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MINUTESFORD CITY BOROUGH COUNCIL4th MONDAY – WORKSHOPLocation: Latin American ClubAPRIL 22, 2019CALL TO ORDER Council President Fenyes called the meeting to order at 6:39 p.m. and advised the audience that the meeting for Monday, April 22, 2019 will be audio taped by Ford City Borough and Lisa Bittner. Caroline Hassa and David Croyle -- Family Life Media are audio and video taping the meeting. Eddie Armstrong – Leader-Times is audio taping. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council President led everyone in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.ROLL CALL Beth Bowser, Mary Alice Bryant, Carol Fenyes, Ray Klukan, Tyson Klukan, Mark Mantini and Mayor Cogley are present. ATTENDANCESolicitor Golfieri, Dan Schmitt – Gibson Thomas, Secretary Julia Nortrup and Secretary Lisa Bittner were also present. CITIZENS COMMENTS - AT THIS TIME AGENDA ITEMS ONLY There were no Citizen Comments at this time.OLD BUSINESSCREDIT CARD SYSTEM - CUBICJulia Nortrup stated the Credit Card System is up and running. Payment using a Credit Card may be made in the Borough Office. A Pin Number must be obtained if the payment will be made on line. The Pin Number may be obtained by completing a form which is available in the Borough Office. BID AWARD - LAWN CAREBowser made a motion to award the 2019 Landscaping/Mowing to Emminger, LLC, Jake Emminger, 1008 N. Grant Avenue, Kittanning, PA 16201 in the amount of $660.00 per week and $38.50 per hour per man for Borough Park Leaf Removal. Seconded by T. Klukan.Motion Carried. 6-0 Unanimous (Attachment)Council President stated the agenda will be taken out of order and begin with the Police then the Committee reports.PART TIME POLICE OFFICER – HIRINGBowser made a motion to hire Christopher Griffin based on the recommendation of Mayor Cogley as a part-time police officer for the normal six (6) month probationary period and to be paid the current part-time police officer wage of $17.00 per hour, conditioned upon Officer Griffin’s successful completion of a background check and a negative drug test.?? Seconded by Bryant. Motion Carried. 6-0 Unanimous?Council President explained Sgt. J.R. Yough has submitted his resignation and there will be a part-time officer submitting a resignation too. In order not to impede the placement of officers, this motion will allow Mayor Cogley to appoint two (2) part time police officers.Bowser made a motion to authorize Mayor Cogley to appoint two (2) part-time police officers for the normal six (6) month probationary period and to be paid the current part-time police officer wage of $17.00 per hour, conditioned on (i) said officer’s successful completion of a background check and a negative drug test, and (ii) Borough Council’s ratification of said officer’s appointment at its next regularly scheduled public meeting.? Seconded by Bryant. Motion Carried. 6-0 Unanimous?COMMITTEE & DEPARTMENT REPORTSFire DepartmentLibrary Parks & RecreationFinancePlanning CommissionShade Tree Police ReportPublic WorksFleet Advisory CommitteeMayorConstruction CommitteeEMCConstructionBusiness Assoc.FIRE DEPARTMENTTom Ondrusek submitted the Fire Department for March 2019 which included responding to two (2) fire alarms in Ford City Borough and three (3) in Manor Twp. (Attachment)PLANNING COMMISSIONKristen Angher spoke about the Completed Comprehensive Plan, and it now under review by the Council Members. The vote for Council approval will be at the next Council meeting.Solicitor Golfieri explained the Comprehensive Plan adoption procedure. Once the Planning Commission has recommended and provided a draft copy to Borough Council, then copies of the plan are forwarded to the School District, neighboring municipalities, and Armstrong County, There is a 45 day review period. Two notices of the Public Hearing must happen. Then a Public Hearing must be held. Once Borough Council is comfortable with the plan, it is approved by Resolution. Angher explained they are continuing working on updating the Zoning Ordinance. FLEET ADVISORY COMMITTEEThere was no report at this time.CONSTRUCTION Will be talked about later in the meeting.LIBRARYHelen Taylor thanked the reinstallation of the Library Sign on 5th Avenue. Summer reading program begin June 18. They will be a Summer Food snack site. They are a 2nd level Siler Star Library now. They goal is to be gold by the end of the year.SHADETREEStacy Gladysiewski Klukan stated the Junipers across from the Bending Room were removed. Mayor assisted with mulching trees in the Borough Park. Members of the Leo Club assisted with cleaning up the park on 4-13-2019. Fencing was donated for use with the tree guards. Klukan stated there should be no vehicles in the park to tramp down the soil or damage any tree roots or compact the soil. There is an Ordinance about no vehicles in the park. Jerry Miklos asked why was the huge tree at the corner of 4th Avenue & 9th Street cut. S. Klukan stated it was dead from the top and sides. That tree was dying from the top down. T. Klukan added if it is a liability, the tree must come down. Fenyes stated any tree that is a liability must be removed. Fenyes stated they were advised by the Forester and Master Gardener.MAYOR Mayor Cogley stated they are shorthanded with officers. PA State Police will be covering shifts. Call 911 if you need police. BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONRichard Wakefield spoke about the Military Banner Project. There are 31 new banners this year. The MIA & KIA will be displayed around the Borough Park. Solar lighting is being looked at to light up the banners around the park. The banners will be installed by Memorial Day and be removed after Veterans Day. PARKS & RECREATIONThere was no report at this time. POLICE REPORTChief Hughes stated the number of calls in April is 160 so far. PSP is covering shifts when FCPD officers are not on duty. CONSTRUCTION & FINANCE Will be discussed during Stormwater later in the meeting.PUBLIC WORKST. Klukan spoke about sink holes being filled with gravel, the partnership with Peoples Gas to pave part of 4th Avenue. The Public Works Committee have been assessing the roads for paving projects this year. The P/W Committee is recommending paving 15th Street & 16th Street. Tar and Chipping is being considered. $102,000 was received from Penndot [Liquid Fuels]. $15,000 was allotted toward a new dump truck. Nancy Miller is asking for a review of the intersection of Hill Street & Pleasantview. Council President stated it will be placed on the list for review.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT There was no report at this time.BLIGHT – PROPERTIESSolicitor Golfieri explained this Council wants to fight the blight within the Borough and certain tools must be adopted to make that happen. Council explored the option of a Land Bank. Council has chosen to use the Property Maintenance Code [PMC]. At this time the Borough is enforcing the 2006 International Property Maintenance Code. The most recent edition is 2015. Examples of what is included in the PMC: tall grass, abandoned vehicles, unsafe structures. Golfieri recommended adopting the 2015 PMC, stream line the process for enforcement, designate one (1) Code Enforcement Officer, establish an Appeals Board. The Appeals Board is necessary because when a Notice of Violation [NOV] is issued, the recipient has the ability to appeal.A NOV will be issued for the property located at 411 9th Street.Council President added the County has talked about a Land Bank, Armstrong School District will not be participating in the Land Bank.A minimum of three (3) members may be on the Appeals Board. Golfieri will verify that number.Solicitor Golfieri will prepare the Ordinance to adopt the PMC.EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATORGreg Dinko spoke about the Emergency Siren. Four (4) of the five (5) amplifiers are bad. He has spoken to Jamie of Federal and also with Paul Murray of Murray Electric. The Siren is 16 years old. Klukan asked for the amount of money spent on the Siren in the last three (3) years. T. Klukan asked if there is any money from PEMA because this is an emergency.The batteries for the Siren are deep cycle and are only good for two (2) years.Dinko explained the Siren runs off batteries. The Charger is run by electric. Council President asked for Dinko to provide the repair cost estimate to the Finance Committee.LERTAT. Klukan explained the acronym LERTA [Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act]. All properties, Residential, Commercial and Industrial, may qualify for LERTA. It uses the assessed value Real Property of new construction or additions. Solicitor Golfieri explained the LERTA was adopted by the state in 1977 and applied to Commercial, Industrial and Business Property. In 1971 and titled Improvement of Deteriorating Real Property or Areas Tax Exemption Act and applies to Residential Dwellings. These are incentives to improve certain structures. Tax Exemption is received for Real Estate Taxes for the assessed value the improvements added to the property. T. Klukan explained the Borough has approved a 10 year plan. The first year 100% relief from taxes attributable to improvement. The second year is 90%, all the way down to the last year being 10%. Ordinary upkeep and maintenance are not considered.Solicitor Golfieri explained every application is reviewed on a case by case basis. The application is submitted to the Borough and then forwarded to the County Assessment Office.T. Klukan explained an application can be obtained at the Borough Office, submit the application at the time a Building Permit is obtained, or if no Building Permit is required submit before construction is started. Solicitor Golfieri stated to submit the LERTA form prior to construction. If you miss the time line to submit the application you cannot go back and redo. The Ordinance does not allow for construction to start and then make the application.T. Klukan explained the application is forwarded to the County Assessment Office. Once the improvement is complete, they will make a visit to the site and make the determination. They would make a calculation of the assessment eligible for the LERTA. The Tax Payer and Borough will be made aware of the updated assessment. T. Klukan advised if you have obtained a LERTA for your property. The LERTA will continue with the property even when it is sold.T. Klukan stated the building of a new garage is not included in LERTA at this time. Solicitor Golfieri stated an amendment to the Ordinance can be done to include garages, or adding an application deadline, or expanding the definition of dwelling unit. T. Klukan added the County has a program with USDA and there may be money available to you for improvements thru the USDA. Contact the County Planning Office for additional information.T. Klukan stated all three governing bodies [Armstrong County, Armstrong School District, and Ford City Borough] have adopted the LERTA. NEW BUSINESS Maher Duessel Proposal – Police Department ProceduresCouncil President Fenyes spoke about the recent audit and Maher Duessel proposal to review the Police Department Procedures. Council should review and this will be an agenda item for 5-13-2019.STORMWATER AUTHORITYCouncil President Fenyes explained Ford City Borough has been awarded a $315,000 CFA Grant for upgrades to the Storm System. Five (5) of the 10 Tide Flex outfalls along the Allegheny River are included in the project. An extensive study was done on the storm drains by Gibson Thomas. All of the storm drains they could access were TV’d. As a result upgrades to the system have been identified in the amount of $3.178M. An estimate of 443.8 tons of debris is in our Storm Drains, there are areas of collapse, and areas of deterioration. The pump house need upgrades. T. Klukan spoke about the application to USDA for funding. There was a change in requirements and the program no longer offers a grant loan combination.Council President explained Borough Engineers met with representative from USDA and PENNVEST. The Borough must calculate their debt ceiling which is based on our tax base. The last calculation was the Borough would be permitted to borrow a maximum of $6.5M. The WTP cost of $3.3M is included in that calculation. So, going after $3.2M for the storm water project, we could potentially reach or exceed our debt ceiling. A suggestion was made by Dan Schmitt to form a Stormwater Authority. The advantage to forming a Stormwater Authority would be the lending would go against the Authority and not against the Borough. That would leave $3.2M for the Borough to be able to borrow in case of an emergency.Dan Schmitt we have had conversations about needing to repair the infrastructure. Speaking about the storms sewers and the condition of the streets. Build up from below and work our way up. There are also some water lines that are not in the best condition. Council President added with the creation of a Stormwater Authority, there will be a fee. Either with an Authority or the Borough borrowing, the lender will want to know how the debt will be repaid.T. Klukan stated they have preliminary drawings from 1970 and the work was never done.Schmitt explained they [Northrock] will be returning in May to complete some punch list items. There were a couple of ramps the elevations had to be adjusted. There were some ramps not included in the project because there was a possibility of a gas company project being in those areas. Northrock advised they cannot complete any new work, such as the storm inlet at 16th Street [16th Street & Ash Alley]. They will complete the Library Ramp.Schmitt stated the USDA application was a disappointment. It was a good opportunity for the Borough because of the grant. They would have provided a 40 year loan, Now we are back to a bank loan which is not competitive. There is the option of PENNVEST which is a state loan. It depends on the number of applications they receive, and that is four times a year. PENNVEST requires a reapplication meeting, permits must be obtained and the design work complete.Solicitor Golfieri explained the process for creating an Authority. There must be a Public Hearing, an Ordinance must be created, the State must approve. This is a three (3) to four (4) month process.Schmitt stated there could be a paper Authority, it exits on paper only. There are members of the Authority. The operation and maintenance of the system could be designated back to the Borough. Or there could be a full working Authority. They have their own employees. The Sewage Authority is an example. Solicitor Golfieri advised there are certain restriction for the paper Authority. T. Klukan asked if Borough debt could be transferred to the Authority. Solicitor Golfieri would have to research the possibility. Bowser suggested doing the project in phases. CITIZEN COMMENTS – OPEN COMMENTS AT THIS TIME? Paul Klukan – FCRCP explained they spoke with WPPC and FCRCP would like to install a pole in the municipal parking lot to hold an electric panel to be used during their carnival. The pole could be used to illuminate the parking lot too. T. Klukan suggested they provide a site map, scope of work and a detailed cost. Nancy Miller spoke about the Garbage Truck driving over the corner of her property located at Pleasantview Drive and Hill Street. Miller asked if the Borough could install a retaining wall?The triangle is a forgotten area of the Borough. There are limbs there from last year. The trees need trimmed.Lou Vergari?asked if anyone has attended the Sewage Authority meetings. T. Klukan stated they have been in contact with them concerning the Young’s Interior alley and the 700 Block of 5th Avenue.?MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTSSecretary read from a prepared list of announcements. EXECUTIVE SESSIONImmediately following the meeting to take advice from Solicitor Golfieri. NEXT COUNCIL MEETINGMonday, May 13, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. at the Latin American Club. Tuesday, May 28, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. at the Latin American Club ADJOURNMENTT. Klukan made a motion at 8:24 p.m. to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Bowser. Motion Carried. 5-0 UnanimousCarol FenyesLisa BittnerCouncil PresidentBorough Secretary ................
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