Documents Aug 24, 2020

Minutes

Ebensburg Borough Council Meeting Minutes

Date: August 24, 2020 Time: 6:30 p. m. – 6:59 p. m. Location: Ebensburg Municipal Building, 300 W. High Street

Present: Doug Tusing (President), Dave Kuhar (Vice President), Theresa Jacoby, Scot May, Cecilia Houser, Mike Owatt.
Absent: Jeff Ball.
Others Present: Daniel Penatzer (Borough Manager), Randy Datsko (Mayor), Blair Pawlowski (Solicitor), Terry Wyland (Police Chief), Dirk Johnson (Recreation Director), Mark Pesto (The Tribune Democrat), Kristen Baudoux (The Mountaineer Herald).
Audience: 14 residents.

The council approved the consent agenda unanimously, which included:

Financial Transfer: A record of $1,750,000 transferred from an Ameriserv CD to the FNB money market.
New Hire: Logan Prokop was hired as a laborer in Public Works, effective September 7, 2020.
Previous Minutes: Approval of the minutes from the July 27, 2020 meeting.
Financials: Approval of the Financial Statement, quarterly transfers, and payment of bills.
Airport Plan: Approval of amendments to the Airport Capital Improvement Plan.

Street Committee

Sidewalk Project: Ms. Houser reported that work on East Crawford, East Horner, and North Caroline Streets is essentially complete. Work continues on landscaping. The project deadline for East Sample Street is September 15th, though it may take a week longer.
Street Resurfacing: Bids were received for milling and resurfacing streets in the northeast quadrant.
- New Enterprise: $382,274. 40 (Lowest Bid)
- Grannas Brothers: $389,059. 33
- Quaker Sales: $407,609. 45
- HRI: $493,571. 20
- Decision: The council awarded the contract to New Enterprise for $382,274. 40.

Administration Committee (Pension Plans)

Non-Uniformed Plan: The Minimum Municipal Obligation (MMO) for 2021 was set at $140,921.
Uniformed Plan: The MMO for 2021 was set at $51,042.
Employee Contributions: Resolution #2020-08 and #2020-09 were passed, establishing an employee contribution rate of 3% (unchanged) for both plans.
State Aid: Resolution #2020-10 authorized the distribution of state aid checks to the respective pension plans.

Airport Runway Project

Contract Award: The council awarded a contract to Grannas Brothers for $278,100. 00 to resurface the airport runway.
Funding Status: The grant from PennDOT’s Bureau of Aviation has not yet been fully executed due to FAA delays. However, the Borough has sufficient funds on hand to bridge any gap if payment is required before grant execution.

Outdoor Burning Ordinance (#654)

Current Law: Allows open burning on Tuesdays (8 a. m. – 5 p. m. ) and Saturday mornings.
Proposal: A new ordinance to ban all outdoor burning except for recreational fires.
Vote: The motion to tentatively adopt Ordinance #654 passed with the following roll call:
- Yes: Tusing, Kuhar, Owatt, Houser, May.
- No: Jacoby.

Lot Merger (320 East High Street)

Ms. Houser reported on a proposal to merge three contiguous vacant parcels at 320 East High Street.
Decision: The council approved the lot merger, contingent upon Planning Commission approval.

Middle School Football Field Rezoning

Central Commons requested rezoning of the former middle school football field, which is currently zoned Single-Household Residential.
Decision: Mr. Owatt moved to schedule a public hearing for October 5th. The motion passed unanimously.

Public Comment

Mr. Wayne Templeton (902 N. Caroline Street) reported illegal dumping at the north end of Caroline Street and requested "No Dumping" signs.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:59 p. m. upon a motion by Ms. Jacoby, seconded by Ms. Houser.

Minutes Recorded by: Danea Koss, Community Development Director