Lansdowne Borough Council Business Meeting September 5th, 2012

Lansdowne Borough Council

General Meeting

September 5, 2012

Draft Minutes

GENERAL MEETING:

President Coleman called to order the Lansdowne Borough Council Business Meeting at 7:30 p.m. in Borough Hall. Present were President Coleman, Mrs. English, Ms. Lustgarten, Mr. Radich, Mrs. Saylor, Mr. Schleigh, and Mr. Wagner. Also in attendance were Mayor Young, Borough Manager Totaro, Borough Treasurer Bartley Borough Solicitor Scott and Police Chief Kortan. Fire Chief Young was absent.

Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved with no changes.

Public Comment: Ms. Lustgarten moved to Suspend Roberts Rules of Order. Mr. Schleigh seconded. Vote: unanimous.

Ms. Surla of 16 East Marshall Road - Commented on the five-minute energy table at the National Night Out. Mr. Radich moved to resume Roberts Rules of Order. Ms. Lustgarten seconded Vote: unanimous.

Finance Report – Mr. Bartley reported that there are adequate funds on hand to meet current obligations.

Solicitors Report – no items to report

Manager’s Report – Mr. Totaro reported that the removal of the dam in the Darby Creek began today and is expected to be completed by the end of next week. Mr. Totaro reported that he attended a pre-construction meeting of the construction of the Gateway Park Trail which is expected to begin on or about October 1, 2012 and would be completed by 1/15/13. .

Police Chief Report – Chief Kortan reported the hiring of a parking enforcement officer the expense of which would be revenue neutral.

Mayors Report – Mayor Young reported that there is a county animal cruelty officer by the name of Bill Vernon who met with the police chief. The Codes office is aware of this resource and should call on him if necessary. Mayor Young reported having received a call today from Helen Marcarelli regarding a project to make improvements to the green space / island at Marshall and Plumstead and Union. The cost of the project is approximately $19,000 for the improvements to the 6,000 square foot island. Contributions have been collected to support the project. It is expected that the borough will be asked to contribute to the project. A more formal proposal will be provided to the Finance Committee for funding consideration.

Council Presidents Report – President Coleman introduced Alex Yurcaba as the new Junior Council Person and outlined the work-plan for him. It was explained that Alex would connect through the Public Safety Committee. The Junior Council Person is a program sponsored by the PSAB.

Old Business:

2013 Budget

Ms. Lustgarten reviewed the budget schedule per committee and enlisted any Borough Council and Mayor budget issues / procurements / for 2013. Ms. Coleman identified the Borough Yard fencing that could be part of the Elm Street Program matching requirements.

Ms. Lustgarten reviewed the bond rating process. Mr. Totaro and Mr. Bartley are pleased with the early indications that the rating will be positive. Ms. Lustgarten and Mr. Radich reported that a manageable way of satisfying the audit requirement can be satisfied by doing an annual review and a full audit on the third year through the life of the loan.

Ms. Lustgarten introduced an inventory of grants available to municipalities prepared by Mr. Totaro for each committee chair. Please connect with Mr. Totaro if any of these are pertinent to your committee.

Animal Protection Board: Mayor Jayne introduced the background to the proposal distributed and states that the proposal is not of a high enough quality to warrant a discussion at this time. This has been communicated to the author. Chief Kortan noted that the proposal is limited to cats.

New Business

2013 MMO – Ms. Lustgarten explained that the motion on tonight’s agenda to establish the 2013 MMO for next year for the police pension plan to be $420,359 and the non-uniform retirement plan to be $124,535 is required by law. These amounts are derived from the value and actuarial valuation computed by the borough’s actuary. These amounts amount understate the obligations and the Borough may choose to budget for approximately $40,000 more.

Motion was made by Ms. Lustgarten to set the 2013 Police Pension Plan Minimum Municipal Obligation at $ 420,359 and the 2013 Non-Uniformed Retirement Plan Minimum Municipal Obligation at $124,535 this motion was seconded by Ms. English and all were in favor.

RFP for Management of the Twentieth Century Club

Core points of the RFP were discussed with the understanding that soliciting responses does not obligate the Borough to follow through with a management entity. Mayor Young noted that she believed yielding management of the facility to a private entity would adversely affect the availability and utility of the club for local organizations. Mr. Wagner clarified that the intent was to strengthen and promote both civic purpose and private revenue-generation capacity of the club through professionals who are more capable in this realm.

Mr. Scott noted that Marple or other RFP’s should be reviewed for insight.

Motion to advertise the RFP for Operations, Event Marketing and Management, General Maintenance, and Building Improvements was made by Mr. Radich and seconded by Mr. Wagner and all were in favor.

Risk Management Review: Ms. Lustgarten introduced the DVIT report and suggested that some of these issues be presented and discussed in the committee as appropriate.

Action Items

Ms. Lustgarten motioned to authorize payment of bills for period seconded by Mr. Schleigh and all were in favor.

Mr. Wagner motioned to reappoint Tony Campuzano to the Redevelopment Authority for a five-year term expiring 9/4/2017 Ms. English seconded and all were in favor.

Ms. Saylor motioned to execute supplemental Federal –Aid Reimbursement Agreement for additional aid contribution for the Gateway Trail Project Ms. English seconded and all were in favor

Mr. Wagner motioned to approve the HARB’s recommendation of issuing a Certificate of Appropriateness #2012-001 to 21 N. Lansdowne Avenue for Signage Ms. Lustgarten seconded the motion and all were in favor.

Executive Session – Ms. Lustgarten moved to adjourn to executive session to discuss personnel and litigation issues. Mr. Schleigh seconded. Vote: unanimous. The meeting adjourned to executive session at 8:50pm.

Public Session – No motions were made upon reconvening to public session.

Adjourn – Ms. Lustgarten moved to adjourn the meeting. Mrs. English seconded. Vote: unanimous. The meeting adjourned 9:18 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Craig Totaro

Assistant Borough Secretary

3