Borough Council

STROUDSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 14, 2020 A special meeting of the Stroudsburg Borough Council convened via Zoom and was livestreamed through the Stroudsburg Borough Facebook page at 12:00 P.M. on August 14, 2020 with the following members present: Council President Anthony Lanfrank, Vice-President of Council Matt Abell, Council President Pro-Tem Erica McCabe, and Council member Boyd Weiss. Also present were: Borough Manager Brian Ace and Executive Assistant Mary Pat Quinn. Mayor Tarah Probst and Council members James Smith, Jim Evanisko, and Victoria DeVries were absent. Discuss the Cooperation Agreement between the County of Monroe and the Borough of Stroudsburg for the Administration of the Monroe County CDBG-CV Program The Borough Council discussed the administration cost associated with the aforementioned grant application. The grant allocation for Stroudsburg Borough is $64,913.00 of which 18% or $11,684.00 is appropriated for administrative expenses. The Borough Council is applying for $15,968.00 for Hand Sanitizer Stations that would be placed along streets in the low to moderate income sections of the Borough and $37,261.00 for a Mortgage Assistance Program. The Monroe County Redevelopment Authority (MCRA) administers all CDBG programs for the Borough. Mr. Weiss stated that he would like the Stroudsburg Borough staff to administer the grant and that if the staff does not know how to do the grant, it would be a good experience for them to learn how to do so. He was opposed to MCRA getting 18% to administer the grant. Mr. Lanfrank referred to a letter dated August 10, 2020 from Martha Robbins, Executive Director of MCRA which explained that Stroudsburg Borough and East Stroudsburg Borough come under the umbrella of Monroe County for the CDBG program. The population of Stroudsburg Borough would need to be 10,000 or more in order for the Borough to have its own entitlement. The Borough is eligible for CDBG grants because there are areas of the Borough that meet the low and/or moderate-income requirement. Ms. McCabe, Mr. Abell, and Mr. Lanfrank suggested that if the administration fee is decreased, the Borough could increase the proposed Mortgage Assistance Program. A motion was made by Ms. McCabe, seconded by Mr. Abell to ask the Monroe County Commissioners to consider reducing the administration component of the grant allocation to 16% or $10,386.00 or less so that those funds could be added to the Mortgage Assistance Program. The motion was carried. (3-yes; 1-no Mr. Weiss; 0-abstain) The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 P.M. on a motion made by Mr. Weiss, seconded by Ms. McCabe. The motion was carried. (4-yes; 0-no; 0-abstain)