Borough of Slatington s1

BOROUGH OF SLATINGTON

The Regular Meeting of Council was held on Monday, February 11, 2013 at 7:00 P.M. in Council Chambers, 125 S. Walnut Street, Slatington, PA 18080. Presiding: Daniel Stevens: President of Council Recording Secretary: Bryon Reed, Council Vice-President The meeting was called to order by President Stevens at 7:00 P.M. with the following in attendance:

ROLL CALL: PRESENT ABSENT OTHERS PRESENT VISITORS Galen Freed None Mayor Niedermeyer William Stein Pete Papay Bob Steets- arrived at 7:10 Ed Healy Carol Gildner Dwight Miller Bryon Reed Larry Turoscy George Moyer Tony Gnas Daniel Stevens Melvin Gildner Kris Burek David Schnaars Ed Zeigler Lou Yurasits Gwyneth Neff Robert Stettner Jon Rinker

EXECUTIVE SESSION – None at the present time

President Stevens noted that the Resolution pertaining to “Rules and Regulations of Good Conduct” are posted on the wall, to either turn off their cell phones or silence them, and he also reminded everyone about the procedure for signing in for attendance and for addressing the Council. He then clarified the following: when a motion and a second is on the floor and he asks for questions, this request pertains only to Council; there are no questions accepted when a motion is being considered. Any questions on the agenda items may be made during the Visitors Section. The only exception is when any items which are not on the agenda on which action is taken or items that were not discussed at a committee meeting.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS –Councilor Freed made a motion seconded by Councilor Schnaars to approve the following sets of minutes: Special Meeting, January 7, 2013; Council Meeting January 14, 2013; Workshop Meetings, January 21 and January 28, 2013. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, 7 Ayes, No Nays

COURTESY OF THE FLOOR (Agenda and Non-Agenda items)

George Moyer- 231 Main Street, addressed Council concerning apartment inspections and tenant registration forms. He pointed out that the ordinance states that the tenant forms should be done by January 31, 2013.

Melvin Gildner- 528 Pine Street, Mr. Gildner addressed Council with his concerns regarding the tenant registration forms and utility bills.

Dwight Miller- 256 South Walnut Street, asked Council why they took the Lords Prayer away. Councilor Neff said you should ask Ms. Burek that. Councilor Schnaars said the fact is Ms. Burek was right when she said prayer should be more ecumenical. He adapted the prayer that the U.S. House of Representatives used a few days ago. Councilor Neff noted that not everyone on Council agrees with that. Mr. Miller also noted that he would like to continue to say the Lords Prayer.

1 Kris Burek- 1234 Fourth Street, thanked Councilor Schnaars for his courage and also his courtesy it doesn’t matter if Council agrees or disagrees it’s guaranteed under the Constitution under the First Amendment. Ms. Burek thanked Councilor Schnaars again. Councilor Neff said that Ms. Burek sat on Council for 6 years and never had a problem with saying the Lords Prayer and now all of a sudden she does now that she isn’t on Council. Ms. Burek addressed Councilor Neff by saying there is a lot of problems in this Borough one being there is a resident that has been coming to meetings for 4 years trying to get something done and he can’t even get a response out of Council. Councilor Neff said because his suggestion is not legitimate. Councilor Rinker said that when he wakes up in the morning the water turns on and when he uses the bathroom the toilet flushes he said that he is glad for that and he doesn’t mind paying for it.

REPORTS The reports of various committees, officials and officers are on file in Borough Hall and are available for public inspection.

APPROVAL OF ACCOUNTS PAYABLE/TRANSFER Councilor Freed made a motion seconded by Councilor Neff to approve payment of the bills and transfers as presented by the Treasurer. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed Bob Steets Galen Freed David Schnaars Jon Rinker

MAYOR’S/POLICE CHIEF’S REMARKS Mayor Niedermeyer noted the following: On January 30, he attended a meeting between Julie Harhart and the Borough regarding the General Morgan Bridge and the sidewalks. He said that he can see that the sidewalks are now being cleared, he said that he believes that it is PennDot cleaning them; Vice-President Reed confirmed that they are. On the evening of January 30, he attended a Venture Group Meeting we are concerned about finding someone able to help with fund raisers. He added that they also discussed the angle parking on Railroad Street and it will open up some parking at the lot especially during the summer. Mayor Niedermeyer noted said that he attended a meeting at the Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce they said good-bye to Ellie Passman, she was the one who got us $5,000.00 through The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. He said he attended a meeting on February 3; he attended a service at St. John’s UCC.

STANDING COMMITTEES

A. Highway 1. Proposed winter maintenance agreement for the General Morgan Bridge- Councilor Freed said that at the meeting with PennDot there was no agreement reached. So we are still waiting on information from PennDot. Vice-President Reed said the Borough cleared the one side of the General Morgan Bridge this past storm but like Councilor Freed said we still haven’t reached an agreement.

B. Public Safety 1. Emergency Generator update- Councilor Rinker said there still hasn’t been any word from the electrician so Vice-President Reed is going to be giving him a list of more electricians.

2 2. Lot on Diamond Street- Councilor Rinker said that since the General Morgan Bridge was completed people have been parking in this lot and it was supposed to be converted back into an empty lot for children to play in. He said that he is at the point we need to stop the cars from parking there. Councilor Rinker made a motion second by Vice-President Reed to post the lot at Diamond and Chestnut Street to stop the cars from parking there. A brief discussion took place on the lot. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff Galen Freed Bryon Reed David Schnaars Bob Steets Jon Rinker 3. Civil Service Commission- President Stevens said that he spoke to the Chief and we need someone to fill the vacant seat on the Civil Service Commission. Mayor Niedermeyer said that he spoke with Richard Schleicher and he may be interested in the position and he will get back to him. He added that Mr. Schleicher was on the board before and he was really dedicated to the position.

C. Human/Community Services 1. PPL Property at Victory Park- Councilor Schnaars said that a few years ago PPL was ready to donate this land but they were un-willing to complete the phase 1 testing that was required by the borough. He added that since then the testing has been completed and they are ready to donate the land to us. Lehigh Engineering reviewed the report and gave a brief explanation of it. Councilor Schnaars said that Parks and Recreation were the first ones to make this request to PPL for this parcel of land. He added it is near the first tee at the disk golf course and they would like to add a few parking spaces and maybe a bench or two to the the property. Councilor Schnaars made a motion second by Councilor Freed to authorize the solicitor to do a title search on parcel 1 located at Victory Park and once it is completed we accept the property. . President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Bob Steets Galen Freed Jon Rinker

2. Letter from Wanda Moyer- Councilor Schnaars said she is asking to purchase the old Christmas lights. A discussion took place on the lights and it was decided that they would like to take an inventory to see how many are there before they set a price to sell them. Councilor Schnaars tabled it until the next meeting.

3. Councilor Schnaars made a motion second by Councilor Freed to reappoint Robert Stettner, William Stein and Jon Rinker to Parks and Recreation for a 3 year term. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Bob Steets Galen Freed Jon Rinker 3

4. Recognizing the 150 th Centennial Committee that has formed- Councilor Schnaars said that he would like recognize this group of citizens that have formed to start this committee and Mr. Jon Rinker is the current acting chairman of the group.

D. Finance-

1. Florists Lease- Councilor Neff explained that it has come time for Florists Lease agreement to be renewed. Their monthly rent will stay at $1,025.00 and will be staying at that amount for the term of this new lease. Councilor Neff said that the lease begins February 1, 2013 and it will continue until January 31, 2015. Councilor Neff made a motion second by Councilor Steets to renew the lease agreement with Florists for a 2 year term. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

2. Elevator Lease- Councilor Neff said that we have had service preformed and now they are proposing that we sign a maintenance agreement. She said that she has put out 2 calls to the mechanic just to clarify what his findings were and what they are looking to do and hasn’t gotten a response. Councilor Neff said that she would like this tabled until the workshop meeting.

3. 2013 CDBG Bids- President Stevens said that we received a letter from the County on the CDBG Grant which we received last year and the monies must be spent by September. President Stevens added that the bids have to be awarded by April 15th, 2013 for the paving and curb cuts on Church Street between 1st and 2nd Streets. Vice President Reed added that we applied for this grant last year. Larry Turoscy (Lehigh Engineering) explained what work needs to be done including milling, paving, drainage and catch basins. Councilor Neff made a motion second by Councilor Schnaars to prepare the bid packets, to advertise for bids, and proceed with bidding. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

4. Cert Fees- Attorney Healy said what you are looking to do is amend the current Tax Ordinance. Councilor Neff made a motion second by Vice President Reed to advertise Ordinance 662 which amends Ordinance 521 to change Tax Cert fees from $10.00 to $25.00 as recommended by Attorney Healy. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets 4 Jon Rinker

5. Statewide Tax Recovery- Councilor Neff made a motion to continue using Statewide Tax Recovery to collect our delinquent per capita taxes as they have in the past. Councilor Neff amended her motion to accept the agreement to continue using Statewide Tax Recovery to collect the Borough’s delinquent Per Capita Taxes as they have in the past it was seconded by Councilor Freed. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

E. Sewer/Solid Waste 1. Councilor Steets made a motion seconded by Councilor Freed to authorize the affirmation of the Authority’s Transfer in the amount of $9,218.25; requests as listed: Steckel and Stopp- (December) $5,970.85, PA Department of Environmental $1,250.00 and Rettew- $1,997.40. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

2. Generator Update- President Stevens said that it is moving along and it’s headed back to the DEP and EPA for approval of the bids. Mr. Turoscy said that there was a bit of a problem with the PA One Call. He said that there a an unknown gas line that may be in the path of where the generator is going to be installed. Mr. Turoscy added that when it is time to start the project the gas company will come and dig up the site at their cost so there are no issues with it comes time to install the generator.

3. Grease Traps- Councilor Steets said that he would like to table this until the Committee Meeting.

4. Sewage Enforcement Officer- President Stevens said normally the SEO is the Borough’s Engineer and Lehigh Engineering suggested that we appoint an alternate. President Stevens asked Mr. Turoscy if he has someone that they normally use as an independent alternate. Mr. Turoscy suggested that the Borough appoint Mr. Scott Bieber as the alternate SEO. Councilor Steets made a motion second by Councilor Neff that we appoint Lehigh Engineering as our SEO. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

5 Councilor Steets made a motion second by Councilor Schnaars to appoint Mr. Scott Bieber as our Alternate SEO. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

Councilor Steets noted that a discussion took place at the Joint Special Meeting between Council and the SBA on transmittal sewer flow monitoring and the Union Street meter that needs to be changed. Councilor Steets said that he would like to table this until the Committee Meeting. Attorney Healy said that the replacement meter is scheduled to be installed 2 weeks after January 28, 2013. Attorney Healy stressed that it is right around the time when it is scheduled to be installed. However no one from the Authority has any specific contact since Malden was initially contacted. William Stein said he received an email from Stefan that he was contacted by Malden and they are looking to come install the meter on February 13, 2013. A discussion took place on the meter. Councilor Steets made a motion second by Councilor Schnaars to authorize the Committee to make the decision on the Union Street meter as long as the cost doesn’t exceed $10,000. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker

F. Water/Special Sewer Committee 1. Water was tested and found safe for human consumption

2. Offer from PPL- Vice President Reed explained that PPL did work in Slatedale when the re-routed the electric at the bridge in late 2011. When performing the work they messed up things at the Water Treatment Plant. We have been in contact with them trying to get our money back from the costly repairs. He said we’ve received an offer from them. However since it is possible litigation he would like to discuss this in executive session.

3. Loggers- Vice President Reed said we have another quote for the leak detection data loggers. He said that this quote is for 10 loggers and the price is the same as the ones that we were quoted for 4. This promotion is being run through L&B Water. Vice President Reed said that he would like to leave the decision up to the committee on if we will move forward and purchase the loggers from L&B Water. Vice President Reed made a motion second by Councilor Freed authorizing the Committee to make the decision on purchasing the loggers as long as the cost doesn’t exceed $10,000. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Daniel Stevens Gwyneth Neff None Bryon Reed David Schnaars Galen Freed Bob Steets Jon Rinker 6 4. Celebration Fireworks- John Kemps addressed Council by saying we are proposing to develop the land on 7th Street that is currently owned by Horizon Builders. He said we are going to need water and sewer but we are 1500 feet from the sewer service connection. Mr. Kemps said so we are looking to dig a well and install a holding tank for the septic. It would be for a very lightly staffed office. He said that it would be a financial hardship to run a new line for service and one quote came in at $90,000. Mr. Kemp is asking for a motion to allow them to install a holding tank and install a well. Councilor Schnaars asked what our code calls for on this. President Stevens said that unfortunately it doesn’t set an exact distance, it states “reasonable distance” in the ordinance. Attorney Healy said that he looked at the State and Authority Codes briefly and he found no restriction on how far on how near it has to be. It would be at Councils discretion. Councilor Rinker said that on this paper they’re going to have buildings cut off by the subdivision and they are already serviced with water/sewer. Vice- President Reed said that the buildings in question are further than they look on the drawing. President Stevens said normally this would have been discussed at the Committee Meeting however this is time sensitive, because their meeting with the planning commission is at the end of February. Councilor Schnaars asked who determines what size holding tank he needs. Larry Turoscy said there is an Ordinance for holding tanks. He added that he needs to be very careful because these are his plans; which were completed before he was appointed as Engineer for the Borough. Council decided to table this until after executive session.

Councilor Schnaars said that there is a request from the Walnutport Playground Association. They are having a banner year for baseball and softball signups. They will probably be fielding nine girls’ softball teams and four baseball teams. The WPA has three fields however, with these teams playing and practicing starting in April and going into June, it appears we do not have enough fields to accommodate the teams. Therefore they are asking to use the fields at the West End Playground to accommodate the younger athletes, up to ten years old. Councilor Schnaars made a motion second by Councilor Freed to approve Walnutport Playground Associations’ request to use the West End Playground provided they supply the Borough with a certificate of insurance and that it will be only children under 10 years of age. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, 7 Ayes, No Nays

EXECUTIVE SESSION – President Stevens recessed the Regular Meeting at 8:42 and called for an Executive Session. At 10:21 P.M. he reconvened the Regular Meeting and noted that issues of real estate, collective bargaining agreement dealing with uniform and non-uniform employees, personnel issues and legal matters were discussed.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS-

Councilor Schnaars made a motion second by Councilor Freed to approve Celebration Fireworks request to sink a well and install a septic holding tank, the new tank to be subject of approval of the SEO and based on an occupancy of 5 or less employees. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Bob Steets Gwyneth Neff None David Schnaars Daniel Stevens Galen Freed Bryon Reed Jon Rinker 7 Councilor Rinker made a motion second by Councilor Steets to authorize the solicitor to prepare the necessary Ordinance and to advertise the conforming changes and administrative improvements to the police pension plan ordinance, recommended by the solicitor. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Roll Call, voting as follows: ROLL CALL AYES NAYS Bob Steets Gwyneth Neff None David Schnaars Daniel Stevens Galen Freed Bryon Reed Jon Rinker

Councilor Steets made a motion to advertise for the assistant secretary/treasurer position. A discussion took place on Joan’s job duties. President Stevens declared the motion passed following a Voice Vote, 7 Ayes, No Nays

At 10:25 P.M. Councilor Freed made a motion to adjourn the meeting.

Joan Cheesbrough Assistant Borough Secretary