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BOROUGH OF TRUMBAUERSVILLE

ONE EVERGREEN DRIVE

PO BOX 100

TRUMBAUERSVILLE, PA  18970-0100

 



BOROUGH OF TRUMBAUERSVILLE

ONE EVERGREEN DRIVE

PO BOX 100

TRUMBAUERSVILLE, PA  18970-0100

 

PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULE FOR 2010

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BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETINGS:

January 4, 2010                                    May 6, 2010                            September 2, 2010

February 4, 2010                                 June 3, 2010                             October 7, 2010

March 4, 2010                                     July 1, 2010                              November 4, 2010

<>April 1, 2010                                        August 12, 2010                       December 2, 2010
 

Council Meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of each month unless otherwise noted.  All meetings convene at 7:30 PM at the Municipal Building and are open to the public.

 

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETINGS (IF NEEDED):

 

January 21, 2010                                  May 20, 2010                          September 16, 2010

February 18, 2010                               June 17, 2010                          October 21, 2010

March 18, 2010                                   July 15, 2010                           November 18, 2010

<>April 15, 2010                          August 19, 2010                       December 16, 2010

<>All meetings are held the third Thursday of each month.  All meetings convene at 7:30 PM at the Municipal Building and are open to the public.
 

PLANNING COMMISSION MEETINGS (IF NEEDED):

January 18, 2010                                  May 17, 2010                          September 20, 2010

February 15, 2010                               June 21, 2010                          October 18, 2010

March 15, 2010                                   July 19, 2010                           November 15, 2010

April 19, 2010                                      August 16, 2010                       December 20, 2010

 

All meetings are held on the third Monday of each month.  All meetings convene at 7:30 PM at the Municipal Building and are open to the public.

 

MTASA:

Second Monday of every month, 7:00 PM.


BOROUGH OF TRUMBAUERSVILLE

TRUMBAUERSVILLE, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING, THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4, 2010

The regular meeting of the Borough Council was held on the above date in the Municipal Building, One Evergreen Drive.  President Frederick Potter called the meeting to order. 

ROLL CALL:

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:  Frederick Potter-President, Christopher Betz-Vice-President, Edward Child, Harcourt Trimble, Michael George, Richard MacCauley, Roberta Recenes, Sean Basile (JCP) and Landis Golden (JCP).

OTHER OFFICIALS PRESENT:  Melissa Baine-Mayor, Gregory Ghen-Solicitor, Craig Wilhelm-Fire Marshal/CEO and Larry Smock-Secretary/Treasurer.

MOTION ON MINUTES:  A motion was made by Mr. Betz to approve the Council Re-organization Meeting minutes of January 4, 2010.  Seconded by Mr. Trimble.  Motion passed and so ordered.

AUTHORIZATION FOR PAYMENT OF BILLS:  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to pay the January 2010 invoices.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.

MTASA REPORT:  President Potter stated that Mr. William Haigh is slated to explain to us why the drastic increase in sewer rates occurred.  He is not here at the present time so we will move forward and get into that when he arrives.

SOLICITOR’S REPORT:  President Potter stated that in regards to the Shea property, the Fire Company shut off the water due to a broken pipe.  There is no heat in the building along with various other discrepancies and I believe we have a lien on the property.  Mr. Ghen stated that we do.  President Potter added that the question is, what, if anything, can we do to hurry this to its conclusion.  Mr. Ghen stated that he would have to think about it, but a municipal lien should take precedence over everything else.  Mr. Ghen added that he would check on that. President Potter asked the Borough Secretary if he had anything further.  Borough Secretary stated that the outstanding water and refuse bills would be added to the lien and the two (2) accounts would be inactivated.  President Potter stated that the property is still up for sale.  Borough Secretary stated that Mr. Shea has a mortgage through two different banks.  There is a bid on the property and one bank has signed off on it, the other has not.  The real estate agent stated he would contact me when the second bank had reached a decision.  President Potter asked if we should file an amended lien to include the water and trash.  Mr. Ghen stated we should.  Borough Secretary will supply the new amounts owed to Mr. Ghen.

CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION:  Mr. Vince Putiri asked that when Mr. Haigh from the Sewer Authority shows up, will we be able to ask him questions?  Mr. Potter stated that that is a good idea and I believe we all have questions for him.

Mr. Putiri stated that he had a comment on the new trash system and that is that they are doing a great job.  Mr. Putiri added that he would like to thank Council for the job they did in making things run smoothly. 

MAYOR’S COMMENTS ON THE BOROUGH:  Mayor Baine stated that she would like to congratulate Mr. Edward Child on his appointment as the PSAB representative to the Bucks County Boroughs Association.

Mayor Baine stated that with the inclement weather coming this weekend, plan on a snow emergency being declared.

Mayor Baine added that we need to check out the water discharge from the old Hazlett property into the street.  Mr. Wilhelm will check it out.

 

Borough Council Meeting
February 4, 2010
Page 2

President Potter stated that before we get into the committee reports, he would like to suggest to Council to look at the committee assignments.  Some of the suggestions made over the course of last year by Mr. Child and others have been incorporated to try and get a little bit more committee focus on what we want to do.  Mr. Child stated that he thinks the new committee structure is good.  He likes the idea of a technology committee, the public services committee, which consolidates the water and streets committees and the possible things for each committee to look at are all good ideas.  Hopefully, the committees will pick up the assignments and run with them.  President Potter asked if anyone else had any comments.  Mr. Ghen stated he had a comment.  On these committees, he has noticed that questions arise during the month that need his assistance is not presented until the night of the meeting.  He would like the chairpersons to communicate with him so that hopefully, we don’t lose that extra time.  President Potter stated that that is a good idea.  Mr. Ghen will supply each Council Member with his E-mail address.  President Potter stated that he would add Mr. Ghen to the All Council E-mail.  President Potter then went on to give a brief overview of the committees and their responsibilities.

REPORT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:

PLANNING COMMISSION:  None

ZONING HEARING BOARD:  President Potter stated that the Zoning Hearing Board would meet February 10th to review plans for the new firehouse.

PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE:  President Potter stated that he had an update from Mr. Jim Groff concerning the fire hydrant at the firehouse.  They rebuilt it at great expense and time and then they found out that an integral part at the bottom of the hydrant was sheared off, rendering it virtually useless.  President Potter asked Council to authorize the expenditure of not more than $1,500.00 to replace the entire hydrant.  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to authorize the expenditure.  Seconded by Mr. George.  Motion passed and so ordered.

PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE:  None

PARK/RECREATION COMMITTEE:  None

PERSONNEL/ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE:  Mr. Child stated that he would like to have a meeting the week of February 15th.  He will contact committee members to set up a date. 

TECHNOLOGY COMMITTEE:  None

BUDGET/FINANCE COMMITTEE:  Mr. Trimble stated that our audit was conducted on January 21st and 22nd and everything was fine.  We should have the starting and ending numbers by the end of February.

Mr. Trimble stated that he attended the E.I.T. Committee meeting to discuss what is going on.  The way it is set up for E.I.T., the votes are done, the way the State set it up, by weighted average, the amount of money you collect.  That translates to a .116 vote for Trumbauersville.  School districts pull about 45-46% of the votes in Bucks County.  All the municipalities want one member, one vote.  This would mean that the school district would get one vote and each municipality would get one vote.  Everybody feels that is the fair way otherwise why would any municipality show up.  It looks like that is the way we are going to go, but the final vote hasn’t been taken.  Mr. Trimble stated he would keep Council informed.

Mr. Trimble stated that everyone has a copy of our proposed billing format for the new water/refuse program.  There are a few additions that we couldn’t include on the old postcard bills.  If anyone has any suggestions or comments, contact Mr. Trimble or the Borough Secretary.

 

Borough Council Meeting
February 4, 2010
Page 3

GRANT RESEARCH COMMITTEE:  None

ORDINANCE COMMITTEE:  None

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

NEW BUSINESS:

CEO Report was reviewed and accepted as presented. 

Fire Marshal Report was reviewed and accepted as presented.

A motion was made by Mr. Child to donate $250.00 of the $500.00 we have obligated for Veterans Contributions to the John Rivers Memorial VFW Post #11322.  If no other veteran’s organizations come forward by the end of the year, we donate the remaining $250.00 to the John Rivers Post.  Seconded by Mr. MacCauley.  Motion passed and so ordered.

Mr. John Stever’s letter of resignation from the Zoning Hearing Board was reviewed.  A motion was made by Mr. Betz to accept the resignation.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.  President Potter stated that we now have a five year term open for the Zoning Hearing Board.  We need to get the word out.  Mr. Child stated that our newsletter doesn’t come out until the middle of March so he is not sure how we would get the word out.  President Potter stated we might have a couple of people who have expressed an interest.  Mr. Child asked the Borough Secretary if anyone had expressed an interest.  Borough Secretary stated there was one and he is present tonight.  Mr. Child stated that if we have someone who is really interested, he didn’t see spending the time to wait until March to get the word out and then wait until April to hear from people.  President Potter asked the Borough Secretary who was interested.  Borough Secretary replied that it was Mr. Tom Conley.  Mr. Child asked Mr. Conley if he was interested.  Mr. Conley stated he was.  A motion was made by Mr. George to appoint Mr. Tom Conley to the Zoning Hearing Board.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered. 

The letter from the BCPC for a Commitment Form for the 2010-2012 Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program in the amount of $165.00 per year was reviewed.  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to obligate the funds.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.

A request from the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy for the 2010 municipal membership was reviewed.  Council elected not to participate at this time.

A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to modify the 2010 Budget to accommodate the sewer fee increase of $160.00 and anticipated electricity increase in the Water Fund from $14,500.00 to $16,500.00.  Seconded by Mr. George.  Motion passed and so ordered.

An invoice from the Borough Councils Association for dues in the amount of $25.00 was reviewed.  Council elected not to participate at this time.

A motion was made by Mr. Betz to adopt Resolution #01-10, 2010 Appointees.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.

A motion was made b y Mr. Trimble to adopt Resolution #02-10, Fee Schedule (General).  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.

The re-appointment of Mr. William Heffentrager as a neutral member of MTASA was discussed.  Mr. Putiri asked who the board members of the Sewer Authority were accountable to.  There are (5) members on the board, two (2) we appoint , two (2) Milford appoints and one (1) we combine to appoint.  Who holds

Borough Council Meeting
February 4, 2010
Page 4

 

them accountable?  Does this Council do it? If this Council does it, then what are you doing putting him back on because he just socked us with a 67% increase in our sewer bill.  A 100% increase over the past three (3) years.  Why would we give a stamp of approval to somebody who just did that to us?  Mr. Putiri added that this is beyond anything that he has ever witnessed in local government, state government and federal government.  This entity can have a say over the sewer entity to some extent, at least now by not approving the re-appointment.  Mr. Trimble stated that we should hold off voting on it until he appears before Council.  Mr. Putiri stated that the Director should also appear.  Mr. Conley stated they should come prepared to justify the increase and how they came up with that number.  Mr. Child stated that the letters that were sent to everybody gave no details whatsoever.  President Potter stated that he would direct the Borough Secretary to communicate to the Sewer Authority that all appointments and re-appointments to MTASA are on hold until such time they justify the rate increase.  After a lengthy discussion, it was decided that a public meeting would be held on March 18, 2010 and we will request that the Director of MTASA and representatives be present.  We will check with the Fire Company to see if we can hold the meeting there.

An invoice in the amount of $25.00 for the Bucks County Recreation Council membership was reviewed.  Council elected not to participate at this time.

A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to authorize Signal Service, Inc. to furnish/install a new junction box for the traffic signal in the amount of $497.00.  Seconded by Mr. Child.  Motion passed and so ordered.

Borough Secretary stated that everybody has a copy of the PSAB Annual conference from April 25th-28th.  The first three pages are the itinerary.  If you wish to attend, complete page four, return it to the Borough Secretary and at the next Council Meeting, Council will decide who will attend. 

There being no further business, a motion was made by Mr. MacCauley to adjourn.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered.

Respectfully submitted,

Larry Smock
Borough Secretary



BOROUGH OF TRUMBAUERSVILLE

TRUMBAUERSVILLE, BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

BOROUGH COUNCIL REORGANIZATION MEETING, MONDAY JANUARY 4, 2010

The reorganization meeting of the Borough Council was held on the above date in the Municipal Building, One Evergreen Drive.    Mayor Melissa I. Baine called the meeting to order.

ROLL CALL:

COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT:  Edward Child, Frederick Potter, Harcourt Trimble, Michael George, Richard MacCauley, Christopher Betz, Roberta Recenes and Landis golden (JCP).

OTHER OFFICIALS PRESENT:  Melissa Baine-Mayor, Craig Wilhelm-Fire Marshal/CEO and Larry Smock-Secretary/Treasurer.

SELECTION OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT AND COUNCIL VICE-PRESIDENT:

Mayor Baine requested nominations for Council President.  Mr. MacCauley nominated Mr. Frederick Potter.  Mayor Baine asked if there were any more nominations.  There being none, Mayor Baine asked Mr. Potter if he would accept the nomination.  Mr. Potter stated he would.  Mayor Baine called for a vote.  Mr. Potter was selected as Council President by a majority vote. 

Mayor Baine requested nominations for Council Vice-President.  Ms. Recenes nominated Mr. Christopher Betz.  Mr. George nominated Mr. Edward Child.  Mr. Child declined the nomination.  Mayor Baine asked if there any other nominations.  There being none, Mayor Baine stated that Mr. Child declined the nomination which leaves Mr. Betz and called for a vote.  Mr. Betz was selected as Council Vice-President by a majority vote.

Mayor Baine turned the meeting over to the newly selected Council President, Mr. Frederick Potter.

President Potter requested nominations for President Pro-Tem.  Mr. MacCauley nominated Mr. Harcourt Trimble.  President Potter asked if there were any other nominations.  There being none, President Potter called for a vote.  Mr. Trimble was selected as Council President Pro-Tem by a majority vote.

MOTION ON MINUTES:  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to approve the December 3, 2009 minutes.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered. 

AUTHORIZATION FOR PAYMENT OF BILLS:  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to pay the December 2009 invoices.  Seconded by Mr. MacCauley.  Motion passed and so ordered.

SOLICITOR’S REPOPRT:  None

CITIZEN’S PARTICIPATION:  Mr. Tom Conley asked if the Borough had any knowledge of the reason(s) for the increase in the sewer rates.  President Potter stated that we became aware of it the same time that other Borough residents did.  President Potter added that we will write a letter requesting the reasons for the increase.  Once we receive that, we will see if we have a course of action. 

MAYOR’S COMMENTS ON THE BOROUGH:  None

REPORT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS:

PLANNING COMMISSION:  None 

ZONING HEARING BOARD:  None

PUBLIC SAFETY, WELFARE & STREETS:  None

PARK/RECREATION COMMITTEE:  None 


Borough Council Reorganization Meeting
January 4, 2010
Page 2

BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE:  Mr. Trimble stated we will need to revisit the budget due to the increase in the sewer rates.  In addition, we are putting together a new billing format for the new water/refuse billing program.  We will try to have one ready for Council to review at the next meeting.

WATER COMMITTEE:  President Potter stated that the fire hydrant at the fire house should be repaired within the next two (2) weeks.  The reason it has taken so long, is that there was more damage than we expected.  The rubber gasket was shredded due to the exertion of too much torque trying to shut it off,  A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to write a letter to the Fire Company explaining what had to be done.  Seconded by Mr. MacCauley.  Motion passed and so ordered. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS:  None

NEW BUSINESS:

CEO Report was reviewed and accepted as presented.

Fire Marshal Report was reviewed and accepted as presented.

A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to expend $40.00 for the 2010 Who’s Who.  Seconded by Mr. Betz.  Motion passed and so ordered.

A motion was made by Mr. Trimble to approve the arsenic removal system at Well #3 in the amount of $9,799.00.  Seconded by Ms. Recenes.  Motion passed and so ordered. 

Mr. Child stated that he was resigning as the Trumbauersville representative to the Quakertown Areas Planning Committee.  Mr. Trimble stated he would fill in as interim representative.

There being no further business, a motion was made by Ms. Recenes to adjourn.  Seconded by Mr. Betz.  Motion passed and so ordered.
 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Larry Smock
Secretary/Treasurer