BOROUGH OF FOUNTAIN HILL COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES  Sept 17, 2019 7:00 PM  The Council Meeting was held at the Doctors' Pavilion at St. Luke's University Hospital -  Bethlehem Campus on 701 Ostrum Street, Fountain Hill, PA 18015. The event was also broadcast live on Facebook Live.  Council members present were: Ms. Jordan, Mr. Ferencin, Mr. Blatt, Mr. Trotter, Mr. Atkinson, Mayor Gifford, Mr. Trabel, and Ms. Halleman. Also, in attendance were. Edl Bachert/(PoliceChiel), Council President Atkinson called the meeting to order and asked for everyone to rise for the Council President Atkinson welcomed the great interest in the special Council meeting and thanked St. Luke's for providing its meeting facilities. He expressed his concern with the Borough's s budgetary matter and presented his budget analysis as related to the police coverage int the Borough of Fountain Hill. He stressed that property taxes have gone up 78% in the last five(5)s years, in part also because 49% ofthe Borough's properties are tax-exempt. He continued that the Police operating budget has risen 31% in the last five (5) years and total police related expenditures (including Borough contributions to the pension and healthcare) make up at least 53% oft the General Fund expenditures. To resolve some ofthese budgetary matters he  Cordula Voges (Finance Director), Pete Lehr (Borough Solicitor) and guests.  Pledge to the Flag.  listed the following options in lieu ofproperty tax increases:  Elimination of the local Police Department (similar to Borough of Bath leaving the Regionalizing the police force (complex but not realizable for the 2020 budgetary year). Using partial State Police coverage (e.g. five (5) days midnight - 5 a.m., Friday & Council President Atkinson emphasized that he does not support the elimination ofthel local Police Department though. However, he proposed to examine and discuss the use of partial State Police  Regional Police Department) Saturday midnight -4 4a.m.).  coverage.  PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR  Pre-Scheduled Appearances  Lieutenant Long, Patrol Section Commander, PA State Police (PSP)  Lieutenant Long explained the duties oft the PSP. In addition to patrolling interstate highways, the PSP is mandated toj provide law enforcement coverage to Pennsylvania municipalities that do not have their own police departments, as well assist municipalities that have thein own full-time force with traffic supervision, violent crime suppression, some case investigations, and other services as requested. PSP troopers are assigned toj patrol zones, which may cover several municipalities, and their assignments may include patrolling municipalities, patrolling highways, responding to    assistance requests from other agencies or municipalities. The most common incidents to which PSP responds include requests for assistance, collisions, burglaries, thefts, assaults, criminal mischief, and 911 hang-up and disturbance incidents. Due to the coverage and incident-demands (e.g. Patrol Section in 2018: 16,500 calls, 1,600 criminal calls, 800 crash calls) PSP prioritizes Lieutenant Long's s presentation was followed by a Q&A session. - PSP answers are formatted in Mayor Gifford thanked the Lieutenant for his time and PSP's general patrol service. In light of the coverage and incident-demands, she questioned the PSP response time. PSP's available manpower and the urgency ofthe actual situation determine the response time. A specific Council member Ferencin asked about the relationship between PSP and the Borough of Bath that has been under official PSP coverage since 2018. In 2018 alone, PSP responded to 850 Borough of Batch calls and entertains a regular bi-weekly contact with the mayor. Mayor Gifford questioned the comparability between the Boroughs of Bath and Fountain Hill though. She hi-lighted that the Borough of] Fountain Hill is embedded in the City of Bethlehem, is not connected to any current PSP coverage area (except for the Sands Casino), and PSP does not Council President Atkinson asked about PSP's community involvement. Lieutenant Long mentioned school visits (e.g. lunch with. students) andj frequently attending public community Mayor Gifford asked ifPSP responds to late disturbance calls such as complaints about loud music. Lieutenant Long reiterated. the response time will depend on the available manpower and the urgency ofthe actual. situation. He also noted that resources can be expanded as needed. Fountain Hill Police Chief Ed Bachert, added that even with local police force coverage all Council member Helen Halleman commented that PSP is focused on state responsibilities, whereas the local police force provides a greater sense of security in the local community. She Mayor Gifford asked ifPSP follows up on: residents' requests for patrolling neighborhoods during absences. PSP does follow up and accepts any existing mutual EMS connections.  incoming calls.  italics to set them apart from the questions. -  standard response time cannot be given.  respond tol Borough Code violations.  events and meetings to connect to the community.  after-hour calls are transferred to the 911 system and then dispatched. appealed to the local police force to decrease the overtime.  Discussion on Agenda Items  Council President Atkinson invited the public to comment and raise questions. Due to time constraints and to give as many residents as possible the opportunity to speak, he asked speakers Mr. Roof asked what the current existing mutual EMS connections are. Police ChiefEd Ms. Figueroa thanked the St. Luke's hospital organizers forj providing the meeting facilities AF Fountain Hill resident and St. Luke's employee (Christina) asked to review all expenditures in detail, increase the presence ofs small businesses, and encourage neighborhood crime watches partnering with the local police. She also hi-lighted that only  tol limit their speaking time to three (3) minutes.  Bachert listed the City of Bethlehem and Salisbury Township.  enabling this special meeting.    seven (7) % of Fountain Hill hospital calls are directed to the Fountain Hill police. The number of calls has decreased because they are directed to the St. Luke's Allentown campus. The resident of 1045 Moravia Street inquired what type of crimes mostly happen at night. Council President Atkinson responded that this is still analyzed. Police Chief Bachert added that the local police on average responds to 3,500-4,500 calls/year during nighttime. The The resident of 584 S. Benner reported that she experienced a child medical emergency and Thei resident of1456. Jeter Ave inquired about: Ceiling for Real Estate (RE) taxes; call volume tot the Lehigh County 911 Center for fire calls, number of general 911 calls and response time; The resident at 834 Tombler questioned the necessity for the Swimming Pool and library. The resident at 1146 Moravia asked if state police would also patrol randomly. She also mentioned that the Fire Department was slow to respond to a recent fire at the Fountain Hill The business owner at 513S Clewell mentioned that only the local police force could offer the The resident at 802 Dodson Street noted that domestic violence calls tend to peak between midnight and 1 a.m. and wondered if savings by reducing the Part-time police force and not replacing the vacant Full-time police officer position justify the need for a local police force Mr. Patrick Figueroa encouraged the general public's participation in Council meetings. He also recommended to scale back services if needed and promote small business growth. The resident at 505 Norway Place thanked the local Police force for the quick response to a sewer incident back in 2015. She pleaded with St. Luke's hospital to increase its financial Thei resident at 946. Jeter Ave asked ifpolice officers' layoffs were planned? Council President Atkinson answered that no. layoffs are planned due to PSP coverage. However, PSP coverage should reduce the current Overtime, decrease the number ofl Part-time officers, and notj filling Thei resident of1218 Stanley Ave doubted sufficient PSP coverage during the suggested hours. She fears an increase of crime. Instead, the Borough should scrutinize Healthcare and other The resident of1136 Broadway noted that future PSP coverage might not bei free. Thei resident of 600 Hoffert St asked for an explanation ofthe "unfunded police pension plan". Council member Blatt explained that the "unfunded police pension plan" is ai result ofactuarial calculations - based on economic or demographic assumptions, changes inj plan provisions or applicable law - satisfying the funding requirements OfACT 2050 of1984. The residents of 606 Smiley and 852 N Clewell asked to re-consider the hours for PSP The resident of 1452 Jeter Ave asked for the individual police officers' opinions. She also recommended to review the use of funds and benchmarking the Borough's finances to other comparable municipalities. Officer S Fritzinger, the President of the Fountain Hill Police  majority of those crimes are: burglaries, suspicious persons, DUL. the child was saved by the quick local police response. possibility of City of] Bethlehem regional police coverage. Mr.JRohrbachi noted that state police coverage is free to the Borough. Elementary School, but the local Police force appeared within minutes. security needed to attract small businesses to the Borough.  during that vulnerable time ofi night.  contributions to the Borough.  the current Full-time position.  expenditures.  coverage.    Association, thanked the general public for its support) for the local police force. He noted that Mr. Reinsmith noted that the Boroughs of! Fountain Hill and Bath are not comparable. He also Mr. Spencer praised the local police force and appreciated their patrol services. He ran out of The resident of 1444 Graham St was not aware that St. Luke's Hospital was RE Tax exempt The resident of1045 Moravia St, a former Topton Borough resident, noted that crime increase in' Topton Borough after its local police force was replaced by PSP coverage. Ms. Kuplin, St. Luke's Hospital President, thanked the local police fore and appreciated its special partnership with thel hospital. She hi-lighted some ofits contributions to the community as laid out in the brochure - available at this Special Council Meeting - She emphasized that as a nonprofit hospital, St. Luke's operating surplus is returned to the hospital and the community and St. Luke's commitment to partner with) Fountain Hill leadership and foster the Council members D. Trotter and A. Jordan, defended Council'su unbroken support for the local police force. It was never intended to abandon the local police force. They both stressed that all Council members are committed to serve the public's interest and the public interest only.  Council does not support the local police services enough. expects a lack of security with PSP coverage.  Ms. V Morales argued that PSP coverage would lead to an increase in crime.  the limited speaking time. because ofitsr not-for-profit status.  growth oft the community.  ADJOURNMENT  The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 p.m.  BOROUGH OF FOUNTAIN HILL LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA Leo Atkinson - President of Council  By:  SUBMITTED BY By:  Cordula Voges, Finance Director  ATTEST: By:  Cordula Voges, Finance Director  Next Resolution 2019-32 Next ordinance #8 854