Minutes regular meeting august 10, 2016

MOUNT PENN BOROUGH MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
AUGUST 10, 2016

The regular meeting of the Mount Penn Borough Municipal Authority was held on Wednesday, August 10, 2016, in the meeting room of the John A. Becker Municipal Building, 200 North 25^th Street, Reading, PA 19606 at 6:00 p.m.

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Dennis Swartz. The following Board members were present in addition to Mr. Swartz:
Thomas Smith, Vice Chairman

Joseph Boyle, Secretary

Alfred Worrall, Treasurer

Tuan Duong, Asst. Secretary/Treasurer

Also present were the following:
Teresa Christof, Business Office Manager

Richard Genova, Water System Foreman

Brad Smith, Arro Consulting

Mark Merolla, Solicitor

Jay Worrall, A.V.R.C.C.

Lynn Wilson, A.V.R.C.C.

Bill Bradley

Rick Roland

Judy Swartz

Irv Fidler

Larry Siegfried

Rita Mercandante

Motion was made by Joseph Boyle, seconded by Alfred Worrall, to approve the minutes of the July 13, 2016 meeting. All approved.
Motion was made by Tuan Duong, seconded by Joseph Boyle, to approve the Treasurer’s Report for July 2016. All approved.

Public Comments:

The water service to 241 Melrose Avenue has been disconnected since January 2015. The tenant, Rita Mercandante, that resides at 241 Melrose Avenue was hospitalized due to pneumonia and was unable to work for almost a year. The property maintenance manager, Larry Siegfried, requested that the Board issue a credit to the tenant since the property has been vacant since 2015. The Board agreed to credit the penalties for the tenant. The Board informed Ms. Mercandante that she will have to contact the Antietam Valley Sewer Authority to receive a sewer credit.

A.V.R.C.C. – Carsonia Park Maintenance

Jay Worrall and Lynn Wilson addressed the Board on behalf of A.V.R.C.C. regarding the (attached) letter they submitted to the Board. Jay Worrall and Lynn Wilson stated that A.V.R.C.C. would like to change the A.V.R.C.C. by-laws. Several pool members who are Exeter Township residents have been volunteering to help with maintenance tasks at the Antietam Pool. Some of these volunteers are interested in becoming A.V.R.C.C. board members. A.V.R.C.C. would like to increase the number of board members from 9 to 13. A.V.R.C.C. would also like to change the residency requirements for board members as follows: 1) be a member of Antietam Pool 2) reside in either St. Lawrence, Mt. Penn, Exeter or Lower Alsace. A.V.R.C.C. would also like to revise their by-laws so that they can apply for 501(c) (3) status as a non-profit corporation in order to apply for grants. After much discussion, the Mt. Penn B.M.A. Board felt that each municipality should be equally represented on the A.V.R.C.C. board. Thomas Smith suggested that A.V.R.C.C. allow one of the A.V.R.C.C. board members to be an at large member (representing either municipality). No action was taken.

Jay Worrall also stated that A.V.R.C.C. doesn’t have the financial resources to maintain Carsonia Park. Rick Roland asked Jay Worrall if the Antietam Valley Community Partnership (AVCP) could use the funds from their community fundraising events for park maintenance. Jay Worrall stated that the funds from these events will be used for the Carsonia Park Master Plan improvements and for matching funds for grants. Thomas Smith stated that Mt. Penn B.M.A. has an existing maintenance agreement with A.V.R.C.C. Mt. Penn B.M.A. employees will continue to offer their assistance by mowing the park. Al Worrall stated that Mt. Penn B.M.A. had to raise their water rates due to aging infrastructure in the water system. The Mt. Penn B.M.A. Board feels that the Borough of Mt. Penn, Lower Alsace and Exeter Township should also assist with the maintenance of the park.

WATER SYSTEM
REPORT SUBMITTED – ATTACHED
Rich Genova stated that we purchased a 3” meter for the PA American interconnection on Bingaman Street. PA American informed us that they would rather have a 4” meter installed at the Bingaman Street interconnection. PA American has agreed to pay for the additional cost of the 4” meter.
Motion was made by Alfred Worrall, seconded by Joseph Boyle, to approve the (attached) quote from Reading Precast for $2,180.00 to have a block bin installed to store our cold patch at the Sylvan Dell shop. All approved.
Motion was made by Alfred Worrall, seconded by Thomas Smith, to approve the (attached) quotes from Barwis Construction for $28,253.00 and from Exeter Supply for $5,911.01 to replace 225 feet of 6” pipe and two valves from Harvey Avenue to Emerald Avenue on Butter Lane due to a water main break. All approved.
Rich Genova expressed his concerns with the comments Tuan Duong made about him on Facebook. Mr. Genova posted a sign in his front yard opposing the relocation of the baseball field at Carsonia Park.

SAFETY MEETING
A safety meeting was held on insect bites.

ENGINEER
A representative from Arro Consulting began the leak detection survey of our water system. No leaks have been found to date.
Brad Smith stated that he can’t proceed with the bid specifications for the Oley Turnpike Water Main Replacement project until the Borough of St. Lawrence marks their sewer lateral. Mark Merolla will send a letter to the Borough of St. Lawrence requesting the sewer lateral information.
Brad Smith submitted a permit application to the DEP for the million gallon tank project. Mr. Smith anticipates that the bidding process for the project will begin in February.
Brad Smith stated that the water mains in the Pennside area should be replaced. The pipes are deteriorating because they are buried in ash. Mr. Smith stated that there may be grant funding available for water infrastructure improvements. He will get more information on the grant funding for next month’s board meeting.

SOLICITOR
Mark Merolla spoke with Tom Orth regarding his proposal to purchase a few acres of our land on Spook Lane and Hill Road to drill a well for his home. Mr. Merolla stated that Tom Orth will have a land survey completed and submit it to the Board.

BUSINESS OFFICE MANAGER
We mailed 541 past-due notices to customers. We posted 341 shut-off notices to customers for non-payment of their water/sewer bills.
The Board received the (attached) electricity quotes from various suppliers. The lowest electricity quote was from Constellation Energy for $0.05996 (24-month contract). Motion was made by Joseph Boyle, seconded by Thomas Smith, to approve the 24-month electricity contract with Constellation Energy for price of $0.05996 per kilowatt hour. All approved.

A.V.R.C.C
(MINUTES ATTACHED)

A Toga party is being held at the Antietam Pool on 09/04/16 to raise funds for the pool.

Motion was made by Dennis Swartz, seconded by Alfred Worrall, to approve a $150.00 donation to the Antietam Pool to have a pizza party for the lifeguards. All approved.

BOROUGH OF MT. PENN
The Borough of Mt. Penn hired a part-time property code enforcement officer.

ANTIETAM VALLEY MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY (AVMA)
(MINUTES ATTACHED)

SOURCE WATER PROTECTION
Joseph Boyle held a meeting with our engineer, Brad Smith, Antietam Valley Sewer Authority’s (AVMA) Chairman, Troy Goodman, AVMA’s engineer, Mike Sassman, and AVMA superintendent Kerry Ustaszewski, to discuss discharging the Antietam pool’s backwash into AVMA’s sewer system. Mr. Sassman requested that we should have M.J. Reider perform some lab testing on the pool backwash to determine the levels of chlorine and other chemicals that are in the pool back wash. If the chlorine level is too high, the pool backwash may need to be dechlorinated before it’s discharged into AVMA’s sewer plant.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
None.

NEW BUSINESS
None.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 7:00 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Teresa A. Christof
Teresa A. Christof

Recording Secretary