City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020 The special meeting of the Forty Fort Borough council was held on Monday, November 16, 2020 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: Kristy Dadurka, Frank Mazza, Tom Murray, Cara Devine, Dave Sieminski via ZOOM. Phil Mertz was absent. Also present were Mayor Andy Tuzinski, DPW Supervisor, Rick Kamus & Borough Manager, Bonnie Arnone. Mayor Tuzinski led with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Motion to accept the first reading of the 2021 Operating Budget was made by Ms. Dadurka and seconded by Mr. Sieminski. On the question, this is a balanced budget of $2,322,925.00 with no tax increase. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. The budget will be on display for public inspection in the Secretary’s office. Motion by Mr. Murray to pass Resolution 14 of 2020 to apply for an LSA Grant on behalf of the West Side Council of Governments for safety items for police departments of all member communities. Second by Ms. Devine. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion to Ms. Dadurka to pass Resolution 15 of 2020 to apply for an LSA Grant on behalf of Street Arts Society NEPA for Beautification of Forty Fort. Second by Mr. Mazza. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Murray to raise the resident sewer maintenance fees to $137.00 a year beginning in 2021. Second by Mr. Mazza. On the question, Mr. Murray discussed how the fee had been lowered several years ago to help offset the Stormwater Tax that was being imposed on resident. Roll call vote showed the following: YES: Ms. Dadurka, Mr. Mazza, Mr. Murray, Ms. Devine & Mr. Sieminski NO: Mr. McLaughlin Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Murray to make a $1,500,000.00 payment on the sewer loan which the Borough has through USDA. Second by Mr. Sieminski. On the question: This action will save money that is currently being paid in interest fees on the loan. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Devine to pay the invoice for the Thermal Imaging Camera for the Volunteer Fire Co. with funds from the Ambulance Fund. Second by Mr. Mazza. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Mr. Mazza to hire GPI Engineers for the River St./Rutter Ave. renovation project. Second by Mr. Sieminski. On the question: Mayor Tuzinski and Mr. Kamus explained the project plans to council. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed.  Motion by Ms. Devine to make a $250.00 donation to the Hoyt Library for 2020. Second by Ms. Dadurka. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Motion by Ms. Devine to Hire Mark Popson as a part time employee of the Public Works Department at a rate of $16.00 per hour. Second by Mr. Mazza. All council was in favor of this motion. Motion passed. Mayor Tuzinski stated that as our current borough ordinance states, the speed limit on all borough roadways is 25 MPH. Now that River St. & Rutter Ave. are Borough owned and not state owned, the speed limit should be dropped and marked to 25 MPH. A discussion of eliminating large trucks from these roads was also held. With there being no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Ms. Devine and seconded by Mr. Mazza at 8:20 PM. Council then convened for their monthly work session. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone, Borough Manager