City Council

FORTY FORT BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2025 The February work session of the Forty Fort Borough Council was held on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at the Forty Fort Borough Bldg., 1271 Wyoming Ave., with council president, Thomas J. Murray, III, presiding. President Murray called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM with the following council members present: Cara Devine, David Sieminski, Kristy Dadurka, Sara Michaels & Amanda Gallagher. Frank Mazza was absent. Also present were Mayor Brian Thomas, Solicitor, Atty. Greg Skibitski, Police Chief, Dan Hunsinger, Code Officer, Tom Craig & Borough Manager, Bonnie Arnone. Mayor Thomas led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Tori Carey and MaryAnn Larson of the Parks & Recreation Committee spoke on the upcoming events they have planned: 4/5/25 Bunny Hop at 900 Rutter Ave., Fall Festival at the Sports Complex in October of 2025. MINUTES AND REPORTS: Council has been provided with minutes and reports from the prior month for their review. These items will be voted on at the March 3, 2025 council meeting. Borough Manager reported to council that a DPW Facility Needs Assessment Draft report had been received from Quad III Group and Reilly Engineering on the STMP Grant received by the Borough. Assistance from the local DCED office will be sought for further assistance with this grant. Ms. Devine updated council with a report of the meeting held with the FF Volunteer Fire Co. earlier this month. Items discussed were recruitment & retention of members, use of funds and the need for an updated list of all members. A future meeting will be held to discuss these topics as well as a joint meeting with the Police Chief regarding EMA matters. Borough Manager reported to council that there will be a conference call with DCNR officials next week to discuss the plans for going forward on the $500,000.00 grant awarded to the Borough for Planning & Engineering of the Bike Trail. A discussion ensued regarding the lack of funds available at this time for the actual construction of the trail and the possible ramifications of this delay. Code Officer, Tom Craig, presented to council a proposal for a change in the verbiage of the current Dog Leash Ordinance. This proposal would remove the following language: “This section shall not apply to any person who uses an animal while engaged in a supervised formal obedience training class or show, or during formally sanctioned field trials”. The last sentence will be re-written to say: “Dogs owned by any law enforcement agency, while in the course of their duties, at the explicit direction and under the supervision of the Forty Fort Police Department, are exempt from these regulations”. This advertisement of this ordinance amendment will be voted on at the March 3, 2025 council meeting.  Mr. Craig reported that following the mailing of the 2025 Rental License and Inspection letters to landlords, he has heard from one landlord who has 10 rental units in town, that he disagrees with the cost increase and will refuse to pay which would result in a citation for each property. Finally, Mr. Craig discussed with the council the possibility of hiring a part-time Inspector to reduce the costs currently incurred by using Building Inspection Underwriters for inspections. Council asked him to continue to pursue this possibility. Sara Michaels reported that the Civil Service Commission had met on February 5, 2025 and will meet again on February 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM. Kristy Dadurka reported that there will be a Pool meeting on February 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM. Dave Sieminski reported that he has utilized the disc golf course at the Sports Complex, and he sees many people enjoying it. He also stated that the work being done by WVSA with the walkway along Abraham’s Creek is coming along nicely and is beautiful. Mayor Thomas reported that he will attend the upcoming meetings set for the 2025 Cancer Center at Candie’s Place and the Wyoming Valley Run this month. Atty. Skibitski reported that Judge Lokuta has once again denied the motion filed by the attorney for Robert Craig, Tony Smith & Robert Swaback asking for judgement in their favor of being placed back on the Civil Service Commission. Another call will take place on 2/28/25 when the estimated start date for the lawsuit proceedings will be discussed. Ray Elias of the FF Volunteer Fire Co. reported that in 2023, the Volunteer Fire Co. made contributions of $31,000.00 for Fire related expenses to the Kingston/Forty Fort Fire Department and $9,000.00 in 2024. With there being no further business to discuss, a motion to adjourn was made by Cara Devine at 7:17 PM and seconded by Kristy Dadurka. The next meeting will be held on Monday, March 3, 2025 at 6:00 PM. Respectfully submitted, Bonnie Arnone Borough Manager