Trafford Borough

Monthly Business Meeting Minutes- Wednesday, November 7, 2018

 

The Trafford Borough Council held its monthly business meeting on Wednesday, November 7, 2018, at 7:02 p.m., in the Council Chambers.

Council President, Kris Cardiff, called the meeting to order.

 Mr. and Mrs. Fike led the Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence and thanked Council. Mr. Fike informed the audience Veterans Day in on Sunday, please thank all of your fellow veterans for their service.

Roll Call of Attendance by Borough Secretary, Nina Solivan:

(Present)              Kris Cardiff, Council President                        Ashely Stack, Borough Manager      

                              Zach Cole, Councilmember                               Craig Alexander, Solicitor        

                              Leslie Peters, Councilmember                         Don Glenn, Engineer          

Cheryl Petersen, Councilmember                   Brian Lindbloom, Fire Chief

                              Joshua Sanders, Councilmember 

                              Casey Shoub, Councilmember 

                              Ed Llewellyn, Mayor

 

(Absent)               Council Vice-President Carol Morrow, John Eliyas, EMC    

Notice of Executive Sessions held Wednesday, November 7, 2018, for litigation.

Minutes- A motion “to accept the minutes of October 2, 2018, regular meeting minutes” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilman Sanders.  The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Payment of Bills- A motion “to approve the expense voucher list dated, November 7, 2018,” was made by Councilman Sanders and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Public Comment

Patricia Paola 74 First Street: Mrs. Paola stated the trains are back to normal, she contacted the DEP and was informed there is nothing that can be done, they are exempt from the idling law. Mrs. Paola also questioned the status of the bill list still not being on the website. Mrs. Paola also stated she has not heard anything regarding her code complaints that have been filed.

Council response: Councilman Cardiff stated the bills will be posted after they have been approved. Adam Hlad, Code Enforcement Officer stated the complaints that were filed are in progress letters have been sent and one was addressed.

Carol Richardson 225 First Street: Ms. Richardson gave an update on Holiday Happenings, there have been three meetings thus far. Requesting cookie donations. Thanked public works for getting all of the decorations together. Ms. Richardson also questioned two budget line items 406.450 and 459.450.

Council response: Borough Secretary Solivan stated 406.450 has increased due to the proposed purchase of new front doors for the borough building which is a safety concern. Borough Manager Stack stated 459.450 has increased due to cleaning costs.

Jeff Contillo 424 Homewood Ave: Expressed concerns for the road condition on Homewood Avenue specifically the section between Fifth and Sixth Street. There is no stop sign at the corner of Fourth and Homewood and is concerned there will be a fatal crash. Mr. Contillo also questioned a street light that is no longer there.

Council response: Council President Cardiff stated next year we will hopefully be able to get back to our paving program, which includes a street evaluation. The mayor will coordinate with the police department on placing a stop sign at Fourth and Homewood. Councilman Shoub will be evaluating the street lights within the next couple of weeks.

Don Glenn, Engineer

-         Brinton and Seventh Street Slide: Don stated council should hold a special work session to discuss financing/grant opportunities. This needs to be addressed as soon as possible, the only solution to this is to install a Powell Solider Beam Lagging Wall due to the topography. On a positive note, our sanitary and storm sewers are sound but are in jeopardy. The roadway is being undermined if we do not address this we will lose it. Secretary Solivan questioned if the funds may be taken out of Liquid Fuels, Don stated they may. This is critical and we need a plan of action.

-         Mckee Asphalt: The asphalt company will be in later this week weather dependent, to perform the work on Bruce Street and Ardennes Court.

-         Don submitted a report concerning the replacement of the sidewalk along Edgewood Avenue.

-         Murrysville Road: Victor Paving is requesting a 50% payment of the Murrysville Road project, with Don’s recommendation of providing the borough with a letter stating Victor Paving will fix the inlets on Fourth Street and Viaduct Way and will be paid the remaining 50% upon completion of all work.  A motion “to pay Victor Paving 50% of the retainer the borough is holding contingent upon the completion of all work” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Sanders. The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Administrative Reports

Borough Manager- The temporary hire will be starting on Tuesday, November 13, 2018. The borough was recently informed by Morgan Stanley that they will no longer be administering our police pension plan, currently working on a resolution, and RFP. We will need to work closely with our pension consultant, solicitor, Teamsters Local 205 and the police department. There is nearly $700,000.00 currently in the fund. Alcosan has notified the borough with the 2019 increases, the service fee will increase by $1.09, and the consumption fee will increase by $0.52, the new minimum bill will be $118.33. This is not a borough increase, this is an ALCOSAN increase. The borough office will be closed on Monday, November 12, 2018, in observance of Veteran’s Day.

Code Enforcement- Code Enforcement Officer Adam Hlad reported there were twelve new occupancy inspections, eleven follow-up inspections, with eight new occupancy permits issued. Twelve grass/weeds complaints with seven abated, five total trash/garbage complaints with two abated, four property maintenance complaints with two abated. Mayor Llewellyn questioned burning 90 First Street, Fire Chief Lindbloom stated you cannot burn building material. Adam Hlad stated they are allowed on the property, just not inside the structures.

Borough Solicitor- Solicitor Alexander stated he will advertise the preliminary budget.

EMS- There were twenty-six calls for the month of September, with one call being handled by North Huntingdon. There were twenty-five calls for the month of October, with one call being handled by North Huntingdon.

Trafford VFD- Fire Chief Lindbloom reported there were twelve total calls for the month of October. Chief Lindbloom reminded all of those in attendance to change the batteries in their smoke detectors. November 10, 2018, is the 200 club fundraiser get your tickets, there are only seventeen left.

EMC- No report.

Rec Board- Rose Frollini reported the Halloween event was a success, there were 65 children in attendance. The legion allowed everyone inside due to the weather.

TECDC- No report.

WHT- No report.

Mayor’s Report- Mayor Llewellyn reported for the month of October there were one hundred fifty-two service calls, sixty-nine citations were issued, and ten criminal cases filed with additional pending investigation.

Committee Report

Community Development- Councilwoman Peters reported the Bells of Peace Ceremony will be held at Veteran’s Memorial Park on Sunday, November 11, 2018. Reimagining Westmoreland has posted their draft countywide comprehensive plan, it is pretty cool take a look in your spare time. Savvy Citizen is up and running, fine-tuning the notification alerts. Councilman Cardiff questioned if everything has been coordinated regarding the admins of Savvy. Councilwoman Peters stated she has been working on coordinating schedules with the mayor and Chief Disso. Coordinating schedules for six people is tough especially when those who volunteer work during the day.

Presidents Report- Councilman Cardiff stated there was only one nomination for the Volunteer of the Year Award. Was hoping to have more than one nomination. Will accept nominations here tonight if anyone has any suggestions. The one nomination received came from Melissa Edwards who nominated Betty Capets who is the Director of Trafford Food Bank. A motion to “nominate Betty Capets for the 2018 Renee Capetta Memorial Volunteer Award” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Receive 2019 Budget

A motion to “receive and advertise the Borough Manager’s 2019 budget” was made by Councilman Sanders and seconded by Councilwoman Peters.

Advertise Millage Ordinance

A motion to “advertise an Ordinance setting the millage rates for 2019. The proposed millage rate is 28.5 mills for general government services and 3 mills for debt service, with no increase from 2018” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Sanders.

Councilwoman Peters questioned the last time taxes were raised, Secretary Solivan stated in 2015.

The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

CBA Public Works

A motion to “Ratify the Collective Bargaining Agreement between Trafford Borough, Teamsters Local Union No. 205, and the Trafford Borough Public Works Department” was made by Councilman Shoub and Seconded by Councilwoman Petersen. The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Appointment to Rec Board

A motion to “Appoint Tanya Funk to the Trafford Recreation Board, filling a term ending December 31, 2019” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Sanders.

Councilwoman Peters questioned if this would be a conflict of interest being she is a part-time playground employee. Solicitor Alexander stated there is no conflict.

The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Jeffery Associates

A motion to “Approve the final payment to Jeffery Associates for $5,000.00, for the Fairmont Playground Project” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilman Shoub.

Borough Manager Stack stated this payment was approved by the Rec Board at their meeting, we are having an issue with the basketball court. There are chunks of pavement coming up, which is being addressed.

The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

2019 Ford F350

A motion to “Approve the purchase of a 2019 Ford F350 for the Trafford Borough Public Works Department from Tri-Star Motors for $63,620.00, with five annual payments of $13,891.89.” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Sanders.

Councilwoman Peters questioned how long this will last, and does this price include everything that they need?

Borough Manager Stack stated the truck is fully outfitted and the payment will be split between the general and sewage fund. This will allow them to service more area in the borough when plowing snow. It will take several weeks before receiving the new truck, once we receive the new truck we plan to place the white Ford F150 and the old red F550 dump truck on Municibid.  We will be able to get more money on the F150 on Municibid as opposed to a trade in value. Currently with the red F550 down the borough only has two truck capable to plow snow.

The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

New Business

Councilman Shoub stated while at Tri-Star getting the bid for the new Public Works, he inquired about the police car that council has already agreed to purchase and was informed it is not even in the process of being built. The borough should not expect to receive that vehicle until spring of 2019. The Durango is currently nickeling and diming us. Tri-Star did have on the lot a Ford F150 fitted as a police vehicle. The payments would be an additional $1,000.00 per year, the Chief wanted permission to explore this option if there are no other routes. The one advantage of getting a pickup truck is the resale value.

A motion to “Allow the Chief of Police to explore alternate options for a police vehicle up to $8,000.00 per year” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Sanders.

The motion carried unanimously 6-0.

Adjournment

Councilman Cardiff announced the next regular business meeting will be held Tuesday, December 4, 2018, at 7:00 pm in the Markosek Council Chambers.

A motion “to adjourn” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously 6-0.