AUGUST 17, 2020

CALL TO ORDER

PRESENT

ABSENT

VISITORS

MINUTES

BILLS

CONSTITUENT COMMENTS

Council in regular session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in the social hall. President McNally presiding.

Dennis McNally, President Alfred Noble, Vice President Peter Burton

Kathy Lyons Jeanne Miller Gregg Mitcho Robert “Doc” Orr

Robert Stubenbort, Borough Manager Joseph Yochim, Solicitor

Kevin Rafferty, Chief of Police

Dennis McDonald, Public Works Supervisor

Robert Kremenik, Mayor Mark Corey, Engineer

Bev Bible Shirley Hall Jim McDonald

Lawrence Russell Sandy Rhodes Ginger Cinte

Jim Simonelli Nancy Bronstein Marty Berlin Alexis Carr Austin Gilkinson

Motion by Councilmember Burton to approve the minutes as amended. member Mitcho. All in favor. Motion carried.

Motion by Councilmember Lyons to approve the bills from the July 20, 2020 council meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Noble. All in favor. Motion carried.

Jim Simonelli thanked the Public Works Department for taking care of the  rebar that was laying in the creek. He also complimented them for keeping the sewer drains clear throughout the town.

Nancy Bronstein thanked the Public Works Department for taking care of her problem with the sewer backing up on Dewey Drive. President McNally said we will put Dewey Drive on a schedule going forward.

It was recommended by the Erie County Planning Commission and the Girard Borough Planning Committee to allow the application of, Chardonnay Village

L.P. a Private Residential Development (PRD), located in the Borough of Girard, Erie County, Pennsylvania, requesting approval to allow a change to the PRD agreement with the Borough of Girard to allow 185 sq. ft (.004 ac) portion of lot 120 to be conveyed to and become an integral part of the Common Space known as Inst.# 2019-007373. This side lot addition is to increase the building setback from the property line to a storage garage. Both lots are zoned R- 1.Councilmember Lyons asked if that line will be moved north. Mr. McDonald said yes. Motion by Councilmember Burton to approve the  recommendation from the Girard Borough Planning Committee. Seconded by Councilmember Noble. All in favor. Motion carried.

It was recommended by the Girard Borough Planning Committee to approve the application of Celeste F. Paulhus, 312 Rice Avenue and Austin Gilkinson & Alexis Carr, 306 Rice Avenue to replot lots #34, 35, & 36 of the Day Subdivision. Parcel “A” 980 Sq. Ft. (.022 acre) to be incorporated into index number 23-11-6-3 and Parcel “B” 2,733 Sq. Ft. (.063 acre) to be incorporated into index number 23-11- 6-4. This application would allow 5 ft. between the house of lot #36 and the property of lot #35. All properties are zoned R-3 which requires a minimum side yard of 6 feet. Motion by Counci!member Orr to approve the recommendation from the Girard Borough Planning Commission. Seconded by Councilmember Lyons. All in favor. Motion carried.

ADMINISTRATION FIRE/POLICE

PERSONNEL                  Councilmember Mitcho mentioned that Girard Borough has been placing some of the road millings in the fire department parking lot. The township is grading and rolling the surface.

July was a busy month with fundraisers. The rescheduled April fundraiser took place at the beginning of August. The attendance was down but people were very generous with donations.

The Chicken BBQ was a great success. There was an excess of 100 chickens sold per hour, mostly by carry out. At 3:30 the chickens were sold out. The fire department is looking to do another barbeque in September. They are very grateful to the community for showing so much support.

The Sportsmans Raffle was held on August 15th and it was a record day. People were again very generous.

On August 29, 2020 the fire department will hold Dobler Days from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. There will be an open house along with many demonstrations. Lunch will be available. Representatives from Allegheny Health Network will stop by as well as other fire companies.

Councilmember Mitcho said that there were nine new members inducted at

last months meeting. The department is averaging between two and four members per month and now has ninety members.

A controlled burn was held recently on Tannery Road so some new members were able to be certified.

Mr. Stubenbort recommended that the Personnel Committee meet next week to review the applications for the open Public Works position. At this time we have four applications. Council decided to have Mr. Stubenbort set up the interviews and the Personnel Committee will meet a half hour before the interviews begin.

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

 MAYOR/POLICE

MANAGERS REPORT

BOROUGH POOL

DOWNTOWN COMMITTEE

Councilmember Noble attended the monthly meeting with Councilmember Orr. The next meeting will be held on September 4th• The final copy of the  new bylaws will be out in September. On September 14th the NOVA Cleveland Weather Station will be off line for a few  days. The radar system will be updated. The County will be supplying each of the school districts with a 55- gallon drum of hand sanitizer. Chuck Kanarr received 4,000 washable masks.

These masks can be washed up to fifteen times before they should be disposed of. The fire department has received their masks already.

Chief Rafferty reported that Ed Podpora and Christopher Arthur were sworn in as part time Police Officers. Officer Podpora was a full time officer with the borough for 25 years until his retirement in October of 2013. Christopher Arthur works full time for the Franklin Township Police Department. He does live in the Erie area.

Resolution 1-8-2020 is for the approval of the Financial Statements and Independent Auditors Report of the Erie Area Council of Governments

for the calendar year ending December 31, 2019. Motion by Councilmember Noble to approve Resolution 1-8-2020. Seconded by Councilmember

Lyons. All in favor. Motion carried.

Lena Mitcho, a lifeguard at the pool was approved up to $500.00 by the pool committee to paint the interior of the pool house. The walls will be grey with blue trim. The 3rd Annual Drool at the Pool will take place on August 23, 2020 from 5 to 7 p.m. This will be hosted once again by the Elk Valley Recreation Board. Kevin Fuller and a few lifeguards will also help host the event. A water rescue class will take place at the pool on August 29th•   This class is for  volunteer fireman. There are some fire departments coming from as far as Warren.

The Downtown Committee RFP (Request for Proposal) for the Downtown Master Plan has an August 31, 2020 date as the last day of acceptance.

The Downtown Committee will meet to  discuss a recommendation for

council’s approval.

There are five applications for the 2020 Renaissance Block Grant. Each of the homes has an ECGRA signs posted in front of the homes that will be receiving grant money.

Year two of the three-year Fa ade Grant for the Main Street Business District has nine grant applicants for 2020.

The 501c3 is being put together by Valerie from the accounting firm Buseck, Barger & Bleil for the Downtown Committee.

PSAB FALL CONFERENCE

PROJECT INFORMATION

PUBLIC WORKS

GARAGE

 PARADE

The PSAB Fall Leadership Conference will be held October 16t h-18th at the Wyndham In Gettysburg. Councilmembers Noble and Orr will be attending.

The Sunset water project started on August 10th• The first thing McLallen Construction will do is bore a hole under Route 20 and connect the water lines and work their way up Sunset Drive to Tilden Avenue.

The Tar and Chip Program for 2020 will encompass one third of the borough. Everything west of Rice Avenue and a few other streets will be done.

The Hemlock and Boothby paving project is underway as of today. The roads are already milled. From there they will start to work on the ADA sidewalks and they will then pave the roads.

The project has not started yet but the Public Works Department is still planning on putting heating lines in the floor. Councilmember Orr had previously mentioned possibly  purchasing a  lift for thegarage. The  lift will go into next years budget. Councilmember  Burton said at one time we were thinking of  doing this project ourselves. He asked if it  would be worth hiring some help to get this project completed. Mr. Stubenbort  said we will end up hiring some help at the time anyway. Mr.  Stubenbort  said the  project will start next year. The plan from the beginning was to just get the shell up and the Public Works Department would work on it when they had time.

Councilmember Burton asked if the Generation System Project was moving forward. Mr. Stubenbort said the project has been put on hold until AMP can explain to us why the cost ofthe project doubled in price. It would be a good project if the money is right. We should have been notified of the change in price.

The Girard American Legion Post #494 will have a parade for their 100 year Anniversary on August 22, 2020. The parade starts at Girard High School and

ends at St. Johns Cemetery. Line up for the parade starts at 10:30 a.m. and the Parade starts at 11:00 a.m.

Sandy Rhodes from the West County News Journal said they are running a special. The advertising for a 2X4 ad is $100.00 and a 2X2 is $50.00. Any business or organization can pay contribute to the American Legion for their 100 Year Anniversary. Council agreed to spend $100.00 to pay tribute to Girard American Legions 100 Year Anniversary.

Councilmember Noble said there will be an open house on August 21st at the legion. There will be artifacts displayed in one of the rooms for the public to come in and look at.

Councilmember McNally asked Councilmember Noble if the Girard American Legion will be holding the 911 Ceremony this year. He said yes but it will be reduced to some extent.

CUB SCOUT POPCORN

APS STAFFING

MISC

Boy Scout Pack 53 would like to have a popcorn sale in Wells Park on September 19th• Due to COVID 19 the stores cannot allow sales at their store fronts. This is the only fundraiser for the year for the Cub Scouts. Council agreed to allow Boy Scout Pack 53 to use Wells Park for their popcorn sale.

APS Staffing asked permission to set up a table and tent in Wells Park to interview people at a staffing event. They are located in Erie but have two clients in Girard and would like to be able to meet with local applicants. Mr. Stubenbort will call to inform them that they could possibly rent out the old jewelry store for a day but we can not allow them to set up in the park.

The lines will be painted on the municipal parking lot tomorrow,

August 18th• Kevin Rafferty and Dennis McDonald will work together to try and keep the lot cleared. The lines on Walnut Street have already been painted.

Our five year contract for our copy machines is not up until the end of 2021. The police department has had nothing but constant faxing issues with their machine. The office machine is working fine but not without the occasional problem when we have to call a technician. Mr. Stubenbort talked with

a representative from Schwab and our buyout would be $11,471.57. He did say we could enter another sixty month lease and have basically the same machine for the office and a slightly upgraded machine for the police

department for $445.54 per month. Currently we are paying $528.83. There is a savings of $83.29 per month. This would include a service contract which we do not have right now on the police department copier. There service is great and the technicians have always come the same day when we have had to call them.

Mr. Stubenbort recommends to  council that  we go  with the new  sixty month contract and pay less each month. We would also not have to pay the buyout cost of $11,471.57. Motion by Councilmember Noble to enter into a

new sixty-month contract for two new copy machines for the police department and the borough office. Seconded by Councilmember Lyons. All in favor.

Motion carried.

Councilmember Lyons mentioned that she believed council agreed in a previous meeting to allow the purchase of two more lighted trees from Al’s Melons for Wells Park this holiday season. Council said yes.

Councilmember Noble said he realizes we are short handed but the one older style streetlight still needs replaced on the corner of Chestnut Street.

Councilmember Burton asked if anyone knew the outcome of the chicken controversy in Lake City Borough. He said that there were ninety people who signed the petition. Councilmember Mitcho mentioned that 90% of people who signed the Lake City petition were not residents of Lake City

Borough. Also, the person who brought about the petition had deed restrictions anyway. Councilmember Burton would like to revisit an ordinance for noncommercial farm animals in Girard Borough. Maybe restrict this to having  just hens and no roosters or possibly a certain amount of acreage. If this came up in Lake City, it will most likely present itself in Girard Borough. President McNally

would like to see what Lake City does first.

Councilmember Miller asked if the meeting with the Landbank on the 19th will be a Zoom Meeting. Mr. Stubenbort will call Christie and find out.

Meeting adjourned at 8:01 p.m. for a five minute break before going into Executive Session.

EXECUTIVE

SESSION                       At 8:06 p.m., President McNally asked for an executive session to discuss personnel and lega! matters.

REGULAR

MEETING                     The regular meeting was called back into session at 8:20 p.m.

MISC.                           Councilmember Burton mentioned that he will clear the property owned by Eric Barton On Wirtz Ally so it can be used for a parking area.

Councilmember Miller mentioned that bricks from the Girard Hate! Demolition should be saved fo1 the memorial to the Hotel.

ADJOURN                    Motion by Councilmember Orr and seconded by Councilmember Nob!e to adjourn at 8:31 p.m. Ail in favor.

Robert A. Stubenbort Borough Manager