City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 1, 2016 The February meeting of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Monday, February 1, 2016 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 members of council present: Deborah Troy, Charles Rick Kamus, Frank Michaels & Tom Murray. Dorothy Craig & Dominic Butchko were absent and excused. Also present were Mayor Andy Tuzinski, Atty. Jack Haley, Chief Dan Hunsinger, Mark Voyack from Quad 3 Group and Manager Bonnie Arnone. Reverend Lukish led with an invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag led by Mayor Tuzinski. President McLaughlin noted that an Executive Session had been held on Thursday, January 28, 2016 at 6:00 PM at the Borough Building for personnel and legal matters. CONSENT AGENDA FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES: Motion by Mr. Kamus to approve the Consent Agenda. Second by Mr. Michaels. The agenda consists of the following: 1. Motion to approve the minutes of the Reorganization Meeting of January 4, 2016 2. Motion to approve the minutes of the Regular meeting of January 4, 2016 3. Motion to approve the minutes of the Council work session held on January 18, 2016 4. Motion to accept the Treasurer’s report as presented 5. Motion to pay all bills as presented 6. Motion to accept the following department report: Kingston Fire Chief, Code Enforcement Officer, WVSA minutes, Safety Commission minutes, Civil Service Commission minutes, Sewer Rehab construction meeting minutes and 1/6/16, 1/20/16 & 2/3/16 time cards for Bonnie Arnone 7. Communications from Earth Conservancy, the electric analysis for December 2015 and letter from Families for Forty Fort Park regarding the acquisition of a new pavilion for the park area. 8. The 2014 Annual Audit report and Management letter – a hard copy was also given to each council member REPORT OF DEPARTMENT HEADS: Mayor& Police Dept.: Chief Hunsinger reported that the Lions Club has offered to provide the funding for the police department to purchase entry tools for the two cruisers that currently do not have them. These would be tools used if forced entry was necessary on any structure. Chief Hunsinger reported that through the Alert System, he may purchase a parking ticket module that would simplify the process of recording paid tickets, those for citation, etc. He also proposed the possibility of hiring a Co‐Op student from West Side Technical School to do the data entry on this system at a rate of minimum wage which would eliminate the need for a full time police officer spending time doing that work. Chief Hunsinger stated that he would like to hire Anthony Smith as a Reserve Part time police officer for special events such as parades, fireworks, etc. with the possibility of training him to go on as a part time officer. He is willing to pay for his physical and psychological evaluations that are required in exchange for the Act 47 training to be waived by have the p‐t police status. The Act 47 training is mandatory for all constables, which he was just elected as in Forty Fort. Motion by Mr. Michaels to hire Anthony Smith as a reserve part time police officer for special events pending the results of his physical and psychological examinations. Second by Mr. Murray. On the question: He will be paid the part time officer rate of $13.25 per hour. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mayor Tuzinski spoke briefly about the new alert system that Luzerne County is implementing, Swift Reach, which will be free to all of Luzerne County. After some discussion, it was decided to remain with our current system, Code Red. Report of Borough Manager: Council was asked to complete the Statement of Financial Interest that had been given to them this evening and return as soon as possible to her office. A report was also given on an estimate that has been received for the Welcome to Forty Fort sign which will be purchased through funding of a LSA Grant received by Forty Fort Borough. The replacement of borough street signs will also be purchased with this grant. Report of Borough Engineer: Mark Voyack of Quad 3 Group reported that the Sewer Rehab project is almost completed and we are working towards closing of the loan. He has possibly one more change order to present for payment along with the retainage payment to Mr. Rehab. He reported that he is questioning some extra charges by Holena Excavating at this time. On the paving project, Quad 3 and the borough are working with USDA to provide additional documentation required for execution of the Construction agreement with American Asphalt. RESIDENTS AND TAXPAYERS COMMENTS AND PETITIONS: Robert Swaback, 15 Susquehanna Ave., Forty Fort reported to council that the Civil Service Commission was working on the new civil service rules for the Fire Department. Mr. Swaback also spoke about the functional consolidation in place between Forty Fort and Kingston Fire departments and reported that in a right to know request he received from Kingston, it was stated that their municipality did not receive any grant money as a result of the functional consolidation. Mr. McLaughlin stated that council would be forming an AD HOC consolidation committee in the near future to address this agreement further. GENERAL BUSINESS: Motion by Mr. Kamus to pay request #12 to Mr. Rehab in the amount of $192,736.95 for the sanitary sewer rehabilitation project. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed.  Motion by Mr. Kamus to donate a 2016 Family pool membership for the Families for Forty Fort Park Easter Egg Hunt raffle. Second by Ms. Troy. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to reimburse Officers Michaels, Casella & Lakkis for the Social Security taxes that were erroneously deducted from their paychecks from June of 2011 through December 2013. Second by Mr. Murray. On the question: It was noted that this action should satisfy and suspend the grievance filed by Officer Casella; that the figures were audited by Brad Carver from Diversified Payroll who will be filing amended returns for this time period in anticipation of Forty Fort being reimbursed for the amount. All council was in favor of this motion with the exception of Mr. Michaels who abstained due to his son being one of the officers receiving the reimbursement. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Kamus to engage the services of Attorney Joel Barras to handle the Heart and Lung case involving Officer Brian Casella. Second by Mr. Michaels. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Michaels to permit the Forty Fort Girl Scout Troop to sell Girl Scout cookies at the Betty Mascelli Park on a Saturday in March to benefit their troop. Second by Ms. Troy. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. NEW BUSINESS AND OPEN DISCUSSION: Mayor Tuzinski asked if the Re‐enactors fencing group had been asked to find alternate headquarters for their weekly meetings. He stated that he will speak with the group and advise them that they have two months to find a new location. Mayor Tuzinski stated that the Forty Fort Pioneer Soccer League will need to use the Borough Building as their formal address with mail going to Mayor Tuzinski’s mail box. This was ok with council. With there being no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Mr. Kamus and seconded by Mr. Michaels. The next meeting will be a work session on Monday, February 15, 2016 at 7:00 PM Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Manager