BOROUGH OF GLENOLDEN

GLENOLDEN, PENNSYLVANIA

 

COUNCIL MEETING                                                     NOVEMBER 20, 2007

 

MR. DANZI                                                                            MR. MCGARVEY                         

MR. PFAFF                                                                            MR. QUINN                      

MR. BOOTHBY                                                                        MS. NELSON

MR. PUPPIO                                                                          MR. MCGETTIGAN

MR. KERSTETTER                                                                         MR. HOOVER  

MAYOR BATHURST                                                   

                          

PRESIDENT DANZI – Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

 

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. McGarvey to approve minutes of the previous meeting. MOTION CARRIED

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. Pfaff to approve the Treasurer’s Report.

MOTION CARRIED

 

BIDS & CORRESPONDENCE – I have three bids for fuel oil which we will award at next month’s council meeting. One is from Sunoco. Sunoco does theirs at a rack price plus delivery charge of thirty two cents so the varying price can go up or down. We’ve been lucky, we used Sunoco this year. Right now it’s $2.9365. W. T. Galbraith was $2.999. Wilson Oil was $3.099. As it stands today Sunoco will be returning next year provided everything turns out the same. That’s it.

 

President Danzi – Okay.

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. McGarvey to go out of the regular order of business to hear from the public with any questions pertaining to the motions listed on the agenda.

MOTION CARRIED

 

PRESIDENT DANZI – Any questions on agenda items tonight? 

 

Walter Boland, 104 E. Oak Lane – I’d like to know if I can see a copy of the regulations for the library you’re gonna put in tonight?

President Danzi – We’ll get you a copy right after the meeting. You’ll have a copy and it will be put on display. It’s an update of older rules and regulations.

 

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

FINANCE & LAWMr. McGettigan            No new report

 

 

 

 

PUBLIC & SAFETYMr. Quinn

 

 

CASH

CHECKS

TOTAL

Parking Tickets

1,350.00

1,230.00

2,580.00

Accidents

94.00

  345.00

439.00

Dog/Weeds/Snow

0.00

0.00

0.00

Magistrate Tozer

0.00

*3,286.90

*3,286.90

D.U.I.

0.00

79.77

79.77

Totals

$1,444.00

$4,941.67

$6,385.67

          * September fines

 

   67

Crimes Code Arrests

   98

Vehicle Code Arrests/Citations Issued

   347

Parking Tickets Issued

     2

Borough Ordinance Citations

    614

Incidents

 

 

Glenolden Fire Company Report for October, 2007

 

Maintenance Report:

- All trucks were kept clean throughout the month

- Weekly inspections and routine maintenance performed on each truck.

- Weekly equipment checks performed on each truck.

 

The following is a list of extra repairs and/or maintenance performed on the apparatus.

 

Extra Activities performed by the members:

The fire company participated in numerous fire prevention activities throughout the month of October.

Members attended several schools throughout the district and went over fire safety.

 

Fire/ Drill Report for October 2007

 

No. of Alarms

In Town

Out of Town

Y.T.D.

Answering

Alarms

Minutes in Service

Man

Minutes

43

22

21

303

25

734

4343

 

 

No. of Drills

YTD

Total Members

Attending

Total Minutes

In Service

Total Man

Minutes

0

34

0

0

0

 

 

Nature of Alarms

 

 

House

Trash

Brush

 

PECO

Equip.

M.V.A.

Fire Alarms

Oil

Spill

Gas

Invest.

2

1

1

2

3

8

2

3

Mutual Aid - Assist for Fire: 21

 

 

HIGHWAY & LIGHTS Mr. Boothby

 

STREET CLEANING

Ran street sweeper throughout the borough all month

 

LEAF PICK UP

Ran leaf machine throughout the borough when needed

Picked up 11 truckloads

 

OTHER JOBS PERFORMED

Picked up cones on Chester Pike and Ashland left by Code Enforcer

Installed leaf boxes on both trucks

Weed whacked and cleaned up bridge on S. Elmwood

Hand out zoning hearing notices

Cleaned out debris in manhole

Repaired stop sign at E. Cooke and Chester Pike

 

EQUIPMENT

Greased front end loader

Dropped off street sweeper for repairs

Picked up old dump from Exxon

 

 

TOTAL HOURS WORKED              259

TOTAL OVERTIME                    0

TOTAL COMP                                       0

 

 

HEALTH AND SEWERMr. McGarvey

Sewers were checked and maintenance performed on the following dates: October 5, 12, 19, 26.

 

OTHER JOBS PERFORMED

Called out on sewer job with American Sewer at Oak and MacDade. Line was blocked.

Called back to replace broken lid.

 

EQUIPMENT

Cleaned and maintained machinery.

 

TOTAL HOURS WORKED                  178

TOTAL OVERTIME                          0

TOTAL COMP TIME                         0

 

 

·        Health & Sewer Report for the month of October 2007

 

Street Openings                                             1            Total fees collected          $  75.00  

            Plumbing permits issued                                    1           Total fees collected     $159.00

            Plumbing Registrations issued               1           Total fees collected     $  75.00

 

Turned over to the Borough Secretary the total sum of:            $309.00

 

 

HEALTH OFFICER – Phyllis Duffy     

 

October  2007

                                                                       

Communicable Diseases Reported:  0                                                                            

Animal Bites Reported:  0

Inspections/licenses issued:  0

 

 

Complaints:

Inspections jointly done with Dave.

 

Taco Bell- grease trap was cleaned on quarterly basis – now placed on monthly schedule.

 

Respectfully Submitted,

Phyllis Duffy, RN MHR

 

 

PARKS & PROPERTYMr. Kerstetter

Picked up trash at all borough buildings throughout the month

Emptied trash cans in playgrounds, ball fields and parks when needed

 

GRASS CUTTING

Cut and trimmed grass at all borough properties

 

OTHER JOBS PERFORMED

Replaced two outside bulbs at Library

Removed old water fountain from Lamont Avenue playground

Removed graffiti from sidewalk along W. Knowles at parking lot

Changed light fixture behind boro hall in outcove

Mopped auditorium and set up chairs and tables

 

TOTAL HOURS WORKED      247

TOTAL OVERTIME                  0

TOTAL COMP TIME                         0

 

 

BUILDING & ZONING – Mr. Pfaff

 

·            Building and Zoning Report for the month of October 2007

 

            Total Building/Zoning Permits issued            27            Total fees collected      $4,664.00

            Total Contractor Registrations                 19            Total fees collected     $ 1,425.00

 

Total Building and Zoning fees turned over to the Borough Secretary:            $6,089.00

 

  ·          Use and Occupancy Report for the month of October 2007

 

            U&O’s issued                                                   37            Total fees collected            N/A

            U&O application fees collected                       16            Total fees collected            $1,760.00

Re-inspection fees collected                                   4          Total fees collected            $   200.00

 

Total Use and Occupancy fees turned over to the Borough Secretary:           $1,960.00

 

 

ENGINEER Ms. Nelson 

2007 Road Program

Since the last meeting, we forwarded contracts to A. F. Damon for the inclusion of bonds, a certificate of insurance and the necessary signatures. Once they were received and checked, they were forwarded to the Borough for execution.

Knowles Avenue

The survey environmental clearance and geo-technical soil borings have been initiated for the project. We have also continued to follow-up with utility companies for their underground line information. Once the survey is complete, we will schedule a meeting to begin design with input from Council.

2010 Decennial Census (LUCA)

We prepared a memo regarding the program which is an opportunity for local government to increase the potential for federal grant money by having an accurate count.

Question During Public Comment Period  - Carl Ballis, Contemporary Villages

100 East Glenolden Avenue has stream bank erosion that they would like to have addressed. I suggested that they go to the Delaware County Conservation District and provided Ed Magargee’s contact information for him to get advice on how to proceed. I also stated that they are allowed to remove debris without any special permission. I also informed him that they will need to utilize the services of an engineer to prepare a plan to get the required permits.

 

 

SOLICITOR – Mr. Puppio                No new report       

 

 

PRESIDENT DANZI – Old / New business

 

 

PUBLIC SAFETY – Mr. Quinn                                No new report

 

 

FINANCE & LAWMr. McGettigan                      

 

MOTION by Mr. McGettigan seconded by Mr. Pfaff to adopt Ordinance No. 2050, repealing Ordinance No. 2030 known as the Emergency and Municipal Services Tax and enacting an ordinance to be known as the Local Services Tax. Said tax to be effective January 1, 2008. MOTION CARRIED

 

 

HEALTH & SEWER – Mr. McGarvey                    No new report

 

 

PARKS & PROPERTY- Mr. Kerstetter                    

 

MOTION by Mr. Kerstetter seconded by Mr. Pfaff to adopt the Rules and Regulations for the Glenolden Library. MOTION CARRIED

 

 

HIGHWAY & LIGHTS – Mr. Boothby                No new report

 

 

BUILDING & ZONING – Mr. Pfaff                      No new report

 

 

 MAYOR BATHURST – Thank you Mr. President. With the holidays coming, it’s time for the scam artists to come out. We would encourage our residents to be alert to these things. If it sounds too good to be true, it is too good to be true. Also to protect your property, keep your cars locked and your valuables out of your car. The police are around and about, again they can’t be everywhere so we’d ask if you hear anything suspicious or see anything suspicious, right away call 9-1-1. Also in December we have the tree lighting at the park on Sunday, December 2nd. The fire company is going to take Santa Claus around and they are also doing the outside decorating contest. So if you don’t have visible house numbers, not too much we can do about giving you a prize. With Thanksgiving this week have a very safe and enjoyable holiday with your families and take it easy on the roads. Thank you.

 

President Danzi – Thank you sir.

 

PRESIDENT DANZI – Now, a motion to go out of the regular order of business to hear from the public tonight.

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. McGarvey to go out of the regular order of business to hear from the public.  MOTION CARRIED

 

PRESIDENT DANZI – Anyone from the public wish to address us tonight?

 

Carl Ballis, 100 E. Glenolden Avenue – My question concerns the creek and the erosion along the creek, which I’ve talked to a number of people here individually already, but I wanted to address it to the whole council. We’ve had this problem cause a significant part of our property runs along the creek and for years it’s been eroding away, you all know that. This problem is all over the suburban Philadelphia area not just really here in Glenolden with that creek. And it’s reached the point where we’d like to do something about it. Even if it’s a small something till we solve it just to slow it down. So we have had engineering reports that we’ve had that we’ve paid people to come and do a report for us which I gave to Kevin and he passed out to everyone and one of the things that’s been suggested is a retaining wall of some sort to sure up the banks especially not necessarily along the entire length of our property but there are certain key areas where it’s really eating back into the land there. They suggested building some type of wall and backfilling where the dirt has washed away. The question the board has is, by the way, I am on the board of the condo association over there, but the question that the board has before we undertake such a thing what exactly are we allowed to do, and who will tell us what we’re allowed to do and who will tell us what we’re not allowed to do. But we don’t want to just go put a wall in there and then have someone come and say yo, you can’t do this, take it down. We do want to start to do something because it’s a real problem and I would say in the time I lived there and I lived there thirty years I would say that that creek has come back at least five to eight feet on each side, and you can see it cause there are certain landmarks that I was familiar with that are now instead of along the shore are out in the middle of the creek, or you see all the trees along the creek you can see the roots are out in the air now, because so much soil has washed away.

President Danzi – Carl, I did speak to Ms. Nelson briefly, I’ll let her answer you, but the one thing that we talked about in the beginning is you did say there is some debris, blockage and trees and some damming going up along the creek. If you’re actually doing something in the creek there will be DEP permits involved. Eileen can you respond.

Ms. Nelson - The report from your engineer does mention the Army Corp and what they say is DER but in our state it’s DEP, Dept. of Environmental Protection. Where I would suggest that you start is with the Delaware County Conservation District because they administer a lot of the permits that are required for this type of work for DEP. They’ve got a delegation agreement that do more locally because they understand the local environment a little better than someone sitting either in Harrisburg or Norristown. I can get you Ed Magargee’s contact information for you to get advice on how to proceed.

Mr. Ballis – That would be very helpful. Now as far as taking old logs and trees stumps, do you need a special permit for that?

Ms. Nelson – You shouldn’t need a permit for removing debris because no one wants that creating a dam effect and flooding even worse, so removal I know that we’ve had in other locations Walt Omlar’s group Community Service actually do sections of the creek if they’re available. It’s always a nice alternative to get that done for no money. Just might have to pay disposal charges for the debris that is removed.

President Danzi – Do you have your own maintenance crew that would do that?

Mr. Ballis – I don’t know.  I’m not even sure if we have the equipment to do that, maybe some of it, yes, some we’d probably have to pay someone to come down and do it. How about the Master Plan, so to speak of getting real funds to actually do the job all the way along the creek? I know that’s funny, is that going anywhere at all?

Ms. Nelson – We did make application earlier this year to DEP under their Growing Greener Grant in order to stabilize the creek through the park and we’re still waiting to hear on that grant application, there’s a lot of requests, not as much money so they really scrutinize them closely and they indicated to us they thought they would give answers in November.

President Danzi – Eileen I think the big question that we have is a lot of property owners they have the creek running through their property so they own the creek, is there ever going to be any funding for individual property owners?

Ms. Nelson – Not as I see each being able to do their own little section, it would have to be something that was comprehensively done.

President Danzi – That’s the problem, we have a number of (talking over one another) I hope we answered some of your questions Carl.

Mr. Ballis – You did.

 

Ed Roth, 215 S. Llanwellyn Ave – I am next door to the library, across from the park, I’ve lived there for twenty-nine years. I have not come to this council in twenty-nine years with a complaint having to do with anything with the parks or the library. I’ve lived in the borough for forty-five years and I don’t know how few times I’ve been here to complain about anything, but I have a complaint now, and that has to do with a gentleman or man who frequents the library sometimes from ten o’clock in the morning when it opens until five o’clock when it closes then leaves the library and goes and sits on a park bench and then comes back to the library and stays until the library closes at night. The man reeks of body odor and urine. He is not somebody that you’d want to sit next to in the library yet when I was in there last week, he had a table where his items were strewn across the table, he was on the computer, and a young boy was sitting next to him using another computer. I felt pity for that young boy, really, because he should not have been there subjected to those circumstances. I have made complaints to the police department about this, among other things the man sometimes brings almost always brings a shopping cart full of things to the library and either leaves it outside or brings it inside. Strange situation, the sign in the library that says young people, school people can not bring backpacks into the library, yet he brings this shopping cart that is draped, you can’t see what is in it, he brings that into the library. Sometimes leaves it there and leaves the library. I don’t know as far as security is concerned what situation that presents, but it doesn’t present a healthy situation as far as I’m concerned. I’ve made this complaint as I’ve said to the police, a complaint to Mayor Bathurst, I’ve made the complaint to you.  Maybe I’m premature because possibly what is being done with the new library act will help to take care of this, I don’t know. However, I do not believe that I have been told repeatedly that there is nothing that can be done.

President Danzi – I agree with you.

Mr. Roth – Thank you.

President Danzi – Okay, Ed. Thanks for coming in and duly noted on record I don’t know if anybody else from council has anything that they would add or say.

Mayor Bathurst – Mr. President, the one thing I would say is that every time we have gotten a call from Mr. Roth or his very lovely wife, the police have been dispatched to the library and they have asked this gentleman to leave. He has not presented any problems and he does leave, in fact, I guess the last incident was this past Friday and the officer was very poignant with the gentleman and told him, asked him when he had a shower last, and he told us a month and he was asked to leave and he did. The new library policy now has provisions that had stood court tests and we will be able to enforce them more stringently.

President Danzi – Ed I don’t know if you have any input as a representative of the Library Board.

Mr. Kerstetter – We’ve been just reviewing the rules there, I think the finding of those new rules will help us out with enforcing them.

President Danzi – I can’t answer why school age children can’t have backpacks set on the desk, why anyone would be allowed to, so maybe that’s something we can talk to the library about. You’re on record Ed and duly noted.

 

Larry Hansell, 22 Railroad Ave – I’ve been there for six years and I’ve cleared my property pretty nice and we have a little problem, it’s a dead end street, a very narrow street, and there’s an unofficial turn around there that’s a mess. People come down there and just speed around there and just make it a mess. And a load of stone was dropped there periodically. It centered around the fire hydrant and it’s a little bit down the street and there’s stone and water and over the last couple years I’ve been talking to some of the people on the street and there was talk that the people next to it own both properties, two lots and I checked it up on the Delaware County website, one has a house on it and the lady recently died about two years ago and it’s been empty and some of her relatives have been staying there.  And there’s a lot of weeds, trees and vines that are at least four inches just growing over there. I’d like to go over there and clean it but it’s private property, I don’t think that’s a smart move for me.

President Danzi – If the property is owned then they certainly need to maintain it. Is that something we can send Dave to go over there tomorrow to take a look at it?

Mr. Hoover – I’ve been down there on that and whenever I’ve been down there it hasn’t been over grown.

Mr. Hansell – Usually all summer time it was a mess, right around the fire hydrant and the trees and vines coming up. Periodically the one guy next door will go out and cut some of them down.

President Danzi – What kind of stones, is someone using it as a dump?

Mr. Hansell – I don’t know where the stones come from. Every once in a while, I drive down there and I guess maybe half-inch, one-inch stone dumped in there. One rain storm and they’re all messed up lot of ruts, in fact Bob and I just rode around there tonight and it is a mess.

President Danzi – I’ll go over there myself just to take a look so I know what you’re talking about.

Mr. Hansell – I heard rumors that they wanted to sell the property and the borough wouldn’t let them, so I don’t know what the rumors are, or if someone was going to use it as an official turn around.

Mr. Hoover – It’s private property, it’s got a driveway that runs into it and that’s all there is to it.

President Danzi – I don’t have an answer for you but we can at least take a look at it.

Mr. Hansell – Okay, thank you.

President Danzi – You’re welcome.

 

PRESIDENT DANZI – Any one else wish to address Council tonight?

 

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. McGarvey to pay all bills as presented. MOTION CARRIED

 

President Danzi – Before I adjourn the meeting, we are going to have an executive session, some personnel issues related to budgetary items. That being said, I’ll entertain a motion to adjourn.

 

 

MOTION by Mr. Quinn seconded by Mr. Pfaff to adjourn this meeting. MOTION CARRIED

 

 

Adjourned meeting at 8:00 PM

 

 

ATTEST

 

 

 

Brian H. Hoover

Borough Manager

BHH/dw