BOROUGH OF SLATINGTON The Finance Planning/Zoning, Public Safety and Human/Community Services Committee Workshop Meetings were held on July 18, 2022 in Council Room, 125 South Walnut Street, Slatington, PA 18080. The meeting was called to order by President Bartholomew at 6:30 PM with the following in attendance: PRESENT ABSENT OTHERS PRESENT VISITORS Thomas Bartholomew Mayor Schoch Austin Berger Ronald Kratz Daniel Stevens Crystal Hausman Kevin Steckel Jeffrey Hausman Zachari Halkias Susan Smith Katja Bender Tony Lopsonzski PUBLIC COMMENT: Jeffrey Hausman - 45 So. Walnut Street. Signed in and was recognized to speak. Jeffrey is also a councilor for the borough and has been approached by residents concerning various issues. Some residents are complaining about 2 properties in town with very high grass. Manager Stevens stated that Tony Lopsonzski has been in contact with the owners, but they are still not in compliance. Jeffrey stated there is a property on Cherry Street that is falling apart, and can this property be considered a scrap/junk yard. The committee discussed other properties that need to be addressed. Tony provided information concerning the addresses and what has been done to get different issues resolved. Jeffrey spoke about a contractor who was interested in bidding on the garage doors at the fire house, but was missed. Manager Stevens clarified that these were not bids, but quotes. Fire Chief Berger had received the quotes, but that quote was not on time. Katja Bender - 1057 Pine Tree Drive. Signed in and was recognized to speak. Katja is looking for approval to block Maple Spring Acres for a block party (item C.1.a). President Bartholomew requested this be placed on the next regular council agenda. Michael Kissling- 549 E. Church Street. Michael is disabled and his father-in-law is a disabled veteran who lives with him. Michael stated there is an on-going issue with parking on E. Church Street. He stated that theoretically he does have 2 parking spaces behind his house, but a neighbor is stating that she had an agreement with the previous owners that she extended rocks and parks there. They have to keep 2 cars out front, and sometimes there are not 2 spots available. Michael said he is unable to obtain a handicapped parking spot because there is already one further down the street. Michael is looking for information on how the 2 spots behind his house could remain with him. Michael has spoken with her, but she was not very cooperative. Tony Lopsonzski is aware of this issue and stated that the property along the Slate Heritage Trail is not properly marked. It may be part of the Lehigh County Tax Repository, or it may be part of the borough. There are 6 vehicles that are abandoned and he doesn't know the owner. President Bartholomew stated that Michael's issue with his neighbor would be a 1 civil issue and to obtain a surveyor. Manager Stevens has been in contact with Lehigh County concerning the properties in the tax repository. A. FINANCE/PLANNINGIZONING Ronald Kratz - Chairman; Members: Kevin Steckel, Zachari Halkias 1. Committee Member discussion on listed topics: a. Councilor Kratz provided an update to the committee that we have started the process of looking for a part-time code enforcement officer and have had 1 interview recently, and we have some impressive candidates. President Bartholomew would like this to be discussed in executive session. b. Councilor Kratz wanted to clarify the topic of parking. Councilor Kratz stated that there is a parking issue in town and we are unable to create more real estate. Councilor Kratz asked if there is a targeted way to put the focus on certain streets to limit the cars per home. Councilor Kratz asked the committee if this could move forward or ifi it a dead issue. Councilor Kratz added that we are not saying how many cars it would be, it is just going to be an arrow in our quiver for if we had a street that had a problem. Do we have a legal right to focus just on a street as opposed of doing a whole community at a time, that is what the attorney was going to look in to. Councilor Kratz would like this placed on the next regular council agenda. C. Councilor Kratzj just wants to think about where the COVID19 LFRF will be going and get creative ideas. Manager Stevens stated that there are ideas listed on this agenda and other projects have recently come up. There were no questions from the committee members; the Finance Committee Meeting was adjourned. B. PUBLICSAFETY Kevin Steckel - Chairman; Members: Ronald Kratz, Zachari Halkias 1. Committee Member discussion on listed topics: a. Manager Stevens stated the 2018 police vehicle is in need of major repairs. There was a coolant leak which led to the alternator, the battery, head gasket, and the list goes on. The last estimate is $4,200.00 but they are still checking and there could be more issues. The code car's sway bar is broken, in addition to a spring in the back. The 2009 Crown Victoria has no air conditioning and the emergency brake cable is broken. Manager Stevens feels that COVID19 LFRF could be used for these repairs. Councilor Steckel would like this placed on the next regular council agenda. b. Manager Stevens provided pricing information on a shield and a battering ram. Manager Stevens suggested we obtain a shield that would stop a high caliber (velocity) bullet and such as a .357 Magnum, a .44 Magnum, or a 7.62. Councilor Steckel would like this placed on the next regular council agenda. 2 C. Councilor Kratz made a motion, duly seconded by President Bartholomew, to discuss an issue concerning the inspection of fire trucks. President Bartholomew declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor. Councilor Kratz asked Austin Berger why the fire truck had gone up to Jim Thorpe for the inspection. Austin stated that it is his place of employment. He also added that the person they were using for the state inspection had dropped the ball with scheduling. Austin had spoken with Councilor Steckel concerning this and they would have had to wait an additional 3-4 weeks to get the state inspection done. The inspection would have expired or they had to find another place to do it. Austin's place of employment had the ability to squeeze them in, and inspected that same week. There were no questions from the committee members; the Public Safety Committee meeting was adjourned. C. HUMAN/COMMUNITY SERVICES Zachari Halkias - Chairman; Members: Kevin Steckel, Ronald Kratz 1. Committee Member discussion on listed topics: a. This was request from Andreas Hassold for barriers on Friday September 16, 2022 for a block party on Pine Tree Drive was discussed at Public Announcements. There were no questions from the committee members; the Human/Community Services Committee meeting was adjourned. D. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: None E. COURTESY TO THE FLOOR: None Councilor Kratz made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Halkias, to adjourn. Being no further business, President Bartholomew declared the meeting adjourned at 7:16 PM. Daniel L. Stevens Borough Secretary 3