Pledge of Allegiance led by Maryann Weinstein, President

Public Comment

Any person from the public may speak for a 3-minute period. Total time allotted for public comment is 15 minutes. Please state your name, address and subject. Please choose a representative to speak if you have the same concern.

• Jeff Bull, Fairmont Avenue – Mr. Jeff Bull asked if his previous letter could be made part of the minutes of record. Asked Council who authorized the Solicitor to go through the Mayors garbage? Why was a moratorium put on the sidewalk ordinance indefinitely?

Motions & Updates

• Motion Demond Nixon, Joe Fulton second to approve Minutes January 4, 2021 and Cont. meeting and January 18, 2021 (delete phone call to Independent Enterprises). – Motion passed.
• Motion Demond Nixon, second Doug Corwin to approve Bills – GEN Acct. $4,122.87(Checks 7019 to 7043), PLGIT Acct. $4,553.36 (Checks 978 to 979) and ARLE Fund $4,001.45 (Checks 1002 to 1003) – Motion passed.

Official Action:

1. 1. Road projects 2021 – Rich Rush. Storm controls, base repairs list to be prepared for each road with proposed improvement prices. Go over this with Aaron with estimates by March 1, 2021.
   2. Cleaning Company – Follow up from last meeting – No formal vote taken for the cleaning service. Motion Doug Corwin, second Kent James to approve the cleaning service, Support Services starting February 1, 2021 which contains an out clause if necessary. – Motion passed.
   3. Columbia Gas – Columbia Gas will do a project in the borough at E Wheeling and East Lane. A motion was made by Kent James, second Doug Corwin to approve the EWB-Columbia Gas project agreement with $1,000 placed in Escrow to cover any repairs to road and/or sidewalks and a road opening fee of $250.  Agreement reviewed by Solicitor Makel. – Motion passed
   4. Electronic and Hazardous Waste – Council discussed an Addendum to the trash contract to pick up electronic and hazardous waste Consequently, a motion was made by Dan Bird, second Joe Fulton, to approve this addendum for this service to be billed by Republic Services at a rate of $1.35/month per property owner for the hazardous and electronic waste service through December 31, 2021. Current contract will be ending December 31, 2021. Bids will need to go out around Oct-2021. Republic Services will send out information regarding the electronic and hazardous waste collection with the next quarterly bill.  Information to be posted on website, FACEBOOK, Nextdoor site, etc
      

      Maryann Weinstein	Yes
      Kent James	Yes
      Kristopher LaGreca	Yes
      Douglas Corwin	Yes
      Daniel Bird	Yes
      Demond Nixon	Yes
      A. Joseph Fulton	Yes
      Motion passed

   5. Communication Update. A motion was made by Joe Fulton, second Kent James to add Kris LaGreca to the communications committee. – Motion passed.   
   6. ARLE Grant Funds – Motion Demond Nixon, second Doug Corwin to approve the unused ARLE grant funds for safety improvements such as speed warning signs throughout the borough. Letter to be sent to PennDOT requesting same. – Motion passed.
   7. Glass Recycling – Aaron Lucero to follow up with information regarding getting a Glass recycling dumpster to be placed at the Salt Lot. Current agreement with South Strabane ends February 6, 2021.
   8. Spring Clean-Up – Council agreed to set dates for stream and spring clean-up in March the meeting.
   9. Minutes – Council discussed the Content of minutes and adding additional documents to the minutes.  The opinion of PSAB is that Minutes should reflect any motions and actions of council and any concerns of the public.  Mr. Kent James suggested that other documents be placed in a separate file and placed on the web with the ability to search for those documents.
   10.  Goals – Discussion of goals for 2021
       1. Communication Goals- explore ways to get more residents involved. Determine the method to get in touch with residents in the event of an emergency. A motion made by Kent James, second Joe Fulton to have the communications committee generate a survey asking for
          community input regarding issues that come up in the borough. – Motion passed.
       2.  Begin process to update the Non-Uniform pension plan (Member elected additional payroll
          deduction).
       3. Apply for additional playground grants.

Reports

• Mayor Gomber – suggested that Council apply for a bond/loan to get all the roads fixed at one time. The loan could be paid off in 5 years. An inventory needs to be done on the roads, prioritize roads based on condition and need, as well as explore loan options.
• Solicitor – Dennis Makel
• Council Members – Reports / Discussion
  • Maryann Weinstein, President – No report
  • Daniel Bird – Doug Corwin wanted to make sure the subject of going through the Mayor’s garbage is noted in the minutes.
  • Douglas Corwin– No report
  • Kent James, Vice President– No report
  • Demond Nixon – No report
  • Joe Fulton– No report
  • Kristopher LaGreca – No report

Motion

• Motion Kent James, second Kris LaGreca to adjourn meeting at 9:00 pm. – Motion passed.