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Somerset Borough Council Minutes

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Borough of Somerset Council Meeting
August 28th, 2023 - 5:00 p.m.

 Borough of Somerset Council Meeting
August 28th, 2023 - 5:00 p.m.  (In-Person Meeting)

1. Meeting Called to Order – President Ream.  

2. Pledge of Allegiance

3. Roll Call:

    a) Borough Council Members present: Pam Ream; Ruby Miller; Lee Hoffman; Steve
        Shaulis; Jim Clark and Ian Mandichak.

    b) Borough Council Member absent: Sue Opp.

    c) Also present: Mayor Fred Rosemeyer.

d) Also present were the following: Borough Manager, Michele Enos; Director of Finance,
Brett Peters; Administrative Assistant, Roger Bailey; Municipal Authority Manager, 
    Jessica Sizemore; Chief of Police, Randy Cox; Solicitors, James Cascio & Allyson
    Lonas; Consulting Engineers, Tom Reilly & Jake Bolby.

    e) Public Attendance: Residents of Missoura Street.

4. Approval of Agenda: Consider approving the Agenda as presented. 

    Motion
Mr. Mandichak moved, Mr. Shaulis seconded, to approve the August 28th, 2023 Borough Council Meeting Agenda.
Motion Unanimously Carried

5. Announcements:
    a) Executive Session – An executive session was held at 5:00 p.m. on July 17th, 2023 to  
        discuss contract negotiations.

6. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting(s)
    a) June 26th, 2023 – Joint Authority/Borough Council Meeting Minutes.

        Motion
Mr. Shaulis moved, Mr. Mandichak seconded, to approve the June 26th, 2023   
Joint Authority/Borough Council Meeting Minutes.

Motion Unanimously Carried

7. Award of Bids:
a) West Church Street Culvert Repair - Consider awarding the bid to the lowest bidder
        based upon the Engineer’s review and recommendation.  Low bidder is Berkebile
        Excavating in the amount of $85,186.00.

        Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mr. Shaulis seconded, to award the bid to the lowest bidder,
Berkebile Excavating, in the amount of $85,186.00.

Motion Unanimously Carried

    b) Seal Coat Bid – Consider awarding the bid to the lowest bidder. Russel Standard Corporation is apparent low bid.

Ms. Enos explained that the award is based on the unit price, and not based on the total contract, because tonnages can change. 

The Borough had bid 11,432 square yards of fiber-reinforced seal coating.  The unit price/per square yard is $4.77, therefore, this is the unit price that is being awarded.  Russel Standard Corporation is the lowest bidder.

        Motion
Mr. Clark moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded, to award the bid to the lowest bidder, Russel Standard Corporation.
Motion Unanimously Carried

8. General Public Comments:
    a) Residents of Missoura Street:

Residents of Missoura Street, in the Borough, came before Council concerning a woman, possibly in her early 60’s, who is camping on the porch of a house on their street that is not being allowed to enter the house.  They expressed that something needs to be done about this, and they would like some help to deal with it. 

It was brought out that whoever owns and lives in this particular house does not collect his garbage, and the residents are concerned that rodents may be drawn to this and create problems. 
It was expressed that although this is a two-fold problem on this property, the woman needs help and they don’t know what to do.

It was mentioned that when this woman was camping on the porch last year, the Borough Police were called.  After the woman spoke to the Police, she left.  She showed back up again this past spring, and then left again.  She has since returned, and has been on the porch since approximately June 30th. 
One of the residents said that the homeless shelter was contacted.  She said that they came down and tried to give her assistance, and the woman refused.  Tableland was also there.  Others have provided fresh blankets and clothing to her. 

Ms. Enos said that the Borough is not turning a blind eye.  She said that if the Borough would go in, and do something different on this property, and remove individuals from the property, they want to make sure that the person has a safe and secure place to reside.  She said that the Borough has done this with different organizations, as well.  

Chief Cox noted that this involves a type of litigation, so it is a matter of Executive Session where it needs to be discussed first. 

He said that this situation is not unique to Somerset Borough. They are seeing this in a lot of places, with a distinct increase.  There is a real prevalence of this occurring from early spring through the summer.          
Chief Cox said that they will be recommending to Council a more comprehensive approach to handle what the residents described.  They are looking at it as more of a Codes Enforcement issue, because there is not much more the Police can do.  This may address a current problem, temporarily, but do nothing to prohibit it from repeating itself later.  It will also be looked at from a Fire Department standpoint. 
He stated that a lot of times we get a call, we respond, and do our best to wrap it up and move on to the next one.  But sometimes we fail to look at the future, and about how to prevent those calls from coming in, depending on the actions we take. 

Chief Cox said that we are looking for both the comprehensive approach, and also for some continuity in what we are doing.  That will also involve reaching out to some of the organizations to get a better handle on what resources there are in the Community to address the homelessness situation and the mental health issues.  It will also be looked at as a nuisance for the neighborhood, and not being healthy for the neighborhood.

Ms. Enos reiterated that they want to handle this more as a comprehensive approach, as a Codes Enforcement issue, where we handle it from a potential public nuisance.  This also provides a level to look at potential placement of an individual.

Mrs. Ream suggested to the residents to call Somerset/Bedford County Developmental & Behavioral Health Services.  She said that they can call and ask if the woman has a case worker.  If she does, the residents can request that the case worker make a visit on the woman. 

Mrs. Ream also suggested making a call to Adult Protective Services and report what they are seeing, what is going on, and that they need for someone to come look at the woman. 

Mrs. Ream, lastly, suggested that the residents call Area Agency on Aging.

Chief Cox added that, often times, these issues are not in the realm of law enforcement.  It may fall into another area within the Borough. He added that often times they have services or resources to offer but they are refused.

Mrs. Ream said that the woman may refuse anything, but at least the residents can make the referrals to those agencies to try and help her.
Another resident from Missoura Street, again, noted how the garbage is piling up at this owner’s residence, and how she had reached out to the Borough concerning this. 

Ms. Enos mentioned that a letter was sent from the Borough to this resident about their garbage issue.  She said that part of a public nuisance is also having verification that it is a quality of life problem, or a public nuisance, for that neighborhood or that area.  Contacting the Agencies mentioned would give the Borough the opportunity to work with those Agencies to make this a more complete resolution and not just a temporary cycle.  
Solicitor Cascio said that the Borough can regulate land use and enforce certain standards, but it is comprehensive when getting various Agencies involved.

Ms. Enos said that this may give the Borough the opportunity to look at the property and structure more fully. 
She noted that the legal definition of “condemning a property” doesn’t mean that the property gets bulldozed over, but means that you have to deem it unsafe for human occupancy.  If the Borough gets the legal rights to go in and make that assessment, we would still have to work with these same Agencies that were mentioned, because removal and placement will have to be part of that strategic plan.  She added that this was done in the past.
Ms. Enos mentioned that this matter was planned to be discussed this evening in Executive Session to get formal authorization from Council to move forward with this issue.  She added that to make residents comply is more of a legal matter, and this will be discussed on a more holistic approach.

        Further discussion was held concerning the issues at this owner’s residence on Missoura Street.

9. Administrative Business:
a) Communications – (none)
    b) Payment of Bills – Months of July and August 2023.

Motion:
Mr. Mandichak moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded, to approve the payment of bills for the months of July and August 2023 numbered 40263 - 40511 totaling $3,580,703.60.

Motion Unanimously Carried

    c) Department Reports – Consider approving the Departmental Reports for the months of
        June and July 2023.

Motion
Mr. Clark moved, Mr. Shaulis seconded, to approve the Departmental Reports for the months of June and July 2023.
Motion Unanimously Carried

10. Policy Agenda:

Old Business:
     a) Somerset Vol. Fire Department – Update from Solicitor on a billing Ordinance request.

Solicitor Allyson Lonas stated that they are at the point to authorize a final draft and advertising of the Fire Billing Ordinance. 

There will be 2 Ordinances: one for insurance through the State, which gives us the opportunity to try and recover those costs.  This Ordinance has to be in place first.

Then we have the recover steps, as part of the second Ordinance, of how we can actually go about it once we have the Insurance Ordinance in place.  We can try and collect the reasonable and customary costs that come with the billing when the Fire Department goes out on-call.

Motion
Mr. Hoffman moved, Mr. Mandichak seconded, to authorize the advertisement of the Insurance & Billing Ordinances in regards to the Somerset Volunteer Fire Department.

Motion Unanimously Carried
New Business:
a) Request of Mayor & Chief – Consider the removal of Justin Evans from the roster of part-time police officers. 

Chief Cox stated that Justin Evans has been gone a while, but it is their custom to keep those who resigned on the roster to make sure their court cases are cleared out.

Motion
Mr. Shaulis moved, Mr. Clark seconded, to remove Justin Evans from the roster of part-time police officers. 
Motion Unanimously Carried

    b) Request of Mayor & Chief – Consider the removal of Katherine Frey from the roster of
        part-time police officers. 

Motion
Mr. Mandichak moved, Mrs. Ream seconded, remove Katherine Frey from the roster of part-time police officers. 
Motion Unanimously Carried

    c) Request of Mayor & Chief – Review of the “fine structure” for parking tickets.

Chief Cox said that parking tickets need re-ordered, and he likes to bring this to the Council’s attention in case they are interested in changing the fine schedule. 

        Chief Cox reviewed the current ticket fines with Council.

        Suggestions were given from Council on how they would like to proceed with future fine costs.

        Chief Cox expressed that he would like to see the current Ordinance, regarding 2-hour parking, amended.  He would like to see it changed to establish “zones” for timed parking.  So if a vehicle is still in the same zone after 2 hours, they would have to move their vehicle to a different zone not to be ticketed.  

Chief Cox also mentioned that he has been in contact with a firm called “Meter Feeder” and explained how it worked.  He said that a hand-held device is used that prints the parking ticket to be placed on a car. The public can also go in and buy extra time at the space they’re parked at without ever touching the meter.  He said that there is a QR code on the meter pole.  They put that on their phone, and set up the app.  They can also pay their parking tickets through this app.

Meter Feeder is willing to give this service to us for $3,500.00 a year.  The first year is free.  If the Borough did not want to continue with this service after the initial year, we can discontinue it without any penalties.  He said that this service would increase revenue because fines are paid more efficiently, and time at parking spaces is bought more efficiently.  He added that if purchased, another option is that we could turn our 2-hour parking spaces into paid spaces without the meters.

Chief Cox also mentioned the current $20,000.00 automatic license plates readers that are on the top of the patrol cars called ALPR.  This company also has a version of this that is a hand-held devise where we could employ the same technology as the roof top apparatuses.  The cost for this service is $4,100.00 a year.  This would be a benefit because the cruisers could record the license plate numbers on the street, and if something would happen overnight, we now have a record of what cars were in the area.  As regards parking, the Officer could simply drive down the street, and the device would record the license plate numbers and alert the Officer 2 hours later if the car is not moving.  This would enable us to become more efficient with the 2-hour parking zones. 

After the first year of having both services, the company would bundle the two together at a reduced price of $5,000.00 for both services, yearly.    

Motion
Mr. Shaulis moved, Mrs. Miller seconded, to amend the Parking Ticket Ordinance, and to advertise the agreed upon changes.

Motion Unanimously Carried

    d) Municipal Authority Board Resignation – Consider accepting the resignation of Jessica Sizemore as a member of our Municipal Authority Board effective August 11, 2023.

Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mr. Mandichak seconded, to accept the resignation of Jessica
Sizemore as a member of our Municipal Authority Board effective August 11, 2023.

Motion Unanimously Carried

Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mr. Mandichak seconded, to add to the Agenda the replacement position for the Municipal Authority Board vacancy.

Motion Unanimously Carried
        Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mrs. Ream seconded, to appoint Lee Hoffman as the newest member of the Borough’s Municipal Authority Board, for a 5-year term, effective immediately.

Motion Unanimously Carried

    e) Drop-Program/Police Pension Plan – Consider authorizing the advertisement of an   Ordinance to create a “Drop Program” as part of the Police Pension Plan.  This was the result of the police contract negotiations.

Motion
Mr. Shaulis moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded, to authorize the advertisement of an
Ordinance to create a “Drop Program” as part of the Police Pension Plan.  

Motion Unanimously Carried

    f) Early Retirement/Police Pension Plan – Consider authorizing the advertisement of an Ordinance to create an early retirement option under the Police Pension Plan.  This was the result of the police contract negotiations.

Motion
Mr. Mandichak moved, Mrs. Miller seconded, to authorize theadvertisement of an Ordinance to create an early retirement option under the Police Pension Plan.  

                                                                                                Motion Unanimously Carried

    g) Resolution No. 2023-07 – Authorizing the President of Council to execute the application
        to apply for CDBG funding.
Ms. Enos stated that this is an annual process we go through to receive Community Development Block Grant Funding which we receive each year as an entitlement Community.

Motion
Mr. Clark moved, Mr. Shaulis seconded, to authorize the President of Council to execute the application to apply for CDBG funding.

Motion Unanimously Carried

RESOLUTION NO. 2023-07

        A Resolution of the Council of the Borough of Somerset, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, authorizing the submission of an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development for funding through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, as authorized under the Housing and Community Development Act (42 USC 5301 and 24 CFR Part 570), and further certifying compliance with the requirements of said program.
WHEREAS, it is necessary and in the public interest that Council of the Borough of Somerset, Pennsylvania, receive funds from the Commonwealth through the Department of Community and Economic Development in accordance with the Community Development Block Grant Program; and

WHEREAS, the Council of the Borough of Somerset has the legal authority and responsibility under Act 179 to apply for Community Development Block Grant funds; and

WHEREAS, Council of the Borough of Somerset have undertaken a considerable citizen participation process including written invitations to municipalities, informational meetings, hearings and legal notices all of which culminated in the prioritization of projects and development of a Community Development Plan; and

WHEREAS, Council of the Borough of Somerset are familiar with the requirements of the program as provided for in the Housing and Community Development Act (HCDA) and the Community Development Block Grant regulations; and

        WHEREAS, Council of the Borough of Somerset wishes to apply for said funds.

        NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the Borough of Somerset that the President is authorized to have prepared the necessary forms and documents to submit an application to the Department of Community and Economic Development for Community Development Block Grant funds for the purposes aforesaid; and

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, if CDBG funds are determined by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development to be expended on ineligible program costs or do not meet a national objective, Council of the Borough of Somerset agrees to repay the proportion deemed ineligible from non-federal sources.

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Community Development Plan was developed in coordination with low and moderate individuals, interested organizations, non-profits and other interested parties through the citizen participation process and municipal information gathering is hereby adopted; and

        BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President of the Council of the Borough of Somerset is
empowered to place his/her signature, on behalf of the governing body, on necessary application forms and affix thereto the official seal of Council of the Borough of Somerset.

        Adopted by Council of the Borough of Somerset at the regular meeting on August 28, 2023.

h) Cooperation Agreement – Consider authorizing the execution of a Cooperation Agreement between the Borough of Somerset, County of Somerset, and the Redevelopment Authority of Somerset County for the administration of our 2023 Community Development Block Grant Funding.

Ms. Enos said that this is entitlement that the Borough receives through the State.  The administrative work is being done by the Redevelopment Authority, because they comply with HUD requirements and other requirements that the Borough has to do depending on the projects we choose.  This is something the Borough has been doing for decades.

Motion
Mr. Hoffman moved, Mr. Mandichak seconded, to authorize the execution of a Cooperation Agreement between the Borough of Somerset, County of Somerset, and the
Redevelopment Authority of Somerset County for the administration of our 2023 Community Development Block Grant Funding.
Motion Unanimously Carried

    i) General Application Certification – Consider authorizing the execution of the General
       Application Certification to receive our 2023 Community Development Block Grant
       funding.
Ms. Enos said that part of the contract documents is that we have a General Application Certification that also has to be authorized as part of this application.

Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mr. Shaulis seconded, to authorize the execution of the General
Application Certification to receive our 2023 Community Development Block Grant
funding.
Motion Unanimously Carried

    j) Sale of Surplus Equipment – Consider authorizing the final sale of various surplus vehicles that have been auctioned on the Municibid website. (The list will be read into the record)

Ms. Enos expressed that she wanted to give Mr. Bailey credit for the work he had done regarding this subject.  Typically, in the past, with any sale of surplus equipment, the Borough has advertised locally.  This had been done for years.  We received bids in, but not to the same degree as the Municibid website. 

Mr. Bailey had approached Ms. Enos and Council about the Municibid website.  He took charge of the whole project, spent time posting everything on the website, taking all the pictures necessary, handling all the questions coming in from potential bidders, making sure that the Borough was protected as far as the sale, and took care of all the costs associated with the successful bidder. 

She added that the bids received would be reviewed with Council, for their approval, for final completion of those vehicles.

       Mr. Bailey reviewed the vehicles that were up for auction, and sold, on the Municibid website:
          1. 2005 Ford Escape:
He noted that if this vehicle would have been sold for scrap, it would have been worth $400.00.  The ending bid on Municibid was $2,350.00, as is.

          2. 1975 International Tandem Dump Truck:
Mr. Bailey said that scrap price was $1,000.00.  It sold for $1,000.00, but we didn’t have to drain all the fluids or take all the tires off.

          3. 1999 Ford F550 1-Ton Dump:
Scrap price was around $2,000.00 for this.  It sold for $12,607.00 to a landscaper from New Jersey.  There was a bidding war for this vehicle.

          4. 2014 Dodge Police Car:
The auction ended at $3,055.00, but the bidder failed to pick the vehicle up.  The bidder was banned from Municibid.  The Borough lost nothing but time.  The second highest bidder is being contacted to see if he wants the car for his bid of $2,995.00.  If this bidder does not want the car, Mr. Bailey said he will re-list it.

          5. International Plow Truck:
Mr. Bailey said that the Borough currently has this vehicle up for bid on Municibid.  The frame was repaired where the frame had split.  The current bid $3,250.00.

              Mr. Bailey noted that all the vehicles sold brought in $15,957.00.  

       Mr. Bailey also thanked Council for the new plow truck.  He said that it finally came in from when it was ordered 2 years ago.  He said that it was originally budgeted for $161,000.00. Council increased that to $175,000.00 because the plow prices increased. Being that Mr. Bailey contacted the plow manufacturer, and bought the plow directly from them, we came in under our original budget at a total of $159,557.00 for the new plow truck.  

        Motion
Mrs. Ream moved, Mrs. Miller seconded, to authorize the final sale of various surplus vehicles that have been auctioned on the Municibid website.

Motion Unanimously Carried

Committee Business/Reports:

    k) Manager’s Report – Given by Michele Enos.
Ms. Enos said that she has nothing further to report.

    l) Finance Report – Given by Brett Peters.

        General Fund:                   Water Fund:                      Sewer Fund:
Revenues – 77.84%           Revenues – 111.35%        Revenues – 65.98%
Expenses – 52.65%           Expenses – 91.61%           Expenses – 62.43%

    m) President’s Report – Given by Pam Ream.

Mrs. Ream expressed to Mr. Hoffman that Somerset Inc.’s building looks nice Uptown, and she thanked them for moving into that area.  She added that everything they are doing is great.

She also wanted to thank Ms. Enos & Mr. Bailey for moving the time for shutting the water off around the hospital.  She said that it was very helpful that they didn’t have to change a lot of older people’s appointments, as well as, Hillman Cancer appointments that day.

    n) Somerset Inc. Report – Given by Lee Hoffman.

Mr. Hoffman said that “Chalk the Block” was a great success and he wanted to thank Borough Police, Public Works, and everyone that help with closing the streets.  He added that he hopes this will continue for other events, such as “Fire & Ice”, because it made it such a better environment for everyone.

Mr. Hoffman mentioned that the structural analysis at the Brinker Building is now complete.  So, allegedly, all the problem zones have been unveiled and identified.  We are almost to the point of putting everything back into place.  The main floor will be 3 stores fronts, and, eventually, apartments on the second and third floors of the end building will be added.

Mr. Hoffman also noted that the grand opening for the Somerset Inc. building is on October 6th, 2023, and everyone is invited.    
It was mentioned that Somerset Antiques is sold and under contract.  There were multiple bids.  Everything in the building was auctioned off.         

    o) PSAB Report – Given by Fred Rosemeyer.

Mayor Rosemeyer said that the PSAB met last week.  He noted that the Association is very financially sound. 

They are also having a conference at the Convention Center in Erie, PA in October 2023.

The County Boroughs Association will be meeting at Rizzo’s on October 12th, 2023.

    p) Somerset Volunteer Fire Dept. Report – Given by Jim Clark.

Mr. Clark said that, in the last month, the Fire Department had a total of 37 calls, with 7 in Somerset Borough, 20 in Somerset Township, 3 on the PA Turnpike and 7 assists.  Total man hours spent on all the calls were 2,816.  This was just in fire calls and does not include all the other activities the Fire Department is involved in.

Mr. Clark said “hats off” to the Police Department, Kristin Grasser and Jody Gearhart for a wonderful job on the “Night Out” Event.  He said that it was attended well. 

Mr. Clark added that a demonstration was done on a wrecked car showing how a rescue tool is used to rip a car apart.

The Animal Shelter had a huge fundraiser at the Memorial Highway Dealership.  The Fire Department participated in that. 

The Fire Department is going to the Court House in September to do the Military Support Group and display the American flag.

        Mrs. Ream mentioned that she got a phone call from a Community individual chastising her and the Borough Police for displaying the wrecked car at “Night Out” thinking it was from a fatality.  Ms. Enos said she also got phone calls regarding the car.

Mrs. Ream said that the car demonstrated was not from a fatality, and added, that after an accident, the Borough Police do not collect cars and bring them to the Borough Building. 

The wrecked car was for demonstration purposes only presented by the Fire Department during “Night Out”.

q) Engineer’s Report – Given by Jake Bolby. 

Mr. Bolby presented the Updates to the Engineer’s Report.

        WATER:

Mr. Bolby stated that they are also hearing the concerns related to the road, from a traffic standpoint, during the Water Project.  Moving forward, things will be much better. Contractors are presently on the west side of town, and on the east.  The Contractor that is still left in the center is doing services and should be out of there today. Paving will be starting on Edgewood this week.  PennDOT will do their paving on Edgewood in September, which may extend into October.  Mr. Bolby added that there will be some improvements right through the heart of the project. 

Mr. Bolby said that the Waterline Contractor will be moving back into the Borough in various areas to do service line connections.  This will be less inconvenience on the roads.  It is realized there are multiple crews of both the Gas Company and Water Line Company working simultaneously, and there is a lot of action in the same areas.  This is behind us now, and will be more spread out and easier to navigate through.  The patience of the residents is appreciated as they are trying to get through the work zones.  Hopefully, the outcome is beneficial to everyone.

Mr. Bolby said that lead service lines are being found.  There were 2 known.  This is one of the goals of the Project, and one of the reasons the Grant was given.  Part of the project is this Lead Removal Grant.  More is being found than what was first known.  The directive was if lead was found, we were to remove it.  We are finding more than what was expected.  So the outcome is betterment to the Community in removing those lead service lines, and it will help the Borough become compliant with the upcoming changes in the Lead & Copper Rule.  It was going to be an eventual reality that all the lead service lines needed to be identified and then removed.  This Project is going a long way to get the Borough ahead of that very monumental task.  He expressed that this is a good thing.

Mr. Bolby added that it has been very active and, all and all, the Water Project has been going relatively well and a little bit ahead.

Mr. Bolby noted that there will be work that will bleed over into next year.  It will mostly be restoration.  The main lines will be underground, and the service lines will be taken care of this year. 

As far as the sidewalks go, a lot of them were related to the Gas Project which may carry over into the spring. 

It was mentioned that the crews will continue to work on the streets as long as there is not snow on the ground.

There will be two upcoming projects that will start on September 5th.  They include the Center Avenue Project and the West Church Street Culvert Project.  These projects are going to be more disruptive to the flow of school traffic.  West Church Street is one of the projects they want to get taken care of before wintertime comes because it is a very vulnerable area.

Mr. Bolby said that trench restoration is going to happen first, and Edgewood will be the first to clear for PennDOT so they can do their milling and paving.  This is scheduled for October.  Everything will be trench for now, and the milling & overlay will possibly be postponed until after the sewer is done. 

SEWER:

        Mr. Bolby said that the planning of the Sewer Projects continues.  The earliest they are looking to submit for funding application for Sewer is the February/May timeframe of 2024. 

    r) Mayor’s Report – Given by Mayor Rosemeyer.

       Mayor Rosemeyer mentioned the “Night Out” event.  He said that the ladies did an excellent job, and said that this years “Night Out” event was one of the biggest ones the Borough has had.  He also mentioned how Chief Cox did a lot of work during the whole planning process and at the event.

Mayor Rosemeyer also mentioned that on the 7th, he and Ms. Enos will be meeting with the newest Congressman, and this will be the first time he has been in this area. They are looking forward to meeting him.

       Ms. Enos introduced Jessica Sizemore, the new Borough Municipal Authority Manager, to Borough Council.  Ms. Enos mentioned that Mrs. Sizemore served on the Borough’s Municipal Authority Board for over 4 years.  She has been the Project Manager for Columbia Gas in our Borough.  She knows most of our staff already because we have worked together with her on many of those projects.  Ms. Enos thanked Mrs. Sizemore for “coming aboard”.

Mrs. Sizemore thanked Borough Council for the opportunity.

11. Executive Session – To discuss personnel matters, contract negotiations, and matter of
      potential litigation.

Motion
Mr. Mandichak moved, seconded by Mr. Hoffman to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters, contract negotiations, and matters of potential litigation.

                                                                           Motion Unanimously Carried
6:38 p.m.
Back in Session
            7:36 p.m.     

      Motion
Mr. Mandichak moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded, for comprehensive review of the Public Nuisance Ordinance, Property/Ownership Maintenance/Planning.

Motion Unanimously Carried

Motion
Mrs. Miller moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded, to authorize a Memorandum of Understanding of the AFSCME Union request to increase employee rates by 1%. This will increase the current percentage of 2.5% to 3.5% beginning January 1, 2024. 

Motion Unanimously Carried

12. ADJOURNMENT

      Motion
Mr. Clark moved to adjourn, motion seconded by Mrs. Ream.                                

Motion Unanimously Carried
7:40 p.m.

_____________________________________________
Michele A. Enos, Borough Manager/ Secretary