Borough Council

Sharon Hill Borough Legislative Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 21st, 2022 Quote of the Meeting: "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." Mark Twain Call To Order 7 PM Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call: President Tanya Allen, Vice President Keith Martinez, Councilor William Felder, Solicitor Courtney Richardson, Councilor Sharon Booker, Councilor Rodney Hill [Late], Councilor Edward Booker, Mayor Hykeem Green, Borough Manager Ieasa Nichols, Councilor Sandra Holcombe [Excused] Treasurer William Morgan [Excused] President Tanya Allen announces Executive Sessions were held July 11th, July 13th, and July 21st regarding legal and personnel matters. Public Comment: Pat Rummaker - 335 Greenwood: Inquired if monies were returned from bulk mailing of calendars. Expressed concerns on the number of signatures for the block party. Community Meeting on Laurel Rd produced a recommendation that we obtain mirrors for intersection of Cherry and Laurel. weeds and overhang President Allen advised there was no refund regarding bulk mail of calendars. Postmaster advised that calendars were mailed to Zones 2 and 4. Zones 1 and 3 were not delivered. Advised we are seeking better methods for next year. The block party petition was reviewed and the numbers of residents that signed was accepted. Borough Manager, Ieasa Nichols: Advised that there was coordination with our Highway Department with regards to the placement of mirrors along Greenwood Ave. Code will contact each resident along that corridor so that they will cut back shrubbery. The mirrors will be ordered for that intersection. Carolyn Garrett – 114 Green Street Inquired about senior housing rehabilitation assistance. Borough Manager Ieasa Nichols advised we are awaiting the ARPA funds so that we can put monies towards façade beautification and the other program will employ seniors from the community. Disbursements may occur early Spring. Awaiting additional ARPA funds. The application for façade beautification will be created once funds received. Donna Hunter - 1026 Coates St: Inquired about permitting process specifically for driveways. Borough Manager Ieasa Nichols advised that a permit must be obtained. Also asked about traffic procedures for upcoming school year as it relates to traffic on Coates St. Requests that traffic tickets be issued. Councilor William Felder addressed concerns regarding streets that allow parking on both sides of the street. President Allen advised those concerns will be forwarded to Chief Richard Herron. 1 Tracey Turner and spouse – Inquired about the basketball league season and usage of basketball courts. Expressed concerns about ‘no parking’ lines near hydrants so that firetrucks can gain access during emergencies. Mayor Green discussed shared basketball courts with Darby Township and Sharon Hill. Discussed earlier registrations and how the basketball courts can be shared. President Allen addressed concerns on how organized sports teams should apply for the usage of the basketball courts as it involves a liability for the borough. One council member can not grant specific usage to an organization. John Lafferty – 502 Sharon Ave: Congratulated the Council for the Juneteenth Ceremony. He also thanked our Code Enforcer, Chris McSween, and the Fire Department for saving his life by assisting him with getting emergency medical care approximately five weeks ago. Becca Fergusson - Sharon Hill Borough employee: Inquired about the Fanta Bility Investigation and forthcoming press release. President Allen provided the guidelines for public comments during legislative meetings which are reserved for Sharon Hill residents only. Solicitor Courtney Richardson shared that the press release from June 11th advised that the documents regarding the Fanta Bility investigation report will be released and available on the Sharon Hill Borough website on or before July 31st. Approval of Meeting Minutes: Thursday, June 16th, 2022 President Allen advised of corrections to the meeting minutes which include the following: 1. Page 3- Under the motion to approve the ‘irregular’ bills list. There was a motion to approve the regular bills list and the irregular bills list. 2. Page 5 - Motion to ‘Table the approval of ARPA Budget failed’. A Motion to approve and pass the ARPA budget passed. Motion to approve minutes: Moved by Councilor Edward Booker, Seconded by Vice President Keith Martinez Passed 6 – 0 Committee Updates: President Tanya Allen, CPCIP / Finance/ Library: Library Report - Library Director, Richard Ashby provided the new summer hours which are 9 AM – 1 PM. There were details of upcoming events with focus on the teen movie night, paint night, the notary republic, and veterans’ services. Director Ashby provided statistics on total visitation which improved from 84 visitors in January to a total number of 728 in June. Discussed the difficulty of the previous budget and how he found creative resources which increased the initial budget from $19,000 to $21,000. Advised that he implored the assistance of other Delco organizations of which to partner to gain additional funding. President Allen provided the Finance Report which included a Motion to approve June’s finance report: Moved by Councilwoman Sharon Booker Seconded by Councilor Edward Booker 2  Motion Passed 6 - 0 Motion to approve bills list as presented: Moved by Councilwoman Sharon Booker Seconded by Vice President Keith Martinez Passed 6 – 0 President Tanya Allen inquired about a finance entry for Fingerprints. Borough Manager Ieasa Nichols advised the chargers are possibly for new police onboarding. Bill payment to NABCO which included 2 entries was questioned and will be forwarded to Treasurer. Councilwoman Sharon Booker requested an amendment or note be added to the bills list to approve as presented as there were pending questions. President Tanya Allen advised that when the motion is presented councilors have the option to vote against. President Allen thanked all those who participated in the Juneteenth Celebration. Vice- President Keith Martinez, Public Safety – Vice President Martinez read fire chief report with reminders that fire alarms are available at the SHFD. VP Martinez thanked everyone involved with the Fourth of July Celebration which took place on July 2nd. Promised that the parade portion will be more robust next year requesting grace as it is his first year chairing the event. Councilor Sharon Booker, SHACC – Discussed upcoming event ‘Hot Fun in the Summertime Rhythm and Blues’ on August 20th which will be promoted via local newspapers and social media. Meetings have now been changed and will be held on the first Monday of the month at 6 PM. Councilwoman Booker inquired about the difficulty in getting the digital billboard operable. Borough Manager Ieasa educated on the technical troubleshooting efforts used to get the billboard functioning. Councilwoman Booker inquired if our solicitor could aid with the billboard warranty. KC Signs and Vantage Point are the vendors involved with the billboard. Councilor Edward Booker, Public Health /Multiple Municipality – The 24-Hour Suicide Hotline has been updated to 988. Councilor Booker advised that he has met with both Collingdale and Darby Township initiative for an Open Mic Night which will start in Darby on August 6th. This will be an open discussion amongst youth to provide support. Councilor Rodney Hill, Recreation / Community Engagement – Movie Nights have returned to the Weiderwax Park with three showings on July 29th, Aug 5th, and August 19th. Encouraged families to come out to meet other residents. Councilor William Felder, Public Works – The Code Report was read. No inquiries. Officials’ Reports: Mayor Hykeem Green - The Police Chief’s Public report was read. No inquiries. 3 Borough Engineer, Susan provided details on the following projects: a. Folcroft Bridge Project is seeking grants for restoration and/or demolition. Creating the report to present to council with various options. b. Chester Pike Project [located at the 900 block] – The engineer is creating the timeline and budget for the bus Shelters. Borough Manger Nichols advised that most of the shelters are owned by Clear Channel. However, it was discovered that three bus shelters going northbound on Chester Pike are owned by our municipality. We may ask for a modification to the funding to include a bus fourth shelter. Councilwoman Booker inquired if advertising funds from the shelters can be attributed to the borough’s budget as well as the borough using those shelters to advertise their own events c. High Street Sanitary Sewer Project - The engineer is in the process of compiling backend documents as the project is county funded. The documents are necessary prior to scheduling a meeting with the county. d. The Water Main Replacement by AQUA at Coates and Calcon hook was visited by our engineer, and it is going well. e. Weiderwax Park Kick off Meeting did occur for the county funded project. President Allen asked which engineer is heading the project. Manager Ieasa Nichols advised that both engineers are coordinating the project together. The original grant was approved but never submitted. Manager Nichols brought in the other engineer to coordinate and retain the funding. Borough Manager, Ieasa A. Nichols - Liquid Fuels fund all outstanding reporting complete which included years 2016 (adapted), 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Outstanding reports were completed which allowed over $400,000 in funding to be released. The borough did lose funds for years 2018 – 2019. We are currently working with our solicitor in an attempt to gain those loss funds. We are currently being audited by PennDOT for years 2016 – 2020 as it pertains to liquid fuels. There will be non-permissible uses on the report. Roadway projects: Borough Manger Nichols advised that she met with PennDOT for roadway work to be completed on State Route 213 and Sharon Ave for Milling and resurfacing. However, Calcon Hook Road was identified as a highway in greater need. PennDOT performed an assessment. Many roadway repair projects are behind, and patchwork has been done in the interim. There was an internal audit of the sewer accounts for a new repayment structure for the Darby Creek Joint Authority. Southeast Delco School District - The borough is working with the district to rectify unbilled crossing guard reimbursements for years 2020 – 2022 with a minimum cumulative reimbursement of $30,000 Traffic Calming: Speed bumps from the first investigation should be delivered and installed mid- August. There are three sets of 2 speedbumps total. The SHFD provided input on the placement of speedbumps. 4  Councilor Felder’s concerns were addressed regarding community clean up. It was advised by Borough Manager Nichols that seven abatements have been completed over the last week. Both Councilors Felder and Vice President Martinez requested that Code Enforcement contact residents and various establishment to get them to cooperate with removing items and/or foliage that can cause visibility obstructions. Vice President Martinez also requested a notice be placed on our website regarding pool safety and fencing. President Allen inquired of the results from the assessment of stop signs at Laurel Rd, Greenwood Ave and Poplar Streets. Borough Manager Nichols coordinated with the Highway Department to add extenders to the stop signs to make more visible. Mayor Green asked for further explanation of liquid fuel. Borough Manager Nichols explained that monies accumulated from state tax on fuel and oil are divided amongst municipalities as additional funding. The state divides the monies and distributes based on town size and millage. The monies then go into a restricted fund. Funds [allocations] are used for roadways: repaving, salt, plows, trash trucks, street sweeper, asphalt, streetlights, traffic signals etc. If reports are not provided within two years of usage, there are penalties and lost funding. Liquid Fuels funding has decreased because of COVID-19 and electric cars. Mayor Green thanked the Borough Manager Nichols and Vice President Allen for their hard work with this project. Police Chief, Richard Herron announced that on Tues, August 2nd the borough will have its first annual Nation Night Out at The Sharon Hill High School from 6:30 PM – 8 PM. Chief Herron states that he has continued street traffic studies, researching lit stop signs as well as painting speed limits on various streets. Councilwoman Booker address the police’s report regarding the rise in domestic violence occurrences offering more support by way of education. President Allen further explained the significance of National Night Out. Borough Solicitor, Courtney Richardson, Esq. advised that she has been working with outside council to recoup lost funds from liquid fuels, as well as a request for new tax ordinance for tax waiver from our Tax Collector, ToniAnne Martinez. Solicitor Richardson is also working on the legal issues relating to the digital billboard’s warranty. There has been a review of additional ordinances being placed online on e-Code. Our current e-Code is outdated. Borough Manager Nichols inquired about the Zoning Map issue. Solicitor Richardson advised she will research further. New Business: No New Business Old Business: No Old Business Quote of the Meeting read by President Allen. The next Sharon Hill Borough Council Legislative Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 18th, 2022 @7:00pm Adjournment 8:47 PM 5