| Council Meeting Minutes October 21, 2009 | | Print | |
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BOROUGH OF CONSHOHOCKEN COUNCIL MEETING October 21, 2009
Meeting was called to order by the President of Council Mrs. Sandra Caterbone. The Prayer of Council was given by Mr. Stokley and the Pledge of Allegiance was said. Members of Council present at the meeting were Mr. Jason Salus, Mr. Paul McConnell, Mr. James Griffin, Mr. Robert Stokley, Mr. Edward Phipps and Mrs. Sandra Caterbone. Mr. Anthony Tucci was absent. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to go out of regular order of business. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to hire Sean Gregory and Ray Sokolowski as part time Police Officers. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Mayor Collins swore in Sean Gregory and Ray Sokolowski as part time Police Officers. A motion was made by Mr. Stokley to hire Jackalyn Pierce as a Parking Enforcement Officer. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Mayor Collins swore in Jackalyn Pierce as the new Parking Enforcement Officer. A motion was made by Mr. Salus to adopt a Resolution for John A. Fondots for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor. Motion passed. Mr. McConnell read the Resolution honoring John A. Fondots as Scout Troop 140's new Eagle Scout and then presented it to him. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to go back to the regular order of business. Motion was seconded by Mr. McConnell. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Mr. Marabella reported to Council that the worksheet which details all open and closed actions was attached, if there are any deletions or additions to let him know. The Engineer reported that there have been some issues with Plymouth Creek and Haines Park Flooding. He is looking into a Grant for this project and will try to have an answer for the November meetings. Mr. Marabella announced that an Executive Session is needed after the Council Meeting to discuss negotiations and personnel matters. Mr. Marabella gave the Treasurer's report for the month of September, 2009. September 2009 Total 2009 Cash Receipts $ 183,897.58 $7,173,559.57 Cash Disbursements $ 672,994.54 $3,565,400.55 Payroll Paid $ 239,917.04 $2,357,490.53 Net Cash Surplus/ (Deficit) $ (729,014.00) $1,250,668.49
A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to accept the Treasurer's report and pay all Borough bills. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to approve the minutes of the September 16, 2009 Council meeting. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to accept the proposed Field License Agreement and Release for the Borough Parks pending our Solicitor's review. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to award the Sutcliffe Park Trail Restoration work to Laffredo Construction, Inc. for $9,231.50 and to pay for it out of the Parks and Recreation Impact Fee Fund. Motion was seconded by Mr. Salus. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to authorize the Solicitor to review changing the Parks and Recreations Fund Fee's Ordinance so that no refunds are required if the fees are not spent within three (3) years. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to pay Richard's Electric, Inc. for removing and reinstalling the lights on the "A" Field Building for $2,438.55 for the Repointing Project and pay for it out of the Parks and Recreations Impact Fee Fund. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. Roll Call vote was taken: Mr. Salus, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Stokley, Mr. Phipps and Mrs. Caterbone all voted Yes. Mr. Griffin recussed himself because he is employed by Richard's Electric. Mr. Tucci was absent for the vote. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to accept Richard's Electric, Inc.'s proposal for installing new outdoor replacement lighting on the "A" Field Building for $1,250 and pay for it out of the Parks and Recreations Impact Fee Fund. Motion was seconded by Mr. McConnell. Mr. Griffin recussed himself because he is employed by Richard's Electric. Mr. Tucci was absent for the vote. Motion passed. Mr. Marabella announced that the Shade Tree Commission and the Parks and Recreation Committee need to meet to discuss tree planting at Sutcliffe Lane. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to award Donato Spaventa & Sons, Inc. the Base Bid, Alternate #2 and Alternate #3 totaling $198,841.00 for the 2009 Road Program. This price includes brick pavers in the sidewalk. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell authorizing the Engineer to complete some additional work for the 2009 Road Program which will include drainage work and additional handicapped ramps in the intersection of Spring Mill Avenue and Harry Streets. This will also increase our engineering cost for the project by $1,600. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Council requested to record for the minutes the Wednesday, October 7, 2009 vote taken to complete up to $50,000 of additional concrete work in front of the businesses in the 100 block Streetscape Project. Mr. Stokley made the motion, it was seconded by Mr. Phipps, everyone voted in favor of the motion. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to increase the Engineering fees for the 400 Block Streetscape Project from $53,967.00 to $59,067.00 because the construction period had to be increased by 15 working days for additional work. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to pay the Borough's share of $447 for Phase II and $131 for Phase I of the Stormwater Legislative Project by the Consortium. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to authorize the proper officials to execute the Public Works Contract Agreement. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Stokley to accept the Engineer's proposal for the inspection of the 2007 Road and CDBG Curb Cut Programs for the release of their maintenance bonds for $1,892. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to release Escrow Funds in the amount of $17,220.00 to Erb Mascio Builders for 201 East 7th Avenue. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to release Escrow Funds in the amount of $21,257.28 to Washington Street Associates V, LP for the Stables at Millennium. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to release Escrow Funds in the amount of $10,700.01 to William Bryant & Tom Meyers for 143/145 West 2nd Avenue. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to release Maintenance Bond pending payment of all bills in the amount of $17,894.50 to Philomeno & Salamone for 101 East 9th Avenue (Firehouse Condos). Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to release Maintenance Bond pending payment of all bills to Sabo Developers in the amount of $3,444.16 for 313 West 3rd Avenue. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Griffin to release Maintenance Bond pending payment of all bills to Nick DiRenzo in the amount of $1,635.46 for 233 West 4th Avenue. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Mr. Stokley announced that he is pledging his Borough Council salary for the next four years to help seniors in his ward with paying their taxes. He will set up a separate bank account from which he will make out checks to help with those payments. An announcement was made regarding the SEPTA ticket sales office. A sewer module approval will be on agenda later. An announcement was made regarding the Two Tower Bridge parking lot lease. All filing fees have been paid and they are waiting for the State dissolution. An announcement was made that the Public Safety Committee is working on the issue to install banner poles on Fayette Street. An announcement was made that the Solicitor is working on the amendments to our Traffic Ordinance for handicapped spots (additions and deletions) and no parking in the cul-de-sacs. A motion was made by Mr. Phipps to authorize the Solicitor to amend the Fire Code Ordinance to replace all sections referring to "Fire Chief" with "Fire Code Official" for authority to make exemptions to the Fire Code. Motion was seconded by Mr. Griffin. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. An announcement was made that Conshohocken Fire Company No. 2 is having Water Rescue Awareness Level training on Wednesday, October 18, 2009, at 7:00 p.m. An announcement was made that the Public Safety Committee is working on installing pedestrian crossing lights at Third Avenue and Fayette Street. An announcement was made that the Public Safety Committee is looking into an Ordinance which would require residents to have their addresses posed on the rear of their property. Conshohocken Fire Company No. 2 asked Council to consider paying for a part time driver while Mr. Gunning is off for three (3) weeks. The Personnel Committee will discuss this at their upcoming meeting. An announcement was made that Mr. Tucci will be out of town on October 28, 2009 and that the Public Safety Meeting will have to be changed to Monday, October 26, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Marabella asked Council if all the Committee meetings scheduled for November 11, 2009 should be rescheduled because that is a Holiday. Council agreed to reschedule the meetings for Thursday, November 12, 2009 and Mr. Marabella will advertise in the local newspaper. An announcement was made that Council has a copy of the November 2009 Library events for the month. An announcement was made that the Act 511 tax audit program is ongoing. An announcement was made that the Street lights shields list will be discussed at the upcoming Public Works Committee meeting. Mr. Marabella announced that the 2010 Budget is being worked on. The proposed budget will be discussed at the November 4, 2009 Workshop meeting. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to ratify for the minutes the phone vote taken on September 23, 2009 to appoint Susan Savage to the position of Office Manager for the Borough of Conshohocken. The phone vote was that Mrs. Caterbone, Mr. Tucci, Mr. Phipps, Mr. Salus and Mr. McConnell voted to hire and Mr. Griffin and Mr. Stokley voted not to hire. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to adopt a Resolution which is distributing the 2009 State Aid to our pension plans. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. Council requested to record for the minutes the Wednesday, October 7, 2009 vote taken to have Mr. Savona hear the Petition for a Local Taxpayer Bill of Rights for an Act 511 Tax Compliance Audit appeal for Gleba, Inc. Mr. Salus made the motion, it was seconded by Mr. McConnell, everyone voted in favor of the motion. A motion was made by Mr. McConnell to have our Engineers look at a sinkhole at Cherry and Elm Streets. Motion was seconded by Mr. Phipps. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. A motion was made by Mr. Salus for the advertised Ordinance to require landlords to convey to their tenants certain Ordinances which they should observe while living in the Borough. Motion was seconded by Mr. Stokley. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. An announced was made that Council has a roof report for the Verizon Building from DelBuono Contracting for their review. Mr. Salus explained the details of the Shade Tree Commission's Bare Root Tree Planting Program and how residents can contact the Commission if they want a tree. Mr. Stokley asked Council to hold off on adopting a motion to authorize the Manager to execute a proposal for an environmental services survey for the Verizon Building. A motion was made by Mr. Stokley to authorize the Manager to execute the Train Station's Sewer Module which the Authority approved. Motion was seconded by Mr. Salus. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed. The Mayor's report for the month of September
A motion was made by Mr. Stokley to accept the Mayor's report. Motion was seconded by Mr. McConnell. All voted in favor except Mr. Tucci who was absent. Motion passed.
Mr. Marabella announced that the Police Department is accepting applications for crossing guards.
Mr. Marabella announced that the Police Department is accepting applications for Parking Enforcement Officers.
Mr. Marabella announced that he sent a letter to Congressman Joseph Sestak regarding the issue of the Post Office removing mailboxes around the Borough and leaving the bases for the mailboxes which are creating a hazardous condition. An announcement was made that due to lack of participation and Committee members there will be no Halloween Parade this year.
Mr. Marabella announced that the Farmer's Market's last day of operation for 2009 will be October 23, 2009.
Mr. Marabella announced that the Borough is continuing negotiations with Comcast Cable.
Mr. Marabella announced that Borough Council is currently accepting Letters of Interest for the Planning Commission vacancy.
Mr. Marabella reminded Council that they have copies of the Borough Commissions and Boards list which details the people whose terms will expire this year.
Mr. Marabella announced that a Community shredding day is scheduled for Saturday, October 31, 2009 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Police Station.
Mr. Marabella announced that the Farmers Market Committee will give Borough Council a report on the 2009 Market at the November 2009 Workshop meeting.
Mayor Collins announced the passing of Hal Zweibach, Parking Enforcement Officer for the Borough. Mr. Stokley thanked everyone who attended the fund raiser for Mr. Zweibach.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Before the Meeting:
There was no public comments before the meeting.
After the Meeting:
Jack Coll voiced concerns that there were errors on the July 2009 minutes; he also questioned if there was anything in place to enforce fund raising events and who investigated these events to ensure the money was actually being given to the event beneficiary. Council advised him that if he or anyone had any doubts or suspicions they should contact the Police Department. Mr. Coll also questioned the line painting on Sutcliffe Lane that was previously questioned last month. He stated that this was not listed in any recorded Minutes.
Don Wallace voiced concerns with Mrs. Boccella's trash bills stating that she was being billed incorrectly. The Solicitor asked Mr. Wallace to give all the paperwork to Mr. Marabella and they would look into this matter.
Brian O'Donnell asked who was on the Buildings and Grounds Committee and when do they meet.
Gerry McTamney voiced his concerns over the painting of lines in the Borough especially the ones done at Sutcliffe Lane and why there was no vote taken. Council informed him that if the Borough employees were painting the lines this did not have to be voted on. He questioned why Council was not following Robert's Rules of Order. He also had questions why Borough property and Borough employees were being used for flea markets and where was the money from these events.
Mr. Leli expressed his concerns over problems that could be considered a hazard with the Streetscape Project work near the Post Office. One of the pedestrian crosswalks has a separation that could become dangerous. Council asked the Borough Engineer to look at this issue.
Eric Heil questioned what was the new Office Manager's salary and benefits costing the taxpayers. He wanted to know why this position was created and Council informed him that this position was replacing the previous Office Manager who retired. He then questioned if an assistant was still to be hired for the Borough Manager and Council informed him no.
Tom Meyers had a question of why he did not receive a second Escrow release for 143 2nd Avenue.
Mrs. Caterbone announced that Mr. Salus and his wife are expecting their first child.
Meeting adjourned 8:10 P.M.
Francis J. Marabella Borough Secretary |
Storm Water Story
Upcoming Events
- Regular Council Meeting
February 15, 2012 (7:00 pm) - Planning Commission Meeting
February 28, 2012 (7:00 pm) - Fayette Street Improvement Project
February 29, 2012 (4:30 pm) - Council Workshop Meeting
March 07, 2012 (7:00 pm) - Regular Council Meeting
March 21, 2012 (7:00 pm)
