The fifth regular meeting of the Hamburg Borough Council for 2010 was held this evening at the Hamburg Municipal Center with President Martha Bertolet presiding. The meeting was opened with Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and a Prayer.

Members Present: Martha Bertolet, Jeanette Heckman, Dale Schlenker, Roger Stetzler, Jeff Adam, Heather Berger, Doug Williams

Members Absent – None

Also Present –Solicitor Zubey, Solicitor Antanavage, Kim Y. Berger, Office Manager/Recording Secretary, Lynda Albright, Borough Manager

Visitors- Derrick Hix (Reading Eagle), John Leonforte, Dave Hummel, Deena Kershner, Patty Moerder, Tammy Pennypacker, Scott Pennypacker, Chief Painter

A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Roger Stetzler to approve the amended agenda.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

Nothing

A motion was made by Jeff Adam and seconded by Heather Berger to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2010 meeting.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Dale Schlenker to approve the following reports: Borough Managers Report, Public Works Supt. Report, Water/Sewer Supt. Report, Office Manager’s Report, Treasurer’s Report, Police Report, Code Enforcement report, Recreation Directors Report and Property Committee Report.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

The Borough Manager’s report for the month of FEBRUARY, 2010 included the following:

As always, handled normal day-to-day activities which included - Holding staff meetings with supervisors to discuss, provide and receive updates on various projects and issues taking place -Addressing complaints and other correspondence as needed -Meeting with other supervisors daily to review work schedules, and other projects taking place.

Our intern started the beginning of the month and she has been most helpful. At the present time, she is working primarily with John Leonforte. In an effort to see that our intern can be most effective, I will be bringing in my spare computer from home and hooking it up which then gives her the ability at any given time to use a computer and not have to wait for someone to leave the office in order to gain access. All work done on this computer will be saved to a "flash drive" and then downloaded into John’s computer and saved on the server.

In addition to the work she has been doing for John, I have had her working on updating job descriptions, setting up a new budget format in excel, have had her attend our monthly staff meetings any other board or committee meetings that she is available for.

Since she has indicated that she may enter work in the fund raising area, I have her working with Deena a couple of days a week for a few hours. Deena has indicated she is a tremendous help.

As soon as the weather breaks, I will be taking Marissa to tour the water and sewer plants, the pool area and other borough owned property and facilities. She will also have the opportunity to spend some time in the police department and will also spend more time in the main office.

She is an extremely quick learner, and a very bright young lady.

As you are aware, we had two major snow storms in which Snow Emergencies had to be called. Things went extremely well and the streets were cleared very expeditiously. The crew did a fantastic job and they are to be commended. We did have to bring in some outside contractors, as there was an extreme amount of snow to be removed.

Have been working with the County Community Development Office in regard to the grant funds and closing out some of the current projects. As a result of the amount of grant money we are receiving, we are required to have a single-audit performed. That audit will be done in March.

The two properties previously acquired by the Borough, with county funds, have been deeded over to the County of Berks. These properties are planned for the Borough’s Redevelopment.

Bids for the "ramp" phase of the Grand Street Extension have been opened and a recommendation to award will be made on Monday evening.

The sign hanging at the pool that was required by DCNR, has now been completed and once again, submission has been made for reimbursement for the balance of the pool grant. I have been advised that this could take several months…….

I attended two council meetings, executive sessions of Council, authority meeting, finance, personnel, property, safety, road and water/sewer/public relations meetings.

If anyone has any questions concerning my report, please feel free to ask.

Attached with my report are the activities of my staff for the month of February, 2010.

Lynda G. Albright, Borough Manager

Repairs were made to the air cylinder on the street sweeper.

Repairs were made on the gas control switch for the tar machine.

The police office was painted.

The flood control dam gates were repaired.

The crew measured Port Clinton Avenue, Mountain Avenue, Woodland Road for yellow and white lines.

The Ford tractor mower which belongs to the Authority was repaired.

The police cars were washed.

Worked with Kim on street bids for 2010. I will be meeting with the PA DOT representative in mid-March to finalize things prior to having the forms ready for advertisement.

A few areas of the municipal center were painted on our inclement weather days.

Service the salt spreaders and plows, both before and after all the snow storms we encountered in February.

As you well know we were inundated with numerous snow storms. A lot of time was spent cindering, salting and plowing snow. After the "big" ones, snow was removed from intersections and parking lots.

On fair weather days, cold patching was performed.

Respectfully submitted,

Richard L. Pickel Public Works Supt.

Water

Water for the month was from the dam.

I have solicited quotes for the work on the sample tap and chlorine monitor at Well 5 and expect to begin work shortly. We hope to have it on line before the spring hydrant flushing.

We have been informed by PaDEP that we are now required to test for nitrite at both distribution system entry points.

We had 2 water leaks on Friday the 26^th. The weather made it quite difficult to locate the leaks and since the crew was plowing we had to bring in an outside contractor.

Wastewater

The inclement weather had the staff spending inordinate amounts of time moving snow and just trying to keep things open so we could get around the plant.

The programming of the SCADA to control the VFDs on the blowers is complete and it is working well. Oxygen levels remain constant and power use has gone down.

Ammonia levels have risen considerably over the last several weeks. We made some changes after consulting with the engineer and representatives of Siemens and are looking for them to drop again, rising temperatures should help.

Robbie and I met with Jessica Lichman of SDE to set priorities for collection system repairs.

Respectfully Submitted
Keith L. Brobst
Water/Wastewater Superintendent

OFFICE MANAGER’S REPORT

FEBRUARY 2010

The first week of February was spent working with the auditors as they completed their annual audit.

Since I will be reconciling the pension statements for both the non-uniform and uniform plans on a monthly basis, one of the audit staff reviewed the procedure with me. These reconciliations will then be reviewed by the auditors during their yearly audit.

While the auditors were present, another issue was discussed and that was the reconciliation of the library books. One of the auditors reviewed with me the process for reconciling their books on a monthly basis and this will be taken care of as well. The auditors will then review the reconciliation at their annual audit.

After the completion of the main audit, all files, folders, boxes etc were moved back to our office for a thorough review and the items were stored.

The monthly Authority organization budget report was updated.

Water and sewer consumption figures were generated for the month and reviewed prior to being sent to the engineer for his review.

The Authority’s trust accounts were reconciled and reports were typed.

Requisitions for the trust accounts were prepared and then mailed.

Our contribution to the Code Red resident list was finalized in the beginning of February and emailed.

Some more mapping has taken place for Code Red. After publication in the newspapers, I will be meeting with those who attend the Senior Center to explain the process and help them fill out any forms.

On February 10, we were inundated with a snow storm. Throughout the day and night assisted the crew, police officers and County officials.

Various forms of correspondence were completed and mailed.

The delinquent report for the Authority was amended and the bar chart was updated.

The street sweeping schedule for 2010 was completed.

On February 24, 2010, attended EMA training at the County facility regarding debris management.

Planning Commission, Authority and Council packets were distributed via email and regular mail.

Attended two Council meetings, NBRC meeting and staff meetings as requested. Minutes were prepared for meetings where necessary.

Respectfully submitted,
Kim Y. Berger
Office Manager

One (1) construction permits and no(0) zoning permits and no (0) paving/sidewalk permits and one (1) property transfer inspection certificate were issued in February.

Major projects ongoing or proposed are as follows:

Our HOP permit application for public north bound access to and from route 61 has not been issued by Penn Dot.

Penn Dot has indicated they will issue a conditional HOP to allow work to begin in March.

Five bids were opened February 24^th. With Schlouch Inc. offering the lowest bid at $1,227,596.77.

Review of our submission by Penn Dot for our HOP is pending .

Orange stones has appealed the common courts’ decision to the state court of appeals.

The common appeals court has ruled in favor of the ZHB denial of zoning permit application #3.

Orange Stones has appealed to the common appeals ,the County construction appeals board decision in favor of the Borough.

Orange Stones has appealed Zoning permit #4 denial to the ZHB.

Both The Borough and Orange Stones have filed appeals to this decision.

Inspections were completed for residential and light commercial previously permitted, work in the borough.

Property Maintenance complaints of rubbish and junk vehicles and snow removal, etc. continue to be addressed. Note: 5(five) calls were answered regarding Property Maintenance complaints. Six issues remain pending.

One (1) fire safety Inspection and one (1) Property transfer inspection was done this month.

John Leonforte

The month of February continued with a staff meeting and several meetings with Lynda Albright. Additional meetings and phone conversations with Rick Pickel, Lamar Honberger, Malcolm Eubert, Serv Safe at Berks PA Department of Agriculture, Brad Knittle, and Link Automatic.

Preparation for the summer of 2010:

1. Interviews for the concession were held the last week of February. There were several good candidates which will make it difficult to select new employees.
2. Bev Epting and Bethany Thren are currently participating in a three day Serv Safe course at Penn State Department of Agriculture, Berks Campus at a cost of $175.00 each. Passage of the test will certify them to operate the concession stand.
3. Rick and crew have made repairs to the Arts and Craft building. In the process they have discovered a problem with the electric. It will need repair.
4. The CO2 pump for the main pump house has been repaired.

Preparations for the 2010 season are continuing. There are still many issues to complete.

Respectfully submitted,
Guy R. Ketch, Jr., Recreation Director

Nothing

On the recommendation of the Personnel Committee, a motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Jeff Adam to hire the following individuals for park/pool personnel for the 2010 summer season.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Heather Berger approving use of the 4^th and Pine Parking lot by OTF and closure of Pine Street from 4^th to 3^rd for the Art Stroll "Wheels of Time" on Friday, August 6, 2010 and for their annual "Beach Night" on Friday, July 2, 2010.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

On the recommendation of the Property Committee, a motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Doug Williams approving the increase in pool season tickets for 2010. ($10 for in town residents and $20 for out of town residents. Daily rates remain the same.)

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

On the recommendation of the Road Committee, a motion was made by Roger Stetzler and seconded by Dale Schlenker to award the bid for the Grand Street Extension Project (on and off ramps on Route 61) to Schlouch, Inc. at a cost of $1,227,596.17.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

A motion was made by Jeanette Heckman and seconded by Heather Berger to increase Officer Chase’s hourly rate to $16.00 per hour and to provide single medical insurance.

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam

NAYES – None

(D. Williams abstained)

A motion was made by Dale Schlenker and seconded by Jeanette Heckman to approve payment of invoices totaling $374,684.15

ROLL CALL: AYES – M. Bertolet, J. Heckman, D. Schlenker, R. Stetzler,

H. Berger, J. Adam, D. Williams

NAYES – None

(J. Heckman abstained from Werley’s invoice.)

Allied Waste Mgt. 18,777.00

American Rock Salt Company LLC 3,121.46

American Water Works Assoc 268.00

Barry Isett & Associates, Inc. 45,724.75

Berks Co. Solid Waste Authority 250.00

Blue Mountain Computer Service 2,083.84

Bright Sign, Inc. 202.50

Central Penn Gas 2,156.25

Roy C. Del Rosario 15.50

EMC Insurance Companies 1,121.00

J. E. Fink & Sons 50.00

Fort Dearborn Life Insurance 303.43

Fromm Electric Supply 51.90

Henn’s Garage 214.32

Insight 710.99

J/M Fence & Deck Co. 3,937.00

Kantner’s Tire Service 1,578.00

Mike Kershner 263.80

E.M. Kutz, Inc. 123.34

Kuzan’s True Value 312.65

Lowe’s Business Account 66.26

M & T Bank 951.00

Met-Ed 5,935.95

Municipal Employers Ins. Trust 150.50

Overhead Door 629.55

Penn Pride, Inc. 2,915.22

Pitney Bowes Purchase Power 2,000.00

Powerco, Inc. 398.00

Quill Corporation 248.08

Reading Eagle Co. 1,372.25

SealMaster/Allentown 334.42

Stratix Systems 154.00

Thren’s Auto Parts 629.14

ThyssenKrupp Elevator 220.58

Triangle Communication 161.50

UniFirst 366.76

United Parcel Service 19.77

Weis Markets 9.86

Francis L. Werley. Inc. 744.35

Zee Medical Service Company 58.10

TOTAL 98,631.02

BILLS PAID DURING THE MONTH

HIDirect 161.00

Berks Co. Treasurer 494.50

Mitten, Priscilla 127,817.86

Borough/Payroll 95,646.44

Berks Co Coop Ex 350.00

LSR Excavating C 51,554.60

Petty Cash 28.73

TOTAL 276,053.13

INVOICES TO BE PAID 98,631.02

INVOICES PAID PREVIOUSLY 276,053.13

GRAND TOTAL 374,684.15

Patricia Moerder, resident of Hamburg proposed creating a dog park. Possible location could be the area at the hockey rink at the park. It’s fenced in. A lot of discussion was held regarding the dog park. This will be handled and discussed by the Property Committee.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m. on the motion of Dale Schlenker and seconded by Heather Berger.