Ellwood City Borough Council February Meeting Brief [Updated 8 p.m.]

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City Borough Council meeting held on Feb. 19, 2018.

**Updated Feb. 21 at 8:00 p.m.

Visitors

• Brian Bush, of the Ellwood City Revitalization Committee, presented council with a check for $200,000 from the Hoyt Foundation.
• Connie MacDonald, current member of the Lawrence County Housing Authority and previous council president, protested the current council’s decision to stop the planned construction of a new electric building, claiming at least $120,000 in bond money had been “thrown away.” [see correction]

Resolutions

• A motion was adopted amending the costs of street opening permits and curb cut permits from $175.00 to $350.00.
• A motion was adopted authoring the filing of an application for funds in the amount of $750,000 with the Department of Community and Home Development. According to Jennifer Elliott, special assistant to the CEO of Lawrence County Social Services, the grant provides money for homeowners to bring properties up to Pennsylvania minimum standards and eliminate code deficiencies. The borough can apply individually or in conjunction with Ellport Borough and Perry Township. In order to qualify for the grant, owners must live in the residence and fall under certain income levels (ex. house of four approximately $47,000 annual income). In response to a question from council member Jim Barry, Elliott explained a non-monetary lien is placed on properties to ensure recipients live in the house after improvements are made.

Health/Public Safety Committee

• A motion was adopted in order to accept bids for the sale of a 2006 Spartan fire truck.

Public Works/Utilities Committee

• A motion was adopted awarding the bid for the Excess Soil Removal Project at 105 Sixth Street to Spartan, Inc. of New Castle, PA in the amount of $54,070 to be paid from the 2016 bond issue. Spartan was the lower of two bids. The other was $56,055 from S.E.T. Inc of Lowellville, OH.
• A motion was adopted approving travel requests for electric department personnel training workshops. The programs will cost approximately $6,050 and be paid from the Electric Fund.
• A motion was proposed by council member Marilyn Mancini to remove the electric rate discount from the Ellwood City Hospital as it is now a for profit organization owned by Americore Health. The motion was passed unanimously. The discount had been for 5.83 percent. [see update]

Parks/Recreation

• A motion was adopted approving the Ellwood City Ledger 10k Race on Saturday, June 30, field uses for the Ellwood City girls softball league throughout the summer, and a color run in Ewing Park for the Ellwood City cheerleaders.
• A motion was adopted approving the Conservation Easement with Amerikohl Aggregates, Inc. relative to the bat cave at Steifel Park.
• A motion was adopted approving a request by Hannah Hamilton, an Ellwood City graduate and AmeriCorps worker at North Side Primary School, to install a “Little Free Library” in either Ewing Park or in front of the Municipal Building. According to the proposal submitted by Hamilton, Little Free Library “is a nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.” According to the organization’s website, a Little Free Library is a free book-exchange program that usually houses books in a small wooden box. Hamilton believes placing the library near the police station would create a sense of community between children and officers while deterring vandalizing. More information can be found at Little Free Library.

Administration/Personnel

• A motion was adopted advertising for the following summer positions: park/playground/concession stand, playground/concession stand coordinator, and park crew leader.
• A motion was adopted approving the travel request by Judi Dici and Anthony Court to attend the PSAB Conference from June 10 to 13 in Hershey Park. The cost is $1,0865.34 plus meals and mileage.

Community Development/Buildings

• A motion was adopted to prepare amendments/clarifications to the Zoning Ordinance to be sent to the Lawrence County Planning Commission and the Ellwood City Borough Planning Commission for review and comments.
• A motion was adopted approving the reverse subdivision for a property located at 4,6,8 and 10 Rear Fountain Ave. According to Borough Solicitor Ed Leymarie, the consolidation was necessary after the property owners expanded their building into additional lots.

New Business

• A motion was adopted approving the Release and Waiver Agreement from Columbia Gas relative to the upgrading of natural gas facilities on Franklin Avenue and Early Street.

Announcements

• Picnic shelter reservations will begin on the fourth Monday in February (Feb. 26) for borough residents and the fourth Monday in March (March 26) for non-Borough residents.

Unfinished Business

• In a 5-2 vote, council denied a request by the Ellwood City Relay for Life to use downtown Lawrence Avenue for this year’s relay at no charge. According to council president Judi Dici, the event would cost the borough a minimum of $550 due to street department personnel costs. Council will inform the Relay for Life sponsors to agree to pay the costs of the event or to search for another location, such as the traditional venue at Helling Stadium. Council members George Celli and Michelle Lamenza voted no, believing the borough shouldn’t require a non-profit cause to pay the costs of an event.

New Business

• In a 4-3 vote, council denied a request to amend the zoning in the vicinity  of 600 Mt. Vernon Drive, currently It’s Time Fitness and previously Walnut Ridge Primary School. The amendment would have permitted an eatery per request of It’s Time owner Tony Joseph. Council members Barry, Rob Brough and Lisa Guerrera voted in favor. Voting no, Dici cited concerns regarding additional businesses opening in a primarily residential area.

Mayor’s Report

• Mayor Anthony J. Court reported that the new police dog Ranger is now trained sufficiently to be taken into schools and work around children. Ranger weighs 110 pounds, as compared to his predecessor and father, Jozek, who weighs 70 pounds. “I’m still a bit leary of him, but he’s a wonderful police dog,” Court said.
• Court is also working with the Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office to combat heroin and oxycodone.
• The Mayor’s Office warns residents of a scam targeting senior citizens. Scam callers claim the target’s grandchildren are in jail and need money for bail. Court said one victim lost $19,000.

Manager’s Report

• Dici, acting as Borough Manager, announced that applications for the position will be open until Feb. 28, and there has been six applicants so far.

Additional Comments

• Council thanked the police department for a timely response to an incident involving a patient with dementia driving away from a doctor’s office.
• Dici addressed a post on social media that claimed Lt. Dave Kingston, Ellwood City’s ranking police officer, made $170,000 a year and over the weekend of the 17th through 19th, worked 38 hours of overtime. Dici claimed both numbers were false. She provided a figure of 28 hours of overtime but didn’t provide a salary. Although not confirmed, Dici was possibly referring to a post from State Representative Aaron Bernstine on the morning of Feb. 19. EllwoodCity.org has not verified either statement. When contacted, Bernstine said the salary didn’t reflect a specific year but rather an average estimate of the past several years. According to a Right to Know request filed by resident Dave Gulish in Aug. 2016, Kingston’s gross income for 2015 was $132,239.21 with $57,012.84 coming from overtime. *see update.

Corrections/Update:

• MacDonald is not the chairman Lawrence County Housing Authority, as was previously stated. He only replaced the seat vacated by the former chairman. In addition, the money MacDonald claimed was wasted comes from a bond not a grant.
• Lt. Kingston’s income with overtime for 2015 was added to the “Additional Comments” section.
• An approved motion proposed by Mancini to eliminate a hospital electric discount was added.