Riverside Borough

Beginning with the January 2017, residents will be able to make their sewer payments directly from a checking or savings account.  The withdrawl amount will be the total owed on your sewer bill for that quarter.  Complete the below form or stop in the office for a form to be completed prior to the January 2017 billing to take advantage of this program.

Riverside Borough Tax Collector, Rebecca Steckley, will be out of the office September 28 - October 5th.  Tax payments can be left in the Borough Office.  Residents are reminded their tax bills included a separate Per Capita Tax Bill which is due by December 31, 2016.

The Council Meeting scheduled for 7:00pm on Monday, October 3, 2016 has been cancelled.
The next meeting of the Riverside Borough Council will be held on Monday, October 17, 2016 at 7:00 pm in the Municipal Building.

The Riverside Borough Council met on Tuesday, September 6, 2016 in the Municipal Building, 301 Dewart Street, Riverside.  Meeting was called to order promptly at 7:00 pm by President John J. Novak.
In attendance this evening were Vice President Peter T Fleming, Council members Carolyn Bausch, Caressa Compton, Barb Kriner, John Domanski as well as Mayor Joseph Oberdorf, Solicitor Joseph Michetti and Secretary Deborah Bausch.   Absent this evening was Council Member Beth Hancock.
 
Citizens to be heard included Glenn Hinkle from 306 Avenue C and David Decoteau from 100 D & H Avenue.  
Glenn Hinkle addressed Council with concerns about grass clippings being blown into the streets.  When it is green and gets wet, it is hard to keep a vehicle under control on the slippery surface made by these grass clippings; this is very dangerous.  The clippings are also left there until brown when then clog up storm drains, etc.  This topic was discussed in length and it was noted it is a Pennsylvania State Rule that grass clippings are not be blown onto roadway surfaces.  Residents will be alerted to this Rule and hopefully will abide by it in the future.  Glenn also spoke of a swale issue in the Avenue C area of 4th and 5th Streets.  He stated no water is going into the culverts because of the swale area.  Street is not wide enough and vehicles have to pull into swale when more than one vehicle is on the road.   Our Penn Dot representative is scheduled to be in the office on Thursday so will ask that he and Street Superintendent Danny Gable visit the area and see what can be done.
 
Dave Decoteau was the other member of the audience.  He was asked if he had his plans which he stated he wanted to talk about; plans were in his truck.  He was told we just needed the plans which were to be turned in and had not shown up.  He went out to get them but did not come back in.
 
Minutes of August 1, 2016 were approved on a Motion by Carolyn Bausch and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted in favor.
 
Financial Reports for June 2016 were approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted in favor.
 
Brian Anderson then present the Zoning Report for August.  Brian stated he will be on vacation Sep 10 to Sep 23.  The letter to Donald Cook regarding his Avenue F property was served by Police Chief Kerry Parkes.  He has paid his previous fines for his properties.  Zoning Report was approved on a Motion by John Domanski and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted in favor.  Brian then went to the parking lot to get the prints from Mr. Decoteau; Mr. Decoteau was not in the area.
 
A letter from M. Todd Oberdorf was put before Council.  Todd has volunteered to fill the vacancy on the Zoning Hearing Board.  This was the seat of John Maize who resigned earlier this year.   John Domanski made a Motion to appoint M Todd Oberdorf to the Zoning Hearing Board; seconded by Caressa Compton.  All voted in favor.
 
Police Chief Kerry Parkes presented the August police report to Council.  Highlights of report included TRACS project being ready to go.  Charger is set up with the necessary equipment and waiting for training date to begin use.   Penn Dot will be housing the data.  Patti Hovi donated stuffed bears in the name of Dena Hoffman for police to use when dealing with children.  At this time, President  Novak read a note from resident Deborah Morris, 718 Circle Drive which has been made a part of these minutes.  Ms. Morris wanted to thank Police Officer Kevin Romansik and Council Member Carolyn Bausch for their timely assistance with her mother who had suffered a medical emergency.
 Officer Romansik was on duty and Council requested his presence at the meeting.  Thank you to both for your compassion for our citizens.   Ms. Morris stated she was glad to live in Riverside.  The police report was approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by Peter Fleming.  All voted in favor.
 
The other police agenda item was to hire a new officer.  4 applicants were tested with 1 applicant passing both written and oral examinations.  Chief Parkes recommended the hiring of Bradley Harvey to fill the vacancy in the Riverside Police Department.  Bradley has police experience and lives in the Borough.  On a Motion by Carolyn Bausch and Seconded by Barb Kriner, Bradley Harvey will be hired contingent on passing a physical and psychological evaluation.  All approved.
 
At this time Brian Anderson returned to the meeting.  He had found Mr. Decoteau in the borough and taken possession of the missing plans.
 
Mayor Joseph Oberdorf stated he had nothing to report.
 
Solicitor Joseph Michetti inquired about the sewer inspections for an upcoming ordinance.  Residents selling/buying a property will need to have a sewer inspection done.  The ordinance is being written and will be advertised for the public when it is ready.
 
Discussion was held on the Danville Pump Station alarm system.  On a Motion by John Domanski and seconded by Barb Kriner, it was voted to install a new stand-alone system as quoted by Commonwealth Security of Sunbury.   All voted for.
 
The upcoming 911 consolidation move was put on the table.  Barb Kriner stated we should be receiving a sample resolution regarding mapping of our area by Columbia County services.   This move will most like take place next spring.
 
John Domanski asked council members who is responsible for a property when it is in process of being sold.  He was referencing the Bostian property across from the airport which is overgrown and under a sale pending status.  Carolyn Bausch stated the area had been mowed; Caressa Compton stated some of that land is actually fields.  
 
Minimum Municipal Obligation Budgets for 2017 for the Police Pension Plan and the Non-Uniformed Pension Plan were presented to Council as required by Act 205.  Approval of both was done by Motion of Barb Kriner and seconded by Caressa Compton.  All voted in favor.
 
Payment of the invoice submitted by Robert C Young, Inc. was approved by a Motion by John Domanski and seconded by Barb Kriner.  The invoice in the amount of $22,834.20 was for work done on Pine Swamp Hollow Road.  All voted in favor.
 
Second invoice presented to Council was from New Enterprise Stone and Lime Co. Inc. for paving of several streets in the borough.  Invoice total was $48,463.19 which was about 5% over projected cost but within the guidelines.  Approval for payment of invoice was done on a Motion by John Domanski and seconded by Caressa Compton.   All voted in favor.
 
At 7:48 pm, Caressa made a motion to adjourn regular council to an executive session to discuss a personnel matter; seconded by Barb Kriner. 
Carolyn Bausch made a motion at approximately 8:02 pm to adjourn Executive Session and return to
Regular Council; seconded by Peter Fleming.   Regular session has resumed.
 
Motion was made by Caressa Compton to increase Brian Anderson’s base pay to $450.00 per month to cover the additional zoning duties with blighted property issues and upcoming sewer inspections. The increase is to be effective September 1, 2016.  Seconded by Carolyn Bausch.  All voted in favor.
 
At approximately 8:04 pm, John Domanski made a Motion to Adjourn the Council Meeting; seconded by Carolyn Bausch.  Meeting adjourned.
 
Next meeting will be Monday, September 19, 2016.
 
Respectfully Submitted:
Deborah Bausch
Secretary
 

The Riverside Borough Council met on Monday, August 1, 2016 in the Municipal Building, 301 Dewart Street, Riverside, PA.  Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President John J. Novak.  Attending this evening were Council Members Carolyn Bausch, Caressa Compton and Beth Hancock, Solicitor Joseph Michetti, Mayor Joseph Oberdorf and Secretary Deborah Bausch . Absent this evening were Council Vice President Peter T. Fleming and Council Members Barb Kriner and John Domanski.
 
In the audience this evening were M Todd Oberdorf, Riverside Borough EMA Director and Emmanuel Minier, Director, Global Safety and Environment, Merck & Co.  Dave Decoteau was also present.
 
Todd and Emmanuel took the floor first to talk about the upcoming Merck Evacuation drill to be held on Friday, August 5th.  There will be 10 short blasts of the horn on Friday at approximately 8 am.  Emmanuel spoke of the precautions and fire teams located within the gates of Merck as well as other security measures taken at the plant. 
 
Dave Decoteau stated he was here in case there were any questions about his property at 100 D & H Avenue.  He was informed we were expecting him in the office with plans over a month ago.  He is working on them and will be in with the plans before the next meeting. 
 
Congratulations were extended to Joe Sylvester who was here reporting for the Danville Newspaper.  He has recently been named as Editor of the Danville News.
 
Minutes of July 5, 2016 were approved on a Motion by Carolyn Bausch and seconded by Caressa Compton.  All voted in favor.
 
The Welcome to Riverside sign has been relocated and new shrubbery planted.  Sign looks good; thank you to the Street Department for a fine job on it.
 
Zoning Report was presented by Brian Anderson.  Report was approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by Beth Hancock.  All voted in favor.
 
Police Chief Kerry Parkes presented the police report for July.   Carolyn Bausch wanted to put on the record what a phenomenal job done by Officer Romansik this week in assisting with a medical emergency at her neighbor’s home.  She stated Officer Romansik treated the lady like she was his very own grandmother and Carolyn was truly impressed with the fine job he did in calming the situation.  We have a very cohesive police department.   Report was approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by Carolyn Bausch.  All voted in favor.
 
In the absence of Street Department Supervisor, Dan Gable, the street report was discussed by President John Novak.    Caressa Compton then stated she wanted Council to know of the fine job being done by Street Department personnel.  Chris Henrie, our new employee, had spotted a tree branch hanging over a car at her property on his way home and notified Dan Gable.  Dan then called Caressa to make her aware of the dangerous limb.    It has since been handled but Caressa is not sure who took care of it.  She was impressed with the alert eye of Chris.  Report was approved on a Motion by Carolyn Bausch and seconded by Beth Hancock.  All voted in favor.
 
Southside Report was also presented by President John Novak due to the absence of Barb Kriner.   Caressa Compton stated the Wine Festival is scheduled at Southside on August 27th.  Report was approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and Seconded by Carolyn Bausch; all voted in favor.
 
Next item for discussion was the contract with Jackie Hart, Code Enforcement Officer.  The contract expires on July 31, 2016 and will not be renewed.  Brian Anderson will assume the duties.  It will be reviewed in January 2017 to see if Brian will continue or a new person will be brought in.    Jackie has been doing this work for us for 2 years.  President Novak thanked her for her creation of a great, ethical, and efficient program in our borough.  Jackie will help Brian get his certification which is not required for the job but an asset to have especially if there would be any cases to go to Court.
 
Solicitor Joseph Michetti then stated his report had to deal with the proposed ordinance for sewer inspections.  He stated we would need to know how these inspections would be handled and who would be responsible for them.   President Novak will speak with Dan Gable to see if our new sewer camera would be able to do the video taping of homes if they were to be put up for sale.   Once an inspection is done due to a pending sale, the certificate would be good for 3 years if the property would go up for sale again.
 
Mayor Joe Oberdorf presented a copy of the borough ordinance chapter that deals with unsafe buildings.  A drafted letter prepared by Jackie Hart was also presented by President Novak to council.
413 Avenue F was the main discussion item.  After much discussion, a Motion was made by Caressa Compton and seconded by Carolyn Bausch to send the letter drafted by Jackie to be signed by Brian Anderson, Zoning Officer and hire the borough engineer to do structural issue reviews.  Motion passed by all in attendance.
 
Mayor Oberdorf had nothing to submit for a report.  He did state the Parade for Danville Heritage was a success.
 
For New Business, a Letter of Resignation was accepted from John Maize for the Zoning Hearing Board.  John was thanked for his service and Council wishes him a speedy recovery with his health.  We will need a volunteer to fill the position on the Zoning Hearing Board and it was agreed an Alternate Member should be appointed as well.  Notice will be put out on our Web Page, Facebook Page and Office Kiosk for any interested resident to send a letter to the office stating their interest in being on the Zoning Hearing Board.
 
Motion made at approximately 7:45 pm by Caressa Compton to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Carolyn Bausch.
 
Meeting Adjourned.  Next meeting is on Tuesday, September 6 due to the Labor Day Holiday on Monday.
 
Respectfully Submitted:
 
Deborah Bausch
Secretary
 

Riverside Police Department T shirts are in! Small thru XL is $15 and XXL are $18. On the front of the shirt in the upper left chest is the Supporter badge and ...on the back of the shirt is a thin blue line flag with the acronym IGY6. The meaning is "I Got Your 6" stating that you got our back with your support. We as a department appreciate you! Please stop by the department or the office to purchase.

The collection of lost and found items from the Park is growing in the office!   A watch was added this morning.  We currently have a pair of shoes, multiple hats, shirt, and sweater in our collection.  If you are missing any items, please stop in the office to claim your item(s).

September 5 – Labor Day Holiday   
Borough Offices Closed   -    Danville Area Schools Closed

September 6 (TUESDAY) – Borough Council      Meeting – 7 PM

September 11 – Patriot Day        
 
September 10 - Danville Arts and Craft Fair -
                                     9am - 5 pm
 
September 19 – Council Meeting    

 September 22 – Autumn Begins       

Bloomsburg Fair - Sept. 23rd – Oct. 01st  
Danville Schools closed:  Sept 28-30
 
  
TAX COLLECTOR HOURS FOR SEPTEMBER
By Appointment only!
 Phone 570 764-1393 to meet with Rebecca Steckley

Road Construction will be taking place during the weeks of August 15 and August 22 in the areas of Pine Swamp Road, Avenue H and Sixth Street.
Please be alert for construction vehicles and possible traffic delays.

The Riverside Borough Office will be closed on Wednesday, August 17, 2016.  Office will be the site of police applicant testing.