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.

• Mr. Gerard Weiss, 518 E. Chestnut. Former East Washington Borough Citizens Library Board representative. Mr. Weiss explained that Citizens Library is now a self-continuing Board that can recruit their own members. The library has established a Cornerstone Fund to accept donations to make up the shortfall of donations from municipalities which has become problematic to sustain the library. Requested Council to consider continuing funding the Citizens Library in the future. Mrs. Weinstein stated that the 2020 Budget includes funding for Citizens Library.

Motions

• Motion made by Kent James, second Demond Nixon to approve Minutes February 13, 2020. – Motion passed.
• Motion made by Tim Hurney, second Arthur J. Fulton to approve Bills Gen Account $ 3,826.54. – Motion passed.

Reports:

• Engineer – Rich Rush, Widmer Engineering, Inc. – Absent. Mrs. Weinstein said she received an email from Mr. Rush and the road project bids will be going out March 20, 2020 with the bids due April 3, 2010. Award to be at council meeting on April 6, 2020.

• Park & Shade Chair, Reca Panian – Absent

Action Items/Discussion:

1. Grant Writer Richard Cleveland of CT Consultants – Richard Cleveland, CT Consultants, introduced himself to Council and explained options he can provide the borough regarding writing grants. He stated that he has been writing grants for about 30 years. CT Consultants has offices in Ohio, PA, West Virginia and Tennessee and specializes in water, wastewater, stream restoration grant writing services. Currently, there are two grants that the borough may apply for. Greenways, Trails and Recreation Program (GTRP) and DCNR C2P2 grant. If we receive the GTRP grant, those funds can be used to match the DCNR grant requirements. Approximately 7 years ago East Washington Borough and the City of Washington created a Multi-Municipality Comprehensive Plan which includes a Multi-Municipality Recreation Plan. Mr. Cleveland stated after discussing with Mr. Adam Mattis, from DCNR that we can reference our Multi-Municipality Recreation Plan which makes our application stronger. The borough must commit dollar for dollar match for the grant but can do it in phases. i.e., Phase 1 in 2020, Phase 2 in 2021. Mr. Cleveland stated the C2P2 grant is due April 22, 2020.
   Motion Dan Bird, second Tim Hurney, to authorize Mr. Cleveland, CT Consultants, to apply for the C2P2 park grant on behalf of East Washington Borough at a cost not to exceed $4,000. Grant due: April 22, 2020. Motion passed.In addition, a motion was made by Demond Nixon, second Arthur J. Fulton, to authorize Sarah Boyce, Widmer Engineering, Inc, to develop the scope of work, site plan and budget for the C2P2 park grant at a cost not to exceed $1,000.00. Motion Passed. Council would like to have a session with Sarah Boyce to discuss the site plan for the park. Mrs. Weinstein will arrange this for March 19 or March 26 at 7 pm. It will be an informational session.
2. Park Renaming – Council discussed changing the name of the park to Nicholas Cumer park. Council members were in favor of the name change but thought that a letter of intent should be sent to the parents of Nicholas Cumer or a phone call. Include the new name change as part of the park grant application. Vote on name change at the next meeting. Mrs. Weinstein will contact the family.
3. Dryer Memorial Bench – Mayor Gomber described the marble/granite bench that is requested to be placed at our memorial park in honor of fallen police officer, David Dryer. The Memorial bench will be paid for with donations at no cost to the borough. Several council members requested a photo of a similar memorial bench which Gerry Coleman will provide. Vote on memorial bench at the next meeting.
4. Community Stream Clean-up Day – Motion Kent James, second Tim Hurney to schedule the Community Clean-up day for stream (MS4 project) on Saturday, April 25, 2020 at 9:00 am to completion. Volunteers will meet behind the Faith Christian School, Beau Street. Invite the public to participate, and authorize Aaron Lucero, and Bernie Froats to work that day. Mayor Gomber will register online to receive free gloves, vests and garbage bags. – Motion passed.Items needed for the Clean-up days:
   • Safety Waiver signed by volunteers
   • Safety Briefing for volunteers
   • Sign up sheet at the next meeting
5. Community Neighborhood Clean-Up Day – Council discussed a clean-up day for borough streets. Council Member Fulton said he would check with his wife to coordinate the date for the girl scouts to help with cleaning the streets. The girls could earn a community service badge if they volunteer to help. Mr. Fulton will confirm a date at the next meeting.
6. Playground Equipment -Council had a thorough discussion regarding playground equipment. Council Member Bird described some of the playground equipment as being a problem. Some pipes need cut off that are sticking out; the slide needs a support bar and fixed. He felt Aaron Lucero could do some of this work on the playground. Kent James, Dan Bird and Aaron Lucero will meet at the playground to assess the equipment.A motion was made by Arthur J. Fulton, second by Tim Hurney to authorize Dan Bird to direct Aaron Lucero to remove the talking pipes, secure below the ground and cover them up in a safe manner. – Motion passed.
7. Real Estate Interest – Motion Kent James, second Demond Nixon to accept the proposal from Portnoff (debt collector) for the real estate interest waiver for Karen Gnagey. (appx. $240.00) –  Motion passed.

Reports / Discussion

• Mayor – The Mayor met with Council Members, Doug Corwin and Kent James on Thursday, February 20, 2020. He described the blight in the borough as an ongoing problem for over 20 years. There are many code violations in the borough. He expressed concern about the safety of the residents and property maintenance. He stressed the importance of the enforcement of ordinances. Code Officer Coleman said that neighbors aren’t turning in neighbors for violations. He and Mayor Gomber have discussed blight in the borough. Solicitor Makel said Canton Township is putting in place an ordinance to address blight which he will share with us.Suggestions:
  • Develop a blight committee. (Mayor, Doug Corwin, Kent James, Jerry Coleman, Dave Bradley)
  • Send communications to property owners about blight in the borough.
    Community involvement
  • Apply for a loan from Washington Financial to buy homes to fix or sell.
    Continue dialogue with Rob Phillips, Redevelopment Authority about Landbank options
  • Revisit Historical area in the borough (one of the worst areas for blight)
    Make your home (Council members) an example for others.
  • The blight committee will meet and present a plan to Council at the April meeting. Mrs. Weinstein asked Council members to go to the East Washington website and read the ordinance on code enforcement.
  • Borough Mission Statement to be discussed later.
• Solicitor – Dennis Makel No report
• Maryann Weinstein, President – Maryann Weinstein, President reminded Council of the upcoming meeting on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 9:30 am with Johanna Pro to discuss Strategic Management and Planning for the Borough. Asked Council to encourage residents to attend the next council meeting on March 12, 2020 at the First Christian Church. Sarah Boyce, Widmer Engineering, will discuss storm water management and the MS4 project.
• Kent James, Vice President – No report
• Daniel Bird – No report
• Douglas Corwin – Absent
• Arthur Joseph Fulton – Arthur Joseph Fulton provided council with his report on the status of the borough website, Facebook page and NextDoor site. He fixed web-site back end problems and took over postings from current web contractor PhDesigned.  Created the borough Facebook page which currently has 55 followers.  Wants to explore Facebook Ads to promote the page. He is waiting for approval from NextDoor for an agency account.  Turned on spam filters which had been turn off. Removed old email accounts from former council members. Continue to meet with committee to research and collect resident feedback on external communication needs.  Develop an electronic/print newsletter. The communications committee will continue to meet to fine tune the processes needed.
• Tim Hurney – No report
• Demond Nixon – No report
• Executive Session – None

Motion

• Motion Kent James, second Tim Hurney, to adjourn meeting at 9:12 pm –  Motion passed.