196  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024  City Council Chambers, City Building, 161 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania oni Monday, May 13, 2024, at6 6p p.m.; Council convened: att their regular City Council Meeting with Mayor Pat Reasinger in the Chair. Other Council Members present were. JamesA Aughenbaugh (by phone), Shane Dietz, Elliot Gelfand. and. Jennifer. Jackson. Also presenty were: City Manager, Shawn Arbaugh; City Solicitor, Thomas Breth; Public Works Director/Engineer, Chris Nasuti; Zacl Lawhead, Codes Officer; Interim Police Chief Shawn The meeting was calledt to order at 61 p.m. and the Pledge ofA Allegiance was led byF Reasinger. Council meti inE Executive: Session priort tot tonight's meetingt to discusst the Sandy Township lawsuit, police "First ofa all, I'dI liket tot thank Councili for consideringt thei items ont the agenda tonight for DuBois Days. We have quite abits scheduled! Fridayt through Sunday. Some oft the items are ont flyers! l've provided for you. Sunday's schedulev willo come out int the next week ors sO. Obviously, wer need the special event permit authorizationi for City Park. Everythingiss solid fora allt three days and is moving along. We: also appreciate youa also consideringy usage ofthe pool.I justy wantt tos sayt thanky you,) lappreciate ally your assistance. Thisis alearning experience for myselfa ands some others asv well. lappreciate everyone'shelp, Shawn and Chris Regardingl Items #9 and 13 (frees swimming andf fireworks for DuBois Days), "Withl budgeti issues, kind of expensive"; #7(2024 budget errora andi modification), "Whati isi it.", and #18 (existing City debt), "How  McCleary; andA Administrative: Secretary, Korbi Slocum. Executive: Session (legala and personnel issues) negotiations andp personnel ont thea agenda. Public Comments onA Agendal Items Only Gregg Gillaugh-I DuBois Days  Nasutia andi many others. There also isali list oft ther music scheduled."  Kathleen Clement- ChestnutAvenue  much?" Approval of Minutes SityCouncil Minutes-A April22,2024  The motion was madel by Gelfand ands seconded! by. Jackson that Council approve the City Council Meeting Minutes ofA April 22, 2024, asp presented. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh,yea;- Jackson,yea; The motion was madeb by. Jackson ands secondedl by Dietzt top pay the Autol Draft Check Register by Check ID dated May 2, 2024, int the amount of $26,297-95. Roll callv was asf follows: Aughenbaugn, yea;. Jackson, Thei motion was madeb by Gelfanda and seconded by Dietzt top payt the General. Fund Purchase Order Listing byy Vendor Name dated! May 9, 2024, int the: amount off $505,227.27.. Jackson questioned" whatt the $10,000.00 for Waterfalls wast for andi ifitisg grantr money. Nasutir reportedi it wast tor replace several ofthe pumpsa andr maintenance. Itisr noti funded! by grantr money. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaughyyea;  Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Registry of Invoices  yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Jackson,) yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed5-0.  OLDE BUSINESS  Redevelopment, Authority Cooperation Agreement  Ther motion was madeb by. Jacksona ands seconded by Gelfandt tot tablet ther matter pendingf further discussion. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;- Jackson,yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea; Reasinger,  yea. Motion! passed5 5-0. NEW BUSINESS  DuBois Days- Special Events Permit Authorization  This ist to approvet ther requestf fort the use oft the City Parki for DuBois Daysf from. June 14-16, 2024. The motion wasr made! by. Jacksona ands seconded! by Gelfandt toa approvet ther request. Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugh,) yea; Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea; Reasinger, yea. Motionp passed 5-0. The request! has been madet toa allowf free entryt tot the pooli from 3:00 p.m. to close on Friday, June 14, 2024, and allo day on Saturday, June 15, 2024. Ther motion was made! by Gelfand and seconded! by. Jackson to approve ther request. Jackson stated, "Kathleen, Ihavey your concerns about the budget, butli feel the citizens deserve something. Ifv wer needi tor makes some tweaks somewhere else, we're working oni it. The  DuBois Days- - Pool Usage Request    197  City Council Meeting Minutes- - May 13, 2024 (continued)  residents deserves something through allo oft this. That'st the least we cand do."F Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh,y yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Prociamation- Memorial Day- - Monday, Mayz 27,2 2024 Councilwoman, Jackson readt thei followingp proclamation:  PROCLAMATION  MEMORIAL DAY May27,2924:  VIIRSAS,tasda/as Aerkenss wC4 enlcythefredoms atpass,ptosers,ars Independerce. Theseapas ehsyepanwkahavatas Siateswes! buikanei Tsenethathindi us M-IRASR-MENORAL DAY"pe Psorpems-strsn: comesatagrea; EREAS. ouPounepRFANA skies srasuroundt the drid,A Americanmiitay ae vs etendburlibgry urcupholey vhepromiced oto oLr democrgy.  gaschara asa nator. jersorint haves ho utswo ave sacrificexmadel by seirgnurpelall. ande eskthatchpday! DuRpis, Peririylyahia,tbbe: affixed 76  oppose he neresof freedbm. Mainyo of these es sèrvicemena and MENORIAL was cbsenseint 185Binremabranas ofscldiers For 55 aars, our naticnhass scc: aslde thidayse payhoraget tu Amerisan forses. and their tamilles, ané wa contiret to prayferchase rovy  ic our zountrys  SWHEREAS, Amcricenswel Lonor ter sairit: anc courage, vut rememberthe ganerations c NOW, THEREFORE, BE: TRESOLVE3, shar the flayorarc City Caedierusyalka. Pennsylvanis, harehyrallt upen L cltizens to oseryer Wunday, Mey 27: 205Ayas" "MEMORIALDAY", MTHESSY HENEPFWEh hase secourhands: ande gisedthe ofezis Seal: Ce. Ctyot  wothapprepriite: cerzinénizs:  Cay ofMayir.iha yerr afour: prcwothdmae AAL CiManage- ShawmArbaigt k Courdi Diember-E EliotGelfand ia is4 rfer,lackson   CZRSSIR M ceuniember- -Shane pletz  ATTES V6sh Sbscen CITYOFD DUBOIS, PENNSYLVANIA    198  City Council Meeting Minutes- - May 13, 2024 (continued)  Proclamation- Knights of Columbus 125th Anniversary" Counciwoman.ackson: readt thef following proclamation:  PROCLAMATION 125"ANNIVERSARY OF COUNCIL#519 DUBOIS KNIGATSOFCOLUMIBUS  MAY13,2024  WHEREAS, thet Monsignor Michael Drbonas Coundigisig ofthek KrighfColumbus DiBo, Fepnskania, APT WHEREAS,the! Charterc ofCcundl519 ofthek Knignts dcolembus) has-bsEn urbreken. since.ipont anrf ts meribers havés served God, tduntry ands comrhirigywthout: NOSTHEREFORE, 5E1 ITF RESCLVED,thart thek Mzyonand City Coungll cft thCyef N MITNESS WIEREOF, wal have setcurhandsa anccausedt thec Oical! Sbasrthecity ofDubais, Penrsy/venja, to be aflixedt fhist tteenth dey pfN Maylintheyearfour! Lordtwo  Anniersaryand irteruption althosis yéars. uBols,Fanr 19ofte tbcusahndSyenytour,  recognizes ane ebgrabilates the Mosignor Mishail Urbcras Coundl CalumbusT 125yaas rofsaricetothel DoBoisarea.  hL vamge-shwrAba B mleE-pRcpas he  COURCI Mismber ShaneDietz  R  ATTSST: WaSsim CnyoruosPwSTUANIA    199  City Council Meeting Minutes- - May 13, 2024 (continued)  Reschedule May: 27,2 2024, Council Meeting for May: 28, 2024, at 6:00 pm yea;. Jackson,yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motionp passed5 5-0.  Becausei May2 27,2024, is Memorial Day, the motion wasi made! by. Jackson and seconded by Dietzt tor move the City Councilr meetingto Tuesday, May: 28, 2024, at 6:00 pm. Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugn, The City of DuBois receivedi three! bidsf fort thei fireworks. The lowb bid was from Celebration Fireworks in the amount of$ $8,500.00. Arbaughr notedt that wel have used this companyi in the past andi they put on fantastic displays. Reasinger pointed out wel had budgetedf for $10,000.00. The motion was made! by Jackson: ands seconded by Gelfand to awardt thet fireworks contracti for. June 15,2024, to Celebration Fireworksi int the: amount off $8,500.00. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh.yea;. Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, Nasutin reportedi there was an omissioni int thet tabulation. Atthe April 22, 2024, meeting, the award was given to Barber's Chemicals. Thel low! bid was actually from SAL Chemical. Both companies are aware oft the error. Ther recommendation ist to awardt the Sodium Bisulfite contract for June 1,2 2024, throughi May 31, 2025, to SAL Chemical at $2.91 pers gallon. The motion was made! by Dietz ands secondedb by) Jacksoni to amendt the previous awardo oft the bisulfitel bid. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,yea; Gelfand, yea; Authorize! Execution ofl Local Counsel/Zoning Boards Solicitor Engagement Letter The City of DuBois hasb been! lookingf foral locals solicitorto handle zoning) hearing! boarda and code enforcement issues att the magistrate's office. Ther recommendationi ist to enteri into an agreement with Cicchinellit Fortunatol LLC, int the amount of $175.00 per hour forl local legal assistance. Ther motion was made by. Jackson ands seconded! by Gelfandt to approve the recommendation of Cicchinellil Fortunato: LLC att the rate of $175.00 per hour. Roll cally was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,yea; Gelfand,yea; Unfortunately, we received aletter ofr resignation from Becky) Hoover. Herl last day willl bel Tuesday, May 28, 2024.7 The motion was madel by Gelfanda ands seconded1 by. Jackson to accept Hoover's resignation. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand,yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,) yea. Motion Inv workingthrought thel budget, therev were: some errors found ons specifically the loan principal and loan interests ofv what was budgeted and what was actually neededt tor meett that expenditure. Additionally, there were some errors foundo oni insurance andy workman's compensation. Thet totali isa deficiti in the amount off $919,154-97-V Working with: staff we did come upy witha aj plan to modify thel budget to account fort that tol balance thel budgetf for: 2024. Ourr récommendation! ist that we execute: ar resolution: at ourr next meetingt to addresst thoseb budget issues with the modification" we set out. We canj postt those projected Councila askedA Arbaught tol looki into existingo debt, specifically several variable interest loans out currently. lamy working withaf financial advisor on whether itr makes sensei tor refinance some of ora all ofthose debts into al bondi issue. Wea are workingt throught thatr rightr now.Id discussed ouri information witht thema andt they did provide arecommendation. Wel have ac calls set upt for! latert this weekt to ask: some questions andg go throughs some ofthe details before wer makea any decisions. The six! loans wel have out currently are:  Award Fireworks Quote for June 15,2024  yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,) yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Award! Sodium Bisulfite Bid  Dietz,y yea; Reasinger,) yea. Motion passed5 5-0.  Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed5-0. Becky) Hoover Resignation passed 5-0.  2024 Budget Error and Modification. Recommendation  modifications ont the website. Existing City Debt- - Update  Year 2006 2012 2013 2015 2021  Project Sewer Recreational infrastructure Fire Hall addition/ waterl lines/water tank Waterl line/police garage addition/ streetscape  Issue Amount 1,388,614.00 9,000,000.00 4,664,523.00 4,400,000.00  CurrentRate 2.416% 5.7255% 5.7219% 5.7222% 2.06%  Current Balance $ 240,246.29 $5,637,565.98 $2,965,014.67 $3,169,798.56 $3,622,092.73  Wateri improvements $ 4,500,000.00    200  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024 (continued)  2023  SewerTreatment Plant Total Outstanding Debt Water Sewer General  $83,883.897.00  1%  $41,996,928.18  $57,631,646.41 11,577,277.01 44,587,231.86 1,467,137-54  Reasinger requestedt the information alsol be put ont the website. Arbaugh hopes to have more Wer receiveda al lettero ofr retirement from DeLean Shepherd effectivet tomorrow (Tuesday, May1 14,2024). Ther motion wasr madeb by. Jackson ands seconded by Gelfand toa accept Shepherdsretirement Rollo call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed We continue tor receive complaints about the roadi issues on Coke Hill. With the upcoming projectwork, wea are waiting until after the worki is completedt top pave the roads. Duet to! budget constraints, we: are replacingt the sectionsi inr most need. There aret two areas of concern. The firsti is Division Street, Orient Avenue, North Court, and South Court. Inz 2023, wes submittedag granta application tot the LSA (local share) program. Hopefullyi int thet third quarter of2 2024 we'll find outi ifv we gett thatg granta award. Thep projectis aiready designed andr readyt to go, Soy we'llb be ablet tos start that righta away. The others section is Green Glen Drivel betweent thet two Orient Avenue intersections." Thati is about 1,200 feeti inl length. Workingy with Sandy Township, wet think wel havet the materials in-houset to dot that. So as soon as we getal littlei further inc our! lead and coppers studies that arer mandated! by DEP this year, we're goingtot try and complete that work this year with our owni forces. Thep pavingy will thenl be donei inz 2025. Ifthere are any needsi int the meantime, we'llt try and patch as best as we can. Ifwe don't gett the grant, we'llH havet tot tacklet that ourselves. Reasinger askeda abouti thei type ofg grant. Nasuti replied, "Itisa1 100% grant."  information att the nextmeeting. DeLean Shepherd! Retirement  5-0.  Coke! Hill - Water Line Project Update  REPORTS  Redevelopment. Authority Codes/Zoning Engineering Police Department Street Department Water Department Water Plant Wastewater Treatment Plant Information Technology EMS  Arbaugh has receivedr monthly written reportsf fromi the: above departments.  Manager's Report was verybeneficial. those deadlines.  Currently our Fire Departments areg goingt througha an ISO inspection. Itisav verytedious process. Arbaugh commended ChiefF Federici whoi ish handlingthaty well. Sandy Township recently went through one andit Chris Nasutia andl larer meeting with DEPt tomorrow." Theyl have some concerns with ourt timelinet to finish the construction oft thel Wastewater plants. Hopefully we cand come to ar mutual: agreement to extend We willl be: advertising for thei timber cut ons some oft ther reservoir property. Wes should! have thosef for We! have been inundated with Right7 Tol Know requests. Ithast taken up: at ton ofs stafft time and resources. Some oft them are redundant. We'reg goingt to start advertising those ont the website So everybodyl has the Wel have discussed the dilapidateds structures. Thati isa ap primary concern of Council. We did look at different tools to utilize. Ultimately, we: needi to updatet the Ordinance ond dilapidated dangerous structures. Wel have some enforcement mechanisms that we can uset tof fast-tracks some ofthe  Councilt to approve att thes second. June meeting. information: and cuts! back ont the duplicatedr requests. demolitions we needt to doh herei int the City.    201  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024 (continued)  Public Comments  Shirley Dahrouge- Downtown! DuBois. Inc.  "Ij justy wantedt tos say thank) yout to Chris andt the City crew for accommodating" this past weekend for our chocolate evente event though wel had somel last-minute changes.! also wanted toi thank everybody who attendedt thel E3 with! Main Street America. An emaily willl beg going out this weekf for our next virtual one. Also,l Iknow Chris and Shawna are goingt to meet tomorrow with DEP.I willl have DCEDI int townt tomorrow tor meeta at my officef from 1-31 pm, soi ifyou're ablet tos stop byv we'llb be discussing the programs that willl be Clement hads several questions. "Shawn, thez 2012 $9,000,000.00 whichi is downt to $5,000,000.00. Are those! ball: fieldst that are stilll being paid for? Also, yous saidv water. So, Iwould imagine the waterfalls?" Arbaughr replied, "lt's noti the waterfalls. Itisi infrastructure relatedt to recreation." We did look at tryingt to doa deep divet tof find out specifically wheret thesef funds were allocatedt to. Thea accountingwitht this was very difficultt tof follow. There werer numerous bank accounts opened up. We don'ts see anythingnefarious going ons sucha as missingr money. Itl looks like! how the moneyy was allocated to different banks accounts then pulledi inv when cashr reserves gotl low,i it's not easyt tos sayt that) Xr number was spent on ball fields orX number wass spent ont the waterline! because ofH howt the cash flow wass set up." Clement asked, "But we still owe $5,000,000.00?", Arbaugh confirmed, "5.6r million". Clement said," "So thel ballf fields aren'ti free." "Whatj job did DeLean Shepherd holdt that she retiredf from?" Arbaughr replied, "She wast the Finance "Wast there anythingremarkable: int ther reports that were given? Did your notice anythingr remarkablei in Redevelopment or Codes?A Anythingr remarkable that wes should! know about?" There were al lotof differenti things. Thel Water Department dida al lot off flushing whichis isa al huge task for ust to do every year, buti it keepst the water nice andi fresh. Nothing! Iwould say remarkable, but normal stuff but differênt times ofy year different things change. Chris alluded to onet thinga as far as ont the water side. We're doinga lead and copper! line inventory whichi iss something new, alot of work, that's required to bes submittedt to "And, Becky! Hoover, whatj job dids shet resign from?" Arbaughr replied, "She was the Assistant" Treasurer." Clement asked," "Isl herj jobg goingto ber replaced? Wasi itp part-time orf full-time?", Arbaugh replied, "It wasa part-timep positions SOV we'res stilll lookingt to seev whati to do with jobs specifically! because wel have consolidationi right downi ther road. Wec don't want toh hire peoplet then have too many people herei ina year anda ahalfv when consolidation takes place. We'rel lookinga ati it! holistically rightr nowa and goingt to "Allt this money, shouldn't we! bel lookinga ata ane emergency loan from the state or aren't we there yet" Arbaughi replied, "The onel loan from the statei isal PennVEST! loan for1 1%s soi it's veryl lowi interest, very low rate. We: are goingtot talk aboutt this more on Wednesday att the Consolidation meeting, but one ofthe things we willl bel lookinga atis creatingab budget/tax structure/user fee: sub-committee SO we can really divei intot this ands see whatt thei impacts willl be ont thet two municipalities whent they come together." "Whoi is cleaning up after DuBois Days? Who will web be payingt to clean up orwillt the people! hostingitbe cleaning up?" Arbaughr responded, "We will have some employees availablet tol help witht the trash and "Att thel last meeting, wel hada aperson here who was very upset with the! behavior oft the Police and made quite afew comments." You( (Breth) were goingto work with! him. Couldy youg give us ant update on what happened," Brethr replied," "Thave communicated with him asy well ast two otheri individuals. Communication continues.! lam stilly waitingf fors some additional information that was promised that! Istill haven'treceived, but! like everyone else, our schedules are busy. We'rep patiently waiting. The Chiefhas given us ant update this evening on! hisi involvement withi thei individuals. He gave an updatet to Councilat Executive! Session, SOV we're followingt through ont the promises that werer made." "Wheny you're puttingt this stuff out ont thel Internet or ont thel homepage abouti thel loans, ist there any way you couldp put whatt thep priori interest rate was beforet theys signed ontoi the new variable rate ont the loans?" Arbaughr replied, "We can checkf for that. We'll definitely puty whaty wel havei into a very simple Backv whenI Iwas City Manager, wel hada al lot ofs state contracts, andy youb bought equipment andi tradedir in equipment. There'snothing fort thatina any ofthel budgets rightr now, itc doesn'ta appear. Have youl looked  eligible for us goingf for designation." Kathleen Clement- - Chestnut Avenue  Director."  DEP byr mid-October."  make at transition plant to determinel howt tol handlet those vacant positions."  such, but Gregg." Bev Kurts-F Rainbow Drive  RonTrzyna -South Avenue spreadsheet forf folks."    202  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024 (continued)  Ronl Tryzna -South Avenue (continued)  how  ata any ofthat, because) youh have al Vactort truck, youl have ands street sweeper, andI Idon't! knowh you're goingt tor replace thoset things whent thet time comes. Before, thatr money was always puta away ona yearly! basis and whent thet time came,1 Idon't! knowy who didt ther new negotiations on: allt these purchases ofe equipment ande everything elsel but really,l I'm concerned.. Just ont the Vactor truck. Ifitg goes down, you guys are goingt tol have somer majori issues becausei it's nots goingt to bei fixed right away.1 lwas wonderingif you! hada a chancet tol look ata any oft those." Arbaughr replied, "1 haven't had a chancet tol look ata any of that, butl wills sayt that SandyT Township has a fairlyr new' Vactort truck, So we woulds share services if we needed to. We dol have that redundancy! builti it. It's one oft thoset things where we probably need onei for the combinedi municipality! buti it's somethingy we'rel lookinga at." Tryzna continued, "Even witha alot ofthe mowert that wel had. Now we'rer running around all overt town gassing up theset things where before, they rant thoser mowers,t the. Johnl Deerer mowers, andt they rani really well. Now, we're ina anew, we'reb buying Mechling hads several questions and comments. "lhavej justa a couple ofthings. Ont the DuBois Days pool,I agree with. Jen,l thinki it's thel least we can dot fort the citizens withe everything they've! been going through. Butla am curious. Int the pastf few years,) what wast the cost for the pool days, thef free admission?1 just wonderedi if maybe, youk know, throw ar numbert that, how much didt that cost usi int the past?) You don't! havei toa answer rightr now."F Reasinger asked Nasutit to checki intoi it. Nasutir replied, "TV woulds say check ont thea attendance. Itv won'to cost us anything additional. We'reg goingto! have those peoplet there." Reasinger added, "We'rer not goingt tol hire any more staff." Nasutis said, "Wei may loser revenue, but we won'thave: any additional expense."F Reasinger said,' "Actually, wer may have newi families that try the pool and say, We want tol buya at ticket' sol Idon't thinki it's goingt to cost us alot ofmoney." Mechling asked, "Ont #17 (2024 Budget Error and Modification: Recommendation), who oversaw that error? Who was responsiblet for overseeing those accounts that the error was missed ofthe $919,000.00 deficit?" Arbaugh responded, That's typically al Finance Director responsibility."F Reasinger added, "But, all of Council looked: at that budget, including myself.I didr nots seei it. I'ms so sorry." Nasutis said, "It was ultimately: me." Mechling continued," "Andv will the Finance Director position! bei filled, or will that wait until consolidation?" Arbaughr replied, "We're goingt to evaluatei it. So, we're goingto see how we can operatei int thei interim. Ifwef feel wer really need tob bring someone in, then we're goingtor makea Mechling asked, "The upcomingt timber cut. Willt those dollars be used tob balancei the! budget again?" Arbaughr replied, "Those will be used tol help balancet the! budget." Reasinger interjected, "Some ofit. Not all ofit."! Mechlingasked, "Whaty willt ther rest be usedi for?" Arbaughi replied, "lty will; go into the Capital Reservel Fund."! Mechling continued, "ist there an update ont the accountst that wel hadt to getas subpoena for at S&T Banki fort the Fire Department: accounts? Did we ever gett that information?" Brethr replied, "Yes, we did."A Mechling asked, "Wasi its satisfactory?" Brethr replied, "We're continuingt to evaluate it." "1 havea a slew ofc questions, but firstl wantt tor maket the comment that! last Tuesday members ofthe Police! Department attendeda al Rotary meeting, andi Iwills sayt they gavea ay very memorable experience and program. Ithinky you should be very proud oft them, inp particular, Officer McCleary, Roya and Rhed. Itwas veryi informative. Itv was a great conversation" with community members." They were askeds some very good questions and Ace stolet the show. It was enjoyable to seel him there as well. Last evening, Ihadt the opportunity to attend the homerun derbyt fort the Small College World Series. Itwasag greate event.I Ireally hopet that morel local people attend these events. Wel have al lot ofr moneyi invested int thei infrastructure here andi was very disappointed oncet the derbye ended, everyone left. Allt thet teamsl left, andt they! hada beautiful: fireworks display. Hopefully withint ther next weekp people do get out fort thate event." "The questionsl have, because I'mr not verye educated ons some oft this bankingi information, can) you explaint tor me whatu ultimate, how doy you decidet to go witha aj private! bankingi institution versus bonds and goingt througha as state program? Cany yout talk aboutt that briefly," Arbaughr replied,' "Yes. One oft thet things we'll look: at, wer may get, usually bonds whent thei interest rate is higher onr normall Ioans likea commercial loan througha al bank. Usually bondr markets area al littleb bit downs 5O we getab betteri interest rate, soi it's onet thingy wel looka at, dov wer recognize al betteri interestr ratei from al bondi issue comparedtoa typical bank commercial: rate. That's one oft the things we'lle evaluate. We look atr refinancingt these." Vida continued, "OK. You didi mentions some ofthesei loans were refinanced,: sot the payments ont those refinanced! loans, didt the payments go down?" Arbaugh replied,' "No, they didn't go down."Vida: asked, "So, did wer receivea ar reimbursement", Arbaugh explained, "Those! loans were refinanced: and additional moneyy wast taken out. For example, the $9,000,000.00. There was al loan refinanced. andt then additional moneyt taken outa atag goodi interestr rate: att thet time, but theni itv was only fixed: forad certain period oft time. Ithinkt the $9,000,000.00 loan wast fixeda atli like: 2.5 percent, something pretty low, forat three-year period,  froms somebody else andi it'sj just very questionable: att this point."  Deb Mechling-A Monroe Street  recommendationt tol brings someonei in."  KristinVida- - Chestnut Avenue    203  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024 (continued)  thenr reset tot the variablei interest this) year." Reasinger interjected, "Theys should have been lockedina ata lowerr rate."Vida: said," 1 was curiousa aboutt the variability."R Reasinger said, "You don'tt takea a variable interest ratev wheni interestr rates arel low! becausey youl knewt they were goingt tos goup."Arbaugh: said, "Usuallyt there'sac cap oni it, 6-6.5%. The ratei isal littlel lowert thant that witht the economic cimater right now." "Vida continued, "Thisi isa alott to comprehend. I'm sorry.I havet to! be carefulv whatl Isay. So, witha all thesef financial issues andi the consolidation: study, wast thisi information: shared att that time, when we were preparingf for consolidation, goingt throught the study, wast this stuffo discovered?" Arbaughr replied, "It think wel knewt the debt, but mayber nott that ity was avariablei interest rate ultimately, anda also there were twol loans that weren'tt taken out yet whent thisi information was provided. The newv wastewater plant was just2 2023. There's also az 2021 loant that wast taken outa aftert thei information was already provided fort the consolidation. study."Vida continued, "lj justy wanted tor makes suret there weren'tany surprises."A Arbaugh said, "Thei interest rates wereas surprise. That's one thingl Idon't! knowi ifwe Vidas said, "Going backt tot thel ball fields, I've often! heard ofa and remember ouri former mayors speaking abouta allt thep positive thingsa anda aboutt thei income the arear receives especially wheni ito comes tot the hotelsa andr restaurants, buty whatI IwouldI liket tok knowi is how muchr money does the Citya as ani institution get?A Are we charging Penn State top play on our fields? Whati incomei ist the City itself receiving from these?" Reasinger clarified, "Fromt theb ballf field orf from thet tournaments?" Vida replied,' "All ofit." Reasinger explained, "Wea actually payt fort thet tournaments to come here." Nasuti clarified, "Justt this one."A Arbaughs said," "We do charge ai fee forr rental oft thei fields, a certain feet forj practices and a certain feet for games." "E Reasinger: added, "And Penn States gives us at fee every, year to usei it." Jackson asked, "So you're sayingt thaty wep payf for thes smalll ballt to comet to DuBois, wep payf fort that?" Kathleen Clement asked, "Howr much?" Jackson replied," "IH have noi ideal because, Kathleen, thati is the first I've ever heard that spoken." " Arbaugh said, "Sor my understanding ist that they submita al Requesti for Proposals nationwide and municipalities respondt tot those Request for Proposals.. Ibelieve our proposal was $25,000.00.1 Then, we provides somes staffs support. Al lot ofitis is kind of unpaid staffs support, but we doh have some dedicated staff members that basically are attheir call andl beckon." Vida continued, "Ithink, notj justr myself, butl thinke everyonel here and people watching would appreciate al breakdown oft those costs becausei it's always beenp puto out theret that everything's) paid for with grantsi In this City." Reasinger said, "Ball: fields arer not all paidf for withg grants. They got grantsf fort them, buti most grants are 50-50."Vidar responded, "AndI Irealizet that. Youl knowl Iknowi that, but the: averagep person doesn't, and Ithinkp people.." Reasinger: said,' "Thatv whyl asked Chris aboutt that one loan. It's 100% loan. Most oft thema are 50-50." Vida continued, "People are: misled, and think whatp peopler need tor realize is $2.51 millioni isa ally we receive inp property taxes annually andy wel have debt ofv what, $100,000,000.00?1 Idon't knowi ifit's customary that we're always borrowing from thev water and sewer authority orb business or why our water and: sewer rates keeps going upl because we're coveringt this debt.I Ijust think ifthat'st the case we needt to bei int the know about that and exactly! how much debt we have and whato our watera ands sewerb bills aret financing." Reasinger said, "fy youl look att thel budget, wel haves separated water, sewer and general fund. That's something askedf for. So,) you canl look ont the budget and seet the profit oft thes seweri fund, profit ofthe waterf fund andy you cans see what goes intoi the generalf fund. They uset that tol balance thel budget." Deb Mechling added, "Plus trees." Reasinger said, "Yes. There wasi more money spentt than what camei infor 20y years. Wev willr not dot thath here." Vidaa asked, "We'rer notg goingtof filet for bankruptcy, are we?" Reasinger replied, "No."A Arbaugh explained," "That one oft thet things we're working on as part oft this consolidation effort. That'sv why, again, Wednesday we'lll hopefully get as subcommittee: approved to really start diggingi intot this because our consolidation agreement requires us by February ofr next yeart to have that tax structure inj place. To gett thatt tax structure inp placey wer needt tok know whatt the! budgetis or have areally, reallys goodi idea ofv whatt that budgeti is, andy we need tol know what those user fees aref for water and sewer.' We'rel kind ofh hopingtot tiet this allt together holistically, startingi in June."F Reasinger: said, "We really didn'th have a choicet tob builda asewert treatment plant."Vidar replied, "I know that, Pat, andI understand why ourf fees wouldg go upf fort that, but noti fort the other. Thank you."R Reasinger said, "We plan ons spending! less than whaty wet take in." That'st this Council. What happened before, we'll deal withi it. We're still very solid. We'res still making allt thep payments. We'ver neverr missed one. We always have moneyi int the general fund. We're ing goods shape, well, okays shape- not greats shape. But we'll work throughi it. Itv will work. I'm confidento ofthat. There'sal lot. It'snot easy andt there'sal lot going on, so we "AI lot ofwhat wej just goto donet talking about, but l've been hearinga aboutr millions of dollars fora a loan here and! billions ofo dollarsf fora al loan there. Didi Iheart thatt the interesty we're payingi is abouta ar million dollars ay year?" Arbaugh replied, "don't! knowt that specificr number, sir, buti it'ss something we'lll look into."F Reasinger added,' "You'llh be: ablet tos seet that ont thel budget. Whent thel budget comesi in, it's allo on there.1 don't remember the exactr numberr myself."N Mechling continued, "lu understand everyone was handeda ar mess.Ig getit.lguess whatl wantt tol know,i ist thereap planp putt together to get us out ofthis  anticipated."  have to deal withi it." Charlie Mechling- Monroe Street    204  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 13, 2024 (continued)  Chatie.Mecling-Memme Street (continued)  mess SOV we are gettingr morel in, because ffv we'rep paying al lot ofmoneyi ini interest, the only people to benefit aret thet financial institutions. Ist there aj plant that'sg goingt tos get us headedi Int ther right direction, andlknowi lt'sr not goingt tol happen overnight,! gett that, tos start workingu us to abetter direction. Ist there financial advice?l don't knowi ift that'sy your1 forte?l Idon'te even! know, Shawn."A Arbaugh answered, "Right now, we're workingv with at financial advisor which, het took al look and does sees some benefitto refinancingt three oft the outstanding loansi into onel bondi issue, sot thati is something we: are goingto evaluate int ther next: 2-4 weeks. Additionally, staff workedi really! hard on identifying areas where wet think we cand cutt the budget duet to certain items that mayr not be needed, SOV we have aj pretty! lengthy plant to addrèss the shortcomings that werei identified.". Jackson added, "Charlie, this Councill know atl least three of us are dedicated" to getting us out ofthisr mess that we'veb been! handed! here: and wez are working diligently to do whaty we can- - cuto costs - dov whatv we cana and wel brought Shawn on boardal little earlier than intended! but we're doingv what we can." Mechlingr responded, "lg gety you're goingt toi have tos starta trajectory and workt towards it.Iknowi it'st not goingt tol happen overnight.. Just ap plani that's goingto! be working." Reasinger added,' "Bonds are expensivet to do, So wel have tol look att the savings versus the cost oftheb bond. It's complicated, that's whyy wel have help."D Deb Mechling said, "That) youi for ally your "Two questions. One, itseems liket there'ss still ani investigation going ons somewhere ats somel level.I wouldi imagine, Mayor, we'res still cooperating?" Reasinger replied," "Absolutely, 100% cooperating." Clement continued, "But there have been more subpoena requests andt things ofthatr nature." Reasinger replied,' "It thinke everything'sbeen: answered now, hasn'tit?" Nasuti answered, "Correct.. Any subpoena wel havel hadi issuedt to us has beenr respondedi to." Reasinger added, "We'veg givent them allt the information" they'ver requested." Clement continued, Number two.1 know we'ret talkinga abouth budgets, andl Iknow) you're goingt tol look at everything. Every department in our City could be eligible for cuts?! It seemsl like we've gotas short change. Ithinks some departments might have: some more moneyt than others. Are wev willingt to cuta across thel board?" Arbaugh replied, "Working withs staff we did develop a prettys goodp plant to make cuts where we could.A And, it does impact,! Ithink, every department." Reasinger added, "Somer moret than others! because ofthes situation. We'llp put that on the website and you cans seey where we cuta and where we couldn't cut, sot that will alll be out therev where) you can see." "How abouts summer employment?1 Imean, $15.00 an! hour forat teenagert tot take care of, what, cemeteries? Imean,) yes, thei investment needs tol bet there, but $600.00 aweeki isal lot of money." Arbaughr replied, "t'sk kind ofr multifaceted, but one ofthet things is we're required to maintain our flood control projecty whicht takes al lot ofr resources. Ifwe paid our Public Works Department, they make tremendously: moret thant thate especially wheny youf factor pensions andi medical costs. That numberis enormoust to have them do, it'sad discounta andi it'ss something we'rer requiredt to do from numerous agencies. Additionally, justt to even cut grass, wel have al lot ofa areas, al lot ofland we own andi it'sa savings tol havet the summer help dot that as opposed to our public works department." " Reasingera added, "And, ifwe wenta any! lower, Chris, I'm nots sure we'd geta ast many as we! have."N Nasuti replied, "Wel hadt to raise the number." Reasinger said, "We hadt tor raise itto get peoplet to doi it." Clement asked," "So,a teenager wouldn't work for $10.00/hour?" Reasinger replied, "No. College kids wouldn'ty workf for $10.00/hour."/ Arbaugh added, "AI majority ofthema arer returning summer help, so they aret familiar with equipment, familiar withi thej job.s So, it's definitelyab benefitt to! bringt them on." Trzyna: asked, "Howr many summer helpe employees do you) have?"A Arbaught replied, "lt think we have 19."Trzyna asked, "Didy you turn anyone away?! know! last year wet talked about this."N Nasuti replied, "We did. Wel have 19t this) year and one already said she has a differentj job, SO we are operatingwith 18."F Reasinger added, "You can't even! keep them for $15.00. There'sat tremendous amount of grass in the City. Go downt the walkway. They! keep that all. Wel have tol keep itb by law, we havei tol keep that clear. Andy you don't wantt the park  hardy work, too."  MichaelClement-75B Brady Street  Clementi replied, "Excellent." Thank you." Kathleen Clement. - ChestnutAvenue  beingh high. There'sa al lot of grass, anda al lot ofs summer maintenance."  Council Member Comments Councilwoman Jennifer. Jackson  "The pool pass discount ends Mayz 24, 2024, soi ify youy want a pool pass att the awesome City pool, dot that. As somebodyr mentioned! baseball. Wel havel beautifulf facilities here, but our local peopler needt to go out and supporti it. Wel havei it. It'snotg going anywhere, so wel havet tor maket the most ofit. Please utilize goingt tos seet theset teams. They're! here.1 Thei fireworks weref fantastic last night. The police department, Shawn (McCleary) was atE Executive! Session. also! heard aboutt ther meeting at Rotary, 5o greatj job! Things mayl look bad but we'ret trulyy working as hard as we cant tor make this the! best placet to! live."    205  City Council Meeting Minutes = May 13, 2024 (continued)  Councilman Elliot Gelfand  "Welcome tot the College World Series ande everyonet that's visiting outt town. Let's welcome them.I weicomet them. We're gladt thatt they're! here.! Iwant tor reiterate what everyone else has said. Get outto the games. It's goingt to ber nice this week, sos support allt thep people that are int town.1 lwant tot thank some long-servinge employees who are stepping downi this week. Becky Hoover andl DeLean (Shepherd) have served this Cityf foral longt time, and we: appreciate their service and wish them the! besti ini their next "Shawnr mentionedi thet flood control projects that are out theret that we've done overt thej pastf fewy years. I'mt thankfulf fort that because Icant think back toz 2013 wel hads some flooding. Iknowt this springy we had some highy water. Ito didn't come up over thel banks. Hopefully that's duet tos some ofthev workthat'sbeen "The City crews workh hard and so dot the college kidst tol keep.t the City lookingr nice andi they need tol be commended: fori that. Greate events using thel balli fields, the DuBois City Classic was recently held. Not the greatest weather, buta a loto oft that depends ont thet turnoutt that comes even tot the Small College World Seriesv with being ablet to! bei int town to got tos some oft the games and: stuff, sol hopefully, the weatheris nicei is DuBoist this week fort them. I'mg gladt they're! here. There's some great! bailgames out there, soi ifyou "TV was att the! ball field! last night, too, andt there wasa al lot ofk kids int the outfield: shaggingh ballsf for the home run derby, butl beti isaw onlyf four orf five citizens. There: are some pretty goodt teams out there, but I'mi nots sure we do a greatj job ofa advertisingi it. (Severair members ofthe audience agreed.)Shawn calledr me andl Isaid, "Yeah, P'llC dot that.' Ithrew outt thet first pitch- andid did OK, too- butI Twouldn'thave knowna abouti it. Wer need to advertiset that. Hotelr room were filled up: from Clearfieldi to Clariona and: allt the hotelsi in DuBois anda allt ther restaurants: aref full. Whatt the Citya actually receives oft that money! isn'tal lot, but your know what,t there'sr nota a profita att thel library. There'sr not ap profit att the pool. There's probably not goingt tol bea aj profita att thel ballf fieldsf for the City, butt they are great, wonderfult Ithings you! havei int this Cityt to enjoy. They'ree expensive: and we're goingto! keepi them as busy asv we can and get out ofthem what we can get out oft them. Ihavet tos say,! l've worked with Becky on Redevelopment (Authority): for like 20) years. Fabulous, fabulous person. I'my very: sadt tos see she'sl leaving. And, DeLean has helped me tremendously. Every questionl lasked shet turneda around and! handedr me allt thei information. Every question, anything ever asked. We're goingt to miss both oft them very, very much. There! beingr nof furtherb business tot transact, the motion was madeb by. Jacksona and seconded! by Gelfand that Councila adjourn. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz, yea;  endeavors." Councilman Shane Dietz done overt they years." Councilman Aughenbaugh  can get outt there, geto outt there andy watcht them."  Mayor Pat Reasinger  Adjourn  Reasinger, yea. Motion passed 5-0. ATTEST: Verbi Slocum  APPROVED:  56