TAYLOR BOROUGH SPECIAL MEETING April 22, 2025 HeldAt: Taylor Borough Mumicipal Building 122 Union Street Taylor, PA 18517 Call to Order Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call Public Input Old Business New Business A. Consider a motion to award the lowest bid or reject all bids for skylight replacement at the borough building (see attached bids). B. Consider the purchase of playground equipment from BYO Recreation - Co Star #014186 for Noakes Park: Item Ages Equipment only Labor Total Solar Flare (5653PPQS) 2-12 $14,884 $10,627 $25,511.00 Little Dipper (6134PPQS) 2-5 $7,444 $6.000 $13,444.00 C. Consider a motion to apply for a Streetscape project grant for up to approximately $500,000. D. Consider a motion to accept the resignation ofl DPW employee Robert Walling effective April 23, 2025. E. Consider a motion to authonze the President of Council and Solicitor to negotiate and execute a lease agreement with Riverside School District for the Noakes Park baseball field. F. Correspondence received from Taylor Fire and Rescue Public Imput Adjournment 4/21/2025 19:49 6 *NOTE* Any person with a disability requiring a special accommodation to attend a Council Meeting should notify the Borough Secretary at (570) 562-1400 as early as possible, but not later than 3 business days prior to the meeting. Taylor Borough will make every effort to provide a reasonable accommodation. TAYLOR FIRE AND RESCUE fire & Rescue 117 UNION STREET TAYLOR, PA 18517 Taylor, PA RECEIVED FIRE STATION (570) 562-0210 APR 21 1 2025 Initial: ehipt Kenneth Mickavicz President, Taylor Borough Council 122 Union St. Taylor, PA 18517 15 APR 2025 Dear President Mickavicz, la am writing on behalf of the Members, Officers, and Board of Directors of Taylor Fire and Rescue regarding the status of Taylor Hose and Engine Co. No. One (No. 1). Itis approaching the two-and-a-halfyear mark since Taylor Borough Council decertified No. 1, and they continue to conduct fundraisers via carnivals and train shows, etc. under the guise of being an operational and functional volunteer fire department. That has not been the case for more than four years. This charade that they continue with their fund-raising efforts cuts deeply into our ability to raise very finite funds for our continued operations and abilities to protect the people and property in Taylor. While we are not suggesting any illegal activities with their fund-raising, we suggest that it is unfair to all donors to be duped into believing that they are helping to fund an active volunteer fire department. It is unclear what the funds are being used for. Members of our department have been approached by vendors/business operators, demanding payment for goods and services received by No. 1, and remain unpaid. As you see, this is like metastasizing cancer. The problem spreads and affects other organs. We work very hard to build and maintain our reputation and can ill-afford to have a woefully underperforming or non-performing organization sully our hard-earned respect. We cannot and will not tolerate it. We have had ZOOM meetings with the director of DCED, their chief consultant, and Taylor Borough Manager Cynthia Bellucci regarding this on-going saga. The state has not yet made a final determination, given their findings. It has been shown that No. 1 has no appropriately functional fire equipment, and worse, no appropriately trained firefighters. This is a truly lethal combination. The possibilities of a new building for Fire and Rescue were discussed. However, from a financial standpoint, that is not a viable option. Since the decertification of No. 1, we have incurred tremendous expense to modify our building to accommodate a new vehicle to cover some of the services once provided by No. 1. No. 1 is still in possession of radio equipment provided by the Borough that is clearly not being used for any legitimate (or any) purpose, yet we must invest our own money to upgrade our systems. They are sitting on a huge nest egg in the form of Firemen's Relief Association funds. What will a non-functioning entity do with that money? It can certainly be put to good use in a functional department. Itis no secret that recruiting volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel is no easy task. The problem exists nationwide. Having this controversial situation exist in Taylor only amplifies the problem. Experts in the field of firefighting management have shown that the biggest part of recruitment is retention. Given the ongoing issues with No. 1, morale is down, retention is fragile, and recruiting is non-existent. To be clear, this problem is snowballing, and kicking the can down the road is not the answer. We need, and the people of Taylor deserve this issue to be put to rest, sO that fire and emergency services can continue uninterrupted at the highest level. We also realize that there has been push back by some members of the community. Even allegations of impropriety on the part of Council and Fire and Rescue. That anger is understandable. Several members of Taylor Fire and Rescue have themselves started their firefighting service at No. 1, and still others have had family members as part of that organization's genealogy. We take no pleasure in watching this situation play out - failure of any fire department or service is unfortunate- however, being a leader sometimes requires making difficult decisions. t is our fervent hope that the right decisions are made before the bottom falls out. The people of Taylor deserve that. We request that this letter be entered into the formal minutes of the next meeting of Taylor Borough Council. Respeptully, Christopher Kuratnick President Cc: Honorable Loni Kavulich, Mayor Cynthia Bellucci, Borough Manager Honorable Leonard Maldonato, Chairman Public Safety Committee William Jones, Esq., Borough Solicitor