City Council

Forty Fort Borough Council Meeting Minutes Monday, December 4, 2017 Call to Order Gavel strike of President of Council Jeffery McLaughlin, called tonight’s meeting to order. Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance Reverend Lukesh led the Invocation and Mayor Andy Tuzinski led the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call President of Council Jeffery McLaughlin, ordered Roll Call. Members in attendance were: President Jeffery Mclaughlin, Vice President Tom Murray, Deborah Troy, Ted Ritsick, Amy Craig, Dominic Butchko and David Sieminski. Borough Mayor, Andy Tuzinski, Chief of Police, Daniel Hunsinger, Borough Manager, Bonnie Arnone, and Borough Secretary Brandy Fuller. Visitors numbered 25 which included the Wyoming Valley West 9th Grade class. They were fulfilling a requirement for their History class. An executive session of Council was held immediately following the November 20, 2017 work session to discuss personnel and contract issues. Consent Agenda for Administrative Issues Matters listed within the Consent agendas have been referred to members of the Borough council for reading and study, are considered to be routine and will be enacted by one motion of the Council. If separate discussion is desired, the item may be removed from the consent Agenda by council action. The Resolutions Listed below were submitted to the Borough Council for review and will be adopted by one motion. These items have been presented to council at the prior month’s work session for review. Motion to approve and/or accept the following consent Agenda items:  A. Approve Minutes of the 10/16/2017 council work session B. Approve Minutes of the November 6, 2017 Council meeting C. Approve October Treasurer’s Report D. Forty Fort Police Department Report –Oct. /Nov. E. Kingston Fire Chief October Report F. Manager’s time sheets for October 2017 G. WVSA meeting minutes for 9/19/17 H. Civil Service commission meeting minutes of 8/17/17 and 10/19/17 I. Safety Committee meeting minutes of 10/16/2017 J. October Code Enforcement Report K. Forty Fort Fire chief October Report L. Shade Tree meeting minutes 11/13/17 M. Approve payment of all bills as presented N. Manager’s Report O. Engineers Report Acknowledge receipt of the following correspondence: A. Hoyt Library Thank You Letter B. Family Council Letter A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to accept the Consent Agenda. It was seconded by Ted Ritsick. All were in favor. Motion passed. Council Action Items: 1. A motion was made by Tom Murray to adopt Ordinance 2017 No. 10, the 2018 Tax and Sewer Ordinance. It was seconded by Dominic Butchko. All were in favor. Motion passed. * Note: A decrease in sewer fees from $137.00 per year residential to $83.00 per year and decrease fee from $262.00 per year for commercial to 208.00 per year. 2. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to Adopt Ordinance 2017 No. 11, Establishing a Capital Reserve and Operating Reserve Funds. It was seconded by Amy Craig. All were in favor. Motion passed. 3. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to adopt the 2018 Budget- Advertised and on display for Inspection. $2,127,300.00 and seconded by Deborah Troy. All were in favor. Motion passed. *Note: Increase of DPW supervisor salary to $67,900.00 per year and decrease in WC of $20,000.00 4. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to Pass Resolution 2017 #16 to sponsor an LSA Grant Application for the Luzerne County Flood Protection Authority. It was seconded by David Sieminski. All were in favor. Motion passed. 5. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to Pass Resolution 207 #17, to sponsor an LSA Grant Application for the West Side council of Governments. It was seconded by David Sieminski. All were in favor. Motion Passed. 6. A motion was made by Ted Ritsick to Increase the wage for Jonathan Mylott to $12.00. It was seconded by Amy Craig. All were in favor. Motion Passed. 7. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to Award PennDOT Multimodal Alley paving project to low bidder, American Asphalt, for the base plus Add Alternate 2 bid of $900,983.00. It was seconded by Amy Craig. All were in favor. Motion passed. 8. A motion was made by Ted Ritsick to Approve Change Order No. 6 – USDA Paving Project payment to American Asphalt in the amount of $9,339.26. It was seconded by Dominic Butchko. All were in favor. Motion passed. 9. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to appoint Rob Craig to Civil Service Commission as an alternate. It was seconded by David Sieminski. All were in favor. Motion passed. 10. A motion was made by Dominic Butchko to accept Scott Gillam’s resignation from the Planning Commission. It was seconded by Amy Craig. All were in favor. Motion passed. 11. A motion was made by Ted Ritsick to appoint Brian Thomas to the Planning Commission. It was seconded by Deborah Troy. All were in favor. Motion passed. 12. A motion was made by Dominick Butchko to approve Rick Kamus’s Contract as discussed in the work session meeting. It was seconded by Tom Murray. All were in favor. Motion passed. New Business 2018 Council Meeting Dates have been advertised. President of Council, Jeff McLaughlin congratulated Council and the Various Departments on such a successful year. Mayor Andy Tuzinski stated he was very proud of the Police Department and the support it gets from Council and the Residents. Vice President Tom Murray voiced how impressed he is, how the Police Department has become state of the art and is so well run. Attorney Finnegan also Thanked Council for a wonderful year. Old Business Mayor Andy Tuzinski stated that the street department will be getting new radios. Also, Santa will be in the Park at 2PM on December 10, 2017. Adjournment A motion was made at 7:30PM by Deborah Troy to adjourn the meeting. It was seconded by Dominic Butchko. All were in favor. Motion passed. The next meeting of council will be a work session held on Monday, December 18, 2017 at 7:00PM in Council Chambers.