204  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY1 15, 2024  CALL' TOC ORDER  The regular monthly Council meeting oft the City of Saint Marys was called to order by Mayor Lyle Garner on Monday, July 15, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. Notice oft this meeting was sent to Council on July 11, 2024, posted at City Hall and published in the Daily  Press.  PLEDGE TO THE: FLAG ROLL CALL  Mayor Lyle Garner, Deputy Mayor Shane Schneider, Jerome Sorg, Stephen Bagley, Joe Sarginger, City Manager Joseph Fleming, Solicitor Lauren Brennen, and Recording Secretary  Lorriel Levenduski. Anthony Gregory was excused. Nedward Jacob entered late.  City Staff: Tina Gradizzi, Director of Community and Economic Development and Kim Andrus, Deputy Director of Community  and Economic Development.  VISITORS  Richard Sadley, Dawn and Brady Hornburg. Jerome Sorg made ar motion to approve the. June 17,2024 minutes, seconded by Joe Sarginger and all were in favor.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES June 17,2024 -) Regular Meeting Motion Passed UPDATE ON WILDS ARE WORKING (WAW) PROGRAM  Kim Andrus, Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development, provided the following update on the Wilds are "St. Marys was one ofthe two communities piloting ai new remote work program called the Wilds Are Working: Recreation and Technology in Rural PA with the PA Wilds for Entrepreneurship. As one of the two communities participating in the pilot, St. Marys is preparing to welcome the remote workers and their families and showcase its vibrant downtown, local attractions, and This project aims to position St. Marys and the entire PA Wilds Region as a location that these workers would like to move and continue working in. Cameron County did this last year and had Wel have chosen four participants and their families. 6adults and  Working Program:  access to outdoor recreation.  one family move to Emporium.  6children.    205  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024  Ihave been working very hard at preparing these workers for their stay for the entire month of August. Ihave secured housing and office space. I have been collecting donations and making welcome baskets with locally owned items to support our small businesses. These participants will be given a stipend to spend only at locally owned businesses. They will not be able to use these at any chain stores, (Walmart, McDonalds, etc.) They will use these Yiftee cards as they would a credit card. However, the business must be signed up for this program. Businesses are being signed up as we speak. Local businesses are encouraged to sign She thanked a long list of businesses for their donations and "As we move closer to them arriving things continue to get busier preparing for them to arrive. We have three events planned at the beginning, middle, and end of their stay. The welcome event will be at our local park, the second will be at the Elk Visitor Center, and the third will be at Straub's Visitor Center." Council thanked her for the information.  up ifthey haven'talready."  thanked the Welcome Committee members.  CITIZEN COMMENTS ON There were no citizen comments on agenda topics.  AGENDA TOPICS MANAGER'S REPORT  Manager Fleming presented the following Manager's Report for  June 2024.  "Thope everyone had a great 4th of. July holiday and want tot thank the St. Marys Chamber of Commerce for their The Center Street Sidewalk Replacement Project is Contracts are being finalized to get the sewer replacement project and the pedestrian pathway project underway.Iam hopeful that they will begin in the next couple ofweeks or Just want to let residents know that when the construction begins for the sewer replacement project, the area in front of City Hall will be a mess and there will be lane restrictions being placed. For any City Hall business matters only, the parking lot behind city hall will be available for residents during the construction.  annual fireworks display. completed for the year.  sO.    206  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024  Oil and chipping is set to start next month. We have been helping out with the restroom project for Shawmut Park and able to complete the drainage system. The elevator at the parking garage is up and running. There was a malfunction int the switchboard that needed to be rebuilt. The HVACs system replacement project for city hall is waiting on a couple specialized parts. Once they are Union negotiations have begun for all non-uniform members, once there is an agreement. The contract will be Our auditors have received all oft the necessary paperwork toc complete the 2023. Audit, and should be completed later National Night Outi is set for August 6th from 5pm to 8pm. Close to 300 kids participated in Inner Park Day at Benzinger Park last week and want to thank John Salter, Jeff Bucheit, and Greg Snelick for their coverage of the Pertaining to the new playground being installed at Memorial Park. The playground equipment is set to arrive within the next couple of weeks. Prior to the installation of the equipment, the actual site needs prep. While this construction is going on and all the equipment present, there will be changes to the parking availability while this project is going on. I do not have any confirmation dates, but as soon as Ido, the information will be pushed out to the public on any restrictions. It's wonderful to see all the construction and progress in the city, but of course, there There are a lot of activities going on in the city and there will be a great influx ofvisitors especially with the sports events, legion baseball tournament coming up, little league majors baseball sectionals at Memorial Park, which is taking place as we speak, and next week will be Little League Minor Softball State Tournament. I want to wish Manager Fleming, provided the following Treasurer's Report for Total Revenue collected for the general fund as of June 30th is $4.9M or 55% of budget. This marks the halfway point of the year. Last year, the City collected $5.2M or 61% of budget, Revenue for 2022 was $4.5M or 54% of budget, and for 2021 revenue collected was $4.7M or 63% of budget. Total  received, the system will be replaced. placed before Council for approval. int the year to keep us on track.  event.  isal lot more to do.  our local teams the best ofluck."  TREASURER'S REPORT  June 2024:    207  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024  expenditures for the general fund were $4.8M or 54% of the Budget. Expenditures for 2023 were $3.9M lor 45%0 ofbudget: for 2022 they were $3.4 million or 41% of budget. This reflects the $750,000 transferred to Capital Reserve in June. Total real estate taxes collected was 94% of budget and 94% of budget was collected for last year. Earned income collected was 37% of budget and for last year we collected 27% of budget.  Nedward Jacob entered at LEGISLATIVE ACTION: Approval of 2024 C.D.B.G.  7:13pm Projects  Tina Gradizzi, Director of Community and Economic Development provided the following information: Approval of the 2024 C.D.B.G projects were being presented tonight as a follow-up to Council's June 17,2024 meeting which,  presented the proposed 2024 CDBG projects:  Administration Spot/Blight  Sidewalk Replacement Program Rental Housing Renovation Project  She confirmed with the grant management staff that the rental housing renovation project that was proposed does not qualify for CDBG funding. However, there are other grant resources that we can research to implement this type of project. During the public comment period, comments were received for arequest for historic preservation/code deficiency projects under Based on the information presented above, we are asking for Council's approval to move forward with the recommended  the Spot/Blight category.  projects:  Administration  $56,000 $51,553 $178,625 $311,178  Spot/Blight Demolition/Clearance Sidewalk Replacement Program TOTAL 2024 CDBG ALLOCATION  Historic Preservation/Code Deficiencies $25,000  Motion Passed  Jerome Sorg made a motion to approve the 2024 C.D.B.G. projects, seconded by Stephen Bagley and all were in favor.  Consider for adoption:    208  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024 presented for adoption.  Resolution No. 24-13 - 2024 C.D.B.G projects application was Jerome Sorg made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 24-13, seconded by Shane Schneider and all were ini favor. Resolution No. 24-14-Multimodal grant application request-1 120 Connector Project was presented for adoption. Jerome Sorg made a motion to adopt resolution No. 24-14. Tina Gradizzi explained the application was a request for additional funds for the project due to increasing costs. An archaeological study added costs and project prices continue to Joe Sarginger stated his concerns with handicapped parking. Shane Schneider stated he believed there were regulations fort that Manager Fleming stated he would look into his concerns. The motion was seconded by Shane Schneider and all were in Resolution No. 24-15 - Additional grant request for DCNR Leathers Playground Rehabilitation Memorial Park Project was Tina Gradizzi explained this grant request was for additional Shane Schneider made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 24-15, seconded by Jerome Sorg and all were in favor.  Resolution No. 24-13-2024 C.D.B.G projects application Motion Passed Resolution No. 24-14- Multimodal grant application request-1 120 Connector Project  Motion Discussion  increase.  type ofconcern.  Motion Passed  favor.  Resolution No. 24-15- Additional grant request for DCNR Leathers Playground Rehabilitation Memorial Park  presented for adoption. funding for the project.  Project Motion Passed  TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION: A referendum to amend the City Charter to revise Section 1403 Ar referendum to amend the City Limitations on Tax Levies Part] F.. An annual tax, not exceeding 1/2 Charter to revise Section 1403 mill, for the purpose of making appropriations to nonprofit Limitations on' Tax Levies PartF. community ambulance services and rescue squads was presented appropriations to nonprofit Shane Schneider explained during last year's budget workshops, community ambulance services the St. Marys Ambulance requested an increase in their millage in  An annual tax, not exceeding 1/2 for discussion. mill, for the purpose of making  and rescue squads.  order to support their operations. In 2023 their millage was set at .1 mills and Council increased it to .4 mills. Currently the    209  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024  maximum millage allowed by the City Charter is .5 mills. If they would request additional funding Council could only increase to the maximum allowed of .5 mills which is equivalent to approximately $120,000. In order to increase the amount the request would have to be placed on the ballot as a referendum to be voted on by the citizens. He suggested Council consider amending the Charter. Due to the recent closure of Labor and Delivery services at] Penn Highlands Elk and with no known plans to increase their services in St. Marys, he believed it was important to have a stable and well-equipped ambulance service to transport residents to Penn Highlands Dubois or any other medical facilities. He suggested to increase the maximum to 2 mills. Nedward Jacob stated his concerns with the proposed increase, since he believed the maximum millage for the City was 25 mills and we are currently near 201 mills. This would limit an increase for other City millage rates, including the General Fund. Shane Schneider commented he was open to a lower increase in Nedward Jacob stated his concerns regarding the support provided too other municipalities and not receiving any funding from them. Mayor Garner clarified the proposed increase was only to increase the maximum and was not committing to an increase at this time. Council briefly discussed the procedure fort the referendum and the Jerome Sorg made a motion to have the Solicitor draw up a draft referendum to vote on at the next Council meeting. Itwas determined the motion should include the amount of the Jerome Sorg amended his motion to draft the referendum to include a not to exceed amount of 2 mills for the ambulance service, seconded by Shane Schneider and all were ini favor.  millage for the ambulance fund.  ballot cycles.  Motion  increase.  Amended Motion Passed  CITIZEN COMMENTS ON There were no citizen comments on non-agenda topics.  NON-AGENDA TOPICS COUNCIL COMMENTS  Council had the following comments:  Shane Schneider was thankful for tonight's discussion and was glad to see all the progress on numerous projects in the City.    210  CITY OF SAINT MARYS COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING JULY15,2024  Jerome Sorg commented Council should consider reviewing the Zoning Ordinance regarding animals ini the future. Nedward Jacob reminded everyone of the upcoming Aviation Joe Sarginger suggested everyone enjoy the summer with all the Stephen Bagley requested support for the National Night out Mayor Garner encouraged everyone to attend the 50th Anniversary oft the Potato Pancake Dinner on July 21St. Mayor Garner made the following announcements:  Festival on August 17th. warm weather we are having.  activities.  ANNOUNCEMENTS  The next regular Council meeting will be held on Monday, Stephen Bagley made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Nedward Jacob. Meeting adjourned at 7:41 p.m.  August 19, 2024 at 7:00 p.m.  ADJOURNMENT  Recording  4p  GEA