Trafford Borough

Monthly Business Meeting Minutes- Tuesday, October 2, 2018

 

The Trafford Borough Council held its monthly business meeting on Tuesday, October 2, 2018, at 7:07 p.m., in the Council Chambers.

Council President, Kris Cardiff, called the meeting to order and led the Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence.

Roll Call of Attendance by Borough Secretary, Nina Solivan:

(Present)                     Kris Cardiff, President                                                         Ed Llewellyn, Mayor                                                             

                                        Leslie Peters                                                                            Craig Alexander, Solicitor          

                                        Cheryl Petersen                                                                     Don Glenn, Engineer         

                                        Joshua Sanders                                                                     Ashely Stack, Borough Manager      

                                        Casey Shoub                                                                          Brian Lindbloom, Fire Chief                         

                                                                                                                                            John Eliyas, EMC

(Absent)                      Councilmembers Carol Morrow and Zach Cole

Council held executive sessions on September 18, 2018, for collective bargaining negotiations, and litigation also on October 2, 2018, for litigation.

Minutes- A motion “to accept the minutes of the September 4, 2018, regular business meeting and the minutes of the September 18, 2018 work session meeting” was made by Councilman Sanders and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously. 5-0.

Payment of Bills- A motion “to approve the expense voucher list dated, October 2, 2018” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Sanders. The motion carried unanimously. 5-0.

Public Comment

-         Patricia Paola 74 First Street- Mrs. Paola stated the trains have almost disappeared. Mrs. Paola turned in code complaints and is looking forward to the items being remediated. Mrs. Paola questioned the status of the eyesore where the busses are laying over. Questioned if council will force PAT to fix the road.

Borough response: Borough Manager Stack stated there were multiple meetings regarding removing the bus service. An engineer for PAT came to review the road, sent the report to their lawyers and they stated they do not fix roads. The borough put up barriers to keep buses from parking on the bad side of the road. We can look at re-visiting the issue.

-         Lynnwood Leeman 344 Fourth Street- Mr. Leeman questioned how long it takes for the code enforcement officers to receive the complaints.

Borough response: Borough Manager Stack stated the complaints are forwarded immediately.

Borough Engineer

-         Drilling has been completed regarding the Seventh Street and Brinton Avenue slide. PA Rock and Soil will prepare the report and get a copy to the engineers.

-         We applied for two grants with the Commonwealth Financing Authority. One for the sanitary sewer on Mary Street in the amount of $138,863.00. The other for the sanitary sewer on Forest Avenue in the amount of $27,500.00. Both were denied.  We can look at applying again next year and increasing the local share.

-         Glenn Engineering modified the BY restroom plans by adding a stall in the women’s restroom. We will be opening bids next month.

-         A reply was sent to PennDOT regarding the slide on Route 130 stating the borough does not own anything in the area of the slide.

-         Alcosan has requested an extension regarding the GROW grant reimbursement. Don submitted a copy of the letter to send to Alcosan.

Councilwoman Peters questioned the status of the railroad underpass. Don stated he called Northfolk Southern and was informed an engineer would be dispatched to review.

-         Two inlets on Viaduct Way will be repaired in lieu of the non-completion of work stipend in the Murrysville Road contract. The contractor stated there are a few jobs that he will need to complete due to the weather. Don stated the contractor will not get paid until all work is completed.

Administrative Reports:

Borough Manager- The borough is still accepting nominations for the Renee Capetta Volunteer of the Year Award at the borough office until October 31, 2018. Fall leaf collection dates provided by Waste Management are as follows; October 18th, November 1st, 15th, 29th, and December 13th. All leaves should be placed in biodegradable bags and placed at the curb. There will be a Holiday Happenings committee meeting tomorrow night at Dom’s Pizza at 7:00 pm. Opst and Associates will be performing the borough’s 2017 audit later this month. There will be a brief fall newsletter going out within the next few weeks.

Code Enforcement- Report on file.

Borough Solicitor- Solicitor Alexander reported there is a tentative Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Public Works Dept.

VFD- Fire Chief Lindbloom reported there were fifty-one calls for the month of September, majority were weather related. Reminded everyone to test your smoke detectors. Next week is fire prevention week, we will be up at the school to do our program. Took pictures and provided council with copies regarding the bridge under Wallace Avenue, and the Rail Road. The pictures showed debris. Tomorrow at 2:18 pm there will be a wireless nationwide emergency alert test.

EMC- EMC John Eliyas reported the flooding that occurred was passable and there was no need for a state of emergency.

Rec Board- Fairmont is finally finished, we still owe Jeffery Associates $5,000.00. Linda will be performing the final playground inspection once she gives the okay, she will inform the borough office to cut the check. Halloween will be held October 27, 2018, in the legion parking lot.

Borough Manager Stack questioned the Rec Boards 2019 budget, there is little detail and reserves are not listed. Rose stated this budget is influx because we will no longer be holding the auction which is the main source of funding.  The reserves weren’t listed because we were planning on getting the pavilion for the terrace. The pavilion came in over the summer at $14,500.00. We are planning to sit down with Leslie, Ashley and a few members of the Rec Board to get a plan in place for the Pavilion.

Westmoreland Heritage Trail- Councilman Shoub stated Northfolk Southern Is not interested in selling the part of the railroad we were hoping for. NFS insists the line is still being used.

Mayor’s Report- Mayor Llewellyn reported there were one hundred fifty-one service calls. With fifty-two citations and eleven criminal cases filed. There were 16 hours of foot patrol along with 18 hours of traffic detail.

Committee Reports

General Government- Councilwoman Peters reported we are still in progress with Savvy Citizen we have received the invoice, looking into getting a copy of the contract. There is a code and ordinance review meeting this Thursday. Ashley and Councilwoman Peters have been working on a pathway from the trail to the BY restrooms. Councilwoman Peters announced the Rec Board is still looking for a member.  At the discussion meeting Rep Dunbar passed out a grant booklet so she will be looking for possible grant opportunities. PTARC and the Penn-Trafford Business Association are sponsoring a Halloween Parade on October 20th from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. registrations will be held same day.

President’s Report- Trick-or-Treat will be held on October 31, 2018, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Comcast Franchise Agreement

A motion “to approve the Comcast Franchise Agreement, effective October 2, 2018, through October 2, 2028.” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Petersen.

Councilwoman Peters questioned if this will prohibit other vendors from providing services in town. Solicitor Alexander stated it prohibits any other cable company, for example if Verizon wanted to institute their Fios program here that would not be a conflict.

Borough Manager Stack stated with this agreement the borough will be receiving an additional $40,000.00 a year with an annual amount of appx $70,000.00.

The motion carried unanimously 5-0.0

2015 International Code Standards

A motion “to amend the Trafford Borough Code to follow the 2015 International Code Standards” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Sanders. The motion carried unanimously 5-0.

Hiring of Full Time Officer

A motion “to hire Cory Holmes as a full-time officer for the Trafford Borough Police Department at the rate of $21.33 an hour” was made by Councilman Sanders and seconded by Councilman Shoub.

Borough Manager Stack stated the Civil Service Commission approved the hire list on September 25, 2018.

The motion carried unanimously 5-0.

Temporary Office Staff

A motion “to authorize Borough Manager Stack to hire a temporary office employee while she is on maternity leave” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Peters. The motion carried unanimously 5-0.

Plaque at Veterans Memorial Park

A motion “to approve George and Dana Kendall to purchase a plaque in memory of Lucy A. Petrini to be placed at the Trafford Veterans Memorial Park Gazebo. Was made by councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Peters.

Borough Manager Stack stated she cleared this with Rey Peduzzi and he would just like a call when the plaque is ready for placement.

The motion carried unanimously.

New Business

Mayor Llewellyn announced the Library will be holding a Triangle Hoagie sale on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. Mayor Llewellyn also announced he is no longer the president of the girls’ softball, and asked council if they’d like him to still be in charge of scheduling. Council agreed to allow Mayor Llewellyn to handle. Borough Manager Stack stated we have been approached by two organizations already.

Adjournment

Councilman Cardiff announced the Discussion Meeting for Tuesday, October 16, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the Manchester Room.

Councilman Cardiff announced the next regular business meeting will be held Wednesday, November 7, 2018, at 7:00 p.m. in the council Chambers.

A motion “to adjourn” was made by Councilman Sanders and seconded by Councilwoman Petersen. The motion carried unanimously 5-0.