128  City Council Meeting Minutes - December 26, 2023  City Council Chambers, City Building, 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, December: 26, 2023, at6p p.m.; Council convened: att their regular City Council Meeting with Vice President Diane Bernardoi int the Chair. Other Council Members present wereJ James Aughenbaugh, Shane Dietz, and Pat Reasinger. Also present were: City Solicitor, Toni Cherry; Interim City Manager/City Engineer/Publicy Works Director, Chris Nasuti; Financel Director, DeLean Shepherd; City Controller, David The meetingy was calledt to ordera at6p p.m. and1 the! Pledge ofA Allegiance wasi led by Bemardo.  Volpe; andA Administrative Secretary, Korbis Slocum. Publich Hearing Minutes- December.1,203 Reasinger, yea; Bernardo,) yea. Motion passed 4-0. City Council Meeting Mnts-Deembernas Reasinger,) yea; Bernardo, yea. Motion passed 4-0.  Approval of! Minutes  Ther motion wasi madel by Aughenbaugh: ands seconded! by Dietzt that Council approvet the Public Hearing Minutes ofD December 11,2 2023, as presented. Roll cally was asf follows: DAtyesAugperbahye, Ther motion was made! by Dietz ands seconded! by Reasinger that Council approvet the City Council Meeting Minutes ofD December 11, 2023, as presented. Roll call was ast follows: Detye#Agrenbay-s, Ther motion was made! by Reasinger and: seconded by Aughenbaugh to approve the Auto Draft Check Register by Checkl ID dated December21,; 2023,1 int the: amount of$ $18,106.78. Roll call was asf follows: Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,) yea; Bemardo,) yea. Motion passed 4-0. Ther motion was madeb by Aughenbaugh ands seconded! by Dietz to approvet the Generall Fund Purchase Order Listing! by Vendor! Name datedI December: 21, 2023, int the: amount of$ $279,012.98. Roll call was as follows: Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh,) yea; Reasinger, yea; Bernardo,) yea. Motion passed 4-0. Ther motion wasi madeb by Reasinger and: seconded! by Dietz to approve the! PennVEST Check Registerby Check Date dated December 21, 2023,1 inthea amount off $2,766,728.37- Roll cally was asi follows: Dietz,yea; Thet motion was madel by Aughenbaugh: ands seconded! by Reasingerto: approve paying! legal feesi int the amount off $936.00. Nasutie explained,' "Thisi isa al legalf feet for: ane employeet that hadi tol bei interviewed: for the Grand Jury. We dol havead detailed! breakdown oft thei invoicei iny yourp packet." Roll call was asi follows: The motion wasr madel by Aughenbaugh ands seconded by Dietz toa approve payingl legal fees totaling $12,870.90. Nasutie explained, "Wel havet twoi invoices, onei is $5,000.00 detailedf for an employee and we dol havea a detailed onef from Hopkins Heltzeli int the amount off $7,870.90f for Councii representation. They Shawn Lesky from DuBoisl Live clarifiedt the: amountl listed ont the agenda. "Question. Yous said $25,000.00 Aughenbaugh: asked, "So, you! haven't heard anything elset backy yet" Nasutireplied, "Just the one invoice, correct." Aughenbaugh: askedi ifv wel heard anything! backf fromi the attorney. Nasuti responded, "They didi not call us. They emailed us overt the weekend. Ireached outt tot thema again onl Thursday. I Shawn Leskya asked, "Howr many persons does this cover?" Nasuti replied, "Theyl list one on herer right now." Lesky then questionedt the discrepancyi int the amounts (referringtot the previous $936.oof fee). "How dov we explaint thati int the publicr record," Nasutia asked Leskyt to clarify his question. "Well, somebodyi hada advicea andi it cost! lesst than $1,000.00. Ands somebody elseg gota advice andi it cost $35,000.00. So,i int thej public record, how dov we explain the differencel between thoset two bills?" Nasuti responded," "One was and on-sitei interview! here andi the other was actually out oftown." Reasinger clarified,' "It wasn't$35,000.00; $35,000.00 is actually four people- threet tens (i0,00.00)andafive ($5,000.00). Twot tens werer not goingt to do anything with! because we! haven't! heard back fromt them. The onet ten, the! billi is actually $7,000.00. The other was a $5,000.00 retainer." Leskey then asked,' "So, ofthet two you're votingt top pay we'ret talking $7,000.00 and $8,000.00 respectively," Reasinger replied,  Registry ofl Invoices  Aughenbaugh,; yea; Reasinger,yea; Bernardo,) yea. Motion passed 4-0.  Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh,; yea; Reasinger, yea; Bernardo,) yea. Motionp passed 4-0. tooki that outo ofthe $30,000.001 retainer andl have done $7,870.90t to date." The motion drewo comments and questions fromi the audience. andi the agendal has $35,000.00." Nasutic confirmed, $35,000.001 is correct." have not heard! back other than this emailedi invoice we'ver received."    Interhonally blank    129  City Council Meeting Minutes - December 26,2023(continued) "Probably $7,000.00 and$ $5,000.00." Leskya asked, "Theresti iss still upi int thea air?" Reasinger replied, "I Barbara. Johnstona asked,' "Ist this ac one-time fee? Ifthey got to court multiplet times?" Reasingerreplied, "It wouldh ber more." Aughenbaugh explained," "Whatt the other ones are arear retainer. 50, we askf for an itemized billf for what's been spents sof far. Correct?" Nasutic confirmed. Reasinger said, "The othert two $10,000.00 werej justp phonei interviews, am! correct?" Aughenbaugh replied, "know one was." Reasinger continued, "Theyy werej justs small time. They won'th bet thatr much. The $7,000.00 was atript to Kristen Vida asked," "So, who willl bea abstainingt from the vote? Imean, you can't vote ony your own bil." Aughenbaughr replied, "Well, we did votel before as ag groupt top pay attorney fees upt to $10,000.00: soit wouldj just be, inr my opinion, approving part oft that." Vidat then asked, "Isn'tt thata a conflict ofi interest?" Bernardo responded, "Not allo ofu us hadI lawyers. Notallo ofu usr neededi lawyers either. Ididn't." Vida said, Elliot Gelfand asked," "Arey yous goingt to pay the $12,000.00? Why do we needi to payt thet full $35,000.00?" Reasinger responded, "We'rer notp payingt the full $35,000.00. Iwoulds suggest wej just payt the.." Aughenbaughs said, "The $7,870.90." Reasinger continued, "There'sat total of $35,000.00 but $20,000.00 ofthati is note evenk being considereda ast fara asl I'm concerned. It would bet tabledi for later." Vidas said, "Sol do! have a question about ther retainer. You approvedar retainer bys several Council members. Thisi ist their last meeting. So,i ifattorneys arer needed aftert thet first oft they year andt theyr no Cherry explained, "Firsto ofa all,! Ithink they are being called, beingi interviewed byt thel Feds and calledt toa grandj juryr not oft their ownf free willl but becauset they arel being questioned aboutr matters involving the City of DuBois. You cannota allow someonet to got to ag grandj jury with no counsel. And part ofthisi isr really fort the City ofD DuBois. Wel have documents that haven't been returned. Wel have,) you know,! Ihavet to give ana auditor'sreport. Therei is nor money missing. These are all City matters andy you've committed, not toar non-refundable: retainer buty you committed top paya a refundable retainer which means onlyt those services actuallyr rendered willb be! billed. The rest will ber returned. Andt thatl lawyert took this case on the reliance ofthate employments scenario. Idon'tk know how youd cans say now We'rer not goingt to dot that' Jennifer. Jackson asked, "Andy youl knowt thath how? Didy youl have that discussion with him?" Cherry replied, "No,! Ihaver not." Jackson: said, "Soy you're just assuming." Cherry explained," "No. Based on what'sbeen: said) here andy what they did. Thisl lawyer committed. Thisi is whath he wanteda asanon- refundable: retainer...' " Aughenbaugh clarifiedi thati itisarefundabler retainer. Cherry continued, "Excuse me, thanky you. Asarefundablei retainer. Council approvedi it previously andt then! heu undertook Reasinger explained, "Thesel bills camei in, these retainers camei ink before wev voted ont the: $10,000.00. This was beforei that sol het tookt thatr not! knowingt thate exactly." Vida said, "Technically, ina a grandj juryi itis different representationt than like atrial, correct? Imean, inag grandj jury an attomey cannot go and argue. It'sr notl like ap plaintfdefendant: andy your attorney. Let's say. Jim, ifyoug go to a grandj juryy your attorney getst to getu up: and ask questions. It doesn't operate liket that. Your attorey is essentially: silent during those proceedings. So,1 don't understand why, again, we are payingf for these attorneys. Ithinkt the messages should have been when all oft this happened Councils should have said, 'We want people to cooperate witht thisi investigation. We want people to come forward. Ifthey! have something tos say tell thet truth.' Andi ifpeoplet felt maybet they were complacent and didn'to doi the rightt thing andi theyf felt guilty andt they wanteda an attorney thent that's ont them. That shouldr not be on us. lam sory. Its should not. lami firma aboutt that. ButIthink peoplea arer misledi int thef factt that what the attorey: actually does in Jackson said," "AndI am undert the assumption" thatp people dids got tot the grandj jury without an attorney. Just to clarifyt that. There were) people called that didr not! have attorneys att the grandj jury." Cherry said, "Iti is customaryt to bep preparedt tof face a grandj jury. Itisr not ane event that anyone: should attend without being prepared! by ana attorey. These arer not people who are askingto come forward. Theya are beingf forcedt to givei information. They have ar rightt tob be counseled." Vida said, "But how does that attomey) knowy what'sg goingt tol bea asked oft thati individual?" Bernardo: said," "'d liket to cut off public comments because we dol have al Public Comments: section. Concerningt the legal fees of$ $35,000.00,  wouldn'ttoucht the other ones."  Pittsburgh: fort the grandj jury."  "Good. Good, Diane."  longer ares serving on Council, are we obligated to payt thosei invoices?"  when! he's committed1 tot that dlient.  representation. Idon't know how elset tot telly you.?"  ag grandj jury. They can't object. They can't do anything."  Council's wishes?"    130  City Council Meeting Minutes - December 26, 2023 (continued)  Aughenbaugh clarified, "Rightr now therei is onel billi for $5,000.00, correct? And therei is another billf for The motion wasr made by Aughenbaugh. and seconded! by Dietz to approvet thoset twoi invoices. Roll call was asf follows: Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,) yea; Bernardo, yea. Motion passed4-0. The motion was madel by Aughenbaugh: ands seconded! by Dietz to approve paying! legal fees totaling $17,221.70 to Gleason, Cherry & Cherry. Nasutie explained, "Thisi isl legalf fees fori thes services rendered on behalf ofthe Cityo ofDuBoisi int thel Declaration ofJ Judgment Actiont filed by Sandy Township int thea amount off $6,725.00. Wel have as secondi invoicet fors services renderedi in the case ofJ Jennifer. Jackson, ETAL Reasinger asked," "Toni, don'tv wel havei insurancet that would have paidi fort thei injunction defense!?" Toni replied, "Ito doesn't fall under what wea are covered for. That'sv why! sent youv wheny wel had that other issue with Continental, that's very clearly covered. Thisi isar matter ofay very different nature whichi is why I'my very mindfult to bringitt toa ac conclusion as opposedt to...' " Reasinger asked, "Is that the same thing Cherry continued, "la also thinki inb both oft thosei it does not serve the City wellt to delay, tot tryt tol bringi it up toa ani insurance carriert tos seei iftherei iss some way we can findi ittol be covered. Because! byt thet time they hire counsel andt they become familiar withi it you'rer months downt thel line. So, Ithinki inl both oft these casesi it'sr not goingt tol bec covered becausel didr read.." Reasinger asked, "You sawi ita as as sense of urgency." Cherry said,' "did. And Ithoughtitv wasi important tol bringit ittoa a conclusion. as quicklya as possible. Whichi is whyl made the decision when Sandy Township requested and received permission to amendt the claimt they filed. Andladvisedi their counselt that we wouldr not ber reasserting preliminary objections, nory would web be answeringt the amended complaint, nor wouldy wel ber mountinga a defense. I thoughti itwouldb bel better tor resolvet that. Ithought based ont thet timeline ofa approachingN May of2 2025 "Withr regard tot the. Jackson ETA ALcase, again, movet to amend. There were all kinds ofi issues they wantedi top present. Ithought that was also onev wheret tol leavet the preliminaryi injunctioni inp placev would make ther most sense. Idrafted the order ina addition tot ther motion and presented! it. The courta agreed andt the courtg grantedi it. Ithought that wasa a way tol bringi itto ane end." Reasingerasked, "Thisi is outsidet thes scope ofy your retainer? Whati isy your retainer normally usedi for?" Cherry responded,' "My retaineri is,i ify youl look att the code, my retaineri ist to attend allr meetings of City Council, toa attend all Planning Commissioni meetings, to give advice at Council, to draft all ordinances. There are routine Lesky asked," "Sot the conclusion wast to abandoni thee endeavor? Ifthat wast the conclusion, then wel have one set ofa attorneys thati made $17,000.00, anothers sett thatt the people who sued the city paidt for $15,000.00. Ifthat's ana acceptable conclusion, then, the people ofD DuBois have essentially one way or another: spentt thirty-some thousand dollars onr nothing. Whato didt theys get? The Citys saidt that] leavingt the injunctioni inj place wasa an OKI resolution. They could have donei thati for freei for everybody." Bernardo requested that comments be retained for the Public Comments: session. Several members of the audience said,' "Buty your votingo oni itt though." Bernardo asked," "Arei there any questions from Council," Cherry askedi ifs she coulds speak. "Byf filing, your makea a decisiont that youy wantt to bring litigation. Youl had nor right, althoughy you: askedi for counseli fees, thel litigationt thaty yout brought didr not allow yout to geta anr rewardo ofc counsel fees." Lesky objected, "I didn't! bringa any litigation." Cherry continued, "Whoever broughtt the litigation. The public, whoever thosei individuals are, they madea requesti for the Cityt to pay their counseli fees. Itv was not thet type ofa actiont that counsel fees could be awarded. So, quite frankly,! becausel am ar resident andl becausel have done this fora al long time, Iwas prettyr mindful that whoeveri the plaintiffs are,t their legalf fees were, goingt to mount exponentially. And wheni saw whaty was happeningl madea a decisiont thatt there wasi no purpose for thep plaintiffs toi incur more fees.. Andld didn'tsee the needf fort the Cityt toi incur moref fees oncel Ihad readt thet transcript." Leskyr responded, "Noti fightingt the actiont the City incurs nof fees andt the same conclusion would! have Cherry said, "The defense ofthes suit was authorized! by the City. Ithinki ity was a wise decision. Ithink we madet thato decisiona andy you cannotj just notr respondt toa ap preliminaryi injunction: request. Youl havearight andy youl have a duty to dot that. CouncilH hada a dutyt tot those individuals who didi not authorize the suit. As Isaid, Iendedi ita as quickly as possible. Ithinkt thel board agreed. Idraftedi the order, the courtf foundit acceptable, thec court signedi it. The court didr notr resolvet the other matters andt the plaintiff's! lawyers  $7,870.90, correct?" Nasuti confirmed.  versus the Cityo of DuBoisi int the amount of$ $10,496.70."  with Sandy Township? It'sr nota anythinginsurance, that'sj just errorsi ina addition?"  we wantedt tos start workingt towardt that."  matters. Thati is myj job. Butl litigation has always! been separate."  resulted. Just saying."    131  City Council Meeting Minutes - December: 26, 2023 (continued) came thatr morning! butv we were done that Friday before. Andl madei it very clear to Councill how! intendedt toj proceed. Ithink, Ithought then andI Ithink nowl had Council's approval to dot that. Imade noa apologies fort the way we didi it. Ithoughti it wast the most prudent way tol handlei it." Deb Mechling commented, "Ift therel had beena ar moralt turpitude clause int thet former City Manager's contracti int thet first place, don'ty yout think we could! have maybe avoidedt the citizens havingt tot file an injunction1 tos stopt the City from payingt thei former manager and that wast the only coursey wel hadt to stop that. Andi ifthed clause had! beeni inl his contract we wouldn'thave been forcedi intot that position." Cherry said, "lla answert that one, too. With allo duer respect, no. Ther reasont the contract existed asi it didis becauset the City hada ar more concerning matter andt that would be beings subjectt toi the Fair Labor Standards Act. AndI mentioned this when wev were beforet the court. Ar municipality is not liableu under the Pennsylvania wage payment act. Butan municipality! isl liable underi the Fair Labor Standards Acti for overtime pay. Itv was very cleart throughoutt the course of Mr. Suplizio's employment with this Cityt that he worked countless! hours of overtime. So, the contract was, inf fact, was a way to avoidt that and waive that. Now,) you can always firea ane employee! iftherei issomet type ofr moral turpitude! but, tot the best of my knowledge after conferringv witht the (Interim) City Manager ando doing my research, the Cityisn not missinga any money. So,1 don'tthink that...' " [reactionf from the: audience interrupted Cherryl. She continued, "Well, youk know what,) you cant maket that decisiona andI Ithink thet truthy will come out. Butl think we: also havet to draw some conclusion from thet fact that after two anda al halfy years the office ofthe Attorney General ofPennsylvania electedr nott to pursue this case. Andt theys savedf face byt turninga all documents over tot the Feds. That'sj just ai reality. You cand draw your own conclusion. Asal lawyer Mechlings said, "lfv wes simply put) hiss salary ine escrowt from the beginning, think we couldh have avoided the expenses that youi incurred of $10,000.00 andi the expenses the citizen group! hadt to come upy with on their own." Leskys said," "fito concludedi the way wep predictedi it would." Cherry said, "I don't thinky you cans stop payinga ane employee who's on administrative leave his! healthi insurance or his other benefits. I don'tt think you can dot that. Ethinkt there are ERISAV violations ify youd dot that. Ijust don't. I'ms sorry. I respectfully disagree. Andlhave triedt tol honestiy provide: all of Council withr my opinions here. Ithink there and I'm goingto providet thoset tot the auditor whol has asked. Ithink there arer ramifications; have triedt tol limit those. That'salll Icant telly you. Iwas authorized to proceed. Idid asl was authorizedi to do. I Vida asked, "With: all duer respect, Miss Cherry, Council never publicly voted on pursuingaf fight against the injunction. So,) you werer never authorized to go and1 fight that. Thatr meanti therev was never avotet that took placel here at Council, number one. So, ifyouv wantt to volunteer your services, that'sf fantastic. The other point, Miss Cherry, youy weres subpoenaed! by the attorey representingthe citizens. Andi for youto havet tot testifyi int that trial, ort that preliminary hearing, andt then alsor represent the City would havel been a conflict ofi interest fory you. So, again,l Idon'tb believet thati thei taxpayers shouldb ber responsiblet fort those fees. Again, ifyout tookt that upony yourselft to dot that without authorization then Iconsideri that volunteer work." Cherryre responded, "Council authorizedi me. Jam authorized, ify your read the Codea andi readi the Administrative Code asv well: ast the Third Class City Code and allt the case law. Imaket the decisions ast to what cases wel litigate, andl got Council's authorization top proceed. Itoidt them exactly what was going to do. The Cityy was served onF Friday-1 Ibelievei it was August 25th. We werei in court on August 30th." Leskya asked, "The Third Class City Code- the onet that we'rer not supposedt to pay attentionto because... " Cherryi interrupted. "No one evert told youy youy weren't supposed to pay attention. The Administrative Code: supersedes, the optional plan of governments supersedes whent therei isac conflict witht thel Third Class City Code. Iftherei is no conflict andi itisr not discussedi in the codei then your refer to Reasinger said, "I don't remember ever voting ont that." Several members oft the audience: said, "Thank your Pat." Reasinger continued, "Imean, ith happened. Ity wasf five days and happened" very quickly andl don'tremember. Idon't! know." Cherry said, "Idon'tk know. Iwasn'th here at the meeting, soldon't The motion was madeb by Aughenbaugh: and seconded by Dietzt toa approve paying the legal fees of $17,221.70. Roll cally was asf follows: Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh,) yea; Reasinger, nay; Bernardo,) yea. Motion  practicingf for 44y yearst that's the conclusion! Iwrote."  went nor more. Ididr not delayt this. Imoved ahead. That'st thel bestl can answer."  the Third Class City Code."  know." Lesky said, "lt wasn'ty voted on. Ididr my research."  passed31. Public Comments Deh.Maching-Momoest  "How could youi ing good conscience just votef fori it?"    132  City Council Meeting Minutes -) December: 26, 2023( (continued)  Jennifer. Jackson-42N.E Bradys Street  "1 had! heardt thati the City, we! boughtar newi firetruck, thanky you. Iguess so we were thanking! Herm. I'd liket tol knowi ift there was any City Councilr members ath his house fort that." Dietza asked," "Forwhat," Lesky said, "Thel Monroe! Streett toucha at truck." Jackson continued, "The Monroe Street. Did, wast there any Council members, because inh his court document! he'sr nott to! have contact. I'dliket tok knowifa any City Council members were ath his house. Dietz replied," "IH haven'tseen ther newt truck." Aughenbaugh said, "I "seet ther nexti item ont the agendai ist thei final reading of1 1974. Where does that standt thati itr needs a readingy wheni ity wasr notr movedi forward: att thel lastr meeting," Nasutir replied,' "This one's fort the budget. "lv watcheds some oft the members up there whent the conversations were happening backh here. AndIsee wherei it says Public Comment: atr number5 5. Idon't know,l can'trecall previous meetingsifthe Registry ofl Invoice comes beforet the comments. Butr maybei int thet futurei its should ber reversed. Because there wasi frustration,l Isawf from twoi inp particular, that theyy wantedr nop public comment then. Buty youvote on something andt then we get to commentb buti it's already votedo on. Andlthinkint thet future possibly.." Reasinger said, "Yeah. Inf fact, ther meetings starting, January 81 there willl be: aj public commenti fora agenda items onlyi int the beginning so you can aska allt the questions you want about the: agendai items. Andt then there'llb bea anotherp public comment where itisr now afterwards. So, there willl bet twos so) you'Ibe ablet to question any agendai item. Youl have ar rightt toa ask." London said, "lt was very obvious watching faces and comments: amongr members up theret that wes shouldn'tbet talking. But wheny you're goingt to be voting ons somethingi that comes from our taxpayers": money perhapst that does needt tol ber reversed and Jackson, speakingt to London, said, "It willl be: at transparent Councilr next year, Linda. Icang guarantee you "Witha allt this comingt to ane end andp people! haves servedi ins some ofthese roles and some changes ont the horizon, somel havel been caughtu upi int thingst theyr mightr not! bea a part of andr notr necessarily complacent ora anythingl liket thati ina allt the negativel headlines we'vel had. They'vef faceds scrutiny, some ofv which probably feels unfair. Andy we won'tk knowf foral longt time maybey yeta ast to! howi fair thati is. Ijusty wanted tos say thati int times where we'ves saidt that maybes some Council members: shoulds step downi it's really because oft thet unknowns that face the City thatt the publicj just doesn't knowi for some ofthesef folkst that didn'thavet toi face electioni ift they couldb bet trusted orv whati ifa any rolet they played. So, int the same line as Shannon Gabrielv whens she steppedo down, shev wasn'tr runninga away. She did what was right fort the City ands sher moved aside sot thate everybody wouidn't havet tol havet thec question. That'sj just wherei itis. That wayt there'sa cleans slate, no questions witha anything. Ifyouj just trust the people that are moving forward. That's not tos sayt that those who were askedt tos step downy were untrustworthy. Butto getr rid ofa allt the doubt inp people'sr mind,t that'st the wayi itv was askedt to doi it. Andi itj justs seems! like good common "If findi itr ridiculous thatt the members oft the Goodwilll Fire Department decided toi take at firetruck upt toa former City Manager'shouse who's under federali indictment: for stealingn moneyf from the very people that paidf fort thati firetruck. Afiretrucki isr nota atoy. It'sf fore emergencies. Godf forbid ane emergency could havel happened att thatt time whilet the street was blocked offs so someone couldI look ataf firetruck. Herm'sp probablyb beeni inz 201 firetrucksi ink hisl life. Idon'ti think! her needed1 tos see ar new one, number one. Number two, thef fact thatt there were Citye employees and City Council peoplet therei is the worstj judgment I've ever heardo ofinr my life. What werey yout thinkingbeing: associated witht that person at thist time with what'sg going oni int the City?" Bernardo: said," "IH have noi idea whaty you'ret talking about." Gelfands said, "OK, Goodwillf fire department; gotar new firetruck." Bernardo replied," "1! knowt that." Gelfand continued, "Theyt tooki itt tol Herm's house sol he could! look ati it and gave him at thank) your note. Herm didn'tp pay for thef firetruck. The citizens andi thei taxpayers paidf forit. It'st the fire department arep publics servants." Aughenbaugh: said, "1 didn't know who wast there. Ididn't know anythinga abouti it." Gelfand replied, "Wellr nowy youk know. Doy you! have an opinion oni it2 Do yout think ity was a goodi idea? Ity was paidf for by Bernardo said, "ld don't know ofa anybody. Jimi is saying! he wasn't there. Shane wasn'tthere: and they're firemen. Idon't knowv whaty you're.."A Aughenbaugh: said," "l've never seent the truckyet." Gelfands said, "Well,] hope no one wast thereb becausei it'st the dumbest thingl leverh heardi inr myl life." Bernardos said,  haven'ts seen ther newt truck either." Reasinger said,' "Twasn't."  Barbara. Johnston- Curwensville  That one wasf fori thel landlords." Reasinger said, "Thato one was laidt tor rest."  Lindal London-5 527 RumbargerAve.  you've already looked atit it. Thank) you."  that."  ShawnLesky- DuBoisLIVE  sense: sot take it under advisement. Please." Elliot Gelfand- -1S. Highland Street  grants fromi thet taxpayers andI Ibelieve the City of DuBois paidf fors some ofit."    133  City Council Meeting Minutes - December 26, 2023 (continued)  "Well, you! heard.it. Didy yous seei it" Gelfands said," "Iknowt thet firetruck wast there. Idon'th knowv who was Cherry explained, "Afullr reading of Council Billl No. 1974) was already had atf first reading. Itist not necessary tor readi inf fullas secondt time. Ithasb been duly advertised and therel have been two public Ther motion was made! by! Dietz and seconded! by Reasinger to approve Council Bill 1974. Roll call was as follows: Dietz,) yea;A Aughenbaugn, yea; Reasinger, yea; Bernardo, yea. Motion passed4 4-0. Cherry explained," "Thei fullt text of Council Bill1 1978 wasr readi ini its entirety att the firstr reading. It'sbeen dulya advertised: ast required byl law. There! havel beent two publici hearings ont the council bill as required. It The motion was made! byA Aughenbaugh: ands secondedh by Reasinger toa approve Council Bill 1978. Roll call was asf follows: Dietz,) yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,) yea; Bernardo, yea. Motion passed 4-0. Nasutie explained, "Thisis is ana annuali thing. They give ust their paymenti inl lieu oftaxes based ont their  there."  2nd and Finall Reading of Councill Bill1 1974- 2024 Budget hearings. Itis now rightf foraf finalr readinga and enactment." 2nd and Finall Reading of Council Bill 1978- 2024 Tax Levy  isn nowr readyf fori finale enactment."  2023 Paymenti inl Lieu ofTaxes- Housing Authority of DuBois rentals and we distributet that." Thel breakdown isa asf follows:  Housing Authority of! DuBois 2023 Payment in lieu of taxes Total Amount Received: $26,312.79  2023 Millage 20.00 3.50 25.00 95.320. 143.82  Percentage 13.91% 2.43% 17.38% 66.28% 100.00%  Breakdown $3,659.13 640.35 $4,573.91 $17,439.40 $26,312.79  City Tax CutturalRecreation Tax County School  The motiony wasr madel byA Aughenbaugh: ands seconded by Dietz to approve the 2023) Housing/ Authority's payment in! lieu oft taxes. Rollo call was asf follows: Dietz, yea; Aughenbaugh, yea; Reasinger,yea; Chief Clark gave! his year-end report pointing outt thei figures aret through December 6,2 2023.  Berardo, yea. Motion passed 4-0. 2023 Annual Policel Report- Chief Clark  DuBois City Police Department Yearly Report January 1- December 6, 2023  Theft Burglary Forgery/Fraud Alarms Criminal Mischief Assaults Sexual Assaults Disorderly Conduct Harassment  136 9 82 92 42 90 20 316 180    134  City Council Meeting Minutes -1 December 26, 2023( (continued)  DuBois City Police Department Yearly Report January 1-1 December 6, 2023 (continued)  Domestic Death Investigations Animal Complaints Suspicious Persons /Circumstance Trespassing Check Welfare/ /Mental Health Missing Person Drug Investigations Driving Under the Influence Public Drunkenness Traffic Accidents /Investigations Warrants Assist Other Agencies Citations /Warnings Parking Tickets Calls for Service /County Control Walkl In/ Direct Phone Calls  151 13 130 461 97 378 35 171 39 32 189 140 261 367/672 872 10,153 5,064  Ther motion was made! by Aughenbaugh: and seconded! by Reasingert to accept Chief Clark'sreport. Roll call was asf follows: Dietz, yea; Aughenbaugn, yea; Reasinger,y yea; Bernardo,) yea. Motion passed4 4-0. Itv wasa a great Christmas. Everybodyi int the City,l Iwoulds say! behavedi themselves. The guysy were very quiett thatr night. Hopefully New Years will roll righti intoi it. Thanke everybody forag great year. We were Aughenbaugh thankedthe Chief andi the Police Department for their worki int tryingt tol keept the Citys safe. Hea alsot thanked Dianei for her years ofs servicetot the City on Council and various other committees as well Dietzt thankedi the Chieffor his report andi the workl his department does. He alsot thanked Dianef fort the  Chief Blaine Clark  steady; we were pretty! busy, buta allina allitv wasa as goodyear.  Councilman, James Aughenbaugh Hel looksf fort that continued: service. Councilman: Shane Dietz works she does. Councilman Pat Reasinger Reasingeri is looking forwardt tot ther newy year. Vicel President: and Councilwoman Diane Barnardo  as Controller for 8 years. "Ith has beena ap pleasure workingwithy you."  Barnardoi reada as statement: shep prepared highlighting progress int the City of DuBois overt the past 10-15  years.  PROGRESS IN THE CITY OF DUBOIS  Int thel last 10to1 15 years, the City of DuBois management, staff and City Council all working together as ai team have successfully completed a multitude of projects. Here arej justaf few As stewards of our water resources, wei invested in 4 water wells with the capacity tos supply upt toa at total of1,500,000 gallons ofv water per day, stream data loggers to detect contaminants migrating to ourr reservoir, major upgrades tot the water treatment plant and pump house and Enhancements tot the City's lake historically known ast the Tannery Dam include aerators for algae control, pavilion, sidewalks, benches, streetlights and handicap accessible fishing dock. The Downtown: area along North Brady Street and West Long Avenue are enriched with new sidewalks, streetlights and audible pedestrian accessible crosswalk signals.  oft them:  began construction on as state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facility.    135  City Council Meeting Minutes -I December 26,2023 (continued) Major improvements to! Main Street, Maple Avenue and Park Avenuei include replacement Upgrades tot the DuBois Volunteer Fire Department cover new firefighting equipment such Hiring more police officers enabled our policet tob build a police drugt taskf force assisted by Major improvements to Showers Field along witht the building of2r minor-league equivalent baseball: fields generate atl leasta al half million dollars each yeari into our local economy. Other recreational upgrades include the community swimming pool and playgrounds, park security and lighting, Beaver Meadow walkway, dog park, ane extended pathway under Liberty Boulevard to safely connect the walkway tot the DuBois Memorial Park andi the Ampitheater. Highlighting the 1938 Works Public Administration (WPA) project with a cascading waterfall, walkway, pavilion, stone walls and landscaping are al beautiful wayt to enter or exit Liberty When the Federal Communications Commission proposedt tos split DuBois by adding a new area code, we successfully convinced thel FCC1 tol keep DuBoisi ini the 814 area code. These achievements over the last 10t to 15y years result from teamwork. We proudly say  ofs sewage and water lines, news sidewalks and streetlights. ast trucks, respirators, protective gear and hose lines. Ace our canine officer whoi isv worth his weighti in gold.  Boulevard.  DuBoisi ist the greatest! little Cityt tol live andt tov work. Vice-President DuBois City Council  Diane Bernardo  Adjourn  There! beingr noi furtherb business tot transact, the motion wasi made! byA Aughenbaugh and secondedh by Reasingert that Councila adjourn. Roll call was asf follows: Dietz,) yea;A Aughenbaugh,) yea; Reasinger,yea;  Bernardo, yea. Motion passed4 4-0.  ATTEST: gorb Slocum APPROVED:  PMD    136