BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2025 A work session of the Borough Council of the Borough of Franklin Park was held on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 7:00 p.m. at 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. present Jiang Li, Vice President. present Brian S. Malkin present Lucas R. Myslinski.. present Uday Palled, President. present Thomas C. Schwartzmier. present Junior Counciiperson Mila Deli. present Mayor Dennis E. O'Keefe present ENGINEER: Shawn Wingrove, Lennon, Smith, Souleret Engineering, Inc. present Brad Simmons, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.. present SOLICITOR: Robert Max Junker, Babst Calland present STAFF: Zach Brower, Recreation Program Director present Gary Bucuren, Superintendent of Public Works. absent Rege Ebner, Borough Manager present Jim Huff, Manager of Golf Course & Parks Facilities. present Cathy Krummert, Borough Secretary present Aron Leach, Police Chief. present Andy Nock, Assist. Bldg. Insp./Fire & Tech Official.. present Tim Phillips, Building InspectorlZoning Officer. present Scott' Weiskircher, Finance Director/Borough Treasurer. present AUDIENCE: 2 ANNUAL MEETING WITH EAC CHAIRPERSON - Stephanie Gundling met with Council and provided the annual report for the EAC. The Green Up Day was held two weeks ago in Acorn Park. They planted 100 trees last year and 100 trees this year with 20-25 volunteers. There is also a nice habitat restoration sign. The Litter Cleanup will be held April 26th, and this will be the fourth year for this event. They will be collecting litter on Nicholson Road from the Concordia Nursing Home to the YMCA. The Pickup PA Program has provided some of the supplies needed, and the EAC purchased the remaining supplies. The EAC had a table at the Festival in the Park last year and provided educational information regarding recycling, ticks, and lime disease. This is the second year for the Remarkable Trees Program, and the winner is an elm tree on Wilvan Lane. The EAC received twice as many applications this year. The program brings awareness to residents and spreads a conservation message. The EAC helped draft an application to be submitted for Bird Town PA. They also assisted with drafting the tree ordinance and they would like to see it move forward. The two electric suppliers in our area both provide a free home energy audit, and EAC member Jim Porcelli wrote an article regarding the program for the spring newsletter. The EAC reviewed the landscape plan for Acorn Park and provided feedback. They are also helping with the tree mitigation plan in the park. The EAC has been holding hybrid meetings, but since there has been limited in-person attendance, they will be returning to all virtual meetings. They have provided photos from the volunteer events and educational items for the website. 1 BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2025 OLD BUSINESS: Wireless Infrastructure Survey - Susan Rabold of CityScape added four additional questions to the survey for Council's review. Prior to making the survey available, the Borough will have a postcard printed and mailed to all residents including a QR code that would take them directly to the survey. The postcard will also include a QR code for the Home Rule Charter information. Council discussed whether the 38-question survey is too long, and they asked that CityScape provide a shorter version for their review. They also discussed giving residents the option to complete a short or long survey. Mr. Ebner will request a shorter version of the survey for Council's review and discussion at the next meeting. MFPAA Agreement - The service agreement was previously approved "in a form acceptable to the Solicitor, and Mr. Junker had provided both a red-line copy and a clean copy of the draft agreement for Council's review. In the event that another municipality negotiates a better deal/term, Mr. Junker inserted a clause indicating that we get the benefit of anything else that is negotiated with any of the municipalities. Council discussed that they are satisfied with the agreement in the current form. The agreement will be forwarded to the McCandless Solicitor, Manager, and Council. REGULAR MEETING AGENDA REVIEW: Cardinal Ridge Plan - The revised plan will be considered again under Old Business. The developer has signed the Development Agreement and posted a bond. The grading permit has been issued. HOA documentation was submitted for review, and it does include language that the stormwater facility will be maintained by the HOA. Renderings were received with hand drawn details. Council discussed and noted that the revised drawings are poor quality, inconsistent, and deficient. Mr. Phillips will notify the applicant that Council wants to see professional drawings, and they want to see more detail of the rear decks, sunrooms and patios. If the applicant cannot provide the requested information for the April 16th regular meeting, they would have the option to grant an extension until the May meeting. Otherwise, Council would need to take action at the April 16th meeting. Council also discussed the "fee in lieu" of recreation areas versus the dedication of greenspace and will look at this further to see what money or space it is bringing into the Borough and if the formula should be revised. Bliss Residential Land Development - A motion was added for a Third Addendum to the Development Agreement to extend the time period for completion. Black Oak Investments Office Building = The site is almost complete, but there are a few outstanding issues. They may try to request a further release, but a motion has been added for a Second Addendum to the Development Agreement to extend the time period for completion. Award scholarships - The 20 scholarship applications are being reviewed by the committee, and the names will be announced at the regular meeting. STAFF REPORTS: Report by Scott Weiskircher, Finance Director/Treasurer The obligations that were due at the end of March have all been fulfilled. Maher Duessel submitted the financials to the DCED and the AG385 Report was submitted. Ms. Czekaj asked about Springbrook mentioned in the written report, and Mr. Weiskircher clarified that it is the accounting system that is used by the Borough. Ms. Czekaj asked that the motion on the regular meeting agenda to pay the bills also include a list oft the bills to be paid sO residents could easily see them. Ity was noted that the list of bills would too long to list on the agenda. Following some discussion, the motion will now be amended to reflect that the bills are available for viewing on the Borough website. 2 BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2025 Report by Tim Phillips, Building InspectorlZoning Officer The Zoning Hearing Board will consider two applications: (1). Application for a front-yard encroachment on Wharrey Drive for the addition to a home; (2) Application for a side-yard encroachment on Brandt School Road for the addition to a home. The Planning Commission will consider an application for a lot line revision since there will be an alteration to an existing private right of way on Taylor Lane off Rochester Road. They will also continue their review of possible use overlays at some major intersections as previously directed by Council. Council and staff discussed whether or not the Planning Commission should move forward with their review of possible use overlays and concluded that the Planning Commission should move forward but they should be aware that there is no budget for legal or planning. Mr. Malkin asked Mr. Phillips a question regarding the Notice of Violations report. Report by Zach Brower, Recreation Director The parks and fields are starting to open up as we get into April. New programs include flag football and dance classes at the Activity Center two evenings a week. The Easter Egg Hunts will be held next weekend. All available dates are booked at the Activity Center for the month. Report by Jim Huff. Manager of Golf Course & Parks Facilities The golf course opened March 10th, and it was a good month even with the weather. The leagues should start next week depending on weather. He discussed some issues that have gone on for many years between two golf leagues where staff has had to intervene. He made the decision this year to switch the start times of the two leagues to address the problems, and some golfers from one of the leagues have decided to move on. The decking was replaced on a walking bridge by the lower lacrosse field. There have been previous discussions regarding the elevations and drainage issues on fields 3 and 4. There is a 4 ft. fence that divides fields 3 and 4 that was removed due to the drainage issue. He is looking to build the wall again between the two fields and put in some drainage to improve both fields. The estimate is approximately $7,000. This was not specifically budgeted, but he should be able to find the money to complete the project. Report by Shawn Wingrove. Borough Engineer Activity has resumed at Acorn Park. The bridges are being constructed. Independent Enterprises is cleaning up to close out the project. He met with Mr. Huff and Mr. Ebner regarding the rebid oft the golf course clubhouse improvements and also some items at Blueberry Hill Park. He has scheduled follow-up reviews next week for outstanding Maintenance Agreement items at LaPlace Pointe/Taylor Ridge Apartments and Squire Ridge Plan Phase III. The work on a public storm sewer and relocation extension at 1730 Sturbridge is substantially complete. They were cleaning up the punch list items today. A preconstruction meeting was held at Cardinal Ridge. They are mobilizing for E&S work in the next week or sO and real grading will begin mid-month. Ms. Czekaj asked about the modification for the minimum intersection spacing. Mr. Wingrove noted that the modification was granted under the previous approval. They do not have enough property to increase the intersection spacing between their road and Lorrick Lane. Report by Brad Simmons, Stormwater Engineer Reminder that Growing Greener will need to be contacted to see if we can reassign the Ramblewood Project funds to the Fish Run Project. The design for the Fish Run Project is on hold until the Franklin Park parcel is acquired. Mr. Ebner noted that the owner of the property has not responded to emails since he asked to do his own appraisal over a month ago. The Borough had the property appraised at $105,000 and the owner felt it was worth more. The Borough will need to decide what approach to take. 3 BOROUGH OF FRANKLIN PARK BOROUGH COUNCIL WORK SESSION MINUTES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2025 Report by Aron Leach, Police Chief Officer Phillippi finished his FTO program and completed 566 hours of training. He will now be patrolling on his own. The Chief and Lieutenant did an assessment of the physical security of the police department. One of the issues they found was that two office windows were glass, and one was broken. The public works department replaced the two windows with glass block windows. In addition, the Guardian Alarm system was not functioning property. Guardian did an assessment, and the Chief would like to add a glass break alarm to the front foyer and an emergency call button in the jail cell area in case a prisoner, witness, victim, or officer needs help. Guardian provided a proposal of just over $2,000 with an additional monthly fee of just under $58. This includes a first responder discount. This cost is not included in the budget, but the Chief indicated that he would make it work. Council asked the Chief to check with other vendors. The Jamar unit was sent off for evaluation/repair, and he has not heard back from the company. All staff members left the meeting. MANAGER'S REPORT DISCUSSION ITEMS: Trees - Mr. Ebner provided a list of the 70 trees purchased from Tree Pittsburgh that will be planted in various parks. We will probably make another purchase in the fall. He is also working with Tree Pittsburgh to possibly establish an adopt a tree program for residents, and he should have more information in two weeks. REMOVAL OF TREES ON OAKLEAF LANE - Mayor O'Keefe requested more discussion regarding this matter since there will be an impact when the Borough removes the trees. Mr. Nock discussed a similar violation at the intersection of Duncan Drive and Rochester Road, and staff asked for direction regarding enforcement of these types of matters. Council discussed this matter at length and agreed to offer a compromise to allow the HOA to plant new trees out of the public right of way before the Borough removes the existing trees. The Borough would allow a reasonable time period for new trees to be established before the existing trees would be removed by the Borough. The existing wall must also be removed by the HOA. The Borough will send letters indicating that based on further discussions, we are amending previous letters. By May 15th (the 60th day) we want a plan for the HOA to plant a row of trees on the private property, and we will provide a time period for the trees to be established. At the end of that time period, the Borough will cut down the existing trees to the stumps, and we will also expect the HOA to remove the wall. HOME RULE UPDATE = Mr. Schwartzmier discussed some statistics and information he found while he was trying to find some positive non-monetary reasons to consider Home Rule. He will contact Keystone Municipal Solutions to see ift they can provide additional information at no charge. Mr. Palled discussed the Borough's millage history. REPORTS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS: Mr. Myslinski will email a couple proposals from the fire company to protect firefighters when they are on scene that will be discussed at a future meeting. EXECUTIVE SESSION = An executive session was held to discuss property acquisition. As there was no further business, the meeting adjourned at approximately 9:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Qtluys Sununehtr Cathy L. Krummert Borough Secretary 4