Ellwood City Borough Council May Meeting Brief

The following is a brief summary of the Ellwood City borough council meeting held on Monday, May 21:

Ordinances

A motion was passed amending the parks ordinance to make shelter reservations effective beginning April 1 through Sept. 30. This increases the reservation window by a month on either end.

Finance

A motion was passed approving a $250 donation to the Memorial Day Parade Committee to be paid from the General Fund. The motion passed 5-1 with Lisa Guerrero dissenting. Rob Brough was absent and council vice president Jim Barry wasn’t physically present but attended via voice chat.

Public Works/Utilities:

A motion was passed approving the purchase of a 2019 Ford F550 with an aerial device for the Electric Department from Altec Industries in the amount of $127,758 to be paid from the 2017 Bond Issue. The motion passed 5-1 with Guerrero dissenting.

Parks/Recreation

A motion was passed approving the purchase and installation of a galvanized chain link fence for the sand volleyball court from Countryside Fence Co. (New Castle) in the amount of $5,835.30 to be paid from the Marcellus Shale Fund.

Community Development

New Business

Borough Solicitor Ed Leymarie. Photo by Katy Hiser/EllwoodCity.org

Council President Judi Dici proposed a curbside pickup to take place on weekends over the month of September. The pickup will be provided by Valley Waste at a cost of $37,950. Dici said the service wasn’t something that could be provided every year, but this year there was sufficient excess money in the appropriate fund. This money cannot be transferred to another fund.
Mancini proposed creating a shelter refund policy for 2019 to prevent the borough from losing money on shelter reservations cancelled shortly before the scheduled day.
Council faced a dilemma over a sewer line replacement under the new public works building on Sixth Street. The old terra cotta line is leaking and a new one must be put in before construction of the building. Solicitor Ed Leymarie said the engineer recommended either going around the building at a cost of approximately $600,000 or a steel line at a cost of $320,000. Leymarie and Barry felt a steel line was overkill and a PVC pipe would be sufficient to with handle the weight loads the line will be subjected to. However, Leymarie said the engineer wouldn’t sign off on a PVC pipe and thus the contractors wouldn’t take responsibility if the line were to break in the future. Council ultimately decided to wait and explore other options.

Announcements

Mayor Anthony J. Court is accepting nominations for the annual beautification awards.
Mancini announced adult swim parties on Monday, June 25 and Aug. 27. The parties will be held at the Ewing Park pool and are for those 18 and over.