Borough Council

MINUTES Stroudsburg Borough Council Meeting Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at 7 p.m. 1. Call Meeting to Order/Roll Call: Council Vice President Joanne Kochanski called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Borough Manager Cathryn Thomas called roll. Present were Council Vice President Joanne Kochanski, Council Members Eric Scelza, Ken Lang, Matt Abell, and Boyd Weis. Also present was Solicitor Ralph Matergia and Borough Manager Cathryn Thomas. Absent were Mayor David Deihl, Council President Kim Diddio, and Council Member Neil Allen. There was a quorum present for the meeting. 2. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 3. Public Hearings A. Consideration of an Ordinance for the Borough to vacate portions of Hamilton and Linden Streets and all of Elizabeth and Wayne Streets as petitioned by the Stroudsburg Area School District: The public hearing was opened at 7:02 p.m. and closed at 7:03 p.m. with no public comment. It was noted that representatives from the Stroudsburg School District were in attendance to address any public comment. The motion to close the public hearing was made by Matt Abell and second by Eric Scelza. The motion passed unanimously. B. Consideration to adopt an Ordinance accepting the vacation of portions of Hamilton and Linden Streets and all of Elizabeth and Wayne Streets as petitioned by the Stroudsburg Area School District: The motion was made by Boyd Weis and second by Eric Scelza to adopt an Ordinance accepting the vacation of portions of Hamilton and Linden Streets and all of Elizabeth and Wayne Streets as petitioned by the Stroudsburg Area School District. The motion passed unanimously. 4. Public Input: There was no public input. 5. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes from August 4, 2015: The motion was made by Ken Lang and second by Boyd Weis for the approval of Council Meeting Minutes from August 4, 2015 with a correction to the minutes. The correction was noted by JoAnn Viola with respect to listing Clermont Street as a “street” instead of “avenue” which is the correct terminology for that road. The motion passed with one abstention from Councilperson Scelza. 6. Monthly Administrative Reports: Councilperson Lang noted and offered congratulations to the Parking Department for the turnaround and increased revenue for the month of July versus the shortfall in June, and also noted if we continue at the current pace the Parking Department will be on track to meet their budgeted revenue numbers. The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Eric Scelza to approve the Monthly Administrative Reports. The motion passed unanimously. 7. Accept July Treasurer’s Reports: The motion was made by and second by to accept the July Treasurer’s Reports which will be filed for audit. The motion passed unanimously. 8. Old Business: None. 9. New Business A. Consider Certificate of Appropriateness, as recommended for approval and issuance by the Historic Architectural Review Board, for Patricia Martin for the installation of railings, guards, and handrails at 512 Sarah Street: The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Ken Lang for the approval and issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness for Patricia Martin for the installation of railings, guards, and handrails at 512 Sarah Street. The motion passed unanimously. B. Consider Certificate of Appropriateness, as recommended for approval and issuance by the Historic Architectural Review Board, for St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for the replacement of masonry stairs at 9 North Ninth Street: The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Eric Scelza for the approval and issuance of a Certificate of Appropriateness for St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church for the replacement of masonry stairs at 9 North Ninth Street. The motion passed unanimously. C. Consider Certificate of Appropriateness, as recommended for approval and issuance by the Historic Architectural Review Board, for DK Stroudsburg Limited Liability Company for the installation of wall signs at 700 Main Street: The motion was made by Ken Lang and second by Eric Scelza for the approval and issuance of Certificate of Appropriateness for DK Stroudsburg Limited Liability Company for the installation of wall signs at 700 Main Street. The motion passed unanimously. D. Consider Certificate of Appropriateness, as recommended for denial by the Historic Architectural Review Board, for Norman Fayne for the replacement of a window with a double door at 586 Main Street: The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Boyd Weis for the denial of a Certificate of Appropriateness for Norman Fayne for the replacement of a window with a double door at 586 Main Street. The motion passed unanimously. Discussion occurred regarding the storefront and recommendations to the property owner by the HARB for a window and door style that is more in keeping with the historic character of the building, district and in accordance with the ordinance. Council was in agreement with those HARB recommendations, although on occasion a property owner will choose to have the denial recommendation go before Council for their input and either approval or denial. It should be noted that the property owner was not present at the Council Meeting. E. Consideration to set a public hearing on September 1, 2015, regarding an Ordinance to amend Chapter 27, Zoning, Part 3, Classification of Districts, Section 303, Zoning Map, of the Borough of Stroudsburg Code of Ordinances: The motion was made by Ken Lang and second by Matt Abell to set a public hearing on September 1, 2015, regarding an Ordinance to amend Chapter 27, Zoning, Part 3, Classification of Districts, Section 303, and Zoning Map, of the Borough of Stroudsburg Code of Ordinances. The motion passed unanimously. F. Consideration of request from the Monroe County Veterans Association for a Veterans’ Day Parade to be held on Sunday, November 8, 2015, from 1 to approximately 3 p.m. The motion was made by Ken Lang and second by Matt Abell for approval of the request from the Monroe County Veterans Association for a Veterans’ Day Parade to be held on Sunday, November 8, 2015 from 1 to approximately 3 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. G. Consideration of the Municipal Winter Traffic Services Agreement and accompanying Resolution from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation: The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Eric Scelza for the approval of the Municipal Winter Traffic Services Agreement and accompanying Resolution from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The motion passed unanimously. H. Consideration of final invoice from PPL for purchase of Borough street lighting facilities. The motion was made by Matt Abell and second by Eric Scelza for approval of the final invoice from PPL to be paid for the purchase of the Borough street lighting facilities. Councilperson Scelza commented that he would like to have the DPW Department look at the Borough streets to determine dark areas, areas where lighting could be improved, and perform a light study and develop a plan so that the Borough can better maintain the system going forward so the public can feel safe on the streets at night. The motion passed unanimously. 10. Solicitor’s Report: Solicitor Matergia yielded the floor to Representative David Parker. Representative Parker had nothing to report to Council. 11. Mayor’s Report: Continued thoughts and prayers are extended to Mayor Deihl and his family. 12. Council Member Reports: Councilperson Lang commented a committee has been formed to look at ways to repurpose the Ramsey School located in the Hill District. The committee meeting will be held Thursday, August 20th. If anyone has ideas that they would like discussed, please get in touch with him. Also, there will be a follow up Parking Department meeting on Wednesday, August 19th to discuss their recent success and look at the steps taken to increase revenue. Councilperson Weis commented that his camera is broke and does not have any pictorial updates to present to Council. Pictures were presented to the Codes/Zoning Office regarding the ongoing dumpster issue. The situation is getting worse where someone has dumped an upright freezer next to the dumpster along with bags of garbage. At the last Council meeting where the property owner was in attendance, they were asked to produce documentation qualifying easement rights granted to them for the dumpster to be in that location. To date that documentation has not been forwarded to the Borough Office. A motion was made by Ken Lang and second by Boyd Weis to serve the property owner with notice to have the dumpster removed from Borough property within 10 days or the Borough will take action to have the dumpster removed. The motion passed unanimously. 13. Manager’s Report: Borough Manager Thomas requested to have the $100 fee waived for the application for the fireworks display for the Bicentennial Celebration on September 5th. The motion was made by Eric Scelza and second by Boyd Weis to waive the fee for the application for the fireworks display. The motion passed unanimously. Congratulations and thanks were extended to Ron Kimes in the Zoning Office for the successful outcome on a hearing where a property owner had been cited for ordinance violations. Mr. Kimes and Solicitor Matergia attended the hearing and presented evidence which yielded the favorable outcome. 14. Approval of Bills on Warrant 150818: Motion was made by Boyd Weis and second by Eric Scelza to approve Bills on Warrant 150818. The motion passed unanimously. 15. Executive Session: There was nothing for Executive Session. 16. Adjournment: The motion was made by Eric Scelza and second by Matt Abell to adjourn the meeting at 7:27 p.m. The motion passed unanimously. Approved: ________________________________ Kim M. Diddio, President of Council Attest: ______________________________________ Cathryn Thomas, Borough Manager/Secretary