City Council

STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL AGENDA November 16, 2020 Call Meeting to Order & Roll Call: President Proctor Moment of Silence: Approval of minutes from the last meeting: November 2, 2020 Public Comments for Agenda Items Only: Approval of schedule of billing, requisitions, and change orders as presented for: October, 2020 Approval of Department & Committee Reports: Fire Department & Ambulance (Written Report) Police Department (Written Report) Codes Department (Written Report) Public Works (Written Statistical Report) Parks and Recreation Committee (Oral Report) NEDC Committee (Oral Report) Stormwater Committee (Oral Report) Mayor’s Report (Oral Report) Borough Manager’s Report (Oral Report) Presentation: Mr. Mark Schuster, Turnkey Taxes Assist Borough in Recovering Unassessed ` Previous & Current taxes. Mr. Randy Watts, Engineer, HRG Action Items: Request for Approval of Payment Application #4 for E. K. Services for the amount of $79,416.01 November 16, 2020 1  Review of Arment Cement Request for Change Order Phase I-b Revision Mr. Matt Arment Discussion of Skate Park Phase II Change Order #3 Unfinished Business: Mr. Wion Approval of Resolution R-2020-23 Authorizing Purchase of Police Department Radio Equipment. New Business: Correspondence: Dauphin County Economic Development Corp. Notice of Community Development Block Grant Award of $ 45,000.00 for the Approval of Steelton Demolition & Acquisition Blight Removal Project Dauphin County Economic Development Corp. Notice of CDBG Award of $50,000.00 for the Frank S. Brown Boulevard Curbing & Street Restoration Project. PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Notice of Acceptable MS4 Periodic Report Dauphin County Office of Tax Assessment Notice of Change of Assessment for 214 Elm Street. Dauphin County Office of Tax Assessment Notice of Change of Assessment for 216 Elm Street. Public Comments: Council & Staff Concerns: Executive Session: Other Business: Adjournment: November 16, 2020 2  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 16, 2020 Present per Roll Call: Brian Proctor, President Maria Marcinko, Mayor Mike Segina, Vice President David Wion, Solicitor Keontay Hodge Anne Shambaugh, Borough Manager Denae House Randy Watts, Engineer - HRG William Jones Anthony Minium, Police Chief William Krovic Gene Vance, Fire Chief Natashia Woods Keith Miller, Public Works Renee Drayton Bowers, Exec. Asst. Thomastine Leggett-Robinson, Exec. Asst. Absent with Cause: Aaron Curry Others attending the meeting are Matthew Arment, Mark Schuster, Mike Musser, George Drees, and Cheryl Powell. In compliance with CDC Guidelines regarding Covid-19, the Steelton Borough Council Meeting was conducted by video/telephone conference. President Proctor opened the meeting at 6:30 p.m. by calling the roll. After review, Mr. Jones moved, and Mr. Segina seconded the motion to approve the minutes of the November 2, 2020 meeting as presented. The motion passed unanimously. Public Comments for Agenda Items Only: Persons from the public were present but made no comments on agenda items. After review, Mr. Segina moved that the schedule of billing, requisitions, and change orders for October 2020 be accepted as presented. Ms. House seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Approval of Department & Committee Reports: o Fire Department - submitted a written report with no additional comment. o Police Department – submitted a written report with no additional comment. o Codes Department – submitted a written report with no additional comment. o Public Works -submitted written reports with no additional comments. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2020 1  o Parks and Recreation Committee – Ms. House stated the Committee needs to discuss whether the Borough will have a Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony this year. o NEDC Committee – Ms. Hodge reported that the Committee has not met, so there was no report. o Stormwater Committee - Ms. Woods reported that the Committee will meet next month. o Mayor’s Report – Mayor Marcinko reported the Canine Program received a $10,000.00 grant from Faulkner Toyota. o Borough Manager’s Report – Ms. Shambaugh said the Public Works position for the Highway Division was advertised. She, Kathy McCool, and the Personnel Committee are arranging to interview the six applicants. Mr. Segina moved, and Mr. Krovic seconded the motion to approve the Department and Committee reports as presented. The motion passed unanimously. Presentations: Mr. Mark Schuster from turnkey Taxes presented a program for assessing non-taxable assets in the Borough. He explained that as a delegate from his municipality for Act 32 (PA’s law on earned income tax), he discovered they were missing revenue. As a result, Mr. Schuster founded a company that developed software to gather the information municipalities needed to track and secure untaxed income. In four years, he has helped cities collect $10 billion in untaxed revenue. Every revenue-producing avenue – household members, property, parking tickets, code violations, etc. - is entered into a database. In the case of rental units, the rental residents are specifically identified. The system can track when residents move to another address in the Borough or out of the Borough. Once a resident is identified, their employment will be noted to ensure their employer has correctly entered their Borough’s Political SubDivision Code (psd code). Having the correct code ensures the Borough receives the earned income tax it is due. If the taxes have not been paid, turnkey Taxes provides the information to the County tax collection agency to collect taxes. The company receives a 20% commission once the revenue is collected. Mr. Schuster said the service cost $500.00 the first month. However, payment can be deferred for six months if there have been no collections during that time. It was also explained that the Council and Borough Manager determine who has access to the data system. In response to Mr. Wion’s question regarding a contract, Mr. Schuster stated that he would provide one. Ms. Hodge moved, and Mr. Jones seconded the motion to contract with turnkey Taxes contingent upon the contact review and recommendation of Solicitor David Wion. The motion passed unanimously. Mark commended the Council and staff for their service during all that has happened in 2020. Mr. Mike Musser attended the meeting at the request of Mr. Proctor. Mr. Musser said he was to be available if the Council had questions about turnkey Taxes. There were no questions. Mr. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2020 2 Musser congratulated the Council and staff on achieving movement and completing some projects the Borough has worked on. He also commented on the Borough’s unified approach toward getting projects finished. Ms. House thanked Mr. Musser for the assistance he provides the Borough. Mr. Randy Watts, HRG Engineer, presented a request from EK Services for payment on the Front Street Stormwater Realignment Project. Mr. Jones moved, and Ms. Hodge seconded a motion to approve Payment Application #4 from E. K. Services for the amount of $79,416.01. The motion passed unanimously. Ms. Shambaugh said she asked Mr. Arment, Arment Concrete, LLC, to attend the meeting to discuss the proposed Change Order #3 to the Skate Park Phase II Project. She said it was unclear from her review of the sketch if the ramp was ADA compliant. She asked Mr. Arment to certify that the ramp meets ADA requirements. Mr. Matthew Arment said the ramp would be ADA compliant. The sketch provided expresses the concept, not the final design. When the plan for the ramp and spectator deck is complete, all requirements will be met. Ms. Shambaugh reiterated her concern that the project meet all legal requirements. According to Mr. Segina, an observation deck is a good idea since it will vacate the alley and provide a seating area. He said the area residents will appreciate the change, which moves the activity further away from their homes. As presented, Mrs. Shambaugh said to accomplish the project, property owners whose land abuts the park must agree to allow easement onto their properties. Working with John Burdish from HRG will help her secure the easements. Ms. Shambaugh also stated that securing the needed property agreements will push work on the project into the Spring of 2021. Mr. Segina moved, and Ms. Hodge seconded the motion that Council approves Change Order # 3 for Skate Park Phase II at the cost of $ 32,985.30, contingent upon the Borough securing easement for the project. The motion passed unanimously. Council Members and Mr. Arment discussed a request presented at the November 2, 2020, Council Meeting. Ms. Shambaugh said several Council members requested documentation to support the request for Change Order # I-b to Skate Park Phase II. The information was included in the Council packet for this meeting. The floor was opened for questions from the Council. Ms. Hodge asked how and why the price doubled. Mr. Arment stated they were trying to recover the price increase. The initial costs obtained in June had tripled when purchased in October. Mr. Arment said there were no price increases for the other materials. Ms. Hodge noted that she is not comfortable with how the Borough is asked to pay the increase when agreements was signed in June, but the materials were not purchased until October. Both Ms. Hodge and Mr. Arment acknowledged that the pandemic did contribute to the problem. Ms. Hodge thinks a compromise should be reached, so the Borough does not bear the increase's entire cost. The discussion about splitting the cost of the increase was raised by Ms. Shambaugh. Mr. Segina acknowledged that splitting the cost was his idea; however, he did not think splitting the cost is necessary after reviewing the documents. Ms. House stated that she thought there was an agreement to split the cost of the increase. According to Ms. Hodge, no response to the suggestion was given. Mr. Segina moved, and Mr. Krovic seconded the motion Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2020 3 to approve the revision to Revision of Change Order #3 to the Skate Park Phase II contract and pay the requested $ 8,640. Following a roll call vote, the motion passed by a 4 to 3 vote. Ms. Woods – aye Ms. House – nay Mr. Proctor - aye Mr. Jones– nay Ms. Hodge - nay Mr. Krovic – aye Mr. Segina - aye Unfinished Business: Mr. Wion presented a Resolution designed to approve an action taken by the Council at the November 3, 2020 meeting. He explained that a Resolution was needed to specify the condition of that action. Mr. Segina moved, and Mr. Jones seconded the motion to approve Resolution R-2020-23 Authorizing Tax-Exempt Lease/Purchase Agreement to Finance the Acquisition of Police Radios. The motion passed unanimously. There was no new business discussed by the Council at this meeting. The following correspondence was received and reviewed by the Council: A notice from the Dauphin County Economic Development Corporation informing the Borough they are the recipient of a $45,000.00 Community Development Block Grant Award for the Steelton Demolition & Acquisition Blight Removal Project. A notice from the Dauphin County Economic Development Corporation informing the Borough of a $50,000.00 Community Development Block Grant to finance the Frank S. Brown Boulevard Curbing & Street Restoration Project. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection sent notice that the MS4 Periodic Report submitted for review was acceptable. It advised the Borough to continue to identify the status of implementing best management practices as a part of the stormwater management program. The Dauphin County Office of Tax Assessment Notices of Change of Assessment for 214 and 216 Elm Street, decreasing the properties' value because they are uninhabitable due to fire damage. Three members of the public were present, there were no comments or observations shared with the Council, neither was there communication from other members of the public regarding concerns about the Borough. The following Staff and Council Member concerns were raised: Mr. Wion questioned the content of the Executive Session. According to Ms. Shambaugh, the acquisition of real estate and personnel issues are on the list. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2020 4 At 7:20 p.m., Ms. House moved. Mr. Krovic seconded the motion that Council moves into Executive Session to discuss real estate acquisition and personnel issues. The motion passed unanimously. The Council moved back into public session. Mr. Segina moved, and Ms. Hodge seconded the motion that November 16, 2020, Steelton Borough Council Meeting be adjourned. The motion passed unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, ____________________________ Secretary Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 16, 2020 5