City Council

Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 The regular monthly meeting was called to order at 6:50 p.m. by President, Jeffery L. Wright, with the pledge of allegiance, followed by invocation, given by Reverend Marshall. In Attendance: Absent: Dennis Heefner Lisa Wiedeman-Krosnar Michael Albert Stephen Shaver Jeffery Wright Michael Kovach MaryJo Szada Mayor Thomas Acri David A. Wion, Solicitor Kathleen D. Handley, Secretary Dennise Hill, Administrative Assistant APPROVAL OF MINUTES: There were no minutes presented. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS HELD BETWEEN MEETINGS: (Secretary Handley): Mrs. Handley said she had nothing to report at this time. PUBLIC COMMENT: Agenda Items Only There were no comments. COMMUNICATION: Jim Roberts, United Steel Workers Union – Requesting Council to consider adopting a Resolution to buy American. Mr. Shaver stated that his only concern is that we may not be able to buy strictly American products, in some cases. He recalled in the 1980’s a similar regulation was enacted dealing with police cars and it was not able to be done. Dr. Szada stated that she agrees with the sentiment but, agrees with Mr. Shaver that this may be difficult to do. Mr. Heefner suggested that this topic be tabled. He stated that the Federal Government will be enacting a Buy American regulation but, the list of items/products has not been published. Mr. Heefner asked that Council table the discussion until the list is available. -1-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Mr. Samuel Gaither, Elks Lodge – Discussion on the Elks State Convention Parade and Permit Fee – The lodge agrees to pay ½ the parade fee, since they will combine with the Borough’s parade. Mrs. Handley will prepare a letter to the Elks Lodge. Mr. Vance, Fire Chief – Discussion on the Ambulance Association. This topic will be discussed on March 16, 2009. Kelly Wolf, Manager, Dauphin County Solid Waste Management & Recycling – Providing an update on pending municipal waste tipping fee increase. This was provided for Council’s information. Mr. Heefner – Speed Limit on Swatara Street. Mr. Heefner stated, per Chief Lenker, Council will need an engineering report due to grading. There may be some other options that will help address the issue. The topic was tabled until that further information is received. Mr. Heefner – Hot & Spicy Festival – How much of Front Street will be closed for the Festival. Currently the Festival is being held between Walnut Street and the Municipal Building. Mr. Heefner would like it to end at Locust Street. This will allow people coming to the festival to utilize the parking lot owned by the Borough. Mr. Shaver suggested that a representative from Keystone to come before Council. Ms. Hill will contact them. NEW BUSINESS: Penn State Harrisburg Environmental Training Center – Certificate of completion of Drinking Water Treatment Highlights presented to Daniel Scheitrum. On a motion made by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present voted unanimously to have this certificate placed in Mr. Scheitrum’s personnel file. Walter Shroy, 403 N. 3rd Street – Discuss the need for 2 boat permits. Mrs. Handley stated that Mr. Shroy has two boats and would like to use the same permit for both boats. Mr. Musser noted that the Borough charges a boat permit fee, it is not a membership. It was the consensus of Borough Council that one permit is required for each boat that is launched. -2-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 Terry Sutton, Millennium Church, Adams Street, Steelton, PA – Discussion on Church Sales Agreement. Mr. Sutton stated that Patrick Gehrlein entered into a sales agreement with Millennium Church for purchase of their property and never followed through with it. The church, subsequently, spent money to prepare for the settlement and would like to be reimbursed. Mr. Sutton also introduced Bishop Bass and Reverend Marshall from the church to speak. Mr. Wright stated that Council would hear what they had to say then allow Mr. Wion to review the documents further and get back to them. Bishop Bass submitted a line item report of expenses incurred. He also stated that the list is not complete and he will update and submit it tomorrow. Dr. Szada questioned if the supplies they are asking for reimbursement on were to prepare the Adams Street location for sale or to prepare a new location for the congregation to move into. Rev. Marshall stated that the items on the list were for preparation to move out of the Adams Street location. The expenses incurred were used at the new facility located at 21st and Herr Streets. Some of the items were: 2x4s, electrical supplies, paint, window panes, etc. Bishop Bass closed by thanking Council for allowing the church to come before them to speak. Mr. Musser – Presenting a request from UPS regarding a long term parking lease. Mr. Musser said he would meet with their representative to determine the specifics of their request and report back to Council. Mr. Musser – Update on Grant Process and Procedures. Mr. Musser stated that the COPS PIN number should be received soon. Once this information is received, the money will be accessible. He also stated that a scheduled conference call with EPA was canceled due to inclement weather. The grant close- out for the canal grant will be delivered tomorrow by Mr. Musser. He is in the process of finalizing a $300,000 grant for Adams Street. He also noted that there were two other outstanding issues: There was no closeout done for the Locust Street upgrades; and (2) Senior Center Grants need to be finalized. Mr. Musser said he was unable to speak with Representative Buxton to clear this up prior to the meeting but will be speaking with him about it. Mr. Musser said he will continue to follow up on these. Mr. Musser said that the CDBG items are in order, and said the next step for the Brownfields grant will be obtaining access agreements for possible locations. Mr. Heefner asked if there is any more money to obtain properties on Adams Street. Mr. Musser stated that there is possibly an additional $120,000 allocated for the Adams Street -3-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 project. Mr. Heefner then asked if Council should obtain more properties or wait until after construction starts on the first phase. Mr. Musser suggested that Council purchase properties they are interested in and board them up. He also stated that those segments of land should be subdivided. Lastly, Mr. Musser urged Council to bring in some potential developers to casually speak to them about their continued interest in the project. John Pfeifle – Requesting a date to make a presentation to Council for message delivery system. Mrs. Handley stated that Mr. Pfeifle came to a recent Department Head meeting to describe his services. Mr. Conjar is recommending Mr. Pfeifle, due to the work he does for the Steelton-Highspire School District. DEP will have a requirement by the end of the year that all Water Plants in the state of PA will have to have a call system in place to notify residents of shut offs, boil advisories, etc. Mr. Shaver questioned if this would be a topic for Council or the Steelton Water Authority to discuss. Mr. Wright suggested that this information be given to the Steelton Water Authority to look into. OTHER BUSINESS: Mrs. Handley – Informing Council that an Executive Session is needed to discuss Personnel Matters and Pending Litigation. There were no comments. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: There were no comments. COUNCIL’S CONCERNS: Dr. Szada: stated that about two years ago, the Borough did a resurfacing project on Front Street. She asked if any guarantees were given on how long the paving will last. Mr. Musser stated that the usual life expectancy is approximately 15 years. Dr. Szada then asked who is responsible for the conditions of the cracking pavement on Front Street. Mr. Musser stated that there is only a one year warranty from the completion date of the paving. After some clarification on where Dr. Szada is referring to, Mr. Musser told her that is an issue she would have to address with Penn DOT. He stated that she can write a letter to her State Representative and request a meeting with Penn DOT to discuss the issue. Mr. Wright asked Dr. Szada to draft a letter and have Ms. Hill send to Representative Buxton. -4-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 Mr. Heefner: stated that Mr. Conjar looked into the issue with the parking meters and the old meters will not be able to be updated. He suggested that Council think about replacing them in phases, by getting 10-20 new ones per year. Mr. Heefner also reported that Mr. Fulkerson gave a Costars presentation in the last Department Head Meeting and it was very informative. Lastly, he stated that he has received several calls about the sewer separation project. He would like to know if a flyer can be produced to make residents aware of the details of the project. Mayor Acri: stated that he spoke with Gregory Bowers, who is the President of the United Steel Workers, regarding their Go Green Campaign. The AFL-CIO would like to use Bethlehem Steel and the Borough in their efforts. Mayor Acri will schedule an informational meeting to get more details and invited Council Members to attend. Mayor Acri also addressed the handicap parking issue. He stated that he has a list of people that are requesting handicapped parking. These people were told that the Community and Economic Development Committee would conduct a study and get back to them. Mr. Kovach stated that it was the decision of the committee to eliminate special purpose parking in the Borough. Mr. Kovach noted that when Council decided to make the $35 application fee nonrefundable, the requests dropped by approximately 75%. He said that Council voted to not accept special purpose parking on Borough streets. After much discussion, Mayor Acri asked Council to address the situation to give these citizens some direction on whether or not they will be able to get handicap parking. Mr. Wright: informed Council Members that he has information for any Member who would like to nominate a colleague for Councilman of the year. He asked that anyone interested in nominating someone, please contact him. On a motion made by Mr. Kovach, seconded by Mr. Albert, the Council meeting recessed into executive session at 7:57 p.m., to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation. The Council meeting reconvened at 8:19 p.m. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before Council, on a motion by Mr. Kovach, seconded by Mr. Albert, the Council meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. -5-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 2, 2009 Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ _______________________________ Kathleen D. Handley Dennise Hill Borough Secretary Executive Administrative Assistant -6-