BOROUGH OF SLATINGTON COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 8/12/19 The Regular Meeting Minutes of Council was held on Monday, August 12, 2019 at 7:00 pm., in Council Chambers, 125 S. Walnut Street, Slatington, PA 18080. Presiding: Daniel Stevens: President of Council Recording Secretary: Bryon Reed, President Pro Tem The meeting was called to order by President Stevens at 7:00 pm following in attendance: ROLL CALL: PRESENT ABSENT OTHERS PRESENT VISITORS Daniel Stevens Mayor Niedermeyer Jason Nicholas Jason Ruff Ed Healy Jeffrey Hausman Bryon Reed Larry Turoscy Robert G. Herzog, Jr. Ronald Kratz Chief Rachman Kristie Wilk Joseph Wechsler Ed Ziegler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew President Stevens requested that, as a courtesy, everyone turn offtheir cell phones, iPhone, and electronic devises off, or on vibrate. If you must take a call, please exit the council chambers SO as not to disrupt the meeting. President Stevens announced that all public sessions of Borough Council are electronically recorded and such recordings are maintained as part of the meeting record until the minutes are transcribed and approved by the Board, at which time the recordings shall be erased. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Kratz, to approve the following minutes with the following corrections: Council Meeting President Stevens corrected July gth, 2019, page 2 Mayor/Chief Remarks 2nd paragraph should say "repeal" instead of repel; July 15, 2019, page 2 section B.1.c remove the work "and" after Walnutport; section C.1.a. should say "award the bids" instead of aware; July 22nd A.1.b - "only significant changes can be made to it once the ordinance is advertised - Councilor Schnaars pointed out it should be "insignificant changes"; Under B.1.b. the very end of the paragraph is should state "Borough obtained a quote from Brian's Carpet Cleaning for the floor"; C.1.c. remove the word to" after maintenance. President Stevens declared the motion passed with following a Voice Vote, All in Favor. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION (Agenda and Non-Agenda items) You will have three minutes to address Council from the podium. The three minutes applies to your time at the podium. Ifyou exit the podium, you have yielded the floor, and any time you have remaining. Kristie Wilk - Representative for the Northern Valley EMS - Signed in and was recognized to speak. She provided the council with an update for the first half of the year. Their call volume was 1,567 and they were able to handle 96% of the calls. She provided a document to the council with the number and specific types of calls they had received. She has also sent out invitations for their Round Table. They will conduct an Active Shooter Drill at LCCC. Councilor Schnaars gave accolades to the Northern Valley EMS when they attended the National Night Out event. PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 1 Councilor Ruff: inquired as to who takes the responsibility on the "National Night Out" event. Fire Chief Nicholas stated they had put it together in 2 weeks. REPORTS The reports of various committees, officials and officers were provided to Council and are on file in Borough Hall and are available for public inspection. APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTS PAYABLE/TRANSFER Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to approve payment of the bills and transfers as presented by the Treasurer. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor MAYORS/POLICE CHEF'S REMARKS Mayor Walter H. Niedermeyer Mayor Niedermeyer informed the council he attended the food truck event at the Walnutport Playground on Saturday, July 27th. He also attended the Lazy Day event at the covered bridge. The committee that handled the Gathering has dispersed. The Chamber of Commerce held a picnic at the canal. Chief Rachman Chief Rachman stated the National Night Out event was impressive, considering how quickly it was put together. The Slatington Police Association, along with Lehigh County Children in Youth, are putting on a donation drive this Saturday, August 17, 2019, from 10:00 am to noon. The location for the drop offis at the Slatington Public Library. They are looking for new, or slightly used, backpacks, and school supplies. STANDING COMMITTEES A. Highway Councilor Bryon Reed 1. Larry Turoscy gave an update on the 4th Street CDBG project. He informed the council they started on Friday. Should be finished in about another week. Councilor Reed stated they added more to the job to make up the difference because the bid came in $31,000.00 lower than what we were allotted. This extra money will be used to replace sidewalks, and curbs, on 4th Street. 2. The UGI regulator station will be discussed in executive session. 3. Councilor Reed gave an update on the street signs. He stated that John Bolton has put up 26 new street signs. More signs will be purchased. This is being done in increments and eventually, the whole borough will have new signs up. 4. Councilor Reed asked Ed Healy how the borough goes about obtaining a stop sign at the westside of Slate Alley at Center Street. Ed Healy stated that the ordinance must be amended. The council agreed that streets should be reviewed to see which other areas would require a stop sign. This will be discussed at the next Highway Committee meeting. B. Public Safety Councilor David Schnaars 1. Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Ruff, with corrections made to Resolution R-06-19, Gaming Grant. First line "Whereas the new fire truck is desperately needed for our community", instead of "to"; bottom where it says "Therefore execute all 2 document", should be "documents". President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 2. Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to approve purchase of AEDs per quote from Foremost Medical Equipment for $2,607.00. This is for 3 AEDs, a reduction from 4 AEDs. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed 3. Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to approve the supplemental repairs of $400.00 to the police car 602; originally approved for $2,000.00. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed Councilor Schnaars appreciated the police department's participation for Night Out. He said Officer Dorward was patrolling on his bicycle. C. Human/Community Services Councilor Jason Ruff 1. Councilor Ruff made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Schnaars to approve application for the use of Memorial Park from Assumption BVM Catholic Church for Saturday, October 12th, 2019, from noon to 1:30 PM, for Rosary/Prayer Service to honor Our Lady of Fatima. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 2. Councilor Ruff made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to approve application for use of facilities from Northern Lehigh Student Council for the Homecoming Parade, Friday, September 20, 2019 from 5:15 PM to 6:30 PM. Councilor Schnaars asked if they should submit a map for the parade and any other parades. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 3. Councilor Ruff made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Reed, to approve request from Ed Eppler for the D&L Half Marathon on Sunday, November 3, 2019. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 4. Councilor Ruff made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Reed, to approve application for use of facilities from St. John's UCC for the Annual Peach Festival, Saturday, August 24", 2019, 3 from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 5. Councilor Ruff made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Schnaars, to have Lehigh Engineering research parking lot paving up at Victory Park (Keystone Communities Grant Program). President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor D. Finance Councilor Thomas Bartholomew 1. Councilor Bartholomew made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Weschler to approve Reta Stein's resignation, with regrets, effective 12/31/19. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 2. The council discussed the replacement for tax collector. President Stevens stated that at the committee meeting, it had been suggested to hire Reta's daughter. However, her daughter is not a resident of Slatington. Also, a law was passed a couple of years ago required that now a person must be certified to be a tax collector. Ed Healy will check to see if a person can be hired without certification temporarily, but must obtain certification within a certain amount of time. President Stevens suggested this be discussed at the next committee meeting to start the search. 3. Councilor Bartholomew made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler. to approve Ordinance 695, An Ordinance of the Borough of Slatington, Lehigh County Pennsylvania, adding Chapter 88 relating to fireworks to the Borough Codified Ordinances. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed 4. Councilor Bartholomew made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Schnaars, to possibly advertise Ordinance 696 for blighted properties. The council discussed discrepancies in the ordinance. Councilor Bartholomew made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Schnaars, to withdrew the motion. Ed Healy suggested the council write down compile questions concerning the ordinance and he will obtain the answers. Councilor Schnaars made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to table it back to next committee for discussion. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor 5. Councilor Bartholomew made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Schnaars, to approve draft of year 2018 auditors' financial statements. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz 4 Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed E. Sewer/Solid Waste Councilor Joseph Wechsler 1. Councilor Wechsler gave an update on the digester program. The borough received a notification that we do not have any violations and met permit for this month. PPL came in to check our service, which is upgraded, and the work was accepted the way it was. On August 21st, we hope to start the blowers up and have a start up on the project on the digesters. President Stevens inquired if the generators have been tested. Councilor Wechsler stated they have been with this segment, but will do it again once everything is up and running. Ed Healy inquired if a certificate of substantial completion been issued yet. Councilor Wechsler stated that some work is still needed. F. Water/Special Sewer Committee Councilor Ronald Kratz 1. Water Test Statement - Water was tested and found safe for human consumption 2. Councilor Kratz made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to accept and award Alternate A bid for Shadow Oaks grant project for $327,777.50 to Sikora Brothers Paving Incorporated. Councilor Kratz stated that one bidder had been disqualified for not providing all the required information. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed 3. Councilor Reed explained that the water plant has been struck by lightning over the years with some damage. Placing surge protection in will help to protect the water plant. This is a 3-phase program. Councilor Kratz made a motion, duly seconded by Councilor Wechsler, to award to BEI Electrical water treatment plant surge protection for Phase 1 for $4,900.00. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS ABSTAIN Daniel Stevens Jason Ruff Ronald Kratz Joseph Wechsler David Schnaars Thomas Bartholomew Bryon Reed UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None INFORMATIONAL ITEMS: None 5 NEW BUSINESS: None COUNCIL PRESIDENT'S REPORT: None Daniel Stevens COURTESY OF THE FLOOR - (Agenda Items Only - You will have two (2) minutes to address Council from the podium on Agenda Items Only.) None Ed Ziegler Ed addressed non-agenda items and was asked to only address agenda items at this time. EXECUTIVE SESSION - President Stevens recessed to executive session at 8:05 PM. At 9:25 PM, President Stevens reconvened the meeting. Matters of legal, real estate, personnel and union negotiations were discussed in executive session. ADJOURNMENT Being no further business, Councilor Schnaars made the motion, duly seconded by Councilor Ruff, to adjourn the meeting. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, All in Favor. President Stevens declared the meeting adjourned at 9:25 PM. Colleen Bresnak Assistant Borough Secretary 6