MOUNT JOY BOROUGH COUNCIL December 4, 2023, Minutes  The Mount Joy Borough Council held its regular meeting on December 4, 2023.  President Hall called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.  Roll Call- Present were Councilors, Dominic Castaldi, David Eichler, Mary Ginder, David Greineder, Bruce Haigh, Bob Ruschke, Brian Youngerman, and President William Hall. Staff present were Borough Manager, Mark G. Pugliese 1; Assistant Borough Manager/Finance Director, Jill Frey; Public Works Director, Dennis Nissley; Codes, Zoning and Stormwater Administrator, Duane Brady, Jr.; Police Chief, Robert Goshen and Administrative Assistant, Lisa Peffley.  Absent was Councilor LuAnn Fahndrich  Mayor Timothy Bradley, Jr, gave the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance followed. surrounding planned land development plans tonight before the Council Meeting.  President Hall announced there was an Executive Session by full Council held in Council Chambers to discuss legal issue On a MOTION by Eichler, and a second by Castaldi, a request was made to accept the agenda for the December 4, 2023, Borough Council Meeting Agenda. An AMENDMENT by Haigh, with a second by Eichler, a request was made to switch 11aiiwith 11aion the agenda and then split 11 ai ii into two motions. One for the Stormwater waiver and one for the Alyssa Zevallos, 123 W. Main St., comment on the upcoming vote regarding the new building. She said she hopes that Council's vote is coming from an informed place. She said the lack of clarity is really concerning to her regarding the cost and the amount of money already invested int the project. She felt! like it was hard for her to find information. She said she knows there is already funding as long as it is started by the end of this year which is a little concerning to her because it would mean moving forwardi immediately and iti is so much money. Also, she has some concern about losing green space. Dale Murray, 120 Farmington Wy., said he feels that tonight Council will be voting on the most expensive project in the Borough's history and that it should be a roll call vote. He expressed his concerns over the cost oft the project and future Fred Bean, 1112 Collina Ln., said hel has been a resident of Florin Hills for about sixy years and enjoys Mount. Joy very much. He said he is concerned about the further development of Florin Hills. He is hoping that the further development continues the way ity was laid out, the original plan for phase 31 that was presented many years ago. He said Florin Hills is a wonderful development. Itwas donei int the correct manner, kind ofatraditional urbant type ofr neighborhood. He also hass some concern  traffic study waiver. Amendment passes. Main Motion as amended carries unanimously.  Public Input Period  effects on the taxpayers.  regarding the streets.  Florin Hills, Blocks F & M and Phase 3 Discussion and come up with a plan to present to Council in February 2024.  Robert Bowman, President, and Founder of Charter Homes and Anthony Faranda-Diedrich, Vice President, Charter Homes presented to Council their plans to complete the Florin Hilll Neighborhood. They were directed to work with staff On al MOTION by Youngerman, with a second by Ruschke, a request was made to authorize the staff to research options with Florin Hills Partnership and engage in a discussion as how to proceed with respect to blocks F an M and phase 3of Florin Hills andi return to Council with recommendations which arei int thel besti interest ofMount. Joy residents. Motion carries Mayor Bradley provided Council with written report for November 2023. He informed Council that he attended the Rapho Township meeting regarding Little Chiques Crossing and delivered the Borough's letter. He said iti is clear, that we will need to continue some level ofi involvement as the project continues to unfold. He also attended the tree lighting at Winterfest  unanimously. Report of Mayor  and wanted to thank any and all volunteers who where involved. It was the 25th Anniversary.    Report of the Chief of Police total of 6,735 incidents year to date. Report of Fire Department Mount Joy (FDMJ)  Robert Goshen, Police Chief, provided a written monthly report for October 1, 2023, to October 31,2023. The reports showed 23 traffic arrests and 18 criminal arrests for the month. There was at total of 534 incidents for the month of October, with a  Brett Hamm, FDMJ Fire Chief, provided and reviewed ay written monthly report for October 2023. Adam Marden provided and reviewed a written monthly report for October 2023.  Report of PSH Life Lion Northwest EMA Report of EMA No report.  Provided a written report for November 2023.  Report of the Milanof-Schock Library (MSL) Report of Code/Zoning & Stormwater Administrator  Joseph Mcllhenney provided and review a written monthly report for October 2023.  Duane Brady, Jr., Codes, Zoning and Stormwater Administrator, provided a written monthly report for November 2023.  Grants, Projects, and Community & Economic Development Administrator  No report.  Report of Public Works Director Report oft the Borough Authority Manager  Dennis Nissley, Public' Works Director, provided a written report for November 2023. Scott Kapcsos, Authority Manager, provided a written monthly report for October 2023.  Report of the Assistant Borough Manager/Finance Officer  Jilll Frey, Assistant Borough Manager/Finance Officer, provided a written report for November 2023.  Report of the Borough Manager  Mark G. Pugliese I, Borough Manager, provided a written report for November 2023. Pugliese said the Borough has been inr regular conversations with Cresco Labs and that they have reached out to Rettew and to the Stormwater Authority. He said we have seen pretty much a complete turn around and they are certainly trying to do the right thing and get things On al MOTION by Greineder, and a second by Ginder, approval was given for the minutes of the regular Borough Council meeting held on November 6, 2023. Motion carries as unanimously. Onal MOTION by Greineder, and a second by Ginder, approval was given for the minutes of the November 21, 2023, Special Budget Meeting with a correction on page 3, On a MOTION by Haigh, and a second by Ruschke, a request was made to grant the waiver from the requirements of Section 240-62.B of the Borough Subdivision and Land Development Ordinance. Motion carries 6-2 on a roll call vote. On al MOTION by Haigh, and a second by Ruschke, a request was made to grant the waiver from the requirements of Section 226-32.A(2)(c) of the Borough Stormwater Management Ordinance. An AMENDMENT by Haigh, and a second by Ruschke, to attempt to get the ratio down to 5-1 with limestone chips under the amended soil and investigate other places. Amendment, passes 7-1, Castaldi voting No. Main Motion carries 6-2 on a roll call vote. Eichler, Ginder, Greineder, Haigh, Councilor Haigh and Mayor Bradley voiced their concerns with granting the waiver regarding the Stormwater. After some discussion among Council and Carolyn DuBois, ASLA, Project Manager with K&W. Haigh offered the Amendment.  moving.  Approval of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting  paragraph 6, change percent to mils. Motion carries as unanimously.  Building Ad Hoc Committee  Castaldi, Eichler, Greineder, Haigh, Ruschke, Hall, voting Yes. Ginder and' Youngerman voting No.  Ruschke, Hall voting Yes. Castaldi and Youngerman voting No.  2    On a MOTION by Ruschke, and a second by Haigh, a request was made to add the conditions numbered 1-5 to the waivers of both Stormwater Management and Land Development Ordinances. Motion carries 7-1, Youngerman voting No. Youngerman said before It turn my attention to supporting this project and helping to find funding to reduce the financial impact oft the project on the residence of Mount Joy. lwant toi thankt the Committee fort their time and their energy and putting together what is going tob be a really beautiful and useful and purposeful project. Al lot oft time and thought went into this SO congratulations to all of you. That said, I would have preferred a choice to be given to the Council a good, better, best option. Ah high-low option, one to stay on Main Street, onet to go elsewhere. As itwas, there was really no choice for Council to make during this whole process, just a very expensive option. Iwanted to say, somewhere on a personal level, I have been floating around this crazy idea about getting the Borough Authority to contribute a $1M to the project. Iwas talking to counselors, future counselors, past counselors, my wife, and at polling place. What I did not know at the time, that there was maybe some background talk or discussion going on as to actually getting a $1M from the Borough Authority as a contribution to this plan. Ijust want everyone to knowlwasn't trying to do some sort of hey, I know something you do not know, orlwas not trying to scuttle the plan because people had this actual thing going on thatl I did not know about. So,1 aml happy to see that that it actually happened that we actually may be getting some money from the Borough Authority. I think that's the kind of thinking that we need as to getting funding sources and trying to reduce the financial impact and I Eichler said he echoes some of what Councilor Youngman said in wanting to thank Josh Deering, the Building Ad Hoc Committee, Todd and Crabtree for the years of time spent and all their work along with the several public outings provided. Iknow we got the $3M RACP and $1M from the Borough Authority and with the 3 properties who knows? $750,000 to a $1M, maybe there. Ihave full confidence that whether we go the mortgage or bond route that we will get more RACPi in a couple years and that we will get more. ARPA money from the County to really reduce this so it's not a 25-year journey. I Castaldi said Iwilll be somewhat critical of the Council thatl lam a member of. Initially, I was critical of the Building Ad Hoc Committee, but the Ad Hoc Committee did whati it was charged to do. Ithink that Counsel that I sit on, has been remiss in not having some oft the conversations that we are having tonight earlier in the process. lam concerned about consuming park land. Iwish we were more engaged earlier, but we finally goti in the game and here we: are and I am ready to move on. Mayor Bradley said in terms oft the process that we did some things in an inverted fashion. I made these comments at the community meeting as well. I really feellr mean, while iti is al blessing to have the RACP money available to us, butl think in many respects it expedited the process and It think it puts some things out of order as to how they should have been done. From a personal perspective, Ig generally look at my finances on the front end, realize what the costs are going to be, and then go out car shopping. Ido not go out car shopping, and then figure out how I'm going to pay fori it andIreally wish we would have done that. Ireally wish the numbers and the overall implication in terms oft tax burden over the course of several years) would be realized and maybe had been gamed out. Iknow early on, people were asking how much money isi it going to cost the Borough. The response was ito could cost us zero ifv we gete enough grant money. Well, that's fine, but the chances oft that happening versus you know, not happening, I think, are strong. Ithink it was articulated in public comment tonight that while there is going be an increase today, there will be other very large increases in order to have to pay for this, if additional money is not coming and that is a real issue. I did advocate, while certainly Council did not task the Ad Hoc Committee with coming back with multiple proposals. S strongly advocated on the Ad Hoc Committee that they bring those back, and they will let Council consider whether or not they want to deal with one or more recommendations, but kind of went down into one area of recommendation. So again, lam not going to go through issue by issue butl It think it is ai far easier sell to the public when you say we looked at the finances first, and then we looked at the project after that. Again, I think Council was put in a very difficult position. There was not an expectation that the clock was going to have to tick as fast as itdid. Ithink our understanding at the very beginning was that wel had a 10-year window of time to be able to kind of make this thing work out. It think everybody was highly surprised that did not happen. From a needs perspective, Iwill say this, I think it goes beyond just providing big offices for our employees to work in. It think that it is a mischaracterization in terms oft the square footage. Ido not think you can take that total square footage and say, Okay, is thatj just for employees. Ithink there is more when you look at the meeting rooms and other things. I think that's one thing. I can speak from the Police Department perspective. Having that this is a third Chief that I have worked with in my tenure here, all of them, collectively, were not looking for bigger offices for themselves, or bigger places for their employees to work what they were looking for was at functional facility that allowed for policing to happen the way that it needs to happen in the 21st century. I think the Chief is going to be a good soldier and do what he can with whatever resources hei is being given, but the question is, are your holding facilities what those holding facilities need to be in order to ensure that we are in the best position to ensure that prisoner safety. 1 think we could all agree thati it's probably not a good ideai to have to use the employee break roomi ini thel Police Department in order to be ablet to conducti interviews: and our investigations with people. Therei is awhole  think to that extent we do need to be honest with the residents.  have full confidence that we're going to be able to win that. Thank you.  3    host oft things we could go through point by point, that have more to do with the building layout, design and size. Iti is clear that something has to be addressed as far as the Police Department. Now, whether or not that needs to be this facility, I think that's a different question for a different day. Again, Ithinkl I would go! back to what can we afford, and then try to kind ofwork thati in and what are willing to stomach int terms ofat taxi increase. Ithink that is where the more robust conversation had to happen, and not toward the end of this. My hope is that there is additional RACP money and if Council approves the project, thats some oft that ARPA funding does get loosened up. Itis unfortunate in terms oft timing, ifwe would had a crystal ball, It think everybody agrees that they would have pulled the trigger on trying to do this project 6, 7, 8 years ago, when it did come in at $4M. But due to this hyperinflation that we have experienced. We are obviously having to pay al lot more than surrounding municipalities who moved on projects 10 years ago had to pay as much ofy youl know, as everybody in the world is having to do right now with hyperinflation. Soy yeah, Iwish there were some other options, and Iwish we would take al look at what the financial implications are a little bit more in terms of time moving forward before saying, yes, this is a Haigh said Ihave had a lot of mixed feelings about this for the last 2 years. And, Josh, Iknow I beat you up pretty bad at times, and ask you al lot of questions, and, Todd, you justr really got blasted by me many times big and deep. The option of staying here int the long runj justi is not feasible. Itis not cost effective and wel have $3M coming from RACP, we have $1M coming from the Borough Authority, and we have some money coming from the sale of the buildings on Main Street andI understand that there is going to be costs to the taxpayers, butl do not think this opportunity is going to present itself again Haigh offered an. Amendment that the proceeds from the sale of 13- 15, 21 and 23 East Main Street, with the exception of the $208,000 it costs us to buy 13-15 E Main Street, be placed in an interest-Dearing count, and only be used for debt payment. Ithink that then, can defer any taxi increases fort the next 2 or 3y years or minimize it. Amendment fails due to lack Hall said It thank former Council, President Glessner, who had the foresight to appoint this Committee and thank them for the work they have done. Josh started on the Committee as the East Ward Member of Council. Even after he was off Council, he agreed to stay on the Committee to replace Councilor Glessner on the Committee. Ican telly you Josh worked, Josh worked all the time, and Josh met with everybody, and Josh was out at tests and was at meetings that Council did not need to bei involved andj juste everything down to chairs and tables, probably. Just working it all outa and we know thati is not all. Josh does, and we all know that he has been involved in al lot of other things other than this Committee. So, thank you. Thank you to the Committee. Thank you to the members of the Borough Authority that were on the Committee, and the Borough Authority Board. Thank you tos staff, and I know that that all of staff, behind the scenes sometimes, you know, we say the Manager, but down to backhoe operators that came out and help with test pits sO that we save that money. Iti is appreciated. lami not happy about the cost, but as the Mayor said, if we had the crystal ball we could have gott this fora al lot less. But you know times have changed and costs went up, and I said that as we are moving forward and developing the plan. We should all be working to find ways to offset the cost and you know that happened some, but not completely. Councilor Youngman's idea, he had it on paper. Isaw it the night that we found out that the Borough Authority had done it. So maybe, I do not know, but maybe subtle means, you influence them. Addressing the issue of multiple proposals. We had al lot of proposals. Wel looked at different sites, and do not remember specifically ift they came here or not, butl I know we were looking pretty hard at a property on Mount Joy Street, and we felt that that was going to be to expensive, and again, the crystal ball Mayor, ifwe! had it, then where willy we be? The mayor himself came up to the meeting one time and said, hey, what do we think about Grandview? So we looked at that, and that seemed to get a lot of consensus in the Committee and momentum. Ido not how many different plans were drawn up, al lot. Josh drew al lot. Crabtree has been on board with us for al long time. Many years of pro bono work. Regarding parkl land,lam not happy about the open space concept of what we are losing, but It think that we have a lot of open space in the Borough that we do not use very wisely. We have a park on West Donegal Street that most people do note even realize is there, andi itp probably could fit in this room, but it's a park and we mow it and we put a park bench there, and I do not know if anybody ever even goes in it. Isee Grandview as a very large field that we pay somebody to cut once a week. or twice a week, or whatever it needs and iti is kind of underutilized. Ihave been up there, and I have walked through it, and Ij just see the potential of what can come of that part of land. As you know, as an offshoot of this development, there is an amazing grove of very mature trees up on the northwest corner that I think would be perfect for a picnic table or two and a great place for walking trails, or whatever else. Iti is surely underutilized land and yes, we are going to sacrifice al little bit ofi it, maybe a lot ofi it, depending on how you slice it, butl think in the end, we are going to have a much better developed park. Ihave some other ideas, but fora  project we want to go ahead with. I do not know that wel have robustly looked at that.  int the next 10 years.  of a second.  different time. Here we are, we have a motion in front of us and we are going to take a vote.  4    On a MOTION by Ruschke, and a second by Ginder, a request was made to approve construction of a new Mount Joy Borough and Mount. Joy Borough Authority municipal services complex on the tract owned by the Boroughi identified as 300 Orchard Road, Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, as substantially shown on the Preliminary/Final Land Development Plan Administration/Police Department Facility at 300 Orchard Road Grandview Park prepared by Kurowski & Wilson, LLC. Motion carries 7-1 on a roll call vote. Castaldi, Eichler, Ginder, Greineder, Haigh, Ruschke, Hall voting Yes. Youngerman On a MOTION by Youngerman, and a second by Ruschke, a request was made to authorize the Borough Manager to execute the engagement letter form PFM Financial Advisors, LLC, effective November 28, 2023 for professional services relating to financing for the Borough's proposed municipal services complex and infrastructure projects including but not limited to streets, storm water management, and Americans with Disabilities Act accessibility projects in thet form present at On al MOTION by Youngerman, and a second by Greineder, a request was made to appoint the accounting firm of Boyer & On al MOTION by' Youngerman, and a second by Greineder, a request was made to authorize Borough staff to contact the Borough Solicitor to draft an ordinance under Act 172 to provide active members in good standing of thel Fire Department On al MOTION by Youngerman, and a second by Greineder, a request was made to increase the life insurance policy of On al MOTION by Youngerman, and a second by Greineder, a request was made to authorize the Codes & Zoning Officer to take enforcement action for the property of 104 Manheim Street. Brady recommended the motion be withdrawn due to Brady provided Council with an information and answered any questions regarding revisions to Borough Ordinances  voting No.  this meeting. Motion carries unanimously. Administration and Finance Committee  Ritter, LLC as the Borough auditors. Motion carries unanimously.  Mount Joy with a stipend of $200.00 annually fort tax relief. Motion carries unanimously. non-uniformed employees from $10,0001 to $15, 000. Motion carries unanimously. the fact the violation has been satisfied. Youngerman withdrew the motion.  Chapter 195, Property Maintenance Code and Chapter 205, Rental. No actions was taken.  Report of Public Works Committee No Business to come before Council Report of the Public Safety Committee  On al MOTION by Castaldi, and a second by Eichler, a request was made for the conditional offer of employment to hire Davie Reeves as a fulltime Police Officer with the Mount Joy Borough Police. Motion carries unanimously. Alyssa Zevallos, 123 W. Main St., thanked the Borough for the work on the crosswalks and the bike racks. She said since the building project was approved tonight, she asked Council to continue to look for grants to help with the cost of the project. She asked ift there could be some type of taxpayer assistance in the future ift the taxes would continue to go up.  Public Input Period  Any other matter proper to come before Council  Eichler thanked Councilor Castaldi and Ruschke for their time and service on Council. Castaldi said it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve on Council.  Youngerman thanked Duane Brady for his terrific presentation on behalf of Council at Winterfest. He did a terrific job displaying information to the public regarding permitting, stormwater management and the building project. Haigh commented on the email he sent outt to Council regarding the new flood risk tool from FEMA and how it pertains to Ginder thanked all the originations that organized Winterfest. It was a big success and everybody there was very happy  the prosed Chiques Crossing. and it was aj joyful night.  5    Authorization to Pay Bills GENERAL FUND REFUSE/RECYCLING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FUND HIGHWAY, AID FUND ESCROW/FUND JOY LAND ACCOUNT GRAND TOTAL EXPENDITURES Meetings and dates of importance See the Green calendar for the month of December. Executive Session None. Adjournment carries unanimously. Respectfully Submitted, Mark G. Pugliesef Borough Manager/Secretary  Onal MOTION by" Youngerman, and as second by Greineder, Council approved paying thel bills as presented from November  1-November: 30, 2023. Motion carries 6-2, with Ruschke and Hall voting no.  $ $ $ $ $ $ $  166,504.00 151,120.76 13,540.27 4,227.62 335,392.65  On a MOTION by Greineder, and a second by Ruschke, approval was given to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 PM. Motion  - -