Borough Council

JANUARY 16, 2018 8022 COUNCIL OF THE BOROUGH OF WEST MIFFLIN met in regular session in the Municipal Building Council Chambers on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 at 6:49 p.m. prevailing time with President Scott Stephenson presiding. ROLL CALL: Kushner Present Stupar Present Santoro Present Inglis Present Kostelnik Present Marone Absent Stephenson Present Six members present, absent one, (Marone). Mayor Kelly present. CITIZENS COMMENTS ON AGENDA ITEMS: None. AGENDA ITEMS: A. Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Stupar to hire KLH Engineer Inc. as the new Borough Engineer to replace Macklin, effective immediately. Ms. Veronica Bennett will be the Borough’s Engineer. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. B. Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Santoro to approve agreement between the Borough of West Mifflin and RoadBotics in the amount of Three Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($3,600.00) for pavement monitoring and management platform. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. C. Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Inglis to appoint Ray Rost to the Civil Service Commission, term to expire December 31, 2023. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. D. Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Kushner to approve appointment of Karen Hess as Deputy Tax Collector, as requested by Jonathan Hess, Tax Collector. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. E. Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Santoro to appoint John Inglis as the Borough Delegate to the South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG) Board of Directors. Roll Call: Five ayes, no nays, one abstain (Inglis), one absent (Marone). Motion carried. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: Community Development………………………….…………………………Mark Lazzaro No verbal report but a written report was given to Council.  JANUARY 16, 2018 8023 Police…...Chief Ken Davies Chief Davies read the Police Department Report for the Month of December 2017. Chief Davies thanked all who were involved in the evacuation of citizens in the West Mifflin high rise apartment. Mayor Kelly echoed his thanks for all who helped get these senior citizens back into their apartments so quickly. Public Works…………………………………………………………………….…..James Hess Mr. Hess read the Public Works Department Report for the Month of December 2017. Mayor Kelly spoke of an issue that Mr. Marone wanted him to address. He stated that homes who have sump pumps are having their water going into the streets. Normally this is not a problem but with the below freezing weather we’ve been having, this is a big problem. Once the water freezes on a Borough street, this becomes the Borough’s responsibility. Ms. Bennett said in new homes plans they have separate storm sewers but in this case we could try to tie it into existing storm sewers. It would be a case by case basis. Mr. Hess said a lot of the water runoff has been tapped into throughout the years. He added his departments have been very proactive in doing this. Mr. Hess agreed with Mayor Kelly that this issue needs to be addressed and will look into revising the existing Ordinance. Recreation………………………………………………………………..……Anthony DiCenzo Mr. DiCenzo reported the following: The Family Bowling night scheduled for January 21st has been postponed for a later date. The Father/Daughter dance is February 17th at Westwood. Tickets went on sale today. A DCNR Grant for $20,000.00 has been awarded which is a matching grant for a comprehensive park study. Community Day is scheduled for the end of June. Letters for vendor bookings and donations will be sent out soon. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS: EMS…………………………………………………….………………..Chief Todd Plunkett Chief Plunkett read the EMS Report for the Month of December 2017. Chief Plunkett gave out packets to Council that broke down statistics for last month and year ending totals.  JANUARY 16, 2018 8024 REPORT OF THE MAYOR: Mayor Kelly reported the drone was called into service last month. The drone worked without a flaw. The drone was in use for four hours for a missing person with Alzheimer’s. This person was found in another community, however, Mayor Kelley said the drone saved numerous man hours from search and rescue departments. Mayor Kelly brought up the subject of Community Gardens which he had previously discussed. He is asking Council for permission to ask the School District for a piece of land where the old middle school was. He is also looking at the possibility of property near the Village Shopping Center and where the old Police Station was on Greensprings Avenue. Council said they have no objections to Mayor Kelly asking the School District for use of their land. Mayor Kelly thanked Council for using Federal Forfeiture Funds to fund an opioid epidemic task force. REPORT OF THE SOLICITOR: Mr. DiLucente said he has reviewed the RoadBotics program on which Council will put to vote. Mr. DiLucente reported there was damage to the old Borough Building which was covered by the Borough’s Insurance Policy. The sale of the building is continuing under negotiations. Any other discussion was for executive session. REPORT OF THE ENGINEER: Ms. Bennett had nothing to report at this time but thanked Council for the opportunity to serve the Borough of West Mifflin. REPORT OF THE BOROUGH MANAGER: Mr. Kamauf said the new financial software is up and running with only a few glitches. He said he will have the final December report at next month’s meeting. PAYMENT OF BILLS:  JANUARY 16, 2018 8025 Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Kushner that all bills properly approved by the Finance Committee be paid. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS: Motion by Kostelnik, seconded by Inglis to approve the hiring of Richard Thomas Melani as a new Public Works employee pending background check, physical and clearances. Roll Call: Six ayes, no nays, one absent (Marone). Motion carried. Mayor Kelly asked if Council could advertise properties for sale in the Borough. Mr. DiLucente said we cannot until we have the properties listed by Lot & Block numbers. CITIZENS COMMENTS: Harry Thompson 6679 Adams Avenue believes the information about the sump pumps was changed by the State. He thought you couldn’t run water into the sewage lines so the water would run out into the street which is a bad idea in freezing weather.