109  City Council Meeting Minutes - November 13, 2023  City Council Chambers, City Building, 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania on! Monday, November 13, 2023, at6 6p p.m.; Council convened att their regular City Council Meeting withVice-President Councilwoman Bernardoi int the Chair. Other Council Members present were. JamesA Aughenbaugn, Shane Dietz, and Pat Reasinger. Also present were Citys Solicitor, Toni Cherry; Interim City Manager/City Engineer/Public' Works Director, Chris Nasuti; Police Chief, Blaine Clark; Public Works Superintendent, Scott Farrell; Tax Collector, Lisal LaBrascal Becker; CodeE Enforcement/Zoning Officer, Zacl Lawhead; Redevelopment. Authority Director, Joe Mitchell; Finance Officer, DeLean Shepherd; City Controller, David  Volpe; Corporal Randy) Young; and/ Administrative Secretary, Korbi Slocum.  Absent: Mayor Eddiel Walsh. Additions to Agenda Approval of Minutes  The meeting was calledt to ordera at6p.m. andt the Pledge ofA Allegiance wasl led by Bernardo. Bernardo calledf for amotiont toe excusel Mayor Eddie Walshf from the meeting. Ther motion was madel by Aughenbaugh ands seconded! byF Reasingerto excuse Walsh. Roll calla ast follows: Reasinger,yea; Dietz, Ther motion wast madeb byA Aughenbaugh: ands seconded! by Dietz that Council approve the City Council Meeting Minutes of October 23, 2023, asp presented. Roll call was asi follows: Reasinger,yea; Dietz,yea; Bemardoi readt the amounts and questioned why there wasi no amount! listedi for PennVEST. Nasuti The motiony wasr madel by Dietza ands secondedb by Reasinger to approvet the Registry of Invoices asf follows: Autol Draft Check Register by CheckI ID dated November9, 2023, int the amount of$ $29,619.63; andt the General Fund Purchase Orderl Listing! by Vendor Name dated! November 9,2 2023, int the amount of $955,633.85. Roll calla asf follows: Reasinger, yea; Dietz,) yea; ematayeAgerhye Motion Before openingt thet floorf for public comments, Bernardo offered! her congratulations to Pat Reasinger, Jenn. Jackson and Elliot Gelfand ont theiry wins int ther recent election. She also congratulated our 'watchdogf for the city, DavidVolpe, onk his re-election. ande extended congratulations' to Dick Whitaker who not only was ablet tov wini for Sandy7 Township (Supervisor), buta also a wini for Treasure Lake. "Good Dr. Rice presented! hiss suggestioni regarding downtown parking. "Th have mades some suggestions tot the Redevelopment. Authority. Some thinkt therei is enough parking, and some do not. Personally,! Idor not thinkt therei is enough parking. Withi ther newh businesses opening- - the Mexican restaurant: and Hibachi grillo openings soon- that's goingt to bea al lotr more parkingi issues int town. Ithink it'sac detrimentto downtown that) you don'th have sufficient parking ort the perception ofs sufficient parking." Thep problem witht the Scribner Ioti is no onel knows ite exists. There arer no directional. signs. How are peoplet to! know where parkingi is locatedi iftherea arer nos signs? Ifwe wanti toi increase tourism, there Hea and Eddie Tatel have puti in and offer ont thel beauty schooll building (also! known ast the cosmetology building). Their recommendation: isthe city would demolishi the! building andh he and1 Tate would reimburset the cost. Int the end, it would! bea atr no costt tot the city. The others suggestion we hadi is, once the! beautys schooly wouldo come downa amuralv willl bep painted ont the side oft the exposed building! byt the Bernardo asked Shirley Dahroughf from Downtown DuBoist tot talk about whati theya are working on about thep perception ofp parkinga andt the parkingstudy. Shirley replied, "Iknowt there was a parking study conducted overt the summer. The study did, inf fact, state wel have adequate parking. Imadei the statement thati itist thep public's perception that we dor not! because they dor not know wheret these parking! lots/parking isa available fort themt to park. Thaty was somethingt thatl Ia addressed: att that Council meeting and wantedt tof formulate: a solutiont tot that- - one ofthem being directionals signs. They: are needed comingt from both directions directingt them to wheret therev would! bep parking: available.  yea; Berardo, yea; Aughenbaugh, yea. Motion passed 4-0. City Council MEgAEnGR-OCNRRRS Bernardo,) yea; Aughenbaugh,yea. Motion passed4 4-0. explaineditiso only ont thel listt thes second meeting ofe eachr month.  Registry of Invoices  passed4 4-0. Public Comments job, everybody." Dr.J Jeff Rice-T TreasureLake  needs tol ber more parking.  galleryt tor make ite extremely attractive.    110  City Council Meeting Minutes - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  Updatedr maps online, likea a Google directional thingt that wouldo direct people to parking. Aloto ofp people uset theirp phone tol look up parkingr near me'. Goingt those differenta avenues toy provide thatt top people Bernardot then askedi ifshei is thinkinga about puttingt together ar nice brochure with! DuBois businesses: and parking ont them? Dahrough replied, "Yes. Wea already! have onei int the design phase. We justr need to finishu upa af few things oni it. We: also wantt tor re-do the map becausel Iam nott toot fond oft ther mapt that was designed overt thes summer. We wanti tor re-work that map tor makei itr more readable. Bernardo inquired wheret these! brochures willl bea available. Dahrough replied, "All merchants, hotels andt the Dr.F Rices said, "Tt thinki it'sag greati idea; however,! don't thinki it willy work right. Number one, there need to bes signs." Nasutis said, "Thes signs are up. Julie Stewartr requested directional: signs on Brady Street. PennDOT-approved: signs are on Scribneri inb both directions, Long in! both directions, and Washingtoni in both directions. Rice said," "h haver nots seent them." Berardo commented, "Don'ty yout think we are used to, because wel live! here, we go past things allt thet time withoute event thinking abouti it. Talkinga about people who arel lookingf forp parking, theyy will ber more aware oft the signs because they arel lookingi for Bernardo asked! Mitchell ifhev wouldI liket to addressi ther matter. Shel knows Council does not ownt the cosmetology building. Joe stated," "Wel havel had multiple people puti inf for the cosmetologybutding The Redevelopment. Authority Boardv votedt tot table any further: action until allt those proposals cank be vetted andt thel best one cank bes selected." Dr. Ricer responded, "Ifeelt thel best decision would bef for Dr. Ricei feels the Scribner) lotisp poorly! lit andi ist unsafef for people to be walking atr night. Bernardo: asked Dahroughi ifs she had ane extra copy oft the parking studyf for Dr. Rice. She did not have one with her! but willg get onet for him. Dr. Ricea askedi ifhe could directa a questiont tol Dahrough. "Asnew businesses come in, wherev willp people park." Dahrought replied, "Int the existing! lotsa and off-street parking." Dr. Rices stated," "Perception ist reality." Dahrough rebutted, "Thej perceptioni is therei is not enough storefront parking. Therei isp parkinga available,) youj justh havet tov walk al block. Everybody wantst to park righti int front ofwheret they're goinga and, unfortunately,' witht thel layout of our downtown that does not exist." Jenn. Jackson: added, "Thath happensi inal loto ofs small towns. You don't parkr right outsidet the Bernardo: suggested thatD Dr. Rice get together with Dahrought to continuet the dialog. Att that point, Dr. Jackson! hads several comments. "la am vehemently opposed tot tearing down ab building. But that'sj just me. Ihaveb been downtown for 30 yearsandt therei is parking. You justr need tov walk. Joe knows howl "What does Attorney's Fees ont the agenda mean? Ist this discussion? Ist this payment? What does Attomey'sFees: actually mean ont the agenda." Reasinger stated, "lhadt that put ont the agenda. Iknow last timet top payf forp people's attorneyf fees. Idon't believe ity was aj public meeting. ljustt thought you deserve ap publicr meeting. There's goingt tol bea a Grand. Jury ands somep people gots subpoenaed to goa and alot oft times theyy wanta an attorneyt to gov witht them. Ijust wantedt to discuss who would be propert to pay for and who wouldn't. Int thep past we'vep paidf fore employees andac couple of citizens, butt they were tiedt tot thei fire department. Innocent peoplet thatj justg got pulledint tol be questioned. So,! Ijust wantedto "Int that vein, then, ist thereap possibility ofc considering payingt the legalf fees for the citizens that hadt to putt thei injunction: againstt the City?" Reasingerr replied, "That'sr not whati this legalf fee was intended for." Mechling then asked," "Is therea ap possibility of openingt that up?" Reasinger replied, "lt would depend on "Chris,l I'mg gladt tos seey youl here!" Referring tot twoi itemsf fromi the last meeting( (Juniata Dama and Anderson Creeks studies), "Wast thereaR RFQ done orv why wasn'tito done?" Nasuti responded. "We did not do one. We were undert the gun ont that with emergency: services. So, fort the professional services we wenty witht the professionals wet thought could dot thej job there. Wel hadac coordination meetingwith  travelingt to andf from andt through ourt town."  Chamber. They willh bea available widespread."  signs."  parking." Bernardo: said," "Thatv would! beu upt tot the Redevelopment Authority."  door."  Ricel left the meeting. Jenn. Jackson- -42N.Bradyst feel aboutt the cosmetology building"  see what everyone thought about that.. Andi wantedi it outi inp public."  DebA Mechling-DuBois the board." Ron) Trzyna-DuBois    111  City Council Meeting Minutes- - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  DEP. The project wasl laid out. As strictt timeline was puti forthi fort that. So, we're goingt to got througha and dot those studiest to determine whatt thea actualp projects will have tol be: afterthis analysis. We'llo dot the RFQsf fort the design." Trzyna askedf for clarification ast to whati the costs listede entailed. "Is this forj just thes study alone? Its seems theres should have been an RFQ done. Was it really demanded! by thel DEP?" Trzyna also brought up that there are people visitingt the City Garage andl how they go there every day andi they'ret theref fora a couple ofhours. "Ihave! been gettingr multiplet things ofv where supposedly verbal abusei ist taking place from the one individual. Iknowy yout talkedt tot ther mechanic. Have yout talked to anyone else? Havey you set up a policy ora anythinge else associated with going overt there?" Nasutir replied, "There arer nop policies. laskedi ift they! had: anyt troubles ora any concerns." Trzyna said, "The reasont they arer nott talkingi ist theya ares stills scared Herm Suplizio wills somehow getb backi int thisp position. Isthere liabilityi ifheg gets! hurt over there? We'ret talkings severalh hours hes sits overt there." Nasuti willi follow up. "Onel last question. When will the budgeth be available tot thep public2 Nasuti replied, "Its should be put onlinet tomorrow. Wep passedi ito outt to Council tonighta andi it willl be availablet tomorrow ont the website." Joness stated, "There's not oner repair garagei int the Cityt that I've beent toi that does not havea asign righti in front oft the offices saying, 'No Visitors Beyond this Point forl Insurance Purposes'. Anythingo could! happen "Chris, cany youp provide an update ont thei forensic audit? Ithought that wast to! be completedt this month." Nasutir replied, "Thef forensic audit original schedule was to be done May of2024. The auditors thought they couldh havei it doneb by November: 2023. Wel have not! hadt the cooperation1 from the Attorney General and getting thei information! back they retrieved. The: auditors can'tmovei forward until wel have allt that information! back. We are working with DCED, our Solicitor tot try and get all thei information back sO we "Idon'tk knowv what projecti ity wasf for the Tannery Dam witht the lights ands sidewalks. Inrecent days there was ana article publisheda andi itv went back and quoted! Herm sayingt there would! ber restrooms puti inc over there. I'my wondering whateverk happened? Why aret there nor restrooms? Iknowi it was part of the scope ofthev work." Nasuti replied," "It was notp part oft the scope ofv work fort that project. We do havet that on our Master! Plan ofp puttingr restrooms overt there. That's still on our Master Plan. As soon as we canf find After af fews seconds, Nasutis said, "Youl look concerned witht that," Vida replied, "It thought thati Iread thati ity was! like $490,000 andi ity wast toi includer restrooms." Nasutis said, "Id don't know whatv was said, but the grantv we got wasi forv walkways andli lighting. Specifically, walkways andl lighting and that's all we could dov withit. Aughenbaugh: added," "Irememberit! beings saidi it'dber nice top puti restrooms over there. Just hadt toi figure out howi to dot thata ats some point." Nasutis said, "The! best plani ist to put them backby thep pavilion." Mitchelli interjected, "Chris, that granty wasi for $400,000 but only $180,000 wenti intoi the Tannery Dam. That was alsot the one,! Ibelieve we bought the camerat truckf for the sewer. Also, it was a $400,000 grant buti itv was segmented outt to different projects. The onlys scope was thel lights and sidewalk ata around: $180,000." Vida askedi ifthel Master Plani is available online. Nasutis said, "Iti isnot." Zacl Lawhead explained the former Fischel's) Hobby Shop wasr recently purchasedt tor renovate. Itis: zoned Industrial. Top putar new commercial use calls fora' 'conditional use' under our zoning ordinance laws. The applicant presented: att thel last Planning Commission: meeting. Everythingv was in order andi the Planning Solicitor Cherry explained," "It think thei intentr nowi isto ask Council to grantt the' conditional use' sot the commercial use can goi inthere. Itv was explainedtou ust by Mr. Wolfgang. Itlooks like a veryi interesting plan. Ithinke everyone ont thel Planning Commission was very excited aboutit. It'sar nice usei int that neighborhood withe empty! buildings. Itv would! beag goodI locationa andag goodi use." The motion wast madel by Aughenbaugh ands seconded by Dietz to approve the Planning Commission's recommendation: and grantt the conditional use' fort thisp property. Roll cally was ast follows: Reasinger, yea; Dietz,) yea; Bernardo,) yea; Aughenbaugh,yea. Motion passed 4-0.  Nasutic confirmedi that' "this wast mandated by DEP."  William Jones-I DuBois backi there." KristenVida- - ChestnutAve.  cand complete that audit. That's what we're waiting forr rightr now."  some grant moneyt to puti iti in, we'll haver restrooms over there."  Planning Commission! Recommendation- Gaven) Wolfgang, 515 Liberty Blvd.  Commissioni made ar recommendation: tor move forward."    112  City Council Meeting Minutes - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  Request authorization toz advertise for bids- - Library Air-Conditioning Upgrades  Nasutie explained, "We receivedak Keystone Grant onb behalf oft the library withs some specificationsto replace thea air-conditioning units att thel library. The! bid documents have been revieweda anda approvedb by DCED. Because wea aret theg grantee, wer needt to approve advertising1 fort this. Allt the costs willl bei through the grantt throught thel library, but wer needt to dot thel bid opening." Aughenbaugh clarified, "There willl be Ther motion was made! by Reasinger ands seconded! by Aughenbaugh toa approve advertisingf for bidsi for thea air-conditioning upgrades att the library. Rollo call was asf follows: Reasinger,yea; Dietz,yea; Bernardo, Sandy Township! Sewagel Planning- Kiwanis Estates Initiall Development: 75 EDUS Nasuti reported, "Kohlhepp Corporation: is proposingar new housing development int the Kiwanis" Trail area. Itwillh have: approximately: 751 newu units. They'rer requesting planninga approval for 75 EDUS. Asp part oft that, because the sewage comes tot the City ofD DuBois wel have to approvet thati to Sandyl Townshipi and the developer fort them tos sendi iti intol DEPf for their approvala andt then the project can proceedf forward. Butt theyl havet to get confirmationi fromi the City that wel have the capacity. We reviewed thep plans and The motion wasr madeb by! Dietz and seconded by Aughenbaught to approvet ther new housing development. Roll call was asf follows: Reasinger,y yea; Dietz,) yea; Bernardo, yea; Aughenbaugh,yea. Direct Solicitort top place al lien on1 119 West Weber Avenue: for Building Demolition "Earliert this year," Nasutis stated," "youz approved us bidding out three demolitions. One ofthem was 119 West WeberAvenue. Thatp project! has been completeda andi the groundr restored. We would liket top puta lien ont that. Thei invoicet for the contractori isi includedi in! here from Dave Romant for $8,240.00. Ther motion wasi made by Aughenbaugh: ands seconded by Dietzt to direct ours solicitort to place thel lien on 119 West Weber Avenue for $8,240.00. Roll call was asf follows: Reasinger,yea;l Dietz,) yea; Bernardo,y yea; As stated earlier, Reasinger requestedt thist topic be added tot the meeting agenda. He wantedt to discuss  no costt tot the City," Nasutir replied," "Correct." yea;A Aughenbaugh, yea. Motion passed 4-0.  cand confirmt that wel havet the capacity.  Motion passed 4-0.  Aughenbaugh,yea. Motion passed 4-0.  Attorney's! Fees  whoi is goingt tot the GrandJ Jury andy who we( (the City)t thinkv wes shouldp pay for. Nasutis said, "Id don'tt think wek knowy who's going." Reasinger: added, "Idon'ty wantt tob bes surprised! by! highl legalf fees."  Cherrye explained," "It thinki individuals who were subpoenaed: are members of Council, members ofthet fire department whoy participatedi in Community Days, and City employees. Itv wouldh be people who, really through nof fault oftheir own, that are beingo draggedi intot this. The requesti isto have counsel accompany themt tot the Grand Jurya and prepare themt tol be questioned. Ithinkt thati ity would be unwise for peoplet to got to a Grand. Jury, certainlyi individuals who have never beenp part ofthat type of process before,t to be there withouti theb benefit of counsel. We'ret talkinga abouta a very limited period oft time. We're nott talking Reasinger asked, "What fees couldb bei incurred! byt those people." Cherry replied, "Well,! Ithinkt the fees for ana attorneyt top preparet themt to answer questions. And, also, for ana attorney to demand aj proffer of proof.a proffer...sol if,i ini fact, they testifyt theya arei immune from prosecution. Ithink anybody who's innocent andl been calledi intot this! hast tol havet that. You'rer notl looking atal long engagement." "Are wet talking about like $5,000- $10,000 aj person?" Reasinger asked. "Oh, wouldi think half ofthat amountp per person," Cherry replied. "$2,500 to $5,000 max." Reasinger feelsi itv willl be! highert thant that. Nasutis said, "We'vel hada a couple ofe employees alreadys submit." "Attomeys who were nota aware ofthis top preparet themp properly," Cherry asked. "Correct," Nasuti replied. "OK. Well, then, Ihave misspoke andl lapologize. Idon't know allt the attorneys. Ihavel knowledge of one andl know he's been involved in the Grand. Jurys situation before representing other employees oft the City ofD DuBois, sol hel has some background. The other attomeyIdon'tk know." Reasinger: said," "think we've had up to $10,000 plus." Reasinger said," "'dI liket tor makea an motion that we covert those fees that we've always covered upt to $10,000. Idon'ty wantt tob bes surprised! bys someone witha$ $50,000 attomey fee. They'lIneedt to tellt their attomey.." Cherry interrupted, "That would be quitea as surprise." Reasinger added, "They'llneedi tot tell  extended. We want tor make suret thatt they're protected."  the attomey, Thisi is whatl lhave. PdI liket tor maket that motion."    113  City Council Meeting Minutes = November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  Aughenbaugh: asked, "So, cany your repeat that motion?" Reasinger clarified, "Upt to $10,000." "Whati if bills are over $10,000?" askedA Aughenbaugh. Reasingerr replied, "They're goingt tol havei tot talk tot their attorey and ber responsible. Aughenbaugh continued," "So,i is therea av way when dot this peoplet talkt to their attorneys andy we get somes sort ofp pricing! backso we'rea aware ofita and can! handle itthat way? I mean, hopefullyi ity wouldn't be $10,000." Nasuti interject, "Sot thei issuei is, until somebodys submits an invoice, I- andI don't! knowi ify youg guysk know- - whol has been subpoenaed. So, tos sayt tos somebody, 'Hey, wheny yous gety your attorey make surei it's $10,000 orl less.' 'Idon'tk know whoi thosep people are." Cherry, clarifyingt ther motion, said, "Well,! Ithinky yourr motion, sir, was thaty you wantedt the Cityt to coveri it upt to $10,000, right? Thent they unfortunatelyt find outt the! badr news whent theys submitted! ifit's over Jenn. Jackson asked, "Whati ifc one oft those people subpoenaed arei theni involvedi int the investigation: and found... whys shouldv wel bep payinga attorney feesi iftheya arei foundi tol be part ofa..." " Reasinger said, "Ican make thatp parto ofn my motiont thati ifthey arei foundg guiltyt then wev woulida askt that...' ." Cherry said, "Well, 1...justa asar response..." "a and Reasinger said,' "Restitution." Cherry continued, "Thatv was my comment on thep proffer. Iwould think any oft thel lawyers who arer representingt thesei individuals would makei thata a demand. Thaty would be,l lwouldt think, part oft theirj job sot that they arer not...that this matter comest to Elliot Gelfand asked, "Are) yous goingt to got through eachi item... yous should get ani itemized bill and should bea ablet to go through anda approve orr not approve." Nasutie explained, "They'lls still have to come heret to geta approved." Reasinger added,* "'mi not saying wes shouldn't defend themb becausei ifthere'sa City employeet that gets called down andh hast to dot that, it'sav very...I I'vet talked withs some attorneys. It'sa veryi intimidating situation. Um, sol woulds suggestt thea attorneys go with them also. Ijust don'ty want to bes surprised! bya a $20,000 or$ $30,000l legali feei for somebody andI personally think that $10,0001 for atrip tol Harrisburga anda af few! hours ofc consultation: should cover that." Nasuti clarified, "So whaty you're doing herei is not agreeingt top payt those,) you're agreeingt to entertaint those whent they! bringt those here, they're nots surprised! byt the $10,000. But they'lls still havet tos submit and geti it reviewed anda approved." Anu unidentified man: said,' "There's not,t there's nothing sayingt that wel have top pay any feesi ify you don't, if you choose nott to doi it." Addressing Gelfand'so question Cherry said, "Td don'tthinkyou're; goingt tos see an itemized! billl becauset that'sb been! held tov violatet the attorney-client privilege. Ory youc could! block certain things out. Idon't! knowh how you! have someone who'sj just! been slapped with as subpoena, hadr no knowledge andi isi forcedt toa attend, and doesn't have the rightt to say, 'No, I'm not going to come'. Idon't know howy you don't payf for that. Imean, itl becomes areal punishment tol be employed byt the City." Reasinger asked Cherry,' "Doy yout think $10,000.00 (perp person)isa ar reasonable amount? Obviously, you do." Cherry replied,' "Yeah,l do... for what'si involved. So,1 can telly yout think it'sg goingtol ber more." Nasutis said, "T don't know fit'ss goingt tol ber more. I'mt tellingy youl Ihave seen a couple ofthem come througha and $10,000 has beent thel highest onel l'ves seen." Cherry responded, "OK. Ithinkt thati inl lightof whaty you're askingt thisl lawyert to do,l think that $10,000i is areasonable limit." Aughenbaughsaid," "OK. I Ther motion wasr made by Reasinger ands seconded by Aughenbaught that the Citys seta ar reimbursement limit of upt to$ $10,000 per personf for legalf fees of Citye employees. subpoenaedi tot the Grand Jury. Rollo call was asf follows: Reasinger, yea; Dietz,) yea; Bernardo, yea;A Aughenbaugh,yea. Motion passed 4-0. Chief Clarks said, "Att thist time oft the year,l Itryt to give Councilal little information ons stufft that's transparent within thel Police Department. Ihave! heards some questioning about the Canine: andt the Narcotics Division. Theirr numbers anda availability ande everything. Ireached out to Corporaly Young whoi is inc charge oft the unit. lasked Officer Rhedt tol be! here. He can'tbe! here tonight, sol he askedt thati itbe on thea agenda fort the next meeting. Iwillt toucha al little bito on! his numbers, butIwillt touch al little bit onl his numbers and1 turni it overi to Corporal Young. Idon'tl knowi if any ofy youl know, but Corporal Younghas Asf fara as Officer Rhed, he! has logged over 1,000 hours oft training with! him andl his dogy whichi isl huge. The majorityi isr narcotics searches and trackingv which! hel has been utilizing. Wes say that wel havei the dog, but we'rev very gooda at sharingt that dog with otherr municipalities. Notj justf for narcotics, buts search and rescue, item! locationa andt thingsl liket that. Justaf few examples, he! has! been tol Rossiter, Reynoldsville, Clearfield, Woodland, Punxsutawney, Clarion, Philipsburg. We gotan nice card the other dayf from alady  Aughenbaughrespondeu, "Sot thatr makes itt tough."  that."  Questions fromt the public....  some kind ofc conclusion."  wills secondt that motion now."  Police Department - Canine & Narcotics Division Update  beeni int this gamef foral longt time, especially int the Narcoticsg game.    114  City Council Meeting Minutes- - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  whov was missinga andl located! by the dog. Thatp particular tooli fort thep police department- the dogi itself- justi inr narcotics alone! hasb been! huge. We: appreciate, notj just thel board butt the community, for allowing ust tol have that. It'sessential int this day andt time. I'm goingt to turni it overi to CorporalYoung. "Since wes started- - wes startedi inJ July oflasty year- wes startedt this withj just as small number of officers. Wes still onlyl have as smallr number of officers doingit. The guyst that are doingt this work very hard. They arer motivated, committed: and! bustt their butt workingevery night tot try andg get drugs offt the streetsin the Cityo ofD DuBois andi tryingt to preventt them from goingto any othert towns. These guys are amazing. I can't saye enougha abouty what they do. They go oute every night and dou undercover, alls sorts ofthings. I can't geti into aloto oft that, but sincei theys startedi in. July2 2022, they were one ofthef firsti in Clearfield Countyt tol have a drug uniti int their own agency. We werei thet first, outside the Attorney General's office Inz 2022, there wast this drugt that came along called) Xylazine. Itisvery dangerous. It's worse than Fentanyl. Our drug unitg guys were one ofthef firsti int the Commonwealth, other than! Philadelphia, tot tip offt the Criminal Investigation Unit oft the Commonwealth that this mayb be a substitute fori heroin. They started workingy with this company andi found outi it's very lethal drugt thati is overdosing people immediately: andt they ended ups gettingt themt to changet their ways about) Xylazine. It! looks! likel heroin but is1 1001 times worse than! heroin. That was a majort thing. Since: 2022, we've starteds severalt things. They've been outt tob businesses, knocking on doors, tryingt tos get theme experienced ofv whati tol look for. Chief enabled ust tos starta" "tipl line'. Thatt tipl linei is amazing. As soon asi its started,t thei firsti tip that camei inv we dida ai major busti int the City ont that. Sincez 2022, they've conducted: atotal of4 48 recordedi interviews. That doesn'ts soundI like al loti ina ayeara andah half, butt theyt talki inc depth witht them. Onei interview couldI last 4-5 These guys go out andi investigate drug overdoses tos seei ifv we can1 find out what kind of drugst therea are andy where they're comingf from. Naturally, allt the drugs ares stamped different, they'rer marked different. So, theyt trackthese andt trytof find out wheret these drugs are coming from whether it's Philly, New Jersey, Ohio. The! biggest distributors arei in Ohio and Philly. Most oft thet time they'rer not! local, theya are coming from another location. Theg guyst trackt theseb by computer andh have startedi their own computer To givey yous some numbers real quick, asf fara as Methamphetamine they have conducted. 40 Methamphetamine: seizures resultingi in1 1.17 pounds just here int the City. Mind you, we only! have 35 square miles. Inayear, 1.17 pounds doesn'tsound like alot, buti it'salot. Theyr recoveredz 23 Fentanyls seizures resultingi in1 19.78 grams. That'sab big one. Theys seized! heroin: and) Xylazine- 8X Xylazine seizures for1 1.84, 4 cocaine: seizures, shrooms (mushrooms), 1048 grams ofr mushrooms, 141 marijuana seizures whichis8.11 pounds sot that'sal lot ofmarijuana. Marijuanai is very! light. They'ves seizedT Tramadol: and! LSD.. it'sback.. 95 dosages ofLSD. They'ves seized1 15-51 pounds of drugsi ina ayear. Iwant to gol backt to Fentanyl. Itwas thel lowest number, buti itis isk killing peoplel lefta and right. Itist badi int thist town. Isaid it's only 19.47 grams which ifa anyone! knows grams or ounces, it'snoty very much. But, in ones gramt there's1, 0001 miligrams. It onlyt takes: 2r miligrams tol killa ap person. That'st the stats from allo over DEA ande everything. Ifyou! break that down,i it's1 19,470 miligrams. That wouldk kill 9,735 peoplei int this City alone. That's how mucht this stuffisp potent. That's! how dangeroust this stuffis. These guys are out every day bustingt to get this Fentanyl, heroin, marijuana and everything that'si illegalr rightr now offt thes street. But ther main thingis heroin and> Xylazinet thati isv very dangerous. Itcould wipe out our whole City.I It's scary to thinkh how many people could dieb because of Fentanyli lifthey'rer not takingi ito offt the streets. That'st thel breakdown of Chief Clarka added," "Witht this Xylazine, not only didt theyr recognize... thet first areat to recognize outside of Philadelphia.. Icant telly yout for this communityi ity wouldb be catastrophic ifv we didn't have these guys or gals. Iwould putt this department up against any otherl law enforcement agency within a1 100-mile radius. Reasinger asked," "Howr many druga arrests havey your mades since. July: 2022?" Corporal) Young said, "They made 681 felony arrests and2 241 misdemeanor: arrests. Sof far. Thati isn'ti including... now, mindy you, when wes sendi the drugs out to Erie crimel labi tob bet tested,l Icani identify whati the drugs are as considered: an expert, butt they still havet tob bes sentt tot the crimel lab. Whent they gets sent tot the crimel labi it! has been takingt thems 3-6r months tog get our results! back. So, wel have al lot outstanding." Reasinger then asked, "Whath happenst tot these people, these 64f felonies. Dot theys serve prison time orwhat happens?" Chief Clark answered, "Shorto ofg getting political, the State ofF Pennsylvania decidedt to do away with mandatory minimum: sentencing." Reasinger asked,' "Soi ifyous arrests someone and they go top prison orj jail, howl long beforei they come back ora are ablet to come back?" Chief Clark responded,' "lt's basedo ona as scale system.  Corporal Young.  ora anythinge else.  months andi involve drugh buys, arrests, and confidentiali informants.  system whichi isr remarkable.  what ours guys! have! been doing."  Thanky youf fory yourt time. Ihopet this educatedy youf folks al littlel bit."    115  City Council Meeting Minutes - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  Iftheyl havea al loto of'priors' that'sg goingt tol help witha ai more lengthys sentencing. Ifthey don't... (itwas Sandy Township: Supervisor Sam Mollica asked, "That> Xylazine, isi ita drug being synthesized locally or pharmaceutical ors stolen from ay vet's office?" Chief Clark answered, "That'sv wherei it originated, coming out oft the vet's office. Iknowi inF Philadelphia theyl have! busted: some places wheret they'rer makingit now." Mollica asked,' "Ist that the onet that causes your skint tof fallo off?" Chief Clark replied, "Yes. It's flesh-eating. We'res seeing) Xylazine and Fentanyl. It'sar mixture now. Idon't understand whyt they're Bemardo: asked Chief Clark aboutt thes street value. Corporal Youngs statedt that he wasn't prepared for that question, buth he couldg gett thei information" fort the next Council meeting. Chief Clark said, "I couldt tell youi it'sal lot ofr money. We'veg gotten around $60,0001 from onel hit which goes to our DA. We do get some ofitback, butr nota asr mucha as I'dl like. That'snothing: againstt the DA. Personally, I'dI like tos see at least 50%." Reasingers said, "You eami it." Clarkreplied, "Absolutely! Not me butt these guys. They're the team, the department." Corporal Youngagreed. "You'rer right. Those guys do earni it. Everyonei inc our department does eamni itb because, ifyout think abouti it, with the Fentanyl, they'rer risking their livese every day. They don'tk knowi ift this personi is goingt to opent thel bag ont them. The offender doesn't overdosel but we'res goingt to. We don't always mask up, buti ifv wel knowt there's Fentanyl they're goingt tor mask up. But Chief Clark said! hel has some cards witht the tip line ifa anyone isi interested. He apologized fort takings so mucht timet tov which Bernardo replied, "No. Itwasi important. That was excellent." Aughenbaugh: said, "Oner moret thing. Wheny wet talkedp prior, back some time ago, about the next canine... " Chief Clarkr responded, "Iknowi it was approved. Ace, the dogy wel have now, he'ss startingto enteri intol his retirement. Ibelieve we've already been approvedt toj purchase another dog. lwouldsay withint twoy years." Chuck Mechling: asked," "Willt the current dogs stilll be viablei fort ther next two years" Chief Clark said, "Yes, unless ani injury ors something! liket that. We couldr not have gotten abetter dog." Bernardo: said, "A bigt thank) yout to our DuBois Police! Department for what you've done andt to Benny and the. Jets. Thanky you very mucha andp please bes safe. Scary timesy wel livei in. Thanky you."  hardt tol hear with coughingi int thel background).  puttinge everythingi into ones shot. It's crazy."  not, ifwec don'tknow."  Re-Schedule Councill Meetings that fall on City Holidays Itv wasr noted that thet followingr meetings need tol ber re-scheduled:  11/27/23 -I movet to1 11/28/23 11/25/23- -I move to1 12/26/23  The motion was made! by Reasinger ands seconded by Dietzt tor movet thet meetings tot the new dates. Roll cally was asf follows: Reasinger, yea; Dietz, yea; Bernardo, yea;A Aughenbaugh,yea. Motion passed4 4-0.  Nasuti stated wev will gett these changes advertised. 11/13/23- - Present draft to Council fori review 12/11/23- First Public Hearing 12/26/23- -S Second Publich Hearing: and Second Reading  Draft2 2024 Budget  11/28/23- - First Reading and Set Public Hearing Dates of1 12/11/23 and1 12/26/23  Nasutie explained, "You don't needt to vote ont this. Thisi isas schedule on what we are doing, what to expect. Idid provide everybody here withac draft oft the! budget. Ifyou could getr me your comments back sol Ican review that. I'dI liket tol have comments backa as soon as possible sol Icanr respondt tot them and! havet them int thei finalb budget preparedi fort the: 28th. We're goingt to putit out fort the public as well. If anyone wantst tos stopi ina andg go overi it. You can call or stopi in with any questions youl have. We'lH have the draft uploaded1 tot the websites sop people can looka ati ita ando comment asv well. Again, any public that wants to comment oni it,l lask that you doi its sooner rather than later to giver met timet tor respond andl have iti includedi for ourf firsti reading ont the: 28th." Nasuti clarified with Cherryt thati iftherei isa question or comment we canr revise itt fort thes secondr reading. Cherry replied, "Thatis correct, sir." "Halloween wents great. Wel hada a goodt turn-out with thel kids. Itwas cold, but noi rain. The parade went  Chief Clark  offv withouta al hitch downtown. Itv was a good! Halloween this year."    116  City Council Meeting Minutes - November 13, 2023 (cont'd)  Joel Mitchell  "I'ms sorryt to seel Dr. Ricel left. We dol have a delicate balance ofp parking and economic development that wet tryt tov walkaveryt finel line on. Havingr more emptys spaces whereb buildingu usedt to bei iss sometimes lookedv worse upont than not! havinge enough parking, soV we want tor make sure we don't doa anything rash and destroy al buildingt that! has alot ofp potentiali inc our downtown: as a knee-jerk reaction to as short-term problemt that educationr mights solve. We didt take himy verys seriously when hec came and gavet the same presentation: ato ourb board. We'rej justr nots goingt tor make: any! hasty decisions on one proposal. AsT much asitr may! have been pitchedl like wei ignored! him, we absolutely took his commentst tol hearta andy we want the best for what oure economic vitalityi isinc ouro downtown. We do consider everybody's comments." Bernardoi responded, "Wells spoken, Joe. Andlknowyou do. Thank you sor much." Offered! her congratulations tot the newi incumbents andt toldt the ones who willr not ber returning thati it was great working withi them. "lt's the! hardest, most difficultt thingy youy wille ever doi iny your Iife ify your run fora anyk kind ofp public office. You're puttingy yourself out there and you're putting) yourf family out there Congratulatedi those who are' 'duly elected". Directingh his commentto Chief Clark, "lam very glad we started thisi task force. Iknow) yous guys workharda atita andi it's very much appreciated." "Planning Commission: approvedt thet final draft oft three Council Billst that willl be ont the next agenda. She #1976- Proposed Ordinancet to amend Chapter: 248 oft the Code of Ordinances to addac definition fora ana autor repairf facility andt toa amendt thei time and distance requirementsl left blanki in Sections 248-3, #1977-F Proposed Ordinance amending Chapter 403t to add Article) XI andt tos set fortht the "TV willp present those tot the City Secretarys sot they willl bei includedi iny yourp packets thei next time." "Trees. Wep planteds 30t trees int the City. Fifteeni in thep parkf from a grant- actually, 13t trees int the park and2a atl Tannery Dam, and Redevelopment paidf for 15t trees on! Main Streeti inc citizens' yards. We can get 20t trees freei fromt the state everyA Aprila and October. Iwouldl likei tos get an organization ofy youth groups (Boys scouts, Girls scouts, church, schools)t that would have ag group of5-61 leaders that would go witht them top planta andt take care oft the trees. Any groupt that would wantt to adopta and care fort thet trees. Wep paid to! havet theset trees plantedt thist time. Itv would ber nice to get freet trees and' havet themp plantedf fort free. He offered! his emaila addressi ifa anyone has any questions - patrainger@.a.taiase Ifyoul havez as groupt that'si interested, email me and we'llg get together. Spammers, forgetthat." David Volpes said," "Wel have ab botany program att thel highs school andt those! kids would be perfect."  Treasurer! Lisal LaBrasca Becker  andi it's difficult." She alsot thanked Chief Clark andt thep police department.  Councilman. Jim Aughenbaugh Solicitor Toni Cherry  wouldl liket tor reserve Council Billr numbersa asf follows: #1975- Proposed Ordinance amending rentals  248-42 andz 248-8 requirements oft thei tax Councilman Pat Reasinger  Councilman: Shane Dietz Adjourn  Thankedi thel Police Department fort the dangerous work they do.  Thereb beingr no further! business tot transact, the motion was madel by Reasinger ands secondedl by Aughenbaugh that Council: adjourn. Roll call vote was asf follows: Reasinger, yea; Dietz,) yea; Bernardo,  yea; Aughenbaugh, yea. Motion passed 4-0.  Krb  ATTEST:  Slocum APPROVED:  COCAE