CATASAUQUA BOROUGH COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JUNE 6, 2016

Transcription

1 Vice-President Kroope called the regular meeting of the Catasauqua Borough Council to order at 7:00 PM with the Pledge to the Flag. MEMBERS PRESENT: ALSO PRESENT: MINUTES: Ms. Kroope, Ms. Mellish, Mr. Bartholomew, Mr. McKittrick, Mr. Schlegel and Ms. Weaver. Mayor Schlegel, Manager Goldfeder, Solicitor Dinkelacker, Police Chief Kish, and Fire Chief Hertzog. A motion to approve the minutes for the May 2, 2016 regular meeting minutes was made by Ms. Weaver, and seconded by Ms. Mellish. There were no questions and all were in favor. The motion passed. HEARING OF PERSONS PRESENT: Robert Zakos, Jr., 148 S. 13 th Street, spoke on the behalf of the J4 Committee. He said he is a member of the committee and that there were some communications during the committee s last meeting that the pool might not be open for free this year as it has in the past. Ms. Kroope said that this issue was brought to the Recreation Committee earlier in the evening. She said that the YMCA now runs the pool. The Borough is somewhat concerned that if we advertise free swim on July 4, 2016, that the pool could be overcrowded. The solicitor indicated that while the YMCA is overseeing the management of the pool, we can control when it is open and closed and what rates we are charging at various times. The manager pointed out that July 4, 2016 is actually a Monday, yet the J4 festivities will occur on the weekend. ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS: Mr. McKittrick moved that the pool be open for free on July 3, 2016 in conjunction with the J4 festivities, with a rain date of July 4, 2016 only if the pool is not open on July 3, The motion was seconded by Mr. Schlegel. The motion carried, five in favor, one opposed, Ms. Mellish voting no. Allison Shupp, 271 Edward Lane, said that the Borough removed a tree in front of her home and since that time, she s had a backup in her sewer line. She called a plumber; and Mr. MacHose said that if the problem is beyond the curb, the Borough would reimburse her for the cost. The manager and solicitor explained the process in this situation. The manager indicated that this matter was just brought to his attention since it occurred only in the last few days. Her request will be discussed at the next General Government Committee Meeting on June 28, She is invited to attend that meeting. Jennifer Lively, representing 124 Bridge Street, The Malvern Institute. She said she is the manager of Malvern She wanted to introduce herself and indicated that she hopes the Institute will be a viable, productive member of the community. She invited all of Council to visit their facility. ORDINANCE 1330: Ms. Weaver made a motion, seconded by Mr. McKittrick, to adopt an ordinance to adopt the 2012 Edition of the International Property Maintenance Code. Solicitor Dimmich said that this ordinance updates the Property Maintenance Code to a newer version of the code that s already in place in the Borough. Roll call vote was taken with six in favor and none opposed, one absent. The ordinance passed. 4852

2 ORDINANCE 1331: This was tabled at the May Council Meeting. Mr. McKittrick made a motion, seconded by Ms. Weaver, to adopt an ordinance adopting the 2009 Edition of the International Fire Code. Solicitor Dimmich said this ordinance would adopt an updated version of the Fire Code currently in use in the Borough. Roll call vote was taken with six in favor and none opposed, one absent. The ordinance passed. ORDINANCE 1332: SECRETARY/MANAGER: WATER & SEWER: MAYOR OF THE YEAR: WASTE MANAGEMENT: Ms. Weaver made a motion, seconded by Ms. Mellish, to adopt an ordinance amending the Borough of Catasauqua Zoning Ordinance to define Craft Beverage uses. The manager indicated for the record that the ordinance was submitted to both the Catasauqua Planning Commission and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for their reviews and was the subject of a Public Hearing on May 25, 2016, all in accordance with the municipality s Planning Code. Roll call vote was taken with six in favor and none opposed, one absent. The ordinance passed. Mr. Goldfeder reported. There were 24,758,000 gallons of water pumped to the system for the month of May 2016 for a daily average 798,000. The sewer report for the same period was 25.4 million gallons of sewage treated for a daily average of 820,000. The manager reported that he had received the nomination form for Mayor of the Year. We would like to nominate our mayor. The nomination must be submitted by June 30, The manager said this item is on the agenda for action this evening. The solicitor will have more to report on this topic during his report MUNICIPAL COMPLEX: The manager reported that the bid opening has been postponed until June 13, This was not unexpected given the number of potential bidders. In fact, the extension for the bidding was built into the overall time line. PMHIC DISTRIBUTION: QUESTIONS/COMMENTS: The manager reported that the Borough has received a dividend on last year s health insurance policy of $86, This results from the Borough having very low claims last year and is a direct result of the Borough s participation in the PMHIC insurance co-op program and self-insuring our healthcare. Ms. Weaver commented that over 30 attended the mandatory pre-bid meeting two weeks ago. This indicates that we should have very competitive bidding next week. Mr. McKittrick questioned how often the engineer is at the Waste Water Treatment Plant for his inspections. The manager indicated that he is currently attending the plant on a weekly basis. Mr. McKittrick would like to discuss whether he still needs to be there each week, at the upcoming Public Utilities Meeting Mr. McKittrick said that while the Borough regulations for free swim for those persons 65 or older is only for Catasauqua residents, he had heard that the YMCA is providing free swim passes for Catasauqua and North Catasauqua residents 65 and older. He thinks the passes should be issued at the Borough office as it has in the past, and it should be limited to just Catasauqua residents. The manager said he will speak with the YMCA personnel about this issue. Mr. Bartholomew commented that the weeds are getting high on the Iron Works property. The manager said he is aware of it and had already discussed this 4853

3 matter with the Public Works supervisor, who is in the process of having them cut and sprayed. Mr. Bartholomew questioned what the Borough will be doing during the one staff member s medical absence. The manager said that he is already looking at a high school student to fill in in the interim, at least over the summer. The manager also reported that he and the Public Works supervisor have completed the final interviews for the vacant Public Works laborer s position. TREASURER S REPORT: MAYOR: HALLOWEEN PARADE: A motion to approve the Treasurer s Report was made by Mr. Bartholomew, seconded by Ms. Mellish. There were no questions and the motion passed with all in favor. Mayor Schlegel reported that they conducted a successful flea market on Saturday, June 3, to benefit the K-9 program. Mayor Schlegel announced that the Junior Councilpersons for the school year will be Ashley Kovatch and Sam Safadi. The mayor reported that the J-4 celebration this summer will be on July 3 starting in North Catasauqua and then moving to Catasauqua. There will be fireworks to conclude the evening. She mentioned that the Fire Dept. will be collecting donations to benefit J-4 during the event. The mayor reported that she attended the opening of the art gallery at the George Taylor House. She said it was a very nice event and well attended. The mayor reported that Mission Barbeque, which is a new business on Grape Street, brought and donated barbeque and macaroni & cheese for the Police Dept. Some of the funds that they raise in their food sales goes to support Emergency Personnel. The mayor reported that the Halloween parade is in need of donations or it will not be able to occur this year. The committee needs at least $1,200 in funds to pay the bands that attend, and so far they only have about $350. The mayor said that she had received the three winning entries for the 4 th grade essay contest. She forwarded them to the manager. Mr. McKittrick said that he heard that a dog injured one of our police officers over the weekend. He said that he s heard of at least four dog-on-dog incidents and was wondering if any charges have been filed as a result of these. The police chief said that the charges have been filed in some cases where appropriate. JUNIOR COUNCILPERSONS: SOLICITOR: None Attorney Dimmich reported. The written Solicitor s report has been distributed to all members of Council. He said that he could answer any questions. PUBLIC WORKS CONTRACT: FL SMIDTH MOU: The solicitor reported that he and the manager will be meeting later this week to prepare a final draft agreement to present to the Public Works bargaining unit. He also said that he had received a proposed memorandum of understanding from FL Smidth with respect to the potential donation of the rail line to the Borough. According to the MOU, our solicitor and engineer would do all of the work to prepare all of the documents. FLS wishes to retain a portion of the line for their use and that area would have to be determined and subdivided from the rest of 4854

4 the donation. Mr. Dimmich said he needs direction in the next month or so as to whether or not Council wants him to do further work on the proposed donation. Ms. Weaver said that this matter is in the Planning and Zoning committee as is under review. FRONT STREET FIRE DAMAGE PROPERTY: Mr. Dimmich said that the Borough has received offers of gifts of the properties destroyed in the February fire. The proposal is to donate the property to the Borough as is, and we would have to do the cleanup of the property as well as the development for whatever we wish to use it as. He said in order for us to consider the donation, we would have to do a title search and make sure that the properties are clean and clear; and if Council desires, we should also do a Phase I environmental study. He said there is nothing more for Council to do at this point, he just wanted everyone to be aware of the situation. Mr. Bartholomew said that with respect to the rail line donation, what will happen with the people that have been encroaching on the rail line for many years. Some have encroached to the point that they have totally covered the rail line with an expansion of their operations. The solicitor said that he does not believe that any private person can obtain the rights to the property by adverse possession when it is a rail line. They can t claim that since they re on it, it is theirs. He said removing them from that property may not be easy and that could be one of the reasons FL Smidth wants the Borough to take on all aspects of the transfer. Mr. Bartholomew said that it could be a lot to do to accept the property, and it could cost a lot of money. Ms. Weaver said that she will making a motion later this evening under her committee report regarding the donation of the property. Mr. Schlegel said that on the Solicitor s report, there is a reference to a high rise health issue arising from the fire dept. He said the concern is that some of the tenants may not be able to evacuate themselves without assistance if necessary. The solicitor said that when the building was first occupied, it was not anticipated that there would be residents needing significant assistance. Ms. Kroope said that this matter should be sent to the Public Safety committee to investigate and contact the high rise owners if necessary. She said that we need to start a discussion on how the residents will be evacuated if necessary. ENGINEER S REPORT: CATASAUQUA WWTP: IRONWORKS: Mr. Henning reported. Mr. Henning will contact the consultant to initiate the improvements, when authorized by the Borough, for repairs for the WWTP operations building. Mr. Henning reported that the bids for the Municipal project at the Iron Works will be received on June 13. We have received the general storm water permit and are awaiting the easement agreements from the County specifically authorizing the discharge of the storm water into the canal. The engineer reported that the Walnut St. bridge water line project plans will be completed soon. He also reported that they also prepared and submitted a pavilion parking ADA compliance plan to the manager. 4855

5 GENERAL GOVERNMENT: Ms. Mellish reported. Ms. Mellish made a motion, seconded by Ms. Weaver, to approve the request of Ben Ferenchak, 502 Pine Street, for a waiver of the zoning permit fee related to the installation of a fence along the rear of his property. Ms. Mellish said that the reason for the motion is that the original fence material was removed and bicycles were attached to the top rail. It is more of an art installation to support his fundraising efforts than it is a fence. There is considerable discussion as to whether the installation is a fence or not. Mr. Goldfeder said that as Zoning Officer, after thorough review, it was determined that it was in fact a fence. The only question before Council is whether or not they wish to waive the permit fee. Mr. McKittrick said that the only involvement of Council with respect to zoning is the appointment of members to the Zoning Hearing Board. Council doesn t ever rule on zoning matters, either the Zoning Officer or the Zoning Board does that. A roll call vote on the motion to waive the fee indicated 2 in favor, 4 opposed, Ms. Mellish and Ms. Kroope voting in favor. The motion fails 2 4. K-9 PRESENTATION: At this time, Council went out of order since Officer Wiseman and Canine Officer Jack were in attendance. The Mayor presented Officer Wiseman with a check for $455 being the proceeds of this past weekend s flea market. She also said that they had sold four t-shirts in support of the canine program, and they will have another fundraiser in September. Mr. Schlegel read a prepared statement which described the K-9 program from the time Officer Wiseman began working with Jack in 2009 through the present. He said that the canine program has been a very good tool for the department and these days, we need all the tools we can get. GENERAL GOVERNMENT: PUBLIC SAFETY: Ms. Mellish reported that she still has two requests that are still being considered by the committee. One is the request of Revolution Church to use some of the George Taylor House parking for their church activities. The other is a request for an adjustment to a utility bill. In response to a question from Mr. Bartholomew, the Police Chief said he was informed that we believe the area that the Revolution Church wishes to use for parking is on the west side of Lehigh Street. Ms. Kroope asked why they could not just park there since it is a park. The manager said that the George Taylor House is not a community park and that people cannot just park their cars on the property for whatever reason. The committee needs to consider whether they will authorize the use of the parking areas around the George Taylor House for other than George Taylor House events. Mr. McKittrick reported. Mr. McKittrick said that he would like to commend the people who attended the CPR class offered by the Northampton Regional EMS. Mr. McKittrick moved, seconded by Ms. Mellish, to donate $500 to Northampton Regional EMS for the CPR classes that they offered. The motion carried, 7 in favor, none opposed. Mr. McKittrick said that he was concerned to find out that we do not have AED units in all the locations where he feels they are appropriate. We should consider in the budget providing money for additional units at the Municipal Building, as 4856

6 well as the Waste Water Treatment Plant, the Water Works, and the Public Works Supervisor s truck. Mr. McKittrick said there will be a Public Safety Committee meeting on June 20, The trainer for the Borough s canine program will be there to discuss the program and answer questions. Mr. Schlegel said that the Public Safety Committee has been considering authorizing the Fire Chief to write tickets for persons parked too close to a fire hydrant. He has a proposed solution whereby the Chief would issue warning tickets. If it is a repeat offender, he would notify the Police Dept. who would issue a regular ticket. The Fire Chief said that he essentially does the same thing now. If he sees someone parked too close to the corner, he calls the police, and they work to get the car moved. If it s a repeat offender the police do ticket. PUBLIC UTILITIES: Mr. Schlegel reported. Mr. Schlegel moved, seconded by Mr. Bartholomew to appoint Candace Winkler to fill a vacancy on the Catasauqua Borough Authority. Her term will expire December 31, The motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. Mr. Schlegel moved to accept the proposal from Entech Engineering to provide 3 rd party engineering services to assist the Waste Water Treatment Plant Pretreatment Program reviews. Mr. McKittrick seconded the motion. The manager explained what this proposal was for and why we would need it. He explained that with the new DEP/EPA regulations, the analysis and requirements on all non-domestic waste discharges are more complex. We occasionally will need the assistance of an outside engineering firm to help us evaluate the materials being proposed for discharge to determine whether or not the plant can accept, and treat, them. The motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. Mr. Schlegel moved, seconded by Ms. Weaver, to authorize the advertising for bids for the compaction grounding to stabilize the foundation at the Waste Water Treatment Plant Operations Building. In response to a question from Mr. Bartholomew, the engineer said that this will stabilize the building from further settlement. It may also improve it slightly as it provides the structural stability. He said it is more or less a permanent fix in terms of stabilizing the building. The motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. Mr. Schlegel moved, seconded by Mr. Bartholomew, to accept the bid from Waste Management for the Dewatered Sewage and Sludge and Waste Filter Screenings/Grit from the Catasauqua Waste Water Treatment Plant for a 5-year contract expiring May 31, The solicitor said that this matter was tabled in May when representatives of J. P. Mascaro objected to the bid that Waste Management had presented. They claimed that it was not compliant with the specifications. After the solicitor s detailed review and discussions with Mascaro, it was determined that Mascaro s objection was inaccurate, it was subsequently withdrawn. The motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. Mr. Schlegel reported that the Shade Tree Commission is short one member, and they are looking for volunteers to fill that position. 4857

7 PLANNING & ZONING: Ms. Weaver reported. Ms. Weaver moved, seconded by Ms. Mellish, to reappoint Kim Brubaker to the Catasauqua Planning Commission for a term expiring May 1, Motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. Ms. Weaver moved, seconded by Ms. Mellish, to accept the offer of a donation of the property at 223 and 225 Front Street, as is, subject to the solicitor s review and a clear title search. The solicitor said that this is a policy decision that Council will have to make as to whether we are willing to accept the cleanup costs in return for the land. This assumes that the title search is clear and there are no outstanding debts on the properties. Mr. McKittrick said that the property owner doesn t want to clean it up; they want to just give it to us and make it our problem. Ms. Weaver said that the property could be used as a small park along Front Street with parking behind it. If we ultimately do not wish to use the property, we could then sell it. Ms. Mellish said that we don t want to be in the business of running parking lots, however the Front Street Parking Committee is looking at alternatives in how to draw businesses to downtown. She said that the concept of parking as a system makes sense to have as much long-term parking in lots, not on the street. This enables the on-street parking to be short-term parking so that there is a greater turnover of customers and visitors. As long as the short-term parking is enforced, the system can work. Mr. Schlegel said that he believes the solicitor thinks a Phase 1 study should be performed because we don t really know what may have been stored in the buildings. The motion just indicates that if the title is clean, we would accept the property. In response to a question, the engineer said that it might be possible to get a general opinion from a consultant now as to whether a full Phase 1 environmental study would be necessary on the property. Ms. Mellish said that we always want 110% confidence before we make a decision. She said that s not always possible. In this case, there is only a very slim chance that there would be any environmental issues on this property. Carmen Arguetta, 841 Peach Street, was recognized by the Chair and allowed to speak. She said she is the owner of 225 Front Street and that everything is clear on the property. There is no mortgage or outstanding bills. She said there s gas heat in the property. The Fire Chief said that at the time of the fire, 223 Front Street also had gas service for the building. He doesn t know what might have been stored in the building however. Ms. Arguetta said she received several quotes, one for $10,000 to clean the site to ground level, leaving the rubble below grade there. She has a second quote of $20,000 to clean and remove all of the rubble from the site. A roll call vote indicated 3 in favor, 3 opposed (McKittrick, Schlegel, and Bartholomew). There being a tie vote, the mayor was called on to break the tie. The mayor voted No. The motion then failed, 3 4. The solicitor told Ms. Arguetta to not give up hope. He is sure that this matter will come up again after he has done his search and after we have done a quick 4858

8 observation of the property. He said one member of Council was absent, and if this comes up again, the vote could have a different result. RECREATION: Ms. Kroope reported. Ms. Kroope said that at the committee meeting, they discussed some issues that have arisen with the YMCA running the pool this year. She said that the pool has been open over the past two weekends since Memorial Day and opens for the season on Tuesday. She said that Play At The Park celebrating the 100 th anniversary of the park will be Saturday and Sunday, June 10 th & 11 th. There will be music and children s activities beginning 7:00 pm Friday and throughout the day on Saturday. Ms. Kroope said that the Art Gallery at the George Taylor House had its grand opening on Sunday, June 5, PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Bartholomew reported. Mr. Bartholomew said that the Public Works Dept. has started working on the Front Street storm drain today. Mr. Bartholomew asked the manager to take care of the weeds that are growing on the F L Smidth property. The manager responded that he had already spoken to the Public Works Supervisor who is in the process of taking care of them. The manager also reported that the Street Program bids should be going out shortly and be returned in time for action at the July Council Meeting. BILLS & ACCOUNTS: General Fund Water Sewer Plant $276, $29, $79, Sewer Collection Gross Payrolls $4, $133, Motion to approve the bills was made by Ms. Mellish, seconded by Ms. Weaver. Motion carried, 6 in favor, none opposed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Schlegel said that he would like to commend Ms. Arguetta who is offering her property to the Borough. The solicitor said that it is a very nice, considerate offer, the Borough just has to be sure that it is the right thing to do. Ms. Kroope said that we just need more information first. None HEARING OF PERSONS PRESENT: None ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the regular meeting of Council adjourned at 8:55 PM. 4859

9 Respectfully submitted, Eugene L. Goldfeder Secretary/Manager 4860