The Riverside Borough Council met on Monday, March 1, 2021 in the Municipal Building, 415 Dewart Street, Riverside. Meeting was called to order promptly at 7 pm by Council President John Domanski with the following members present – Vice President Barb Kriner, Kevin Romansik, Brian Whitenight, and Delavan Whitenight Jr. Beth Rake participated via telephone. Mayor John LaMotte, Solicitor Joseph Michetti and Secretary Deborah Bausch were present. Absent this evening was council member Peter Fleming.
There were no residents present for this meeting.
Evening began with the Swearing in of Part Time Police Officer Earl Johnson. Welcome to our Family!
Minutes of February 15, 2021 were approved on a motion by Brian Whitenight and seconded by Vice President Barb Kriner. All voted in favor.
Budget report for January 2021 was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and Seconded by Brian Whitenight. All voted in favor.
Brian Anderson, Zoning Officer, then addressed Council with his February report. He stated it has been a dead month; he had lots of phone calls. He found one pool not in compliance with codes. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Kevin Romansik. All voted for.
Dan Gable, Street Superintendent, spoke of his crew’s work. They had an issue with the one 2005 truck and the 2019 truck during the snowy periods. Dan praised Sunbury Motor Company for their great commitment to getting our trucks serviced and back on the roads in record time. Dan said they are getting ready to do the street paving list as well as the tree list for this year. Discussion was held as to where to place the Kids at Play signs to alert drivers to slow down! Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner, seconded by Brian Whitenight and approved by all.
There was no Southside Fire Company report. Vice President Barb Kriner did state that they are now billing insurance companies for call outs.
Chief Kerry Parkes presented the Police Report for February. He began with speaking about the Lexipol contract to handle policies manual updates. Chief Parkes also presented an in-depth talk on body cams; he is still getting information on contacts and equipment but wanted to give Council a heads up. Beth Rake asked if videos couldn’t be downloaded to USB drives and Vice President Barb Kriner also inquired about this option. This is our last year on the taser contract. When questioned, Chief Parkes stated he had only had his taser out about 3 times in the past year. Chief is looking at other options; one is the “glove” and another is a steel ball wrap around. He stated the new cars are ordered and have ship dates of 3/1 and 3/6 from the factory. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Brian Whitenight; all voted in favor.
Mayor John LaMotte had no report and his No Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Delavan Whitenight Jr.
Solicitor Joseph Michetti then addressed council regarding the school purchase. He has a signed copy of the agreement. DCED will need to give approval for this purchase and certification of title insurance will need to be obtained. Two bank quotes were discussed and Solicitor Michetti explained that the interest only portion of a loan is a good option since we really have no total figure to work with yet. Vice President Barb Kriner stated she would rather make monthly payments than interest only ones. There were no prepay penalties on either document. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Kevin Romansik. All voted in favor.
Secretary Deborah Bausch spoke of the update on the 2021 Celebration Committee plans. Things are progressing and a sign will soon be placed on the property of the Knouse family who have approved this to be placed there. 1 sign will have the celebration logo and dates of events. A second one will be a thermometer to encourage donations to the fireworks for August 21st. Goal is $20,000.00! Report approved on a Motion by Brian Whitenight, 2nd by Delavan Whitenight. All voted for.
President John Domanski then inquired if the Borough could use Sewer Account funds to offset the costs of the school purchase? Solicitor Michetti said that was available since the sewer billings and that business would be conducted at the new site. At this point, we do not know the total condition of the school. It has been vacant for many years. It is hoped to retain the façade of the school front but again that will depend on structural conditions. An architect will need to go through the building to see what is salvageable and help with plans for the new office structures. President John Domanski stated we would need to have the property inspected and see the financial costs to bring the structure up to code which will determine how we proceed. After further discussion, Delavan Whitenight Jr made a Motion to pay for the school purchase with $100,000.00 from Money Market Fund Account and the remainder from the Sewer Fund Account. Vice President Barb Kriner seconded the Motion and all voted in favor. Solicitor Joseph Michetti stated there would be no transfer taxes owed.
Vice President Barb Kriner made a Motion to pay off the H20 Loan at Fulton Bank. Approximate total owed is slightly under $45,000.00. A pay off cost will be obtained from the bank by Secretary Deborah Bausch and check cut from Sewer Fund to pay off. Motion was seconded by Brian Whitenight. All voted in favor.
At 8:00 pm, Vice President Barb Kriner made a Motion to Adjourn the council meeting.
Meeting adjourned!
Respectfully submitted:
Deborah Bausch
There were no residents present for this meeting.
Evening began with the Swearing in of Part Time Police Officer Earl Johnson. Welcome to our Family!
Minutes of February 15, 2021 were approved on a motion by Brian Whitenight and seconded by Vice President Barb Kriner. All voted in favor.
Budget report for January 2021 was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and Seconded by Brian Whitenight. All voted in favor.
Brian Anderson, Zoning Officer, then addressed Council with his February report. He stated it has been a dead month; he had lots of phone calls. He found one pool not in compliance with codes. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Kevin Romansik. All voted for.
Dan Gable, Street Superintendent, spoke of his crew’s work. They had an issue with the one 2005 truck and the 2019 truck during the snowy periods. Dan praised Sunbury Motor Company for their great commitment to getting our trucks serviced and back on the roads in record time. Dan said they are getting ready to do the street paving list as well as the tree list for this year. Discussion was held as to where to place the Kids at Play signs to alert drivers to slow down! Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner, seconded by Brian Whitenight and approved by all.
There was no Southside Fire Company report. Vice President Barb Kriner did state that they are now billing insurance companies for call outs.
Chief Kerry Parkes presented the Police Report for February. He began with speaking about the Lexipol contract to handle policies manual updates. Chief Parkes also presented an in-depth talk on body cams; he is still getting information on contacts and equipment but wanted to give Council a heads up. Beth Rake asked if videos couldn’t be downloaded to USB drives and Vice President Barb Kriner also inquired about this option. This is our last year on the taser contract. When questioned, Chief Parkes stated he had only had his taser out about 3 times in the past year. Chief is looking at other options; one is the “glove” and another is a steel ball wrap around. He stated the new cars are ordered and have ship dates of 3/1 and 3/6 from the factory. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Brian Whitenight; all voted in favor.
Mayor John LaMotte had no report and his No Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Delavan Whitenight Jr.
Solicitor Joseph Michetti then addressed council regarding the school purchase. He has a signed copy of the agreement. DCED will need to give approval for this purchase and certification of title insurance will need to be obtained. Two bank quotes were discussed and Solicitor Michetti explained that the interest only portion of a loan is a good option since we really have no total figure to work with yet. Vice President Barb Kriner stated she would rather make monthly payments than interest only ones. There were no prepay penalties on either document. Report was approved on a Motion by Vice President Barb Kriner and seconded by Kevin Romansik. All voted in favor.
Secretary Deborah Bausch spoke of the update on the 2021 Celebration Committee plans. Things are progressing and a sign will soon be placed on the property of the Knouse family who have approved this to be placed there. 1 sign will have the celebration logo and dates of events. A second one will be a thermometer to encourage donations to the fireworks for August 21st. Goal is $20,000.00! Report approved on a Motion by Brian Whitenight, 2nd by Delavan Whitenight. All voted for.
President John Domanski then inquired if the Borough could use Sewer Account funds to offset the costs of the school purchase? Solicitor Michetti said that was available since the sewer billings and that business would be conducted at the new site. At this point, we do not know the total condition of the school. It has been vacant for many years. It is hoped to retain the façade of the school front but again that will depend on structural conditions. An architect will need to go through the building to see what is salvageable and help with plans for the new office structures. President John Domanski stated we would need to have the property inspected and see the financial costs to bring the structure up to code which will determine how we proceed. After further discussion, Delavan Whitenight Jr made a Motion to pay for the school purchase with $100,000.00 from Money Market Fund Account and the remainder from the Sewer Fund Account. Vice President Barb Kriner seconded the Motion and all voted in favor. Solicitor Joseph Michetti stated there would be no transfer taxes owed.
Vice President Barb Kriner made a Motion to pay off the H20 Loan at Fulton Bank. Approximate total owed is slightly under $45,000.00. A pay off cost will be obtained from the bank by Secretary Deborah Bausch and check cut from Sewer Fund to pay off. Motion was seconded by Brian Whitenight. All voted in favor.
At 8:00 pm, Vice President Barb Kriner made a Motion to Adjourn the council meeting.
Meeting adjourned!
Respectfully submitted:
Deborah Bausch
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