Regular Session of Council

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF GREENVILLE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2005, AT 6:30 P.M. 1. Call to Order: Council President Longiotti called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Invocation: Pastor Phil Beck, Central Community Church Flag Salute 3. Roll Call: Pete Longiotti, Council President David P. Henderson, Vice-President Pamela S. Auchter, Councilor Robin S. Douglas, Councilor Theodore E. Jones, Councilor Henry M. Mueller, Councilor Jasson W. Urey, Councilor Also present: Vance E. Oakes, Borough Manager Solicitor Joseph Joseph, Douglas & Joseph Absent: Clifford Harriger, Mayor (excused) 4. Public Comments / Public Participation Cheryl Emmett: Made a complaint that Keystone Municipal Collections should have had the Local Tax Forms mailed to residents by now. She would like to see something done about it. Mr. Oakes explained that he contacted Keystone Municipal Collections after receiving a few calls from residents requesting their local forms. He said Keystone handles taxes for many jurisdictions, not just the Borough of Greenville. He was instructed that address coding information is provided to Keystone from the Postal Service that is then entered into their computer system that generates the final returns that are being mailed out to everyone. It is not being done in alphabetical order; it’s being done by geographic order. The forms for Greenville won’t be printed until this week. He added that a generic form may be used if someone needs to get their forms mailed soon. Mark Wilson: Owns property on Argus Street and would like to purchase 30 ft. of property on North Park Boulevard that borders his property and is owned by the Borough of Greenville. Mr. Wilson offered to pay for the appraisal of the property. Mr. Oakes said this subject was brought before Borough Council approximately eight months to a year ago. At that time, it was discussed that a property appraisal would need to be done if Council decided to sell the property. Solicitor Joseph suggested that Mr. Wilson submit a letter to Borough Council, identifying what it is exactly that he wants to purchase, and indicate that he would be willing to pay for the appraisal. Solicitor Joseph said if the property exceeds fourteen to fifteen hundred dollars, the Borough cannot outright sell it to someone, without putting it out to bid. If the property can be appraised for less than fifteen hundred dollars, and the Borough Council is willing to sell it, then it probably can be accomplished. 1 Mr. Wilson said he also has a ditch on each side of his driveway that is approximately 2 ½ feet deep. He wanted to know if he is permitted to lay the pipe and close it in. Council President Longiotti advised Mr. Wilson to either attend a Street Committee meeting or submit a letter so it can be presented at the next Street Committee meeting. Mr. Longiotti explained that the Street Committee meets the first Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m., upstairs of the municipal building. Kate Yasgur: Expressed congratulations to Borough Council and the Borough Manager for working so hard. She also said she has a problem hearing what is being said at the meetings. Beckie Erwin: Made a complaint about the intersection at East and Columbia Avenues. She would like to see something done. She said she realizes that Columbia Avenue is to be maintained by PennDOT, however, the Borough provides the protection for the streets. She fears for the safety of the pedestrians. Mr. Oakes mentioned the letter that was received from Beckie in September 2003. Vance explained that PennDOT was contacted and they requested accident reports for the past four or five years. PennDOT found that there were not enough accidents to justify putting a four-way intersection at East and Columbia. Their suggestion was to repaint the crosswalks, which is what was done. Beckie said there was a three-car accident last week. Beckie said approximately 75 children cross at this intersection. Vance suggested that the Street Committee call a meeting with a representative of the GASD to discuss the problem and come up with other possible solutions. 5. Approval of Minutes Council Vice-President Henderson moved, seconded by Councilor Mueller that the minutes of January 11, 2005 be accepted as written. Motion approved. 6. Budget Report Councilor Urey moved, seconded by Council Vice-President Henderson to accept the Budget Report-Fund 01 as written. Motion approved. Council President Longiotti stated that the 2005 Budget is right on schedule. 7. Mayor’s Correspondence Council President Longiotti explained that the Mayor sent a note asking to be excused this evening due to illness. 8. Council and Mayor’s Report Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Urey to accept the monthly reports, as written. Motion approved. a. Mayor and Police Report for January 2005 b. Fire Chief’s Report for January 2005 c. Fire Chief’s Annual Report for 2004 d. Treasurer’s Report for January 2005 The following reports are placed on file: a. Code Enforcement Report for January 2005 b. Public Works Report for January 2005 c. Department Head Minutes for January 28, 2005 d. GALSA Minutes for January 10, 2005 e. Street Committee Minutes for January 6th and February 3, 2005 2 9. INFORMATIONAL Council President Longiotti announced that there will be a Zoning Board Hearing and special meeting of Borough Council advertised for Thursday, March 3rd. The Zoning Hearing Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. and Borough Council will commence after the hearing. 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. PennDOT’s Offer Council Vice-President Henderson moved, seconded by of Compensation Councilor Auchter to approve PennDOT’s offer to purchase 2,486 square feet from the Borough for a required Right-of-Way in the amount of $500.00. The purpose of the purchase is to widen Porter Road in preparation of the construction of a new bridge. Motion approved. b. Ordinance 1432 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter No Parking to authorize the Solicitor to develop and advertise an ordinance, amending Ordinance 1432, per the recommendations of the Street Committee. Motion approved. Mr. Oakes said these are suggested amendments to the No Parking Ordinance that are coming from the Street Committee to correct the direction that the signage will face. 11. NEW BUSINESS a. HRG Engineers Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Perform Sewer Auchter to accept the proposal by HRG to perform a sewer Rate Study rate study for a fee of $7900. Motion approved. Mr. Jeff Rober, HRG Engineers, presented a proposal to perform a sewer rate study. The proposal is a follow up to the recommendations that were presented as part of the Water/ Sewer Report that was recently completed. The first recommendation is to perform a rate study on a water and sewer system. He said there is no need to perform a water study at this time. The study will identify user rates necessary to cover the Borough’s actual expenses. b. Resolution Council Vice-President Henderson moved, seconded by 2005-03 Councilor Auchter to adopt Resolution 2005-03, authorizing PNC Bank Capital Markets, Inc. to seek proposals for refinancing of bond. Motion approved. Joseph Hohman, State Coordinator, added that this was a recommendation in the Act 47 Recovery Plan. Mr. Hohman said by taking the $300,000 savings up front the Borough could refinance and pay off the debt of other Capital Improvement loans. He said he estimates the balance of this outstanding debt at approximately $340,000.00. c. Alan Avenue Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to Stop Signs authorize the Solicitor to draw up and advertise an ordinance establishing four permanent stop signs on Alan Avenue. Motion approved. 3  d. Great America Council Vice-President Henderson moved seconded by Councilor Lease Agreement Mueller to approve the agreement between the Borough and the Great America Lease for telephone and computer systems for a term of thirty-six months. Motion approved. Mr. Oakes explained the Great America Lease Agreement would be for a term of thirty-six months at the rate of $839.95 per month. At the end of the thirty-six months, by paying $1.00, the Borough will purchase and own the equipment. e. Oil and Gas Lease Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to D & L Energy approve the Oil and Gas Lease with D & L Energy, and to approve the pipeline right-of-way lease agreement for abandoned railroad property between West Main Street and Porter Road. Motion approved. Mr. Oakes stated that three gas wells will be taking gas out of the Riverside Park area. Two wells will be located off Borough property, and D & L Energy will obtain permission and right-of-way agreements from adjoining property owners. The third well will actually be located in Riverside Park. f. Civil Service Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to Commission approve the appointment of Alfred Peden to serve on the Civil Service Commission. His term of office will run for four years, expiring December 31, 2008. Motion approved. g. Greenville Municipal Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Council Vice-President Authority / Agreement Henderson to approve the agreement between the Municipal Authority and the Borough of Greenville increasing the annual fee charged to the Borough for sewer collection services. Motion approved. Mr. Oakes said the annual fee in the amount of $25, 520.00 is compensation for the collection of sewer bills for the Borough of Greenville, by the Greenville Municipal Authority. h. PSAB / Mayor’s Council Vice-President Henderson moved, seconded by Request for Funds Councilor Auchter to approve the advancement of $100.00 per meeting for the Mayor to attend the PA State Association of Borough’s meetings, with a maximum of $400.00 per year. Motion approved. i. Housing Rehab Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter Bid Approval to approve the bid of White Construction to perform housing rehabilitation work at 30 South High Street, through the CDBG Housing Rehabilitation Program. Motion approved. Mr. Oakes read the list of other bidders: A & L Construction of Greenville, Shelhamer’s Energy Conservation Sales of Mercer, and Siegfried Construction of Grove City. j. Resolution Councilor Urey moved, seconded by Councilor Douglas to 2005-04 approve Resolution 2005-04 creating the Greenville Borough Health Reimbursement Plan. Motion approved. 4 Mr. Oakes read Resolution 2005-04. He explained that the Borough changed the health insurance plan to a PPO Blue plan with a deductible. The Borough will pay the deductible, the maximum deductible being $500.00 per person or $1,000 per family. 12. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilor Jones asked if the Post Office would be offering a tour of the building. Councilor Mueller explained that due to security reasons, the Post Office cannot offer tours. 13. BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS NONE 14. BILLS FOR APPROVAL Borough Manager, Vance E. Oakes, read the bill report for February 8, 2005. Payroll $111,266.93 Administration $ 5,126.05 Tax Expense 32.20 Douglas & Joseph 1,000.00 Borough Building 2,405.63 Police Department 15,734.86 Fire Department 9,673.94 Code, Zoning & COG 3,077.67 Sanitary Med. Ben. 4,890.64 Streets/Public Wks. Dept. 14,635.49 Snow & Ice Supplies 3,653.61 Traffic Lights 698.84 Street Lights 7,365.61 Airports 469.96 Railroad Park 65.30 Parks Utilities 2,543.97 Parks Operating 2,405.05 Bank Payments 1,315.50 Liability/Comp/ Employee Bonds 49,336.25 S.S. Operating Fund 25,495.80 TOTAL $261,193.30 Council Vice President Henderson moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter that the bills be paid as presented. Motion approved. Councilor Douglas abstained from the vote. Council President paid recognition to Ann Coleman and her government class from Thiel College for attending the council meeting. 15. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before Council, it was moved by Council Vice-President Henderson, seconded by Councilor Mueller that the meeting be adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Motion approved. 16. PRESS TIME Respectfully submitted, Vance E. Oakes Borough Manager / Secretary Borough of Greenville bs 5