84  2nd Public Hearing-2023 Community Development Block Grant Program City Council Chambers, City Building, 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania on Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 5:45 p.m.; Council convened as al Hearing Boardi inc order tol hear and receive comments, written and oral, reviews and! have discussion ont the: 2023 Community Development Block Grant Program. MayorV Walsh opened the meeting at5 5:451 p.m. Other Council Members present were James Aughenbaugn, Diane Bernardo, Shane! Dietz, and Pat Reasinger. Also present were City Solicitor, Toni Cherry; Publicy Works Superintendent, Scott Farrell; Redevelopment, Authority Director/Assistant Public Works Superintendent,: Joel Mitchell; Finance Officer, DeLean Shepherd; Code Enforcement/Zoning Mayor Walsho opened thel hearinga at5 5:45 p.m. andp promptly turnedt the meeting overt tol Redevelopment Tonight's meeting was advertisedi int the Courier Express ons September2 2, 2023; the purpose oft the meetingi ist to discuss ing generalt the Community Development) Block Program. Thisy year the cityy will receive $308,699 fromt the! PAI Department of Community andl Economic Development. We wills submit oura application! byF Friday, October: 27, 2023. Thei firstr meetingt that was conducted was fort the submission ofp projects andt to! have anyone withi interesting projects contact the cityt to discuss them. The city must conductap public hearingto determinel localr needsi for community development, housing, publics services, ande economic development. Residents, organizations, and agencies are given the opportunity to participate int the planningprocess. The City's performanceunder; previous CDBG) years! has been some recreational improvements,: sidewalks andi int the last coupley yearsv wel have mades some waterline improvements. Stickingy withy what wel have done overt the last couple of years wez are proposing another waterline project, ity willl bei in Census Track3 3302, B. G.2,V which does meet! Iow tor moderate-income guidelines. So, we don'th have to doas survey oft that area. Thel budgeted amounti fort that construction is $253,134, itisan notei that wel havel hads several! breaksi int thata area. Itisas small! linei that we wouldI like to replace withab biggerl line: andt thaty willl help with some ofthef fire protection downt there also. Ita also gets rido ofat tiei into and old existingl linei that currently isn'to donei int ther most efficient manner. The remainder oft ther money, $55,565, willl be: allocatedtot the General Fund fora administration, which covers the advertisements, the environmentall reviewr record, salariesi for workers, anda alsoi the application Mitchell: asked for anyo comments or questions concerning the CDBG Program ort the project wel have Mitchells stated that the CDBGI Program typically takes about 81 months! before wer receive as signed contract,) we can't dot the environmentall review untily wel havet thats signed contract whicht takes another three months, sol hopefully abouta a) yeart fromi nowt the actual work willl be, done. We: are actuallys still waitingf for2 2022's signed contract att this pointi int time. We appliedi for that att the end ofl last October, we Councilwoman Bernardo asked! howr manyf feet this willl be. Mitchell: statedi int the neighborhood of1 1,200, Ibelieve it goesf from thet tiei inr right atE Belll Lane and QuarryAvenue: to almostt the city/township line. It's anicep project. Bernardo asked, inc ordert toi fight fire what size linei ist recommended? Mitchells statedt that wev willi increaset toa a 6"I line because larger thani that doesn'tmake: sense with everythingthatist tiedi into Kristen Vida: asked how long do you! have to complete the project? Mitchell stated, threey yearst to actually completet thej project fromt the execution oft the contract, wet then! have one yeart to close out the Mitchelli turnedt ther meeting! back overt tol MayorWalsh whop promptly closedt the meeting at5 5:49p.m.  September 11, 2023 @ 5:45 p.m.  Officer, Zach! Lawhead; andA Administrative: Secretary, Bobbie Shaffer. Authority Director/Assistant: Public Works Superintendent, Joe Mitchell.  preparation.  proposed. Anyone? Mayor?  Councilman Reasinger asked whent the work would be done.  worka att the: speed oft the state.  that area.  paperwork portion ofit. So, fouryèarsi int total.  /  ATTEST:  APPROVED:  nMl  Baplau        85  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023  City Council Chambers, City Building, 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania on! Monday, September 11, 2023 @ 61 p.m.; Council convened att their regular City Council Meeting with Mayor Walshi in the Chair. Other Council Members present were. James Aughenbaugh, Diane Bernardo, Shanel Dietz and Pat Reasinger. Also present were City Solicitor, Toni Cherry; Public Works! Superintendent, Scott Farrell; Redevelopment. Authority Director/Assistant: Public Works Superintendent, Joe Mitchell; Code Enforcement/Zoning Officer, Zacl Lawhead; Finance Officer, DeLean Shepherd; Police Chief, Blaine Clark; Ther meeting was calledt to ordera at6p p.m. andt the Pledge ofA Allegiance was led by MayorV Walsh. Amoment ofs silence was heldi ini remembrance ofthel lives lost on September11,2 2001.  and Administrative Secretary, Bobbie Shaffer.  Approval of Minutes  City Council MeetingMinutes- August2 28,2023  Ther motion wasr madel by Aughenbaugh ands seconded! by Reasinger that Council approve the City Council Meeting! Minutes ofA August: 28, 2023, asp presented. Roll call was ast follows: Bernardo,; yea; Aughenbaugn,) yea; Reasinger,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Walsh, yea. Motion passed5 5-0. The motion wasr madel by Dietz ands secondedb by Reasingert that Councila approve the Work Session Meeting Minutes of September7, 2023, asp presented. Roll cally was asf follows: Bernardo, abstain; Aughenbaugh, abstain; Reasinger,) yea; Dietz, yea; Walsh, yea. Motion passeds 3-0. The motion wasi made! by Aughenbaugh and seconded by Reasinger that Councila approve the Auto Draft Check Register by Checkl ID dated September7,2023, int the amount of$23;854.45: andt the Generall Fund Purchase Order Listing! by' Vendor Name datèd September7,2023, int the amount of $340,035.02as presented byt the Finance Officer. Roll call was asf follows: Bernardo, yea; Aughenbaugn, yea; Reasinger, Hev would! like Council tor revisit their decisiont tos sell Scribner Avenuel Municipal Parking! Lot; hei is pretty sure the consolidated, government wast thinkinga about keepingt this as our municipal building. With increases ins staff, Ithinkp parking mayk bea consideration, that parking! lot could bet usablet to our new city. Mayor Walshs stated! he didn'tt think that Cquncil hadr made a decision ons sellingt the parkinglot.  Work Session Meeting Minutes- September7.2023  Registry ofh Invoices  yea; Dietz, yea; Walsh,yea. Motion passed5 5-0. Mark Sullivan-S SandyTownshipi Supervisor  Public Comments  Mr. Sullivans said! heb believes itis out for bid. Walshs said we'vel been discussingi it. byt the newly consolidated city.  Sullivans said! beforei ity would! bes sold, I'm suggesting that we rethink; thosep parking spaces could be used  Walshs said wel haven'tr made a decision oni its so...wheni it comes up we will discussi it.  Councilwoman Bernadoa asked Sullivan how many extra people doy you think are goingt to! be here. Sullivan said Ithinkwe: aret talking abouth havingt the police department working out ofthish building so, that would bea ahandful. Iknow we aret talking aboutt takingt the stafff from thel Township Municipal Buildinga and consolidating) witht thes staffh here. Soy yous are goingt tor needs somewhere between 10 and1 12 spots, then you! have Council Meetings; Iknow al lot ofthep public here Ihaves seen walking across the street. Ijust Walshs statedt that the only reason we werel lookingi intoi it was wev were approached byab business, Imean we can'tj justs selli itt tot them. We discussed puttingito out fork bid, don't even knowi if wes got any bids yet. Reasinger saidh he's done: something withi it, butl Idon't knowt that he's heard back from anyone. Lawheads saidi itis outi for bid, we'res still gettingthem inr rightr now.) We definitely haven'treceived: any.  don'ty want tos see uss short ourselves onp parkingi int thef future.  Mr. Nasuti isn'th here....  Thati is allt thef furtheri it has gone.  Reasinger said we cant turna allo oft theb bids downi if we wantt to.    86  City- Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  Sullivans saidh he didn'tknowi if Council hadt taken any consideration that wer may need additional parking. Walshs stated wej justh hadap parkings survey done andi ity was part oft the parking survey. Wel haven'tmade any decisions yet; ity willl be ont the agenda again.  Jennifer Jackson -421 N.E Bradys ST  Iwas just out puttering aroundi int town, andI Ihaver maintenanced the pocket parks.1 lamj just wonderingif therei iss somethingt that could! be donei tor maybe detert the hanging outi int there, thei trash, ands some of thei issuest that we'rel having. I'mi the onei that cleans it up, andI Iwanti tos sayai thank) yout to Scott, because Isee Scott's! back here, andIr message Scott Farrella allt thet time ands sayt there are sixg grocery carts att this pocket park, andh hep picks them up. Sol Iwantt to giveas shout outt to Scotth becausel Isee he's! behind me. I  just didn'tk knowi iftherei is anythingt thato couldb be done. Mayor Walshs said! hel believes we could havet the police looki intoi it.  Jackson suggested signage.  Mayor Walshs saidI Ibelieve thep purpose oft thep pocket park wasi forp people to uset them. Jacksons said shei isp picking up Frank's Pizzai food and literally garbage; it's nice granted! butl Iknow someonej just had ani instancet there last week withs somebody sayings somethinga andi itj just..1I lovei it,it's beautifull butl Ijust don'ty want tos see people takinga advantage ofita andl leavingtrash.  Bernardo askedi ifs shet talkedi tot the owner oft the property. Bernardo: said noi itiso owned byl Loril Lewis. doingv workt there; we! havel been! helping. itv wase ever turned over orr not. Idon'th believe ity was.  Jackson: saidi itist the city.  Jackson: said no, no, thep pocket parks are both undert the city. That's whatt thel Downtown told me. Bernardo: saidr no, Joey youk know downb by Frank's Pizza, it was neverturned over tot the city. We'veb been Mitchellt triedi top pull upa a sitet toi find outt the owner. Itwasr not ours when itv was built, andI don'tk knowif Bernardo saidt thati isv whys she askeda aboutl Lori Lewis, because putting up signsi ist the owner's responsibility. Jen, al Iot ofp peoplet think, likey yourself, that we ownt that pocket park, the workers oft the city have been goingi int thereb but wheni itd comes to signage: and everythingi that'st the owner. Youl know Lori. Jackson confirmed: she does. Bernardo suggested: she! havea a conversation with her aboutit. Jacksons saidt the oner nextt tos Syktich'st the city owns. Lawhead: and Mitchell confirmed" the city does own Jackson: saidi Ijust didn'tknowi ifanythingn maintenance wise couldb be done.) Wouldt the city want tot take  that one.  Aughenbaugh: saidy we canl looka atit. overt that pocket park, orr no? Ist that ap possibility? Walsh: askedi ifshev was referring tol Lori Lewis's.  Jackson confirmed. tax dollars. Deb Mechling- N MonroeSt  Solicitor Cherry statedi ifs someone wants to donatei ittou us. Idon'tk knowt that youy would! bel losingaloto of Iwasa att the,l had ani incident att thep pocket parkl last Thursday about 6:15 p.m. Iwas getting out ofr my car goingi intol Frank's Pizza, andt therev werei threep peoplei int thep pocket park. Theyyelledt tor me andy were wantingt toe engage withi me. Ididn'treallyf feeli it wasr necessaryf forr met to, but whenI didn'tit ita agitated them. The one gentleman got up andi Itookittob bea ana aggressive action and he calledr me ar name and    87  City Council Meeting Minutes September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  withi thatl Isaids sorryl didn'te engagey you earlier, Iwasp preoccupiedy with my phone, andt theyt tooka couple ofs stepst towards me, butlv was inr my way to Frank's. Whenl came out,l Idon'tnormally park whereldid that night, andlhadt tov walkp pastt the pocket park. Normallyl parkacrosst thes street, because I'm and older  woman alone. Anyway, itiss somethingt to watch. Councilman Aughenbaugh asked whatt time she wast there. Mayor Walsha askedt that Chief Clarkr make the officers aware ofthat. checkito out. Eveni ifyou are al little iffy tor maket the call, pleasel let us come down. Watershed: Forest Management- Ken Kane, Generations Forestry  Ms. Mechling said 6:15 p.m.  Chief Clark saida absolutely, please next time don'th hesitate to call ont us anything like that. We will come Mayor Walshs statedt that we asked Mr. Kane tol bel here tonight, hei is our Forest Manager Supervisor and has beeno doingit itf fort the City of DuBoisf foral long. --.40 years. Witha alot ofthet thingsi int the media, social media, about us abusingt the watershed: and doing things wes shouldn't be doing, met with Mr. Kane abouti it.I Iwalkedi itv with! him, that'sal liel Irodet the4 4-wheeler whiley you walkedi the watershed. Hei is here toa answera any questions and givey youa al little bit of knowledge aboutt the watershed: and what he's! been Councilwoman Bernardo askedi if Mr. Jones was here; Walshs saidr nol Iwas! hoping he was goingt to be Mr. Kane said! he wasn'tsure wheret tos standa and whot toa address, soh hev was goingt to standi int the corner First ofa all, no one goesi intoi forestryt tol beap public speaker, so Iam going to apologize for my speaking voice upfront. Fori the past4 40y years, we! have! beeni involved with the City of DuBois, managingt their resource. Itis unusualf for met tol be at Council for othert than official actions, but we do work withi the Watershed Committee. For decades we worked with Mr.. John! Dugan, who was agreatl leader ofthe Watershed Committee; andr now with Scott Farrell, whoi ist the leader oft the Watershed Committee. That Committee does aj phenomenalj job oflearning about whatf forestryi is. Forestry is avery complex science We would thinkt thatt trees grow, andi the big ones would bet the ones that youy would wantt to cut andI Iet thel littled ones grow up. Thatisr not true. Itis! kind ofli like someone like Danny Devitos standing next tor me, Tdon't care whaty youf feedh him, how many ofthoses subs hei is goingto eat on TV,hei isr notg goingtob be Int the 8o's wel hada a challenge ont thel DuBois watershedi int the fact that wel had ay very high deer population, anda deer population cand change the underlying vegetation. What! happened was, we had hayscented ferns, stripedr maple, andl beecht that arer not sustainable. Overt the course of 40) years we were ablet tou uset forest practices; the city: supported us by calling ust toi the carpet and provingt those tactics work. You: seei itir int the paperv where Bobbie distributes Deer Management, Assistance Program coupons fort the city watershed. Thati is tol help! keept the deer populationi inb balance, sot the deer don'te eat Sot that 40-year period of different practices has brought ust toa aj point, where we are ablet tos getr natural regeneration ont thet forestf floor. Isith here ands say this pretty briefly. Overi that 40 years wel built partnerships' with the! PAI Department of Conservation! Natural Resourcest that ownst thel land south oft the watershed; wel have built relationships with the PA Game Commission which ownst the landr north ofthe watershed. The beste examplel can give oft thati isi in1 1991 when therev was a critter calledt the Gypsy Moth that was defoliating thel landscape. The City of DuBois hadi to go ont their own andh bid ona aspray program. The spray program cost 30% moret than what it cost tos spray public land, because wev were small. This pasty yeart thes same insect, now calledt the Spongy Mothb because ofp political correctness, we were ablei top partner withi the PA Game Commission and: savei the city over $40,0001 because the Game Commission: allowedi ust top piggy back ont their lowest competitive bid for their 120,000 acre program; So,t those partnerships, thet factt that we area able to geti firstg generation, wea are atay very smalls snapshot in time. Wel knowf for thep past 40) years we couldn'tregenerate ourf forest. We alsol knowi that. John DuBois himself when! hel had! hiss sawmill here in DuBoisi in the 1880'st tot the early 1900's is whent that watershed  doing andy whatt the city'sb been doingf for the past 40) years. here. Bernardo: said hel had al lot ofc questions.  and address everyone.  thati is against conventional wisdom. 6'4". Thati ist thev wayt trees aret too.  themselves outo ofhouse and home andy we can regenerate that forest.  DuBoish has 4,000 acres. Thosea aret the partnerships) we need today.    88  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  was originally cleared. That's whent thati forests started. Now wel have: a mature forest. Over5 50% ofthe foresti isi inr medium tol large sawt timbers size class. Wes shouldh have! balanced age classes where wel have sapling, wholet timber, smalls saw timber, medium andl larges sawt timber are equally balanced. We are Sot through partnerships withi the Game Commission: andl DCNR youd can go out andy walk for miles and unless your recognizet the yellow paint ont the city boundary, whichy wel had: surveyedi inz 2005 fort the first time andl has been maintained everys since. Unlessy yous seet that yellow paint,) youy wouldn'trecognize the silviculture. Because whati is happening on! DCNR land, ong game lands, and ont the City of DuBoisis landscape management: approach ofc cooperation, collaboration, tol keept the flora, the fauna, andt the quality ofv water, whichi is number one tou us, ina as good ofc condition asi it can! be., Withi thats said, we have to dos silviculture practices. We have donet thinninga as many asf fouri thinning'sint the sames stand, whichi is unheard ofbutt that wast the concepty we got back from the Northeast Forest Experiment: Stationy withi the lead: scientist Davel Markwitz. Wel had! him outt there, hes said guys you can'tr regenerate youl have to! keep thinning. So, wet thinnedi ittoi the point nowt thati itisg good. Maturet trees 130 years old are; 30) years beyondr market maturity; anda approaching biologicalr mature whichr means itis goingt to starti falling apartif we don'tr managei ita aggressively. Wel havet tos startar newi forestt throughas series oft thoset things, those shelter woodo cuts where wep put sunlight ont thei forestf floori to gett thati regeneration: started. Wer needt to manipulate they vegetation thati is ont thet forestf floor tor reduce the Beech, Striped Maple, and thet fern so thati the oak, maple, and cherry can come up; but not doingit itt tot the point that the Birch overtakesi it. We want diversity. Ifwe don't doi itright, wey willg gett toor mucho of one species. We have a situation, ify you recall wheny youa accepted thel bidi in April,I said we mightg get! backlash att this! becausei thisi is the first time, wel have done ar regeneration cutt thati is visible. We didi it onp purpose. Wel havet thes shortway, Interstate 80t tot thel North, wel have Anderson Creek tot the South, we! havet two oily wellr roads on! East andy West and we confinedt that areaa andi made it publicly visibles sot that people couldI learn what sustainable forestry looks!I like. The besta analogyl can givey youi is,1 I'mg gray! haired, many peoplei int this room have gray! hair, we allk know someonet that hadaj jointr replacement;i ify youe ever hada aj joint replacement the weeka after surgery) youa area askingy yourself whyi int thel heck didI dot this, six months after joint replacement yous say why didI Iwaits so Iong. Thati is whatf forest management is, ast the PennDOT people say it'sat temporary inconveniencei foraj permanenti improvement. At temporary unsightliness to starta ar newi forest. Idon't carei ifitist the! birthing of an: animal, ort thel birthing ofab baby, ort the! birthing ofaf forest, thatp processis nots sightly! but what comes fromi itisg great. That is whati is happening ont the watershed. You are going tol havet tos seer more ofit, because this window: may not! be open for long. Public pressure may causet the deer herdto go up orj justr naturals sessional will make the deer herdt to gou up. The average! hunteri in PAis 579 yrs. old. We: ash hunters dor not havet the capacityt tol keep deeri inb balancei int their habitat. Thoset type My finals statementi is, ast the mayors said wel have been out ont they watershed. Ifanyone challenges, doesn'tbelieve, wantst tos seef fort themselves, wea are here; my son Kenny, myself, andy wel haveas staff of other foresters. We wouldI lovet tot take) you out andt teachy you abouti forestr management. Ron learneda lota aboutith backi inz 2000/2001 when we worked together. Itisac complicated science that goes against conventional wisdom. Itisas sounds science, whichs started right here inF PAby Gifford Pinchot and. Joe Rothrock; those people aret thel leaders offorestryi in PA. Wea arel herei in Penn's Woods. Pennsylvanial in itself, ifity was a country oni its own, would only bes secondt tot the Uniteds States of America in hardwood production. Thati ish how good ouri forests are,t thati is how wellt theya arer maintained. Mr. Kane askedi ifa anyone had questions. Councilwoman Bernardol hadac question. Therei is or wasa program offered tor reduce carbonf footprint. Carbon creditsy youk know what I'mt talking about. Kane said yes Carbon Credits. Bernardo: askedi ifhe! knows ofa anywherei inF PA, anya areas that are participatingin thiss swap out? Kanes said there ares several carbon: sequestration programs. We: actually participatedin one aboutt three orf foury years ago where youy woulds sign up andp procrastinate: at timber sale: andt they wouldg givey yous somef financial compensation fort that. The challenge wel have, andIhavev worked with Penn State Department ofE Ecosystem Science and Management andt the PAF Forest Products Association; therea arer many ofu ust that believe thatt the way they calculate carbon sequestration! inF Pennsylvanial is not efficiente enough fort the PAf forest. Int that calculation1 the reimbursement: for carbon only gives abouta 7-5year return ont the carbont thati is sequestered! ina aj product. WellF PAI hardwoods are! high quality, when someone makes something out oft that PAH hardwoodi itl lasts a lot! longer than; 7-5years. Ifyoul look att the filing. cabinets inr my officet thep paper has been aa around: al lot! longert than7 7-5) years. So, we! haver not boughti intot the carbons sequestration, gamey yet becausei there arer many peoplet that are usingt the carbon sequestration game asay way of preservingi forests and lettingt them get too old and then not be necessarily efficient ore effective. The best examplel Ican give oft thati isi ifyoul havel lookeda atac color infrared photograph ofaf forest, ayoung vibrant foresti isb brightr red consuming carbon creating oxygen through photosynthesis. Amaturingi forest has a duller: shade ofr red withl littlet tints ofg gray; because as thatf foresti falls aparti it's decomposing creating carbon andi iti isr notg generating asr muchp photosynthesis  terribly out ofb balance. Thev whole state ofF PAist terribly out ofbalance.  ofthings wel havet tor mitigate manage for; we collaborate, cooperate, to dot that.    89  City Council Meeting Minutes- - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  and consuminga asr much carbon or creating as much oxygen. So, we are! holding off, because those carbon deals arep prettyl longt term, andv wea are waitingf for ab better deal thati ist more accurate to whati ittrulyis Bernardo askedi iftherei is any negotiationt toh his knowledge, can) your negotiate? Kane saidy you can negotiate like Is said wes signed up: for some andi ity was a good deal for our clientst that didi it. Bernardo said people probably wonder why we aret talking about carbon, then proceededi to aski ifk Kane wantedt toi talk aboutt the! basis oft the carbonp program and! how itise exchanged with companies sop people will understand. Kane: stated that there ares some! big companies that arei involvedi in carbon exchange and thati isi ify youa are ani investor company, yout tend tol have some type ofe energy consumption. The use of fossilf fuels create carbon dioxide int thea air. Forests consume carbono dioxide through photosynthesis turningi itir into oxygen. So, these companies, becausei theya ares SO extremely profitable, are! buying carbon creditsi ine exchange for carbont they produce throught their industrial processes: Avery simple answert to whaty youa askedi me toe explain. The big players are Microsoft because they; are extremely profitable, Jeff Bezos atA Amazonis doingi itb because oft ther number of vehicles they! have ont ther roads and because they are extremely profitable. It's conscientious money. Itisn nota al lot different than Carnegie funding! half Mr. Kanes said he! has ani interesting history, worked for ar man byt the name of Keith! Horn for 30) years,a  before wel buyi in.  your library one hundred) yearsa ago. Justac differentr need.  Elliot Gelfand askedi if Mr. Kanel had his own company, orv withi the government... decade agol Ibought the company, andt threer months ago Isoldi itt tor my son.  Mayor Walsha askedy what'st ther name ofy your company.  Kenny said, "Generation Forestry.  Kane: saidt ther reason fort thati is forestrys goesi ing generations, landowners go through generations, andl  just explainedf forests go throughs succession whicha are generations. Proclamation- - Constitution' Week- - September 17-2 23,2023  Readi ini it'se entirety by MayorWalsh  PROCLAMATION CONSTITUTION WEEK September 17-23, 2023  WHEREAS: The Constitution oft the United States of America, thes guardian of our liberties, embodies thep principles ofl limited government in al Republic dedicated to rule byl law; and WHEREAS: September 17, 2023, marks thet two hundred thirty-fourth anniversary of the framing oft the Constitution oft the United States of America byt the Constitutional Convention;  and    90  City Council Meeting Minutes- - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  WHEREAS: Itist fitting andp propert to accord official recognition tot this magnificent document andi its memorable anniversary, andt toi the patriotic celebrations which will commemorate it; WHEREAS: Public Law 915 guarantees thei issuing ofa proclamation each year byt the President oft the United: States of America designating September 171 through 23 as Constitution Week, NOW, THEREFORE, thel Mayor and City Council byv virtue oft the authority vestedi int them ast the Mayor and City Council oft the City of DuBois dol hereby proclaim the week of September: 17  and  through 23 as  CONSTITUTION WEEK  and ask our citizens. to reaffirm the ideals the Framers oft the Constitution had in 1787by vigilantly protectingt the freedoms guaranteed1 to ust through this guardian of our liberties. INI WITNESS WHEREOF, have! hereunto set my hand and causedt the Seal of the City of DuBois to! be affixedi this 11th day of September oft the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-three. Ther motion wasr madeb by Aughenbaugh: ands secondedl byl Reasinger that Council proclaim the week of September 17- -23,2 2023 Constitution' Weeki int the City of DuBois. Roll call was asf follows: Bernardo, yea; Mayor Walshs said we will need approvalt tos send the Planning Recommendation: tol Ms. Cherry fort the Mayory Walshs saidt the recommendation fromi thel Planning Commission wast tot turni this over tol Ms. Cherry The motion asr madel by Dietz ands seconded! by Bernardot that Council send Skill Games to Ms. Cherry for Councilman Reasinger hadac question ont ther motion! he requestedi more detail. (someone fromi the audience interrupted andt thel Mayora addressedi their question). Mayor Walshs saidt the Skill Games ordinance... rightnow, wel have ordinances. : Mayor Walsh asked Codel Enforcement/Zoning Officer Lawhead toa answert the question. Lawheads statedt this deals with mechanical devicel licensing of games that are coin operated stuffI liket that. The Skills machines! keep popping up andt there are gettingt to be more andr more oft them. Aloto ofr municipalitiest throughout PAhavel broken downt their ordinance al little bitr more. Skills machines) youp paya a higher feei to! have themi int their municipalities as comparedt toj justa videos game. Inc our ordinance, itneeds updated, it hasn'tb been updatedi inal Iot ofy years. More andi more Skills machines are coming. Wei thoughti it wast timet to update everythings get itr morer modernized: and get thei fees more regulated. Thati is whati the Planning Commission is recommending. Councilman Reasingera askedi iftherei isaf fees schedule witht that; Solicitor Cherry confirmed. * Solicitor Cherry stated we: arer not reinventing the wheell here, wel lookeda at, thankst to Mr. Lawhead, the City ofJ Johnstown's ordinancei that doesi inf fact dot this. They had quite al bit ofh help becausel Ibelievet they are coming out ofbankruptcy. Theyl had professional consultants dot this. To gett tot thel bottom ofitt the licensingf feet thati is used by. Johnstown,! believe Planning proposed this as welli for DuBois:. Juke Box will be established: at $100 per machine andt thereafter updated byt the City Schedule of Fees! by resolution. My recommendation: andI Ithink wet talkeda abouti this at Planning asv well, because we need an ordinance tos sett the! base andt then Councili liftheyd don'tI like thosef fees can changei ith by resolution. Ithinky we need and ordinancet thats spellsi it outh because we get these questions allt thei time. Pool Tablev willl be established at$ $75 per machine andt thereafter updated byt the City Schedule ofF Fees by resolution by the Council of the City of DuBois. Wet talkeda aboutv videos, skill, andr mechanical devices: Non-Paying devices would have ana annualf fee established: at $100 andt thereafter updatedi int the City Schedule ofF Fees byr resolution of City Council; Gamblinga and Skills Devicess some ofv which are regulated by theF PLCBS some arer not they are deemed as Skill, the annual: feet there wouldb bee established: at $350 per machine thereafter also  Aughenbaugn,; yea; Reasinger,yea; Dietz,) yea; Walsh,) yea. Motion passed5 5-0. Solicitort top prepare: some ordinances. We will dot them individually.  Planning Recommendations Skill Games  forad city ordinance. Council's wishes. preparation ofa an ordinance.    91  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  changed! byar resolution. Pver readi it over; we! have talkeda abouti it, andr really at Planningt they were very satisfied thati is whyt theya are sendingi ittoy you. Obviously oncei itiso draftedy you: are goingt to be able to critiquei it andp puti in ort take outa anythingy youv wouldl like. Atleast youy willl have al basis fromy whichto Mayor Walsh askedi ift there were any more questions ont the motion. Therev were none. Roll cally was as follows: Bernardo, yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger, yea; Dietz, yea; Walsh, yea. Motion passed5-0. Backi inz 2015 andt this was, also, ifiremember correctly Mr. Lawhead, wel looked at ordinances for our residential: rentals from otherr municipalities. Wet took the very! best and! brought iti into an ordinance: that was presentedt to Council as Council Billl No. 1908. Itpassed atf first reading Octoberz 22, 2015, but itmet with greato opposition byl landlords. So, ity was ultimately voted down on February 4,2 2016. Wet thinkt there ares somei issues that wel havel because wel have had fires, thet firemen dor not! knowy who's on what floor, we're notl lookingf for thei identify oft these individuals but numbers. There arei individuals who are disabledt that arer not ont thet first floor. The fire department needst toh have an awareness ofv whether we have somebody withs special needst thati is ont the second ort third floor. Again, ther need forar registration, because wel havel landlords that arer noti int the community, but theya are actually out ofs state. Therei is documentation: that wer need and we don'th havei it, we don't have ownership. Ihavei fought atc court with Mr. Lawhead because we! have situations where wel havei instances ofb blight and are having difficulty with instances ofI landlords. I'mi nott talkinga aboutt theyl livei in Brookville, Italking aboutt they! live out ofs state andy wel have not! beena ablet to correct that problem. Ithink Plannings position was, thes situation has now become sucht thati itist timet tot take as secondl look atit. That does not mean that Councily will notr make changes or ultimately pass it. Atl least thesep problems that we! havel been! havingy willt then bei inap position tob ber reconsidered! by Council. You can make ac determination, nowi ist thet time to adopt this ordinance. Councilwoman! Bernardo askedt tos speak. Shes said. Jen, you andI havet talkeda aboutt this multiplet times, thisi isj justt the backbones oft the ordinance not the details ofv what goes ont that registration form. Thisis where Ilook aty you: as ap property ownera ands someone very much concerned: aboutt the blight in our community andt thes state ofv what's! happening. Iknow youa are reall busy, butl wanty yout tol know thatt this isr nota and ordinance, thisi isas separater registration formi thati isg goingt tor needs some work. Ihaves some Jennifer. Jackson: said she does! knowa andl I'ma al landlord; therei isr nota al landlord association! inl DuBois Solicitor Cherrys statedi itisn nota a group, butthey came, andi they protested andi thati isy what happened. Theyf formedt their own group, andt theyr reviewedi it, andt they were notp pleased withi ita and Council didn't Bernardo: said mayl bes sob boldt to say, Jeny you andl Ihave been having these conversations. Ont thei form ito didn'ta ask anything aboutp people ori income ora anything likei this. Youl knowt thet types ofp people who stormed! here. They weren't ourg good properties owners likey youa are. Itisav very delicate: situation withouta ac doubt. I'm glady yous are willingt to work oni it. Thisi isas safetyi issue we don't want tol knowy what yourr renti is. Itisr not af financials statement; itiss something that can! bet used notj justt to sitini the codes Jackson: askedi ff.thisi istol handlet thel blight. Iknowitg goest tot ther magistrate, couldt there! be more ofa push tof fight. Igo around ands see the different properties, Iknow Zaci has his handsi full,i ist therer more of afine ors something ify you arer not maintaining these properties asa arental; alot oft them dol live out ofthe Nancy Moorei interrupted ands said there were responsible landlords who came anda approached me and came tot ther meeting and supportedt the ordinance. Cherry said therej justy wasn't enough. Cherry addressed. Jackson, PAI has al blight statue and one oft thei things wel havet talked abouti ist thatit might! ber more effectivei ifwe wenta after landlords rathert thani tenants. Wel have absentee landlords who arer nota aware oft the conditions oft their properties! here. Thati is whatl Ithink this ordinance may be able top promote, sot thaty we coulds start! havingal little more control. Wel havel beeni in court, andi itreally doesn't do any goodt to go aftera at tenant, don'tt thinkt they can afford thet fine. Ithink al landlord could putp pressure ont thet tenant. Wel have properties where people are hoarders and! havei things all the way upt tot the ceilinga andy wel havel had cases wheret there ares small children int these! buildings. They are being  work. Reasingers said, my firsto ordinance as Councilman.  Rental Properties  samples but nott tot the details ofv what wer need.  correct. Lawhead confirmed there is not; he doesn'tthinki itisa active anymore.  proceed withit. That was av whilea ago.  officeb butt tol beu used byt the EMS andt thet fire department. area. Ifthere was al heftier finei to deter whati is happening.  rearedi int thise environment. Itisjustr not! healthy.    92  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  Jackson askedi ifthet threeb blighted propertiest thaty you: aret tearing down, we'rea allt threel landlord. Lawheado confirmed. Lawheads statedt thati two oft them are deceased andr no onet took over thel heir of Kristen Vida askedi ifthe ordinance willa address student housing. Cherry statedi it does not, there was discussion: aboutt that and one oft thea areas ofc discussion is do we want to segregate student housing. Do we wantt to..the definition off family! has really changed. We can nol longer use thati in an ordinance, to say we wantt tol have singlef families andt those types ofthings. Idon'ts seei thatt therei iss student housing there, butl dot think we cana addressi itint this ordinance. Maybe: atle least. --youd opened thet topicf for discussion. Mark Sullivan wantedi to aski ifit woulda applyt toi the housinga authority too. Lawhead: saidi thati isaSection 8. Sullivan: said event thel highr rises, Ms. Bernardo talkeda abouth hoarders ont the fire department side, we goi into al lot ofH Housing Authority propertiesv with conditions like youd describe. Benardo clarifiedi inside thea apartments. Sullivan saidi inside oft the: apartments. Bernardo wonderedi ifthe apartment managers would! have some oversight ont that. Lawheads saidt that HUDI has requirements, they doy yearly inspections and Cherry addedt they preempt us. Lawhead said itisafederal program sol would think they : Cherry saidt theyy wouldp preempt us. Thati isa a serious problem especially wheny you! have people like Ther motion wasi made! by Bernardo: and: seconded! by Aughenbaugh that Council turn thel Rental Properties Ordinance overto Ms. Cherryf for preparation. Walsha askedi ifthere wasa a question ont the motion. Reasinger saids sot there is goingt to bear registration,) you are goingt to havet tor registery your rentals, willt there! be: ani inspection;i ist that part oft the ordinance. Cherry: said noi itisr not. Reasinger asked ifthaty wouldb bea as second ordinancei ift they decide. Cherry said that wouldh be: ani iffy thing. Reasinger said it'sal little different. : Cherrys said whent theya aret tryingto goi int there tos someone's! home, Ithinkt that isa differents situation. Ithink we deal only witht the exterior. Aughenbaugh: said once wes seei it, we can look atita and discussi it. Bernardo: addedr maybey we coulda add something! like whent thet tenant moves out. Thatg gets prettyi iffy. Walsh: askedf forav vote ont ther motion roll cally vote was asi follows: Bernardo, yea; Cherry statedt thatt the cityl has and ordinance entitled. Junkyards Chapter: 248 oft the Code of Ordinances. Where wet thinki itisl lackingisi inr motor vehicles. Motor vehicles arej junk vehicles aret fined ort they are listeda asj junk. But wel have some situationsi in this community where auto parts, junk cars, vehicles that cannot possibly runa ares stackedt up ont thes sidei theya arer not coveredb bya appropriate fencing. Ithink one of thei issuest that was brought upy was McCracken' Run RD. lt'sabeautiful road and wel have ap property theret that wet think that this does nota address. So,i itv wast the direction ofF Planningto mey wast that we really need toi fixt this, andr myr response was Council needst to directr met to draft somethings soi that everyone cant take al look atit. Walsha askedf for Council's wishes ont the recommendation: from Planning aboutj junkyards. Ther motiony was made by Reasinger and seconded! by Dietz that Councili toi turnt this over tot the City Solicitor forp properp preparation ofa an ordinance onJ Junkyards. Roll call vote was asf follows: Bernardo,) yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,) yea; Dietz,y yea; Walsh, yea. Motion passed 5-0. Mayor Walshr readap prepared statement by Mr. Nasuti concerning questions aboutt the agreement. "Therea are concerns abouta ane exclusive contract with Comcast. Iwant to assurey yout that we dor not have ane exclusive contract with Comcast. The contracti is fort the use ofthe City'sr rights-of-way. Any cable company wantingto operatei int the City of DuBois willl ber requiredt to carry outa as similara agreement. The Franchise Feei is5 5% oft the gross revenuesi for use ofthe city'srights ofv ways. We dor notg get ab breakdown oft ther number ofc customers int the quarterlyi invoice. Ther most current quarterly Franchise Feeis $29,520.29. The Franchise Fees arer received byt the General Fund. There: are no earmarked projects Aughenbaugh clarified that another cable company can come in. Walsh confirmedi they can. Dave Glass askedi ifthe contract appliedj justf for TV orl Internet too. Reasinger confirmedi ity was just cable TV. Dedication ofv waterline on Chestnut Avenuei from 14th STt to Oklahoma Cemetery Road Rusty GatesA Apartments has constructed: an 8" waterlinei int the right-of-way for Chestnut Avenue. They haver requestedt that the City of DuBois accept the dedication oft this waterline. Nasuti isr recommending that we acceptt the waterline. The motion was madel by Reasinger ands seconded! by Aughenbaugh that Councilt turnt the dedication ofv waterline on Chestnut Avenue: from 14ths STt to Oklahoma Cemetery Road overt tol Ms. Cherryf for her proper paperwork. Roll call vote was asf follows: Bernardo, yea; Aughenbaugh,  succession: andt thet third moved outo ofs state andr never looked! back.  Youl likei it, your mightr notl likei it. Buty you cans start talking aboutit it.  the elderly orp people with special needs and children.  Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Walsh,) yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Junk) Yards  Comcast Agreement  associated witht the Franchise Fee."  yea; Reasinger,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Walsh,yea. Motion passed5 5-0.    93  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  Non-Uniform Pension  Mayor Walsht turnedt the meeting overt to Councilman: Reasinger. Reasinger statedt that theyhada meeting oft the Pension! Fund Committee, wel hadi itr reviewed byt the company.-thisi ist thel Non-Uniformed Pension Fund..theyr reviewedi it,t talkeda abouti it. There wasa decision made andi it was unanimous that wer movei from 8t tot thej projected annualr rate: anticipated of7.5%, which'is calleds smoothing wheret they leveli it off overt the years. We wouldI like the. ..the Pension Fund Committee wouldl like al blessing from Councilwoman Bernardo asked Reasinger who is ont the committee. Reasinger said he doesn'tknow everyone anda ask Bob Swopef forr names. Swope named Strosky, Edwards, Nowak, DeLean, McCoy, Sol likel saidi theyr madea a decision tor movet that, what thaty will doi is pretty muchi increase thel MMOt that the city will owe butit it willp putr morer money! backi intot the Pension Fund. Ibeliève at7.51thinkit was..DeLean: at6 62%1 funded? Mr. Glass said! keepi inr mindt that is allap projection, but we: are moving from aa anticipatedi rate ofr return of8to7 7-5t tor makei itl less whimsicall based ont the market. Youv wanti to work your way to7b butlt thinky wea alla agree goingt to7 7was goingto bet too! bigofastretch. Reasinger statedt they woulda alsol liket tot form ac committee oft threep people, anA ADHOC committee of CPA's, financiala advisor, MBA's, peoplei in business, and people who! have worked with pensions. So, we can! have some knowledge sot that theb boardo can! have thel knowledge. Iknowr nothing about this pension ands stuff. Luckily, Iknows someone that.  at financial advisor thatI Itooka allo ofthiss stuff upt tol him and said explain this tor me andt that'st the onlyr reasonl Ilearned. So, wer needs some real expert help witht that. Councilman. Aughenbaugh: statedt thath he and Reasingert talkeda about! having someone with that background permanently ont the committee. That wouldh havei tol be changed.-Reasinger. said that would require votes and allo ofthis kind ofs stuff. We can do ana advisory committee Eddiea andj just havei it. Aughenbaugh: felt they: shouldr makei itp permanent, asp part oft that committee where) youl havet that person ont there, soi it doesn't.... Reasinger saidi ity would ber nicet to! have someone oni int thei future (Reasinger and Aughenbaught talked over each other.) Reasinger feels itiss something to move towards. Hei feels this woulds solvet that problemr righta awayt tor make anAdvisory Board. lama asking Councili tos support the Advisory Board: andi movingf from 8%t to7.5% anticipated rate ont the pension. Idon't knowi ifwer needa Councilwoman Bernardo had ac question, Tonia any comments ort thoughts ont the Advisory Boardt that wouldy work ont thet this because itisal Non-Uniform Pension Plan. Cherry: stated she isj justr readingt this now, dov wer not. : was all oft this notr negotiated witht thel help ofp professionals byt the representatives of the! Non-Uniformed, group. Dave Glass statedt that the anticipated rate ofreturn has nothingt to do with negotiation, that's ani internall metrict that youg guys! have used. Whaty youy would haver negotiated was whati ther multiplier and percentagest they get, andi no onei ist talkinga about changingt that. Cherry saidI understand thats sir. My questioni isi inc ordert to have donei this, wel hadt the help ofs some CPA's and some representatives, my only questioni isv werei those people, thosei individuals, involvedi int thist meeting. Walsh said no. Reasinger statedt they discussedi ity with one. Walsh: said but they were not att the physical meeting. Reasinger: stated they werer not att ther meeting. No. Walsh askedi if Council could! have some time tol look att this, hev wouldl like Christ tol beh heret too. Reasinger said yes,) yous surprised me withr me talkinga aboutt this. Walshs said, obviouslys youy werea att ther metinglcouldn'ttalk. abouti it. Let's putt this on Cherryh had oner more question;) you: said there wasa a meeting oft the Pension Committee, mayl ask does that Pension Committee! includei individuals who arer representatives oft the Non-Unfform recipients. Members ofthis Pension. Walsh confirmed! itc does. Walsh: saidi the only one thati is ont the committee that isr noti isr me, ther resta are all city employees. Reasinger saidt theya are either pensioners or payi into the pension, one ort the other. Walshs said there aret two. : someone said there ares seven people who aret to be ont the Committee. DeLeans said there are supposed tob bet two administrative employees, two union employees, two retired pensioners anda a City Councilman isv whati is supposed tol be ont the committee. Cherrys said when) yous say supposedt tol be,i ist thati inf fact whor makes upi the committee. DeLeans saidr right nowi itisr notafullo committee! because we can'tf finda any retirees that will doi it. Lawhead: saidt the ones that were oni it died, sot they aret tryingt to getr replacements. Reasingers saidt therey was one. Cherrys said soi ina addition tot the Pension Committee what you arel lookingforisa an ADHOC Committee toa adviset the Pension Committee? Reasinger confirmed. Walshs said wellp putito on the agenda for the next meeting. Walshs said! he doesn't wantt tor readt this one. Ineeda ar motion ont thet floor to accept ther resignation of our beloved Ms. Bobbie Shaffer. Aughenbaugh: statedt they decidedt they were not goingt to acceptit. Witha  the city tos go aheada andr maket that change. that'sit. DeLean saida andt ther mayor.  motion or...  the: agenda fort ther next meeting.  We'llg gof fromi there.  Acceptt ther resignation of Bobbie Shaffer    94  City Council Meeting Minutes - September 11, 2023 (Cont'd.)  heavyl heart, Bobbiel has done so manys greatt things for us overt they years andi it's been aj pleasyre to work with! her, myi insides says nob but outsides saysy wel havet tol leth her go andr move ont to retirement, wish you well; that beings said, ther motion was made! by Aughenbaugh: ands secondedb by Dietz that Councila accept the recommendation ofE Bobbie Shaffer. Roll cally vote was asf follows: Bernardo,l Iwantt tos say no butI know! howi important this istoy youy with) youri family andt ther next journey, sor reluctantly, friend,l Isayyes; Aughenbaugh, reluctantly, yes; Reasinger,) yes; Dietz,) yes; Walsh, absolutely not, no, Imeani iti no. Bernardo: saidy you! havet tov vote yes Eddie! becausel Ihadt to. Motion passed 4-1  Councilman: Shane Dietz  Justy wantt tot thank Bobbie Shafferf fort thet time and energys shel has givent to our city. Sheisavery The otherr night we! had at treet fall upt thes streeti int the middle oft the nighta and atz 2:30 a.m. wel had atleast: 25 firefighters outt there choppingupa at treei int the middle oft thenight. Then at7a.m. we had Swopey andi the city crew outt there picking up what wasl left. By7 7:30 a.m. the entire street was cleaned up.. Just thankfulf fort thep people wel havei int the city that will get upi int the middle of ther nighta andi first thingi in ther morningt to get everything! backt tot the wayi its should be. We havea  genuine and! kind person andl I'me excited for whaty yourf future brings. :  lot ofg great people. Councilwoman Diane! Bernardo  Ijust wantedt tos sayt that this year's League Conferencei isp probably one oft the most pivotal that Ihave attendedi iny years. Whatlamg goingt to dois copyt theser resolutions andg givead copyt tot the: appropriate department heads for comment beforelgot tot the Conference. I'mreallye excited because therea are  thingsl like:  Support for Community Solar Programi inF PA Speedl Timing Technology a/k/al Radarl Lidar Senior Citizens- Additional HomesteadParsteadi Exclusions Notice of Condemnation- County Sales Increasingthe penaltyf for driving over firel hose. Postt traumatic policies fori first responders. Stormwater. Management Policy  Personal note, ther morningy we werei inc court Iwantt tot thankt thei individuals who came upt tor me and expressed condolences because priort to goingt to courtr my four-leggedi friend died. AsIwas sittingint the holdinga areaa and someone: asked howr my 4-year-old was, itjust! broke my heart. Thank you fort those Express my profound appreciation tol Ms. Shaffer. Ms. Shaffer, it was ap privileget to workw with youa all of thesey years. Youl have ane encyclopedic! knowledge ofa all documents within this city, andi ith has always beenr reallys so comfortingto be: ablet tot talk about thingst thatithoughtiremember andi tor runi itby, you. Iprobably have the answer,t the answer willo come, Iwast thinking ofr retaining our secretaryf fort the Planning Commission. She askedi ifthaty was possible. Bobbies said no. Mayor Walsh said she can'ts shel hast to work ath her newj job. Moore: said she knows, she hadt toa ask.  condolences. Solicitor" Toni Cherry  Ithasb beena ap privilege to workv withy you. Planning Commission Chairwoman, Nancy Moore  Mayor Edward Walsh  Bobbie,l don'tk know what tos say. Youl hada al hell ofa1 14-yearr run withi me. This lasty yearlknowy youy went throughh hell;) yous are alwayst thei firstp persont that goty yelled at when they came through the door. You tooki ity with grace. Youl have! been accusedo ofal lot ofs stufft that your never did;l appreciate your dignity. Youl knowt theys say everyonei isr replaceable, Ijust don't! know about this one. Your replaced another person, Fran! Lias, whol left usf for1 thes same thing, sher retired. Thank) youf fromt the! bottom ofr fmy heart. Thereb beingr not furtherb business tot transact, the motion wasi madeb by Aughenbaugh and seconded by Bernardoi that Councila adjourn. Roll call vote was asf follows: Bernardo, yea; Aughenbaugh,yes;  Adjourn  Reasinger,; yea; Dietz,) yea; Walsh, yea. Motionp passed5 5-0. as  ATTEST:  APPROVED:  nEl