Trafford Borough

Monthly Business Meeting Minutes- Tuesday, April 3, 2018

 

The Trafford Borough Council held its monthly business meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, at 7:01 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                                      Leslie Peters

                              Carol Morrow, Vice-President                                       Cheryl Petersen

                              Dennis Hockenberry                                        Casey Shoub

                              Ashely Stack, Borough Manager                                   Ed Llewellyn, Mayor

                              Craig Alexander, Solicitor                                Don Glenn, Engineer         

                              Brian Lindbloom, Fire Chief                             Lou Corrales, Public Works Foreman

 

(Absent)               John Eliyas, EMC    

Notice of Executive Sessions held Tuesday, April 3, 2018, for matters of personnel.

Minutes- A motion “to accept the minutes of March 6, 2018, regular meeting minutes” was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Cole. The motion carried unanimously.

Payment of Bills- A motion “to approve the expense voucher list dated, April 3, 2018” was made by Councilman Hockenberry and seconded by Councilwoman Morrow. The motion carried unanimously.

Resolution _ of 2018

A motion “to adopt the resolution recognizing Penn Township Ambulance, Michael Andras, Dr. Daniel Schwartz and the Trafford Borough Police Department for their response and aid to an incident on December 8, 2017.” Was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Shoub.

Solicitor Alexander read the resolution.

Councilman Hockenberry questioned why the police officer who responded wasn’t named in the resolution. Solicitor Alexander stated the two individuals named are the two that performed the care.

Councilwoman Peters questioned what the resolution means.  Solicitor Alexander stated just for recognition. 

Penn Township Ambulance Chief Ed Grant presented a certificate to the Trafford Police Department.

The motion carried unanimously.

Don Glenn, Engineer- 

-         Don mentioned the CDBG projects, BY Bathroom Restorations and Cavitt Avenue Curb Ramps both have separate budgets but if one is underfunded and the other is overfunded we can transfer between the two projects.

Public Comment

Patricia Paola, 74 First Street- Questioned if a letter was written and sent to the proper authorities about the trains. Also, was there a response? Ms. Paola stated she is fed up with the train situation. The main line is not the issue. I fear this issue is starting to affect my health. How do we get a barrier wall up?

Ms. Paola questioned why anyone who signs up for public comment has to wait for a response. Ms. Paola stated you all are elected officials we should not have to wait twenty minutes for an answer.

Ms. Paola questioned when something will be done about the road where the busses layover. The road is in deplorable condition and the stop sign has been down for over two weeks now.

Borough response: Solicitor Alexander stated he forwarded the letter to council for approval tonight. Ms. Morrow has been in contact with connections she has with North Folk Southern and we wanted to give her an opportunity to see if she could get the issue resolved at a local level. We hadn’t heard anything back so Ms. Stack informed Mr. Alexander to have the letter prepared. Once the letter gets approved by council the letter will go out via email and US Mail. Solicitor Alexander stated he’s never heard of a barrier wall within a municipality. Public comment is not a debate, you present your comment and council responds. It is the most professional way to handle business so the general business does not get delayed. We have a discussion meeting every quarter which is an open forum for residents is.

Councilwoman Morrow stated she hasn’t gotten any response, but with the constant phone calls to North Folk Southern we have aggravated them. Councilwoman Morrow states she has sent a letter to Charles Morman the CEO of North Folk Southern, the CFO Marta Stewart, and the COO Mark Manyon with no response.  Also sent a letter to Chris Collie at the local North Folk Southern office and Mr. Collie stated he will see what he can do.

Borough Manager Stack stated the barriers have been put up on viaduct way to prohibit the busses from parking on that side of the road. In the beginning of Ms. Stacks employment with the borough there was a meeting with Port Authority to see if they would help fix the road. The bus has the current route so the borough owned roads would incur the least amount of damage.

Lynnwood Leeman, 334 Fourth Street- Various complaints on potholes. Questioned how many Public Works employees there are and how they do their job. Large tree limbs need cleaned up at Memorial Park. Mr. Leeman stated public works has done a poor job keeping sidewalks clean during the winter.

Borough Response: Borough Engineer Don Glenn stated the borough would be wasting money on cold patch, it has no substance and will come right up in a few days. Most municipalities wait for the hot material to be made, it cannot be made until the weather gets warmer. You will spend the same amount of money on cold patch as the hot patch it’s senseless to spend the money rather than wait a few weeks.

Public Works Foreman Lou Corrales stated public works plans on patching Sixth Street to Third Street. 

Borough Manager Stack stated again to Mr. Leeman a lot of these issues have not been addressed due to being short staffed. We also are mandated to fix Wallace Avenue Bridge which will take half of our Liquid Fuels Fund.

Wallace Ave Bridge Deck

A motion “to authorize a contract with A. Folino Construction for Wallace Avenue Bridge Deck repairs in the amount of $23,342.02.” was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously.

Wallace Ave Bridge Concrete

A motion “to authorize a contract with Satira Construction for the Wallace Avenue Bridge Concrete repairs in the amount of $9,000.00” was made by Councilwoman Peters and seconded by Councilwoman Morrow. The motion carried unanimously.

ADA Curb Ramps

A motion “to authorize a contract with Independent Enterprises for the ADA Curb Ramp project in the amount of $35,200.00” was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Shoub.

Councilwoman Peters questioned if Glenn Engineering vets the contractors? Don informed Councilwoman Peters yes and we always have inspectors on the jobs.

Borough Manager Stack stated this is why we also require bid bonds.

The motion carried unanimously.

Rejection of Bids for BY Park Restroom Project

A motion “to reject the sole bid from Whitby for the BY Restroom Project in the amount of $42,128.00 and re-advertise” was made by Councilman Cole and seconded by Councilwoman Peters.

Don Glenn stated the contractor failed to complete the proper paperwork that is mandated under the federal guidelines. The contractor also failed to submit background information to Glenn Engineering as part of the specifications. Did not submit any completed projects within the last five years.  The motion carried unanimously.

Murrysville Road Drainage and Paving

A motion “to authorize a contract with Victor Paving for the Murrysville Road Drainage and Paving project in the amount of $201,870.08” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Morrow.

Borough Engineer Don Glenn informed the public PennDot will annually reimburse the borough for the maintenance of the road.

The motion carried unanimously.

Trafford Borough Police Civil Service Rules & Regulations

A motion “to adopt the Police Civil Service Rules and Regulations” was made by Councilman Hockenberry and seconded by Councilwoman Peters.

Councilman Shoub questioned the amount of money that was spent on updating the rules and led into a discussion with Councilman Hockenberry.

The motion carried unanimously.

Advertise for a Full-Time Public Works Laborer

A motion ‘’to advertise for a full-time public works laborer” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Peters.

Councilman Hockenberry stated he does not feel that we are in that great of shape to hire.

Councilwoman Morrow stated if we do not hire an employee to keep up with the MS4 mandates our fines will cost more than an employee.

Councilman Cardiff stated we also need to maintain our streets, public works is shorthanded, and we need to be proactive on this.

Councilman Hockenberry questioned if we would be hiring seasonal help.

Councilman Shoub stated if we don’t hire seasonal help we are going to be paying full time employees to cut grass.

Borough Manager Stack stated there was $45,000.00 budgeted with unused full-time wages and part-time wages, as a rough estimate we would be paying a new full timer $35,000.00. Which would leave a surplus of $10,000.00.

The motion carried unanimously.

Approval of the lot line revision at 211 Cavitt Avenue & Second Street

A motion ”to approve the lot line revision at 211 Cavitt Avenue and Second Street” was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Shoub.

Councilwoman Morrow stated at the planning commission meeting held on Monday, March 12, 2018 here is a husband and wife whom are separating lots she will be keeping the house and he will be keeping the garage.

Solicitor Alexander stated when you sub-divide a property the structure on the property must be primary structure. A garage is an accessory structure, which raises a legal issue and may be required to go to the zoning hearing board for a variance.

Councilman Shoub stated the garage was once a commercial property. Solicitor Alexander stated that could be considered a primary structure.

A motion “to table the motion for 30 days” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Morrow. The motion carried unanimously.

Administrative Reports

Borough Manager- Parks will be opening within the next few weeks’ weather dependent. The next sewage billing will be coming from PTSA. The ALCOSAN bill for the last quarter was $127,585.03. Michael Burnett did accept the position of Code Enforcement Officer at a rate of $14.00 per hour, his hours are 8:30-4:30 Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s.  We are happy to announce council will be provided with an updated financial report for the next meeting. We are finally moving in the right direction.

Code Enforcement- A total of ten complaints. With 15 new occupancy inspections. One stop work order was issued. Three zoning permits were issued. Amusement tax fees were solicited.

Borough Solicitor- There is a provision in the municipalities planning code “No-impact home-based business,” a business or commercial activity administered or conducted as an accessory use which is clearly secondary to the use as a residential dwelling and which involves no customer, client or patient traffic, whether vehicular or pedestrian, pickup, delivery or removal functions to or from the premises, in excess of those normally associated with residential use. The business or commercial activity must satisfy the following requirements: (1) The business activity shall be compatible with the residential use of the property and surrounding residential uses. (2) The business shall employ no employees other than family members residing in the dwelling. (3) There shall be no display or sale of retail goods and no stockpiling or inventory of a substantial nature. (4) There shall be no outside appearance of a business use, including, but not limited to, parking, signs or lights. (5) The business activity may not use any equipment or process which creates noise, vibration, glare, fumes, odors or electrical or electronic interference, including interference with radio or television reception, which is detectable in the neighborhood. 5 (6) The business activity may not generate any solid waste or sewage discharge, in volume or type, which is not normally associated with residential use in the neighborhood. (7) The business activity shall be conducted only within the dwelling and may not occupy more than 25% of the habitable floor area. (8) The business may not involve any illegal activity.

CEA’s Craig McVicker condemned and ordered 501 Cavitt Avenue (Old Bank Building) be demolished. The property owners lawyer filled an injunctive relief arguing we should be adjoined from demolishing the building, he wanted an emergency injunction, a preliminary injunction and a permanent injunction. The property owner is required to submit a bond and he wanted the bond to be $1.00. We argued the bond must be substantial. In order for a hearing to be held the sum of $44,000.00 must be deposited within ten business days. If the bond is not posted there will be no preliminary injunction. The lawyer has reached out to Solicitor Alexander to sit down and try to resolve some of the issues. Craig stated he will talk to Craig McVicker at CEA to see if he would be willing to do so. If Craig McVicker thinks it’s worthwhile to sit down we will extend the ten day period.

EMS- There were 29 calls for the month of March, 3 calls were handled by North Huntingdon and 1 by Murrysville.

Trafford VFD- There were 17 total alarms for the month of March. There was one building fire in town with a total loss of $35,000.00. Hoagie sale Friday and Saturday during clean-up days. Keep in mind Memorial Day parade is coming up. Brian questioned the helicopter. Borough Manager Stack stated they are permitted by the FAA and will be gone by Tuesday.

EMC- No Report.

Rec Board- None.

TECDC- Nicole Montecupo reported the sign is up and working, it will be updated every Monday. Nicole also has drafted the rules for the new sign for council to look over. With a copy on file.  TECDC meets in the library lot at 9:00 a.m. to help clean up downtown Trafford. TECDC is actively fundraising for a bike rack for BY Park. The county has provided the TECDC with gloves and vests for 80,000 people.

WHT- There will be a meeting April 12, 2018 Councilman Cole is looking to get an update on the fourth street section we are trying to acquire. 

Mayor’s Report- There were several car break-ins please lock your doors. For the month of March there were 145 service calls, 40 citations were issued, and 14 criminal cases filed to date.

Mayor Llewellyn addressed Mr. Leeman’s tree limb complaints and informed him during the summer he borrows a public works truck and removes the limbs from the park.

Public Works Foreman Lou Corrales indicated there are individuals whom need to perform community service directed from Judge Helen Kistler, Lou informed Judge Kistler the borough would be open to the idea as long as the parents are there to supervise for a total of 16 hours.

Lou asked Nicole if that is something she would be willing to do, Nicole stated she would sign off on those hours as long as the parents are present.

 

 

 

Committee Report

Community Development- Clean up days April 27th and April 28th . Looking for volunteers to help the beautification club clean up the garden and hillside at the BY during clean up days. Looking into a community notification system such as Nixel to notify residents of emergency situations or other important general information. Free to the citizens but not to the borough.

Sanitation- Clean up days April 27th 12:00pm to 8:00pm and April 28th 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. No Hazardous waste or electronics.

Presidents Report- We sent a letter of support to the Historical Society for a grant they have submitted to place historical signage around the borough.

New Business

A motion “to advertise for a maximum of part-time public works employees” was made by Councilman Shoub and seconded by Councilwoman Petersen. The motion carried unanimously.

Mayor Llewellyn reported a tri-axel of aggregate for each field will be delivered April 21, 2018 for the softball clean-up day.

Councilwoman Peters gave a statement as follows; Volunteers are the backbone of our community. Many activities, events and services cannot take place without their efforts. Some give their time and energy, some give their money, and some put their lives on the line or all three. Most of them elected us to do what is right for our community, and to support their efforts. Not to trash talk what they try to do or publicly defame their character. Please think of their families. I am personally embarrassed about what I have most recently heard and need everyone to understand the behavior and actions of elected officials from this borough do not reflect my beliefs. I believe in this town and all of its people and its volunteer’s. Please keep volunteering and I will stand with you and keep cheering you on.

Adjournment

Councilman Cardiff announced the discussion meeting will be held Tuesday, April 17, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the Manchester Room.

Councilman Cardiff announced the next regular business meeting will be held Tuesday, May 1, 2018 at 7:00 pm in the Markosek Council Chambers.

A motion “to adjourn” was made by Councilwoman Morrow and seconded by Councilman Shoub. The motion carried unanimously.