Borough Council

COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF THE SHARON HILL BOROUGH COUNCIL MAY 9, 2019 @ 7:00PM Meeting called to order President Oliver Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag Roll Call: Roll call was answer as follows: Present: Mrs. Booker (excused), Mrs. Bedford-Dean (excused), President Oliver, Mayor Dunfee, Messrs., Green, Finnegan (absent), Felder, Mr. Martinez and Mr. Smith. President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the Council Meeting Munities from March 14, 2019. Motion made by Mr. Martinez. Mr. Felder asked were those minutes ever completed. President Oliver yes they were given to you at the last meeting in March. We tabled them last meeting. Do I have a second? Second by Mr. Green. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries 3-1 Mr. Felder. President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the Council Meeting Munities from April 11, 2019. Motion made by Mr. Martinez second by Mr. Green. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries 4-0. PUBLIC COMMENTS-3 minute limit John Zangara 89 Frances Ave. 86 Frances Ave has been good for the past month. It is starting up again with the trucks and the back of his house is a disgrace and I’m starting to see it develop again. I don’t want it to go back to the way it was. Mr. Smith stated that there is 2 vehicles on the street and they are registered and inspected so there is not much we can do. The side and the rear of the property had been cleaned up substantially and significantly but there is still some junk on the side of the property so we are continually going to push him to get that cleaned up. There are also a number of neighbors on Frances Ave not only that property that have cars covered in the rear of their home so the Chief and I are going to brainstorm to figure out how to deal with that. This particular gentleman has a covered vehicle behind his property which he is covering. It’s substantially better thanks to Officer O’Hara and Chris. Alford Lee 742 Poplar St. He would like to have a free gospel concert in Memorial Park on Saturday August 3rd. There will be about 3-4 gospel groups. President Oliver explained the procedure and gave him the Park rental application for him to fill out and return before the June council meeting for the borough manager to review. Pauline Guglielmo 54 Foster Ave. I am here with several of my neighbors. We are concerned about the 2 businesses that have just taken up residence or will be opening at the end of our block. ARS Treatment Centers as well as a medical marijuana dispensary. Mayor Dunfee that’s not true. The medical marijuana is not in our neighborhood. Not here. That’s just going to be a regular doctor’s office. There was further discussion on the 2 properties and one is a smoke shop not a medical marijuana dispensary and the other is a doctor’s office for counseling only. Mayor Dunfee asked everyone to call him on his cell phone if they are not getting a response from any department within the borough. His number is on the Mayor’s Newsletter. He is retired and has time on his hands. President Oliver asked Mr. Smith to have a zoning report for council so they will know what is approved. Mr. Smith yes it’s a part of the code report. This was for counseling only so that is why it did not send up any red flags for us. No pharmacy no dispensary or anything like that. President Oliver any other public comments? Sheila Carter 1050 Elmwood Ave. asked who was responsible for the upkeep of the vacant properties in Sharon Hill. The grass… President Oliver we have an abatement program. The code enforcer will go out and evaluate the property and he will then assign it to an abatement company that will come out and clean it. Sheila Carter 1050 Elmwood Ave. can you notify code enforcement? President Oliver you can notify the borough office. Mr. Smith or send an email. Mrs. Shirley Williams the property is 1023 Elmwood Ave. Mr. Smith our abatement program is kicking off now that we are in the month of May. He is now out moving around and working. President Oliver any other questions? Mrs. Shirley Williams the property is 1023 Elmwood Ave. She gave an update on the SEPTA busses that are speeding on Elmwood and she has video of the SEPTA bus and noted the times. There was further discussion of the dates, times and if SEPTA busses can receive tickets. Lee Walker 64 Foster Ave. He is concerned about the pot holes in the driveway and he has had to replace 3 tires on his vehicle. President Oliver explained that the borough provides cold patch for the residents and the driveways are common and id the responsibility of the home owners. There was further discussion on the matter and what could be done with the neighbors who refuse to fix their holes. What type of enforcement is done with the code department? Mayor Dunfee explained the enforcement process and also that there are some residents who are financially and or physically unable to repair their holes and we need to assist them as well. COMMITTEE REPORTS President Oliver read the library reports. See attached: Mr. Green gave the Recreation and the Ramblers reports. On behalf of the Sharon Hill Recreation Board we would like to thank everyone who came out to the Easter Egg Hunt here in this room. Especially we would like to thank Rec. Board volunteer Ms. Donna Hunter, the Mayor and his beautiful wife and the handsome Easter Bunny. We had over 250 kids come through here. The next event the Recreation Board is having is the beautification event being held on Saturday May 18th starting at 8am. They give out mulch, flowers, vegetable plants etc. If you don’t get here early it will go fast. We use to be out there from 8-1pm. Now we might be out there from 8-10am that is how fast it goes. It has grown within the past years and that is something that the Recreation Board wanted to see. It’s to help beautify everyone’s front lawns to get the curb appeal for those riding through Sharon Hill. The Ramblers is now on a national level for our cheer and football programs. Sharon Hill Ramblers now have groups 6U through 14U. The U means that it goes by age and no longer weight. An overview was given of the participating teams and now that this is a national league these teams that want to play in Florida… The Sharon Hill Ramblers will be doing fund raising to help offset the cost because for the past couple of years it has been rough because to costs from $10-$12k so we will be doing fundraising. I’ll let you know what is going on throughout the season. Startup dates for 13U, 6U, 7U, 9U and 11 U their dates start now. 13U are out there on Tues and Thursdays from 6-730. 6U, 7U, 9U and 11U are every Saturday. Cheerleaders will be starting in July. We really need a lot of cheerleading coaches because we had 2 squads last year and with the different age groups we would like them to skip every other squad. With that being said we really need a lot of coaches to come out for our cheerleading program. Our new league that is the big push for us because basically we have the foundation for football so we are now looking to push our young ladies so that they can be a part of what we have been a part of for the last 4 years. This will be the first year that our young ladies will have a chance to compete nationally if they decide to and we really want to help them make it as easy as possible. All the practices are held at the field on Barker Ave. President Oliver any other questions for Councilperson Green? Mr. Martinez read the police and fire reports see attached: Presentation was made to Ramona Petty for the Fire Companies appreciation to her dedication and commitment to the fire company. Applause President Oliver she might want to ride around on the fire truck now. Any questions for Councilperson Martinez? It was a great banquet. We had a good time. Mr. Felder thanked Donna Hunter for participating and assisting with the opening of the library. Mr. Felder read the highway, sanitation and code reports see attached: President Oliver asked if there were any questions for Councilperson Felder. I would like to thank the code department for being out and very busy I see. President Oliver read the treasurers report see attached: President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the treasurer’s report. Motion made by Mr. Martinez second by Mr. Green. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries 4-0. President Oliver asked for a motion to approve the accounts payable totaling $102,023.10. Motion made by Mr. Martinez second by Mr. Green. All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries 4-0. Mayor Dunfee swore in Jeffery Austin to the Recreation Board. Mayor Dunfee read the abandoned vehicle and the Chief of Police reports see attached: Summer time is coming and there will be more kids on the street and not only with the curfew from early in the morning until dark please be more observant of that. We are already on the lookout for the cars speeding through town. If you see something and you can record it without being seen please do. Be careful and cautious in the neighborhood. Thank you that’s all I have. President Oliver stated call 911 when it happens. Don’t wait until the meetings. Mr. Smith has a few items: 1. Mr. Felder and Vice President Dean will be attending the PSAB Conference in June and they need council’s approval to be voting delegates. I need a motion to approve them to vote on anything that the PSAB might have to vote on the borough’s behalf.  President Oliver asked for a motion to approve Mr. Felder and Vice President Dean to vote on Sharon Hill’s behalf at the conference. Motion made by Mr. Martinez second by Mr. Green All in favor? Opposed? Motion carries 3-1 Mr. Felder abstained. 2. Brandywine Valley SPCA contract was tabled to the June meeting. We might have an alternative vendor we want to look at before we renew with Brandywine Valley SPCA for 5 years. It will go up about $80 to wait until June but we might be able to save some money down the road so that will go back on the agenda for June. 3. Also next month we need to approve Ordinance #1401 which we advertised 2 months ago and we didn’t put it on the agenda. It’s the ordinance for our pollution reduction plan. I will re-send it to everybody. 4. I received a revised contract for the Folcroft Ave. Bridge removal. That will be on our agenda for our June 13th meeting as well. I will email a copy to all of you tomorrow. There are a couple of things in there that were not discussed and I have went over them with Mr. Schleigh. The borough will be on the hook for about $50-$60k in fees. The permit fees to shut down those tacks alone will be hundreds of thousands of dollars. There was further discussion on the closing g down of the tracks and the catenary lines being moved. 5. As the Mayor eluded to May 27th is Memorial Day and I just want to mention that I come from a military family and I know it’s a weekend that everybody likes to get together but it’s also Memorial Day and a lot of folks including some of my family members have given their lives in defense of this country so let’s keep that in mind as well. That’s all I have thank you. President Oliver any questions for the borough manager? Mr. Schleigh has a few updates: 1. The tax appeal of 701 Chester Pike has been voluntarily dismissed and the assessment will stand. 2. The depositions that I informed you about last month in the Nation-star litigation has been moved back about a month. President Oliver gave an overview of the 4th of July festival. See attached program: President Oliver read a letter from Denise Miller thanking the 4th of July Committee for doing a wonderful job planning a fun filled day. It was really nice to receive a letter saying thank you. PUBLIC COMMENTS None being seen… Mr. Green stated that the senior luncheon will be moved to the Oaks Ballroom this year on December 14th from 1-5pm. It will be in the newsletters. Wendy Wood 56 Foster Ave. When will the street sweeper be starting? Mr. Smith our Street sweeper is down and it will be on hold for a week or 2. Shirley Williams 1013 Elmwood Ave. Can we get the signs back on the stop signs regarding rolling stops? Mr. Smith yes. President Oliver stated that the next meeting will be held on Thursday June 13, 2019 at 7pm. Thank you for coming meeting adjourned.