Council Minutes  January 2, 2024, approved

Oaths of Office

Mayor Daniel Berard administered the Oaths of Office to Timothy Botts, Frank Wetzel, Denise Guilbault, and Elijah Scretching.

Election of Officers 

Nomination and Election of Council President

Mayor Berard requested nominations for Borough Council President.  Mr. Frank Wetzel nominated Paul Ruane for the position. Mr. Charles Stroup seconded the motion.  Council voted unanimously to elect Paul Ruane as President.

Mr. Ruane assumed the presidency and requested nominations for Council Vice President.  Mr. Charles Stroup nominated Dr. Denise Guilbault for the position.  Mr. Frank Wetzel seconded the motion.  Council voted unanimously to elect Denise Guilbault as Vice President.

Mr. Ruane requested nominations for President Pro Tem.  Mr. Charles Stroup nominated Mr. Frank Wetzel.  Dr. Denise Guilbault seconded the motion.  Council voted unanimously to elect Frank Wetzel as President ProTem.

Mr. Ruane announced the following Borough Council committee assignments:

• Community Development – Mr. Scretching (chair), Dr. Guilbault, and Mr. Botts
• Finance – Mr. Botts (chair), Mr. Wetzel, and Dr. Guilbault
• Personnel – Mr. Ruane (chair), Mr. Ortiz, and Mr. Stroup
• Public Safety – Mr. Wetzel (chair), Mr. Scretching and Mr. Ortiz
• Rules – Dr. Guilbault (chair), Mr. Botts and Mr. Scretching
• Streets – Mr. Ortiz (chair), Mr. Ruane and Mr. Stroup
• Sewer – Mr. Stroup (chair), Mr. Ruane and Mr. Wetzel

Public Hearing on Liquor License at 765 Water St

Mr. Ruane requested comments on approving the liquor license at 765 Water St, which is the site of Penn Jersey market.  Mayor Berard questioned if it was for carryout only.  A discussion ensued regarding the type of license, the property, timing and the intent behind the request. 

Call to Order

Council President Paul Ruane called the council meeting to order at 6:57 p.m.  The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and Mr. Ortiz offered an Invocation.

Roll Call

Council members present were Mr. Paul Ruane, Dr. Denise Guilbault, Mr. Elijah Scretching, Mr. Timothy Botts, Mr. Frank Wetzel, Mr. Winston Ortiz and Mr. Charles Stroup.  Others present were Mayor Daniel Berard; Mr. C.L. Kriner, Police Chief; Mr. Kelso, Solicitor; Mr. Jeremy Deitrick, Wastewater Superintendent; and Ms. Ann Zartman, Borough Manager.

Council Minutes for November & December

Dr. Guilbault made a motion to accept the November and December 2023 council minutes, Mr. Botts seconded. All approved, motion carried.

Mayor’s Report

Mayor Berard read the report on the activity of the Police Department for the month of December. The police issued 21 traffic and 03 non-traffic citations, and 131 parking tickets. They responded to 195 calls for service, made 08 court appearances and trained for 17 hours.  Several people were arrested for misdemeanor and felony crimes of corruption of minors, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, and retail theft.  The police responded to 31 assistance calls for the month; 07 to Point Township, 17 to Sunbury, and 7 to other agencies. Milage for the month was 1,042.

The Mayor commented that the Martin Concini Toy drive was a huge success, and served over 90 kids.  He thanked Keystone Forge, Nate Boyer and all the others that helped.

Sewer Department Report   No report

Street Department Report  No report

NEIC Report

Mr. Ruane presented NEIC’s report:  1 council meeting was attended by Ms. Jackie Hart; 1 building permit was issued, and $664.50 in building permit fees collected; 3 complaints were lodged and reviewed, and 3 code violations; 1 street cut permit was issued, resulting in $350 in fees collected. 

Committee Reports

Community Development   No report.

Finance

Mr. Botts made a motion to approve Resolution A-2024 Tax Levy to set the General Revenue tax rate at 29.5 mills, Debt Service at 3 mills, Fire Service at 2.7 mills on each dollar of assessed value. Mr. Wetzel seconded the motion.  Dr. Guilbault asked if they were in line with 2023 rates, Mr. Botts responded no change was made to the rates.  All approved, motion carried. Mr. Botts mentioned a mill is 1/1000th of a dollar

Personnel

Mr. Ruane made the motion to reappoint Ann Zartman as Borough Manager, Clifford Kriner as Police Chief, Jeremy Deitrick as Sewer Superintendent, David Johnston as Streets Supervisor, Rebekah Kline and Stacy Hummel as full-time Administrative Assistants, and Debra Jennis as a part-time Administrative Assistant. Mr. Ortiz seconded. Mr. Wetzel asked if Ms. Hommel had already started, Ms. Zartman replied today was her first day as a full-time employee. 

Public Safety  No report.

Rules

Dr. Guilbault made a motion to advertise the proposed off-street parking ordinance. Mr. Stroup seconded, all approved, and motion passed. 

Streets  No report

Old Business

Mr. Ruane requested a motion regarding Resolution B-2024 Liquor License. Dr. Guilbault made a motion to approve Resolution B-2024 Liquor License.  Mr. Wetzel seconded, all approved, motion carried. Dr. Guilbault commented that it is a restaurant license, and they must follow all state guidelines.  Mr. Wetzel commented that we can not read into their intents, and should they choose to have a restaurant will we deny it.  Mr. Kelso mentioned they also need to comply with all zoning regulations. All approved, motion carried. 

Payment of Bills

Dr. Guilbault made a motion for the payment of bills;  Mr. Wetzel seconded. All approved, motion passed.  Bills to be paid from the General Fund totaled $27,066.53; and Sewer Department bills totaled $276,987.04.  Mr. Scretching requested whether the Akido Security payment was a one-time payment or monthly payment.  Ms. Zartman replied yes, it is a one-time payment.  Mr. Scretching also questioned the speed limit sign purchase. Ms. Zartman replied that it is a number of signs and includes posts, signs fade or are damaged and need replaced.  Dr. Guilbault questioned the Livic Civil invoice. Ms. Zartman replied that is engineering services for the ARPA grant. Mr. Wetzel questioned the Kappe Associates bill for a diffuser.  Mr. Deitrick replied that the contract was approved for the replacement of the current diffuser.   

Public Comment

An audience member questioned whether the liquor license allows take-out.  Mr. Ruane replied it does, 2 six-packs are allowed.  Mr. Wetzel mentioned the food pantry handout is again blocking the streets on the monthly Saturday morning.  Traffic is blocking access to home, and should there be an emergency it will be an issue.   Ms. Zartman replied that the Police would be consulted and the church approached again.

Mr. Ruane asked about Tammy McCabe on the agenda.  Ms. McCabe requested to be on the agenda, but did not show up.  Ms. Zartman explained that she has complained about the neighbor parking close to the edge of her driveway which means she cannot see when she pulls out.  There’s no law regarding parking at the edge of a person’s driveway.  She has a handicap parking sign, that she only uses to unload groceries, and then she pulls into her garage. This means that no one else can then park there.  It also appears there is a personal feud between her and her neighbors. A discussion ensued. 

Adjournment

The council meeting was adjourned at 7:24 pm.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ann Zartman

Borough Secretary