Work Session of Council

Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 www.greenvilleborough.com MINUTES OF A WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE TOWN OF GREENVILLE COUNCIL HELD IN COUNCIL CHAMBERS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. 1. Call to Order Paul Hamill, Mayor If you are a visitor to council, we ask you to please sign in at the door and turn off all cellular telephones. The public was reminded they may be audio or video recorded during the meeting. 2. Roll Call: Paul Hamill, Mayor Jean Carr-Fisher, Deputy Mayor Chad Bromley, Councilor Anne Butcher, Councilor Evan Hereford, Councilor Brian Shipley, Councilor Linda Zuschlag, Councilor Jasson W. Urey, Town Manager Solicitor, Douglas, Joseph & Olson Also present: Frank Vanderslice Becky Savchuk Jennifer Alexander Tracy Beil Joe Cushman – audio recording Marli Urey McKenzie Hoogstad Pastor Andy Henry Trey Wilt Staff: Media: Amy Hollowell, Administrative Assistant Caleb Stright, The Record-Argus – audio recording Rosalynn Reagle, Assistant Town Manger Dave Hetrick, Financial Assistant 3. Invocation: Pastor Andy Henry, New Beginnings Christian Church Flag Salute led by Councilor Chad Bromley 4. Public Comments – (3-minute time limit) Residents: Mr. Joseph Cushman, 56 South Second Street, commented on the state of the commercial property he owns. He asked the council to remove Item E from tonight’s agenda and threatened legal action if they continue with the Article of Taking. Page 1 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 Non-Residents: None 5. Unfinished Business A. Council was advised of the need to readvertise for bids for demolition and clearance Project #25-01 for the following locations using CDBG Funds: 25 Brockway Avenue (55 530 088), 27 Clarksville Street (55 515 048), and 36 South Front Street (55 516 084). Councilor Shipley asked if the same results occur, are we able to move forward. Mr. Urey said we would need to get permission from the grand coordinator. If permission is not granted, then we will start again until DCED okays the project. There was no deliberation. B. Council was advised of the need to accept the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to adopt Ordinance 1664, amending the late/nonpayment section of the Fire Service Fee. Councilor Butcher asked for clarification for the public. Mr. Urey advised the 5% compounding fees would be non-compounding 5% on the unpaid balance. There was no deliberation. C. Council was advised of the need to accept the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to adopt Ordinance 1665, amending the late/nonpayment section of the Stormwater management Program and User Fees. There was no deliberation. D. Council was advised of the need to accept the recommendation from the Strategic Management Committee to adopt Ordinance 1666, initiating Article of Taking from parcel numbers 55 509 100 and 55 509 101. There was no deliberation. E. Council was advised of the need to accept the recommendation from the Strategic Management Committee to adopt Ordinance 1667, initiating the Article of Taking for parcel number 55 510 089 001. There was no deliberation. F. Council was advised of the need to adopt Ordinance 1668, initiating the Articles of Taking for parcel numbers 55 518 090, 55 518 097, 55 518 092, 55 518 091, 55 518 089, 55 518 093, and 55 518 094. There was no deliberation. 6. New Business A. Council was advised of the need to advertise for (6) seats on the Airport Commission expiring December 31, 2026 (Fred Murrin, Dow Lindholm, Gordon Richardson, Richard Feydo, Robert Murrin and Roderick Paul). These are one-year terms. Councilor Butcher asked if the term could be extended. Mr. Urey advised the by-laws would need to be rewritten. Councilor Carr-Fisher suggested they should have a two or three-year term. There was no deliberation. B. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Civil Service Commission with a term expiring December 31, 2031 (Linda Zuschlag). This is a six-year term. There was no deliberation. C. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Code Appeals Board with a term ending December 31, 2030 (Sean Hall). This is a five-year term. There was no deliberation. D. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission with a term ending December 31, 2027 (vacancy). This is filling the remaining term of Page 2 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 a vacancy. There was no deliberation. E. Council was advised of the need to advertise a seat on the Mercer County Regional Planning Commission with a term ending December 31, 2028 (Paul Hamill). This is a three-year term. There was no deliberation. F. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Greenville Planning Commission with a term ending December 31, 2029 (John Hauser). This is a four-year term. There was no deliberation. G. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Redevelopment Authority with a term ending December 31, 2030 (Benjamin Beck). This is a five-year term. There was no deliberation. H. Council was advised of need to advertise for a seat on the Vacancy Board with a term ending December 31, 2026 (Frank Vanderslice). This is a one-year term. There was no deliberation. I. Council was advised of the need to advertise for a seat on the Greenville Water Authority with a term ending December 31, 2030 (Walter A Sankey). This is a five-year term. There was no deliberation. J. Council was advised of the need to advertise a seat on the Zoning Hearing Board with a term ending December 31, 2028 (Rick Zilla). This is a three-year term. There was no deliberation. K. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Street Committee to approve the change order from Youngblood paving, Inc., a decrease of $35,478.02, rescinding change order #1 for additional work needed in the brick section of Clinton Street from the 2025 Paving Program. Councilor Hereford questioned the decrease. Mr. Urey explained this was for the brick work that did not need to be done on Clinton Sreet. There was no deliberation. L. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Street Committee to approve the change order from Youngblood Paving, Inc. of $8,200.00 for additional painting that includes crosswalks and a railroad crossing for the 2025 Paving Program. Councilor Hereford asked if they used the new material. Mr. Urey said that it was. Councilor Carr-Fisher feels it was good to use the new stuff so we can see how it works. There was no deliberation. M. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1669, authorizing debt to be incurred by way of a General Obligation Notie in the amount not to exceed $621,148.00 through PENNVEST for the Lebanon/Lancaster Storm Sewer Project. Councilor Bromley said this project is long overdue. Mr. Urey noted this would be retention baskets under a small section of Lebanon and Lancaster Avenues. Councilor Shipley cautioned this item is tied into Item N on the agenda as to how to pay back the loan. There was no deliberation. N. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise the proposed 2026 General, Fire Service Fee, Storm Water Utility, Airport, Redevelopment Authority, and Capital Budgets. Councilor Shipley voiced concerns with the Strom Water Utility and Fire Service Fee adjustments. He said he had asked the administration team to break down what increase amounts would cover in the proposed budget. To balance the stormwater budget without any projects would require a $1.19 per EDU increase. To budget for the PENNVEST payments and the East Avenue project, an increase of $24.10 would be required to balance the budget. With the full $50 increase, the above items would be covered and $96,884.00 would be set aside for future development projects. The question he asked council was, “What level are your comfortable with?” Page 3 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 Councilor Carr-Fisher said all of this does not guarantee an increase next year. Councilor Shipley reminded the council we had not anticipated the collapse on East Avenue. Councilor Bromley suggested $60,000.00 of the sale proceeds from the sewer plant should be used to make that repair so we are not placing burdens on the taxpayers. Councilor Shipley said we do not have that sale proceeds yet (the Sanitary is still working on closing everything out) and said that it should not be used to cover operating costs list a PENNVEST loan that is a multi-year payment. Councilor Butcher said we should not budget on “maybe” money, if we cannot cover debt service then we should not do the project. But Councilor Bromley said the bond was just paid off, so we are not incurring debt. Councilor Butcher reminded councilor Bromley that PENNVEST funds are debt. Councilor Hereford asked if we could make the Storm Water Utility Fee a $25.00 increase instead of the full $50.00. Mayor Hamill said he understands the burden and was cut-off by Councilor Bromley who suggested we will run business off. Councilor Zuschlag asked if he would let the mayor finish his statement. Mayor Hamill continued by saying the problem has always been council pushing projects to the back burner because it is not affordable. We have come this far, and the full increase equals $0.27 per day. He highly cautioned stopping the forward momentum. We are uncovering more as we camera the system and must stay on top of making repairs. Councilor Carr-Fisher understands it is only $100.00, but with the current economy, we need to think about now. Why can’t we find a way to help these people for at least this year? They may leave. Councilor Shipley asked what Councilor Carr-Fisher would propose. Councilor Bromley suggested the large fees would be a deterrent to the redevelopment of the former Trinity Site. Mr. Urey asked what the plan would be if a huge change order was incurred during a project, where would the funds would come from when there is not a savings. Councilor Hereford said he would be okay with the $25.00 increase, but not a $50.00. That would be too hard to swallow. Councilor Shipley went around the table asking each councilor to provide the amount they are comfortable increasing this fee. Councilor Bromley said we need to trim the fat. He admitted he had not reviewed the draft budget yet but feels there are “wants” to cut. He said there should not be an increase. Councilor Butcher said she can live with $25.00 but cautioned that we will be back here doing the same thing again next year. Mayor Hamill said we need to move forward and should keep the proposed $50.00 increase. Councilor Carr-Fisher wants to do what is best for the community and not approve any increase because she feels there is still room for cuts in the budget. Councilor Zuschlag would vote for the $25.00 increase. Councilor Shipley said the majority is good with a $25.00 increase for the Storm Water Utility Fee and asked Mr. Urey to update the proposed budget to reflect this. Moving on to the Fire Service Fee, Councilor Shipley explained the proposed budget, with no capital needs being met, has a $25,000.00 deficit and increase of $8.05 would need to be passed. To repay the borough for the funds borrowed for the fire truck last year, an increase of $27.19 is needed. A $50.00 increase would allow for a $68,000.00 reserve for capital purchases. Councilor Bromley asked if there are more grants that can be applied for capital purchases. Mr. Urey said not for used vehicles. Councilor Bromley then said the fire department is important and he can swallow the asks for them. They not only cover us, but the surrounding areas, so I am ok with $50.00. Councilor Hereford said the community has voted to keep a paid fire department twice and he will support the $50.00 increase. Councilor Zuschlag added she is okay with the $50.00 increase. Councilor Butcher said we should chase every grant we can find but approved the $50.00 increase and so did Mayor Hamill. Councilor Carr-Fisher feels what Councilor Bromley said is true, however we should be looking at ways to charge the surrounding townships for the mutual aid services and does not feel an increase should be added to this fee. Councilor Shipley agreed with the proposed $50.00 increase. The majority was $50.00 increase, and Mr. Urey was asked to make changes to the budget draft to reflect this. There was no further deliberation of the proposed budgets. Page 4 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 O. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1670, establishing the 2026 Earned Income Tax Rate of (2.25% for residents (1.75% for the Town and 0.5% for the School District) and 1.0% for non-residents). There was no deliberation. P. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1671, establishing the 2026 Special Purposes Fire Protection Services Tax Rate (3 mills). No change from the 2025 rate. There was no deliberation. Q. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1672, establishing the 2026 General Purposes Tax Rate (19 mills). An increase of 8 mills. Councilor Hereford questioned the increase of eight mills. Councilor Shipley explained this offsets with Item R and will equal out to a decrease of .19 mill total. There was no deliberation. R. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1673, establishing the 2026 General Tax Rate for Indebtedness (1 mill). A reduction of 8.19 mills. Councilor Butcher reminded the council there will be a two year pause by the county due to the county-wide reassessment. There was no deliberation. S. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to advertise Ordinance 1674, establishing the 2026 Realty Transfer Tax Rate of 2.0% (1/5% for the Town and 0.5% for the School District). No change from the 2025 rate. There was no deliberation. T. Council was advised of the need to adopt Resolution 2025-17, revising the ACT 537 Sewage Facilities Plan to sell the Sanitary System to Aqua Pennsylvania. DEP asked for revisions to the resolution that was adopted in January 2025. Councilor Butcher thanked Mr. Urey for keeping up with DEP to get the corrections to complete the sale of the system. There was no deliberation. U. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to adopt Resolution 2025-18, appointing voting delegates to the Mercer County Tax Collection Committee. There was no deliberation. V. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to adopt Resolution 2025-19, authorizing the Town Manager to make application to the Local Share Account Grant for the demolition of the building and site restoration at 10-12 South Mercer Street. There was no deliberation. W. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to adopt Resolution 2025-20, authorizing the Town Manager to make application to the Local Share Account for the purchase of a new aerial ladder truck. Councilor Carr-Fisher mentioned working with Greenville Area Economic Development Corporation to write the grant. Councilor Shipley responded by asking why we would want to pay them 5% for a consultant fee when we can and have written these grants in the past for free. Mayor Hamill reminded council we can work with Council of Governments for free to assist if needed. Mr. Urey reminded this grant is a broad grant is usually for new equipment. A new fire truck would be in the price range of $1.7 million to $2.1 million. A LSA grant is up to $1,000,000.00 max. Mr. Urey said that the town would need to come up with the balance of the funds needed to purchase a truck if the grant was awarded. He stated that the capital account has right around $80,000.00 in it as of the October report. This is not enough funds to meet the match for a new truck. It was decided this item would be removed for the agenda for the Regular Session. Mr. Urey also noted we have applied for the Assistance to Firefighters grant (AFG) for over Page 5 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 15 years with no success. We have even used grant writers with experience with the AFG program and have still not received a reward. The problem is we cannot afford the matching funds so we ask for a match waiver. It was also noted that we have yet to receive rewards from the grant and need to be prepared to wait He believes this is why we are not successful with these grants. The AFG grant can take up to one year for an award after the application and a new truck can take up to two years to receive. Councilor Shipley asked what the plan would be without a grant. Mayor Hamill suggested looking at used trucks but cautioned we need to be ready when one is found, it will go fast, the question is do we use a loan or borrow from ourselves. Councilor Bromley asked if the expansion of the street department garage was still in the works. Councilor Shipley suggested giving the Town Manager the authority to apply for a bank note. Councilor Bromley suggested we could pay off the loan early with the interest earnings from the funds from the sale of the sewer plant. Councilor Carr- Fisher said there are grants to buy smaller equipment, maybe we could move those funds over to vehicle line items. She also said she talked to Tom Strahler who told her Aqua has funds for fire departments. Mayor Hamill suggested this item be removed from the agenda for the Regular Session Meeting. It was decided to remove this from the agenda and replace it with an motion to authorize the Town Manager to secure a banknote to replace the truck. There was no other deliberation. X. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Street Committee and the Budget and Finance Committee to authorize the Town Manager to have the engineer draft plans and bid specs to replace the storm water head wall and pipe at 295 East Avenue. Councilor Bromley asked if this was due to a collapse. There was no deliberation. Y. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to authorize the Town Manager to seek bids to replace the boiler system at the Municipal Building. Mr. Urey explained a temporary fix has been implemented, but the boiler needs to be replaced as soon as possible. The engineers have estimated the cost to be $60,000.00-$66,000.00 to replace. Councilor Zuschlag said she is good with Mr. Urey seeking bids and getting the boiler replaced. There was no deliberation. Z. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to authorize the Town Manger to create a payment system for the Stormwater and Fire Service Fees to spread the payment over six months. Councilor Butcher noted with the proposed fee increase changes, the fee will be uneven. Councilor Shipley recommended keeping this at six months with the normal collection process. He also thanked Mr. Urey and Mrs. Reagle for the work they put into this program. Mayor Hamill clarified this will start at the beginning of the year and run through June. There was no other deliberation. AA. Council was advised of the recommendation from the Budget and Finance Committee to authorize the Town Manager to start the process of acquiring the Squad Truck for the Greenville Fire Department. Mr. Urey updated council on the status of the current Squad Truck, noting that anti- freeze is leaking as soon as the engine is starting and there are some suspension issues. Councilor Shipley asked how long to find a new one. Mr. Urey said a truck was located. They are looking at a F350. Mr. Shipley noted the volunteer groups will be purchasing the box and they will be able to be transferred to the next truck down the road. There was no deliberation. 7. Public Comments – (Agenda items only) Residents: Mrs. Tracy Beil, 6 Ferguson Way, commented on Unfinished Business Item B & C and New Business Item N. Page 6 of 7 Town of Greenville Work Session Minutes 11/05/25 Mr. Joseph Cushman, 56 South Second Street, commented on Unfinished Business Item E and New Business Item N. Ms. McKenzie Hoogstad, 6 Orange Way, commented on Unfinished Business Items B & C and New Business Item N. Non-Residents: None 8. Council Comments Councilor Hereford thanked everyone for attending the meeting. Councilor Bromley thanked everyone for attending the meeting and appreciated the nice voter turnout. Councilor Butcher thanked the voters for re-electing her. She also encouraged everyone to participate in the Christmas Parade and donate to the food banks if possible. Councilor Shipley welcomed Councilor Elect Wilt and was glad to see the community passed all four charter questions and they will continue working on the rest of the suggestions from the Home Rule Charter Review Commission submitted. Councilor Carr-Fisher thanked everyone for voting yesterday. She also said there is enough compromise for everything. It is our job to assist the community who gives us our money. They are not our bank. 9. Mayor's Comments – none 10. Town Manager's Comments – Mr. Urey said he will make the adjustments to the budgets discussed tonight and will send it out to council. He asked the council to review and let him know if any corrections are missing. 11. Adjournment– Having no other business, this session of council was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jasson W. Urey Town Manager Page 7 of 7