Home Rule Study Commission

Home Rule Study Commission Borough of Greenville Minutes of the Meeting held July 26, 2018 at 7:00PM Greenville Senior Center 1. Call to Order Steve Williams, Commission Vice Chairman 2. Pledge of Allegiance: Flag Salute 3. Roll Call: Paul Hamill - Absent Hal Johnson Martha Johnson Paul Miller - Absent Casey Shilling Steve Thompson Steve Williams Also present: Mary Jane Hirt, Jasson Urey, Tracy Beil, Evan Hereford, Linda Zuschlag, Bob Zarecky, Kelly Lema, Ben Beck Media: Molly Moser, Record-Argus 4. Public Comments: Linda Zuschlag introduced herself as a Council member. Bob Zareckey and Kelly Lema introduced themselves. 5. Minutes: A correction was made to the minutes because comments made in the “Good of the Order” were flipped between Steve Williams and Steve Thompson. A motion was made by Casey to approve the minutes of the July 12 meeting as corrected with a second by Steve Thompson. The motion carried 5- 0. 6. Old Business: Steve Williams asked Jasson if progress had been made regarding the organization of the upcoming meetings and if guests would be aware that they shouldn’t overlap information as was requested at the last meeting. Jasson reported that as far as the meeting with former borough council members Pete Longiotti and Amy Hallowell agreed to speak thus far; Pam Auchter was not speaking and that he was still awaiting responses from Brian Shipley and Vance Oakes. He said overlap should not be an issue. Hal suggested we invite mayors and Jasson said the Josh Stephens is the only living former mayor of Greenville. In order to allow Jasson to complete his presentation and for Dr. Hirt to have sufficient time to report on Act 47, her presentation was moved back to 9-13-18 and her presentation on Home Rule Charter models was scheduled for 9-27-18. Jasson reported that the DCED hearing will not take place before September. 7. New Business: Jasson Urey presented on the General Fund budget and briefly touched on the Storm Water Utility and urged commissioners to read the informational packet he provided at the last meeting. Steve Williams thanked Ben Beck for laying plans to get videos of meetings to be available on a YouTube Channel as well as via the HRSC page on the Borough website. 8. Public Comments: Bob Zareckey wanted to offer kudos to the Borough staff after hearing Jasson’s presentation. Tracy Beil asked what will happen if the DCED funding does not come through. Dr. Hirt answered that ultimately it will but possibly not until the end of the year. Kelly Lema commented that she appreciates the administration’s efforts and the transparency of the council. 12. Good of the Order: Steve Thompson remarked that he was pleased to see the increase in attendance of members of the public. Hal Johnson said that he is concerned about the amount of taxable vs. non taxable properties as well as delinquent taxpayers and he is interested in looking at solutions to those problems. Martha Johnson expressed that she has a deeper appreciation for the task set before Jasson and his staff as well as the Borough Council. She hopes to not only serve them through the HRSC but also as an advocate by positively communicating their efforts to the community. Casey Shilling remarked that he knew the Borough did a lot but did not realize the extent of their responsibilities. He said he will continue to be an advocate for them. He also commended the people and organizations refusing to complain but to be proactive and charged the community to be proactive and willing to volunteer to work for the town. Steve Williams commented that he appreciated an editorial Caleb Stright wrote on the good things happening in Greenville. He hopes that he can be a part of making Greenville even better than it already is at this time. 13. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 8:44 PM. Respectfully submitted, Martha C. Johnson Commission Secretary /Treasurer