Ellwood City Borough Council April Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council meeting on April 18:

Visitors [added at 11 p.m.]

Paul Dici read a letter from Senator Elder Vogel’s office that a search of Pennsylvania Unified Judaical System turns up no records concerning Dici. This was in response to comments from former council member Ralph Chiappetta, who said he had once filed charges against Dici.
Chiappetta addressed council concerning overtime rates and the police schedule. Holding a copy of the police schedule, Chiappetta said part-time officers were not properly utilized. He also recommended council take legal action against Mayor Anthony J. Court regarding schedule changes. Per borough code, the mayor is in charge of the police department, although Lt. David Kingston, the department’s ranking officer, makes the schedule. Borough Solicitor Ed Leymarie said he has advised council to not pursue legal action, as it would not be worth the time and costs of court.

Announcements

The borough is reminding everyone that grass clippings cannot be thrown onto the streets per borough code. Residents doing so may be fined.
Borough Manager Bob Villella encouraged residents to sign up for Code Red.

Health/Public Safety

A motion was passed approving a donation in the amount of $250 to the Memorial Day Parade Committee to be paid from the General Fund.
A motion was passed approving the payment of $14,172.85 to Glick Fire Equipment Co. for the repair of the 2006 Spartan fire truck to be paid from the General Fund.

Public Works/Utilities

A motion was passed allowing the borough to execute an agreement with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission’s Regional Traffic Signal Program for signal equipment upgrades and signal coordination. The estimated cost is $197,906.92, broken up as $158,325 Federal share and $39,582 local share to be paid from the General Capital Reserve Fund.
A motion was passed approving the traffic signal maintenance agreement with Bonder Technical Services in the amount of $1,750 annually to be paid from the General Fund.

Administration/Personnel

A motion was passed to hire Levi Marburger as a Lineman III at the rate of $19.12 per hour.
A motion was passed approving the hiring of summer employment for parks, playground and the concession stand.
A motion was passed hiring Beth Kingston as the summer park crew leader at a rate of $10,000 per year.
A motion to set the tax collector salary was pulled as it was still under review by council.
A motion to hire a full-time probationary patrolman was passed 5-2. The motion was first and seconded by council members Judi Dici and Marilyn Mancini, who both believe a full-time officer would reduce overtime sufficiently to save the borough money. Council President Connie MacDonald voted no stating that post-employment benefits for full-time officers are too costly in the long term. Council Vice-President David DeCaria joined him, believing that a new full-time officer would not eliminate enough overtime to negate the salary and benefits.

Community Development

A motion was passed to accept proposals from architects/engineers for design/renovation plans for 5-13-515 Lawrence Avenue. Villella stated that the borough plans to use the structure as an anchor building in the central business district. The borough has owned the building for approximately four years. Dici asked if the motion required any financial commitment from council, stating that the borough shouldn’t be in the real estate business. Villella responded that the motion is just to accept proposals.
A motion was passed approving a request by Tennie Ripper to utilize the parking area at North Street and Wampum for an estate sale on April 15-17.

New Business

A motion regarding the Community Development Block Grant 2013 budget was rescinded and replaced with a revised motion. The original proposal allocated $34,67 to the municipal building comfort station and $30,000 to street improvements. The new motion altered the proposal to $46,326 for public facilities at the municipal building and $18,350 for street improvements.
A motion was passed to accept proposals from architects and engineers for the purpose of designing a new Public Works Facility.
A motion was passed advertising an amendment to the Traffic Ordinance relative to one-way streets on Glen Avenue and Sixth Street. Villella stated that due to the new CVS, the traffic patterns on Glen and Sixth may need altered. Council will have four proposals to choose from.

Manager’s Report

Columbia Gas and Miller Pipetech will be conducting a program sponsored by Columbia Gas to search for improperly placed utility lines in sewage or storm pipes. This may lead to a program to reinstall improperly placed utility lines.

Misc.

At the conclusion of the meeting, council member Brad Ovial requested a copy of the police schedule from June 2015 up to May 2016.