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Lansdowne Borough Council
Business Meeting
March 2, 2011
The Lansdowne Borough Council Business Meeting was held on Wednesday, March 2, 2011, 7:30 pm in Borough Hall. Present were President Coleman, Mrs. English, Ms. Lustgarten, Mr. Schleigh, Ms. Silzle, Mr. Smith and Mr. Wagner. Also in attendance were Mayor Young, Borough Manager Totaro, Borough Secretary Henry, Borough Treasurer Bartley, Borough Solicitor Scott and Police Chief Kortan. Fire Chief Young was absent.
Call to Order: President Coleman called the meeting to order.
Pledge of Allegiance: Mayor Young opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Agenda: The agenda was approved with the following change: Mrs. English, Mr. Totaro and Chief Kortan will have items for executive session.
Approval of Minutes:
Mr. Wagner moved to approve the minutes of the February 2, 2011 Business Meeting as submitted by the Acting Borough Secretary. Mr. Smith seconded. The motion carried unanimously.
There were no visitors for public comment.
Treasurer’s Report – Mr. Bartley had no formal report, indicated there were sufficient funds on hand to meet the current obligations and that the borough audit is underway.
Solicitor’s Report – Mr. Scott had no formal report.
Manager’s Report – Mr. Totaro gave updates on the following:
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Marlyn Park – sewer work is ongoing with new lines added and some abandoned. Two new routes to be installed. Restoration work will begin after the aforementioned is completed, probably some time in July.
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Street lights – approximate one half of the lights installation has been completed with the rest to be completed within approximately one week
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New Library Director – Sandra Giannella will start her position on March 7, 2011.
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Pileggi meeting – Senator Pileggi has extended an open invitation for Borough officials to attend the “understanding the mortgage foreclosure process” workshop to be held on March 15th at the Concord Country Club in West Chester.
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Aqua Water – work will begin in the northeast quadrant of the borough on or about March 7th. Concrete water mains will be replaced and final paving is to be completed in October.
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Cell Towers – Mr. Totaro and Solicitor Scott will be meeting to discuss suggested strategies for increased requests for cell towers.
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County energy grants – Lansdowne was selected to receive a $15,000 federal energy grant that will be in addition to the actual service grant. Mr. Totaro mentioned that the borough will need to opt in to having an energy audit performed; the county will be hiring auditors to do the work.
Ms. Silzle moved to accept the option of having Lansdowne enter into the energy audit process. Ms. Lustgarten seconded. Vote: unanimous.
Police Chief Kortan – Chief Kortan reported that the National Take Back initiative for prescription medicines will be held on April 30th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Borough Hall. Lansdowne will be partnering with East Lansdowne Borough in this endeavor, wherein residents can dispose of unwanted or outdated prescription drugs under police supervision at Borough Hall.
Chief Kortan reported that new air cards have been purchased and installed in the police vehicles. The cards will enable officers to do police reporting while in the car that will maximize time out on the streets. Chief Kortan reported that as of today the police department has two new police cars and approval for a third car is expected to arrive in 30 days.
Fire Chief Young – No report was given in Chief Young’s absence.
Mayor’s Report – Mayor Young indicated that the newsletter will soon be available and articles should be submitted as soon as possible.
Mayor Young noted that a shredding component has been added to Keep Lansdowne Beautiful Day wherein residents can bring in documents, papers, etc. to the Highland Avenue parking lot for shredding. Mayor Young reported on the 2010 census results for Lansdowne: 14.5% language spoken at home other than English; 7% vacant housing, 92.2% occupied; poverty level of all people is 7.9% (national average is 12%, county average is 9%).
President’s Report - President Coleman mentioned that borough staff will be coordinating a date for Senator Anthony Williams and Rep. Nick Micozzie to attend a televised meeting so that Borough Council can thank them for the police cars. President Coleman will be attending a three day Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs conference in Hershey, PA in April. Chief Kortan will be speaking at one of the police tracks regarding updated technologies, etc. A wide variety of topics will be discussed, such as source water protection plans, transportation funding, water quality and storm water issues, and immigration.
Old Business:
1. More Hands Program – President Coleman met with members of PennWood High School last week to discuss ways to collaborate on the senior project initiative. The guidelines have recently changed and the requirement is now for a 20 hour community service project. President Coleman also asked Council members for ideas for smaller, short term projects such as tree planting, environmental clean up as well as other community service projects. There is also an on the job training internship program available for longer range programs, such as fire fighting, that spans an entire semester. President Coleman mentioned that there may also be an internal list among school officials for other available senior projects. The senior projects start in September and their final report has to be completed by the end of the calendar year.
2. First Suburbs – President Coleman attended a Steering Committee meeting last week. The main topic of discussion was affordable housing and the lack thereof in various pockets throughout the counties. On April 14th, HUD officials will meet with county and state elected officials to address their concerns with the lack of affordable housing and their desire to make opportunities more equitable across the board in this regard. Mr. Totaro added that there are currently two initiatives to deconcentrate Section 8 housing. One initiative is to establish a pilot area (1 of 15 in the country). The computation process to determine the subsidy voucher amount would be changed from the current metropolitan area way of computing to instead using zip codes, thereby resulting in higher voucher amounts, less concentration of Section 8 housing and better transportation alternatives for workers. The second initiative would involve an analysis of impediments to block grant recipients.
New Business: There were no items for new business.
Action Items:
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Ms. Lustgarten moved to authorize payment of bills for the period. Ms. Silzle seconded. Vote: unanimous.
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Ms. Smith to award Gladstone Manor lampposts bids to Yates Electrical Svc, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $119,255.00. Ms. Silzle seconded. Vote: unanimous.
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Mr. Wagner moved to adopt Ordinance No. 1260, An Ordinance of the Borough of Lansdowne amending Chapter 265 of the Code of the Borough of Lansdowne, entitled “Rental Properties,” to require that all owners of all classifications of rental properties apply for the annual renewal of their rental properties license on or before the first day of March in each calendar year. Ms. Lustgarten seconded. Vote: unanimous.
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Mr. Smith moved to advertise bids for grouting of sewer lines. Ms. Lustgarten seconded. Vote: unanimous.
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Ms. Lustgarten moved to consolidate and move all borough fund accounts to PNC Bank. Ms. Silzle seconded. Vote: unanimous.
Executive Session – Mr. Schleigh moved to adjourn to executive session. Ms. Lustgarten seconded. Vote: unanimous. The meeting adjourned to executive session at 8:35 p.m.
Public Session – Upon reconvening to public session, the following motion was made:
Ms. Lustgarten moved to solicit bid estimates for a new fire house roof in conjunction with obtaining the borough engineer’s advice. Mr. Schleigh seconded. Vote: unanimous.
Adjourn – Mr. Smith moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Wagner seconded. Vote: unanimous. The meeting adjourned at 9:10 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Barbara Ann Henry
Borough Secretary
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