City Council

STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Present: Brian Proctor, President Kathy McCool, Borough Manager Michael Segina, Vice President Jack Gombach, Assistant Borough Manager Natashia Woods, Pro Temp Randy Watts, Engineer, HRG Denae House Aaron Curry, Codes Enforcement Officer Willie Slade William Shaub, Interim Police Chief Vanessa Bowers Gene Vance, Fire Chief Ciera Dent, Mayor Absent: Mr. Jones Call Meeting to Order: President Mr. Proctor opened the meeting at 6:31 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance. Moment of Silence: Mayor Dent led the group in a Moment of Silent Reflection to keep all our loved ones in our thoughts and prayers. Special Presentation: Mayor Dent swore in Patrol Officer Justin Hain. Additions to Agenda (if needed): None Public Comments on Agenda items only: No comments were made. Approval of minutes from the previous meeting: 1/17/2023, 4/3/2023, 4/17/2023, 5/1/2023, 5/15/2023, 10/2/2023, 10/16/2023 & 11/6/2023. Motion made by Mr. Slade seconded by Mr. Bowers to approve the minutes per Solicitor Gonder’s review. Motion passed unanimously. Notice of Executive Session: President Proctor announced executive session had been held at 6:00 PM for various personnel and real estate matters. Department Reports: Fire Department and Ambulance A written report was presented, Chief Vance had nothing to add. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 1 of 6  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Police Department A written report was presented, Chief Shaub had nothing to add. Codes Department A written report was presented, Mr. Curry had nothing to add. Public Works A written report was presented. Parks and Recreation Ms. Woods added the Steelton Holiday Tree Lighting will be on Dec 5, 2023 from 6-8 PM. The event will start at the Borough building and go to the Fire House after. NEDC Nothing at this time. Mayor’s Report Nothing at this time. Borough Manager’s Report Nothing at this time. Motion made by Mrs. House seconded by Ms. Woods to approval the committee reports as presented. Motion passed unanimously. Unfinished Business: Mr. Gombach provided an update to council on the status and cleaning of the Frederick Douglas Municipal Building. Mr. Gombach presented to Council for consideration an approval a quote of $5,080.00 to J&M Cleaning Inc. to provide deep cleaning services for the Fredrick Douglas Municipal Building. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Ms. Bowers to approve the quote of $5,080.00 to J&M Cleaning Inc. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gombach presented to Council for consideration an approval of Resolution 2023-R-18, appointing Kathy McCool as Steelton Borough Manager. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 2 of 6  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Mr. Slade to approve Resolution 2023-R-18. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gombach presented to Council for consideration an approval of Resolution 2023-R-19 appointing Kathy McCool as Steelton Borough Secretary/Treasurer. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Ms. Bowers to approve Resolution 2023-R-19. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gombach presented to Council for consideration an approval for solicitor to finalize and advertise Chronic Nuisance Ordinance. Solicitor Gonder updated council on the processes that took place to get the Chronic Nuisance Ordinance to its current state. He asked that council provide approval to have him finalize the ordinance and advertise. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Ms. Woods to approve the solicitor to finalize and advertise Chronic Nuisance Ordinance. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gombach presented to Council for consideration an approval of an amendment to the Agreement for the Collection of Delinquent Real Estate taxes between Steelton Borough and Portnoff Law Associates. Mr. Segina stated that the fee structure was reviewed by the finance committee. The committee had 2 questions that were answered related to the updated fees. Mr. Segina said that one question was related to the potential need of adding the United States to the claim and the cost to do so. This would only occur if there was a federal lien from the United States, which is rare. The second item was on the “Research, prepare and obtain re-issued Writ” line item, which went up about $100, Mr. Segina stated that that the response was due to cover extra work of filing additional claims against different parties like banks, other debtors, ect. Solicitor Gonder informed Council that an updated Ordinance would need to be prepared and advertised. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Ms. Woods to approve the Amendment to the Agreement for the Collection of Delinquent Real Estate taxes, as well as authorize the Solicitor to advertise the associated ordinance. Motion Passed 5-1, Mrs. House voted Nay. New Business: Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 3 of 6  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Mr. Gombach presented for consideration and approval to advertise an amendment to Chapter 84 “Real Estate Registration,” Section 84-4 “Report Required Upon Acquisition of Real Estate; Fee,” Subsection B. Mr. Segina stated this change would allow to set the fee by resolution rather than changing the ordinance each time. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Mr. Slade to approve the advertisement changes of Chapter 84 as presented. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Gombach presented for consideration and approval to adopt 2023-R-20 appointing KMS / Jack Gombach as assistant Borough Manager to assist during the transition. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Mrs. Bowers to approve Resolution 2023-R-20. Ms. Woods asked if the cost was the same. Mr. Gombach replied that it is the same contract and cost, just reduced hours. Ms. Woods asked if there could be a deadline. Mr. Segina stated that currently this was to get though the end of November and have KMS provide an updated contract moving forward. Mayor Dent asked why we couldn’t keep him on contract rather than create a position. Mr. Proctor asked Mr. Segina to reply. Mr. Segina stated that Mr. Gombach was appointed to the interim borough manager position. To change his title to assistant borough manager will allow him to continue to have access and some authority through the transition process. Mayor Dent asked what happens at the end of November. Mr. Gombach stated that he will work with Mrs. McCool to determine the needs moving forward. Mayor Dent stated she is not happy with this, but its Council Decision. She says that is shows that were spending money we don’t have and that we would have to come back again on this issue. She was wondering why this was only being done to only till the end of November. Mr. Segina stated that this was originally thought to be in place till the end of the year with Mr. Gombach working on a time and materials basis. He noted that his current contact would run to the end of the month and then come back to council at the next meeting once Mr. Gombach and Mrs. McCool had time to discuss the need. Mrs. House asked if the Department Heads would help Mrs. McCool. Mrs. McCool said that is the idea, but there are some projects in place that she is not fully brought up on yet and retaining Mr. Gombach will ensure they continue until she is brought up to speed. Mrs. House stated she understood. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 4 of 6  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Ms. Woods asked that the motion be updated to end of the month. Mr. Segina withdrew his earlier motion. Motion made by Mr. Segina seconded by Mrs. House to approve Resolution 2023-R-20 with an amendment to state the position of Assistant Borough Manager to end on November 30th, 2023. Motion passed unanimously. Public Comments: Pat Gordon | 117 N Front Street Appreciates the time and effort working on the nuisance business law. Thanked the Mayor and officers, Codes office, Public Works, and office staff for patience and help. Thanked the fire chief. Council Concerns: Mrs. House Thanked attendees. Wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Mr. Slade Thanked attendees. Wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Mrs. Bowers Thanked attendees. Wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Solicitor Gonder Nothing to Add. Ciera Dent, Mayor Thanked everyone for coming out tonight. Discussed her issues with the Borough Building and Councils response to this issue. She stated she personally apologized to employees for the conditions. She urged Council to do something long term. Mayor Dent said there are problems with the Borough, and it starts with the leadership. Thanked Chief Vance for everything he does for our community. Thankful for the Police Officers. Mayor Dent also expressed her concerns about the financial issues she has with the Borough, and the discussions she hears about the amount of money the police department effects the budget. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 5 of 6  STEELTON BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 20th, 2023 Ms. Woods, Pro Tem Thanked attendees. Question for Jeff Baltimore, is there a schedule for leaf pickup? Residents are asking. Welcomed Kathy and congratulated newly elected officials. Speaking of what the mayor said, work needs to happen, and we need to come together. Happy Thanksgiving Mr. Gombach Nothing to add. Mr. Segina, Vice President Thanked attendees. Happy Thanksgiving. Congratulations Patrol Officer Hain and Welcomed Mrs. Kathy McCool. Mr. Proctor, President Mr. Proctor stated we have been without a Borough Manager for over a year and that this is a part-time job for everyone elected. Mr. Proctor stated that policing makes up 58% of the Borough’s budget and that he did say that and will always say that. He stated he is always looking for ways to reduce costs and spread funds across the budget. Mr. Proctor asked Mr. Segina when the last tax increase was. Mr. Segina stated that he was unsure, but in the 8 years he had been on council there was no tax increased for seven of those years and the other year was a tax decrease. Mr. Proctor stated the police are out there doing their job and is greatly appreciated, however across the board it’s not sustainable. He will take the mayor comments under advisory, but it’s the Council decision on how to proceed. Executive Session: None. Other Business: None With no other business to discuss, a Motion made by Mr. Segina, seconded by Ms. Woods to adjourn at 7:07 PM. Motion passed unanimously. Steelton Borough Council Meeting Minutes – November 20th, 2023 Page 6 of 6