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Somerset Borough Council Minutes

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Borough of Somerset Committee of the Whole Meeting
July 9th, 2018 5:00 p.m.

 

       Meeting was called to order by President Ruby Miller, opening with recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

Roll Call:
       Council Members present: Ruby Miller; Fred Rosemeyer; Judy Pyle; Sue Opp; Steve Shaulis and Gary Thomas. Mayor Scott Walker also present. 

       Absent was Council Member Pam Ream.          

       Also absent was Junior Council Member Maria Weimer.

       Also present were the following:  Borough Manager, Michele Enos; Director of Finance, Brett Peters; Chief of Police, Randy Cox; Solicitor James Cascio and Consulting Engineers, Tom Reilly and Jake Bolby. 

Announcements:
  (a) None

Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting:
  (a) All minutes are approved at the regular Council Meeting.

General Public Comments:
(a) None Registered.

Policy Agenda:

Old Business:
  (a) None

New Business:
  (a) Request form submitted by Manager Enos:

       1. Waste Water Treatment Plant – Review and update on the Corrective Action
           Plan. 

Ms. Enos explained that we were required to submit a Corrective Action Plan for a Notice of Violation we received when we were hydraulically overloaded at our Sewage Treatment Plant.  She mentioned that Mr. Bolby prepared a summary, disclosing what our response is going to be to DEP.  This was distributed to Council.  She mentioned that the submission is due July 18, 2018.

Executive Session – To discuss legal matters and potential litigation.

Motion
Mrs. Opp moved, motion seconded by Mr. Rosemeyer to go into Executive Session to discuss legal matters and potential litigation.
5:03 p.m.
Motion Unanimously Carried

Public Meeting Back in Session 

      2. 2015 International Property Maintenance Code – Consider authorizing the
          Solicitor to develop an Ordinance to replace the Borough’s current Property
          Maintenance Code.

Solicitor Cascio mentioned that the Borough has been using the1981 version of the BOCA Code for its Property Maintenance Code.  He expressed that Council may want to consider adopting an Ordinance with the more current version of the Code from 2015.  He stated that the 1981 code is not terribly outdated, but there are good features of the 2015 Code.  Solicitor Cascio stated that the language in the 2015 version is better than the language in the 1981 version.  He said that the 2015 version discusses unsafe and dangerous structures that exist on a property. Solicitor Cascio brought out that with an individual’s non-compliance to the code, there are all kind of various ways you could prosecute, or cite individuals, under the code process.        

He said, typically, you have to prepare and authorize an Ordinance.  Solicitor Cascio brought out that if there was no objection, once the review of the 2015 Code is completed, they could draft the Ordinance.  Afterward, any questions that Council may have, can be addressed at the time of adoption of the new Ordinance. 

Solicitor Cascio said that additional information will be given to Council as the process moves along. 

  (b) Year to Date Financial Report – Provided through the month of June 2018.

Mr. Peters explained that the information on the Year to Date Financial Report for the month of June 2018 will be included in Councils information packets this coming week.  He stated that if there were any questions regarding the provided information, Council could contact him.  

  (c) Manager’s Report - Reports distributed to Council for all departments for the Month of June 2018.

Ms. Enos stated that all updated monthly reports from all the departments were distributed to Council at their seats.  She stated that if there were any questions regarding the information, Council could contact her. 

  (d) President’s Report - Given by Ruby Miller.

Mrs. Miller made the announcement that Jason Walker from the Water Plant was recently married. 

Mrs. Miller mentioned that the Veteran’s Collection Box will soon be available to gather donations for those who wish to contribute. 

Ms. Enos brought out that the Veterans Organization will be coming in once a week to gather the donations from the box. 

Mrs. Miller asked if there had been any more discussion on the Veterans Memorial Signs/Banners proposed to be hung on the poles Uptown. 

Ms. Enos stated that she hasn’t heard another word about it.     

  (e) Somerset Inc. Report - Given by Judy Pyle.

Mrs. Pyle mentioned that they had “Yoga and Smoothies” in Trinity Park on June 30th, 2018, and that Trinity Lutheran Church rented the space for a community dinner on July 1st.

Mrs. Pyle brought out that on July 13th, 2018, “Grumbling Gypsy” will be parked there, and will have music.
She stated that the DCNR decision on the grant for Trinity Park should come in December, with the hopes of getting the grant money so the project could start early in the spring.

  (f) PSAB Report – Given by Fred Rosemeyer.

Mr. Rosemeyer mentioned that the PSAB Conference was held June 10th-13th, 2018.  The business meeting was on June 9th, 2018. 

He brought out that the Keynote Speaker for the Conference was Deborah Norville, the host of the TV news magazine “Inside Edition.”  She gave an excellent speech on the theme “Respect” which, Ms. Norville brought out, could be introduced into all kind of activities.

Mr. Rosemeyer provided an overview of the attending speakers, and programs, at the PSAB Conference.
Mr. Rosemeyer mentioned that the Incident Command Training Program is impending, and is going to eventually affect the Borough.  He explained that if a Borough Person/Council Person is on the Emergency Plan for the Borough, they are going to have to take the Incident Command Training to be certified. 
Mr. Rosemeyer discussed a few of the programs he attended at the Conference. 

Mr. Rosemeyer expressed that the PSAB Conference was very good, and the PSAB is very strong.
He reminded everyone of the PSAB Conference on October 12th-14th, 2018 that is being held at Seven Springs.  He encouraged that everyone who is able to attend the conference to be there.

Mr. Rosemeyer also disclosed that there is a business meeting coming up in a few months.  He also disclosed that he was elected to the Executive Board for Region 3, which is in this area, for several counties.

  (g) Somerset Volunteer Fire Dept. Report - Given by Steve Shaulis.

Mr. Shaulis brought out that the Fire Department had 36 calls during the month of June.  He mentioned that a lot of the calls were for the trailer fires.

He mentioned that they also had some flooding issues, and in just one day, they did a lot of pumping jobs.  

Mr. Shaulis stated that their 100-foot tower truck is back in operation.  He said that it was down for 2 months because of a computer problem. 

Mr. Shaulis also mentioned that the Fire Department is going to have a picnic for the Firemen on August 4th, 2018 at the Community Pavilion.

       Mr. Rosemeyer brought out that the Fire Commissioner for the State expressed that they are having some very serious volunteer problems statewide.  He stated that there may be Fire Departments closing, along with closing of Ambulance Crews.  He stated that these departments are unable to get funding, or volunteers, to keep them up and running.

  (h) Engineer’s Report – Given by Tom Reilly or Jake Bolby.

Mr. Bolby stated that the bid opening for the second project at the Waste Water Treatment Plant is on Wednesday.  The first project at the plant is progressing. 
Mr. Bolby also brought out that we’re moving forward with the first project at the Coxes Creek Water Treatment Plant.  This project involves the controls and fixing some of the equipment having issues there. 

  (i) Mayor’s Report – Given by Mayor Walker.

Mayor Walker reported that Somerset Hospital recently announced their affiliation with UPMC Health System.  It stated that he hopes that this brings the hospital “good things” that they disclosed at a luncheon that Mayor Walker attended.

Mayor Walker spoke about a letter he received from the residents in the Grandview Avenue area about taking on responsibility for “the mess” on their street.  He stated that the letter was anonymous, and mentioned that residents of Grandview Avenue never attended a meeting to address their concerns to Council. 

It was also mentioned that it was somewhat of a threatening letter. 

ADJOURNMENT

Motion
       Mr. Thomas moved to adjourn, motion seconded by Mrs. Opp.   

Motion Unanimously Carried
6:45 p.m.                                                      

                                                                                    ________________________________
Michele A. Enos, Borough Secretary