MARTINSBURG BOROUGH COUNCIL MINUTES
September 4, 2007
The regular meeting of the Martinsburg Borough Council was held on Tuesday, September 4, 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, Councilwoman Doreen K. Easly, Councilwoman Suzanne B. McNally, and Councilwoman Linda K. Smith
ALSO PRESENT were Manager Randy Stoltz, Borough Secretary Jane Staily, Attorney Cathy Miller, Chief Kerry Hoover, Sergeant Justin Davis, Richard Brantner, Jr., Daniel Border of the Hollidaysburg Ambulance, and Sharon Snyder of the Morrison’s Cove Herald.
The MINUTES of the regular meeting of August 6, 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 August, 2007 as written.
The LIST OF BILLS for August 2007, check nos. 3822-3842 in the amount of $21,544.63 was approved on a motion by Doreen Easly, seconded by Nathan Ormsby. The motion passed unanimously.
Mayor Donald Greenleaf reported that he attended the neighborhood watch meeting on August 14; he attended the 175th Anniversary Committee meeting on August 28th; he met with a property owner on S. Market St. concerning an alert to weeds from a neighbor who also complained of skunk smell on the same property for weeks - the mayor and police department will continue the investigation and take appropriate action; performed community service assisting in the repair and painting of the gate on Walnut St. at the Morrisons Cove Memorial Park; and met with the police chief occasionally to discuss ongoing situations.
Chief Hoover presented his police report as written. The new cruiser was received. The new car looks very similar to the other car except for a few minor striping changes. It was very convenient ordering the car from Stuckey because it was road ready when received. The police department was involved in the saturation control on Friday, August 24 in conjunction with other area forces consisting of a total of 29 officers from five area municipalities. They made 36 traffic stops, 1 DUI arrest, and gave numerous citations. The canine units and the State Police helicopter were used. The patrol concentrated mainly on illegal drug use and other criminal activity. The new copier received through a grant was received. The entire police department qualified at the rifle range. The Huston Township police agreement expires and will be up for renewal at the end of this year – Chief Hoover was in the process of revising the new cost figures. The same committee comprised of Nathan Ormsby, Chris Brooks and Chief Hoover was appointed to review the new contract with Huston Township.
Manager Stoltz reported that on August 7th DEP put out a 5% voluntary Drought Watch for 58 counties in Pennsylvania including Blair County. DEP requested that drought contingency plans be updated – ours is already in compliance – it was registered in November. Penelec removed the plastic protective cover from the electric line beside the municipal building. Pennsylvania National Insurance held a safety presentation meeting with the borough crew. Attended a building code certification course on
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August 22-23. The Cove Area Regional Digester committee held an open house on August 30 at the Rodney Metzler farm. A pilot plant of the digester project was on display and presentations and speeches were made. The pilot plant will run for about two months.
Linda Smith reported how nice Spring Street looked right now.
Attorney Cathy Miller reported that the real estate tax rolls for the town center parking lot were transferred into the borough’s name last October (2006). The real estate bill that we just recently received was sent to the borough in error and was corrected by the real estate tax collector after she found the copy of the letter of transfer.
Doreen Easly reported that the next event for the 175th Anniversary Celebration to be held on Saturday, September 22, 2007, will be the last event of the year. Their next committee meeting will be held on Monday, September 10 – this will also be their last meeting. The street fair will be held on E. Penn St. from 12 – 5:00 pm. Chief Hoover will put the flyer information for the event on the borough’s website. Digital pictures of Saturday’s event will be taken to be put on the website. The memory book for the 175th Anniversary will be at the event for those who would like to write in it. The book will be stored away until the borough’s 200th Anniversary. Doreen Easly and Suzanne McNally were once again commended for an outstanding job in preparation and planning of all the events. A list of all the 175th Anniversary Committee members will be compiled for memory book to be opened at the 200th anniversary celebration.
Linda Smith reported that the Revitalization Committee met with owner Richard Over and tenant Karen Wyland to discuss the mural design to be painted on the bakery building. Karen is asking that “Mamie’s Café” be printed with the mural. The committee met on August 30th to discuss grants with the Pennsylvania State Association of Borough’s. Their next meeting will be on Monday, September 10 to visit Tyrone Borough with Mayor Pat Stoner since they didn’t get to go last month. The quote to move the overhead power lines to underground is very expensive.
Suzanne McNally reported that the votes are in for the last “Yard of the Month” winner. The Garden Club has to inspect the yard then the Morrisons Cove Herald will be contacted to take a picture.
Samples of two variations of a new borough sign from Image were passed out to the council members. The sign will be carved from high density urethane sign foam. This company has made many signs for surrounding municipalities and businesses. The sign done in dark green was very nice looking. The proposed sign will be 4’ x 8’. The urethane sign costs $5,9000; the metal is $3,900. The urethane looked more elegant. Cost for labor to install the sign was $85.00. It will take about eight weeks for the carved gold leafed sign to be made. On a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Linda Smith council voted to purchase the carved high density urethane foam sign from the general operating fund for a cost of $5,900 plus $85.00 for installation. The motion passed unanimously. Sergeant Davis suggested that council consider installing permanent flag holders in the front lawn also.
Manager Stoltz had a professional tree trimmer in to look at the front lawn pine tree. It will take about five or more years to get it shaped up through trimming. It would cost about $400-$500 to be trimmed or $600 to be cut down. Another local tree trimmer will cut it down for $300 with borough help. The stump could be ground up. Mayor Greenleaf was not in favor of cutting down the
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tree. Manager Stoltz recommended that the Revitalization Committee be appointed to come up with a landscaping plan for around the sign. Nathan Ormsby recommended that the tree be cut down before the new sign was installed to avoid any possible damage. The tree will be replaced with another tree. Manager Stoltz recommended that council might want to consider replacing the mature shrubs around the building also. Tom Ritchey’s horticulture class may be able to help with a design. Council on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Linda Smith, voted to eliminate the pine tree in the front lawn and replace it with another tree. The motion passed unanimously. The county’s chipper could be used as the tree is being cut down. The chips can be taken to the compost pile at the municipal garage.
The borough’s cable franchise agreement expires on December 31, 2007. A 16-page franchise document was received in the mail today. Our last agreement was thirty pages when complete. Manager Stoltz hasn’t had a chance to look at it yet. He spoke with Roaring Spring Borough about the franchise agreement and they would like us to join them again in preparing a new agreement with them as theirs runs out the same time as ours. They would like a committee of two council people and Randy. Chris Brooks, Nathan Ormsby and Suzanne McNally volunteered to be on the committee along with Manager Stoltz.
Council discussed the location of the box storage cage and dumpster located behind the baker in town center. Both were placed on the back of the borough’s town center parking lot without notice by the bakery tenant. Council on a motion by Doreen Easly, seconded by Suzanne McNally, voted to have the cardboard storage cage moved to behind the Over building away from the fence at the end of the town center parking lot. The motion passed unanimously.
Jane Staily prepared the minimum municipal obligation for the Non-Uniformed and Uniformed pension plans for insertion into the 2008 budget as a requirement of Act 205 of 1984. Council on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Doreen Easly, adopted the 2008 MMO’s as follows: Non-Uniformed Plan $16,441 and Uniformed Plan $10,594. The motion passed unanimously.
Upon completion of the 175th Anniversary celebration events, council will officially approve where to appropriate the fund balance upon the committee’s recommendation.
Jane Staily reported that a preliminary budget report was included in the agenda packets. Estimated 2007 numbers were included in the report. A preliminary 2008 budget will be prepared for the next meeting.
The Chamber has scheduled a Summit for September 6th at the Casino in Lakemont to discuss municipal consolidation. The Chamber hopes that this Summit will be a first step in creating additional dialogue aimed at building consensus. They have speakers, moderators and panelists who will be sharing their talents at this event.
Daniel Border reported that Mike Parisi will be temporarily taking the place of their manager of the Hollidaysburg Ambulance as he was recently deployed overseas again through the military. He also thanked Manager Stoltz for his assistance with a plumbing incident at the EMS building.
Mayor Greenleaf inquired how council felt about him routinely patrolling the town on his scooter. Council didn’t seem to mind as long as he merely reported concerning matters to the police to handle for liability purposes.
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Chief Hoover reported that the next Neighborhood Watch Meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, September 11 at 7:00 p.m. A representative from MADD (Mothers Agains Drunk Driving) will be the guest speaker. He also reported that two of our patrolman were hand picked to be on the Warrant Team for Blair County consisting of 15-18 officers in total. Their wages for hours worked for this program will be reimbursed through the Operation Our Town committee. The team was assembled to serve warrants – mainly drug warrants. They will be sworn in as county detectives under borough employment.
Doreen inquired about the skate board ordinance. The department is enforcing it. Skate boarding is only allowed on private property with the permission of the property owner. Chief Hoover will be putting a spot on the web page called “Ordinance of the Month” as they pertain.
The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m. on a motion by Nathan Ormsby, seconded by Doreen Easly. The motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully submitted,
M. Jane Staily
Secretary