City Council

Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 The regular monthly meeting was called to order at 6:35 p.m. by President, Jeffrey Wright. The Mayor gave a presentation on National Osteopathic Medicine Week, which is April 18 – 24. Proclamations were presented for Dr. Wewer and Dr. Kambic. Dr. Wewer is a member of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association, for which he is the Treasurer/Secretary. Dr. Wewer could not be here this evening. Dr. Daniel Kambic was also invited to attend this evening. He could not be present due to a family obligation. The Mayor proclaimed April 18 – 24, 2010 as National Osteopathic Medicine Week and urged all citizens and community organizers to support by helping and to educate the residents about the D.O.’s and their osteopathic medicine. A proclamation will be sent to Dr. Weawer thanking him from the Borough of Steelton, Borough Council and all the residents of Steelton. Mr. Wright continued the meeting with the pledge of allegiance, followed by a moment of silence by Mayor Acri. In Attendance: Dennis Heefner Maria Marcinko Stephen Shaver Jeffery Wright Raymond Spencer Dr. Szada Mayor Thomas Acri David A. Wion, Solicitor John M. DeSanto, Jr., Secretary Treasurer Kathleen D. Handley, Assistant Secretary Denise Hill, Neighborhood Economic Development Coordinator (NEDC) Sherry A. Benko, Executive Assistant APPROVAL OF MINUTES: The minutes from the March 15, 2010 Council meeting were presented for approval. Mr. Wion noted on page 6 under In Addition to the Agenda, the paragraph begins with one of the matters and should be revised to read “This item deals with”. Remove the comma after state level, place a comma after recovery, change the word “to” to “is” and “attempt” to “attempting”. The rest remains appropriate. The March 8, 2010 Special Council Meeting minutes were included in Council’s package. Mr. Wion questioned why the minutes were included in the package. These minutes were reviewed at the second meeting in March and corrections were made as -1-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 requested by Mr. Wion. Those corrections are not included in the March 8, 2010 Special Council Meeting minutes handout which are in Council’s package. Mr. Shaver asked Mr. DeSanto to pull the minutes tape to see what he actually said on page 2, paragraph 4. Mr. Wright said that Mr. Wion corrected the minutes from March 8 and to disregard the document. Mr. Shaver asked that the minutes be corrected to reflect that he questioned whether the project currently meets all DEP and EPA requirements. Mr. Wion asked Mr. Shaver if the minutes were corrected as he is requesting, would he approve the minutes as corrected, along with the corrections Mr. Wion previously made to the March 8, 2010 minutes. On a motion made by Mr. Albert, seconded by Mr. Heefner, Council members present voted unanimously to approve the March 8 and April 5, 2010 minutes, as amended. EXECUTIVE SESSIONS HELD BETWEEN MEETINGS: (Secretary DeSanto): Mr. DeSanto had nothing to report at this time. APPROVAL OF SCHEDULES OF BILLINGS, REQUISITIONS AND CHANGE ORDERS AS PRESENTED: On a motion made by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Spencer, Council members present voted unanimously to approve the Schedules of Billings, Requisitions and Change Orders as presented. APPROVAL OF DEPARTMENT REPORTS: Before asking for approval of the Department Reports, Mr. Wright opened up the floor to Department Heads for comment. Public Works – Mr. Heefner gave an update. The traffic light at Front and Swatara had its yearly maintenance and was changed over to LED lights as well as the Walk and Don’t Walk lights. This will only be changed every two years rather than every year, which will save 80% on electricity. For the traffic light at Front and Locust, PennDOT regulates the cycle and they are not willing to change the cycle to appease us. This light will remain the same. By 2012 we will be required to have a plan in place to have all signs changed to new state regulation by 2015. Mr. Heefner provided Council with prices to replace the signs. This will be discussed in Finance Committee. Dr. Szada had a concern about the CFL lights as they are a safety hazard due to the mercury level, which is higher than the level which we used to have in our old thermometers. Mr. Heefner stated that we would need to be careful disposing of these lights. -2-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Several bids have been received for the grass cutting. The lowest bid is from the company that cut the grass last year. Mr. Heefner said that the Borough employees cut the grass at Veteran’s Park and Mr. Handley cuts the Midget Field. He noted that Black Landscaping’s bid is $475.00; Broadmoor Landscaping is $485.00; and Darryl Roberts’ is the highest at $1,195.00. Mr. Heefner said there are no more parts to repair or replace the parking meters we have now. Mr. Heefner talked with Mr. Conjar about the possibility of the Borough purchasing 5 to 8 new meters this year and every year budget for so many until all are replaced. This will be discussed in a Finance Committee meeting. The Steelton Borough Filtration Plant is top 5, out of 22 states and hundreds of filtration plants for two years in a row. Something was put in Mr. Scheitrum, Superintendent of the Filter Plant’s personnel file, but Mr. Heefner said that he should be commended in another way rather than just putting something in his personnel file. Mr. DeSanto said something was placed in all Filtration Plant employees personnel files. The storm sewer line will be redone in Blueberry Alley. Mr. Ellinger asked Mr. Heefner if instead of just doing the layover, if we want to do curb-to-curb and re-do the whole alley. It will cost $8,000 - $10,000. This will be discussed in Finance Committee. The NEDC requested that plants be placed in the planters on Front Street. Mr. Conjar suggested buying perennials rather than annuals at the Steelton signs. Rose Paul will be contacted regarding the perennials. The fuel tank rusted out on the big snowblower and it now has a plastic tank. Mr. Conjar suggested purchasing a stainless steel fabricated tank for the snowblower, which will cost $1,900 for the fabrication and installation. This will be discussed in the Finance Committee. Mr. Wion asked if there was any warranty on the snowblower when we purchased it or the tank. Mr. Heefner said we have had the snowblower for a long time. Mr. Heefner presented for Council’s information that he was doing some research on sprinkler systems that go into buildings and spoke with the Mayor and Councilman Spencer. The City of Harrisburg has sprinklers in which the water stays stagnant in the system – it’s “on-call” so to speak. We do not charge anything, but the city charges $1,000 per month since the water is not metered, in the event there is a fire, the money can be recouped. Mr. Heefner spoke with Mr. Handley and he thought that would be a good idea. Mr. Heefner will look into this further and present it to the Water Authority, especially with the renovations of the Felton Building. Mr. Handley said there are two other buildings with sprinkler systems. -3-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Mr. Wright said that all items reported on by Mr. Heefner will be brought before the Finance Committee this week. The Finance Committee will give a report. Mayor’s Report – The Mayor said the Post Office called him regarding a change in the opening time. The Post Office will now open at 9:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. The Post Office is not in danger of closing. The change in the opening time is due to not having much business early in the morning and will be a cost savings to the Post Office. In relation to the incident that occurred in East End on Friday, the Mayor thanked the Police Force, Dauphin County and the Task Force. Chief Spangler is preparing thank- you letters to all involved. A motion made by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council members present unanimously voted to approve the Department Reports, as presented. PUBLIC COMMENT: Agenda items only There were no comments. COMMUNICATION: Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors – Invitation to the Borough Secretary and a Member of Council to attend the Municipal Officials Breakfast on Wednesday, June 9 from 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel and Convention Center. Mr. Wright asked if any member of Council is interested in attending, they should notify Mr. DeSanto. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Maria Romano Marcinko, Councilwoman – Update on the Borough Trap, Spay & Neuter plan site relocation. Mrs. Marcinko said there has been a change in location due to the copper tubing being stolen from the Wallace building. The project is full steam ahead. There have been a lot of volunteers. Mrs. Marcinko thanked Evelyn Rivera from the Foundation for approving the use of the new location as well as all of the volunteers; ie., Arcelor-Mittal, Petco, Ralton-Purina and the biggest - PAWS of PA, who is giving so much. No taxpayer money will be spent on this project. The Best Friends Animal Society Trap, Neuter and Return Cost Savings Calculator determined a savings of $42,000 to the Borough. The dates and times of the project will be provided to Chief Spangler. The many donations -4-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 that have been received from the borough residents, non-borough residents and the volunteerism makes her proud. There is a licensed Vetenarian, who will have his mobile clinic, as well as a community service worker Vetenarian who will be staying. A unique module will be used, which has not been tried. The Patriot News will be there to cover this story. Dennis C. Heefner, Councilman – Discussion of Swatara Street concerns – excessive speed, spider cracks, and wash boarding effect at Swatara and Front Streets. Mr. Wright said this matter was previously brought before Council concerning the speeding on Swatara Street. Mr. Heefner presented his concerns to Council. Mr. Heefner said the macadam on Swatara Street is cracking and Front and Swatara Streets is starting to washboard. The cracks are wider and deeper from 5th to 3rd Streets. Buses #34 and #39 are riding their brakes down Swatara Street. They are driving speeds exceeding 40- 45 mph. Cars are coming up the street doing 40-45 mph. People in the houses on Swatara Street from 5th to 3rd are complaining about their windows and houses rattling. Years ago Swatara Street was quiet. No commercial trucks were allowed, except for bread trucks or UPS. Those who are speeding on Swatara Street only slow down if they see a Police vehicle there, which is there for an unrelated matter. Mr. Heefner asked the Mayor and Chief to “think-outside-the-box” to resolve this situation, possibly re-routing of buses. Mr. Heefner said he went to the School Board twice and has called the bus company twice. The same thing is happening on the West Side with the scrap yard. Mr. Heefner said if this keeps up, next year at this time we will be spending $60,000 for a new street on Swatara Street. It will cost more money because it will not be the regular residential rated macadam it would have to be commercial rated. Mr. Heefner asked Council to remedy this. Perhaps a speed bump could be added or a stop sign on Swatara Street. Mr. Heefner will work with Chief Spangler and Mr. Wion on this matter. NEW BUSINESS: Justin Falcon, Resident President, CHFA – Request for permission to hold CHFA’s annual weekend long fishing tournament at Steelton Boat Launch grounds on July 13th to the 15th. On motion by Mr. Albert, seconded by Mr. Shaver, Council unanimously granted permission to hold the CHFA’s annual weekend long fishing tournament at Steelton Boat Launch grounds. David A. Wion, Borough Solicitor – Certificate of Completion for tax parcel no. 59- 015-014 for Mr. and Mrs. Chon Mr. Wion said no resolution is needed. -5-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Mr. Wion explained that in 1995 the Borough owned a particular piece of property which was deemed suitable for building and the erection of a home on it. As a result, we went through the process of public bidding, and tied in with that bidding the requirement that an improvement in the nature of an acceptable structure be placed on the property within the parameters of beginning within six months and completion within a certain period of time and other conditions. The deed also contained the indication that if those improvements were completed (because if they weren’t the property reverts back to the Borough) the Borough would then give a certificate of completion indicating that all the conditions had been met and in effect saying it is now your property and the Borough has no reversionary interest in the property. Mr. Wion received a letter from the Codes Department that the improvements were constructed on the property according to Borough requirements and therefore Mr. Wion requested authorization that the President execute this certificate of completion and that it be filed of record in the Recorder of Deeds Office of Dauphin County. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council members present voted unanimously to authorize Council President Wright to sign the certification of completion for the property at 267 North Front Street, Steelton. Craig W. Bachik, Kairos Design Group, LLC – Present basic illustration and cost estimate for Mohn Street Intergenerational Recreational Facility based on request for funding via C2P2 matching grant program Mr. Musser, CR, Inc. discussed the C2P2 grant and financing for the Mohn Street Intergenerational Project. Mr. Musser said they looked at acquiring land from SERA near the boat launch and also the Turnpike Commission. The grant was due on April 21st and was a short timeframe. SERA did not want to sell the land at this time, and the same with the Turnpike. The only project that qualified was the Mohn Street Park, which is the only park that has not been done in the borough. Seven other parks have been done and are complete. The project is a 50/50 match. The project if rounded off to a $300,000 project, the borough’s match is $48,577.50 from CDGB funds and applying to Dauphin County and the Gaming Grant for the other $100,000. The project will be done without any taxpayer dollars. DCNR holds off on a decision until any other grant matches are determined. The fact that we do not have a match in hand is not an issue. Craig put together a project budget summary, which goes through item by item for the park. The park will be more intergenerational and will give seniors a chance to interact. There will be tennis courts and a tot lot in the back. The fact that the park will be intergenerational will be used to sell the project to DCNR and also it is close to Swatara Township. DCNR looks at the inter-municipal relationship. The application must be submitted by April 21st and would need to be entered into the system tomorrow morning by Mr. DeSanto and Steve Libhart. -6-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Mr. Heefner said there is a problem with the electrical panel in the back (tennis courts). Mr. Bachik gave a presentation to Council on the Mohn Street Intergenerational Recreational Facility. Mr. Wion asked about additional costs outside of the grant funds. Mr. Bachik said the soft costs will be 6 – 10% of the project. Mr. Wright said the total cost for the park is $297,000 and the total cost of the project must be submitted within the application. In an unrelated matter, Mr. Musser said that he received a telephone call last week from Denny Schmidt, who owns Champions in Highspire. This could be discussed at the Finance Committee meeting or the Economic Development meeting. Mr. Schmidt owns the old warehouse/taco factory building behind the Casa Chica and will donate it to the borough for possible storage. Mr. Wright requested that the NEDC contact Mr. Schmidt. Mr. Wright said under New Business, although this was not included in Council’s package, the Dauphin/Lebanon County Borough Association, will hold a Meet and Greet on April 27th at the Penbrook Borough from 6:00 – 6:30. The Mayor and Mr. Wright will attend. Mr. Wright asked Mr. DeSanto to contact the Association to let them know we will attend. David A. Wion, Borough Solicitor – Present Resolution 2010-R-16 amending Defined Benefit Pension Plan Joinder Agreement for the Borough of Steelton Non- Uniformed Employees Pension Plan, Section IV, “Retirement Benefits”, Part IV- 1(4.01)(B)(VII) by providing for a 2 percent cost of living adjustment over and above the current benefit payment for currently retired former Borough Employees. Mr. Wion said that in December, Council adopted Resolution # 2009R-46, which granted the non-uniformed retired employees a 2% Cost of Living Increase. At that time, unfortunately, William Coleman and Shirley Neal, who were retired, were not on the list from which the 2% increase was determined. As a result, Resolution 2010-R-16 parrots the same language used back then and places William Coleman and Shirley Neal in the increased amount from the current payment to 2% up to the new payment effective January 1, 2010. At the same time, it was recognized that Mr. Albert had passed away and the Cost-of-Living Adjustment, since he had no surviving spouse, was not appropriate, although he was listed in Resolution 2009-R-46 and this Resolution removes his name from that Resolution. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present unanimously voted to approve Resolution 2010-R-16, as presented. David A. Wion, Borough Solicitor, Present Resolution 2010-R-17 -7-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Mr. Wion said the Chief of Police provided a listing of the no-parking time limited areas under the current ordinance which are established for the use of the street sweeper. The Chief determined that although there are many signs which establish the hours, days and locations and the streets and the sides of the streets, there were only a few of them that were actually in our ordinance or had been adopted by resolution. In order to take care of that issue, Resolution 2010-R-17 has been developed and presented to Council. This resolution takes the determinations made by the Chief and lists the current status of the hours for the use of the street sweeper in resolution form so that it will be placed in ordinance form when we do our six-month ordinance. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Heefner, Council members present unanimously voted to approve Resolution 2010-R-17, as presented. Ed Ellinger, PE, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, Inc. – Proposal for East End Sewer Separation Project Assisting McCullough Group. Mr. Shaver said in regards to the H20 grants, there is a requirement associated with some engineering to apply for that particular grant. The grant will cover the work being done for the East End Sewer Separation Project. The cost associated with this proposal is $3,300. This is to assist McCullough with the application for the H20 grant. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mrs. Marcinko, Council members present unanimously voted to approve the professional agreement. Mohn Street Project The Mayor had a question on the Mohn Street Project and said the grant for Mohn Street is a 50/50 match and will not take any of the borough money, per Mr. Musser. The Mayor said he is not against the project but asked if money would be taken from other projects to be used for this project. Mr. DeSanto said we would not be giving it up but reallocating a portion of it from one use to another use within the guidelines. Mr. Shaver said with some the CDGB money, in most cases has been allocated for long term projects which need to get “off the ground”. The Mayor said we are “taking from Peter to pay Paul”. Mr. Shaver said you have to have a project to apply for the Gaming funds. The only money that would have to be diverted would be the CDGB money. We may not get this grant or the Gaming Grant. Mr. Heefner said the money is needed for street repair. Dr. Szada agreed with the Mayor to not take the CDGB money from other projects because it is not fiscally responsible. Although this is a worthwhile project, it should be put on the back burner until other major projects are underway and finished. There are too many major projects to be done to divert funds from anywhere else to a new project. Mr. Wright asked Mrs. Handley to take a role call to vote for the Mohn Street Project. The votes were cast as follows: -8-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 Dr. Szada – No; Mr. Spencer – Yes; Mr. Albert – Yes; Mr. Wright – No; Mr. Shaver – Yes; Mrs. Marcinko – Yes; Mr. Heefner – No. Mrs. Handley gave the roll call as follows - There were three (3) No and four (4) Yes votes. Mr. Wright said the roll call was taken, the motion passed and Mr. Musser will move forward with the grant application for the project. OTHER BUSINESS: Mr. DeSanto, Borough Secretary Treasurer – Request an Executive Session to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation issues. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: None COUNCIL’S CONCERNS: Mr. Heefner – Mr. Heefner said the porch is starting to deteriorate on the former McCaleb building beside the Locust Street steps. Mr. Heefner said he will contact Mr. Conjar to block that off. Mr. Heefner said that Mr. Habib dug up the sidewalk to make repairs and the hole was closed up before it was inspected and we don’t know if he filled it properly. Mr. Heefner said he has a concern with this adding that we should monitor this going forward and require a permit and do an inspection. Mr. Wion said that we did change our ordinance to require a permit and discussed what other avenues we have for inspection. It may be possible to have some of the material removed to determine if it was properly done. Dr. Szada questioned Mr. Heefner regarding the project and whether a permit was acquired. Mr. Wion said the new ordinance requires permit for repair or to construct sidewalks. Mr. Wion determined a permit would have been required. This will be looked into. Mrs. Marcinko – Mrs. Marcinko addressed Dr. Szada’s question on the sidewalk. The Codes Office and Public Works Office were there at the sidewalk project and worked together to figure out what was right/wrong. Mrs. Marcinko said she was there when they were discussing it but she did not know if a permit was acquired. Mrs. Marcinko said she received a call from a constituent about trash on the 2500 block of S. 3rd Street (between 2nd and 3rd in the alley) that the trash had not been picked up by York Waste for about three weeks. Mrs. Marcinko got a contact name from Mr. DeSanto for York Waste and contacted them. York Waste said they would have a truck down as soon as possible. Mr. DeSanto contacted Mrs. Marcinko that York Waste was there, and then she drove by and saw that only half of the trash was picked up. Mrs. Marcinko said -9-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 the resident tried to stop the truck to pick up the remainder of the trash, but the truck drove off. Mr. DeSanto will make a call on Tuesday regarding the trash pick up. Mrs. Marcinko stated she is a resident of East End and commented on how well the Police Department performed in the Friday incident. Within a matter of minutes, there were at least 7 or 8 departments that responded. She feels very safe to be a resident of Dauphin County. Ms. Hill – Ms. Hill gave a reminder of coming events. She said May 8th is the parade; August 3rd is National Night Out. She also informed everyone that a banquet will be held to honor the SHHS Lady Rollers on May 1. Ms. Hill will prepare a proclamation for the Lady Rollers. If anyone is interested in attending, Denise will send out an e-mail and you can respond directly to her. The Mayor asked if Council was going to hold one meeting a month during the summer. Mr. Wright said that Council will meet only on the third Monday of the month in June, July and August, but all of the meetings have been advertised if it is necessary to meet the first Monday of those months. Mr. Wright – Mr. Wright thanked everyone for attending the meeting and added that he is looking forward to doing some wonderful things in the Borough of Steelton. He said that the will support Council if they want to do the park project, but he wants very much to complete the Adams Street project, noting that a meeting is scheduled for next week with the engineers to discuss this project, and then move the Front Street Project along. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, the Council meeting recessed into executive session at 7:51 to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation. The meeting reconvened at 8:35 p.m. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Spencer, Council Members present voted unanimously to hire Tory Pogasic as a summer per diem employee as a laborer in the highway department for one-half of the day and as the municipal building custodian for the second half of the day. Mr. DeSanto noted that the Borough Custodian takes a leave of absence during the summer months. On a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, Council Members present voted unanimously to allow Chief Spangler to draft letters to terminate the part-time officers who are not working a sufficient number of hours, and ask them to return all of their equipment. - 10 -  Steelton Borough Council Meeting April19, 2010 ADJOURNMENT: There being no other business before Council, on a motion by Mr. Heefner, seconded by Mr. Shaver, the meeting adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Respectfully submitted, _____________________________ John M. DeSanto, Jr. Borough Secretary - 11 -