Borough Council

Sharon Hill Borough Legislative Meeting Minutes Thursday, July 17, 2025 Quote of the Meeting "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” ~ Albert Einstein • Call To Order at 7:00 p.m. • Pledge of Allegiance • Roll Call – President Tanya Allen (E) Vice President Edward Booker (P) Councilor Sharon Booker (P) Councilor William Felder (P) Councilor Rodney Hill (P) Councilor Sandra Holcombe (P) Councilor James Patrick III (P) Mayor Hykeem Green (E) Borough Solicitor Kyle Miller (P) Borough Engineer Susan Lynch (P) Police Chief Richard Herron (P) Code Building Official Anthony Tartaglia (P) Borough Treasurer Will Morgan (E) Borough Manager Ieasa Nichols (P) V.P. Booker: Executive session was held on July 8, at 5:30 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter. Committee Updates: Presentation: Self Incorporated, Dr. Shirlana Dash, CEO – Dr. Dash, CEO of Self Incorporated, the largest provider of emergency housing in Philadelphia, provided literature and gave an in-depth presentation to Council with an overview of the organization and the services offered. There were questions from Council which she answered and concluded by thanking Council for their time. President Tanya Allen: Library, CPCIP (No Reports) Vice President Edward Booker: Public Safety/DCJA o The June Fire Chief Report was read and submitted. o The June Police Report was read and submitted. o V.P. Booker reported he attended the DCJA meeting on July 16, 2025, where there was discussion of the authorization of our contract with DCJA. o Councilor Booker asked about the Darby Creek clean-up. V.P. Booker to provide information at the next meeting. o Councilor Felder questioned the PD’s responses to call numbers and asked if it was a numerical error. V.P. Booker to inquire and follow up. Junior Council Report – No report Councilor Sharon Booker: SHACC Page | 1 o SHACC continues celebrating their 10-year anniversary. o SHACC will present Jazz and Arts in the Park on October 4, 2025, at the Sharon Hill Memorial Park from 1-6 p.m. SHACC will be one of the Delco Arts Week kick-offs featured programs. Delco Arts Week will run from October 4-12th. o Councilor Booker advised of the cancellation of the Doll Making Class due to supply shortage. o SHACC will host a “Bling your Cup” event in August. Additional information to follow. o Group and individual puzzle making coming in September. o Councilor Booker asked if Council would approve a Proclamation or Resolution for the 10th Anniversary of SHACC. o SHACC will be having their monthly flea market on August 2, 9:00-2:00 p.m. at Memorial Park. Councilor Booker invited the Code Official to set up a table to have an opportunity to meet and talk with residents. The Code Official will check if anyone is available to attend. Councilor William Felder: Public Works o The Code report for June was read and submitted. o Councilor Felder wanted to remind everyone that during this time of year there are a lot of home repairs going on. He stressed that residents, particularly senior residents, should contact our municipal building to speak to a representative in L&I who can assist in your projects planning process. He advised that he is available to meet with residents, and those with questions or concerns can call 610-717-6367. Councilor Rodney Hill: Recreation o The summer basketball Skills & Drills Camp and Clinic is coming soon. All the skills and drills activities are open to boys and girls ages 6-13. The camp will start this weekend, and the games will be played on Sundays from 11:00-2:00 p.m. except for the last day, which will be Jalen Duren Day on Saturday August 23, 2025, from 12-7 p.m., at the Ramblers field. Also, Councilor Hill took the opportunity to thank the Grocery Outlet, the Sharon Hill Borough, and some of the Councilors for their contributions. o The Sharon Hill Ramblers will be doing a back-to-school giveaway on August 24, 2025. More details to follow. o Councilor Hill reviewed a temporary program to take place on Mondays and Tuesdays to offer free basketball for kids in the community. He is currently waiting for Sharon Hill Elementary to get back to him with approval. Councilor Hill invited Chief Herron to remind the community what is happening at our courts and why the indoor basketball is necessary. Chief Herron reported on the different concerns which had been going on last month as well as over the past several years. Chief Herron said that he continues to work with Council to see how we can have the courts open in a safe manner for everyone. Councilor Sandra Holcombe: Public Health o Councilor Holcombe said there was not much to report this month; just stay cool, and drink lots of water. Also, you should call the Health Department or contact a Delaware County Wellness Center to get additional information or assistance on this issue as well as other concerns. o Councilor Booker invited Counselor Holcombe to the September 6 SHACC Flea Market to host a mini–Health Fair. If Councilor Holcombe is interested in partnering with SHACC to bring health initiatives to SHB, please let them know. Page | 2 Councilor James Patrick, III: Personnel o Councilor Patrick deferred any questions regarding personnel to Solicitor Miller. o Councilor Patrick announced that he is working with Councilor Hill regarding the donation from Home Depot for the Skills and Drills Camp. He announced that the initial 100 baskets have been received with the other 100 to be delivered next week. • Officials’ Updates: Mayor, Hykeem Green – No report - The June Police monthly report for statistics was read and submitted. Borough Solicitor, Kyle Miller, Kilkenny Law - The Solicitor reported he has contacted the council representing 1100 Chester Pike and is expecting the signed agreement by tomorrow. - Based on some information and questions from Councilor Hill about the Sunoco Gas Station canopy, and the lack of state requirements for the canopy, the Solicitor looked into some information regarding canopies. At present we are exploring and looking into some solutions within the borough so the project can be completed. - We are continuing negotiations with the Teamsters regarding the collective bargaining agreement. - Discussed short-term rental zoning amendment that Council adopted in February. Reminding property owners that this was an official zoning amendment which now requires a special exception to be granted by the Zoning Hearing Board prior to obtaining your registration. The Borough Manager asked residents if you believe there is a short-term rental in your neighborhood, please report the information to us and we will report it to our Code Enforcer for investigation. After discussion on the subject, Councilor Booker asked the Solicitor if he could do a presentation for residents at the upcoming meeting in August and he responded yes. Borough Engineer, Susan Lynch, Lighthouse Engineering Page | 3  - The Engineer reported she received an update from PennDOT regarding the Folcroft bridge. Presently, Amtrak continues to work on catenary work, and they are now waiting on Peco to give an outage so they can finalize; and, once this is complete, they can start demolition. - The Engineer reported she continues to push the paperwork to completion for the grants for the alleyways and sewer projects. Building Code Official, Anthony Tartaglia - The Building Code Official reviewed a number of ticket violations issued for grass. He also mentioned we have a new Code Officer, Tom VanKirt, which has been assigned to SHB. He has been responding throughout the day and will be here at least 6 hours each day. They are also working on a process with the Borough to address the low response rate to the tickets from residents. - The Code Official reported he has followed up with the Architects and the people working on the StarBucks project. He let them know that until they get the recorded plan, they cannot do any structure. He also talked with their Solicitor because in addition to the development agreement, they must fund the agreement, and we need to see how they are going to do it. - The Code Official mentioned that Councilor Hill asked a question regarding the Sunoco station and after looking at the building regulations code he advised that as a council, you can decide to pass a stand-alone ordinance which would require all gas pumps to be covered or shaded. If that is something Council would like to do, he can provide designs for reference. - Council went into conversation regarding if something could be done with the trucks parking in the lot where CVS used to be. The Code Official said the parking lot is owned by a private owner. The Code Official agreed to contact the owners to inform them that they have trucks on the property. - The Code Official provided updates on the car business on Chester Pike. Police Chief, Richard Herron - Chief Herron reported that Council President Allen asked if he could give a quick report on a concern we were discussing. He advised that along with President Allen and the Borough Manager, they met with a vendor by the name of Safe Corridors to review outsourcing for crossing guards. We learned that Safe Corridors specialize in crossing guard training, supplies uniformed personnel, liability insurance, and background checks to the state. It has been adopted by Darby Borough, Chester City, and East Lansdown, and others. We currently have 7 Crossing Guard positions but only have 3 Crossing Guards right now. To cover we are using Police Officers. There was conversation regarding the advantages the vendor offered and the costs. The Borough Manager acknowledged that we would need an executive session to move forward but discussed some of the benefits of having a vendor manage crossing guards but wanted to bring forward now for Council’s awareness. The vendor is open to meeting with the full council. Treasurer, Will Morgan The Treasurers Report for June 2025 was read and submitted by V.P. Booker. The Bills and Applied Payments report for June 5-16 was reviewed. There were a few questions regarding some of the bills in the report. Councilor Booker said there is a bill listed for SHACC which is incorrect. The Borough Manager explained how the check system works and agreed to pull the checks from Councilor Booker’s box and have them voided out. Councilor Booker questioned the 4th of July picnic costs versus the previous year. The Borough Manager suggested that any questions for the library should be addressed to the library. The Phillips & Assoc. Architect bill was questioned and the Borough Manager explained that it had to do with rendering the new municipal building. We called them because of the federal funding we were to receive. However, if we do not get the federal money, we will not proceed. Page | 4 Borough Manager, Ieasa A. Nichols - The Borough Manager reviewed an item under new business regarding the DCJA contract and repayment plan. - The Borough Manager attended a program and worked with the Junior Council Members at Sharon Hill Elementary School where they met with students to promote interest for the Junior Council. - Discussed meeting regarding the Teamsters Collective Bargaining contract, proposed pay rate and removal of the CDL requirement for new hires. - Advised that the Borough is finalizing the employee handbook, and it will be integrated within the contract as well. Public Comment – - Erika 1122, Elmwood Avenue - Resident was looking for approval of her block party application for August 2, 2025. Chief Herron advised that he approved, and the Borough Manager said she would look into the approval tomorrow and advise the resident. - Mrs. Rudisill, 323 Laurel Road – Resident continues to have issues with 340 Greenwood Road. She acknowledged that some of the issues were addressed but there continues to be issues. The resident would like to know when the borough will make the property owner address the issues that impact her property. The Code Enforcer reviewed the situation with shrubbery between the fences and asked whose fence went up first. The resident asked who is responsible for the shrubbery and the Code Enforcer responded that if you put your fence up second, then you are responsible. He also mentioned that he asked 340 to conduct a legal survey to make sure the fence is within six inches. The Borough Manager said she also received the complaint and spoke to the owner of the property. She mentioned that she wanted the resident to know that a number of us have been in contact with him and can assure the resident we were attending to the issue. The resident then asked about the issue with trash in the backyard and the Code Enforcer will have the Inspector go there tomorrow to investigate. - Donna Hunter, 1026 Coates Street -. I was completely unaware that 90 % of our complaints are about trash. I always walk up and down my street, but I am happy to report that I am a block captain for my block and I have delivered a flyer about recycling and trash to every door. I also would suggest that for the different events that SHB has, we should take the opportunity to talk about the trash issues in the borough. - Regarding the Crossing guards I would like to say that we had no one to speak to about complaints. We did not have any meetings and had very little supervision, but we got out there every day. V.P. Booker thanked Miss Hunter, for all she did for our children. - John Lafferty, 500 Sharon Ave – I wanted to say that I understand the current predicament. Also, I wanted everyone to know how good and well behaved the children are in SHB and I thank you for everything you have done. New Business • Motion to approve the Treasurers Report as presented. Moved S.B. Seconded R.H. Motion Passed Page | 5  • Motion to approve the Bills and Invoices Report. Moved S.B. Seconded R.H. Motion Passed • Motion to Approve Caucus Meeting Minutes from May 1, 2025. Moved S.B. Seconded W.F. Motion Passed • Motion to Approve Legislative Meeting Minutes from June 18, 2025. Moved S.B. Seconded R.H. Motion Passed • Motion to authorize the appropriate Borough Official to execute the Sewer Rate Repayment Contract with Darby Creek Joint Authority. Moved S.B. Seconded R.H. Motion Passed • Resolution No 2025-14: a Resolution of Sharon Hill Borough, Delaware County Pennsylvania, in support of a National Infrastructure Bank. Moved S.B. Seconded R.H. Motion Passed Old Business • None Adjournment – 9:38 p.m. Page | 6  Upcoming Meeting: Legislative Meeting, Thursday, August 21, 2025 "Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.” ~ Albert Einstein Page | 7