BRIDGEVILLE BOROUGH
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
SEPTEMBER 14, 2020 – 7PM via Zoom.us
ROLL CALL:
Council President, William Henderson
Council Vice-President, Nino Petrocelli, Sr.
Council Member, Bruce Ghelarducci
Council Member, Joseph Colosimo
Council Member, Joseph Verduci
Council Member, Virginia Schneider
Council Member, Nicholas Ciesielski
Mayor, Betty Copeland
Solicitor, Thomas McDermott
Borough Engineer, Kevin Brett
Borough Manager, Joseph Kauer
Police Chief, Chad King
Fire Chief, Raymond Costain
Southbridge EMS, Dan Miller
COMMENTS FROM THE FLOOR – VISITORS, PLEASE STATE NAMES AND ADDRESSES
BUSINESS
1. A motion to approve the August 10, 2020 Regular Meeting Minutes as submitted was made by Mr. Ciesielski, seconded by Mr. Verduci; motion carried unanimously.
2. A motion to approve the September 2020 Bill List was made by Mr. Verduci, seconded by Mrs. Schneider; motion carried unanimously.
3. A motion to approve the September 18th, 25th, October 2nd, and 9th, 2020 payrolls was made by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli; motion carried unanimously.
4. A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2020-12, a Resolution of the Borough of Bridgeville, disposing of records in compliance with the Municipal Records Manual approved on July 16, 1993 in accordance with Act 428 of 1968 was made by Mrs. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Ghelarducci; motion carried unanimously.
5. A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2020-13, a Resolution of the Borough of Bridgeville, authorizing the participation of the municipality in the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County’s Vacant Property Recovery Program subject to certain requirements was made by Mr. Ciesielski, seconded by Mrs. Schneider; motion carried unanimously.
6. A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2020-14, a Resolution of the Borough of Bridgeville, authorizing the filing of an application for funds with the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County for the Bower Hill Road Stormwater Improvement Project and authorize advertisement was made by Mr. Petrocelli, seconded by Mr. Ghelarducci; motion carried unanimously.
7. A motion to adopt Resolution No. 2020-15, a Resolution of the Borough of Bridgeville, authorizing the filing of an application for funds with the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County for the McLaughlin Run Flood Mitigation Project and authorize advertisement was made by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli; motion carried unanimously.
8. A motion to authorize the advertisement and public display of proposed Ordinance No. 1015, an Ordinance of the Borough of Bridgeville, adopting minimum construction standards for the repair, improvement, or construction of public infrastructure within the Borough was made by Mrs. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli; motion carried unanimously.
9. A motion to authorize the advertisement and public display of proposed Ordinance No. 1016, an Ordinance of the Borough of Bridgeville, electing to amend its non-uniform pension plan administered by the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System pursuant to Article IV of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law; agreeing to be bound by all provisions of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement Law as amended and as applicable to member municipalities was made by Mr. Petrocelli, seconded by Mr. Ghelarducci; motion carried unanimously.
10. A motion to authorize the Solicitor to prepare an Ordinance that would amend Chapter 2, Section 201, (Certain Animals and Fowl Prohibited) of the Bridgeville Code of Ordinances, to allow for the keeping of chickens as recommended by the Bridgeville Planning Commission was made by Mr. Ciesielski, seconded by Mrs. Schneider; motion carried unanimously.
11. A motion to accept the 2021 Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) for the Non-Uniform Pension Plan as prepared by the Borough Manager, estimated to cost $68,702 was made by Mrs. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli; motion carried unanimously.
12. A motion to accept the 2021 Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) for the Police Pension Plan as prepared by the Borough Manager, estimated to cost $113,159 was made by Mc. Ciesielski, seconded by Mrs. Schneider; motion carried unanimously.
13. A motion to authorize the execution of Changer Order No. 1, resulting in a contract decrease of $1.00, and authorize the disbursement of $132,491.77 from the Capital Projects Fund to Gregori Construction, Inc., for Partial Payment Request No. 1 for the Maple Street Retaining Wall Project was made by Mr. Verduci, seconded by Mr. Ghelarducci; motion carried unanimously.
14. A motion authorizing the disbursement of $49,878.24, made in even payments of $8,313.04 to the Townships of Scott, Collier, South Fayette and the Boroughs of Green Tree, Carnegie and Heidelberg, reflecting a direct pass through of returned assets of the terminated PMRS – Southwest Regional Dispatch Center Pension Plan, in which Bridgeville was the plan sponsor was made by Mr. Ciesielski, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli; Mr. Verduci explained that this payment is a passthrough from PMRS to Bridgeville to the former participating municipalities and is not Bridgeville funds. Motion carried unanimously.
15. A motion to authorize incurring a General Obligation Bank Note for capital projects in the amount of $1,700,000 was made by Mr. Petrocelli, seconded by Mr. Ciesielski; motion carried with Mr. Verduci abstaining from the vote.
16. A motion to authorize partnering with Municipal Advertising Consultants for the purpose of publishing a Borough Newsletter was made by Mrs. Schneider, seconded by Mr. Verduci; Mr. Ghelarducci questioned how will they be paid? The Borough Manager explained that Municipal Advertising will be selling ads within the newsletter. The advertisements pay for the publishing and printing costs. The Borough will be responsible for the postage costs. After those two bills are paid, the remaining advertising funds are kept by Municipal Advertising for their services. Motion carried unanimously.
17. A motion to authorize the purchase of two 20’ x 28’ park pavilions, installed, at State COSTARS pricing from Jeffrey Associates in the amount of $37,842 for McLaughlin Run Park was made by Mr. Petrocelli, seconded by Mr. Colosimo; motion carried unanimously.
18. A motion to accept and pay any commission due – August 2020 Real Estate Tax Collector Report was made by Mr. Verduci, seconded by Mr. Ghelarducci; motion carried unanimously.
19. A motion to acknowledge receipt of the July and August 2020 Treasurer’s Report was made by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Verduci; motion carried unanimously.
20. A motion to accept the August 2020 Police Report was made by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Ciesielski; motion carried unanimously.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
ADMINISTRATION, VIRGINIA SCHNEIDER
Mrs. Schneider reported that the committee met with the newsletter consultants and the plan is to do an annual newsletter with a goal to keep the citizens informed. She also reported that the committee is still getting quotes for a community message board that would be erected in front of the new parking lot at the Borough Building. Lastly, Mrs. Schneider stated that there has been issues with the phone system at the Borough Building that has since been repaired.
FINANCE, JOE VERDUCI
Mr. Verduci reported that the loan approved seeking $1,700,000 is the same as outlined in the 2020 Budget except for now including funds for the renovations of Chartiers Park. He outlined that the Borough recently applied for two state grants for this project. Mr. Verduci stated that the loan rates right now are at an all-time low.
PARKS & RECREATION, JOE COLOSIMO
Mr. Colosimo stated that construction work at McLaughlin Run Park is now underway and stated that the Engineer is working to coordinate this project with the upcoming project that will lower the ballfield at this park. He also stated that he is very excited about the upcoming work at Chartiers Park.
PUBLIC WORKS/BUILDINGS, NINO PETROCELLI, SR.
Mr. Petrocelli stated that the Public Works Department has been very busy cutting grass, cleaning up litter, completing road paving of alleys, working on borough equipment and vehicles and finished up line painting.
PUBLIC SAFETY, BRUCE GHELARDUCCI
Mr. Ghelarducci stated that he talked to Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Tolmer and requested that Borough Manager Kauer be appointed as the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator. Motion by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Petrocelli to appoint Manager Kauer as the Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator; motion carried unanimously.
ADDITIONAL REPORTS
MAYOR, BETTY COPELAND
Mayor Copeland stated that she recently represented the Borough at a ceremony in Heidelberg where Mayor Ken LaSota was presented with the Mayor of the Year Award by the State Association of Mayors. She also reported that she represented the Borough at the annual September 11th Ceremony held at the Corpus Christi Parish. She stated that she was a speaker at the event as well as Chief Costain who did an excellent job.
POLICE CHIEF, CHAD KING
Chief King reported that both new police officers have started. He reported that the recent Snow Cones with a Cop event was well attended.
SOLICITOR, THOMAS MCDERMOTT
Solicitor McDermott provided the confidential solicitor’s report prior to the meeting.
BOROUGH ENGINEER, KEVIN BRETT
Engineer Brett presented the Engineer’s Report prior to this evening’s meeting. He updated and reviewed the following information:
2020 Road Program – work is planned to start in mid-October. He stated that he will be meeting with the Public Works Committee in the coming weeks to go over the long-term road maintenance plan.
GEDF Grant Projects – he stated that a pre-bid meeting was held last week with the County. The projects are ready to go out to bid and it is planned to have their bid openings on October 8th with possible award at our October Council Meeting. He reported that a summary of the ongoing grant projects is included in the written report to assist with budgeting.
Backflow Preventer Phase 3 Project – he reported that the project is ready to go out to bid as well. He stated that the PENNDOT Highway Occupancy Permit for this project has been received.
FIRE CHIEF, RAYMOND COSTAIN
Asst. Chief Meglen reported that the Department responded to 28 calls for service this past month. He also reported that the annual Sleigh Full of Cash fundraiser ticket sale will be starting soon.
SOUTHBRIDGE EMS, DAN MILLER
Mr. Miller reported on a summary of statistics for the year and updated the Council on COVID-19 issues facing EMS operations.
BRIDGEVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, MARY WEISE
Mayor Copeland reported that the Historical Society has a fundraiser going on now at the Railyard Restaurant. She encouraged the public to visit the Railyard and participate in the raffles. She reported that the monthly speaker program is resuming the last Tuesday of the month at the Fire Station.
BRIDGEVILLE LIBRARY REPRESENTATIVE
Mr. Hornfeck updated the Council on programs and library service. He stated that all programs will continue to be offered virtually through the fall. He stated that the Library has offered curb-side pickup through the pandemic, and last month 372 requests for service were completed. Mr. Hornfeck stated that the library plans to reopen to the public next week. He stated that visits are limited to 45 minutes and use of the computers will be by appointment only. Lastly, a Trivia Night will be held on September 24th.
BRIDGEVILLE PARKING AUTHORITY REPRESENTATIVE
No one present.
BRIDGEVILLE PLANNING COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE
Mr. Tolmer reported that the Commission recommended to Council that the Borough regulations regarding the keeping of chickens be amended to permit them with defined regulations in place.
BOROUGH MANAGER, JOE KAUER
The Manager reported that the Borough applied for and has received $125,000 in funding from the CARES Act to mitigate operations during the pandemic. He also outlined code enforcement activity for the month. The Manager stated that he submitted his written report and welcomed any questions.
OLD BUSINESS
Mr. Verduci stated that the Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Car Raffle will be ending this month, he stated that tickets are $65 with 750 being sold.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Mr. Ghelarducci, seconded by Mr. Ciesielski, and carried to adjourn the meeting at 7:53 PM. All in favor, motion passed 7-0.