City Council

Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 The regular monthly meeting was called to order at 6:31 p.m. by President, Jeffery L. Wright, with the pledge of allegiance, followed by a moment of silence. In Attendance: Absent: Dennis Heefner Michael Kovach Michael Albert MaryJo Szada Stephen Shaver Jeffery Wright Lisa Wiedeman-Krosnar Mayor Thomas Acri David A. Wion, Solicitor Kathleen D. Handley, Secretary Dennise Hill, Administrative Assistant APPROVAL OF MINUTES: On a motion made by Mr. Wright, seconded by Mr. Shaver, Council Members present unanimously voted to approve the Council minutes from February 17, 2009 and March 2, 2009. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS HELD BETWEEN MEETINGS: (Secretary Handley): Mrs. Handley said she had nothing to report at this time. APPROVAL OF SCHEDULES OF BILLINGS, REQUISTIONS AND CHANGE ORDERS AS PRESENTED: On a motion made by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present voted unanimously to approve the schedules, as presented. APPROVAL OF DEPARTMENT REPORTS: Community Development Finance Fire and Ambulance Personnel Police Public Works Code Enforcement On a motion made by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present voted unanimously to approve the February department reports as presented. -1-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 PUBLIC COMMENT: Agenda Items Only There were no comments. COMMUNICATION: Samantha Neidlinger, 366 South 2nd Street – Request to sponsor her as a Big 33 cheerleader by placing an ad in the Big 33 Program. Mr. Wright stressed that any ads placed in the Big 33 Program on Ms. Neidlinger’s behalf must be done with Council Members’ personal funds. Ryan Norris, General Manager, Dura-Bond Pipe – Letter informing Council that there is a mass layoff pending. This was provided for Council’s information. Jeff Haste, County Commissioner – Letter requesting the Borough to assign a delegate and an alternate to represent the Borough on the EIT Collection Committee to be organized this year. Mr. Wright stated that he would like to serve as the delegate on this committee with Mr. Shaver serving as the alternate. Virginia L. Harris, DEP – Letter informing the Borough of the amount to be reimbursed to the Borough for the Canal Restoration Project. This was provided for Council’s information. PSAB Training Update – Borough Officials Training and Update. Anyone interested in attending should see Mrs. Handley. PSATS – Invitation to register for the 2009 PA Leadership Institute. Anyone interested in attending should see Mrs. Handley. Stacey Anderson, U.S. Census Bureau – Request to use Council Chambers to train census workers. Mrs. Handley will see if Council Chambers is available on this date. Harrisburg Area Transportation Study – Notification of the next meetings. -2-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 This was provided for Council’s information. PA DEP – Information on the Great American Cleanup of PA. Anyone interested in attending should see Mrs. Handley. Ronald L. Lehman, HRG – Act 67, 68 and 127 Notification. Mr. Shaver stated that he spoke with Mr. Musser. The H2O Grant is going well. There has been no timeline set yet. This is good for the Borough, though. It allows us to get our permits in order. Kevin W. Anderson, DEP – Notification that the Steelton Water Plant has been selected to received a prestigious Area Wide Optimization Program Award. Mr. Wright stated that it would be beneficial if Dan Scheitrum and a member of the Steelton Water Authority attended this. Mayor Acri stated that he will follow up with members of the Authority and Mr. Scheitrum about this. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Mr. Vance, Fire Chief – Discussion on the Ambulance Association. Chief Vance stated that Mayor Acri and Mr. Kovach asked them to attend tonight’s meeting to discuss the condition the EMS/Ambulance Company is in. He stated that Mayor Acri has been trying to help through his position with Highmark. Chief Vance then turned the discussion over to Mr. Houser for further details. Mr. Houser stated that he had to fill out a Medicare application to determine which MPI number was assigned to the department. Eight of the applications were denied. The application was finally approved on January 9, 2009 and it was retroactive to 2007. Mr. Houser said he has been working with Medicare to rectify this situation. Meanwhile, no money has been received. Mr. Houser noted that the department currently has $432.00 in the checking account and since, 80-85% of the department’s income comes from Medicare, they are in dire straits and need to handle this immediately. He added that if no money is received soon, the company will be out of business. As of March 2009, $22,000 from the Borough budget has already been used. After much discussion, Mayor Acri said he will call Mr. Houser tomorrow to further investigate the matter. Dennise Hill – Discussion on the Hot & Spicy Festival location. -3-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 Ms. Hill stated that there is a Hot & Spicy meeting on March 17, 2009. She will give Keystone Human Services the final decision that Borough Council will be moving the location of the festival. It will run on Front Street between Locust Streets and Adams Street. This will allow participants and festival goers to use the parking lot owned by the Borough and will make the flow of detoured traffic much easier. Ms. Hill will notify Council of any questions or concerns that are presented at tomorrow’s meeting. She also asked anyone with questions for Keystone Human Services to email her and she will present them at the meeting. Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Ordinance 2009-2 Amending Chapter 110 “Vehicles and Traffic”, increasing the fee for notices of violations (Tickets) to $25.00. Chief Lenker clarified that the tickets should be $15 for all tickets except fire hydrants, which will be $25. Mr. Wion will modify the Ordinance from $25 to $15 and re-advertise the change. Chief Lenker asked that this be handled as soon as possible, as there are no more tickets available and they need to be ordered at once. On a motion made by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present unanimously voted to proceed with ordering tickets with the amended prices. Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Resolution 2009-R-4 Ratifying amendment to the Capital Tax Collection Bureau Articles of Incorporation. On a motion made by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present unanimously voted to adopt Resolution 2009-R-4, as presented Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Resolution 2009-R-5 Eliminating a special purpose parking space for Dale F. Biesecker, 2620 South Third Street. On a motion made by Mr. Albert, seconded by Mrs. Wiedeman-Krosnar, Council Members present unanimously voted to adopt Resolution 2009-R-5, as presented. Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Letter to Bishop Bass in response to request for payment of invoices. Mr. Wion stated that officials from Millennium Church attended the last Council meeting and submitted expenses they incurred to move out of 158 Adams Street. These costs were not for the property in Steelton but, for the property in Harrisburg they are moving into. Therefore, they are not reimbursable. The letter informs Bishop Bass that the Borough will not be able to reimburse them for the expenses they submitted. Mr. Heefner – Discussion on 540 N. Third Street. -4-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 Mr. Heefner said he wanted to resolve this issue to prevent the Borough from having to clean this property and others, in the future. He asked Mrs. Zell to investigate how other towns handle such issues for possible solutions but, she was unable to do so in the timeframe given. The property owner is currently paying $10 per week on citations and fines. Mr. Wright – Community Development Committee recommendations on Rental Inspection Ordinance issues presented by Mr. Heefner, which includes a fee increase. Mr. Wright stated that Mr. Wion reviewed this several times. Mr. Heefner wants to modify the language so that requirements are thoroughly explained to property owners. Mr. Wion said that this language is currently in the Ordinance. Mrs. Zell will prepare literature to give to homeowners at the time of inspection. The draft will be presented at the next Council meeting. Mr. Heefner stated that he would like to put the responsibility on property owners so Mrs. Zell does not have to check water, sewer, and trash bills before an inspection. He said that due to the high volume of work, the Codes staff does not have time to check this information. If this information is not provided at the time of the inspection, those properties will be placed on a one year inspection list. Mr. Wright asked Mr. Heefner and Mrs. Wiedeman-Krosnar to prepare a check list to put in the packet for the new tenant. After much discussion, Mr. Wion stated that it was his suggestion that these changes be handled administratively, which seems to be happening. The one year to two year timeframe was changed at the end of 2008. Any increase in fees need to be justified (i.e. – price of paper, printing costs, gas, salary, etc.) if a landlord asks why the fee went up. Mr. Wright said he will contact Mrs. Zell to get that information. NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Resolution 2009-R-6 Declaring the Borough’s Intent to Follow the Schedules and Procedures for Disposition of Records as Set Forth in the Municipal Records Manual Approved in December 16, 2008. On a motion made by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2009-R-6, as presented. Mr. Wion, Solicitor – Resolution 2009-R-7 Designation of Steelton Borough Public Officials and Public Employees Pursuant to the Pennsylvania Ethics Act and Supporting Regulations. Mr. Shaver stated that Mr. Lehman is a public official and not an employee. He also stated that as of 2007, Mr. Derek Lewis and Mr. Shaver relinquished their seats on the Civil Service Commission. That list needs to be updated. -5-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 On a motion made by Mr. Albert, seconded by Mr. Shaver, Council Members present voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2009-R-7, with the noted corrections. Mr. Wright – Appoint a Committee to review the current trash contract and prepare bid specifications for a new contract. Mr. Wright recommended that Mr. Heefner and the Public Works Committee work with Mr. Wion and Mr. Musser to review the trash contract and prepare the bid specifications. Mr. Wion suggested that since Council Members know what the current contract is, they could give any recommended changes to Mr. Heefner. 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: James Roberts; 200 Gibson Street – Mr. Roberts spoke on behalf of the United Steel Workers and urged Council to accept the Buy American Resolution that was recently presented. The Resolution deals with the anticipated stimulus money to be received from the Federal Government. Mr. Roberts stated that this Resolution is vital to keep American workers working. The Resolution has been submitted to 900 communities across the country. Mr. Roberts stressed that they are not asking Council to break any laws but, to buy American products whenever possible. Wanda Jacoby; Second and Pine Streets – Ms. Jacoby asked if the Borough has ever considered having property owners purchase water line break insurance. She noted that there have been several breaks in the Borough lately. Ms. Jacoby, and other residents she has spoken with, are willing to include this fee on their water bills. She also asked if someone can paint a yellow line on the curb at the entrance of her driveway. Mrs. Jacoby noted that often times, people park too close and she is unable to back out. Chief Lenker stated that as soon as spring weather arrives, the curb will be re-painted. Mayor Acri stated that the availability of water line break insurance was brought to the Steelton Water Authority’s attention at the first of the year and an insurance company representative is scheduled to come to the next Authority meeting to review the policy. Emmuel Powell; 321 Lebanon Street – Asked why on some corners, the curb is painted red and yellow. He asked which one is the violation. Chief Lenker stated that both are violations. If a vehicle parks in the red zone, they will get a fire hydrant violation, which -6-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 is an automatic ticket and tow. If a vehicle is parked in the yellow, they will receive a ticket. COUNCIL’S CONCERNS: Mrs. Wiedeman-Krosnar: had no comment. Mr. Albert: had no comment. Mr. Heefner: voiced his concern about It Takes A Village being able to use Council Chambers for conferences. They are coming in with food, and children are running around the building. Mr. Heefner added that they tape signs up on the wood and could be a liability issue. Mr. Heefner said he would like them to provide proof of proper insurance before being allowed to use the premises again. Ms. Hill said she will contact them to inform them of Council’s concerns. Mayor Acri: stated that May 19, 2009 is Election Day, and the Lion’s Club is no longer a voting place. He said that voters in Ward 2-1 will be notified that they are to vote at Prince of Peace Church. Mayor Acri said he wanted to make Mrs. Handley, Mrs. Sprow, and Mrs. Powell aware, in case they get calls regarding this issue. Mayor Acri also informed Council that he received a call from Senator Casey’s office to notify us that the Department of Justice has awarded the Borough of Steelton a grant in the amount of $21,000. Mayor Acri invited Senator Casey to present a check at a future Council meeting. Mayor Acri said he will update Council as more information becomes available. Mr. Wion: had no comment. Mrs. Handley: stated that she received a call about another Handicap Parking spot that is no longer valid. The applicant no longer lives at that address. Mrs. Handley will give the information to Mr. Wion. Mr. Wright: reminded Council of the upcoming May events: Hot & Spicy Festival on May 30, 2009 and the Memorial Day Parade on May 31, 2009. On a motion made by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, the Council meeting recessed into executive session at 7:50 p.m., to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation. The Council meeting reconvened at 9:12 p.m. -7-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 16, 2009 ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business before Council, on a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Heefner, the Council meeting adjourned at 9:13 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ _______________________________ Kathleen D. Handley Dennise Hill Borough Secretary Executive Administrative Assistant -8-