MINUTES

 

STROUDSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING

 

July 7, 2010

 

7:15 P.M.

 

 

1.                 Council President Kim M. Diddio called the meeting to order at 7:15 PM .   Borough Manager Barb ara K. Quarantello called roll.  Members present:  Ms. Diddio, Council Members Joanne K ochanski, Jeffrey Ewen and Matthew Abell.  Eric Scelza arrived at 7:19 PM.  Members absent:  Council Vice-President Neil Allen and Council Member Mr. Weiss.  Mayor Charles Baughman and Solicitor Ralph Matergia were also in attendance.

 

2.                 The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

3.                 Public Hearings:

 

A.     Public Hearing on a Proposed Ordinance of the Borough of Stroudsburg Amending Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Eliminating Parking from the W. Side of S. Eighth Street from Ann Street South to the End; Eliminating Parking on the E. Side of S. Eighth Street from Main Street to the End Every Day from 11PM to 7 AM; and Establishing a Parking Meter Zone from Ann Street South to 114 S. Eighth Street. 

     Ms. Diddio opened the hearing at 7:17 PM.  There were no comments and     the hearing was closed at 7:18 PM.   Motion by Matt Abell, second by Mrs.    Kochanski, to approve the ordinance.   Motion passed unanimously.

B.     Public Hearing on a Proposed Ordinance of the Borough of Stroudsburg, Chapter 13, Licenses, Permits, and General Business Regulations; Part 3, Public Exhibitions, Amusements and Entertainment Amending Language Pertaining to the Requirement of a Permit Authorizing Theatrical Exhibitions, Amusements, Dances, or any Other Form of Public Exhibition or Amusement.

Ms. Diddio opened the hearing at 7:18 PM.  There were no comments and the hearing was closed at 7:19 PM.  Motion by Mr. Abell, second by Mr. Ewen, to approve the ordinance.  Motion passed unanimously.

C.     Public Hearing on a Proposed Ordinance of the Borough of Stroudsburg Amending Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Establishing a Handicapped Parking Space on S. Sixth Street off of Main.

Ms. Diddio opened the hearing at 7:19 PM.  There were no comments and the hearing was closed at 7:20 PM.  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Ewen, to approve the ordinance.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

4.       Public Input:  Mr. Berkowitz thanked Council for being supportive of events         held in town.  On behalf of Jacob Stroud Corporation, he presented a check in           the amount of $1,100 to help with costs incurred by the Borough during Nascar    Day.

 

5.       Approval of Minutes:  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Abell, to approve          the minutes from the Council Meeting of June 17, 2010.  Motion passed with abstentions from Ms. Diddio, Mr. Scelza and Mayor Baughman due to absence         from the last meeting.

 

6.       Old Business: 

          A.  Consider Waiving Fees for Habitat of Humanity for a House Remodel on                            Dreher Avenue .   Mr. Matergia indicated he was satisfied after reviewing the                           documents.  Motion by Mr. Abell, second by Mr. Scelza, to approve waiving                            the permit fees.  Motion passed unanimously.

          B.  Consider Approval of Robert Ace Minor Subdivision Plan.           Ray Rogers of Frank                    J. Smith, Jr., Inc. Professional Land Surveyors, gave an overview of the                        property involved in the subdivision on Collins Street .  He described a section                            of land they don’t want to use to be a little over an acre, going uphill towards             the road.   They would like to dedicate it to the Borough of Stroudsburg if                        there is an interest in it.  The Street Department uses it to turn the plows                        around in the winter plus there is a fire hydrant at the end of it.   Motion by                      Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza, to accept the dedication of this one                       plus acre of property to the Borough of Stroudsburg.  Motion passed                           unanimously.

 

7.       New Business:

 

A.  Discussion of the Sandwich Board Sign Ordinance.  Patty Cake Bakery wants to put their sandwich board sign in front of 601 Main Street because they are part of the same building which is owned by Mr. Muehlhan and the business in 601 Main Street does not have a sandwich board sign.  They feel they are losing customers because the location of their sandwich board sign on South Sixth is not visible to the pedestrians on Main Street .  They would like the ordinance modified to accommodate this request.  Mr. Wilkins stated the requirements of the current ordinance and offered other options that would not require changing the ordinance, such as using a projecting sign from the building on Main Street .   Ms. Loomis was not in favor of tampering with the expensive stucco exterior of the building.  Motion by Mr. Abell, second by Mrs. Kochanski, to refer this matter to staff for appropriate wording in order to gain consensus of Council on this issue.  Motion passed unanimously.  Mr. Muehlhan asked if they could keep the sandwich board sign up on Main Street while this matter is being resolved.  Mr. Matergia indicated the Borough can’t selectively enforce or not enforce ordinances.

 

B.  Consider Request of the Monroe Farmers Market Association for Permission to Continue Displaying their Sandwich Board Signs on Saturday Mornings at the Intersections of 7th & Ann Streets, and Main and William Streets.   Refer to staff to discuss with the wording of the Sandwich Board Sign Ordinance.

 

C.  Consider Request of Relay for Life to Hold a Celebration to Benefit the American Cancer Society in Courthouse Square on Sunday, August 15, 2010 from 4PM to 9PM.  They want to barricade off Monroe and 6th Street , Monroe and 7th Street and 7th Street past the Pocono Inn Towne driveway and bag the meters around Courthouse Square .  Motion by Mr. Scelza, second by Mrs. Kochanski, to approve the celebration, waive the fee and have the details to be worked out with staff.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

D.  Consider Acceptance of the Penn DOT Offers of Compensation for Temporary Easements at the Penn DOT 7th Street Bridge Project.  Mrs. Quarantello described the location of the two parcels under the bridge and noted the offer is to pay the Borough of Stroudsburg $20,200 for Parcel No. 12 and $7,900 for Parcel No. 11 for cost to cure and temporary easements in association with the right-of-way required for the transportation improvement.   Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza, to authorize execution of Claim No. 4500440000 Parcel No. 12.  Motion passed unanimously.  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza, to authorize execution of Claim No. 4500439000 Parcel No. 11.  Motion passed unanimously. 

 

E.  Consider Approval of the Base Bid and Alternate Bids for the Stroudsburg Borough Pool Bathhouse.  The Borough of Stroudsburg pool bathhouse involves new windows, epoxy flooring with a ten-year guarantee, and moving the manager’s office to be able to view the pool.  We have $37,500 left out of the grant between Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg and the Borough of Stroudsburg is entitled to receive two-thirds of the total.  We also have $50,000 budgeted for this work from the Capital Fund.  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Scelza, to approve the base bid and alternate bids for the Borough of Stroudsburg Pool Bathhouse renovations.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

F.  Consider Approval of Personnel Policy Changes Regarding CDL Drug and Alcohol Test Procedures.  Mrs. Quarantello indicated these changes are in sync with what our healthcare carrier recommends.  Motion by Mrs. Kochanski, second by Mr. Abell, to approve the changes to CDL Drug and Alcohol Test procedures.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

G.  Consider Request of The Carbon-Monroe-Pike Drug & Alcohol Commission, in collaboration with the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Northeast PA, to Adopt a Tobacco Free Parks/Playground Ordinance or Enforcing Resolution.  Council took no action on this item.  

 

8.       Solicitor’s Report:  Nothing to report.

 

9.       Mayor’s Report:  Nothing to report.

 

10.     Council Members’ Reports:  Nothing to report.

 

11.     Manager’s Report:  Mrs. Quarantello mentioned we have combined projects with BCRA in the past and now they want to work with us on Huston and Collins    Streets.  Nate Oiler estimates the improvements to be $175,000 and BCRA has   $43,200 to put towards pavement in restoration of the water line trench.  Motion by Mr. Abell, second by Mr. Scelza, to authorize to proceed with bid documents    and authorization to bid the job subject to BCRA agreement to pay the $43,200 to the Borough of Stroudsburg that was the bid item for pavement restoration of          the waterline trench.  Motion passed unanimously.

 

12.     Approval of Bills:  Mrs. Kochanski questioned why so many items were purchased          at Walmart.  Mrs. Heimbach indicated the pool manager has been purchasing          everything from Walmart in an effort to save money.  Motion by Mr. Scelza,   second by Mr. Abell, to approve the bills on warrant #100707.  Motion passed         unanimously.

13.     Executive Session:  None.

 

14.     Adjournment:  Motion by Mr. Ewen, second by Mr. Scelza, to adjourn.  Motion    passed unanimously, and the meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.