Regular Session of Council

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF GREENVILLE BOROUGH COUNCIL HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. 1. Call to Order Council President Longiotti called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. 2. Invocation: Rev. Glenn Sadler, Chaplin, St. Paul Homes Flag Salute 3. Roll Call: Pete Longiotti, Council President David Henderson, Council Vice President (left early) Pamela Auchter, Councilor Theodore Jones, Councilor Henry M. Mueller, Councilor Joanne Price, Councilor Jasson Urey, Councilor - absent Landis Erwin, Jr. Councilor - absent Andrew Woodley, Councilor - absent Richard H. Miller, Mayor Also present was Joe Joseph, Borough Solicitor, Ryan T. Eggleston, Borough Manager 4. Public Comments/Public Participation Jan Chapin spoke on behalf of the “Save Our Hospital Action Committee” requesting permission to place numerous “Save Our Hospital” signs on borough property and in the planters along Main Street, tie ribbons on the light poles on Main Street, and hang an overhead banner over Main Street near Central Park with the help of the fire department. Mayor Miller cautioned council on approving this request stating they would be setting a dangerous precedent for every other group that came before council with the same type of request. He suggested if store owners chose to display a sign in their window that would be more appropriate. Solicitor Joseph elaborated on Mayor Miller’s comments, agreeing with him stating examples of other groups that could potentially request the same of council. He strongly advised council against the approval. Mrs. Chapin stated she would like to begin placing the signage on Friday, March 16th and removed them by May 1, 2007. After a brief discussion amongst the councilors, Council Vice President Henderson moved, seconded by Councilor Price to approve the sign placement request contingent upon Penn DOT having no objections and there would be no violations to the borough sign ordinance. Motion approved. 1  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 Gary Beatty, Hempfield Twp., asked if Ordinance 1466 had any changes made to it from the original draft that was presented at last Thursday’s work session. President Longiotti stated no changes were made and it was on the agenda for action. Mr. Beatty then questioned the “$8.00 administrative fee” that will be charged for the new refuse service by Waste Management. President Longiotti explained the $8.00 was the base fee and not an administrative fee. Further discussion on the new garbage contract continued. Borough Manager Eggleston confirmed he is trying to schedule a meeting between Waste Management, landlords and borough officials to discuss certain issues regarding rental properties. Mr. Beatty then asked questions on Ordinance 1468 that is also on the agenda for action. Mary Linton, 115 Morgan Street, spoke on behalf of the “Safety Advocates for the Greenville Street Department” She read from a prepared letter requesting a health inspector be allowed to tour the borough garage and have the public works employees tested for exposures to hazardous materials. The Borough Manager updated the audience on the status of the temporary move of the public works employees to the fire station. Shelia Junk, borough resident, made a statement regarding the conditions of the borough garage she saw in the newspaper. John McDonald, borough resident, ask a question regarding an occupancy permit for the council chambers and made a statement regarding the new garbage contract and voiced his frustrations with certain sections of the contract. Mayor Miller asked if annual inspections were done on the borough garage. Chief Steve Thompson stated an annual fire inspection is done and he would provide the Mayor with a copy of the report. Code Official George Pangas stated he does not inspect buildings annually unless it involves a permit application or a complaint is received and is invited in by the property owner. Solicitor Joseph stressed borough officials have been working on a solution to the borough garage problem and addressed the wives of the street dept. workers stating if they believe their husbands have been exposed to something, that down the road may affect them physically, then they should have them tested . . . they can take them every day to be tested if they wish using their own employee medical coverage. A dialogue between the solicitor, Mrs. Linton, and Mrs. Boyer continued regarding the Kurtanich engineer’s report dated December 2004. Regis Hamilton, borough resident, presented council with a petition protesting the possible location of a new borough garage on Stewart Avenue. Mike Dambacher, Clinton Street, asked if any of the borough streets are going to be re- paved in the near future. He feels Clinton & Shenango streets are in terrible condition. Lucia D’Alfonso, borough resident, asked if Trinity Industries offered to donate some of their property to the borough for a garage site. 2  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 Dale Linton, public works employee, remarked the council has been aware, and the condition of the borough garage has been an agenda item on and off since March 2006. He wants to know if its going to take another year before a new building is in place. 5. Approval of Minutes Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter that the minutes of the February 13, 2007 regular meeting and the minutes March 8, 2007 work session be accepted as written. Motion approved. 6. Budget Report Councilor Jones moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to accept the Budget Report – Fund 01 as presented. Motion approved. 7. Mayor’s items Mayor Miller presented Dale Linton, Public Works employee, a certificate of appreciation for his 25 years of service at the Borough. 8. Council reports Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to accept the monthly reports as written. Motion approved. a. Police report for February 2007 b. Fire Chief’s report for February 2007 c. Treasurer’s report for February 2007 The following reports were placed of file: a. Code Enforcement report for February 2007 b. Public Works report for February 2007 c. Department Head meeting report for February 26, 2007 d. GALSA meeting report for March 12, 2007 9. Reports from Council Committees  Heard a verbal report from Councilor Mueller on the Greenville Sanitary Authority and the Street Committee of February 27th.  Council President Longiotti reported Mercer Co. Regional Planning Commission did not meet and he was unable to attend the monthly Council of Governments meeting. He noted the county is working on reducing the electrical rates in the borough and the Borough Manager would have more details at a later date. 3  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 10. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Resolution 2007-04 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Price to adopt Resolution 2007-04 Greenville Borough Council’s opposition to the closure of the OB/GYN facility at UPMC Horizon – Greenville Campus. Motion approved. b. Resolution – 2007-05 Councilor Price moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to adopt Resolution 2007-05 – Amending Resolution 1986-19, Rule XVII, Damage to borough equipment and property. Motion approved. c. Ordinance 1466 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Price for a first and final reading of Ordinance 1466 – Providing for collection of municipal waste within the borough. Motion approved. Comments: Councilor Jones commented he did not like the mailing Waste Management sent out to the residents to sign up for new service. He thought it was confusing. Councilor Price also said she had questions regarding the information on the flyer and called their office for further explanation and advised Mr. Jones to do the same. A discussion began on the clarification of “stickered heavy items”. Councilor Jones thought the mailing should have gotten council’s approval before it was sent out. Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to adopt Ordinance 1466 – Providing for collection of municipal waste within the borough. Motion approved. d. Ordinance 1467 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Price for a first and final reading of Ordinance 1467 – Vacating a portion of an alley known as Benninghoff Way. Motion approved. Councilor Jones moved, seconded by Councilor Price to adopt Ordinance 1467 – Vacating a portion of an alley known as Benninghoff Way. Motion approved. e. Ordinance 1468 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Jones for a first and final reading of Ordinance 1468 – Amending Ordinance 1180 requiring landlords within the borough to register certain information regarding their tenants. Motion approved. 4  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Price to adopt Ordinance 1468 – Amending Ordinance 1180 requiring landlords within the borough to register certain information regarding their tenants. Motion approved. f. Agreement between Borough of Greenville and Central Heating & Plumbing Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Jones to authorize the execution of the agreement between the Borough of Greenville and Central Heating & Plumbing, New Castle PA, for the work on the boiler replacement at the Municipal building. Motion approved. g. Authorize the Borough Manager to contact Trinity Industries Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Price to authorize the Borough Manager to contact representatives from Trinity Industries regarding the possible donation or sale of their properties. The first, located on Stewart Avenue or the second, located at the corner of Ridge Avenue and Union Street for a potential site for the borough maintenance garage. Motion approved. 11. NEW BUSINESS a. Ordinance 1465 – (Recommendation from the Greenville Sanitary Authority) Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to table this ordinance until further notice so Solicitor Joseph can review it in detail. Motion approved. b. Greenville House tax appeal consent order Councilor Price moved, seconded by Councilor Jones to authorize the Council President and Borough Secretary to execute the consent order regarding the Greenville House tax appeal and furthermore, to approve the Act 47 Coordinator’s recommendation for setting aside funds from the 2006 General Fund surplus for the Greenville House tax appeal. Motion approved. c. Resolution 2007-06 Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to adopt Resolution 2007-06 authorizing the execution of a Block Grant proposing State & Federal participation of the maximum amount of $146,250 for Internal Order No. 7880051061 at the Greenville Municipal Airport concerning the Conduct Airport Master Plan. Motion approved. d. Resignation of Officer Lucas Martsolf, Greenville/West Salem Police Dept. Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to accept the resignation of Officer Lucas Martsolf, Greenville/West Salem Police Department. Motion approved. 5  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 e. Authorization of support letters for the Greenville Rec Center Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to authorize the Borough Manager to sign three (3) support letters for grant requests by the Greenville Rec Center. Council President Longiotti asked what the funds would be used for. A roll call vote was taken Councilor Jones No Councilor Auchter Yes Councilor Price No Councilor Mueller No Council President Longiotti No Comments or discussion: Mayor Miller felt there was no harm in approving the support letters. He reminded the group that this was the approved procedure for handling support letters for grants from GALSA and he felt it was unfair to Council Vice President Henderson to not approve this request. President Longiotti stated he would approve the letters as long as there were no matching funds for the borough to pay. Councilor Jones stressed to make sure the borough is following the Auditor General’s guidelines. Original motion failed 4-1. Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to authorize the Borough manager to sign the letters conditioned upon his confirming there is no monetary obligation on the part of the borough. Motion approved. f. Drawings from EG&G for Streetscape Phase II Councilor Price made a motion to approve the preliminary drawings. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Mueller to approve the preliminary drawings submitted by E.G.&G. along with the comments noted in detail by HRG Engineering. A roll call vote was taken. Councilor Jones No Councilor Auchter Yes Councilor Price Yes Councilor Mueller Yes Council President Longiotti Yes Motion approved 4-1 g. Advertising of bids for lawn mowing services at Riverside Park Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to authorize the Borough Manager to solicit bids for lawn mowing services in Riverside Park. Motion approved. 6  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 h. Appoint member to the Greenville Airport Commission Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to approve the recommendation from Mr. Fred Murrin, Chairman of the Greenville Airport Commission, to appoint Mr. George Long to the commission, filing the vacated seat of Mr. Robert Murrin, effective immediately. Motion approved. i. Resolution 2007-07 – CDBG Grant application for Fiscal Year 2007 George Pangas, stated MCRP has not received the amount that is going to be funded by the state and requested this item be tabled until next month. Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price to table this Resolution until the April 10th meeting. Motion approved. j. Contract between the Borough of Greenville and Waste Management Councilor Mueller moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to approve the three (3) year contract between the Borough of Greenville and Waste Management for refuse service. The term of the contract is April 1, 2007 – March 31, 2010. Motion approved. 12. Council Comments Councilor Auchter commented she was pleased to see a good attendance of the public for the council meetings and hopes it continues. She said she wishes the public will attend regularly not just attend if they have a particular problem. Councilor Price echoed Mrs. Auchter’s comments and thanked the public for attending. 13. Borough Manager’s comments The Borough Manager asked the councilors to review their copy of the Mercer Co. Fire Mutual Aid agreement for action at the April 10th meeting. Mr. Eggleston will have results of the rate study being conducted by Mercer Co. COG and Premier Power Solutions for electricity rates. He also asked the press to publish on March 15th at 10:10 a.m. there will be a testing of the tornado siren. Finally, he stated the borough web site should be going “live” in April. 7  Greenville Borough Council Minutes – March 13, 2007 14. Bills for Approval Borough Manager, Ryan T. Eggleston, read the bill report for March 13, 2007. Payroll $117,797.64 Traffic Lights $ 1,303.80 Administration 9,290.18 Street Lights 8,863.76 Tax Expense 12,719.92 Airport .00 Douglas & Joseph 1,250.00 Park Utilities 6,875.82 Borough Building 5,160.38 Park Expense 3,362.08 Police Department 24,528.94 Bank Payments 631.31 Fire Department 15,002.31 Liability/Comp/ 89,335.00 Code/Zoning/COG 2,949.84 Sewer Sys. Operating 99,081.11 Sewer Employee Ben 6,391.23 Capital Fund Proj 13,085.77 Street/Pub Works 26,253.17 Railroad Park 24.09 Pool Utilities 2,000.00 Real Estate Tax refund 61.43 Total $445,967.78 Councilor Auchter moved, seconded by Councilor Price that the bills be paid as presented. Motion approved. 15. Adjournment Being no other business before council, Councilor Jones moved, seconded by Councilor Auchter to adjourn the meeting at 8:05 p.m. to an executive session. Motion approved. 16. Press Time Respectfully submitted, Ryan T. Eggleston Borough Secretary Borough of Greenville vh 8