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
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
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