January 4, 2010 Reorganization
In Attendance: Chairman Maureen Sterner, Newly Elected Supervisors George Ewald, Robert Delese, , Secretary/Treasurer Maria Wieand and members of the general public. Attorney Dan Lyons was not present.
Supervisor Sterner called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. beginning with the Pledge of Allegiance and opened the floor for nomination for Temporary Positions.
Temporary Chairman:
George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of Maureen Sterner as temporary chairman. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Temporary Secretary:
Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the appointment of Maria Wieand as temporary secretary. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Meeting turned over to the Temporary Chairman.
Temporary Chairman entertains a motion for Chairman of the Board:
George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of Maureen Sterner as Chairman of the Board. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Temporary Chairman entertains a motion for Vice-Chairman: Maureen Sterner moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of George Ewald as Vice-Chairman of the Board.
Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Temporary Chairman entertains a motion for Secretary/Treasurer: George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of Maria Wieand as Secretary/Treasurer. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Meeting turned over to Chairman Sterner.
Chairman Sterner entertains a motion to set the Treasurer’s Bond: Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds setting the Treasurer’s Bond in the amount of $2,000,000.00. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Solicitor: Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the appointment of Daniel Lyons as Township Solicitor and Planning Commission Solicitor at a rate of $140.00 per hour for the Board of Supervisors and $110.00 per hour for the Planning Commission.
Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Alternate Solicitor: Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the appointment of Steve Higgins as Alternate Township Solicitor and Alternate Planning Commission Solicitor at a rate of $140.00 per hour for the Board of Supervisors and $110.00 per hour for the Planning Commission. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Proposed supervisor appointments
Grievance Officer Maureen Sterner
Road Department Liaison George Ewald
Planning/Sewage Liaison Robert Delese
Accounting Liaison Maureen Sterner
Pocono Mountain Regional Police Commission George Ewald
Tunkhannock Twp. Vol. Fire Co. Representative Robert Delese
Emergency Management Administrator Robert Delese
Emergency Medical Services Maureen Sterner
Regional Comprehensive Land Use Plan George Ewald
Regional Open Space Committee Robert Delese
Planning Commission George Ewald
Agricultural Security Area Committee George Ewald
Economic Development Committee Robert Delese
Economic Development Committee George Ewald
Environmental Advisory Council Robert Delese
Pocono Mountain COG Alt Member Maureen Sterner
George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the supervisor appointments as presented.
Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments.
Joe Warner questioned Mr. Delese’s residency and that he checked with Voters’ registration and his registration isn’t valid. The Board indicated it would be the County’s responsibility to verify and check all documents as presented to Sarah Silfee, Judge of Elections. Joe requested Mr. Delese prove his residency and he indicated he lives in Brier Crest Woods, pays taxes and uses a P.O. Box in Long Pond, he owns a business on Route 115 and has lived in the Township over 40 years.
Betty Terrell-Cruz requested the Board follow up on the questions of residency and be sure we are starting off on the right foot this year. After the comments and questions were answered, the motion carried unanimously.
Proposed appointment change: Due to PA Township Code Requirements (A member of the Zoning Hearing Board may not hold another elected or appointed position in the Township – Mike Gillen is a Zoning Hearing Board Member) a new appointment for the PMRP Resident at large is required.
Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the appointment of Fran DePiano as Resident Representative to PMRP. Fran DePiano graciously accepted. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Proposed re-appointments – no changes from the 2009 year:
Alternate Sewage Enforcement Officer Rick Fisher
Roadmaster Troy Counterman
COG Road Task Force Representative Troy Counterman
Pocono Mountain COG Member Maria Wieand
Percolation Technician Robert Zipp
Engineer *Kevin Harrison *conditional upon review and acceptance of fee schedule
Alternate Engineer Sarah Bue-Morris
UCC Building Codes Official/Inspectors William Burton/Bureau Veritas
Earned Income Tax Collector Berkheimer Associates
Local Services Tax Collector Berkheimer Associates
Vacancy Officer Ned Ramm
Emergency Management Coordinator William Byron
Toby. /Tunk. Creek Watershed Assoc. James Davenport
Clymer Library Representative Pat Kager
Planning Commission Member (4 year term) Carole Gillen
Planning Commission Secretary Dorothy Trauger
Zoning Hearing Board (3 year term) Linda Casiano
Zoning Hearing Board Alternate (1 year term) John Virella
Tax Collection Committee Delegate Maria Wieand
Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the re-appointments as presented.
Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no questions or comments the motion carried unanimously.
Proposed appointment changes due to the economy, lack of work and lack of finances:
Sewage Enforcement Officer: John Brogan, Tobyhanna Township – Joint enforcement
George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of John Brogan of Tobyhanna Township as Sewage Enforcement Officer and authorizes the Solicitor to finalize the required paperwork for an inter-municipal ordinance and agreement for Joint Sewage Enforcement between Tunkhannock and Tobyhanna Townships. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments.
Mike Gillen asked is Brogan salaried at Tobyhanna Twp? Ron Wieand asked what his hours would be. Joe O’lall asked would it be salary, hourly or hours as needed? Ellen Lott asked if it would be saving dollars. The Board indicated it would save us money compared to Hanover, he would be paid hourly, time tracking and jobs will be logged same as Hanover did, and it is better to have joint enforcement for reimbursement. After the questions and comments were heard the motion passed unanimously.
Zoning Officer/Sewage Dept Assistant: Dorothy Trauger
Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the appointment of Dorothy Trauger as Zoning Officer and Sewage Dept Assistant. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments.
Jim Lambert asked was the budget balanced, what departments were affected besides Zoning for lay-offs, what are the departments within the Township, and if the budget was balanced with no lay-offs why was this necessary? The roads that are in need of repair, reconstruction is this long term capital improvement and why aren’t we taking a loan to pay for this? The Board indicated there were two lay-offs one (1) in DPW & one (1) in Zoning. DPW is union and last hired was first laid-off; our Zoning Department had two employees, Kate & Dot, Kate being hired last for that department. The budget was balanced but had no allocation for road work and several roads are beyond repair and if not addressed in the coming year will put our infrastructure in a bad situation for future years to come.
Fran DePiano gave his explanation of how the budget was determined and at no time was he given directive that road work was needed.
Paulette Boyskey thanked the current Board for looking out for the Township residents.
Carol Gillen questioned the roads that were being considered and the Board indicated Horseshoe Drive, Russell Court, and Edgewood Drive.
Jim Davenport asked is this something that was necessary. Financially it was, the Board commented. He also asked both new supervisors for their opinion of Kate Lambert. It had nothing to do with their opinions; it is due to the economy, lack of work, and finances. The Board also commented that we have roads that are falling apart and the current budget doesn’t allow for any paving. The cost estimates of the three roads in need are over $150,000 per mile with out prep work done by DPW.
Regional Comprehensive Land Use Plan Representative: Dorothy Trauger
George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds the appointment of Dorothy Trauger as Regional Comprehensive Land Use Plan Rep. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments.
Betty Terrell-Cruz feels that Dot has a lot of items on her plate, not that she can’t handle it, but she isn’t a superwoman last time I checked. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
2010 Employment:
Two employees are laid off – one from Zoning/Planning and one from the Department of Public Works (DPW).
Clerk hours will be reduced – utilized for monthly reviews, payroll, general clerical needs; hours per week to be determined as needed.
Building/Groundskeeper hours will remain reduced but reorganized to allow more hours in the summer months and less in the winter months:
June, July, August 5 days per week
May and September 3 days per week
October thru April 2 ½ days per week for building maintenance; snow removal as needed
Reduced hours – the remainder of the staff, office and Department of Public Works, will be reduced to 35 hours per week.
2010 Pay rates: Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds the following pay rates for 2010:
Equipment Operator #1(RS) $20.15 Equipment Operator #2(BW) $18.85
Equipment Operator #3(CC) $18.72 Roadmaster Troy Counterman $23.49
Zoning Officer/Sewage Dept Asst. $18.88
Secretary/Treasurer $19.76
Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Holidays: per Teamsters’ Contract and Employee Manual:
Birthday Labor Day, Mon. 09/06/10
New Years Day, Fri. 01/01/10 Columbus Day, Mon, 10/11/10
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Mon. 01/18/10 General Election Day, Tues, 11/2/10
Presidents’ Day, Mon 02/15/10 Veterans Day, Thurs, 11/11/10
Good Friday, Fri. 04/02/10 Thanksgiving Day, Thurs. 11/25/10
Primary Election Day, Tues, 05/18/10 Friday after Thanksgiving 11/26/10
Memorial Day, Mon. 05/24/10 Noon Christmas Eve, Thurs. 12/24/10
Fourth of July, Mon, 07/05/10 Christmas Day, Fri., 12/25/10
Mileage Reimbursement: George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds setting the 2010 mileage reimbursement rate at the IRS rate (currently for 2010 - .50 per mile). Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Financial Institutions: Maureen Sterner moves, Robert Delese seconds the designation of PLGIT, PNC, and Penn Star Banks as depositories for township funds. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
2010 PSATS Educational Conference: George Ewald moves to table, Robert Delese seconds to table who will attend the 2010 PSATS Educational Conference and the voting delegate until new supervisors have a chance to review the information. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Meetings Dates and Times: Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds setting the Board of Supervisors Regular Monthly Meeting on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Maureen Sterner moves, George Ewald seconds setting the Board of Supervisors Work Session Meetings as needed on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Budget: George Ewald moves, Robert Delese seconds to re-open the 2010 budget according to section 3202 D of the Township code. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. Maria Wieand noted this can be done and must be adopted by 2/15/10, with a period of 10 day public inspection prior to the adoption with publication once in a newspaper of general circulation. Jim Davenport commented there is no reason to have the budget reopened and the lay-offs weren’t necessary. He also indicated that the board should be sure they allocate enough money under the solicitor for legal issues since there will be some repercussions from what has happened. Paulette Boyskey felt it is being done for a good reason and felt the current Board is looking out for the tax payers’ best interest. Joe O’lall commented he felt the current Board had adequate reasons to ask for the budget to be reopened. Supervisor Sterner asked the Board to pick a work session day. They agreed on 1/27/10 at 7 pm and the adoption on 2/10/10. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Public Comments: Betty Terrell-Cruz noted there were some very disgraceful issues raised at this meeting and sooner than later she would like the supervisors to investigate these violations and conflicts.
Mark Fisher said it is unfortunate that someone is being laid-off. He would like to know why snow fences haven’t been put up on Long Pond Road by the open fields. Road master Troy Counterman will check with PennDot tomorrow since he will be there at a meeting.
Joe Warner wanted the Board to know that the 2ND CLASS Township Codes are very antiquated and he hopes that they will get involved during the convention and voice his concerns.
Mike Gillen also asked about the snow fences.
Jim Davenport asked why the current health insurance plan has a deductible.
Fran DePiano thanked the Board for his privilege of working with them and wished the newly elected success.
Betty Terrell-Cruz requested the board contact the District Attorney to regarding questionable residency of Elected Supervisor Robert Delese’s.
Bill List: Secretary/Treasurer Wieand presented the bill list in the amount of $18,169.30, Maureen Sterner moves to pay the bills, George Ewald Seconds. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Adjournment: Maureen Sterner moves to adjourn the meeting at 6:21 pm, George Ewald seconds. Supervisor Sterner asked for questions or comments. There being no other questions or comments the motion passed unanimously.
Maria S. Wieand
Secretary/Treasurer