Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Toni Brockway, Dayne Dice, Jamie Lee Korns, Mac McKenna, Tony Spadaro, Carl Stepanovich and Mayor Synan. Also present were Chief Administrator, James Morrison, Director of Finance, Diane Heming, and Solicitor, George Kotjarapoglus. Council member Loren Kase was absent. 2020 VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR ROBERT MCKENNA – FLAGS OVER MURRYSVILLE Mr. Dice stated that staff and council have gotten a lot of calls and emails over the years from constituents and residents driving through Murrysville about how great it is to see all of those American flags lining Route 22. A lot of times, they falsely give the credit to us, but we are very quick to let them know that it is Mr. Robert McKenna and his volunteers putting in the hard work. The Municipality gets a lot of really great applications for Volunteer of the Year but this year, I think it was easy to go with Mr. McKenna because it’s such a wonderful thing he does for our community. Mayor Synan added that Bob, back in 1991, recruited fellow members of what was then the Kiwanis Club to place American flags on the 2 ½ mile stretch of William Penn Highway through Murrysville on holidays. In 2005 the Kiwanis was having some problem getting volunteers, so American Legion Post 711 volunteered to help. It started that individuals could sponsor a flag for $25 per year to cover the replacement costs of worn out flags, but then generated enough money over the years to donate towards veteran charities. Calls are received from people who see the flags driving through Murrysville and it makes us proud as a community to be recognized for something like this and the Mayor thanked Mr. McKenna. Mr. Dice then presented Mr. McKenna with a plaque thanking him for all his hard work. Mr. McKenna stated that it was an honor to receive this award. He has about 80 volunteers to help with the 340 flags. The support is phenomenal. “Flags Over Murrysville” has been going on for 30 years. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Carl Stepanovich, Jamie Lee Korns, Toni Brockway, Dayne Dice, Loren Kase - absent, Tony Spadaro, Mac McKenna, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mr. Dice led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: Mr. Dice stated that he had an unlisted amendment to propose to Council in regards to the Earned Income Tax (EIT) Ordinance. There has been a lot of discussion in the community and a lot of misinformation as to what this Ordinance actually does. This Ordinance would only enable Council, at a later date, to potentially raise taxes up to 0.5%. After discussions with the Chief Administrator, Director of Finance, and the Mayor, Council believes it would be prudent, for the time being, to table the proposed EIT Ordinance until a later date when we can tell the community exactly how much the tax will be raised. The budget process will begin in a few months and we will better know at that time what the percentage would be. Council can then pass the enabling legislation along with the actual tax increase at the same time. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Mr. McKenna made a motion to add 13.D To Table the EIT Tax Ordinance to a later date until the amount that the taxes would be raised is known. Mr. Spadaro seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS A. Approval of March 17, 2021 Council Meeting Minutes Mr. Spadaro made a motion to approve the March 17, 2021 Council Meeting Minutes. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan stated that he was deeply honored to be able to introduce the Chief and entire Murrysville Police Department for their attainment of the Premier Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation. Chief Seefeld – Murrysville Police Department Premier Agency Accreditation: Chief Seefeld gave a presentation and overview of the Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. Chief Seefeld stated that he has been Chief for about 18 ½ years for Murrysville. You have to have a good core of police officers in order to succeed in the Accreditation Program. We only hire the best. This took a team effort and a lot of work. The Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, back in 2001, wanted to come up with a way to professionalize law enforcement and raise the standards of excellence. The opportunity for training of police officers just wasn’t there. The Pennsylvania Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission (PLEAC) was then created. There are three phases in the process: Application, Self-Assessment, and Formal Assessment. Back then, there were 123 standards that the department had to be in compliance with in order to pass the accreditation. The Murrysville Police Department has met stringent standards by an established quality set of rules, regulations and policy and procedures. The Murrysville Police Department will continue, as it has in the past, to provide the community with guaranteed professional police service. March 25, 2006 was when Murrysville first received accreditation. Of 1200 law enforcement agencies, Murrysville was 35th. There are only two agencies in Westmoreland County that are accredited, and nine in Allegheny County. Re-accreditation is every 3 years. On February 4 & 5, 2021, Murrysville had their re-accreditation and on March 18, 2021 PLEAC awarded and recognized the Murrysville Police Department as a Premiere Law Enforcement Agency with five 3-year cycles of re-accreditation in 15 years. There are only 15 agencies in the state with Premiere status. The Mayor continued with his announcements: Congratulations to Franklin Regional’s Finn Solomon who won gold at the PIAA wrestling tournament at the March 13th tournament in the PIAA 138-pound final at Giant Center in Hershey. Solomon got a third-period takedown for a 7-5 win and the state title. He becomes the eighth wrestler to win a state title at Franklin Regional and that makes 13 gold medals. Chalk the Walk in Murrysville Community Park will be Saturday, May 15th from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Create your own masterpiece on the walking trail. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Morrison noted that these items are also posted on the News Flash portion of the website. Keystone Tax Office is now open. It had been closed due to COVID requirements. They will be open Wednesdays from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm and Thursdays from 11:30 am – 7:00 pm. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Annual Clean-Up Week is Monday, April 19th through Saturday, April 24th where residents can get a pass to take items to the Valley Landfill on Pleasant Valley Road. In order to obtain a permit pass, please email vprice@murrysville.com with proof of address or mail a copy of proof of address to the Municipal Building. Spring Leaf Clean-Up is April 17th and April 24th. You can call Republic Services at 724-907-5466 to schedule a pickup. Leaves must be in biodegradable bags. Yard waste is also accepted and must be tied into bundles and placed at the curb alongside the biodegradable bags. Yard waste means small twigs and brush that cannot exceed three inches in diameter and 48 inches in length. Mr. Morrison stated that dividends were received from both the Worker’s Compensation Carrier ($89,228) and Property and Liability Carrier ($23,000). COMMUNITY INPUT: None LIAISON COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Spadaro: Medic One had a meeting two weeks ago. Total trips were 1,571 which include Washington Township. They have 3 new trucks in service right now. An old truck was sold to Mexico for $7,000. They are looking forward to a grant from Highmark which is around $7,000. They are currently overstocked with supplies like masks and gloves. Fundraising is in progress. Make sure you participate with your subscription. 60% of the crew has been vaccinated. Mr. Stepanovich: Planning Commission meets next Tuesday, April 13th at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. The Parks and Recreation Foundation will meet at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13th in Council Chambers. Ms. Brockway: The Library is happy to be back in person Monday through Saturday. Masks are required. You can still request curbside service. Call the Library at 724-327-1102. You can catch the Murrysville Storytime Soundbites every Wednesday on the Library YouTube Channel and Facebook page. The newest Make & Take Craft will be available Monday, April 12th and will teach children how to make a birdfeeder. The Library is also hosting a 4-part Financial Literacy Series presented by Edward Jones during the months of March, April, May and June. The Library is excited to partner with the Murrysville Recreation Department for the Life of General Grant on May 7th at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. To sign up, please visit the Recreation Department website at murrysvillerecreation.com and select on-line registration. The next board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 15th at 7:00 p.m. Mr. McKenna: Parks and Recreation meets this coming Tuesday. The Egg My Yard was held and went over very well. Carly and Amy of the Recreation Department did a fantastic job. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 9.A. A Discussion concerning parking restrictions on Millstream Court from School Road North to Treesdale Court Mr. Morrison stated that there has been an issue with cars parked along Millstream Court. Millstream Court is a public street approximately 17 feet wide. The individual has been asked and sent several letters vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 to park in the driveway instead of on the street and he has chosen to ignore those requests. A citation has been issued to both the property owner and resident. The issue is that with a car parked on the street and the width of the street, there is only about a foot clearance for a school bus or emergency vehicle to get through. There is no other alternative at this point but to ask Council to consider an ordinance to prohibit parking on Millstream Court from the intersection of School Road to Treesdale Court. Mr. Morrison is asking Council to direct staff to bring forth an ordinance to implement that if desired. Mr. Stepanovich asked if anyone has spoken to the party directly. Mr. Morrison stated that Code Enforcement has and letters had been sent out to both the renter and the property owner, who is a Murrysville resident. There has been no response from either. Mayor Synan stated that regardless, the street is just too narrow to have the chance of it being blocked to emergency vehicles. Dr. Lee Korns stated that she didn’t have a problem with the ordinance at all. The safety of the community and the residents that live there is paramount. Mr. Dice confirmed with Council for Mr. Morrison to go ahead with the ordinance for the next meeting. 9.B. A Discussion concerning soliciting bids for a new five-year refuse and recycling contract for the Municipality of Murrysville and the Borough of Export Mr. Morrison stated that this is third five-year cycle that the Municipality and Borough of Export have joined under a Council of Governments arrangement for refuse and recycling. Republic Services provided unlimited weekly refuse pick-up, bi-weekly automated recycling pick-up, a hazardous household pick-up by appointment and spring and fall yard waste pick-up. The contract is up and it’s time to solicit proposals for competitive bids again. What’s different this time in the proposal to try minimizing any cost increase is to try to automate the trash collection along with having the manual collection also. It would still be proposed as unlimited collection. There seems to be less refuse at the sides of our road with the unlimited collection. The automated collection cannot be done in Export because of the narrow streets. If we go with the automated collection of refuse, a mandated can would probably be provided by the hauler and paid for by the resident either upfront or over a period of time. A can would be estimated around $50 - $55. ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13.A Consider approval of Ordinance # 1042-21, an Ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1032-20, establishing the salary ranges and number of positions for municipal employees for the Calendar Year 2021 Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to approve Ordinance # 1042-21, an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1032-20, establishing the salary ranges and number of positions for municipal employees for the Calendar Year 2021. Ms. Brockway seconded. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 Ms. Heming stated that this Ordinance was presented at the last meeting. It just adjusts some of the recreation and public works summer help hours and wages and brings the custodian that was hired to an upper range. Mr. Morrison noted that staff hired a young lady, Barb, for the custodial position who has done a fabulous job. In regards to summer help, it is very difficult to hire people for $10/hour. Upon roll call vote: Mr. Stepanovich – yes, Dr. Lee Korns – yes, Ms. Brockway – yes, Mr. Dice – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, and Mr. McKenna – yes. Motion approved. 13.B. Consider authorization to advertise for a five year contract for refuse and recycling for the Municipality of Murrysville and Export Borough Mr. McKenna made a motion to consider authorization to advertise for a five year contract for refuse and recycling for the Municipality of Murrysville and Export Borough. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. Mr. Dice stated that this was just discussed in the workshop items. Upon roll call vote: Mr. Stepanovich – yes, Dr. Lee Korns – yes, Ms. Brockway – yes, Mr. Dice – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, and Mr. McKenna – yes. Motion approved. 13.C. Consider approval of Policy No. 49-21, establishing procedures for estimated pension calculations Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to approve Policy No. 49-21 establishing procedures for estimated pension calculations for employees. Ms. Brockway seconded. Ms. Heming stated that she and Mr. Morrison have discussed this over the last year or so with so many of the employees reaching retirement. She has done many pension quotes over the past year. To make a procedure for the Finance Department to not be overrun with these quotes, Mockenhaupt will present an annual report for every employee that gives them their vested pension at the time of the report and what their estimated pension would be when they would retire. Staff would be more than happy to explain it to them if they don’t understand it. If someone is close to retirement and would like a quote to see what their pension would be, they can do that once and it will be paid for. If they want repetitive reports, then they will have to pay to have the quote done. This would simplify things. Mr. Stepanovich asked if there was an estimated cost if someone wanted to have an estimate beyond the one allotted. Ms. Heming answered that it would be around $200 - $300 depending on how far out they wanted the estimate for. Mr. Morrison noted that the pension benefit calculations for both uniform and non-uniform plans are clearly stated in the document that they are provided. It’s just a matter of doing a math equation to figure it out. Upon roll call vote: Mr. Stepanovich – yes, Dr. Lee Korns – yes, Ms. Brockway – yes, Mr. Dice – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, and Mr. McKenna – yes. Motion approved. vmp -5- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 13.D. Table the Earned Income Tax (EIT) Ordinance to a later date until the amount that the taxes would be raised is known Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to table the Earned Income Tax Ordinance (EIT) until such a time in the future that a more specific amount may be determined. Ms. Brockway seconded. Mr. Dice stated that he feels there is a lack of understanding or misinformation about this Ordinance. The Ordinance is simply an enabling Ordinance with the actual amount of the EIT increase to be determined. This action item would be to bring back this enabling Ordinance when it is known what the tax increase is going to be. This isn’t a retreat. This is waiting for more information and then it will be voted upon. An enabling Ordinance would need to be passed and then accompanying that would be to pass the actual increase. Mr. McKenna stated that there had been a lot of good questions, comments and concerns from the public and feels this allows more time for people to come in or make comments, plus Council will have the information on what the tax would be and why. Mr. Dice agreed and stated that without that number something seems to get lost in translation. Dr. Lee Korns stated that especially with some of the concerns of the community, the confusion about the Municipality verses the School District, coming out of COVID, the timing, the pandemic when our meetings were moved to Zoom significantly, if some time is added, it helps to increase transparency and that is never a bad thing. Upon roll call vote: Mr. Stepanovich – yes, Dr. Lee Korns – yes, Ms. Brockway – yes, Mr. Dice – yes, Mr. Spadaro – yes, and Mr. McKenna – yes. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None ENGINEERING: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None OLD BUSINESS: Mr. Stepanovich stated that he received an Eastern Supply letter and asked what it was in reference to. Mr. Morrison stated that Eastern had bought Dominion Transmission. Dominion Transmission is the pressure station on Mamont Road. They would have given us notice of the transfer of ownership. Mr. Morrison asked if there was any specific action or task in the letter. Mr. McKenna stated that he read the letter and didn’t see anything actionable. It was just informative. NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: None vmp -6- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 7, 2021 ACTION ITEMS: None ADJOURNMENT: Mr. McKenna made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dr. Lee Korns seconded. All present voted aye. Motion approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting was broadcast on local government Channel 19. A true copy of the Council meeting DVD is available for the public to purchase from the Municipality of Murrysville and is in the Murrysville Public Library for review. vmp -7-