206  City Council Meeting Minutes - May: 28,2024  City Counçil Chambers, City Building, 16 West Scribner Avenue, DuBois, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, May: 28, 2024, at6p p.m.; Council convened at their regular City Council Meetingy with Mayor Pat Reasingeri ini the Chair. Other Council Members present were. James Aughenbaugh (by phone), Shane Dietz, Elliot Gelfand andJ Jennifer. Jackson. Also present were: City Manager, Shawn Arbaugh; City Solicitor, Thomas Breth; Public Works Director/Engineer, Chris Nasuti; Interim Police Chief Shawn McCleary; Sandy Township Police Ther meeting was calledt to order at 6j p.m. andt thel Pledge ofA Allegiance wasl led by Reasinger. Council met inE Executive Session priort tot tonight'sr meetingt to discuss! labor contracts andp personnel.  Chief, Kris Kruzelak; andA Administrative Secretary, Korbis Slocum.  Executive! Session (legal and personneli issues) Public Comments onA Agendal Items Only No comments. Approval of Minutes CityCouncil Minutes-A May13,2024  The motion was made! by Gelfand ands seconded! by Dietz that Council approve the City Council Meeting Minutes ofN May1 13, 2024, asp presented. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, The motion wasr madel by. Jackson ands seconded by Gelfandt top pay the Autol Draft Check Registerby Check! ID dated May: 23, 2024, int the amount of$ $15,942.46. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh,yes; The motion wasi madel by Dietz and secondedh by. Jacksont to pay the General Fund Purchase Order Listing by Vendor Name dated May: 23,2 2024, int the amount of$ $122,481.86.F Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed5 5-0. Ther motion was madel by Gelfand and seconded! by Dietz top payt the PennVEST Check Register by Checkl ID dated May2 23, 2024,1 int the amount of $3,405,390.87. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,  yea; Dietz, yea;F Reasinger, yea. Motion passed 5-0.  Registry ofl Invoices  Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed5 5-0.  yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz,yea; Reasinger,y yea. Motionp passed 5-0. Redevelopment. Authority Cooperation, Agreement oner moret time tor make sure we are OK witha allt the provisions. Appoint Shawn Arbaugh Right-to-Know Officer  OLDI BUSINESS  There! havel beens severald discussions." The recommendationi is tol have our Solicitor review the agreement  NEW BUSINESS  Thisi ist to officially name Shawna as Right-to-Know Officerf fort the City of DuBois sot thei information can! be updated witht thes state. The motion was made by. Jacksona ands seconded! by Gelfandt tor name Shawn Arbaugh as Right-to-Know Officer fort the City ofD DuBois. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh,yea; Fort the pasts several months, a copy oft thep proposed! Employee Manual has been reviewed by key City employees and City Council. Thei final producti isr readyf for Council's approval. The motion was madeb by Gelfand: and seconded! by Dietz to approve the Employee Manual as presented. Roll call was asi follows: Aughenbaugn, yea; Jackson,! yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,y yea. Motion passed 5-0. Asar result oft the errorst that were discovered,1 thisr resolutioni moves moneyf from certain line itemst to make surev we! havea ab balanced budgetf for they year." Therei isa ana attachment: showingt thei increases and decreases. The motion wasi made by Gelfanda and secondedb by. Jackson to approve thel budget transfer resolution. Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugn,; yea;J Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, Award Green-Light-Go Traffici Light Upgrades Bid (Brady Street, Park Avenue, Liberty Blvd.) Therev was ab bid openingo on May: 20, 2024, at the City Building. Thel low! bid wasi from M&B Constructioni in the amounto of $492,003.29. The construction budget was $500,000.00. The recommendationi is to award the bidi toi M&B Construction. Thisi isa Green-Light-Go 80-20 grant. Aughenbaugh: asked Nasuti toe explain  Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed5 5-0.  Employee Manual  Budget Transfer Resolution yea. Motionp passed 5-0.    207  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 28, 2024 (continued)  Award Green-Light-GoT Trafficl Light Upgrades Bid (continued)  the project fort the public. Thel lighty will operate verys similarlyto whati ito does now, buti it willl ber modem equipment. The detection will! be updated from loopst to radar. Thet timing ont traffic lights atr nearby intersections will be coordinatedi together. Construction will hopefully begini int thet falla and! be completed bys spring. Arbaughr notedt this was bidf forl botht the City of DuBois and! Sandy Township. Thes supervisors will considert this att their. Junes 3, 2024, meeting. Ther motion was made! by. Jackson and: seconded! by Dietz toa awardt thep projectt tol M&B Construction int the amount of $492,003.29.1 Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed 5-0. Thel bidy wel hade earlier this) yeard camei inc overb budget. The scope ofthep project wasi re-evaluated. by Nasuti andi Matt Cook ofs Sandy Township. The bid openingy was May: 23, 2024, with the! lowl bid comingf from Linesf for Lessi int the amount off $31,966.75. The City portion would! be $18,145.00. This will be on Sandy Township'sagenda: for. June: 3,2 2024.1 Ther recommendationi ist to award thej projectt to Lines for Less. The motion wasr made by. Jackson and seconded by Gelfand to accept the recommendation: and awardt the projectt tol Lines forl Lessi int the amount of$ $31,966.75. Gelfand questionedy what eliminatedt to change the scope oft thep project. Nasuti replied, "Most ofitv was centerl lines that ares still ing goods shape."F Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand,) yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed5 5-0. Thisi is and ordinance: amending Chapter 385 oft the Code of Ordinances oft the City of DuBois entitled "Streets and Sidewalks" by addingt tot thet table ofv vacated and abandoned: streets and alleys! listeda as Sections 3085-102 ofArticle) XVi,a as section vaçating Sunflower. Drive from Tenth Street tot the eastern dead end.I Ifyout turn onto 10th Street att thel loopp portion, there is ana alley tot the rightt that was Sunflower Drive that dead endsa att thes sectiont that was vacated! by Sandy Township many years ago. This isjust cleaning upt thatr neighborhood. Gelfand asked, "Whata arei the! benefits ofhavinga ana alleya addedt tot thel list?" Nasuti replied,' "Therei isr nol benefitt tol havingt thata alleyt there. Itv would! havel been put inc originally tol have access tot thel back oft those properties, but with that other portion vacatedi this is wasted area." Reasinger asked, "Where does thep property go?" Nasutir replied, "The adjacent property owners." Itv willl be advertisedf for threey weeks andi then we willb bringi it! back fort the second reading. The motion was made by Gelfand ands secondedl by Dietz toa approve thet first reading oft the ordinance. Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,y yea; Reasinger, yea. Motionp passed 5-0. Arbaugh! has done: some research ony what bondi issue we couldi look att tor reduce our overall debt service payments ons some oft the variable interest loans wel have outstanding. We did dealy with. Janney Montgomery: Scott, ar reputablet firm, and came up with ai tentativel bondi issue. They show at fixed rate of about; 3.9% overt thel life oftheb bond, whichi is1 15) years. Theys show about $100,000.00 ofs savings eachy year ond debt service comparedt tot the currentr rates we arep paying ons some oft the variable! interest ones, which ares 5.7%. Reasinger questioned,' "Some oft those go outt to: 2038a and: 2047? So, we'res shortening thet term and savingr money." Arbaughr replied, "Correct." This is justf fori information and questions tonight because wea arel looking: att thes samet time for ab bondi issuei int the amount off $2,000,000.00 fort the City building upgrade. Wei may sees some savingsi if we doi it att thes samet time. That money would ber repaid by thes statet througha a grant, buty you dol have too dot thep projectf first andt thens seek reimbursement for that money. We should! hear backi int ther nexty weeko ort two and couldp potentially vote on June 10, 2024. This ist tos seek approvalt tol bringt the administration from the Sandy Township building into the City of DuBois office. Withi thel loss oft thel Finance Directora and Assistant Treasurer we have some gapst that need tob bef filled. Kristen Dunna and Terri Bracken (SecretaryTreasurer) have been ablet to comei ina and work witht the existing staff, especially Daynay who has been an asseta and7 Tommy, to makes sure wel have a handle ont thet financial situations and human resource issuesi in! DeLean's departure. Itisv very difficultt to runt two offices, so ourr recommendationi ist tob bring individuals, including myself, here fullt time andi have very! limited! hours att the Sandy Township! buildingf fort things! like code enforcement, zoningi issuest that may come up during prescribed! hours. We still wouldh have anA Administrative Secretary att thel Police Department: that would bea ablet toa assist anybody. We dol have special apps that ringt to ourp phonesif someone calls a Sandy Townshipl buildingtob bringo directlyt to our cell phones. The Board ofs Supervisors of Sandy" Township did approvet this relocation1 tol heip bridget the gapi inc our consolidation. The motion was madeb by. Jackson ands secondedl by Dietz to approve the employeer relocation1 tot the City building. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea; Reasinger, yea. Motion passed  Award Line Painting Bid  Sunflower Drivel Vacation Ordinance- - First Reading  Bondl Issue /Debt Refinancing  Sandyl Township Employeel Relocation  5-0.    208  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 28, 2024 (continued)  Chris Nasuti Retirement  Itisy withg great displeasure, a very sad dayt tol bring this to your attention, but wel have receiveda retirementr noticei from Chris Nasutit that wouldb be effective. Julys 5,2 2024. Regretfully, ther motion was made! by Jackson and seconded by Gelfand to acceptt the retirement notice from Nasutif fora a greatj jobf for the City. [There was a round ofa applause from the audience.] Reasinger said," "Chris, I'm goingtor miss you. Wev worked wellt together and! hadt thes samet feelings about the City. lt'sagreat place."F Roll call was as follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson,) yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,) yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed5-0. Thisi ist tos seek authorization toa advertisei fort the City Engineer position, tot tryt to finds someonet that canl be half as good as Chris Nasuti. Ther motionv was madeb by Gelfand ands secondedby! Dietzt to approve 75th Anniversary DuBois Little League Celebration- - Fireworks: and Speciall Event Approval (June 8, 2024) Wer receivedar requestf for use of City park on. June 8,2 2024, fort the 75th anniversary of DuBois Little League. Itir includes fireworks andi inflatables int the grass area. Scott Franoi invitedt the wholet townt tot the celebration. "Therei isr nof fee. We: are goingt to give awayf food, popcorn, and T-shirts. We'res goingt tot finish witha at T-Mobile nationall homer run derby. Whoever wins willg go ont tot the nexts step. We're goingt tot try to getar moviei involved andf finishu up witha ai fireworks display."7 Ther motion wasr madeb by Gelfand and seconded! by. Jacksont to approvet the request from thel DuBois Little Leaguet for. June 8,2 2024. Roll call was asf follows: Aughenbaugh, yea; Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz,y yea; Reasinger,yea. Motion passed 5-0. "Ij just have a question. The uniona askedt tol bei involvedi int the writingo oft the (Employee) Handbook. What happened? Ifit'sa already written, already approved."! Reasingerr replied, "We'lll look into that." Gave his monthly update ont the Fire Department. "Call-wise, we've! been busy. Our call volumes increased. Recently, thet township addedi us tot their fire boxess sot that's wherer most of our calls have gone. Their stations are on ourf firel boxes, structure fires, SOV we'rev workingt together. Wel hada ai mock crash on May1 16th att thel highs school. Ity wentr really well. Wel hadl lifei flighta andi the coroner there. Itwas pretty realistic. We did have ourl ISOi inspection. They met with Chris and Shawn. Chief Federici and! Imet witht them for several hours. They went over ourb books andt theyi inspected all our fire trucks. We're waitingt tol hear! backi ifv we'res still an! ISO# #1.T The Volunteers hadt their Fireman's Plattera and Fourthy Ward had their Mother's Day Chicken BBQ.1 Iwantt tot thank everyone for purchasingt tickets ands supporting our fire departments." Fundraisers will start back upi int thet fall. We will be cooking! hot dogs andH hamburgers fort the congregation: after Churchi int the Park on. June gth. Our Firemen's Weeki is coming up. June 18-20. Wel have our annual competitions - Battle oft the Barrel and Run al Pump- - Tuesday and Thursdaya att the Ibroughs some special guests! heret this evening. We recently completed our fire school. It's over 2001 hours oft training to volunteerf fory your community. Iwant tor recognize thosei folks who are consideredi interior firefighters: Daniel Leroy andz Zach Garmen: from Thirdy Ward; From 74, Justice Kemmerer: from 74 (Fourth Ward); and/ Andrew Mcintosh, Jacob! Mcintosh, Kaelyn! Korb and Zak Marshall allf from Goodwill. I'm very proud oft thesei folks. Wel had ab bunch ofj juniors asv well. I'me extremely: proud oft thesei folks. It'sal lot of work. Weh have another special guest, Jerry Mcintosh. Hel has 57 yearsi int thei fire department. Hes served as Fire Chief backi int the1 19805, he still goest to meetings, he'ss still active ands goes on calls ast the driver. Mcintosh: said, "I'mj proudt tob beH here, especially' with my grandchildren here.1 It'si inc our blood. My grandfather was Fire Chief way, wayb back. My wife, Cheryl, is my righta andl left arm; she keeps me straight. "Att thel last meetingt there were some questions aboutt the summer help. I'dI liket toa addi tot that since I'm ther mom of one oft thel kids thati ise employed byt the City.I Iknow one oft the questions was What dot they dof for $15.00/hour?'l wante everybody tol know whati they do. They'rer responsible for over two dozen locations tor mowi the grass, they have to cleant the area around the creekt thati includes mowing and weeding, they cuta abandoned! lawns, theyt trim trees,t theyl landscape, they power wash, they paintf fire hydrants andf fences, andt theyr makes suret the garbagei is removed from allt thep parks and1 thei fields. Probablyt the worst) jobi inr my opinioni ist they clean the publici restrooms. Some people intentionally make ito difficulti for them. They clean upa after otherp people's dogs, theyl helpr maintain thet turff fields, andt they doa anythinga anybody needst top prepf for any public events. Because there's often sor muchr negativity, thought! Imight throwt that outt there. Fort those who are naysayers: and don'ty want tos support anything that's going oni int the City, justk knowt thesel kids aret tryingt to eamt their rent for next) year. They're doing the! best they can. Maybe anybody thati isn'ti interestedi ins supportingt them cant think differently andI look  Authorization to Advertise Engineering) Position advertisement oft the City Engineer position.  Public Comments Bob Swope-DuBois  Leo Brooks A Assistant Fire Chief  highs schoola and Sinkt thel Tub) Wednesday: att the Tannery. Those start at 6:00 p.m.  Asl longa aslcan doi it,l I'm goingt to keep volunteering. So,t thanky you."  Michelle Snyder- Green Ridge Drive    209  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 28, 2024 (continued)  Michelle Snyder- Green Ridge Drive (continued)  for the goodt these kids are doing. Look att thesek kids over here, what great thingst they're doing. l'm really, really proud ofthey youthi in oura area."F Reasinger said,' "Whenl drive around,l always seet them. "Afterthel last Councilr meeting, Ithinke everyone walked out ofH herel kind ofins shock with ouri financial situation. Oncel got over my shock, startedt thinkinga abouts some possibilities. One ofthet things thatl find whenl Itravel, whichi isal lot, ist there's hotelt taxes. Youl looka att ther receipt: andy yous seer municipal tax ont there allt thet time. It's very common. Ther residents aren't payinga at tax; it's people that are traveling through, soi it's nota al hardship on any residents. The averageh hotel taxi int the United: Statesi is1 13.4%, which isn'tt tool bad. Buti ity wouldh be collected! by thel hotels 5o) you don't reallyl have any expense to speako of therea andi itv would! kind ofH helpu usr monetize thel balli fields, tor maybeg get al little bit ofareturn from all of that. Hopefully we can gets something going ont that."Reasinger: responded," "Tasked aboutt that tonight. Clearfield County charges 5%1 hotelt taxr rightr now. That'sa countyt tax andi they do divide it up. We've gottens some moneyf fort thet tournaments: andt things! liket that, soi ito does! help us. Our tournaments fill hotels from Clarion to Clearfield, soi itwould ber nicet tos getab bigger chunk oft that. lagree withy you." "Ij just! had a question.! know wet talkedI last time about! howr mucht the ball tournament cost. How much ofthat dov wer receive inr returnf from donations ora advertising?" Reasingerr replied, "cant tell you there was ai five-year contract andi the county, itv was $25,000.00 a) year. The county paid $25,000.00 thei first year, $20,000.001 the secondy year, then $15,000.00 then $10,000.00 then $5,000.00. lt's upi for renegotiation. Hopefully, they can kickinali little more nextt time. Ihave askedf fori financials ont the! ball fields.1 lhaver nots seen them. It'sr nota ane easyt thingt to dol becauset there'sa al lot ofe extral helpa ands stufft that goes overt there also." Kurts said, "ButI wouldt thinkt that the! hotels and some otherr restaurants and stuff would! be happyt to makea a donation becausei they arer making out ont this."A Arbaugh replied, "We dol have several donations ands sponsorships for thei fields. We can work on gettingt those numbers, but there are numerouss sponsorsi int the: area." Reasinger said, "thinkt this ist thet firsty year we'ver reallys startedt to keep a separatet tracko oft those expenses, So we'llk know better att the end oft the year whatt things actually cost" "I'm kind of ont thei fence ont this wherel lagree withe everybody. I'm ass shocked ase everybody to find out howr muchr moneyt thisi is costing usi int thet fields. But,l aiso want- - asal Little! League coacha andv watching these! kids play- itisg great fort thisp place. Itr really is.I understandi itis costingt the City money.! just hope that everybody realizes whati it's doingf fort thesel little! kids, lettingt themp play onag good field. Liket today,i it poured down rain. The oldi fields, they wouldn't bez ablet to play. Tonight, we're playing. Granted, it's costingt the City money, but it's alsol helpinga allt these businesses out. Ihope peoples see the positivei int that andr nott trytog get rid oftheset thingst that ares supposed tol be costing usr money.I hopey yous guys realize that."F Reasinger replied,' "lt'ss sort ofl like thel library andi the pool. We don'tmake: money on thel library "Chris,! wishy youa allt the best. Thanky you. Asf fara aslknow, there'sno talk about gettingr rid ofa any ball field. It'sj just tryingt to make thel best ofv whaty wel have, butv we doa appreciate whati itis.A And,1 I'dI like to thankt the Firel Department and allt ther newy young members coming up. Ithinki it's greatt that Leo comes to "First off, a shout out tol Littiel League. Mr. Frano, thank) youf fora ally your hard work that goes intot that and makei ity whati it is, givingt the! kids somethingt to do andk keept them offt thes street.) Ithink that's part ofwhat the ball fields bring. Peoplel like playing ont them.I It's notad cow pasture by: any means. I'm lookingf forward tot the 75-year celebration. Also, to the Chieft for your report. Congratulationsi to allt the newi interior firemen. That'sag great achievement. As shout out to Chief Mcintosh fory your dedication over the 57years. Asf faras Chris,) you know,l sent) you ane email, but you'l sadly be missed and ally your hard worka and dedication ona al lot oft these projects that! have! been accomplished overy yourt tenure. You can look back and bep proudt thaty youv were a partofth that, sot thanky you." Nasutir responded, "Thank.you, Jim." "Congrats ony yourr retirement: andi next steps, Chris. Sad tos seey you! leave.I appreciate: allt the helpy you providedt to uss since. January andp priort tot that.I Iwishy yout the best. Congratulationsi to allt the young firemen. Greatt tos seet the youthj joiningt the fire departments. It's needed and hopefully, you cane encourage yourf friendst toj join, too. Thanksf for coming, Leo. Thank) you, Chief Mcintosh, for ally your service. Like Jen said ont thel balli fields, no one'stearingt them down, no onet thinkst they're! bad. We want people to  They're always working."! Nasutia added, "We couldn't operate withoutt them."  Charlie Mechling-Monroe: Street  Bev Kurts  Rainbow Drive  Bob Swope- -DuBois  and thep pool, buti it'sa great assetf fort the City." Council Member Comments Caunclwoman.emnifer) Jackson the meetings. We appreciate It." Councilman/ Aughenbaugh  Councilman Elliot Gelfand    210  City Council Meeting Minutes - May 28,2024 (continued)  understand thet fullj picture ofv what they cost, what the commitment is ont thep part oft the City. Wea are lookingt tor maximizet thep potential oft them. It'sj just opend dialogue aboutt them.1 thinkt they're greatf for the City. They're beautifula andt they'rer not going anywhere. There'sal lot ofg great activities going ont this summer from the Citya andf from! lots ofc other people, sop pleaset take advantage. Hopefully, we'lls see you downa att the parkt this summer. Head ond downt tot the celebration fori thel Little League. Iknow) PIIb bet there withr my) kids. Ireally appreciate everything, Scott,t that the league does fort the City: as well, sot thank you." "Chris,t thanky youf fory your servicet tot the City. You: are ar major asset wel havel here' and: sadt tos seet that you're leaving. I'm! happyt thaty we have youf foral little whilel longer. Also, our newi interior firefighters, congratulations ona allt thev workt that youg guys do. Chief Brooks, your mentionedi us workingt toward continuing! having ourl 15O1 certification. Do) you) know! how many volunteer fire departments havei thati in the country?" Brooks replied, "Ib believe the exact number isl less thant five. Thel DuBois Fire Department is one oft those five int the entire country. It's quite an accomplishment andi it'sal lot ofv work, al lot of paperwork, al lot of worko on the guys. There areb binders fullo ofs stufft that we do ona ana annual basis." Dietz continued, "t think that's pretty awesome, ify you think that across the countryy you! havet tens of thousands ofv volunteeri fire departments, ifnotr more, andy we're one off fivet thata arel 1501.  Councilman: Shane Dietz  Congratulations. Thanky youi for your work. Managers Shawn Arbaugh  "Chris, Ijust wantt tos sayi it's been great working withy you, andy we ares goingt to miss) yous sorely andi maybe you'lIreconsider.) You willl ber missed. Tot thet firefighters, great job.1 Iwentt through- unfortunately COVID shut downr my fourthr mod- -5 buti it'sal loto ofv work.I Iappreciate youg guys andy your devotioni for that. Chief "l'llt talk to Chris.I It'st been miserable, Chris. Goodt tol know you, Chris. You'reatrue professional. "lV want tot thankt they youngf firemen because thati is ana absolute big commitment tot take ont that training to dot that. AndIknow: youh had help fromi thei two chiefs butt thanky youy very much. The City really Thereb being nof further business tot transact, the motion was madel by. Jackson ands seconded! by Gelfand that Council adjourn. Roll call was ast follows: Aughenbaugh, yea;. Jackson, yea; Gelfand, yea; Dietz, yea;  Mcintosh, thanky youf fory your service." SolicitorTom Breth appreciate everything) you've done." Mayor Pat! Reasinger appreciatesi it." Adjourn  Reasinger,yea. Motion passeds 5-0. ATTEST: snbr Slocum  APPROVED: 5L