Trafford Borough

Reorganization and Monthly Business Meeting Minutes- January 6, 2020

The Trafford Borough Council held its reorganization and regular business meeting on Monday, January 6, 2020, at 7:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers.

Mayor Edward Llewellyn, called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence.

Roll Call of Attendance by Assistant Borough Manager, Nina Solivan:

(Present) Casey Shoub, Councilmember Chelsea Dice, Solicitor

Zackery Cole, Councilmember Don Glenn, Engineer

Ralph Deabner, Councilmember Ashley Stack, Borough Manager

Leslie Peters, Councilmember Adam Hlad, Code Enforcement Officer

Edward Llewellyn, Mayor Charles Miller, EMC

Mayor Llewellyn then administered the "Oath of Office" to the following newly elected members of Council:

Mr. Kristopher Cardiff, Mr. Christopher Corrales, and, Mr. Steven Perovich.

Mayor Llewellyn asked for nominations for the position of President of Council. A nomination of Kris Cardiff was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Perovich. With no other nominations, Councilman Cardiff received a unanimous roll call vote and will now serve as President of Council.

Councilman Cardiff thanked all members of council for having faith and trust in him to serve as president.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for the position of council Vice President. A nomination of Steve Perovich was made by Councilman Shoub. A nomination of Ralph Deabner was made by Councilwoman Peters. Councilman Cole seconded Councilman Shoub’s nomination for Steve Perovich. A roll call vote was taken, and all members of council voted yes for the nomination of Steve Perovich.

Councilman Cardiff moved onto the committee appointments. Councilman Cardiff stated he has spent countless hours working with council and the administrative staff on changing the committee structures and refocusing the responsibilities/goals. Councilman Cardiff stated the previous committees were set up prior to the borough having a manager to handle the day to day duties.

The first committee is Community and Economic Development. This committee will focus on government relations with the organizations and the borough to help promote growth and stability. They will serve as the liaisons to organizations such as the Trafford library, TCDC, Trafford Borough Business Association, Lion's club, Trafford Historical Society, et cetera. To work with all the organizations and to work with the borough office regarding community programs and projects, encouraging volunteerism collecting nominations exploring grant opportunities and promoting the Renee Capetta volunteer of the year award.

The second committee is General Government and Finance. This committee will focus on government relations with our administrative staff as well as other communities. Oversight of the borough’s budget with the borough manager. They will serve as liaisons with the Westmoreland County Boroughs Association, the Council of Governments (COG) and the PA Boroughs Association.

The third committee is Parks and Recreation. This committee will focus on the borough's role regarding the upkeep and promotion of our parks and recreational programs available to the community. They will serve as liaisons to the organizations such as PTARC, Recreation Board, and the Westmoreland Heritage Trail. They will also work with the borough office to promote park, pavilion, and Manchester Room rentals.

The fourth committee is Planning Property and Ordinances. This committee will focus on government relations with the Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board. They will serve as liaisons to Code Enforcement, Planning Commission and Zoning Hearing Board. They will work with the borough office to maintain borough buildings, structures, and property. Also, review the borough code annually and recommend any suggested changes.

The fifth committee is Public Safety. This committee remains primarily the same and focuses on government relations with emergency services in the community. They will serve as the liaison to the Trafford Police Department (via the Mayor), Trafford Volunteer Fire Department, Penn Township EMS, Trafford Emergency Management Coordinator, and the Trafford Crime Watch Organization. They will also work with the borough office with contract negotiations, addressing current and potential community safety concerns, and help develop and/or promote safety programs.

The last committee is Public Works and Sanitation. This committee will focus on government relations with the Public Works Department and public utilities. They will serve as liaisons to Waste Management, public utility companies, and the borough engineer’s office. They will work with the borough office with contract negotiations, ensure proper MS4/EPA compliance and maintenance of infrastructure, and recommend to council any projects required in the community.

Councilman Cardiff stated the new committees will allow the oversight of the government, but will also focus more on reaching out to the community on working more outside of the borough office and in the community

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilman Steve Perovich as Chair and Councilwoman Leslie Peters as Co-Chair to the Community and Economic Development Committee.

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilman Chris Corrales as Chair and Councilman Zackery Cole as Co-Chair to the General Government and Finance Committee.

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilwoman Leslie Peters as Chair and Councilman Steve Perovich as Co-Chair to the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilman Ralph Deabner as Chair and Councilman Casey Shoub as Co-Chair to the Planning, Property, and Ordinances Committee.

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilman Zackery Cole as Chair and Councilman Chris Corrales as Co-Chair to the Public Safety Committee.

Councilman Cardiff appointed Councilman Casey Shoub as Chair and Councilman Ralph Deabner as Co-Chair to the Public Works and Sanitation Committee.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Solicitor. A motion “to appoint Craig Alexander of Bruce Dice and Associates as Borough Solicitor” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Deabner. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Borough Engineer. A motion “to appoint Don Glenn of Glenn Engineering as Borough Engineer” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for the Official Borough Newspaper. A motion “to appoint Penn-Franklin News as the official newspaper for the borough” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Emergency Management Coordinator. A motion “to appoint Charles Miller as Emergency Management Coordinator” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilwoman Peters. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Borough Secretary/Assistant Borough Manager. A motion “to appoint Nina Solivan as Secretary/Assistant Borough Manager” was made by Councilman Deabner and seconded by Councilwoman Peters. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Borough Manager. A motion “to appoint Ashley Stack as Borough Manager” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff asked for nominations for Ambulance Service Provider. A motion “to appoint Penn Township Ambulance as the boroughs service provider” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Perovich. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff announced a vacancy on the Civil Service Commission. A motion “to re-appoint Councilman Chris Corrales to the Civil Service Commission for a three-year term” was made by Councilman Deabner and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff announced a vacancy on the Planning Commission. A motion “to re-appoint Cory Delsignore to the Planning Commission for a four-year term” was made by Councilman Perovich and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff announced a vacancy on the Recreation Board. A motion “to re-appoint Ann LeCuyer to the Recreation Board for a three-year term” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff announced a vacancy on the Recreation Board. A motion “to re-appoint Leslie Peters to the Recreation Board for a three-year term” was made by Councilman Deabner and seconded by Councilman Perovich. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff announced a vacancy on the Zoning Hearing Board. A motion “to re-appoint Dave Bonifati to the Zoning Hearing Board for a three-year term” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Deabner. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff requested a nomination to serve as a representative to PTARC. Councilman Shoub stated he previously served as the representative and is willing to serve again however, after a recent surgery he has a lot to catch up on. Councilman Shoub questioned if Councilman Perovich would be available now that he is retired. Councilman Perovich stated he would be able to serve. A motion “to appoint Councilman Perovich to serve as the PTARC representative” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff requested a nomination to serve as a representative to the Recreation Board. A motion “to appoint Councilwoman Peters to serve as the Recreation Board representative” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Perovich. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

The re-organization meeting concluded at 7:20 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2020.

The regular council meeting commenced at 7:20 p.m. on Monday, January 6, 2020.

Councilman Cardiff announced that an executive session was held prior to this meeting for matters of real estate and litigation.

A motion “to approve November 6, 2019, Council Meeting Minutes, November 19, 2019, Budget Discussion Meeting Minutes, and December 3, 2019, Council Meeting Minutes” was made by Councilman Deabner and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

A motion “to approve the expense voucher list dated January 6, 2020” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Deabner. The motion carried unanimously 7-0.

Councilman Cardiff called for public comment.

Dolores Sutton 601 Brinton Avenue- Mrs. Sutton came before council to inquire when the Mellon Bank building will be torn down completely and why are the bricks being saved. Mrs. Sutton also questioned when the Cromer building will be torn down. Lastly, Mrs. Sutton inquired about the memorial bricks that were once in front of the borough building.

Manager Stack stated we do not have a timeline right now for 501 Cavitt, it was supposed to be done before the end of the year. However, there were safety concerns because one of the poles was not stable, so they had to move power, and cable lines but we had to coordinate that with both Verizon and Duquesne Light, which has been quite a feat. Right now, we finally are on track. That's why that temporary pole was installed on Cavitt Avenue which will be removed once the project is complete. However, currently with that temporary pole there, the contractor is planning on coming back out this week to continue to work. It depends on the weather and if there are any other unforeseen events that happen while they're trying to get this down. They were planning on having it down before the end of the year. However, the issues with the utility pole delayed it for weeks. The bricks at 501 Cavitt will be used as backfill if they do not test positive for asbestos. Manager Stack stated we're waiting to hear back from the county regarding 315 Fifth Street. We were supposed to hear back by the end of December. I didn't want to bother them. I was giving them a little bit of time to find out if we received the Demofund grant to take the building down. Manager Stack stated the memorial bricks are at the public works garage. We do need to go out and do an inventory of them. Carol Richardson had previously mentioned this. Manager Stack stated she was unsure if Carol wanted to be present during that. However, right now with the weather and the holidays, it's on the list.

Erika Corrales 108 Belleau Wood Blvd- Mrs. Corrales came before council to express the idea of household recycling. Mrs. Corrales stated recycling is near and dear to her heart and she hates the idea of throwing plastic away. Mrs. Corrales stated she’d like to see if we could look into what it would cost and how-to bring recycling to Trafford.

Councilman Shoub stated the quote that was received from Waste Management at the time was an astronomical amount of money and not everyone was willing to pay the fee. The borough is not mandated because our population doesn’t fit the requirements. The borough had a voluntary program, but individuals abused the dumpsters by placing non-recyclables in them and we were receiving $1,000.00 bills about twice a month. Councilman Shoub stated when he gets back on his feet, he will get a list together of places in the area that accept recyclables. Councilman Shoub mentioned the At Your Door program is still valid. You call their special number and they will schedule a special pickup for HHW and E-Waste. Manager Stack stated our current contract will be up in 2022, and possibly reassess and see if anything has changed regarding recycling.

Borough Engineer

Don thanked council for the re-appointment and wished everyone a prosperous and healthy new year.

Don reported that he applied for a grant for the road repair on Inwood Road. We should hear back in the spring if we were successful in obtaining some funding.

Don stated he has sent a letter to State Pipe Services informing them the sanitary repairs may commence. State Pipe has not yet responded to the letter however when they do Mr. Glenn will inform the borough when they plan on coming out to perform the work.

Don stated last year Sitara Construction did some repairs on the Wallace Avenue bridge. The work was not accepted by PennDot. The contractor plans on coming back out at no cost to the borough to make the necessary repairs. The work will consist of removing a foot and a half on each side of the jersey barriers for a total of three feet and expose the rebars and tie them together with new rebars and make it one contiguous unit. The problem is there are 10 jersey barriers and each barrier acts as one concentrated force. The concentrated force is allowing the beams on the bridge to crack. What we need to do is to tie the jersey barriers together and make one continuous unit. This will take the weight and distribute it without cracking the bridge. Councilman Perovich questioned what the timetable is. Don stated right after the first of the year. Councilwoman Peters questioned if a road closure will be necessary, Don stated no the road will remain open. Councilman Perovich questioned the water flow under the Wallace Avenue Bridge. Don reported he talked to the Westmoreland County Conservation District and their response was to hopefully get a spring flooding to wash the areas out.

Administrative reports

Borough Manager: Manager Stack stated for clarification the borough does not receive notification when Duquesne Light decides to interrupt power. We have received a few complaints from some of the business owners. We were not notified of any service interruption(s). Duquesne Light contacts all the property owners directly so that is not something that the borough has knowledge of or control over. If we did have knowledge of any outage, we would be able to notify you. We received information for the 2020 Revitalizing Westmoreland Grant. The deadline is the end of February. Manager Stack stated she intends on researching some projects that would be the most beneficial for the borough and I will be discussing that in my February report. Public works plans on taking down the Christmas tree this week and hopefully the snowflakes if possible. Our current account balance in the general fund is currently at $511,000.00 our liquid fuels fund is at $168,000.00 Recreation fund is at $3,330.00 and our sewage fund is at $840,000.00. Lastly, Manager Stack stated sewage bills will be going out by the end of next week. The service period will be from August 9th through November 7th. Manager Stack stated she will contact Councilman Cardiff and Councilwoman Peters so the information may be placed on Savvy Citizen and the website.

Code Enforcement: Code Enforcement Officer Adam Hlad reported there were twelve new occupancy inspections, and eleven occupancy permits issued. Two zoning permits were issued.

Grass/Weeds include:

804 8th. Magistrate continued until March.

Garbage/Trash/Debris include:

836 Forbes Road. Citation filed with magistrate.

Highland. Partially abated.

Homewood. Abated

Property Maintenance include:

Corner of 3^rd and Cavitt. Magistrate ordered owner to move forward with securing bid for demo. Owner has had environmental testing completed, results due this week. Results are requested from demo contractor to complete estimate for work. Will present progress to magistrate in February.

7^th Street. 2 separate properties with bushes/shrubs encroaching on sidewalk. Abated.

Gilmore. Nuisance. Abated.

8^th Street. Working with property maintenance company.

Fairmont. In process.

Borough Solicitor: Solicitor Chelsea Dice thanked council for the re-appointment.

EMS: No report.

Trafford VFD: Chief Brian Lindbloom stated the end of the year summary will be available at the next meeting. Chief Lindbloom stated as some of you may know this was a pretty bad weekend this weekend with the highways around some of our friends down in Rostraver are going through a pretty tough time. Our fire department has made ourselves available. We intend to participate in the events, but we also made ourselves available to cover. There's a lot of companies that are going to be out of service from that region. We're going to be down there helping them if they need it. We're available right now, but I don't have a schedule. The reason I bring it up is because I got your note today about coming to do the work Wednesday. Chief Lindbloom asked how many days that's going to be? Manager Stack stated No, I know. Chief Lindbloom stated he’s made arrangements to have somebody available Wednesday from 10:00 to 3:00, but right now, I can't commit to Thursday and Friday. I don't know the schedule. I just found out today, so I'm not prepared to have visitors and our daily business taken care of. Chief Lindbloom suggested the contractor come Wednesday and come back on Monday. Manager Stack stated what Chief Lindbloom is referring to is the water damage in the HVAC closets on the third floor. Chief Lindbloom stated I just received notification and I could possibly have someone here Thursday and Friday, but there's no way I can predict that right now. We had our normal operations already scheduled for the week. I don't have all the resources I need to. Manager Stack questioned if the doors could be locked. Chief Lindbloom stated, Unfortunately, no, because we received the information for our transfers by fax, which is in the open room. There's only one place to plug it in, we have no way to control that. Plus, we have day to day operations going on. We'd still have a job to do, so we're not all leaving. We're not shutting ourselves down to go down there. To have someone to stay here in between crews coming in and out it's possible, but I don't have a guarantee for that. I've been able to arrange for Wednesdays so far from 10:00 to 3:00, but after that, I don't know. Chief Lindbloom stated next week would be easier, and we can commit to the whole day every day for the whole five days. We’ve waited 15 months we can live with it for five more days if you could please accommodate us for that. Manager Stack stated we will talk to the contractor on Wednesday and go from there.

EMC: Mr. Chuck Miller introduced himself to the members in attendance. Mr. Miller stated he has completed his state-required basic training. He has received a letter from the governor. Mr. Miller stated he is working with Penn Township EMA and Emergency Services to put together a combined tabletop exercise. Part of EMC you’re required to have a tabletop exercise, an emergency of some type each year to train. A possible exercise would be something at the school where both municipalities would be involved. As Chief Lindbloom mentioned horrible events took place on the turnpike and route 70. It just goes to show that Emergency Management's use was activated. They shut down the turnpike yesterday in both directions for approximately 12-14 hours. It took a lot of effort. A lot of departments, not just the ones in that area, emergency management, police, EMS, everybody. One of the things that they had in place in that area was a cert team. Nobody in Westmoreland County currently has a full cert team. We're looking to build a cert team; it is a community emergency response team. This means reaching out to churches and any type of volunteer or individuals that would like to be involved in any type of emergency. Not emergency management but an emergency response team. There is training for it and if anyone is interested, we will get you the information. We're also working on putting together NIMS training classes for councilmembers and borough employees.

TECDC: No report.

Westmoreland Heritage Trail: Councilman Cole reported on February 16, 2020, the WHT will host a comedy night. Councilman Cole stated it’s a great time he attends every year. Tickets may be purchased at the Westmoreland County Parks office, Lamplighter Restaurant, or Colton Hall which is where the event will take place.

Mayor’s Report: Mayor Llewellyn reported for the month of December there were one hundred and twenty-five total service calls. There were eight criminal cases filed and sixteen citations issued. Mayor Llewellyn provided a message from Chief Disso to please lock your vehicles, and homes.

Committee Reports

Community & Economic Development: Councilman Perovich stated there is a Historical Society meeting on Wednesday. Also, the Trafford Library is in dire need of volunteers.

General Government & Finance: No report.

Parks & Recreation: No report.

Planning, Property, & Ordinances: No report.

Public Safety: No report.

Public Works & Sanitation: Public Works foreman Lou Corrales stated the Inwood project is moving forward. The memorial bricks will be on the list for tomorrow and provide an itemized list to Manager Stack.

President’s report: Councilman Cardiff stated he looks forward to working with everybody. He has a lot of optimism for 2020 and getting this decade started and moving our community forward. It's time that we do that. Lastly, our community liaison to the Westmoreland Heritage Trail Mayor Peduzzi has resigned from his position due to health reasons. Mr. Peduzzi sent a resignation letter over to himself and the borough office as of January 1, 2020. We don't have to appoint anybody, but we are looking for somebody from the community to fill that role. We have Zach from council that is filling that role for council, but we're looking for somebody from the community as well. If anybody's interested, please submit a letter. Councilman Perovich suggested Mr. Rucio. Councilwoman Peters stated she needed some clarification on the Westmoreland Heritage Trail community liaise. This is not the role that Zach was fulfilling before. This position is for the role that Mr. Peduzzi was fulfilling, correct? Councilman Cardiff stated that is correct. However, now that you (Councilwoman Peters) are chair of Parks and Recreation you (Councilwoman Peters) would serve as council liaison. Councilwoman Peters stated she is just trying to get her eggs in one basket. Councilman Cardiff stated if Mr. Rucio was interested, he would be the community liaison and you (Councilwoman Peters) would be the council liaison. Manager Stack stated hopefully he would attend the meetings and volunteer. If you can recall we would have Rey go to the WHT meetings and come to our meetings and give his report. If Mr. Peduzzi was unable to attend, then Councilman Cole would give a report. Councilwoman Peters questions Councilman Cole as to what correspondence he receives. Councilman Cole stated he will forward Councilwoman Peters the information.

2020 Fee Schedule

A motion “to approve the 2020 fee schedule” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Cole.

Manager Stack stated there were very few changes. Most of the changes were made to section 85 pertaining to the Uniform Construction Code (UCC). Formerly the borough contracted with CEA a third-party building inspector. We now have a building inspector inhouse. Code Enforcement and the borough office collaboratively utilized the borough code, CEA’s former fee schedule, and Penn Township's fee schedule to come up with what is proposed. The other line item that changed was section 202 Zoning. The administrative fee was changed. In 2019 the taxpayers had to front thousands of dollars for several proposed variances. On two occasions the initial variance hearing was continued and there are various services that go along with these hearings. Such as advertisements, notifications, stenographer services, postage, the Zoning Hearing Board Attorney, and transcripts. This section was changed so the taxpayers are not fitting the bill. We proposed a $500.00 nonrefundable fee and any service that exceeds the fee. All additional fees would be incurred by the applicant. Lastly, section 160 the sewage rates. As we've discussed numerous times, ALCOSAN’s rates did increase and are reflected in this section. The borough did not increase the maintenance fee or debt service fee. ALCOSAN did increase their consumption and service fee.