retirement benefit of $100.00 per month for each full year of service in excess of 25 years to a maximum of an additional $500.00 per month. It will also include the language for the Widow or children’s Benefits provision to be amended so as to removal all references to the benefits payable to a spouse of a member who dies being affected by a remarriage of the said spouse. From and after this effective date of this ordinance, the spouse of a member who dies shall receive such benefits as are provided for a spouse in the “Widow or Children’s Benefits” provisions of the Police Pension Plan regardless whether or not such spouse should marry. Section 5 states the Police Pension Plan shall be amended so as to reduce the offset by Social Security Benefit to zero. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion carried. Motion by Mr. Michaels to adopt the proposed 2016 Budget as presented. Second by Mr. Kamus. On the question, the balanced budget is in the amount of $2,128,022.00. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Martinelli to advertise the adopted budget and have it on display for public inspection. Second by Mr. Lynch. On the question: The budget will be voted upon at the special meeting of council on 12/21/15. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to amend the agreement with USDA for the amount of engineering work to add an additional amount of $43,695.00 to the contract. Second by Mr. Michaels. On the question: Mr. Kresge of Quad 3 Group explained that this increase was due to the changes that were requested of them by the borough to the paving contract with USDA. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to accept the certified Eligibility List submitted by the Civil Service Commission and approved at their meeting of 12/7/15. Second by Mr. Michaels. On the question: Atty. Haley stated that council was free to hire from the certified list any of the top 3 candidates provided that they pass the required physical & psychological examination and background checks have been completed. Mr. Michaels thanked the Civil Service Commission for all the time and work that they had put into this process. Mayor Tuzinski further thanked the Officers Stone, Michaels & Lakkis for their assistance throughout the process as well. All council agreed on those sentiments. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed.  Motion by Mr. Michaels to accept the resignation of Officer Peter Lakkis as a full time police officer with Forty Fort Borough, with regrets and with best wishes for a future with the PA State Police. Second by Mr. Kamus. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Lynch to pay the $125.00 fee for each Dominic Butchko and Thom Murray to attend the newly appointed official’s boot camp seminar that will be held in Wilkes‐Barre, PA on Jan. 15th & 15th, 2016. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. NEW BUSINESS AND OPEN DISCUSSION: Mr. Michaels stated that he has a problem with some of the advertisements that are appearing on the cemetery fence. He feels that the banners should be strictly advertising community based events rather than advertising for profit businesses. Discussion ensued concerning the fact that an application procedure had been discussed but never followed through on. Mayor Tuzinski, who is on the cemetery board will discuss the matter with the board. EXECUTIVE SESSION: At this time, 8:20 PM, council adjourned to executive session to discuss police employment & personnel matters. At 8:46 PM, council reconvened the meeting. Motion by Mr. Lynch to hire Matthew Smith, the number one candidate on the Civil Service Eligibility List as a full time police officer with the Forty Fort Police Department effective January 1, 2016. Until that time, Officer Smith will be allowed to work a full time (40 hour) shift. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Chief Hunsinger commended council on the excellent job they had done to expedite the process to be able to hire a new full time officer for his force. Mr. McLaughlin thanked the outgoing council people, Karen Martinelli and Joe Lynch, for their service to council and wished them well in future endeavors. With there being no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Kamus at 8:50 PM with a second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Meeting adjourned. The next meeting of council will be a special meeting for general purposes on December 21, 2015 beginning at 6:45 PM and immediately followed by the council work session. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone, Manager