COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF 9/2/14

As approved at the Sep 15 meeting, the minutes from 9-2-14 meeting follow:

The Riverside Borough Council met on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 in the Municipal Building, 301 Dewart Street, Riverside, PA.  Meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by President John J Novak.  Present were Vice President Peter T Fleming, Council Members Caressa Compton, Barb Kriner, and John LaMotte.  Solicitor Joseph Michetti, Mayor Joseph Oberdorf and Secretary Deborah Bausch were also present.  Absent this evening were council members Lori Steele and John Domanski.

Carolyn Bausch was the first citizen to be heard.  She stated there is a stop sign at Meadow Lark Lane and Blue Hill Circle that is being ignored by drivers.   She has witnessed many drivers not stopping and is concerned for residents in the area. 

Craig Lawler then inquired about a drain project and also airport trees.  No information was provided for a drain project and tree issue will be addressed later in tonight’s meeting. 


Minutes from August 4, 2014 were reviewed and approved on a Motion by Peter Fleming and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted in favor; motion passed.
Financial Reports for July were also reviewed and approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted for the motion and it passed.

Brian Anderson then presented his Zoning Report.  He also provided a newspaper clipping regarding a pool electrocution in the Philadelphia area.  He stressed that is the reason the borough is strict on pool policy and guidelines.   Report was approved on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Barb Kriner.  Motion passed as all voted in favor.

Police Chief Isaac Ramer presented the police report.  His report was approved on a Motion by Caressa Compton and seconded by John LaMotte.  All voted in favor; motion passed.

Dan Gable then presented the Street Department Report.  Employees have been busy with grass cutting, cleaning up storm damage, trimming brush and most recently painting the crosswalk markings.  Paving work on Beishline has been completed and Eastern Industries were very good to work with.  Dan then presented several prices and information on Chippers. 12” chippers were $30,313 for Morbark and $36,670 for Bandit; 9” Bandit would be $30,063.  8” Morbark is $25,215 and what we would be interested in.  Deacon in Bloomsburg was highly recommended as a reputable dealer for the Morbark machine.  Storage is one other problem that would need to be addressed with purchasing any new equipment.  Council told Dan to put it in his budget for 2015.  Report was approved on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Peter Fleming.  All voted in favor; motion passed.

Barb Kriner then read the Southside Fire Company Report. Question was raised if the Community Service included the Firefighting Camp and Barb stated it did include that event.  Report approved on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Caressa Compton.  All voted in favor and Motion passed.

Mayor Joseph Oberdorf gave his report.  He distributed a note sheet he made from a meeting held for Municipal Leaders in Sunbury last month.  Meeting was also attended by Council Members Barb Kriner and Caressa Compton.  Mayor Oberdorf addressed some road questions to Don Free.  Mayor was advised Liquid Fuels funding may go up as much as 7% for 2015.  He questioned council regarding the Evaluation form for police department as well as a new uniform policy.  Both will be discussed at a later meeting.  Report approved on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Barb Kriner; all voted in favor; Motion passed.

Solicitor Joseph Michetti spoke on how to proceed with some delinquent sewer bills. Jacqui Andress has a judgment at this time for $950.00; current sewer balance is now at $1690.00. He stated he can file mechanic liens on properties.

Council wishes the Solicitor to proceed with levy on personal property of Ms Andress. There is an approximate cost of $300 for legal filing fees; costs can be added to lien amount. Discussion followed as to what could be included in the collection.  Sewer billing report will be reviewed for properties that need to be recorded and papers filed.  Discussion was held on the Cormell lot which is scheduled for a Northumberland County Tax Claim judicial sale.   Solicitor Michetti has taken paperwork to follow up with this filing; however, Attorney Michetti stated this is not a Borough issue.

New Business items included Leaf Collection for the fall.  Leaf collection dates will be October 20 - December 5, 2014.  Residents will be reminded to have their leaves along the road but not in storm drains for pickup.  Dates approved on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Barb Kriner.  All voted for motion.

Second item under New Business was Trick or Treat Night in the Borough.  Trick or Treating will be allowed in the Borough on Friday, October 31, 2014 from 6 pm to 9 pm.

Discussion then proceeded regarding the number of meetings per month.  It was decided to continue with two meetings per month due to upcoming budget meetings.

First of our Motions to Approve this evening was the Agreement with Attorney John Mihalik regarding the airport tree issue.  It was agreed we would hire Attorney Mihalik for a fee not to exceed $2500.00. We had previously allotted $1,000.00 for legal fees. Attorney Michetti has a conflict of interest in this issue and therefore an outside attorney must be hired.  Agreement was approved on a Motion by Peter Fleming and seconded by Caressa Compton.  All voted for and Motion passed.

Police Pension Fund was then put on the table.  Resolution 14-09-02 addresses the Police Pension Plan.  Police and Non Uniformed Minimum Municipal Obligation were also signed for submission.  All voted in favor of the Motion made by John LaMotte and seconded by Barb Kriner to sign the documentation; motion passed.

The new Agreement between the Boroughs of Danville and Riverside for Code Enforcement Officer Jacqueline Hart was tabled until the next meeting on September 15, 2015.  This was done on a Motion by John LaMotte and seconded by Caressa Compton.  Motion passed on a favorable vote by all.


Final Motion for Approval this evening was the Sewer Wastewater Service Agreement with Danville Borough.  President Novak spoke in length of the details of this agreement which has been in the works for several months and reviewed many times.  It will be a cost savings to Riverside; however, we will take possession of the Pump Station We will be taking over the electric bill and 911 service charge and will need to get a property and flood  insurance policy in place.   A separate agreement was made for Danville to do the pump station maintenance at an estimated cost of $1390.00 per month (approximately $17,000/year).  It is felt the first year of service our Street Department could shadow the Danville employee at the pump station and possibly resume the duties in another year or an additional person be hired to take the position.  These Agreements will take place effective January 1, 2015.  Motion by Peter Fleming and Seconded by Barb Kriner to approve both parts of the Agreement.  All voted in favor; motion passed.

At 7:55 pm, Peter Fleming made a motion to adjourn the council meeting; seconded by John LaMotte.

Respectfully Submitted:

Deborah Bausch

Secretary