Borough Council

STROUDSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 25, 2020 A special meeting of the Stroudsburg Borough Council convened via Zoom and was livestreamed through the Stroudsburg Borough Facebook page at 3:00 P.M. on August 25, 2020 with the following members present: Anthony Lanfrank, Council President; Erica McCabe, Council President Pro-Tem; Jim Evanisko, Council Member; and Boyd Weiss, Council Member. Council Members Matt Abell, Victoria DeVries, and James Smith were absent. Also present were: Brian Ace, Jr., Borough Manager; Tarah Probst, Mayor; Joseph McDonald, Jr., Borough Solicitor; Mary Pat Quinn, Executive Assistant. Kris Battle and Joanne Kochanski, members of the I-80 Expansion Task Force, were also present. Special Note: Numerous attempts were made to livestream the meeting on the Stroudsburg Borough Facebook page; however, due to an issue with Facebook, the Borough Council was not able to livestream the meeting. The meeting was recorded through Zoom and will be posted on the Borough’s Facebook page. The public was invited to provide comments through Facebook or to the Borough Manager, Brian Ace at bace@stroudsburgboro.com. Ms. Battle discussed the status of the proposed expansion with the Council. Penn DOT has not applied for any environmental permits through the PA DEP yet. Solicitor McDonald emphasized that Mr. Ace and his staff should monitor the mail closely to ensure that any notices about the project are brought to his and the Borough Council’s attention immediately. Mr. Weiss expressed concern about the loss of taxable properties as a result of the project. A discussion also ensued about the accident/crash data that was used by Penn DOT to determine the necessity of the expansion. Solicitor McDonald suggested that the Borough obtain current data. A motion was made by Ms. McCabe, seconded by Mr. Weiss to direct the Borough Manager to obtain from SARP, the Pennsylvania State Police and first responders the accident/crash data for the period January 1, 2015 through August 25, 2020 between exits 303 and 307 on Interstate Route 80. The Council would like to review the data at the September 1, 2020 Council meeting. The motion was carried. (4-yes; 0-no; 0-abstain). A motion was made by Mr. Weiss, seconded by Mr. Evanisko directing the Borough Manager to write a letter to the Monroe County Conservation District requesting that the Borough of Stroudsburg be given direct and prompt notice of any applications that the District receives from Penn DOT in connection with this proposed project. The Conservation District and the PA DEP have a delegation agreement whereby any application to the DEP must be forwarded for review and recommendation to the Conservation District. The motion was carried. (4-yes; 0-no; 0- abstain). The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 P.M. on a motion made by Ms. McCabe, seconded by Mr. Weiss. The motion was carried. (4-yes; 0-no; 0-abstain).