MINUTES

 

STROUDSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL

 

JUNE 18, 2009

 

7:15 P.M.

 

 

1.                  Council President Kim Diddio called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM.   Borough Manager Barbara K. Quarantello called roll.  Members present:   Ms. Diddio, Council members Joanne Kochanski , Jeffrey Ewen, Boyd Weiss, and Matt hew Abell.  Mayor Charles Baughman and Borough Solicitor Ralph Matergia were present.  Vice-President Neil Allen was absent.   Eric Scelza arrived at 7:23 PM.

 

2.                  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

3.                  Public Input: 

          A.       Gerald Maly of 127 Broad Street would like 2 visitor passes for Bryant Street                       because he is handicapped and has a large family who visits his home                               frequently. They have a garage and off-street parking but he is one of 7 children                       and when they visit the home they do not have enough parking.  Mrs.                                  Quarantello stated the Residential Parking Ordinance does have a section                                   describing the criteria which must be met in order for a person adversely                                       impacted by the Residential Parking District to petition Council for a parking                              permit.  She read Section 706.2 from the ordinance book aloud and                                       pointed out that Mr. Cramer has off-street parking which is in violation of                                     meeting the requirements to petition Council.    Sharon Maly-Cramer stated she                            does not have adequate parking.  Ms. Diddio mentioned they can park on other                            streets which are not part of the Southside Parking District.  Consensus of                          Council to refer to staff either issuing 2 permits or changing ordinance to exclude            Saturdays and Sundays for the Residential Hill District and the Residential                      Southside District. 

 

B.       Mr. Berkowitz thanked Council for the opportunity to put on the first Nascar Day.   

 

4.                  Approval of Minutes:  Motion by Mr. Abell, second by Mrs. Kochanski, to approve the minutes from the Council meeting on June 3, 2009.  Motion passed with Ms. Diddio abstaining due to absence at the previous meeting. 

5.       Monthly Administrative Reports:  Motion by Mr. Weiss, second by Mr. Abell, to approve the monthly administrative reports.  Motion passed unanimously. 

 

6.       Treasurer’s Report:  Motion by Mr. Weiss, second by Mrs. Kochanski, to approve the monthly treasurer’s report.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

7.       Old business:

A.       Discussion of the Stormwater Management Ordinance.  Nate Oiler gave an overview indicating this ordinance is to combine the Brodhead and McMichaels Creeks ordinances.  The County model has been revised and is highlighted accordingly.  Changes include infiltration of storm water, a 50’ inner buffer, a 25’ outer buffer for a total of 75’ buffer which is the minimum buffer to be accepted by DEP.  The Conservation District’s definition of a stream is a natural waterway; so a small type swale intermittent drainage channel which may also have buffers that are not included here.  There are modification provisions for where a buffer may create a hardship. 

B.       Consider authorization to advertise for public hearing and adoption the Brodhead and McMichaels Creeks Stormwater Management Ordinance.  Motion to approve by Mr. Weiss, second by Mr. Abell.  Motion passed unanimously.

C.       Consider awarding the bid for the Scott Street Drainage Project.  Nate Oiler said there was a good response for this project to replace the pipe with a concrete pipe.  The lowest bidder didn’t meet some of the requirements of the bid so we recommend awarding the bid to Pioneer Construction Company, Inc.  Motion to award bid to Pioneer Construction Company, Inc. in the amount of $107,745.00 by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Weiss.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

8.       New Business:

A.       Consider request of the Stroudsburg Area School District for Lot Combination and Modification Request.  Mr. Coza of Niclaus Engineering Corporation summarized the Lot combination and modification request. This includes 49 separate parcels, 28 parcels have been purchased and 2 parcels are under negotiation by the School District at this time.  Part of the project includes roadway vacations of Elizabeth Street and a small portion of Hamilton Street , the entire Wayne Street and the northern portion from Hamilton up to the athletic fields off Linden Street .  It will also include a re-dedication of a new Elizabeth Street relocated.  The Planning Commission recommended approval of the lot combination application.  Mr. Matergia recommended this be referred to staff to review road and legal issues and put it on the August 20, 2009 agenda.  Motion to refer to staff and move this to the 2nd meeting in August by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

B.       Discussion of the re-alignment of Dreher Avenue at Main Street due to the Stroudsburg Area School District Project.  Peter Terry, the traffic engineer, received a letter from PennDOT commenting that Dreher Avenue needs to be re-aligned better.  PennDOT’s right-of-way is 16 ½ feet from the center line of Dreher Avenue but the curbs are further back.  It’s unclear where the right-of-way is located.  Mr. Matergia will be meeting with Attorney Corvaline.  Motion to table this topic until the August 20, 2009 meeting by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza.  Motion passed unanimously.  

 

C.       Consider request of East Stroudsburg Borough to permit Castiglione Fireworks to set off the American Freedom Festival July 4th Fireworks Display.  Motion to approve by Mr. Abell, second by Mr. Scelza.  Motion passed unanimously.  Mrs. Quarantello will contact East Stroudsburg about cleaning up after the firework display because the levee is being inspected the next day.

 

D.       Consider request of Pocono Family YMCA to allow the campers to swim at the Borough Pool this summer at a reduced rate of $3 per swimmer/staff member per day.  Park & Rec gave their approval.  Motion to approve by Mr. Ewen, second by Mr. Scelza. Motion passed unanimously.

 

E.       Consider request of the YSwim Team to utilize the Borough Pool various         dates and times for the 2009 summer season.  Motion to approve by Mr. Scelza,         second by Mr. Ewen.  Motion passed unanimously.

F.       Consider request of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance for support in        their    effort to restore funding for their organization in the Commonwealth of    Pennsylvania ’s FY09/10 budget.  Mrs. Quarantello said the Borough uses this      program to purchase very low cost computers and printers.  Motion to approve    by Mr. Scelza, second by Mrs. Kochanski.  Motion passed unanimously.

G.       Consider request of Norm Solotruk of 828 Scott Street to place a stop sign     on Scott Street at the intersection of Scott and Stone Streets.  Motion to refer       to staff to review moving the stop sign from Bell terrace to Stone Street by Mr.    Weiss, second by Mr. Scelza.  Motion passed unanimously.

H.       Consider request of Stroud Region Open Space and Recreation   Commission to         appoint Samantha Rosen as a lifeguard at $8.00 per hour in addition to the                position she already holds at the concession stand.  Motion to approve by     Mr. Abell, second by Mrs. Kochanski.  Motion passed unanimously.

I.       Consider approval of a Certificate of Appropriateness for Lockwood     Properties for their property located at 731 Main Street to add a new front   door to match the original door in style and measurement including width          and height of glass, side rails, top and bottom dimension, total height and     width, and that door may be substitute material instead of wood which it        is           replacing.  HARB unanimously recommends approving this request.  Motion to          approve by Mr. Scelza, second by Mr. Abell.  Motion passed unanimously.

J.       Consider approval of an Agreement for Services with Eve Wenger of 41          Darling           Road , Stony Creek , NY 12878 for grant research services for the          Stroudsburg   Fire Department building project.  Mrs. Quarantello and Ms. Diddio met with the     Fire Dept. Committee to discuss the Federal Fire Station Construction Grant.         This grant is not available to our Fire Department because it is for shovel-ready projects and it won’t be awarded until September 2010.  The intent is to utilize      Ms. Wenger to research the grants that are available to us.  Stroud Area           Regional Police Department,          Pocono Mountain Police Department, Pocono       Medical Center and MHMR all utilize Ms. Wenger for grant writing.  Mr. Matergia          reviewed the agreement and added an at will clause so either party can     terminate with or without cause. Council should decide the length of term of          the agreement.  Motion to approve conditioned upon changes to the           contract by Mr. Scelza, second by Mr. Weiss.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

9.               Solicitor’s Report.  Mr. Matergia gave an update on the Regional Sewer Project.  There are still some open issues between the solicitors and once finished, he will produce a summary to highlight the history of the documents and why things were negotiated the way they are.  He also recommends a work session to discuss any questions.

 

10.     Mayor’s Report:  Tim Ace, Walt Korab of PennDOT and the Mayor met on Tuesday to         discuss the handicap ramps and problems with water lying near them on Main Street .       They visited three spots and discussed engineering and what needs to be done.

 

11.     Council members’ Reports: 

          A.  Mrs. Kochanski reported some of the sidewalks on side streets are deteriorating badly.  A person in a wheelchair had to be pushed into the road to go around bad areas on Ann Street .  Ms. Diddio said the Codes Committee should discuss this at the next Codes Meeting.  Ms. Kochanski asked if we can prevent a right on red from Main Street traveling West and turning onto Ninth Street .  Consensus of Council to refer to staff for further discussion.

          B.  Mr. Ewen asked if the bank is still going in on the south side.  The Mayor confirmed the footers are in.

          C.  Ms. Diddio asked about the lights in the trees on Main Street because some are on and it doesn’t look uniform.  Mr. Ace said it is planned but the weather has affected this type of work.

          D.  Mr. Abell asked about the restoration of the brick near the broken sewer lateral.  Mrs. Quarantello said the Street Dept. will replace the brick next week and the property owner will be billed for the work.  He also asked if the tree that was backed into will be replaced.  Mr. Ace said it will be replaced in the fall.

          E.  Mr. Weiss noted the curbing near the Best Western Hotel was destroyed by a huge truck.  The curbing is gone all the way back to the brick.  Mrs. Quarantello said the granite curbing was changed by Mr. Lesoine to concrete.  PennDOT doesn’t make concrete the way they did years ago and this is the best that they can get.  Ms. Diddio asked if the camera on the street can identify the truck.  Mr. Ace reported another truck hit the curbing near St. Luke’s in the same week.  Ms. Diddio would like this investigated through SARP. 

         

12.     Manager’s Report: 

          Mrs. Quarantello asked Mr. Wilkins to report on the Uniform Construction Code verification.  Mr. Wilkins received a letter stating he is not able to do commercial inspections in the Borough of Stroudsburg until he takes the administrative test on code inspections.  He did apply several months ago and appealed it to the Department of Labor & Industry.  They notified him that he must cease all commercial code inspections immediately.  Mr. Wilkins thought it would be best to utilize Mr. Blick in the meantime.  Mr. Blick would receive compensation of $200 per month and $35/hr if it goes over 7 hours within a month.  Motion to utilize Mr. Blick as Commercial Code Officer ad interim by Mr. Abell, second by Mr. Scelza.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

13.     Consider Approval of Bills:  Motion by Mr. Weiss, second by Mr. Scelza, to approve the bills on warrant #061809.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

14.      Executive Session:  None.

 

15.              Adjournment:  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza, to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously, and the meeting adjourned at 8:20 PM.