September 5, 2017 Page 1 PABB01544 MINUTES Bloomfield Borough Councit September 5, 2017 Bloomfield Borough Council met this evening in regular session in the Bloomfield Borough Council Chambers with the following Council members present: Vice President John J. Patterson V., Kevin Weller, Charles N. Summers, Pierce L. Clouser, Jr. and Karl L. Cless. President Malinda C. Anderson was absent with notification. Michael P. Pray was absent without notification, Secretary Danielle Shope was absent due to illness. Also present: Mayor Arlis Krammes, Assistant Borough Secretary Kathleen Miller, Borough Employee Damon Hartman, BEO Harry Nazzaro, Water Authority and Zoning Officer Ed Albright, Solicitor Richard Wagner, Planning Commission Melanie Rowlands, Perry County Times reporter Jim Ryan, Millersville University student doing a Community Nursing Project Stacey Miller, Perry County Sportsman Association for Youth President Heath Nace and residents Mr. and Mrs. William Yeager, Cory Peters, Dennis Askins, Don Barlup, and Lucinda Thebes Vice-President Patterson called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. MEETING OPENING Recording of the Meeting Vice-President Patterson advised the attendees that the meeting was being recorded by the Council for the accuracy oft the minutes and stated that side conversations should be conducted in the hallway SO as to not disrupt the meeting or its recording and reminded everyone that talking when someone else is speaking also disrupts the meeting and affects the recording. Vice-President Patterson further requested that those individuals in the audience desiring to speak identify themselves prior to speaking and they have 3 minutes to present their concern, 10 minutes ifthey are on the agenda. Vice- President Patterson stated that Council will not deviate from the agenda and any questions should be addressed during the appropriate portion of the meeting. Approval of Minutes - Councilman Cless made a motion, seconded by Councilman Clouser, to approve the August 1, 2017 minutes as presented. Motion carried. Approval of Financial Report - Councilman Clouser made a motion, seconded by Councilman Weller, to approve the financial report for August 2017 as presented. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. William Yeager asked ifhe would be able to look at the Borough's 's financial records tomorrow without a Right to Know form? Vice President Patterson said probably not because it is a busy time of year. Mr. Yeager asked if! he were to go to the Borough Secretary tomorrow and ask to see the smoke tests done on the downspouts and gutters on Oak and High Streets could he see those? Vice President Patterson stated he did not know if such a report was completed. When Mr. Yeager started directing his questions to BEO Nazzaro about speed limits in town etc. Vice President Patterson reminded Mr. Yeager to direct his questions and comments to Council. Councilman Clouser informed Mr. Yeager the Borough Office is closed on Wednesdays. Vice President Patterson stated if! Mr. Yeager had any questions about the finançial end of things he would be willing to sit down with him since he is the financial chairman. Councilman Cless told Mr. Yeager he could file a Right to Know request for that information and the form can be found on the Borough website. September 5, 2017 Page 2 PABB01545 PERRY COUNTY SPORTMEN'S ASSOCIATION FOR YOUTH - SPACE SHUTTLE Mr. Heath Nace is the President ofthe Perry County Sportsmen's Association for Youth (PCSAY). He read in the newspaper about the plight ofthe space shuttle located on the Borough playground. The shuttle was an Eagle Scout project that is now: a safety hazard for the children. His organization is space concerned about what the Borough wants to do with it before they would put time and money into repairing it. Mr. Nate Summers addressed this issue. In March 2017, Mr. Summers began talking with the Scouts about how it needed to be repaired if it was to stay on the Borough playground. The Scouts said they probably would not be able to afford the repairs and asked for more time. In May, the Scouts said they would move it to Hidden Valley Boy Scout Camp. Nothing was done sO the Borough put a deadline on it and suggested that beginning September 1, 2017, it needs to either be gone or repaired. One person from the Scout organization said that was fine and then Mr. Summers began looking into a replacement piece of equipment. Then, Mr. Summers received Mr. Nace's email sO the Borough held off doing anything until after hearing Mr. Nace' s presentation. The Borough empathizes with the Haags' since it was their son's 's Eagle Scout project, but steps had to be taken to board it up for the safety ofthe community children and possible liability issues. It has been many months and nothing had been accomplished. Mr. Nace said his association has the resources and they are interested in making the repairs as long as the Borough does not tear it down after the repairs have been made. This is not the Borough' s intent. Vice President Patterson stated that the easy part is fixing it, but ifMr. Nace's association is willing to rebuild it the Borough would need something in writing stating that the PCSAY or Boy Scouts would also maintain it, Councilman Cless asked if PCSAY would be willing to replace the lumber with a plastic product. Wood does not meet the PA State guidelines. Mr. Cless will provide Mr. Nace with a copy of the state safety guidelines sO PCSAY knows what they would have to meet. Vice President Patterson asked Councilman Cless to work with Mr. Nace on this project. The Council gave Mr. Nace until October to come back and let Council know if his organization will go ahead with the rebuilding and maintaining of the space shuttie. BLIGHTED HOMES ORDINANCE - CORY PETERS Mr. Cory Peters, a homeowner in New Bloomfield, is not in favor ofOrdinance #331. He is not in favor of the Borough telling homeowners how their home should look. He enjoys how New Bloomfield looks but he is not in favor oft the enforcement portion of Ordinance #331. He is not in favor of someone coming onto his property looking for violations ofthe Ordinance. He feels the way the town looks there is no need for this type ofordinance. Mr. Peters asked Council members how they think the town looks. Councilman Cless stated the town looks good, except for two blighted homes and the Borough has no law on the books to go after these homeowners. This ordinance would give the Borough the "teeth" to do this. Mr. Peters agreed with Councilman Cless. Mr. Peters does not believe it is a fair ordinance to bring before Council especially the enforcement section. Vice President Patterson deferred to Solicitor Wagner to explain. Mr. Wagner stated the proposed Ordinance #331 is extremely bland. Bland in that there is not the criteria and rules and regulations that many municipalities have in place. The whole concept was to put something into place that will help the Borough deal with situations where the homeowner is neglecting the property or the propertyis abandoned where there is not maintenance and upkeep that should be provided. The enforcement section gives no September 5, 2017 Page 3 PABB01546 penalty provision that says if you violate this ordinance you pay $1,000 fine. There is no provision that says ifyou violate the ordinance on numerous occasions you will have an increase in fines. Many municipalities have this. The purpose of this ordinance is to maintain some degree ofintegrity oft the property. just from what you can see from the outside. This ordinance would promote dialogue between the Mayor, BEO and the homeowner to rectify an identified property problem. Vice President Patterson addressed Mr. Peters by saying that this ordinance gives the Borough "teeth" if they need it. The Borough has no desire to go beyond the ability to do something as a last resort. Vice President Patterson stated the reason New Bloomfield looks likei it does is because a lot of hard work goes into keeping it this way and enforcing the ordinances helps keep the town looking good. Councilman Cless informed Mr. Peters the two homes this ordinance would target is one on East Main Street that has been abandoned for over 40 years and one on Barnett Street that actually had sewage backup, but that homeowner lives in San Diego, California and does not seem to care about her property or this health issue. ENFORCEMENT Solicitor's Report - Mr. Richard Wagner gave a copy of a basic petition for reducing Council from 7 to 5 members to the secretary that could be used as the Borough's] petition. If 5% oft the Borough electorate signs this petition that petition can be filed with the court and the court will conduct a hearing as to whether or not to reduce the Council from 7 to 5. Enforcement Committee Report - Councilman Clouser was instructed to check the sidewalks. BEO Nazzaro helped Mr. Clouser do a preliminary check on this issue. Mr. Clouser wants BEO Nazzaro, Mr. Albright and himselft to rewrite the letter to the property owners affected between now and this coming spring. After deciding what needs to be done to the sidewalks in question, then the Committee will contact the owners. Mr. Clouser asked Solicitor Wagner what could be done about any "junk" or abandoned cars and basically it would have to be determined that the cars are a hazard to the people before the Borough could do anything. Councilman Cless asked about the newest issue with Mrs. Polly Eby. Councilman Clouser said Sylvester's would have to be contacted to make them aware oft this situation. Vice President Patterson stated Council only just received a copy of her email printout, so it would have to be discussed more thoroughly after everyone had time to read the email. Mayor's Report - Mayor Krammes reported the town looks good. She has received many negative comments about the house on West Main Street with boarded up windows, but as per our Solicitor, there is nothing the Borough can do about this. She received the permit for the upcoming Street Fair. The State of PA has to be named on the insurance policy since the roads are State roads being closed. She is also collecting money for the drug store centennial mural. The artist is from Philadelphia and the mural will cost $10,000. The Mayor has $6,000 sO far and maybe the Borough could give something towards this project when working on the upcoming budget. Melanie Rowlands asked if there is a sketch of the mural. Mayor Krammes would like the artist to do a mural of the dedication of the Soldier and Sailors Monument. She has a picture of that event. Melanie Rowlands asked the Mayor to run that by the Planning Commission in terms of wordage, etc. since it is in the historical district. Mayor Krammes stated Borough employee Damon Hartman is taking care oft the Street Fair signage. Parking Enforcement Officer Report - Mayor Krammes reported there were 71 tickets issued for August with 4 remaining unpaid. September 5, 2017 Page 4 PABB01547 Borough Enforcement Officer Report-E BEO Officer Mr. Harry Nazzaro reported things are pretty good in the Borough. He issued a citation for grass/weeds to the owner of41/43/45 East Main Street. He received a report of a stolen bike. (see-also filed incident report). He completed an Incident Report of dirt bikes being used on public streets and issued a final warning to the riders. He explained to the owner that the State Police would issue citations ifit continued. (see-also filed incident report). Mr. Nazzaro gathered information to give Council President Anderson for a meeting she attended regarding 42 West Main Street. After Council's involvement Mr. Nazzaro had only one issue with this property and that was laundry left to dry on the porch roof. He is finding more young children wondering around after hours. See BEO Nazzaro's filed incident report for more specific details. ADMINISTRATIVE Announcements and Correspondence - Budget] Meeting Dates The Budget meetings have been scheduled for October 16, 17 and 18 starting at 4 p.m. Hopefully, it can be completed in one night. It will be a working dinner. All committee heads were reminded to bring their anticipated needs and wants for the upcoming year. Tire Wars - PC Conservation District is September g!, 8 a.m.-12 p.m.. VP Patterson asked Council to review the Phone and Address listing they received for accuracy. The Perry Housing Partnership was addressed byl BEO Nazzaro in his report. Ordinance #331 - Blighted and Disrepaired Properties. - VP Patterson read Ordinance #331. It has been listed in the paper. Councilman Summers moved to accept Ordinance #331. There was no second sO Ordinance #331 has been tabled to be revisited at a future date. Councilman Cless suggested setting up meeting with the audience folks attending for this reason to discuss the Ordinance before moving on. Councilman Cless was one of the authors ofthis ordinance. Councilman Cless could not understand why people would not want this ordinance because most people would not want to live beside homes like this and it would help keep slum lords out oftown. Councilman Cless stayed to talk with these residents after the meeting was adjourned. Water Authority Report - Mr. Albright stated Centre Township finally is going to sign the plans for the land development for Well #3. Also, there will be a pre-bid meeting for McClure Street on Monday. It is advertised. Once the bids are in, they can proceed. Tomorrow (September 6th) is a fire hydrant flushing test. It was advertised on Facebook and on the website. The water will look cloudy, but it should not be a problem. They are progressing with the testing of Well #3. There is one more month left oft testing. They have just hit the 7 million gallon mark of pumping water down the creek as per DEP regulations. Planning Commission Report - Ms. Rowlands stated there was nothing that needed Council approval this evening. NavTech contacted the Planning Commission about the Fire Company property. Hopefully, this means plans are moving forward. Zoning/Permit Officer's Report - Mr. Albright stated he issued five zoning permits for the month of August. One for roof mounted solar panels at 120 West McClure Street, one for sewer and water service at 85 Locust Street, and a driveway and building permit for 85 Locust Street. September 5, 2017 Page 5 PABB01548 Administrative Committee Report - Councilman Cless stated he worked with Ashley Eckert to complete the library HVAC installation and electrical connection. He also removed the junk dehumidifiers. He scrapped them and stored the condensate pumps for future use. The spare dehumidifier was relocated into the north room ofthe library as the third dehumidifier has become inoperable. Council should consider the purchase of a commercial duty unit for future use as the cheaper models will simply not handle the job. He will get estimates. Councilman Cless received and installed the replacement paper towel dispensers for the upper and lower public restrooms. The lower level ladies restroom lock became inoperable again and needed: repair. He discussed a possible ordinance infraction by the local garbage hauler with a resident. It seems the truck is spilling garbage residue onto the streets. Solid Waste Ord. 1971-7, Sec. 13 prohibits this type of activity. The resident was referred to the Enforcement Committee Chairman for follow up. He received several calls from residents regarding the new proposed blighted/disrepaired property ordinance. He received a complaint from Diakon Ministries regarding an out of date fire extinguisher in the office. He explained to them thel lessee was responsible for rental issues such as this. He had planned to attend the 20171 PA Rural Broadband forum in State College. Upon reviewing the pre-registration details he discovered that Bloomfield Borough is covered by all broadband services currently offered; therefore it did not make sense to attend and lobby for more services. Councilman Cless made a motion, seconded by Councilman Weeller, to appoint Mr. Robert Wood of4 400 Timber Circle to replace Mr. John Long on the Municipal Authority. Motion passed. FEMA/PEMA Report - Councilman Cless reported he received the latest FEMA flood insurance map and study information. It would seem the GIS flood zone FIRM levels have remained virtually unchanged; therefore, our current ordinançe for floodplain control measures should be ample. PCBA/COG Mr. Albright stated he will have a report next meeting after the COG meeting. Capital Tax Collection Bureau Report- Councilman Pray was absent, SO no report. AESTHETICS Aesthetics Committee Report - Councilman Summers stated they are on hold with the spaçe shuttle issue until next month when the Perry County Sportsman Association for Youth will report back to Council their intentions. They are trying to keep the Square looking nice for the upcoming Street Fair and then the Tree Lighting. A concrete pad was completed under the playground pavilion. FINANCE, INSURANCE, AND SAFETY Finance. Insurance & Safety Report - Vice President Patterson had nothing to report. Grants Councilman Pray was absent, SO no report. Personnel Committee Report- Councilman Pray was absent, sO no report. RIGHTS OF WAY & UTILITIES Rights of Way & Utilities Committee Report - Vice President Patterson stated all bids are out on all the projects including McClure Street and the Barnett Woods Road bridge project. The bridge project bids are due September 19 and the McClure Street bids are due September 26. September 5, 2017 Page 6 PABB01549 Closing Comments There being no further business, upon motion by Councilman Clouser, seconded by Councilman Weller, the meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m. to meet on Tuesday, October 3, 2017 for a regular meeting. Motion carried. Respectfully submitted, Kathleen Millu Kathleen Miller, Assistant Secretary