PENNSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
February 2, 2010 – 7:00 P.M.

The meeting was called to order at 7:02 P.M. by President John K. Lear.  President Lear led with the Pledge of Allegiance.

Answering roll call were Council Members Bruce Lord, Douglas K. Landis, Vice President Michael R. Mensch, Vicki J. Lightcap, Bill Clinton and President John K. Lear.Also in attendance this evening was Mayor Ethel Ritchey, Solicitor Charles D. Garner, Jr., Engineer John Katsaros, Roads Assistant Rick Krupp and Administrative Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Jeanne W. Hopkins.

Council Seat Vacancy
   Letters of Interest were considered.  Candidates, Janet Albert, Hunter Drive; Lori Blackburn, Penn Street and Joan Wieder, Macoby Street were interviewed by Borough Council Members.

   A Motion to adopt a Resolution to appoint Janet Albert was made by Clinton, seconded by Lear.  A Roll Call vote followed – Lord, Nay; Clinton, Yea; Lightcap, Nay; Landis, Nay; Mensch, Nay; Lear, Yea. The Motion failed, 4-2.

   A Motion to adopt a Resolution to appoint Joan M. Wieder was made by Mensch, seconded by Lord.  The vote was called for and it was unanimous to appoint Joan Wieder.

Joan Wieder was given the Oath of Office by Mayor Ritchey.  Ms. Wieder accepted her seat as the new council member and was congratulated and welcomed by Borough Council members, Mayor Ritchey and borough staff.

Committee Assignments

   President Lear announced a new “chain of command” policy for reporting and forwarding information to committees.  Office staff will send the information to the chair of each committee and copy the President.   

   Councilor Lear announced that each committee will need to have any 2011 budget requests submitted to the office by October 1st.

President Lear prepared a committee assignment list along with a description of duties for each committee.

   New Councilor Joan Wieder was appointed to the Recycling/Solid Waste Committee, Parks/Recreation Committee and Emergency Management/Safety Committee.

Public Comment

   John Siefried, 201 4^th Street, asked for Borough Council’s assistance with a trash nuisance at 125/129 4^th Street.  The dumpster used at this property is not large enough and debris blows all over the neighborhood.  The borough staff has made the property owner aware of the problem on several occasions but the problem continues to exist. 

Solicitor Garner recommended the owner increase the size of the dumpster. A warning letter should be issued and be cited if necessary.

Committee Reports

Roads Committee

Councilor Mensch reported. Meetings will be held on the first Tuesday at 6:15 P.M.The committee met this evening.  Some vehicles/equipment may be retired and replaced with a utility truck.Storm drains that need repair will be fixed in priority order.The existing 5-year plan for vehicles/equipment will be reviewed and updated.The numbering system for the storm drains that was compiled several years ago cannot be located.  This task will need to be accomplished.

Revitalization Councilor Lightcap reported. Meetings will be held on the 2^nd Monday at 6:00 P.M.We have been notified by the County that our request for an extension on the Revitalization  Phase V project has been granted.Councilor Lightcap attended the proposed community summit meeting.  The meeting addressed the funding solutions for the non-profit agencies.
A strategic transit plan for our area will be discussed at a meeting on February 24^th at the Marlborough Elementary School. Councilor Lightcap encouraged attendance.

Facilities /Energy
Councilor Lord reported.  Meetings will be held on the 1^st Monday at 7 P.M.

Emergency Mgmt./Safety
Councilor Lord reported.  Meetings will be held on the last Tuesday-mid quarter. He will be meeting with fire company representatives this month.

President Lear urged Councilor Lord to put together emergency management plans for councilors and staff. 

   NIMS training – Councilors, Lear and Clinton, have taken NIMS training courses.  NIMS training can be accessed online.  All elected officials are required to take the training and completion certificates need to be on file in the borough office.  President Lear requested that council members complete at least two of three required courses by year-end.

Finance

   Councilor Landis reported he met with the Administrative Manager to begin to understand the borough’s finances.  He plans to meet with her on a monthly basis at no set time.

Recycling/Solid Waste

   Councilor Landis reported he met with the recycling coordinator, Jim Fry to introduce himself as well as the recycling center employee, Ronald Diehl. 

   Ron Diehl accumulates laundry detergent and shares it with the Fire Departments of Pennsburg and Red Hill.  Councilor Landis asked for permission to contact the teacher of the Life Skills class at Upper Perk High School to see if this is a “product” that they might find useful.  He would also like to be able to make it available to other non-profit agencies.  There was a general consensus that he should pursue this idea.

Police Commission

   President Lear reported the 2009 crime statistics show that crime has decreased but services have increased due to the need for investigations.

Regional Planning

   The Comprehensive Plan is in the final draft form.  A copy is available in the borough office for council members to review.

Communications

   Councilor Clinton proposed council members consider a Resolution supporting the Local Government Fiscal Assistance Act. The Resolution will be listed on the March agenda for consideration.

Zoning Hearing Board candidate Frederick Conti, Seminary Street was interviewed for the position.  A Motion was made by Mensch, seconded by Lord and unanimous to adopt a Resolution, appointing Mr. Conti to serve a three (3) year term on the Zoning Hearing Board.

Planning Commission.  Felicia Iski, Hunter Drive provided a Letter of Interest for the position. A Motion was made by Clinton, seconded by Mensch and unanimous to adopt a Resolution to appoint Felicia Iski to fill the vacancy on the Planning Commission.

Councilor Clinton read a communication from former Councilor James (Bert) Campbell.  Mr. Campbell presented a certificate for Councilor Lear’s “outstanding performance and lasting contribution for his tireless commitment to the establishment of the “11^th and Main Street traffic signal”.            .

Consent Agenda

   A Motion was made by Mensch, seconded by Lightcap and unanimous to approve the January 4, 2010 Council Meeting Minutes, the January Treasurer’s Report and Fire Police Services for the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Easter Egg Hunt on April 3, 2010.

OLD BUSINESS

BYOB Ordinance

   Chief Michael Devlin reviewed the new draft ordinance and had no additional comments to add.

   President Lear suggested that restaurants be required to advertise they are a BYOB restaurant. After a short discussion, the Solicitor was directed to draft language on applicability.

There is no grandfathering of establishments who are already advertising as a BYOB.

Lastly, a fee will need to be set by Resolution.

NEW BUSINESS

PSAB Webinar on Personnel Management

   A Motion was made by Mensch, seconded by Lord and unanimous to ratify the expense of $30.00 for a Webinar attended by Councilor Clinton in January.

Ritchey/Leister Minor Subdivision Plan

John Katsaros provided an explanation of the Waiver request.

   The Waiver request to grant relief from providing contour elevations on the plan was granted with a Motion by Lightcap, seconded by Mensch and unanimous.

   A Motion was made by Lightcap, seconded by Mensch and unanimous to grant final approval of the Ritchey/Leister Minor Subdivision Plan subject to compliance with Czop/Specter, Inc.’s review letter dated January 12, 2010, the assurance the deeds reflect the property line change and payment in full of all review fees.

Randazzo – Riviera Spaghetti House Land Development

   The applicant’s engineer, Brian Spray, provided explanations for the Waivers requested.  John Katsaros, Borough Engineer, supported the Waivers being requested.

   Four Waiver requests pertaining to the parking lot and parking spaces and one Waiver request pertaining to providing open space were granted with a Motion by Lightcap, seconded by Lord and unanimous.

   A Motion was made by Mensch, seconded by Lightcap and unanimous to grant final plan approval to the Riviera Spaghetti House Land Development subject to compliance with the Czop/Sepcter, Inc. review letter dated January 12, 2010, review and approval of the Fire Marshal, and payment in full of all review fees.

11^th and Main Street traffic signal

   A Motion was made by Clinton, seconded by Lightcap and unanimous to authorize a payment to Lenni Electric for the first invoice of $160,707.13.  Payment was approved by traffic engineer Al Federico and Edward Seidel, Czop/Specter, Inc.

The bills for payment in February were approved with a Motion by Mensch, seconded by Landis and unanimous.

8:20 P.M. Executive Session to discuss a matter of personnel

9:00 P.M. The regular meeting convened.

There being no further business to come before Borough Council at this time, a Motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:01 was made by Councilor Lightcap.

Respectfully submitted,

Jeanne W. Hopkins
Administrative Manager/Secretary-Treasurer