July 12, 2021 Council Meeting Minutes

WYOMING BOROUGH

COUNCIL MEETING

                                                        Minutes

July 12, 2021

7:30 p.m.

                                                     Pledge of Allegiance                                                   

Roll Call:

Mr. Michael Baloga       P                                    Mayor Joseph Dominick   P

Mr. Joseph Scaltz         P                                      Attorney Laura Dennis   P

Mr. John Lipski             P                                  

Mr. Robert Borzell         P                              

Mr. Russell Herron      A                           

Mrs. Diane Smiles         A              

Citizens: ­­­        11                    Press: 0

Approval of minutes:  The minutes of the June 2021 meeting are available for review at the borough office. The minutes are approved on a motion made by Mr. Borzell and seconded by Mr. Scaltz.

Motion Moved

Officers Reports: Reports of the Police Department, Street Commissioner and Code Enforcement Officer for the month of June 2021 have been submitted and placed on file for public inspection.

REPORTS AND COMMITTEES

Administration:  Finance and Grants

Chairman

Joseph Scaltz           John Lipski        Diane Smiles

In order to be compliant with the reporting guidelines for the use of the American Rescue Funds we need to keep them separate from our general operating funds.

Motion made to open a separate checking account at Fidelity Bank for the American Relief Funds received.

Motion Made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by:  Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Report: The Borough received funds from the AMERICAN RELIEF FUND in the amount of $157,579.50. Funds will be reserved for future Sewer updates.

Emergency Service:  Police and Fire Departments

Chairman

Joseph Scaltz          John Lipski           Robert Borzell

Motion made to hire Alexandra Nolan as a part time police officer at $17.00 per hour with no benefits. 

Motion Made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by:  Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Police Regionalization Commission, to consist of the Mayors of Exeter Borough, West Pittston, Wyoming and West Wyoming, and a Supervisor of Exeter Township as voting members, and a member of each Municipality’s Council or Board of Supervisors to serve as an alternate voting member, in the absence of the mayor or designated Supervisor.

 Motion made to approve Wyoming Borough’s participation in the Wyoming Area Police Regionalization Commission to consist of the Mayors of Exeter Borough, West Pittston, Wyoming and West Wyoming and a Supervisor of Exeter Township as voting members, and a member of each Municipality’s Council or Board of Supervisors to serve as alternate voting members, in the absence of the mayor or designated Supervisor.

Motion Made by:  Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Scaltz

Motion Moved

Motion made to approve the appointment of Mayor Joseph J Dominick to serve on the Wyoming Area Police Regionalization Commission, as the representative of the Wyoming Borough.

Motion made by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Scaltz

Motion Moved

Motion made to approve the appointment of Councilman Joseph Scaltz to serve as the alternate representative on the Wyoming Area Police Regionalization Commission on behalf of Wyoming Borough.

Motion made by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Baloga 

Motion Moved

Health and Sanitation:  Recycling and Solid Waste

Chairman

Robert Borzell              John Lipski           Russell Herron

Report:

61 Citations were served for 2021 unpaid trash invoices.

Upcoming recycling event: Annual Shred Event, September 9, 2021 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the borough building parking lot.

Personnel:

Chairman

Diane Smiles             Robert Borzell            Joseph Scaltz

90 Day probationary period for Borough Clerk, Kelsie Snyder. was June 21, 2021. Kelsie has been doing a great job helping with the disposition of records and organizing files. It would be beneficial for Kelsie to take a few classes with the PSAB to further her knowledge within the borough.

Motion made to approve .50 per hour increase to Kelsie Snyder bringing her hourly pay rate to $10.50 per hour.

Motion made by: Mr. Lipski

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Motion made to approve Kelsie Snyder to take recommended classes with the PSAB.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Motion made to compensate, Borough Manger, Roseanne Colarusso for performing the duties of Borough Treasurer for the months of March, April, May, June, July 2021.

Motion made by: Mr. Lipski

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Motion made to appoint Borough Manager, Roseanne Colarusso to be the Borough Treasurer, annual salary of $2500.00.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Lipski

Motion Moved

Public Property:  Borough Building and Recreation

Chairman

Diane Smiles           Russell Herron          Robert Borzell

Motion made to approve Tommy Skilonger use of the borough building meeting room on July 21, 2021 for 1 hour for uniform sizing for Surge Travel Soccer Team.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Report:

Recreation Board in conjunction with the Wyoming Free Library will host a “Movie in the Park” in August. Date to be determined.

Recreation Board would like to thank the Wyoming Rotary for their donation. The Wyoming Rotary presented the Recreation Board with a donation of $500.00. Funds will be used to have summer events for the community.

Streets and Sewers: Public Works

Chairman

Russell Herron               Joseph Scaltz              Robert Borzell

Motion made to pass the amendment to Ordinance 15-213 for placement of a stop sign on Tenth Street for entry onto Susquehanna Avenue.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Lipski

Motion Moved

Zoning and Planning:

Chairman

John Lipski          Russell Herron          Robert Borzell

Motion will be made to authorize Chairman of Zoning Committee John Lipski, to execute documents on behalf of Wyoming Borough, to be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for the construction of the Transcontinental Pipeline. 

Motion made by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Scaltz

Motion Moved

Motion will be made to authorize Chairman of Zoning Committee John Lipski, to execute documents on behalf of Wyoming Borough, to be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for the construction of the Cloud 10 Car Wash.

Motion made by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Baloga

Motion Moved

Motion made to authorize publication of the Wyoming Borough Zoning Planning Code to initiate public input and complete submission to Luzerne County Zoning for approval. 

Motion made by: Mr. Lipski

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Solicitor’s Report:

Working on getting an ordinance in place for the borough handicap spaces.

 MOTION MADE TO APPROVE THE SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS FOR AN ATTORNEY TO SERVE IN THE CAPACITY AS SOLICITOR FOR THE WYOMING AREA POLICE REGIONALIZATION COMMISSION, AND TO AUTHORIZE THE DESIGNATED REPRESENTATIVES OF EACH MUNICIPALITY TO INITIATE, PREPARE, DISEMINATE AND PUBLISH THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

MOTION MADE TO APPROVE, AS AN ELIGIBLE CREDITOR, THE FIFTH AMENDED JOINT CHAPTER 11 PLAN FOR THE PURDUE PHARMA, L.P. CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY.

Motion made by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded by: Mr. Scaltz

Motion Moved

 MOTION WILL BE MADE TO AUTHORIZE THE SOLICITOR, BOROUGH MANAGER AND HEAD OF THE STREET DEPARTMENT, TO EXECUTE NOTIFICATION TO RESIDENTS BY LETTER THAT THEY MUST REGISTER THEIR HANDICAPPED LICENSE PARKING SIGN WITH THEIR HANDICAPPED LICENSE PLACARD NUMBER AND BOROUGH ADDRESS WITH THE BOROUGH MANAGER WITHIN 60 DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THE LETTER.

Motion moved by: Mr. Borzell

Seconded By: Mr. Lipski

Motion Moved

 MOTION WILL BE MADE TO AUTHORIZE SOLICITOR TO CREATE AN ORDINANCE FOR HANDICAPPED PARKING PERMIT APPLICATION PROCESS, AND RULES FOR SAID PERMIT.

Motion made by: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Motion Moved

Mayors Report:   The Police Department responded to 163 incidents in the month of June 2021.

Gave a recap of the last meeting for Police Regionalization.

FLOOR OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

EMILY FORMAN / JULIUS ZUCKER

ROBERT SHERINSKY

CHARLIE BURNS

Emily Forman/ Julius Zucker:

Tenants at 477 Monument Avenue complaint about landlord not keeping the property up to code. They are worried about their safety.

Many citations have been filed on this property by code enforcement.

Robert Sherinsky

Enjoyed the Monument Ceremony that was held on July 3rd 2021

Complaint about yard waste wasn’t picked up from May into June, he is having problems with J. P. Mascaro.

Asked if the Borough is planning on doing a Firework Ordinance? Concerned about possible structure fires and personal injuries. There is no place legal in the borough to light fireworks.

Mayor Dominick stated we follow the state law and he should place a call to 911 when he sees an issue.

Borough solicitor explained the importance of calling 911 to the resident.

Councilman Lipski referred to the Noise Ordinance and also stated the police officer needs to see the violation.

Charlie Burns

Had a complaint about sanitation schedule regarding the July yard waste schedule.

The normal schedule for yard waste pick up is the 1st and 3rd Saturday April thru November. The change in the schedule was due to the Holiday that was celebrated on Monday of that week. Mascaro alerted the borough when the calendar was presented but said they would need to have the dates are listed.

Communications: A list of communications received since the last meeting have been presented to council and accepted on a motion made by Mr. Borzell and seconded by Mr. Scaltz.

Motion moved

Payment of Bills: A listing of bills paid and received for payment for July have been presented to council and accepted on a motion made by Mr. Lipski and seconded by Mr. Borzell.

Motion moved

ADDITIONAL DISCUSSIONS

Discussion about the alleyways that are Borough property, Street Commissioner James Tregan asked for permission to maintain them.

Permission was given to cut the grass.

Complaint from resident about the corner of Sharpe & Third Street ADA Ramp is a safety issue and needs to be replaced.

Council gave permission to Street Commissioner to install a new ramp.

Unfinished Business: None                    

Motion to adjourn: Mr. Scaltz

Seconded by: Mr. Borzell

Time: 8:40 p.m.

Date:  July 12, 2021           

Minutes Recorded by: Borough Manager, Roseanne Colarusso