Trafford Borough Council Meeting Minutes

May 7th, 2024

 

1.       Call to Order – Councilmember Cardiff called the meeting to order at 7:02pm.  

 

2.       Moment of Silence & Pledge of Allegiance

 

3.       Roll Call done by Nina Mulnix

 

Councilmembers present: Councilmember Bayko, Councilmember Cardiff, Councilmember Dapra, Councilmember Deabner, Councilmember Perovich, Councilmember Shoub. 

 

Councilmembers: not present Councilmember Cole 

 

Other staff present: Mayor Llewellyn, Solicitor Alexander, Borough Manager Peticca, Borough Secretary Mulnix, Engineer Don Glenn.

 

4.       Notice of Executive Session held May 7th,2024 for matters of personnel and litigation.

 

5.       Approve the April 2nd, 2024, Regular Council Meeting minutes. 

a.       Motion: Councilmember Bayko

b.       Second: Councilmember Perovich  

c.       Discussion: No discussion  

d.       Vote:  6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

6.       Approve the April 2024 expense voucher list.

a.       Motion: Councilmember Bayko  

b.       Second: Councilmember Perovich  

c.       Discussion: No discussion  

d.       Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)   

 

7.       Approve the April 19th Discussion Meeting Minutes

a.       Motion: Councilmember Perovich  

b.       Second: Councilmember Deabner  

c.       Discussion: No discussion  

d.       Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)   

 

8.       Approve the April 19th, 2024, Special Meeting Minutes 

a.       Motion: Councilmember Perovich  

b.       Second: Councilmember Deabner  

c.       Discussion: No discussion  

d.       Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)   

 

 

9.       Public Comment

a.       Public Comment for all matters which the public has concern.  No public comment or questions on agenda items will be received after this point.

b.       Public comment for motions not listed on the agenda will be received when called for.

c.       Borough Response

 

Theresa Severino - (317 East Edgewood Avenue) mentioned she lives on a dead-end street and lately there has been an abundance of traffic in the area, and there is no speed limit sign to alert motorists to go slow. Mrs. Severino requested a speed limit sign be placed on Edgewood Avenue.

 

Bethany Carolus - (307 Duquesne Avenue) spoke about the Recreation Board event taking place at the BY Park on June 23rd. Ms. Carolus requested the event time be changed to 1pm instead of 2pm.

 

Borough Response:

 

Solicitor Alexander stated even when a speed sign is not posted all residential areas in the state of Pennsylvania have a speed limit of 25 mph to adhere to. If there are cars not obeying that speed, it was recommended to contact the Police or Mayor so they can possibly provide a police presence to monitor the area.

 

Manager Peticca advised that we could utilize the speed sign to monitor the area and review the reports, to better address the concerns.

 

Borough Response:

 

Manager Peticca stated the Recreation Board is interested in holding a Food Truck event for the community on Sunday June 23rd, at the BY Park. The time requested for the event is now 1pm to 6pm.

 

Councilmember Cardiff stated this is on the agenda and it will be discussed later in the meeting.

 

10.    Report from Borough Engineer, Glenn Engineering

a.       Report submitted.

 Don Glenn stated in his report that the paving contract was complete and awarded to EL Grande in the amount of $232,369.80, it was completed at $170,886.56, saving the borough $61,563.24 for two reasons. One reason was the removal of Catherine Street for paving and second was the base on Lower Brinton Ave was better to work with than expected. Glenn Engineering is waiting on the maintenance bond to authorize payment. A report was generated to Manager Peticca for the Penn/Dot & Liquid Fuels portion to close out the project. The next item covered in Don Glenns’ report was the BY Park project that is underway. The paving portion of the project was awarded to EL Grande and the electrical work is soon to be started by A Wilkins. The amount awarded to these contractors was $113,705.00 and $15,500.00. It was mentioned if there are any funds leftover the money will be put back into the project rather than returning the money back to the state. The next project under construction to report on is the South Trafford Sanitary Sewer Project that is underway. This contract was awarded to S & E Utility Company for $286,084.00. The final item in Don Glenn’s report was that his office is waiting for a determination on the LSA Grant that the borough applied for a few months back. Don Glenn commented on Agenda item # 20 (Old Business) Penn E&R Engineering Firm and action to hire. He

 

provided a statement to council and past council that said thank you to the borough for allowing him to provide the best and most cost-effective engineering service. If the motion fails, Don Glenn stated he will still welcome the opportunity to provide the same services.

b.       Public comment on Mr. Glenn’s report

Manager Peticca stated that the borough already received confirmation that the borough is receiving the funds for the LSA Grant. The borough was waiting for the contract documentation to be signed.

 

** Don Glenn stated in his report that the paving contract was awarded to EL Grande, that information was incorrect, the paving contract was awarded to Derry Construction. **

 

c.       Glenn Engineering dismissed from meeting.

 

11.    Mayor’s Report – Mayor Llewellyn read the April Police report to councilmembers and the public.  

 

12.    Committee Reports

a.      Community & Economic Development (Chair Steve Perovich/Co-chair Jesse Dapra)

Councilmember Perovich stated that some councilmembers and borough staff attended the Westmoreland County Borough’s Association dinner and networked with other municipal officials. The Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday May 27th, and a service will be held at Veterans’ Park. The parade should be at 10:30am following the service at the park at 11am.

b.     General Government & Finance (Chair Pat Bayko/Co-chair Zach Cole)

Councilmember Bayko stated she met with Manager Peticca to review the budget, and a few more meetings will be held to further research budget items.

c.      Parks & Recreation (Chair Jesse Dapra/Co-chair Steve Perovich)

Councilmember Dapra stated that we will cover more information under new business about the recreation board event, but there are a few food vendors and entertainment lined up for the event at BY on June 23rd.

d.     Planning, Property, & Ordinances (Chair Casey Shoub/Co-chair Ralph Deabner)

Councilmember Shoub read the Code Enforcement report to councilmembers and the public.

e.      Public Safety (Chair Zach Cole/Co-chair Pat Bayko)

Councilmember Bayko stated there was no report.

f.      Public Works & Sanitation (Chair Ralph Deabner/Co-chair Casey Shoub)

Councilmember Deabner stated that clean up days were held recently, and Mr. Deabner thanked everyone for their participation.

g.     Junior Council Person (JCP) Report

JCP Member Ally Moraca stated that she has been involved in the program for 2 years and is at the completion of the program as she prepares to graduate. Miss Moraca stated that the rotation for April was with the Police department and the fourth-grade field trip to the borough building for local government day. Miss Moraca stated she was very excited for the new applicants to enter the program, and she is looking forward to seeing how the program develops moving forward. 

 

JCP member Ainsley Gilmore stated that she was very happy to participate in this program this year.

 

JCP Member Greg Maynard stated he is excited to be returning to the program in the fall.

 

All three JCP members thanked Councilmember Cardiff for providing them with the opportunity to be involved in the program.

Councilmember Cardiff thanked the JCP members for their participation.

h.     President Kris Cardiff

Councilmember Cardiff introduced PSAB representative Diane Schaffer to those at the meeting. Diane Schaffer congratulated everyone involved with the JCP program and stated that it’s fantastic to see the amount of participation in this program. Diane Schafer proceeded to present an award to the JCP members.

 

The plaque stated “Congratulations on being recognized by the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and Trafford Borough Council as an exceptional youth leader. Your participation in borough government decision making is very much appreciated and has positively impacted your community. The PSAB is proud to acknowledge your dedication and encourage your continued growth as a local leader.”

 

Councilmember Cardiff stated that there are five applicants to review for the next JCP program, the deadline to review those applications will be this Friday (May 10th). Friday May 17th is the JCP Mock Council meeting. The JCP members will be conducting a fictional meeting, volunteers are welcome to attend. Councilmember Cardiff stated that new JCP applicants attended clean up days to help and did a nice job despite the weather.

 

13.    Manager’s Report – Manager Peticca started her report by thanking Annette Costlow (Not in attendance) for her ongoing efforts to make the entry ways to the borough look nice with flowers and foliage. Manager Peticca stated that the 2023 General audit was completed, the borough closed out the year with $2,181,543.00 in revenues, and $2,054,340.00 in expenditures, leaving an excess of revenues of $127,203.00. The General Fund balance as of December 31st, 2023, was $508,953.00. There is a total debt amount of $4,669.333.00 between the General Obligation Bond and the Penvest Loan. Manager Peticca stated that our auditors are recommending that the borough office no longer take cash payments of any kinds, and they also recommended that the borough receives the cancelled checks from the bank and that request has been initiated and granted by the bank. 

 

14.    Motion to approve the 2023 Audit. 

a.      Motion: Councilmember Bayko

b.     Second: Councilmember Perovich

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

15.    Motion to ratify William Holby’s $1.00 raise effective April 1st, 2024.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Deabner

b.     Second: Councilmember Perovich   

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

16.    Motion to hire Cynthia Wampler as crossing-guard at $11.00 per hour effective April 16th, 2024. 

a.   Motion: Councilmember Perovich

b.     Second: Councilmember Deabner

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

17.    Motion to approve the Civil Service Commission 2024 test list.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Dapra

b.     Second: Councilmember Shoub

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)   

 

18.    Motion to accept Melissa Daykon’ resignation from the Recreation Board effective April 24th, 2024.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Perovich   

b.     Second: Councilmember Dapra

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)  

 

19.    New Business

•        Veterans Park approval for brick replacement $2,575.00 out of the Veterans Fund

 

Motion on the floor to approve the Veterans Park brick replacement in the amount of $2,575.00 out of the Veterans Fund.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Bayko

b.     Second: Councilmember Perovich

c.      Discussion: This item was discussed at the April meeting.

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

•        Code Officer and possible action to hire.

 

Solicitor Alexander stated this was discussed in executive session, and there is a candidate for the code enforcement position and the borough manager is presenting the individual with an offer. If the individual accepts the offer, we will vote to ratify the offer at the next meeting. It was advised that no action was needed at this time.

 

•        Agreement for Chief Disso and possible action

 

Solicitor Alexander stated this was another item discussed in the executive session. There are a few items needed to be discussed in this contract, there is a tentative agreement, and it is recommended to approve the new agreement subject to finalization by Solicitor Alexander and Police Chief Disso in accordance with the direction of council received in executive session.

 

Motion on the floor to approve the new agreement with Chief Disso contingent upon the finalization of the items that are in the tentative agreement.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Shoub

b.     Second: Councilmember Deabner

c.      Discussion: No discussion

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

•        Recreation Board to utilize B-Y park pavilions 2 & 3 on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024, to host a community event for food trucks and bands 2-6pm.   

 

Councilmember Cardiff stated the request for the time has changed from 1pm to 6pm earlier in public comment.

 

Manager Peticca recommended that all three pavilions be blocked off for this event.

 

A motion is on the floor to approve the Recreation Board to utilize B-Y park pavilions 2 & 3 on Sunday, June 23rd, 2024, to host a community event for food trucks and bands 1-6pm.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Dapra

b.     Second: Councilmember Perovich

c.      Discussion: There will be volunteers and there will be the fire department on hand to assist with parking.

d.     Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)

 

20.    Old Business

• Penn E&R Engineering Firm and action to hire

 

Manager Peticca stated at the beginning of the year the borough uncovered some issues with the current engineering firm, after some conversations about those issues, the borough had Penn E&R give a presentation of their services they provide and what they can offer the borough. Penn E&R is a full-service environmental engineering and remediation consulting construction firm with local offices in Pittsburgh and Rosyln Farms (Allegheny County).  They have everything to assist the borough’s needs and they plan to open an office in the Monroeville area. Manager Peticca stated that it is her recommendation to hire Penn E&R for all of the boroughs engineering needs.

 

Solicitor Alexander clarified that if the action passes Penn E&R would be the consulting engineer tomorrow and Glenn Engineering would be retained for any outstanding projects.

 

Councilmember Perovich expressed his concerns about Glenn Engineering transferring important records/documents to the borough.

 

A motion is on the floor to hire Penn E&R as the new engineering firm for Trafford Borough.

a.      Motion: Councilmember Deabner

b.     Second: Councilmember Perovich

c.      Discussion: Councilmember Perovich stated that it’s time to move forward.

d.     Vote: 5, 1, 1 (Absent)

Roll Call Vote: YES: Councilmember Bayko, Councilmember Cardiff, Councilmember Dapra, Councilmember Deabner, Councilmember Perovich, NO: Councilmember Shoub

 

Adjournment

a.      Announce the next Regular Meeting on Tuesday, June 11th, 2024, at 7:00 pm in the Council Chambers.

b.     Move to adjourn: Councilmember Dapra

c.      Second: Councilmember Deabner

d.     Discussion: No discussion

e.      Vote: 6, 0, 1 (Absent)  

 

 

Respectfully Submitted

 

Nina Mulnix

Borough Secretary