1901 WH EST. Borough of West Homestead Caucus / Workshop Meeting Tuesday, March 4, 2025 Minutes Council President Ashley Cain called the meeting to order at 6:15 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance: Moment of Silence for Donna May. Roll Call: Present: Ms. Cain, Ms. Ferson, Mr. Fonos, Mr. Karafa, Mr. McLaughlin, Ms. Nikolas. Absent: Mr. Harhai. Also Present: Mayor Joe Baran, Engineer Mark Brashear, Solicitors Stanley Lederman and Michael Lederman, Secretary Donna McMichael. President Cain asked anyone in the audience if they had any questions on agenda items. No comments were made. Legislation: 1. Advertise for a Sewer Technician. Motion by Barb Ferson, Second by Ray Fonos All voted in favor of motion. 2. Ratify the hiring of Cindy Bahn as Interim Borough Manager and the written contract, therefore. Motion by Barb Ferson, Second by John Karafa All voted in favor of motion. 3. Approve Resolution No. 25-005, demolition of 320 Walnut Street. Motion by Barb Ferson, Second by John Karafa Stanley Lederman read Resolution No, 25-005 Vote by roll: Ms. Ferson, Yes; Mr. Fonos, Yes; Mr. Karafa, Yes; Mr. McLaughlin, Yes; Ms. Nikolas, Yes; Ms. Cain, Yes. REPORTS: Mark Brashear: Engineer, ABC's (Authorities / Boards / Commissions) Joe Deasy attended the Planning Commission meeting in February. There will be a joint Planning Commission meeting on March 26th at the Homestead Borough Building regarding the Waterfront apartments. There will also be one West Homestead item for the Planning Commission in March regarding an addition at 549 West 7th Avenue. There will also be a joint Zoning Hearing Board meeting on March 26th at the Homestead Borough Building regarding the Waterfront apartments. There will be one West Homestead item for the Zoning Hearing Board regarding the addition at 549 West 7th Avenue. There was a Sewer backup on February 15th in the Waterfront due to grease build up. Robinson Pipe was called due to the 24-hour emergency. This was cleared on February 16th. Working on mulch at the Playground, crack sealing, and repairs on Basic Avenue. There will be a Public Hearing next week on the Transitional Housing. Agenda item for next week: Approve John D. Caruso for the crack sealing. Mark will coordinate. He will talk to Jay Caruso about what we can get done and for how much. Joe Baran: Mayor Chief Rozzo is working on accreditation. GPS installed in police cars. LPR will be installed soon. Stanley Lederman, Solicitor We will talk in the Executive Session. Committee Reports = Any discussion? Barb Ferson: Stanley will be working on a Grease Trap fee. Mark Brashear: This is a common issue, a problem nationwide, due to grease and flushable wipes. Bill McLaughlin: An issue with the decorative lights on West 7th and West gth Avenues. A pole was hit on West 7th & Neel Street. Can we contact Sargeant Electric to look at the decorative lights? President's Report Public Works: backhoe has a slow leak in a tire, Jay Caruso recommended someone to reseal, Al to reach out to him. The F650 needs a chain. Public Works have 8 more trees to go on the Avenue. A few cars need to be moved. Basic Avenue, police officer to stop traffic while filling potholes. Cindy has gone through the emails, talked to Mark regarding the Riverfront, attended the Hazard Mitigation meeting, and the Planning Commission. President Cain asked anyone in the audience if they had any questions on any non-agenda. Christina Deasy, 682 West gth Avenue: 1. There is trash in front of the garage at 560 West 8th Avenue. 2. The Howard T Moore sign at the garage on West 7th Avenue needs to come down since the pole was hit by a car. Joe Deasy, 145 East 8th Avenue: 1. Any update on the 3 letters, which are due March 14th. These letters are a priority. Motion by Ms. Ferson, Second by Mr. Karafa To enter into an Executive Meeting at 6:32 pm. All voted in favor of the motion. Returned from Executive Meeting. Discussion on Legal, Real Estate and Personnel issues. Adjourned the meeting at 7:46 pm.