OCTOBER 21, 2019
CALL TO ORDER
PRESENT
Council in regular session was called to order at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers. 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 Robert Kremenik, Mayor
Joseph Yochim, Solicitor Mark Corey, Engineer
Kevin Rafferty, Chief of Police
Dennis McDonald, Public Works Supervisor
VISITORS
Shirley Hall
Sandy Rhodes, WCNJ Jim Simonelli
Bev Bible Ginger Cinti Jenny Potter Issy Lawrie
Councilmember Lyons commented that Tom Giblin is the boroughs Property, Casualty/Liability Insurance Agent and is not connected with our health insurance. Motion by Councilmember Burton to approve
the minutes from the September 16, 2019 council meeting. Seconded by Councilmember Lyons. All in favor. Motion carried.
Councilmember Lyons mentioned that the borough still gives a civic contribution to the Hazel Kibler Museum even though they are located in
the borough building and do not have any expenses. Mr. Stubenbort said yes. The Hazel Kibler Museum did purchase the benches for Wells Park and the water fountains. It is up to council if they want to continue to donate the $75.00 civic contribution in the future.
Councilmember Orr asked who Hines, Muhana and Flowers were on page 2 of the bills. Mr. Stubenbort said they are the stenographers for the zoning hearings. Motion by Councilmember Noble to approve the bills. Seconded by Councilmember Orr. All in favor. Motion carried.
COMMUNITY COMMENTS
AMINISTRATION FIRE/POLICE PERSONNEL
Jim Simonelli gave council an update on his grandson Ritter. His operation was a success. Mr. Simonelli thanked council for all of their prayers and support.
Shirley Hall updated council on the stop sign issue for safety on Mechanic Street. She did speak with the parents whose children use the bus stop on Mechanic Street. They need to cross from the west to the east in morning and there are three children who cross from east to west in the afternoon. She asked that council take this into consideration. Mr. Stubenbort has Ordinance 744 for council to review under the managers’ report.
Councilmember Mitcho shared some financial information with council regarding the fire department. As far as debt, the fire department has two outstanding loans. The first being the 20 year mortgage which started in December 2010 in the amount of 1,986,000.00 at the interest rate of 3.75%. They opted for a mortgage that was very heavy on up front interest. As of 2019 the interest is nearly finished and they are paying on virtually all principal. The monthly payment is $4,780.00 per month. The second loan is a Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency loan for the new ambulance in the amount of
$94,400.00. The loan has been paid down to $30,336.00 at a payment of
$3,800.00 per month and an interest rate of 2%. Both loans total $8,580.00 per month. At last months fire department meeting it was decided that all future grants will be used for debt reduction. That could change as the state advises. The fire Department does have a grant out with a 5% match for a ladder truck which is badly needed. The maintenance on the existing ladder truck is very costly. Councilmember Noble mentioned that he did bring information back from the PSAB regarding available grants and some are for fire departments.
Councilmember Burton commented that he was very proud of the Girard Borough Police Department. He attended the block party downtown on September 20th • He was able to see Officer Zuern and Officer Spurgeon join in on the drum circle. The kids were excited that the officers participated.
BUILDING GROUNDS
UTILITIES Mr. Stubenbort mentioned to council that he spoke with Dennis McDonald about the possibility of the Public Works Department remodeling the council room. The paneling could be replaced with drywall and
a new drop ceiling could be installed with LED lighting. Councilmember Noble said the room needs to be remodeled and council has talked about this for several years. Councilmember Miller asked if we should keep the same set up
or reconfigure it. Councilmember Noble said with the current set up we can look at each other to communicate. That would be more difficult with a long straight set up. Councilmember Lyons said maybe we could resurface the table.
Councilmember Burton said the ceiling definitely needs replaced but we may
want to try painting the paneling before putting up drywall. Councilmember Miller suggested painting the paneling white. President McNally suggested forming a committee and setting up a meeting to discuss some ideas.
STREETS AND SIDEWALKS
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
MAYOR/POLICE
Mr. Stubenbort said there is a sidewalk summary from the committee. Council will need to approve the refunds tonight for up to three squares for a total of
$90.00. We did receive $16,000.00 dollars from participants. The borough paid for the stumping at a cost of $1,750.00 and will pay $1,530.00 in rebates.
The program seems to be working. This is less expensive than filing liens. It was a challenge for Chuck McConnell to schedule all of the concrete work but everything turned out really well. Councilmember Noble said that the legion has done quite a bit of concrete work recently. It not only helped the legion but the borough as well. A couple of the areas that had gravel that was spilling onto the street have been replaced with concrete. The curb has also been cut out and replaced with a handicap ramp. Councilmember Burton would like to look at the list of the bad sidewalks and compare them to the sidewalks that have been completed. Constituent Jim Simonelli pointed out that the corner of Locust and Walnut is very heaved up. Councilmember Burton mentioned that there is a hole next to the sidewalk north of the yellow house with a pump and an electrical line. Dennis McDonald said that has something to do with Verizon.
Councilmember Burton says it looks unsafe and maybe we should do something about that before winter. President McNally suggested that Mr. Stubenbort write Verizon a letter.
At the last meeting the topic of discussion was how to mitigate the problem from a shake out (earthquake) since we do have a fault line running through our area.
Councilmember Mitcho just attended the quarterly Board of Directors meeting for the West County Communication Center. The 2020 budget was approved and there will be no increase to the annual rate. Council may recall that the county sent a letter to West County Communications asking to pick up some equipment including the generator. If that is the case WCC would need to purchase a new one. WCC is hoping to be able to purchase the existing
generator from the county. Radios and the propane tank for the generator are also items that wee would like to acquire.
Chief Rafferty stated that the new radio system has gone live and there have been no problems. It is working very well.
On October 15th the CAD system was implemented so the police department can receive calls over the computer. There have been a few bugs but things are getting worked out.
Chief Rafferty reported that Saturday October 19th was the departments first night time firearms qualification. The training went very well.
Chief Rafferty respectfully requested that council hire a new part time officer. Officer Kyle Kunz was offered a full-time position with the Edinboro Police Department and has turned in his resignation to Girard Borough.
ENGINEER
Mark Corey updated council on the Water Line Replacement Project on Sunset Drive. He reported that the gas line on the drawings is on the west side of Sunset Drive where things are very crowded. We picked a tight spot on the
east side of Sunset Drive for the water line and the drawings will now get shored up. There will be another meeting very soon. The project will then go out for bid.
Ordinance 744 is the ordinance we discussed previously regarding placing a stop sign on Mechanic Street and Miles Avenue which has been verified as the correct intersection. Mr. Stubenbort said this ordinance will come back to council next month after it has been properly advertised.
The remaining dates for leaf pick up are October 24th, November 7th and 21st as well as December 5th• There will also be a spring leaf pick up.
Halloween Trick or Treat hours are Thursday October 3s1 t from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Only houses that display their outside lights will be participating.
On November 3, 2019 remember to set your clocks back one hour for Day Light Savings Time.
From November 1st until April 1st parking is prohibited on all borough streets and curb lawns between the hours of 3:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m.
November 5th is Election Day and voting hours are between 7:00 a.m. and
8:00 p.m.
Santa arrives on Friday, November 29th• He will be at the St. Johns Social Hall
at 6:00 p.m. The Elk Creek Recreation Board invites everyone to this free event.
The Hazel Kibler Museum has an undocumented Currier and Ives copy of “The Declaration of Independence”. If this was restored it would be a great
addition to the council Chambers. The cost to have the document restored to is
$233.50 from U Frame It in Erie. Mr. Stubenbort was told that they do museum quality work. The frame and wavy glass would be restored and the document would be matted and a new backing and seal would be added. Council agrees that we should have the document restored.
A check from ECGRA in the amount of $80,000.00 was deposited into the grant fund account at Conneaut Savings Bank. This is the first of three checks for the Main Street Fac;:ade Grant Program. In 2020 and 2021 we will receive checks in the amount of $45,000.00 for a total of $170,000.00. The Downtown Group held a meeting on October 1, 2019 to discuss the current and future ECGRA grants.
The first round of grants for 2019 were awarded as follows:
| Mike -N- D’Angelos | 4,961.00 |
| Drew Williams | 4,125.00 |
| Gary Kemling | 450.00 |
| Faulkners Screen Printing | 1,825.00 |
| Ed Tome | 3,000.00 |
| O’Learys Dental | 10,000.00 |
| Maximum Hair | 10,000.00 |
| McQuillen’s | 10,000.00 |
| TOTAL | 44,091.00 |
This leaves an additional $15,909.00 for a second round of 2019 grants. The grant still requires a 50% match from the recipient.
The Downtown Group will put together an RFP for a Master Plan for the main business district. A master plan will outline the goals for the Main Street and provide a specific action plan that can be achieved. Once the plan is finished it can be a catalyst for future grants. Also discussed at the meeting was the formation of a Downtown Girard Revitalization 501c3 which will act much like the Union City Pride Foundation which has been very successful. As part of the Master Plan if council remembers they did agree to put in $10,000.00 and we received $20,000.00 from the Pennsylvania Historical Museum Commission as well as $10,000.00 from a grant for a total of $40,000.00. This is what we expect to be the result of the RFP.
The Civil Service Commission administered the oral test for part time police applicants on Saturday, October 12, 2019. The Civil Service list will be posted in the lobby.
The Lake City Borough will host the Halloween Happenings
at the Lake City Social Hall on October 29, 2019 from 6 to 8 p.m. Councilmember Mitcho said that Lake City Borough has invited Girard Borough to participate. There will be free donuts from Maple Donuts as well as free pumpkins for the kids.
Mr. Stubenbort reported that the evergreen trees have been replanted along the East side of the Canadian National Rail Road on Commercial
Street. The roots just did not take on several of the original trees so they needed to be replaced. Two maple trees and one dogwood have been added to the West side of Commercial Street between CNRR and Rice Avenue.
Mr. Stubenbort informed council that our meter reader Dan Suscheck has Resigned. Councilmember Burton asked if we have someone in mind for the position. Mr. Stubenbort said if anyone knows of someone who might be interested please have them come in to the office and fill out an application. Motion by Councilmember Noble to accept Dan Suschecks resignation.
Seconded by Councilmember Lyons. All in favor. Motion carried.
The Act 205 Foreign Firefighters money from the state in the amount of
$14,514.14 has been distributed to A.F. Dobler Hose and Fire Company. Councilmember Mitcho mentioned that the Foreign Firefighters money comes from insurance companies that do business in Pennsylvania but are not Pennsylvania based. They are required to pay a percentage through this Act 205 fund and it is a pass through to the municipalities who in turn cut a check to the fire company.
Mr. Stubenbort asked council to please except the resignation of part time Police Officer Kyle Kunz. Motion by Councilmember Burton to accept the resignation of Kyle Kunz. Seconded by Councilmember Noble. All in favor. Motion carried.
Mr. Stubenbort reported that the Public Works Garage is under way. They have the back wall poles already in line. It looks really good.
Mr. Stubenbort spoke with Pastor Critchfield from Bethel Assembly about allowing us to park in the church’s parking lot for tomorrows ribbon cutting at the Lake Street Bridge. The ribbon cutting will take place at 2:00 p.m. After the ribbon cutting everyone is invited to the borough office for refreshments. Mr. Stubenbort also mentioned that Pastor Critchfield is retiring at the end of the year and heading south so wish him well if you see him.
In councils packet was a request from PJ Dorchester the owner of 204 Main Street, East to allow more time for the clean up of the property.
Councilmember Burton feels that we need to have an exact date of when Ms. Dorchester will have the dumpster brought in. Council agreed to give her until November 15, 2019. If the property is not cleaned up at that time he will make arrangements with Waste Management to come out.
Mayor Kremenik received a letter from the Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority. They are requesting annual funding and are required to obtain local match contributions from local municipalities. The borough has never participated in this funding process. Mr. Stubenbort will make a phone call to the township to see if they received a letter and what they are planning to do.
Councilmember Noble spoke to council about House Bill 1775 and Senate Bill
- The Senate Bill 101 would amend the state highway law. This would make PennDot responsible for all the water drainage on any of their state highways in communities of 2,500 or less. House Bill 1775 was to cover all boroughs. PSAB put out a resolution for all boroughs to sign and send in. Motion by Councilmember Burton to approve Resolution 1-10-2019 in support of House Bill 1775. Seconded by Councilmember Orr. All in favor. Motion carried.
Councilmember Burton asked if when we hire a new part time officer does council know who that is or is that something that is just between the police department and the Mayor. Councilmember Miller said they are introduced to council.
Councilmember Burton asked if there was any interest on behalf of the Girard Borough on the Albion Police cars. Mr. Stubenbort said Chief Rafferty and Officer Zuern went and looked at them. Albion has an SUV and a car available but the car has over 100,000 miles on it. The SUV has under 19,000 miles on it. Albion was going to have the car appraised at Bob Ferrando’s but the car dealership did not get back to them. Mr. Stubenbort said that Albion paid
$31,000.00 for it and put another 6,500.00 into it. Chief Rafferty said we would have to put a new camera in because the current one is not serviceable at a cost of about $5,000.00 but it is wired up for new radios. Councilmember Burton asked Chief Rafferty what he thinks the car is worth and he said he was thinking we could offer them $20,000.00. Councilmember Miller said we should offer
$18,499.00. Mr. Stubenbort will make the offer to Albion for $18,499.00. Councilmember Burton asked if the school district might be interested in our car since we will now have three SUV’s. Chief Rafferty said the school districts Resource Officer has expressed interest in Albions car as well.
Councilmember Mitcho mentioned that the Lake City’s Municipal Sewer Authority invited Girard Borough Council to an open house on October 28th from 4 to 6 pm. They have just completed an upgrade to their WWTP facility.
Councilmember Noble mentioned that State Representative Parke Wentlings brother passed away.
Councilmember Noble also encouraged council to look over the various information that he brought back from the Fall PSAB Conference. The information ranged from cross walk imprinting, grant updates, zoning news, current house bills to a new sytem of notification for residents called “Savy Citizen”.
Councilmember Miller said the library will be having a bake sale on Election Day.
Councilmember Miller also said at the recent ECAB Meeting it was mentioned that there will be other bridges in the area that will be under construction. The bridge on Route 18 and 190 will be done in 2020 and the bridge on Route 215
will follow. Also, a sidewalk will be installed on the south side of the newly constructed Route 20 bridge according to Councilmember Lyons.
Meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m. for a five minute break before executive session.
EXECUTIVE
SESSION At 8:20 p.m., President McNally asked for an executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters.
REGULAR
MEETING The regular meeting was called back into session at 9:06 p.m.
No other information was discussed.
ADJOURN Motion by Councilmember Orr and seconded by Councilmember Lyons to adjourn at 9:07 p.m. All in favor.
Robert A. Stubenbort Borough Manager