City Council

Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 7, 2011 The regular monthly meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by President, Jeffery Wright, with the pledge of allegiance, followed by a moment of silence. In Attendance: Absent: Jeffery Wright Stephen Shaver Michael Albert Dennis Heefner MaryJo Szada Maria Marcinko Raymond Spencer Mayor Thomas Acri David A. Wion, Solicitor Douglas E. Brown, Secretary/Treasurer Kathy I. Sosnowski, Executive Assistant APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS AS PRESENTED: February 22, 2011 Minutes Motion: Mr. Albert Second: Dr. Szada Approved by All with the following change: Mr. Wion noted that the corrected paragraph should read: [option to purchase with Municipal Capital Corporation in the amount of $254,723; both the Borough and Authority will make payments.] PUBLIC COMMENT: Agenda Items Only None. SPECIAL PRESENTATION: Two of the three winners of the Steelton Borough Black History Month Essay Contest came before Council. Ms. Cheyenne Herbster, sixth grade and a 3-time winner read her essay entitled “Martin Luther King Jr.”. Ms. Heidi Womer, eighth grade and the overall winner read her essay entitled “Freedom”. A photo was taken of Ms. Womer with Mayor Acri. -1-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 7, 2011 COMMUNICATION: Middletown Press and Journal requested sponsorship for the 2011 Graduation Edition – Mr. Musser graciously offered to act as sponsor. Penn DOT sent a letter updating the summertime dispatching procedures. Elks Youth Department #21 sent an invitation to their “Celebration of Youth” banquet. Dauphin County Commissioners sent a letter notifying the Borough of $150,000 in local municipal grant program funding for the Mohn Street Intergenerational Recreational Facility Project. The Pennsylvania League of Cities and Municipalities sent a letter notifying the Borough of the 28th annual high school senior essay scholarship contest. The contest applications were delivered to the high school guidance counselor. Arcelor Mittal sent a letter with the annual downstream notification. Doug Brown presented the Steelton Borough Police Department 2010 Annual Report. A motion for approval was made by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert and approved by all. NEW BUSINESS: Ms. Gertrude Saunders, 125 and 127 Lincoln Streets – She lives in 125 and uses 127 for storage. There are separate lines for water, but not for sewer and the pipe goes from 127 through 125 Lincoln Street. She is concerned about being double-billed for water and sewage. She does not mind paying double for water, but not sewage (127 is not being used as far as sewage is involved). The mayor reminded her that the sewage is sent to Harrisburg, who sets the rates. Ms. Saunders then stated that if the sewage is based on water usage, there are no readings at 127 because there is no usage. Mr. Musser stated that the rules and regulations are in effect consistently in Steelton, Harrisburg and Swatara Township to name a few areas. The only alternative is to shut the water off. A contractor would need to be contacted to install a separate sewer line for 127 Lincoln Street. Dr. Szada then questioned if the sewage is based on water usage, are we charging the minimum sewer usage also. Mr. Shaver asked if water was used at all in 127 Lincoln; Ms. Saunders said the furnace uses water, so if she chose to turn the water off her pipes could freeze. She also asked if not having water in a house is considered a safety issue. Mr. Wright ended the discussion by suggesting that Ms. Saunders take the advice given by Mr. Heefner and Mr. Musser to have the water shut off at 127 Lincoln St. -2-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 7, 2011 UNFINISHED BUSINESS: Mr. Wion - presented Ordinance No. 2011-2 entitled Code Enforcement Ordinance for Public Safety Official Notice and Quick Ticket Citation Procedures. Mr. Wion explained that the Neighborhood Economic & Development Committee looked into the ticketing system last year. The Safety Notice advises owners of 10 days to correct the problem. They then have 15 days to pay the ticket or go before the District Justice. Ms. Marcinko asked if the Property Maintenance Officer should be added; Mr. Wion stated that both Ms. Zell and Mr. Hayman are considered Code Enforcement Officers. Mr. Heefner asked if the ticket was issued the owner or occupant; Ms. Zell said that both parties are given tickets, and the owner is responsible for payment. Mr. Heefner also asked if snow removal could be added to the tickets. Ms. Zell stated that it could not since this is a 10- day notice and snow removal is a 24-hour notice. A motion was made by Ms. Marcinko, seconded by Mr. Heefner, and approved by all. Doug Brown – stated that he took care of Mr. Powell’s recycling issue with York Waste that was discussed at the last Council meeting. NEW BUSINESS, CON’T.: Doug Brown – presented a copy of a letter to Broadview Networks stating the Borough’s intent not to auto-renew our contract expiring on April 30, 2011. We will continue with a month-to-month contract until Council reviews proposals and determines a provider for our phone and data services. Mr. Shaver confirmed Mr. Brown’s intentions. Doug Brown – presented a request to attend the PELRAS (Public Employer Labor Relations Advisory Service) Conference on a free scholarship. A motion to approve Mr. Brown’s attendance was made by Mr. Shaver; seconded by Ms. Marcinko and approved by all. Jeffery Wright – appointed councilpersons Heefner and Marcinko to the Joint Labor Management Committee; both accepted. The mayor reported that he requested that 2 police representatives be added to this committee, but he has not received a response. OTHER BUSINESS: Doug Brown – requested an executive session to discuss personnel matters, land acquisition and potential litigation issues. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION: None. -3-  Steelton Borough Council Meeting March 7, 2011 COUNCIL’S CONCERNS: Ms. Marcinko – met with Teresa Faziolli yesterday concerning a program she started for seniors that get “Meals on Wheels” called Animeals, which provides pet food. Ms. Marcinko foresees them also being able to provide food for our clinics. The PETSMART grant is beginning to be used this coming week. Money will also be available from PETCO. Mr. Wright – thanked the public for attending, asked them to let their neighbors know they’re welcome to attend every 1st and 3rd Monday of each month. The Borough needs more people to get involved. On motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, the Council meeting recessed into executive session at 7:10p.m.to discuss personnel matters. The Council meeting reconvened at 7:55p.m. with a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert. Mr. Heefner - motioned to change our representative on the Council of Governments from Sylvie Zell to Doug Brown. Mr. Albert seconded; approved by all. Mr. Shaver – motioned for Council to authorize the Council President to sign the Training Area License Agreement between Steelton Terminals Corp. and the Borough of Steelton for use of their property in the Borough’s East End. The motion was seconded by Mr. Albert and approved unanimously. Mr. Shaver then made a motion to have the Borough obtain an appropriate insurance rider to cover the potential exposure of the Borough under the Agreement, including its indemnification requirements. The motion was seconded by Mr. Albert and approved unanimously. ADJOURNMENT: There being no other business before Council, on a motion by Mr. Shaver, seconded by Mr. Albert, the meeting adjourned at 8:15p.m. Respectfully submitted, ______________________________ ______________________________ Douglas E. Brown Kathy I. Sosnowski Borough Secretary/Treasurer Executive Assistant -4-