BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL3,2024  A work session of the Borough Council of the Borough of Franklin Park was held on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. att the Municipal Building, 2344 West Ingomar Road, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15237.  The meeting was also held virtually via remote audio and video conferencing. Council President Uday Palled called the meeting to order.  COUNCIL MEMBERS: Laura Czekaj, Second' Vice President.. Jiang Li, Vice President. Brian S. Malkin Lucas R. Myslinski.. Uday Palled, President. Thomas C. Schwartzmier. Junior Councilperson Julia O'Keefe. Mayor Dennis E. O'Keefe ENGINEER: SOLICITOR: STAFF:  present present present present present present present absent present present present present present present present present via Zoom present present present present  Dave Kovac, Lennon, Smith, Souleret Engineering, Inc.. Brad Simmons, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc..  Robert Max Junker, Babst Calland Zach Brower, Recreation Program Director. Gary Bucuren, Superintendent of Public' Works.. Rege Ebner, Borough Manager. Jim Huff, Manager of Golf Course & Parks Facilities. Cathy Krummert, Borough Secretary. Aron Leach, Police Chief.. Andy Nock, Assist. Bldg. Insp./Fire & Tech Official.. Tim Phillips, Building InspectorlZoning Officer.. Scott Weiskircher, Finance Director/Borough Treasurer.  AUDIENCE: 3  ANNUAL MEETING WITH EAC CHAIRPERSON - Stephanie Gundling met with Council and provided the annual report for the EAC. The first volunteer event was a Green Up day held in Acorn Parki in March where volunteers planted 100 plants in about 1-1/2 hours. The second event will be the third annual roadside litter cleanup on April 27th at 10 a.m. on a portion of Wexford Run Road. The EAC spent al loto of time on tree ordinance reviews, and Stephanie and Letty have been working with the Council Land Use Committee on a tree protection ordinance. There was a previous list of Bicentennial trees in the Borough, and the EAC worked off that list to see how many of those trees still existed. They are now doing a remarkable trees inventory program. Residents can submit nominations and there will be a winner each year. This year's winner has not yet been announced, buti iti is an ash tree. Iti is one oft the only ash trees left in western Pennsylvania. Stephanie noted that the EAC does not receive many landscaping plans for review anymore. This year they reviewed the WetGo Car Wash and Acorn Park. Recently one of the EAC members wanted to pursue looking at power consumption and ways that residents can reduce their power consumption and improve energy efficiencies at home, so the EAC will be placing information in the newsletter and on the webpage. They are trying to make their webpage an educational tool with news, information, and resources. They are trying to schedule at fall tour of the new' Waste Management facility being constructed on Neville Island to replace the old facility. The EAC will assist with the Acorn Park tree mitigation where three trees will be planted for every tree that is removed. The EAC has written some letters of support for the Allegheny Land Trust for their grant applications. They worked on spotted lantern fly education and provided some advice for tree replacement at the municipal building.    BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2024 OLD BUSINESS:  Home Rule Charter update - Mr. Junker tried to contact someone from Allegheny County again with no success. He passed along a draft copy oft the ordinance indicating that he had some questions regarding the process, and hei is waiting to hear back. We are still aiming to introduce the ordinance in June and enact iti in July. Council asked if appointed board/commission members could also serve on the study commission. Mr. Junker has not seen any restriction, but  he will looki into it further.  McCandless Franklin Park Ambulance AMTOIY/CMEPAIUPBE  Mr. Palled and Mr. Ebner met with Chris Dell to get an update regarding the other Mr. Palled suggested there may be options available that benefit municipalities that There was discussion regarding closing the Pine Township satellite. Mr. Myslinski noted that he had spoken to Council President Jason Singer of McCandless and there seems to be a major disconnect. There was a suggestion for another meeting between the McCandless and Franklin Park managers and Council members. We need to establish ai formulal in order to move forward with the other municipalities. There was discussion regarding the Ross/West View Ambulance Authority funding. It was noted thati iti is not going sO well because the messaging was confusing to the Mr. Palled and Mr. Ebner attended the MFPAA accreditation event last week. The Borough's next contribution to MFPAA is scheduled in May, and until this is ironed out, we should make incremental payments. Mr. Palled suggested paying one-third in  municipalities and payments contribute financially to the authority.  residents. May.  We need to put pressure on the other municipalities to contribute.  REGULAR MEETING AGENDA REVIEW: Harlan Stone, will attend.  Mr. Junker noted that he will not be able to attend the April 17th regular meeting so his colleague, The Planning Commission recommended approval to split Phase 2 oft the Deerfield Estates Plan into Phases 2A and 2B. There are no other changes to the configuration or the number of lots. LSSE will inspect the Black Oak Office Building site on April 5th and will provide ar recommendation The Borough is required to have a grievance procedure in place and appoint an ADA coordinator. The Scholarship Selection Committee evaluations are due on Monday. Normally the Borough awards 10-12 scholarships each year. It was noted that the amount of the scholarships will  They will have a separate development agreement for each phase.  for a reduction oft the security.  increase from $1,000 to $1,5001 this year.  STAFF REPORTS:  Report by Scott Weiskircher, Finance Director/Treasurer Mr. Weiskircher has been working on the following since he started two weeks ago: Meeting the deadlines at the end of March for the pension reports. Gaining access to various portals and websites and changing contact names. Working to gain familiarity with the systems. Working on a couple outstanding items for the audit. He participated in a meeting with PENNVEST regarding MS4 funding.  2    BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2024  Report by Gary Bucuren, Superintendent of Public Works  Brush chipping started Monday, buti it was delayed due to heavy flooding, storms and cleanup. He discussed the possible purchase and construction of a clear span storage area for excess salt storage next to the existing salt dome. Due to the recent mild winters, we have had to stockpile excess salt that we are required to purchase under contract. Staff will do more research and There was al brief discussion regarding stormwater and flooding in some areas due to the recent He discussed possible streets for paving this year. Staff will make recommendations for Council They have started working on a previously eroded stormwater swale on Dimond Lane that is within the 20-foot right of way. The Spring Ridge developer had put in the swale to capture water coming offt the houses on Mystic Valley Drive when the plan was developed. Mr. Bucuren noted that one-half of the work has been completed so far, and ith held up very well with the recent heavy rain. They put down fabric and limestone and the total cost oft the project willl be approximately $2,000. AI resident on Mystic Valley Drive has now made a request for the Borough top pipe in the swale for a better appearance. Mr. Bucuren noted that the cost would be increased to approximately $12,000-$15,000 ift the swale was piped. Council concurred to  report back to Council. heavy rain. to consider.  proceed with the swale work using fabric and limestone. Report by Tim Phillips, Building Inspector/Zoning Officer No Planning Commission meeting in April.  The Zoning Hearing Board will consider three applications in April: (1). Application for a variance to allow a side yard encroachment on Duncan Drive; (2). Application for a variance for a shed location on' Wharrey Drive, and (3) Application for a variance to allow a maximum height increase for the townhouse units and more than 50% coverage for the garage doors oft the townhouse  units in the Cardinal Ridge Plan on Aldon Drive. Report by Zach Brower, Recreation Program Director The fields are open for the season. Borough for consideration. IFPLL had not responded to his email.  The pole inspection company and the Ingomar Franklin Park Little League ("IFPLL") electrician are meeting to discuss the lighting project. Once they have a plan, they will present it to the Mr. Myslinski asked if IFPLL would be using fields at Linbrook Park, and Mr. Brower noted that Opening day for baseball is nexty week, and they have al lot of work to do following the recent He will be setting up a demonstration of an autonomous mower sometime in April. We may Mr. Myslinski asked about adding a parking lot. Mr. Huff noted that we will need to install pipe  Report by, Jim Huff, Manager of Golf Course & Parks Facilities  heavy rains and storms. and filli in the valley.  consider the purchase of an autonomous mower in the future.  Report by Dave Kovac, LSSE Borough Engineer The curb and gutter program has been completed. Report by Brad Simmons, CEC Stormwater Engineer  They received some comments from the Conservation District regarding the Acorn Park Project. Mr. Simmons introduced himself as a Project Manager from CEC. Mr. Ebner noted that Mr. Simmons willl be attending more meetings and willl become our contact person with CEC. The Borough received seven bids for the Matterhorn Basin Retrofit Project, and CECis recommending awarding the bid tol DemEX LLC at al bid price of $299,789.78. They were  significantly lower than most of the other bids.  3    BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL: 3, 2024  The meeting with PENNVEST went well. All three projects have a good chance of getting the needed funding. The tentative submittal will be in August for allt three projects. Mr. Ebner noted that PENNVEST advised that we can get reimbursed for engineering costs that we have paid sO fart for the projects. We are looking at at total of $2.5 million for allt three projects. We cannot award any contracts or spend any money fort the projects until after the PENNVEST funding is He thanked Mayor and Council for the support and opportunity to attend the FBI National Academy. He also thanked Lieutenant Snyder for handling everything in his absence.  approved. We are still working to obtain easements for the projects.  Report by Aron Leach, Police Chief  All staff members left the meeting at this time except Chief Leach. MANAGER'S REPORT DISCUSSIONI ITEMS:  Fire Company command truck purchases - The fire company will be taking delivery of two new command vehicles at a total cost of $108,204. The Borough will be cutting a check toi the fire Digital sign replacement- - We had budgeted $20,000 fort the replacement oft the digital sign and two quotes have been obtained. Staff is recommending staying with a 19mm pixel size. The new sign is a much nicer sign with the same dimensions, and iti is under budget. Once we have the new sign in place, we will look to update thei fee schedule for advertising on the sign. There was discussion regarding the possibility of changing the rules to allow non-profits to advertise on the sign. Council concurred to leave the rules "as is" and make no change. A motion to approve the The Allegheny League of Municipalities ("ALOM") conference starts tomorrow at Seven Springs,  company later this month.  digital sign purchase will be added to the regular meeting agenda.  and the ALCOSAN lunch will be held on Friday.  REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS:  Mr. Malkin noted a correction to the minutes regarding the Solicitor's attendance at the last meeting. He also discussed al Facebook notice regarding the installation of Verizon cell phone Ms. Czekai noted that she will reach out to the person from Dormont to provide an overview and Julia O'Keefe, Junior Council Person did a ride along with MFPAA last week. Ity was a good experience, and she learned al lot. She noted that the Jarod box drive will continue through April. She will be meeting with Chief Leach regarding social media next week. Chief Leach explained that one of his courses at the FBI Academy dealt with having a social media presence. He noted that there is a generation that gets all of their news via social media, and he would like to partner with Miss O'Keefe and other students to help the police department move forward on social media. Dr.L Li discussed emails he received regarding noise and sound barriers, and he asked what the Borough can do to address some of the concerns. Mr. Palled suggested that he and Dr. Li meet with the residents to discuss thei issue. There was also discussion about meeting with local representatives to discuss funding possibilities or the possibility of planting trees to lessen the Mr.Schwattzmier spoke to ai resident who has no cell phone coverage in his home in the Ramblewood Plan. Mr. Schwartzmier informed the resident that Council is working on the matter.  boosters on Brandt School Road. pointers regarding social media.  noise.  4    BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY,APRIL 3, 2024  EXECUTIVE SESSION An executive session was held to discuss police personnel, cyber security, attorney-client privilege regarding CityScape contract negotiations, potential property acquisition, and As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 9:30 p.m.  Hartman Farms/Scarlett Bednar litigation.  Respectfully: submitted, Cathy L. Krummert Borough Secretary  Cuhbunnu  5