Jeff Shaffer, Ben Flower, Jessica Sizemore, Lee Hoffman, and Terry Jerin (Not present – Ruby Miller)
Municipal Authority Meeting Minutes will be posted after they are approved at the following meeting.
July 29th, 2024 – 6:30 p.m.
1. Meeting Called to Order: – Ben Flower
2. Roll Call:
Authority Members present: Ben Flower, Ruby Miller, Lee Hoffman, Jeff Shaffer and Terry Jerin.
Also present: Municipal Authority Manager, Jessica Sizemore; Borough Manager, Michele Enos; Director of Finance, Brett Peters; Administrative Assistant, Roger Bailey; Solicitors, James Cascio & Allyson Lonas and Consulting Engineer, Jake Bolby.
Public Attendance:
a. None
3. Approval of Agenda
A. Approval of Agenda – Review and approval of the Agenda for July 22nd, 2024
Meeting.
a. Motion to approve agenda as presented:
Mr. Jerin moved, Mr. Hoffman seconded.
Motion Unanimously Carried
B. Executive Session – None.
4. Approval of Minutes of Previous Meeting(s):
A. Approval of Meeting Minutes – Review and approval of the Meeting Minutes from June
17th, 2024.
a. Motion to approve the Municipal Authority Board Meeting Minutes from June
17th, 2024:
Mr. Flower moved, Mrs. Miller seconded.
Motion Unanimously Carried
5. Opening of Bids:
A. None.
6. General Public Comments:
A. None registered.
7. Payment of Bills/Requisitions:
A. None.
8. Policy Agenda:
A.Old Business:
a. Water and Wastewater Rules & Regulations – No Update.
B. New Business:
a. Manager’s Report – Update on Operations.
i. Group Photo
ii. Video
Mrs. Sizemore noted that she wanted to take a group photo of all the members of the Municipal Authority Board & the Borough Council Board so it can be added to the new MABS video that was recently produced.
Mrs. Sizemore also mentioned that Borough Council has decided that we will regroup and budget in the GIS Mapping Coordinating position into next year’s budget.
b. Engineer’s Report – Update on Status of Projects for Water, Sewer and Stormwater.
Mr. Bolby presented the Updates to the Engineer’s Report.
WATER:
1) Water System Capital Improvement Projects:
Mr. Bolby said that the project is at the “punch list” phase. He encouraged the Authority to relay any information back to the Borough that they may receive from the public, regarding what needs taken care of, so it can be added to the punch list.
Relating to lawn restoration, Mr. Bolby said that they are asking for everyone’s patience. He noted that monies are withheld from Contractors until restoration is achieved to a certain level.
Also, Administrative items have been processed as regards pay requests from PennVEST and Contractor’s.
Between all 3 Contracts, the project is approximately 95% complete.
SEWER:
1) Assessment, Repair, and Abatement Plan (Hydraulic Overload):
Mr. Bolby said that the Construction Permits were submitted to DEP and are presently under review. Comments from DEP will be sent back to us, then we will address them. The next step will be applying to PennVEST to attempt to obtain a funding offer that is favorable.
Grant dollars are available, so if the project is eligible, fund is available to fund the grant. It all comes down to eligibility and the end user rate.
Mr. Bolby added that we have to get past the first hurtle of getting a construction permit, then we can move into the funding phase.
GENERAL:
1) Center Ave. Sidewalk:
Mr. Bolby said that they are finishing up a few minor sewer items at Center Avenue. Viewports are being put on, and then there is one strip of sidewalk left to go on the NE side of the project.
Pavement restoration is going be done by another contractor outside of the Sanner Contract because of how the funding came in. We are using 2024 CDBG dollars for pavement restoration on Center Avenue. So we had to re-bid that as a separate standalone project. The bids will open on Wednesday for this. Once bids are received, we will make a recommendation to Borough Council for reward.
Public Works have also made a recommendation for landscaping plans on South Center. They recommended moving away from trees in tree wells, because the roots will go underneath the new sidewalk and eventually damage it. They are investigating planter boxes so that everything will be kept above ground.
Mr. Bolby noted that the columns that are square and round on West Main are electrical hookups that were added.
c. Facility Reports for June – Provided on the portal for informational purposes.
d. June 2024 Financial Report & Monthly Transactions – Provided on the portal for informational purposes.
e. Donation of 4” and 6” decommissioned fire hydrants – Up for discussion and consideration on the donation of two fire hydrants that have been removed from MABS system. These would be donated to the Richland Fire Department for their Fire Training Center.
Mrs. Sizemore said that they had a request for these hydrants to be donated to Richland Fire Departments Training Center. She said that we have no use for them, and at this point, they are obsolete.
i. Motion to approve the donation of two fire hydrants to the Richland Fire Department that have been decommissioned:
Mr, Flower moved, Mr. Shaffer seconded.
f. Darr Construction Pay Application No. 6 - Acknowledgement of approval of Pay
Application No. 6 in the amount of $349,732.80.
g. Kukurin Construction, Pay Application No. 15 – Acknowledgement of
approval of Pay Application No. 15 in the amount of $462,980.25.
h. Kukurin Construction, Pay Application No. 16 – Acknowledgement of approval of Pay Application No. 16 in the amount of $381,252.12.
i. PennVEST Payment Request No. 16 - Acknowledgement of approval of Pay Application No. 6 request in the amount of $841,369.03.
9. Adjournment
A. Adjournment
a. Motion to adjourn.
Mr. Hoffman moved to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Jerin.
Motion Unanimously Carried
6:41 p.m.
B. Next Meeting
a. August 26th, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
_________________________________________
Jessica Sizemore, Municipal Authority Manager