MARTINSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 2, 2007
The regular meeting of the Martinsburg Borough Council was held on Monday, April 2, 2007, in the municipal building. The meeting started at 7:00 p.m. with prayer by Randy Stoltz and the Pledge of Allegiance.
ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT: Mayor Donald C. Greenleaf, President Robert A. Carper, Pro-tem Nathan P. Ormsby, Councilman Christopher E. Brooks, Councilwoman Doreen K. Easly, Linda K. Smith and Councilwoman Suzanne B. McNally
ALSO PRESENT were Manager Randy Stoltz, Borough Secretary Jane Staily, Attorney Cathy Miller, Chief Kerry Hoover, Sergeant Justin Davis, Jerry Mealey of PSAB, James Layton, Brian Syler of the Hollidaysburg Ambulance, District Magistrate Craig Ormsby, and Dan Horton of the Morrisons Cove Herald.
Linda K. Smith received the Oath of Office from District Magistrate Craig Ormsby as councilwoman to fulfill Sheldon Smith’s unexpired term ending December 31, 2007.
Jerry Mealey, the Director of Marketing and Sales of the Pennsylvania State Association of Borough’s, was present. He presented the Borough of Martinsburg with a plaque in recognition of the town’s 175th anniversary. Martinsburg was incorporated on April 2, 1832. Mayor Greenleaf accepted the plaque on behalf of the borough.
The MINUTES of the regular meeting of March 5, 2007 were approved on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Doreen Easly. The motion passed unanimously.
The FINANCIAL AND TREASURER’S REPORTS were presented for March, 2007 as written.
The LIST OF BILLS for March 2007, check nos. 3604-3647 in the amount of $29,930.47 (including a $15,000 investment to PLGIT) was approved on a motion by Doreen Easly, seconded by Nathan Ormsby. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Greenleaf reported that he attended the last meeting of the 175th Anniversary Committee. He also met several times with Chief Hoover to review police matters.
Chief Hoover presented his police report as written. Chief Hoover was recommending James Layton to fill the part-time patrolman vacancy on the police department. He lives in Fishertown, Bedford County. He has one more certification to complete before he can make any arrests. Council on a motion by Chris Brooks, seconded by Suzanne McNally, accepted Chief Hoover’s recommendation to hire James Layton as a part-time patrolman. Employment with the borough will be effective immediately. The motion passed unanimously.
Chief Hoover thanked Chris Brooks for getting the department’s lap tops up and running. The police department had a training session on the lap tops and the programs. The police policy manual is now available to the patrolmen on the lap tops. Fire Chief Randy Acker was currently working on a list of road names which can be accessed on the lap tops to make finding locations easier. The J-net program for searching driver license and registration can also be accessed on the lap tops now. The lap tops make the officers’ job much easier and allows them to spend more time in the car. The police department is in need of new uniform trousers. Chief Hoover came across a new style that can be purchased locally. The color of the trouser is black as opposed to the grey they currently wear. The cost of the pant is comparatively cheaper ($30/pair
MARTINSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 2, 2007 - PAGE 2
instead of $54/pair). He was asking council’s approval to switch to the new trouser. Council on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Chris Brooks, approved to change to the new trouser. The motion passed unanimously. At least one pair will be purchased for each officer so that they match when they are all out for the Fourth of July celebrations. Guest speakers for the April Neighborhood Crime Watch meeting will be from United Way and Operation Our Town. They have donated $275,000 to Blair County for the fight against drugs. United Way can match funds up to $50,000 through the end of April. Doreen Easly inquired about gang problems in Altoona. Chief Hoover mentioned that the officers already have had some gang awareness training. Chief Hoover mentioned that there were some things on his “wish list” for this year that he won’t be spending money for, such as Visual Alert. The copier may be obtained through a grant.
Chief Hoover has checked into several options of how to purchase the new police car. A leasing program is offering 6.9% for three annual payments – the car can be purchased at the end of the lease for $1.00. Omega Bank came in very close with an offer of 6.95%. John Stuckey Ford will have the car road ready when it is picked up. Council on a motion by Doreen Easly, seconded by Chris Brooks, authorized Chief Hoover to make the arrangements to purchase or lease the new 2007 Ford Crown Vic police cruiser choosing the best financing package for the borough according to his presentation this evening. The motion passed unanimously.
Chris Brooks was impressed with Chief Hoover’s police manual. He retyped it in its entirety into a word document with various hyper links.
Manager Stoltz met with Layne Christensen and Kinetico, vendors of nitrate removal processes. An authority trip is being planned to see some of Layne Christensen’s installations in New Jersey. The authority is also considering a new well site as the possibly alternative to reducing nitrates in the drinking water.
Manager Stoltz reported that he attended the Susquehanna River Basin Commission meeting on March 14th as part of the panel addressing the Cove area watershed – his recommendation to move on from further studies to a plan of action was taken by the board – they voted to implement a plan; attended the regular March authority meeting; held a six hour IRC code training class at the fire hall on building code updates – 69 attended; every street in town including the state highway was swept; and on March 29 met with New Enterprise Stone and Lime to look at the town center parking lot. Attorney Cathy Miller will be checking to see if the town center parking lot deeds were ever recorded. The property needs to be taken off the tax rolls.
Nathan Ormsby attended the authority’s special meeting to meet with vendors of nitrate removal systems. It was very interesting. He was unable to attend the regular authority meeting on March 15.
Dinner/Dance tickets will be going on sale soon for Saturday, April 21, from 6-9 p.m. Dan Horton was working on a skit for that evening. Jim Snyder of the Blair County Genealogy Society was in to scan the old photos, post cards, etc. of Martinsburg brought in by various residents to use in the power point presentation to be displayed at the dinner. Dan Horton was commended for his help with the various 175th anniversary events.
MARTINSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MINUTES
APRIL 2, 2007 – PAGE 3
The “Yard of the Month” contest will be held again this year. It may be possible for borough residents to vote “on line” this time. Chief Hoover reported that more and more people are using the borough’s website.
Mayor Don Greenleaf was in contact with someone in association with the 24-member committee. The committee has not had a meeting for one and one-half years.
The Revitalization Committee has submitted a grant application for a $500,000 through Congressman Shuster.
Five quotes were received to re-shingle the roof of the municipal building as follows:
CONTRACTOR SHINGLES METAL
E & B Builders $19,852.00 $19,852.00
Lawrence Burkholder $16,394.84 $18,820.09
Defibaugh & Shields Construction $17,500.00 $18,500.00
Anthony R. Lewis $17,100.00 no quote
Norman S. Reiff $16,483.00 $20,325.00
It was noted that the chimney bricks on the municipal building were deteriorating and could pose a liability problem. The contractor could either flash around them or remove the chimney altogether since it is not longer used. Council preferred that the old shingles be totally removed as opposed to shingling over them as to avoid the excess weight. Attorney Miller was a little concerned that council was considering the metal roof quotes since the advertisement only asked for quotes for shingles, especially since one of the five contractors did not quote metal at all. Manager Stoltz reassured council that he personally spoke with each contractor and verbally gave them each the opportunity to quote a metal roof. Amongst the quotes, some quoted new spouting, some didn’t – some quoted the removal of the old shingles, some quoted leaving them on. Since it appeared that the Lawrence Burkholder quote most closely matched the ad specifications, council on a motion by Chris Brooks, seconded by Doreen Easly, voted to accept his quote on the metal roof for $18,820.09. The motion passed unanimously. Manager Stoltz will notify Lawrence Burkholder that he was awarded the contract.
Two estimates were received from New Enterprise Stone & Lime Company for the paving of the town center parking lot. Due to the amount of the estimates, the project will have to be put out for bid. Thickness and specifics of the pavement was discussed. On a motion by Chris Brooks, seconded by Suzanne McNally, council authorized Manager Stoltz to advertise the town center parking lot paving project based on the specifications that provided for 2” of 25 mm base and 1.5” of 9.5 mm wearing course paving and prep work – line striping not to be included in the bid (since the borough has their own machine to do this). The motion passed unanimously.
Ralph Sheffy has resigned from the Ambulance Board. Council will be seeking a replacement for the vacancy. The board member does not have to be a resident of the borough as long as they reside in the ambulance coverage area (Martinsburg Borough, North Woodbury Township or Huston Township).
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Chris Brooks mentioned that the room temperature in the police department is almost always 10-15o higher than the borough office making the officers quite uncomfortable with their vests and gear on. He was prepared to present council with a price on an additional air conditioning unit for the police department, but a free air conditioner was just offered by Manager Stoltz’s mother. Council was appreciative for the donation.
Correspondence was received from the Blair County Chief Assessor requesting that Martinsburg consider implementing a Resolution for an interim assessment for new construction that matches what the county has implemented. Attorney Miller recommended that council review it further to see what exactly it would mean in dollars and cents and how it will impact the tax payers of Martinsburg before enacting such a Resolution. More information will be necessary to be able to make such a determination. She will contact Blair County Assessor Mike Baldner to see if he is able to meet with council to review the matter at the next meeting.
The next South Central Counties Borough’s Association meeting will be held on Thursday, April 19, 2007, at the Escelsior Fire Hall hosted by the Borough of Bellwood.
A brief executive session was called for to discuss personnel matters following the adjournment of the meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m. on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Doreen Easly. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
M. Jane Staily
Secretary