President Thomas E. Stinnett called the regular meeting of the Riegelsville Borough Council to order at 7:00 pm August 10, 2022. If anyone makes inappropriate comments, tries to sell something, is attacking someone, etc. you will be removed from this meeting.
The Pledge of Allegiance, Roll Call: PRESENT: Ed Bartosiewicz, Gary Chase, Michael Pulsinelli, Rodney Scott and Mayor Stokes.
Council approval to add two items to agenda: E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
**** Email from Jodee Inscho, Director of Community Affairs DRJTBC. (Illuminating signs)
**** Fix Typo~ add “Library” to the Council Approval.
Motion to approve July 13, 2022 Council Meeting minutes, corrected 2 items (Solicitor fees: June: $250.00 YTD: $1,062.50) E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase Seconded. Unanimous.
CORRESPONDENCE: None to report.
REPORTS:
President: T. Stinnett stated nothing to report.
Mayor: Mayor Stokes read the email from Jodee Inscho- Director of Community affairs/ DRJTBC, Enhance truck signage on Route 611 and before the Canal Bridge/Delaware Road with several signs will be illuminated with LED lights. These signs are designed to get the drivers attention. Mayor Stokes, Gary and Ed met with Jodee and Brian Wilson to discuss the locations. Jodee reported that in the month of June that 300 trucks had to turn around before the Delaware River Bridge. Rodney asked is the lit signs will affect the Residents in that area. Gary stated that the lights are nearly unseen from either side of the sign- 12 degrees. They do not anticipate the signs being obtrusive to neighbors. Mayor Stokes received an inquiry asking if the Ballot box will be in place again for the November election, Mayor stokes sees that it is on tonight’s agenda.
Mayor Stokes turned around 7 trucks from going over the bridge. Mayor Stokes received a concern from resident about Hurricane season that is here, Mayor Stokes looks on NJsurfer.com for updated weather reports.
Report: Sherry Masteller appointed Open Records Officer (ORO)
July 2022
9~ RTK received. 2~Build Zoom, 1~Attorney Jacobs, 6~Robert Ryan. YTD: R. Ryan 54, A Moyer 1, Smart Procure 1, Build Zoom 2, Attorney Jacobs 1.
7~ RTK 30 day extensions. Due August.
2~Granted.
4~ Appeals from PA Office of open records, Ryan VS Riegelsville Borough OOR Docket No. Consolidated AP 2022-1617, 1618, 1619 and 1620 (Granted Final Determination) due August 24, 2022. Ryan VS Riegelsville Borough AP No: 2022-1425 Final Determination Granted due August 30, 2022. YTD: R. Ryan 9, B. Banko 1.
June 17, 2022 appeal Ryan VS Riegelsville Borough OOR Docket No. AP 2022-1464 (Denial Final Determination) was due by July 18, 2022 (received July 15, 2022).
Open Records Officer Hours: 5 1/2 Hour~ Total $108.35 to process, gather documents and if needed forward requests to agencies of the Borough. ORO YTD: $1260.80. ORO-Appeals YTD: $285.65
Zoning officer 20 minutes/ $21.00. YTD: $52.50
Solicitor fees: July paid: $62.50 YTD: $1125.00
COMMENTS OF CITIZENS: Please state your name, you have 3 minutes to speak. 5-Borough residents.
Bob Ryan, Borough resident asked Rodney Scott if he got injured while volunteering his time to fix the Library Door is he insured. Tom Stinnett stated that volunteers with the Borough are covered under the Borough’s insurance umbrella.
Mayor Stokes asked when the next Fire House Breakfast is, the next Breakfast is set for September 17, 2022.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Community Affairs: Michael Pulsinelli called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm on July 20, 2022.
If anyone makes inappropriate comments, tries to sell something, is attacking someone, etc. you will be removed from this meeting.
Members Present: Michael Pulsinelli, Ed Bartosiewicz, Gary Chase and Rodney Scott.
Others Present: Frank Preedy- Borough EMC, Jim Kopchak-Zoning officer, Mayor Stokes, Becky Finberg- Library Youth Service Coordinator and Sherry Masteller-Borough Secretary.
4- Borough residents present.
Comments from citizens: Please state your name, you have maximum 3 minutes to speak.
No one spoke.
Discussions:
Zoning: Jim Kopchak, Borough Zoning Officer reported to Council his July 2022 report.
3-Building Permits: Demo & Alterations, 200 Amp Service, Alterations & Mini-split HVAC. 3-Zoning permits: fence, floodplain and flag pole.
Enforcement Activities:
808 Durham Road update: letter from PA DCNR dated July 7, 2022 to property owner informing her that they oppose her proposal to rebuild the patio as it would perpetuate an encroachment onto park property.
702 Durham Road: Work was done without permits, received stop work order and notice of violation on May 4, 2022. Todd Myers, issued the floodplain review letter on April 20, 2022 Property owner did not submit the documents that Todd requested. No update as of July 20, 2022
1274 Easton Road, Bowman’s North: Jim observed that they installed a new service door at the rear of the building. They failed to apply for a floodplain development permit and building permits. Stop work order and notice of violation was posted on July 13, 2022. They have until August 3, 2022 to get the permit application and sealed drawing.
Property Maintenance Violations:
141 Delaware Road, Mr. Kreider, has requested an additional 30 days and Council granted the 30 days. Mr. Kreider has been making repairs to the garage door and painting some of the house.
118 Fern Road, Zoning office continues to receive complaints, Non-traffic citation was filed with the local magistrate on July 18, 2022. Court date pending.
224 Easton Road, Jim will inspect the property August 3, 2022.
No scheduled ZHB (Zoning Hearing Board) meetings.
Quarterly DCED reports were given to T. Macaluso, Borough Treasurer.
Yearly Floodplain permits list was forwarded to Todd Myers via email.
Library News: Borough office received from Terri Randolph (Director) the June 2022 Directors report minutes and they have been filed. No July library Board of trustees meeting. Next meeting is August 8, 2022. Becky Finberg- Library Youth Service Coordinator reported new sign with the corrected hours was placed by the front entrance. Art for children started yesterday July 19, all classes have good attendance. 7/26 class has a waitlist, 8/2 and 8/9 are not full yet. Becky is attending the “summer academy” at Durham Nockamixon elementary for weekly Storytime for Kindergarteners and modified Storytime for older children with an activity. Fishy Snacks program was well attended.
Rodney reported that he finished fixing the library front door and painted the bare wood.
Fire Co. News: E. Bartosiewicz reported the PRFR (Palisades Regional Fire Rescue) had their first meeting with 80 members attended. Riegelsville, Ottsville and Springtown will continue to meet separately. A tractor trailer was trying to turn around and took down communication wires.
Riegelsville Enhancement Committee: August 4 is the next meeting. Sherry reported that they would like to see the Borough sign in the parking lot get replaced. Sherry reached out to PCI (Pennsylvania Correctional Industries) that is the Company that made the one in the front yard. G. Chase suggested to add phone numbers to the sign.
UBREMS (Upper Bucks Regional EMS) News: E. Bartosiewicz reported they continue to look for more employees and they are researching employee sharing with other companies. They do this in the south end of Bucks County.
Rec Board News: R. Scott reported that Di Palantino’s are going to fix the coating on the Basketball Court tomorrow July 21. The baseball field backstop will be replaced the end of August before Fall Baseball starts. We are looking into putting a different surface under the playground equipment. The playground mulch is difficult to keep up the weeding. The mesh was laid a long time ago. We need something maintenance free.
Sherry reported Car show vendor reservations are coming in. Fall rollout Car show is November 6, 2022.
Riegelsville Emergency Management: F. Preedy reported that Sherry and he attended a Sandy Hook presentation at the BC IU center. Frank reported that Roger Vonah, Borough resident would like to join the Riegelsville Emergency management team. BC activated the Cooling stations Today July 20 and July 21 due to the dangerous heat, Frank is manning the hours 10 am-6pm. No one showed up today. We are getting the word out. Ann Moyer, Borough resident said this is a good idea and she offered to help if Frank and the team need someone to be there. M. Pulsinelli asked what the borough does if we lose power especially when the truck took down wires. Frank reported that the Borough building has a generator and Well #3 also has a generator for the Water system. The Riegelsville Fire House has a generator. Mayor Stokes stated PennDOT did put up additional signage for Trucks trying to go over the Delaware River Bridge.
Riegelsville Planning Commission: Next meeting is August 1, 2022 7pm.
Misc.: General Election is November 8, 2022 7am-8pm Voting in the Borough Meeting Room.
Meeting adjourned 7:42pm Next meeting August 17, 2022 7pm
Utilities: Rodney Scott called the Utilities meeting to order at 7:42 pm on July 20, 2022.
If anyone makes inappropriate comments, tries to sell something, is attacking someone, etc. you will be removed from this meeting.
Members Present: Rodney Scott, Ed Bartosiewicz, Michael Pulsinelli and Gary Chase.
Others Present: Frank Preedy- Borough EMC, Mayor Stokes and Sherry Masteller-Borough Secretary. 4- Borough residents present.
Concerns from Citizens: Please state your name, you have maximum 3 minutes to speak.
Discussions:
Water bill payments are due August 3, 2022.
Covid funds/Water main connection project: The second installment $44,589.08 should be here any day. The signed documents went to Passerini & Sons day after July 13, 2022 Borough Council.
Elmwood Lane/ Bidwell Road project: A non-mandatory pre bid meeting is set for July 26, at 11 am, Borough meeting room. Bids will be due August 4, 2022.
Misc.: None to report.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:48 pm Next meeting August 17, 2022 7pm
Streets & Properties: Ed Bartosiewicz called the Streets & Properties meeting to order at 7:00 pm on August 3, 2022. If anyone makes inappropriate comments, tries to sell something, is attacking someone, etc. you will be removed from this meeting.
Members Present: Ed Bartosiewicz, Gary Chase, Michael Pulsinelli and Rodney Scott.
Others Present: Mayor Stokes and Sherry Masteller-Borough Secretary.
Comments from Citizens: Please state your name, you have maximum 3 minutes to speak.
3-Borough residents present.
Discussions:
Cowan Associates, Borough Engineer is working on preparing a safety score for the Borough Building and certificate of occupancy.
Ed met with a contractor to get a quote for the Borough Building front apartment entrance stairs replacement, front porch repair/replacement and the pedestrian bridge replacement of stairs that go to the DCNR canal path.
Elmwood Ln/Bidwell Ln road project update: Bids are due to Cowan, Borough Engineer tomorrow August 4, 2022. Bid documents will be ready for Borough Council meeting on August 10, 2022.
Pedestrian Bridge power washing/ water sealing update: Power washing is complete, seal coating can be done any time before the stair boards are replaced.
Chevy dump truck update: Quote was received from Riegelsville Auto for the Chevy dump repairs. The quote will be added to the August 10 Council agenda. The 2017 Ford Truck is due for inspection. The Backhoe’s still needs repairs too.
Library Front door: Door is fixed and door knob is currently working. REMARK: Today August 10, Terri- Library Director said the door knob is sticking and not working correctly. Council suggested to contact the lock smith to replace it. We have spraying it multiple times.
Ziebart of Quakertown finished the undercoating the 2017 Ford Truck. The 2004 Ford is currently being sandblasted and undercoated.
Borough Building Shingle issue update: Cowan, Borough engineer emailed the ProCom Roofing.
Alley between Delaware Road and Maplewood Road: Matt Brady met with Todd Myers, Borough Engineer to look over the alley. There are 2010 plans when this was discussed previously. Council looked over that plan and have questions for Todd and Matt.
Borough Park Playground mulch/weeds update: Rodney Scott reported that the weeds have been cut down. Rodney has contacted other municipalities to see what they are using. They are using mulch and edging around the playground equipment. They have part-timers do the maintenance. Rodney is waiting for a quote from a local landscaper to dig out the current mulch and the weed block, then redo it. Rodney will forward the quote to the Rec Board members. The baseball back stop demo will start August 15, then painting and new fence. Rodney asked if Matt know how we can get rid of the old fence. Gary mentioned to take it to 611 metal.
Bob Ryan, Borough Resident asked if the Pedestrian Bridge metal will be painted too. The Borough may have paint that was used to get the correct color.
Bob Ryan, Borough resident asked for an update on the 611 drains being cleaned. Mayor Stokes stated that PennDOT is backed up on the street sweeping but a hoping for the end of August. Mayor Stokes talked to Matt to see if the Borough employees can clean off the tops of the drains if PennDOT can’t get here.
Meeting adjourned 7:24 pm Next Streets/Properties meeting will be held on September 7, 2022 at 7:00 pm.
Finance: Gary Chase called the Finance meeting to order on August 3, 2022 at 7:25 pm.
If anyone makes inappropriate comments, tries to sell something, is attacking someone, etc. you will be removed from this meeting.
Members Present:
Gary Chase, Ed Bartosiewicz, Michael Pulsinelli and Rodney Scott.
Others Present:
Mayor Stokes and Sherry Masteller-Borough Secretary.
Comment from Citizens: Please state your name, you have maximum 3 minutes to speak.
3 Borough residents present.
Discussions: Bob Ryan, asked if the Borough emails will be saved when we have a new system. Gary reported that has been discussed with James- JEC computers, quote was received for the first stage. Gary reached out to another contractor, Doug Sisco, to meet with office staff, Tom and Gary to discuss our needs, so he can prepare a quote. Doug works for other Municipalities. Durham Township uses Doug for their IT and Website.
Gary reported that the draft of the Borough bylaws should be ready by the middle of August.
“Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) funding program with PennDOT”: Gary asked Sherry if there is a date for Armour & Sons to do the yearly inspection. Sherry called Michelle with Armour to check again if Fred had contacted PennDOT with the discrepancies of out permit. Sherry will email and get the date for the inspection, Rodney and Gary would like to be present.
Gary reported that residents are complaining about speeding on south end of 611 early in the morning. Mayor Stokes talked to the PA State Police to make them away of the concerns. Possible flashing speed limit signs on 611 was proposed Mayor Stokes has a meeting tomorrow Thursday August 4, at 9 am DRJTB Commission representatives for additional signage for Trucks trying to go over the Delaware River Bridge. Ed and Gary are going to attend the meeting also.
Joanne Allen, Borough Insurance agent, gave Council information on Cyber Solutions from EMC Insurance. Provides protection from data breach or cyber-attacks. There are specific limits and that would decide what the cost would be. Gary did add that this has been discussed with the two IT Contractors also.
The current Ballot Box agreement is expiring August 31, 2022, if Council agrees to extend the term of the agreement with amendment it is due by August 15, 2022. This will be added to the August 10, 2022 Council agenda.
The winter maintenance 5 year agreement with PennDOT is due for renewal. The Borough performs the winter maintenance Delaware road from 611 to the Delaware River Bridge. This will be added to the August 10, 2022 Council agenda.
Cowan, Borough Engineer is working on the paperwork to renovate the Durham Road small parking lot.
The Borough office copier needed service for a toner issue and a few other things. The technician reported that we need a new hinge, those parts would need to be ordered. The parts estimate will be added to the August 10, Council agenda. REMARK: The copier was purchased October 2018.
The Federal Surplus Property program is due for renewal. This is a 3 year program. This application will be added to the August 10, Council agenda.
Council looked over the financials. Mayor Stokes asked what the DCNR right of way $100.00 check is for. REMARK: This fee is for the Riegelsville Water line to run under the canal.
Bob Ryan, Borough Resident asked what the Cowan Flood plain checks for. Sherry stated that Todd Myers is the Borough Flood plain manager and these costs for Flood plain reviews.
Meeting adjourned at 7:46pm.
Next Finance meeting will be held September 7, 2022, immediately following Streets/Properties
UNFINISHED BUSINESS: If anyone has any questions please comment prior to the vote.
Council approve the appointment of Kathleen Kurtz and Nancy Small to the Riegelsville Public Library Board of Trustees. E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous
Approval PA Department of General Services “Federal Surplus Property Program”. Renewal for 3 years. R. Scott motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous
Approval Resolution R-04-22, “PennDOT Winter Maintenance Agreement”. Renewal 5 years. First year $692.76. R. Scott motioned to approve, E. Bartosiewicz seconded. Unanimous
Approval of parts estimate $290.69, plus labor to Stratix Systems, for Borough Ricoh copier. G. Chase motioned to approve, E. Bartosiewicz seconded. Unanimous
Approval Bucks County Board of Election Ballot drop box renewal with an amendment. R. Scott motioned to approve, E. Bartosiewicz seconded. Unanimous
Approval of estimate for Chevy (Rusted floor, brake cables, new valve stems) $1068.26 (Parts & labor). R. Scott motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
Approval of check $655.00 Mike Kummer Electric, LLC (AC Outlet replacement). E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
Borough Council received the bid review and recommendation from Cowan Associates, Borough Engineer for “2022 Street resurfacing- Bidwell Lane and Elmwood Lane”.
Approval to award bid to the low bid base $ 87,577.00 to Bracelente Construction Inc. “2022 Street resurfacing- Bidwell Lane and Elmwood Lane”. E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
Approval to execute the agreement. E. Bartosiewicz motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
Approval of “Notice of intent to award”. R. Scott motioned to approve, G. Chase seconded. Unanimous.
****Email from Jodee Inscho, Director of Community Affairs DRJTBC. (Illuminating signs) G. Chase motioned to approve illuminated signs. E. Bartosiewicz seconded. Unanimous.
NEW BUSINESS: Today the office received a call from Skip Brown that he hired a surveyor and the area is staked out. Rodney will look at the stakes tomorrow. Council suggested to get a copy of the survey to look over.
Gary is taking an online 3 part webinars with PA State Association of Boroughs “Downtown Revitalization-A Rural Economic Strategy. The first part discussed that it takes 7-10 years from start to finish for a revitalization project. 80% of that the public doesn’t see. Discussions with municipalities like ours to utilize the canal, towpath traffic for the local businesses. A bicycle shop would be a great idea for a new business in the borough. This would be a good idea for the current owners to utilize their vacant buildings to get tenants if they don’t want to sell their properties. New Jersey side has a new renovated Bar/ restaurant and new tracks/ train station, that will bring traffic to our downtown community. Gary will continue to update after the webinars. Rodney has reached out to the Oxford Diabetic owner and they are actively looking for tenants for their 2 buildings.
Tom stated that during the 2023 Budget discussions that he would like Council to consider a Capital Budget plans.
Bob Ryan asked what is PAWarn (Annual Dues $35.00) S. Masteller reported that they are a group that consists of Water Authorities/ Companies. We get severe weather information, supplies may be needed and one of companies can help.
APPROVAL OF BILLS: R. Scott motioned to approve bills. G. Chase seconded.
Dirk Odhner asked what the Federal Surplus Property program is. S. Masteller this program to purchase used items for the Borough, for example-Furniture, tools, Recreation equipment, office equipment.
Meeting adjourned 7:55 PM.
Next Council meeting September 14, 2022 at 7:00pm
Sherry Masteller
Borough Secretary