Pledge of Allegiance lead 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, 20 Fairmont Ave  – Jeff Bull asked if the meeting was being recorded.   Mr. Bull asked Mrs. Weinstein why the last meeting was adjourned and not go back into the regular meeting after the Executive Session and that was a violation of the Sunshine Law.  Mr. Bull urged Council not to rename the park Nicholas Cumer park and that it should be named for something meritorious for the community and it was childish.  Also asked if the Road Dept personnel was working because the storm inlets still need to be kept clean.
• Mrs. Weinstein responded that the meeting was being recorded. She explained that the Council did not know anyone was still waiting outside after the Executive Session and there was no further business so the meeting was adjourned.  The road department is only working in an emergency situation and Aaron drives around the borough twice a day and checks the storm inlets and any road-related issues.

Motions

• Motion made by Kent James, second Demond Nixon to approve Minutes March 2, 2020. March 12, 2020 cancelled meeting was because of Covid. – Motion passed. 
• Motion Doug Corwin, second Kent James to approve Bills Gen Acct. $ 15,751.04   Check Nos. 6680 to 6719 (March 9, 2020 to April 3, 2020)   – Motion passed.

Reports:

• Engineer – Rich Rush, Widmer Engineering, Inc. –  Bid recommendations. Council discussed the bids, options and recommendations from Rich Rush, Widmer Engineering, Inc.
  • Option 1-ASPHALT REPAIR ON CENTRAL
    • Independent Enterprises, Inc. $33,494.50
    • Piedmont Services, LLC $47,734.00
    • El Grande Industries, Inc. $58,509.00
    • Ligonier Construction $61,551.00
  • Option 2-BRICK REPAIR ON CENTRAL
    • Independent Enterprises, Inc. $40,442.00
    • Piedmont Services, LLC $54,664.00
    • El Grande Industries, Inc. $69,499.00
    • Ligonier Construction $70,651.00
  • Mrs. Weinstein asked each council member for comments regarding the bids and which options they were in favor of regarding Central Avenue. All Council members were in favor of Option 2 for the brick repair on Central Avenue. Mr. Makel indicated that another township had worked with Independent Enterprises, Inc. and that they were already staged in the area.
• Park & Shade Chair, Reca Panian – Discussion Later
• Action Items/Discussion:

1. Emergency Declaration – Motion Doug Corwin, second Dan Bird, to approve Resolution 008 of 2020. – Emergency Declaration due to Corona Virus. Motion passed. The declaration was made so that the Borough can recoup expenses that might have related to Covid. .
2. Financial ramifications of Covid. – Mr. James gave a brief overview of the financial status of the borough. There are 3 major sources of revenue, appx 28 % in real estate taxes, 32% in earned income tax and 16% other revenue sources. There may be some delinquencies for real estate however he doesn’t believe at this point there will be much of an impact. He feels the borough is in good shape financially with no dramatic changes. All members were satisfied with his assessment with no further comments.
3. Road Project Awarding – Motion Kent James, second Tim Hurney, to award the road project bid to Independent Enterprises, Inc., Option 2 Brick repair on Central Avenue in the amount of $40,442.00. Rich Rush, Engineer, will notify Independent Enterprises and prepare the Notice of Award to allow Independent Enterprises, Inc. to get the Performance and Maintenance bonds or other necessary documents in place. However, the Notice to Proceed will be issued when it is determined by the state when it is safe to return to work and the mandate is lifted. Motion passed.
4. Playground improvements for 2020.-  Council Member Dan Bird gave a thorough explanation and breakdown of expenses needed to maintain and fix any equipment currently at the playground.  Cost to implement his recommendations would be approximately $4,000.  This includes playground mulch, fabric, border ties and miscellaneous hardware.  This would be in addition to the $4,000 in Reca’s Park & Shade budget which includes the routine mulching, weeding, etc., done in the green areas as well as the picnic, and the porta john.Discussion continued and council members agreed this is well spent funds for maintaining the park and playground equipment for the safety of the children and residents.  It was recommended that Aaron Lucero may be able to do some of the work alone but was cautioned about working with someone and social distancing due to the corona virus.A motion was made by Demond Nixon, second by Dan Bird to authorize Aaron Lucero to purchase the necessary supplies or equipment, not to exceed $4,500.00 and to do the improvements as described above but to hold off on the repairs until it is safe to do the work. – Motion passed.
5. Review of playground plan from Sarah Boyce – Discussion as to whether to proceed as planned or consider use of green space at the end of Christman. In addition, discussion as to Sarah Boyce and Rich Cleveland to proceed with the grants or hold off. Mrs. Weinstein stated Council needs to take into consideration that if we were to decide to consider any major change, we would need input from the Park and Shade Tree Commission which Reca Panian chairs. By unanimous decision, Council agreed to proceed with the Grant application regarding the playground plan, and most members felt the park should remain where it is.A motion was made by Kent James, second by Demond Nixon to authorize Reca Panian, Park & Shade Chair, Kent James, Doug Corwin, Dan Bird and Aaron Lucero to meet, review and evaluate the park site plan. The grant application is due April 22, 2020 and notify Sarah Boyce whether or not to proceed after their review. – Motion passed.
6. Renaming of Thayer Street Park – Council discussed changing the name of the park to Nicholas Cumer park. Motion Demond Nixon, second Kent James to approve the name of borough park to Nicholas Cumer park. New signs will be ordered and a dedication ceremony to include Nicholas Cumer’s parents to be determined at a later date.  Reca Panian, Park & Shade Chair will assist to co-ordinate this event.  Ms. Panian will provide this event information when it is scheduled to Mr. Fulton to post to our website, Nextdoor site, etc. – Motion passed.
7. John Dryer Memorial Bench – Previously, Mayor Gomber requested Council approval to place a memorial bench in the park honoring fallen Police Officer John Dryer who was killed in the line of duty. A motion was made by Doug Corwin, second by Demond Nixon to approve Officer John Dryer monument (paid with donations). Motion passed. Location of memorial bench will be determined later. Ms. Panian, her committee, and Mayor Gomber will provide recommendations of the location of the bench, date of a ceremony, or any other details at a later date. Information from Ms. Panian will be given to Mr. Fulton to post on our website, Nextdoor site or other media platforms notifying residents of this event.
8. Borough street clean-up day and stream clean-up day. Should we schedule or put on hold?  Council members agreed to put these items on hold.
9. Communication Department request to pay for drone footage of the Borough –  Mr. Arthur Joseph Fulton discussed an opportunity to redesign a new East Washington website this year. The planning was put on hold while the COVID-19 situation is happening, but would like to invest in gathering resources for the site. An idea that was discussed is that the new website could have a video background. This is a great approach to not only enhance the look and feel of the site but also help promote people to move to the area. He would like to have a drone film overhead footage of the Borough.Mr. Fulton reached out to Savvy Fresh, a design agency in Washington. They provide Drone filming services. The plan is to film on a beautiful day in a few weeks. Gather sky footage from six different areas (TBD) and the fee is $900.00. They would provide raw 4K footage they can edit into a film for the website and use for other marketing opportunities. We can also incorporate the footage with some of the “beautiful spots” in our Borough. This includes historical buildings, the homes on many of our streets, and the playground.Mr. Demond Nixon stated he has a drone and was more than willing to provide footage from his drone. Mr. Corwin also has a drone that he offered for use in this project. Discussion continued and everyone felt this was a good idea.Motion Demond Nixon, second Dan Bird to authorize getting drone footage of the borough either free of charge or allocating an amount not to exceed $900.00 to Savvy Fresh, a design Agency, to do the sky footage. Motion passed.

   It was noted that residents should receive advance notice when the drone will be in their area and that the footage is to be used to promote the borough.

10. Drainage issue – Wilmont Avenue – Council Member Tim Hurney asked council to address a drainage issue located at 16 Wilmont. There appears to be a PVC pipe that is draining water onto the road 24 hours a day. His concern is that the borough just invested a great deal of money to complete Wilmont and this water my erode under the new road surface.Mr. Hurney said that this is not the same water issue that was on Wilmont” with underground Springs. That matter was addressed and corrected by Rich Rush and the restoration and resurfacing plan for the street when the project was undertaken.
    He said the Mayor also brought it to the attention of the council. The stream of water is solely occurring from 16 Wilmont and no other property. It begins there and runs the length of the street to the inlet at Grey Alley. He said it is unrelated to the weather or rainfall but runs 24/7 every day without stopping. Rich Rush, Jerry Coleman and Aaron Lucero will check this water issue at 16 Wilmont and report back to Council. They will Identify the source and provide recommendations for a plan to correct this problem.

• Reports / Discussion
• Mayor – No Report
• Solicitor – Dennis Makel No report
• Maryann Weinstein, President – TRASH pick-up-household trash, allowable recycling, no yard waste, no bulk items for the time being per discussion I had with our Republic rep, John McGoran. Info on website.
• Kent James, Vice President – Financial status.
• Daniel Bird – No report
• Douglas Corwin – Absent
• Arthur Joseph Fulton – Drone request.
• Tim Hurney – No report
• Demond Nixon – No report
• Executive Session – None

Motion

• Motion Doug Corwin, second Kent James to adjourn meeting at 8:50 pm. –  Motion passed.