Oxford Borough Council
Meeting Minutes
Minutes
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
January 9, 2012
The meeting of Borough Council was held on January 9, 2012 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Hershey at 7 p.m. President Hershey then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Hershey, President Mrs. Andrews, Vice President
Dr. Doyle, Member Mr. Teel, Member
Mr. Cole, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Thompson, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Betsy Brantner, Secretary
Ms. Fuller, Solicitor
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Ashton Dorety – Mr. Dorety was in attendance to speak about the damages to his home. He feels Council members should be more proactive to the citizens. Mr. Dorety asked Ms. Brantner how many people attended Borough Day. She said they had around 50 guests and intended to hold it every year. Mr. Dorety asked what their main concern was about. She said there were questions about the Streetscape, taxes, the budget and recycling. Mr. Dorety asked why the Borough is not more help to the residents. Ms. Brantner said that on the Borough website there is much information to help all residents, such as, help for Senior Citizens, for people to find jobs, to assist people in securing low income housing, and help residents with their mortgage. President Hershey said he feels the Borough does do a lot for their residents. He noted we offer free leaf and brush pick-up, a police department. He said a lot of municipalities don’t provide this service.
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mr. Teel seconded the motion. Ms. Fuller added Item C, Chapter 15 – Motor Vehicles Traffic ordinance from the December meeting to Business Carried Forward. Motion carried to adopt agenda as amended.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Sidewalks - Reviewing code regarding installation of new sidewalks – Ms. Brantner said she was trying to get some direction from Council and asked if this matter should be remanded to the Codes Committee. Mr. Teel asked if he could make a statement about the memo that was handed out regarding this issue. Mr. Teel said there was a concern back when we first adopted this ordinance. He said Locust Street had to put one or two sidewalks in; they are not joined to any other sidewalks. Mr. Teel said the reason it was done was because the ordinance required it if you sold your home. It is required to have an operational sidewalk before the deed can be transferred. Mr. Teel said that is why he questioned why the bank did not have to install a sidewalk when their property was sold and the deed transferred. Ms. Brantner said it was brought up before Council and they did not wish to do this at that time. She said they did not think it was a good idea when we had not been arbitrarily making everyone do it. Mr. Teel said his point was that we did make other people do this. Ms. Brantner said that Mr. Teel was on Council when this decision about the bank was made. At the time we did not want to force landowners to install sidewalks where none existed. Ms. Brantner said in regards to the bank, there were also residential owners there that would not have the money to install sidewalks. If you asked the bank and the Masonic Lodge you would have also had to ask the residential owners to do this. President Hershey asked Ms. Fuller if we could designate certain areas as high priority for sidewalks. He also suggested finding grant money. Ms. Fuller said it does have to be the entire Borough. She said you could designate the sidewalk requirement to areas that have high pedestrian traffic, certain streets, safety issues, Route 10. She said you can define a region of your Borough based on public safety and welfare needs. Ms. Brantner said when people come in that are planning to build the Planning Commission tells them at that time if they need a sidewalk or not. Ms. Brantner said if we are going to go back on properties then we need to have a plan for that. The matter was remanded back to the Codes Committee.
2012 Rates – Brandywine Conservancy – Ms. Brantner said the annual subscription costs were $450.00. She said we have not used them recently. Ms. Brantner said if you go for a grant we sometimes use the consultants at the Brandywine Conservancy. Ms. Brantner said it was up to Council if they wanted to renew the subscription. Mr. Hershey asked if we don’t renew the subscription are we still eligible for their services. Ms. Brantner said not at the rate stated in the letter. Doctor Doyle asked what our utilization has been. Ms. Brantner said that we used them for our Open Space Plan and for aerial photos. Ms. Brantner said there has been discussion by the Planning Commission about trying to get grant money for a trail plan this year. She said this is something we might utilize their services for. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve the annual renewal of $450.00; Mr. Thompson seconded the motion. Dr. Doyle said he would be interested in seeing what the past history of utilization has been. Ms. Brantner said it was the Open Space Plan and some aerial photos in 2003. This was nine years ago. It was questioned what the consultant rates would be if we don’t subscribe. Ms. Brantner said they would be able to give us information that we might be able to use in securing a grant. She said she knows they work with other municipalities on grants. President Hershey said he feels that might be useful in getting grants. Dr. Doyle said if you pay this for six years and you don’t use it you can afford to pay an increased consultation fee when you finally do use it and come out with more money in your pocket. Dr. Doyle sees this as insurance. Ms. Fuller said SSM can provide easement descriptions for you. She said the Conservancy of Brandywine, or any other conservancy, provides the oversight and the overview of the more regional look at it. The planning and conservation aspect of it is their area of expertise; you would not get that type of guidance from SSM or our office. Ms. Fuller said we make it happen. She said the Brandywine Conservancy is the organization that advises you on the best way to develop your Borough. Ms. Fuller said if you have any questions she would recommend the item be tabled and find out what they get you. President Hershey agreed. He asked that we find out if we can still use the services and what rates are involved. Item carried forward.
Motor Vehicles Traffic Ordinance – Chapter 15 - Ms. Fuller said you had before you an amendment to Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles Traffic Ordinance at the December meeting. Ms. Fuller said she read the minutes regarding this matter and the concerns that Mr. Teel had on the amendment. Ms. Fuller said this ordinance came to her when we started looking at the parking citations the police were issuing. We realized that they needed to be updated because they were not jiving with the ordinance. As amendments to the ordinance were made over the years, this was not a direct fit. Ms. Fuller said a recommendation was made to the Chief, Mayor and Borough Manager that the solicitor’s office goes through the ordinance to make sure as the motor vehicle code has changed over the years the ordinance was still current. From that point you could take your citations and make sure they match up with the law. Ms. Fuller said there were significant changes that we ultimately recommended and made to Chapter 15. She said there were fines that were increased by state law that we wanted to increase here; there was language that was not consistent with the vehicle code anymore, things of that sort. She said the revisions that were made to the ordinance were significant; much of Chapter 15 was revamped. She said the Mayor has now asked us to do a redline document, which we will. But it may also confuse you because of the degree of change. Ms. Fuller said we had made a conscience decision not to do that. She said on other ordinances where we are changing a word or so, or adding a section it is easy to redline it. When there is this much change it gets a little confusing. Ms. Fuller said she would try to answer what she understands to be Mr. Teel’s questions based on the minutes. Ms. Fuller said there was a question regarding the list of streets in section 15-4007 that were being regulated by the ordinance. This was not brought to our attention; it is really not a legal issue. It is more on the ground by Public Works, and the Police Department kind of issue. If those streets need to be addressed you can do that now and hold up the ordinance even longer or you can adopt the ordinance and if we need to we will amend it; we can throw it into some other amendment we are doing along the way. There are no legal issues with the streets that are listed there; this has nothing to do with her office, again it is more Public Works and Police. What does the street look like, how do you want to designate, is that really what you want to say and the fines that you want to provide for that street. She said there was also a question by Mr. Teel which I didn’t completely understand regarding the $10 fine and when it was paid. She said the ordinance and the vehicle code and the citations are all consistent. She said you are cited; you can pay the fine right then and basically admit your guilt. She said you can object, go to court and refuse to pay the fine. It will then be enforced in the court and if you are found guilty you will pay the fine plus court costs. She said that is just how it plays out. She was not sure what Mr. Teel’s issue was regarding the fines. Mr. Teel said it was the way it is worded, “upon conviction.” He said in-other-words you don’t worry about paying it until after you get convicted because the $10 is the basic fine. He said if I would go to court and contest it, what would be my court costs. Mr. Teel said, if he is not mistaken, he thinks it is $45 plus court costs. He asked why the $10 would remain at $10 when there is not an increase in the fine. Ms. Fuller said she does not believe we had any fines in there for $45. Mr. Teel said we were getting $95 for a conviction if it went to court. It was an increased fine because of delayed payment plus the costs. Ms. Fuller said the District Justice has the right to charge a fine up to whatever the statute of whatever the Motor Vehicle Code or ordinance says. Mr. Teel said this is what is confusing. Ms. Fuller said she believes the wording is from the Motor Vehicle Code. She said the only alternative to conviction is dismissal. Ms. Fuller said if you walk in and you have a ticket you are admitting guilt by virtue of agreeing to paying the fine. Mr. Teel said what he is saying is that if you go to court there is an increase in the fine because it was not paid on time. Ms. Fuller said this is up to the judge. Mr. Teel said we were getting $45 for the fine. Mrs. Lombardi questioned how we knew we were getting $45. Ms. Fuller said this has nothing to do with the ordinance. Ms. Fuller said we will have to rerun the entire notice in the newspaper which the Borough will have to pay for again because the hearing was not held and the ordinance was not adopted. Ms. Fuller said there was also a question about why the special parking provision was deleted in its entirety. Ms. Fuller said that special parking provision was actually a no parking in a school zone provision. Ms. Fuller said we took it out of the special parking because to us it did not make sense and made a no parking in a school zone within the ordinance. It was just moved to a section that was corresponding. It has not been deleted. Ms. Fuller said she can come back to Council next week with a redline version if you like. She said she strongly recommends Council adopting the ordinance as is. She said if you decide you have streets that you want to add they can be adopted later by amendment. Ms. Fuller said she hates to see Council hold this up even longer because it is affecting the parking citations and fees. There is a gap in enforcement. Mrs. Lombardi commented she did not want to advertise it for a hearing if we are not going to be okay with moving forward with it. Mrs. Lombardi asked if we could fix the streets section between now and next Monday. Item carried forward.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Letter of Interest – Historical Commission Vacancy, Susanna E. Vinciguerra – Ms. Brantner said we received a Letter of Interest from Mrs. Vinciguerra. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the appointment of Susanna E. Vinciguerra to the Historical Commission; Mr. Thompson seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Mumford-Bjorkman Associates Inspection Proposal for Water Tanks – Ms. Brantner said we will be doing the water repainting projects which will start as soon as the weather permits. She said it will probably take a few months. SSM, the Water Department and Public Works have recommended that we accept this proposal from Mumford-Bjorkman Associates. Ms. Brantner said we had a pre-bid meeting on January 5th and this was discussed. She said we do have to have someone to inspect this as it goes along. She said they would work with our engineers and the Water Department. Ms. Brantner said we have checked out their references. This is a consultant and it does not have to be bid out. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the inspection proposal for the water tanks; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Council asked for a ball park figure of how many times they will have to inspect it. Motion passed.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Pre-bid Meeting for Water Tank Repainting Project – Ms. Brantner said we had a number of people that were interested in bidding on the project that attended the pre-bid meeting. She said we are hoping for some reasonable bids.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Hershey welcomed all to 2012. He welcomed Mr. Thompson to Council. He also welcomed back Mrs. Lombardi and Mr. Teel. President Hershey said he hopes to see Council work well together this year. He hopes to see some great things happen over the next few years. He knows the new shopping center will change the landscape a little bit and traffic flows.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry wanted to remind everyone that this coming Sunday night at 6 p.m. the Oxford Second Presbyterian Church is holding their Annual Community Martin Luther King Celebration. Mayor Henry said with Council’s permission he wanted to read a letter Chief Slauch received today.
Dear Chief Slauch, I want to take this opportunity to say thank you for all the assistance your officers provided to me over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday. On the evening of Wednesday, December 28, 2011 at approximately 5:45 p.m. I was on route to Lincoln University to attend a church supper for our choir group. After having made a full stop I had nearly cleared the intersection of 5th and Market Streets when a truck impacted the front driver’s side of my car. The Oxford Police were called and the responding officers (Officer Chris Coverly and Officer Christine Whisler) arrived at the scene of the accident very quickly within about 5 minutes. Officer Coverly did an excellent job investigating the accident. After ascertaining that I was not seriously injured Officers Coverly and Whisler began their investigation. I noticed Officer Coverly took the time to carefully, thoroughly and methodically question me and the other driver and gather all the evidence he needed to correctly pinpoint the cause of the accident to the best of his ability to do so. In spite of dealing with the cold weather and attempted battery by the truck driver, Officer Coverly calmly but firmly commanded the situation and brought his investigation of the accident to a conclusion as quickly as practical. Officer Whisler was also very attentive to detail and worked along closely and busily with her fellow officer taking pictures of the accident scene and took the time to answer my questions and provide verbal assurance to me as needed realizing I was understandably quite shaken up from having sustained an unexpected impact. Within about ½ hour thankfully I began to feel calmer. The officers were still visibly finishing up their investigation and completing the necessary documentation. After taking pictures of my car and the truck and checking in with Officer Coverly, Officer Whisler told me I was free to go. On Saturday, 12/31 I went to the Oxford Police Station for a copy of the accident report. I met Corporal Scott Brown who explained to me that Officer Coverly was on vacation. Corporal Brown was very personable and considerate in his handling of the situation and stated he was sorry for my inconvenience. Although the report wasn’t available he provided me with assurance that he knew Officer Coverly was “on game” and very efficient about completing his paper work on a timely basis. I then received a return call from Officer Coverly promptly on Wednesday morning at 6 a.m. to let me know that he had completed the report and was ready for me to pick it up at my soonest convenience. I went over to the Police Station that afternoon on my way to the Doctor’s office. When I arrived at the station all of your officers were dispatched in the field and on duty. I called from the phone in the lobby and a few minutes later Officer Scott Richards responded to the dispatcher and came back to the office to meet me. Within several minutes Officer Richards had the report in his hand and ready for me. He apologized for my inconvenience and said he knew this was the second time I had come to the Police Department to get a copy of my accident report. I can say in all sincerity your officers all work together as a team in assisting me regarding these matters and are to be commended for their timeliness, hard work, attention to detail, professionalism, and the human manner in which they function to accomplish their duties. They are truly a credit to their profession and the Borough of Oxford. I appreciate your time and attention considering this matter Chief Slauch. Once again I want to say thank you and the Oxford Borough police officers under your command for doing such a fine job. Sincerely, Susanna Vinciguerra.
Mayor Henry noted that Mrs. Vinciguerra had given him permission to read the letter tonight. Mayor Henry said despite everything else that we might believe from time to time, folks might believe what Oxford does and does not do for its citizens; this is just an example of what is available to our residents.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS
Ms. Brantner said we have been adding a lot of things to our website. If you have not looked at our website lately, please look at it now. We continue to add more pages all the time.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There were no items for the Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 7:50 p.m.; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL
Reorganization Meeting January 3, 2012
The Reorganization meeting of Borough Council was held on January 3, 2012 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Henry at 7 p.m. Mayor Henry then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
SWEARING IN OF COUNCIL
Mayor Henry proceeded with the swearing in of the new Council members: Mrs. Sue Lombardi; Mr. C. Randy Teel; and Mr. John Thompson.
ROLL CALL
Dr. Doyle, Member Mr. Hershey, Member
Mrs. Andrews, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Teel, Member Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Thompson, Member
Geoff Henry, Mayor Betsy Brantner, Secretary
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
Mayor Henry presented former Councilman Andrew Atkinson with a Certificate of Appreciation for three years of service as a member of the Oxford Borough Council and one year as Borough Council President. Mayor Henry said his leadership, hard work and dedication to improving the quality of life in Oxford is hereby recognized by Borough Council and the Mayor.
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
Mayor Henry then proceeded with the election of Council officers. Mayor Henry opened the nominations for Council President. Mr. Teel nominated Mr. Hershey for President. There were no other nominations. Dr. Doyle made a motion to close the nominations; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Mayor Henry said all those in favor of closing the nominations and having the Secretary cast a unanimous ballot for Mr. Hershey as President to signify by saying aye. Motion carried unanimously. President Hershey thanked the Mayor and Council for a unanimous decision.
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF VICE PRESIDENT
President Hershey opened the nominations for Vice President of Council. Mr. Teel nominated Sherry Andrews for Vice President, motion seconded by Dr. Doyle. There were no other nominations. Mr. Teel made a motion to close the nominations; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously to elect Mrs. Andrews as Vice President of Council.
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF PRESIDENT PRO TEM
President Hershey opened the nominations for President Pro Tem. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to nominate Dr. Doyle for President Pro Tem. President Hershey asked for a motion to close the nominations and elect Dr. Doyle as President Pro Tem. Mr. Teel made the motion to close the nominations and elect Dr. Doyle as President Pro Tem; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
APPOINTMENT OF VACANCY BOARD CHAIR
Appointment of James Sumner (1 Year Term) – Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to appoint James Sumner for a one-year term on the Vacancy Board; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
OTHER BOARD/COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS/RESIGNATIONS
Appointment of David Ogino to Zoning Hearing Board (2012 -2016) – Mr. Ogino has been serving on the Board completing another person’s term. There was a letter enclosed in the packet expressing interest in serving a term on the Zoning Hearing Board. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to appoint David Ogino to the Zoning Hearing Board; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Appointment of Sherry Andrews to the Civil Service Commission (2012-2017) –Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to appoint Mrs. Andrews to the Civil Service Commission for a five-year term; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Resignation of Jane DeLong –Oxford Historical Commission (Term ended 2011) – Dr. Doyle made a motion to accept Jane DeLong’s resignation from the Oxford Historical Commission; Mr. Teel seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Resolution #1155-2012 Appointments for the Year 2012 –Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to adopt Resolution #1155-2012; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
OTHER BUSINESS
Tentative Committee Assignments – Mr. Hershey handed out tentative Committee Assignments for the new year. He asked Council members to check over the assignments and let him know if the times worked for them. Ms. Brantner said we typically advertise our Committees on the Borough website.
Mr. Hershey said he would like to set up one other temporary committee. He said there was a substantial amount of money donated over the past several years for Borough buildings, and the Borough Hall. He would like the committee to look into how this money can best be used. Mr. Hershey would like to serve on the committee along with Ms. Brantner and Mrs. Andrews. Mrs. Andrews suggested that Mrs. Anderson also be on the committee. They decided to hold meetings at 4 p.m. before the monthly Finance Committee meeting.
Mayor Henry addressed Council. He said he is sure many are aware that Armstrong has deleted some rather significant channels from our area. He asked if Council would want to take a formal position with Armstrong regarding this matter. Mayor Henry noted that a lot of people relied on Channel 8 for news, weather, and school closings. Ms. Brantner said we are in the middle of negotiations with them regarding their contract. Mayor Henry said he is receiving calls about this. He said they are basically saying that the government has made a decision depending on which market you are in which channels that you need to carry. He has heard that Armstrong does not want to pay the redistribution fee for Channel 8. Mayor Henry said there is online information at change.org. Council continued to discuss the matter. Ms. Brantner suggested the mayor send her an email with this information; she will forward the information to the solicitor who is presently negotiating the contract with Armstrong.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 7:28 p.m.; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
December 19, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on December 19, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence. President Atkinson asked that during the moment of silence to please keep in mind Councilman John Stevenson who passed away last Monday night.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mr. Hershey, Vice President
Mrs. Andrews, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDENCE
Dr. Doyle, Member
2011 Residential Exterior Holiday Home Decorating Contest – Winners
President Atkinson said the Holiday Home Decorating Contest was proposed by resident Buzz Dorety earlier this year. He said this was taken to the Chamber of Commerce who was supportive of the event. President Atkinson asked Mr. Dorety to help him out as he presented awards.
Honorable Mention goes to the Matthews Family at 415 West Hillside Drive in Oxford.
Third Place goes to the Reynolds Family at 415 Hodgson Street in Oxford.
Second Place goes to the Henry Family at 228 Maryland Avenue in Oxford.
The First Place winner could not make it tonight. The award will be presented to the Bartholetti Family at 206 McLeod Drive, Oxford.
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Buzz Dorety – Mr. Dorety was present and spoke about the damages to his home. He commended the ladies at National Penn Bank who are raising money for the Neighborhood Service Center. Mr. Dorety inquired about the girl that was struck by a car on South Fifth Street. President Atkinson said he sent an email to PennDOT last week regarding the incident. Ms. Brantner said when we get the results back from the investigation we will send it on to Senator Pileggi’s office and Representative Lawrence’s office.
Mayor Henry said he believes on January 16th there is going to be a Benefit held at the high school cafeteria and the proceeds will benefit the Neighborhood Service Center.
Butch Saranetz said the little girl that was struck on 5th Street is doing fine and suffered no major injuries other then wounded pride. Mr. Hershey said she was a little sore; she is in his wife’s first grade class.
RECURRING REPORTS FOR APPROVAL
The following reports were presented to Council for approval: Council Meeting Minutes of 11/21/11 (Hershey-Cole); Council Meeting Minutes of 12/12/11 (Hershey-Cole). Mr. Hershey said he read over most of the minutes and found them to be accurate. Mrs. Andrews abstained due to absenteeism. Report of the Treasurer 11/30/11 (Lombardi-Hershey); Paid Bills 12/19/11 (Hershey-Cole); Unpaid Bills 12/19/11 (Lombardi-Hershey); Report of the Tax Collector 11/30/11 (Cole-Hershey); Building Codes Report 12/15/11 (Cole-Lombardi); Zoning Officer Report 12/15/11 (Lombardi-Cole).
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried to adopt agenda.
REPORT OF THE MAYOR
Mayor Henry said overtime for the month of November was 140 ½ hours. He said 112 was for shift coverage; 15 ½ for Court; 11 ½ for investigation; and 1 ½ for detail. Mayor Henry said most of the shift coverage was due to replacing officers that had requested paid time-off. He said the resolution allows for 60 hours; we are asking for an additional 80.5 hours of overtime. Mayor Henry gave his report on accidents, incidents, citations and fees collected for the month of November. Councilman Cole made a motion to accept the report of the Mayor and approve the 80.5 hours of overtime; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Codes Committee – Mr. Cole said they continued work from the prior month. They mostly worked on the Historical ordinance.
Finance and Personnel – Mrs. Andrews said a meeting was not held.
Police and Public Safety – Mrs. Lombardi said a brief meeting was held. There was nothing to report.
Local Traffic Advisory Committee -Mr. Hershey said LTAC did not meet because it was Borough Day.
Public Works - Mrs. Lombardi said a meeting was not held.
Special Projects – It was noted there was not a Chair for this Committee at this time. No meeting was held.
Planning Commission – No minutes were submitted.
Historical Commission – Minutes were not submitted. It was noted there are several openings on the Historical Commission.
Chief’s Activity Report – Report submitted.
Public Works Supervisor’s Report – John Schaible’s report was enclosed. President Atkinson thanked Public Works for hanging up the lights for the First Friday and making the town look pretty.
Oxford Borough Workplace Safety Committee Report – Minutes submitted. Ms. Brantner added that this committee continues to save us money.
Union Fire Company Report – Report submitted.
Oxford Area Recreational Authority – Report was submitted from the Oct. 13th meeting. Ms. Brantner read a letter from the Oxford Area Recreation Authority thanking all member municipalities. “This was a landmark year for the Authority with the opening of the new park and the addition of West Nottingham Township as a member of the Authority.
The board appreciates all that member municipalities have done for the Authority. In addition to the $1 per capita annual contribution from our townships and borough, you have provided us with maintenance materials, support services, support in our grant applications and active board members willing to give their time to make the park project a success.
In the New Year, we hope to begin the bidding and preliminary construction preparation for the next phase of the Park project which will add more parking, more trails and playground equipment.
In particular, the Board would like to thank Oxford Borough Council for providing police coverage and support of our grant applications. “
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to accept the Committee reports; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Sidewalk Issue (Bank) – Ms. Brantner prepared a Memorandum to Council regarding this matter. She said basically they have gone through since 2006 when the last amendment to the sidewalk ordinance was passed up to now, including a decision from our solicitor. President Atkinson decided to read the memo out loud.
This is to try to explain the enforcement of the sidewalk installation and maintenance since 2006. In June of 2006, Ordinance #789 was recommended by the Codes Committee and approved by Council. This ordinance dealt with sidewalks and driveways in Chapter 151, Subdivision and Land Development, and Chapter 178, Zoning.
In November of 2007, the Codes Enforcement Officer asked Borough Council for direction on enforcing the sidewalk ordinance, specifically the installation of new sidewalks on existing properties. Both I (Borough Manager) and the Codes Enforcement Officer were concerned about the lack of sidewalks in front of what is now the Wells Fargo Bank. At the November 12, 2007 Council meeting, Council remanded this to the Codes Committee.
At that November 19, 2007 meeting, I confirmed that our solicitor was looking into the sidewalk ordinance.
In the November 26, 2007 Codes Committee Minutes, chaired by Randy Teel, it was reported it is questionable as to whether it is legal to demand certain areas install sidewalks but not others. I was asked to check with our solicitor and her reply was:
“You have in no way abandoned the ordinance. You need to be sure that you are not selectively enforcing it, tho. Do you have any idea of the estimate of the cost to be incurred by each homeowner? I have seen sidewalk ordinances elsewhere and they are generally enforceable when the owner has allowed the sidewalk to disintegrate. If there is another cause of the sidewalk problems, then you should consider whether the owner should be responsible for that. If this is a new sidewalk, the Borough should consider whether the cost to be incurred by the owner is excessive and perhaps it would be more appropriate for the borough to cover the initial cost.”
At the time it was decided that we should send letters to those property owners who we wanted to install new sidewalks. However that conflicted with our solicitor’s opinion that we should not selectively enforce this.
At this point our solicitor still concurs that we should not selectively enforce this issue.
Note from Ms. Fuller: I still agree with what I said but, quite honestly, I don’t think I answered the question of whether you can force homeowners to install sidewalks under the ordinance. The ordinance clearly states that the Borough has the right to demand a property owner to install a sidewalk. The question is where there are any limitations on that. There is nothing in the ordinance; however, I would feel more comfortable, if this is where the issue is going, looking at the case law to see if anything new has come up. Forcing the installation of sidewalks (as opposed to repairs) is always very controversial. I absolutely feel that you can enforce the ordinance and require people to repair damaged sidewalks. Ms. Brantner said she thinks this is where we have been for a number of years. We keep bringing it back to Council and question whether we want to put that burden on the property owners. She said when a new property comes in they go through the planning process. This is when they are told they do or do not have to put a sidewalk in. If they were told a number of years ago that they did not have to put in a sidewalk in, then you are trying to bring them back, this could be a bit of a legal issue. Mrs. Lombardi thanked Ms. Brantner for her memo. Mrs. Lombardi asked that if a property was sold can a new owner be liable to put in the sidewalk. Ms. Brantner said she said she thinks the solicitor is saying that this could be a burden on some people. She said we have to decide whether or not we want to do that. Council must decide and this can’t be done selectively. President Atkinson said this should be placed on the agenda after Council reorganizes. Mr. Hershey said maybe there would be grant money available through the Regional Planning Committee for trails and sidewalks. Council continued to discuss the issue.
President Atkinson recommended that the item be tabled and remanded on to the new Codes Committee.
Ordinance #849-2011 – Tax Levy Hearing and Adoption on 12/19/11 – President Atkinson said Ordinance #849-2011, Tax Levy, was advertised and opened up the Hearing to the Public. He asked if there were any comments or questions from Council. He asked if there were any comments or questions from the Public. There were no questions. President Atkinson then closed the Hearing for Ordinance #849-2011. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve Ordinance #849-2011, Tax Levy; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Ordinance #850-2011 – Amending Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic – Adoption on 12-19-11 - President Atkinson noted that Ordinance #850-2011 was advertised and opened up the Hearing. He asked if Council had any questions. Mayor Henry said the ordinance sets specific fines now for specific violations. President Atkinson asked if there were any comments or questions from the public. Mr. Teel raised a number of concerns. Council continued to discuss the ordinance. President Atkinson said we would get the answers for Mr. Teel. The item was tabled and the ordinance did not pass.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Permission to Advertise Reorganization Meeting (Tuesday, January 3, 2012) – Ms. Brantner said we would also like to advertise all of our Council meetings. Mr. Cole made a motion to advertise the Reorganization Meeting as well as Meeting schedule for 2012; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
2012 Consultant Rates – Brandywine Conservancy - Ms. Brantner said Council may wish to review this prior to making a decision. She said this is the schedule of the hourly consultant rates for 2012. Ms. Brantner said we have not used them lately but we have used them on such things as the Open Space Plan and other studies done by the Borough. Mrs. Lombardi said she would like to compare the 2012 rates with last year’s rates.
Accessible Parking Ordinance Approval for Act 247 Review – Ms. Brantner said this needs Council’s approval to be sent to the County for the Act 247 Review. Mr. Cole made a motion to send the ordinance to the County for the Act 247 Review; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Wind and Solar Ordinances Approval for Act 247 Review - Ms. Brantner said this also needs Council’s approval to be sent for the Act 247 Review. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to send this ordinance to the County for the Act 247 Review; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
End of the Year Resolution Adoption 1/3/2011 Resolution 1139-2010 (Review) - Ms. Brantner said this is for Council’s review and adoption at the Reorganization Meeting. Mrs. Lombardi asked if these are the people we currently have now and there have been no recommendations for any change. Ms. Brantner
said that is correct; you can look it over and see if there are any changes Council would like to make.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Letter from Oxford Library –Ms. Brantner wanted to remind everyone to donate to the Library if they can to help them with their building project. President Atkinson asked Ms. Brantner if she could write a letter to Mr. Pienkos thanking him for his services over the years. He said the Borough wishes him well in his future endeavors in California.
2012 Operations Budget Southern Chester County Emergency Medical Services – Ms. Brantner said they like to keep us abreast as to what they did with their money. She said if there are any questions you can call her.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson said he had a professor tell him one that he believed everyone should run for elective office at least once in their life. He said he was proud to say he did run for an elective office before the age of 30, not only ran for office, but was actually elected. He said there is something special in knowing that members of the community actually have trust in you to serve them and your community. He said he has experienced great pride when our town has accomplished positive achievements especially if he knows we as the Borough Council played a part in the positive achievements. I have also felt tremendous sorrow and anguish when we are not able to help others or when there is petty differences with others. He said he is happy to say there have been more moments of pride and joy then movements of sorrow and anguish. He said he is extremely thankful for the experience to serve. He said he is grateful for the support provided to him by many of his peers on the Borough Council. He said he was extremely thankful for the amount of people that it requires a Borough to run efficiently and economically; from the ladies that work here at the Borough Hall, our Borough Manager, our Codes Officer and Public Works employees, our police officers, our Chief of Police and Mayor. He said he is also thankful for various organizations of the Borough such as the Neighborhood Service Center, the Lighthouse Youth Center, OMI, the Oxford Public Library, and the Chamber of Commerce. He said he is thankful for our residents, such as Buzz, who comes to every Borough Council meeting. He is thankful for our businesses. He said he is sure there are plenty of other people that should be thanked who he is forgetting about off the top of his head. He wanted to thank everyone for the past four years. He said, “I hope I have made you as proud to serve alongside me as I have been proud to serve alongside all of you.” He wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
Mr. Dorety said he and a few other residents got together and wrote a few pages. He said he would read a few paragraphs. Andrew is going and will be greatly missed. His commitment to Oxford and going the extra step has not gone unnoticed. He said he appreciated all that he had done.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said that he truly believes there have been many improvements in the Borough over this past year. He said a lot of people have worked hard to improve the Borough; we can’t change things overnight. He said there have definitely have been many steps forward. He said our goal for 2012 should be to not take any steps backward. Mayor Henry thanked President Atkinson for his service for the past four years, and Council members for their service. He said he looks forward to working with them in 2012. He wished everyone a Merry Christmas.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Brantner said her report is attached. She said she has learned a lot from President Atkinson and appreciates all the work and all the time he has put in to all of this. She said we will miss you.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There were no items for Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 8:04 p.m.; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
December 12, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on December 12, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Dr. Doyle, Member
Mr. Hershey, Vice President Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Brantner, Secretary
Ms. Fuller, Solicitor
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mrs. Andrews, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
Mrs. Sue Cole – Mrs. Cole thanked everyone for contributing to the Country Christmas, in their own special way. She said the event itself was a success. Mrs. Cole thanked Public Works Department, the Police, the Fire Police, their volunteers, their Promotions Committee, the Girl Scouts, and all the local businesses. She noted the businesses participated in the scavenger hunt and the window decorating contest. She thanked the school groups for the tree decorating as well. Mrs. Cole said the merchants did report high sales. She said the Muse Restaurant had a wine pairing event and were booked for the evening. Mrs. Cole said the reason why it is important to keep abreast of the events and success that we have is because we use that data to apply for future grants.
Mrs. Cole said that in regards to the Security Ambassador Program they have decided to contract with AlliedBarton Security Services. She said she worked closely with the Chief in order to come to that conclusion. Mrs. Cole said the recruiting process is going slow but steady. She said OMI is being very selective. They want to be sure they have the individual that is correct for the job. Mrs. Cole said due to the fact OMI is growing and adding the Ambassador and more volunteers, the Chamber of Commerce will be relocating their office. She said they are now located in the Oxford Art Building.
President Atkinson thanked her for the communication.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Susanna Vinciguerra –Ms. Vinciguerra asked if they would be able to readdress everyone. President Atkinson said there was time built in for the candidates to make presentations.
David Bright – Mr. Bright from SSM was in attendance. He said he does not see the Council members very often and deals exclusively with Ms. Brantner on behalf of the Borough. Mr. Bright wanted to express his appreciation for being allowed to serve the Borough. He commended Ms. Brantner for the job she does with the Borough and noted it is great working with her.
Buzz Dorety – Mr. Dorety spoke to Council about damages to his home. Mr. Dorety said he asked Ms. Brantner questions on Borough Day. He said he did not get a straight answer. Ms. Brantner said Mr. Dorety asked about the process of appointing someone to Council. She said he had stated he did not think we should have the name of the person on the letter. Ms. Brantner then said we have to make sure they are a resident of the Borough and have lived here for six months. Mr. Dorety said he also asked Ms. Brantner about his old favorite subject, OMI. Ms. Brantner said he should ask Mrs. Cole about questions regarding OMI. He said he asked her because she is supposed to know. President Atkinson said we just want to address Borough Council issues this evening. Mr. Dorety said he does not understand why the Borough gives OMI $10,500.00 every year. Ms. Brantner said she did not want to speak for Council, but that Council has the option of voting on that. She said the Borough has received $200,000.00 from OMI on the Streetscape Project alone. OMI has also awarded Façade Improvement Grants. President Atkinson asked Ms. Brantner to explain to the people what the relationship is between the Borough and OMI. Ms. Brantner said OMI and the Borough are two separate entities. Mr. Dorety asks where the money the Borough contributes comes from. Ms. Brantner said it is tax payer’s money. Mr. Dorety said that OMI does not do anything for him. Mrs. Lombardi asked if we could talk about what OMI does for the Borough. Mr. Dorety said if he needs food or gas they will not help him. Ms. Brantner said they are state funded and not allowed to give money for that type of thing. President Atkinson said we have many organizations within the Borough that each has a unique talent. He said the agency that could help you personally would be the Neighborhood Service Center. President Atkinson said OMI provides a service that benefits our Borough. Mr. Dorety asked how much the Neighborhood Service Center is given this year. Mr. Dorety also asked why the Public Comment subject on the agenda was written in red. Ms. Brantner said it was because our assistant that types the minutes listens to the recording of the meeting. She said if people don’t identify themselves and speak from the audience there is no way to know who is speaking. Ms. Brantner said we don’t want to attribute someone else’s comment to you or visa-versa.
C. Randy Teel – Mr. Teel said if he is not mistaken there was a contractual agreement the Borough had with OMI on the $10,500.00. He said he thought this was only for a five-year period. He asked if we could get that contract out. Ms. Brantner said she had answered Mr. Teel’s question on Borough Day and it was a five year contract. But, Council elected to continue the contract, because it brings in more money to us as far as grants. Ms. Brantner said we had a $1.4 million dollar Streetscape Project and out of that OMI contributed $200,000.00.
Mr. Teel said back in approximately April we had a school board member come in here and talk about the possibility of sidewalks extending to the school. He said sidewalks became a hot topic.
Mr. Teel it is a hot topic again. He said we have a situation out on North Third Street, just before you hit Bank Street. He said he was going out of town about two weeks ago and there was an electric assist scooter heading south in the north bound edge of the road because they can’t get on the cemetery side. He said you could not see that man and he almost ran over him. Mr. Teel said with the mall and the Oxford Commons coming in place, those scooters are going to be heading up that road more frequently. He said that bank was sold. He asked why a sidewalk was not installed. Ms. Brantner said, when you were a member of Council they voted not to do that. She said our Codes Enforcement Officer brought that up at a meeting. Mr. Teel asked if they were given a waiver. Ms. Brantner suggested he go back and look at his notes from when he was on Council and she would research as well. President Atkinson suggested we go back and look at the minutes so we don’t have to argue this back and forth. Ms. Brantner said she was actually glad he brought this up because she might have some good news for him. She said the person that owns the Oxford Square Mall is trying to work with us now to extend 4th Street into the mall. She said that is our way of trying to get safe passage into there. She said the issue about Wal-Mart is really a Lower Oxford issue. Mr. Teel said he understands it is a Lower Oxford issue but the east side of North Third Street is Borough property. Ms. Brantner said that is why we are working with the owners of Oxford Square. Mr. Teel said we also have an issue over on Broad Street in the 400 block on the north side. He said there were bricks that were taken out and stood up on their ends. He said there were potholes in the sidewalk. Ms. Brantner said he should call George Guss if there is an issue with this. Mr. Teel said this has been reported. He said people are still walking out in the street. Ms. Brantner said the only thing she can answer without checking with George is to say that we site people; we send them to court. Mr. Teel said his brother-in-law was given one week to fix his sidewalk. Ms. Brantner said again without checking this she can’t respond to this tonight. Ms. Brantner said that when you were on Council it was decided that it would be too much of a hardship on people with fixed income to ask them to install sidewalks were none existed. She said it was not just the bank. President Atkinson said we are going back and forth on an issue that needs to be checked. He asked if this item could be added to next week’s agenda, sidewalk issue from the bank. Ms. Brantner said it was brought up at a Planning Commission meeting. She said the Planning Commission also agreed not to have people install sidewalks where there are not sidewalks, but to have them repair sidewalks where there are sidewalks.
Jim Price – Mr. Price said he was here to speak based on property he owns in the Borough. He said he was driving by the Borough Hall one Monday night and saw many cars parked here. He said he was heading home to his beverage of choice. He said you know the Council really needs to be thanked. He said everyone always comes here and complains and gives you everything bad. He said he wanted to thank everyone here because you have a thankless job. Mr. Price said to make everyone happy is impossible. Mr. Price said he thinks Council does a good job. He likes the things Council does. He said balancing our tax payer money, residential verses commercial, is not easy. He said balancing it out has to be tough. He said he does not utilize the tree trimming, the leaf pick-up and etc. He said thank goodness he utilizes the police very minimally.
He said some of the things Council does, like supporting the Country Christmas, supporting the Easter Egg Hunt, supporting the things that bring the people into town that help the commercial side of things is what he appreciates. He thinks it is important that these things continue.
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. President Atkinson had two additions; Item E., the Chamber of Commerce Holiday Home Decorating Contest to Business Carried Forward; Item B, Letter from the Patti Family on the Country Christmas. Motion carried to adopt agenda as amended.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Resignation of Councilman Cole – President Atkinson said that at the end of the last meeting there was a resignation turned in by Councilman Jamie Cole. He read the letter.
Dr. Doyle made a motion to accept the resignation of Mr. Cole; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
President Atkinson asked thanked Mr. Cole and asked him to take a seat in the audience.
Council Vacancy Explanation - President Atkinson admitted that he had not spoken to Council about this earlier. He had asked that it be added to the agenda. He said before we appoint a Council person tonight and listen to presentations he wanted to talk about the Council vacancy. He said one of the things our Council has tried to take great pride in is our level of transparency. President Atkinson said tonight we have three qualified candidates who have written a letter expressing interest in being appointed to the seat that used to belong to Mr. John Stevenson. Whoever is appointed will fulfill the remainder of Mr. Stevenson’s two years. Each applicant will address Council tonight to verbally state why they believe they should be chosen. Members of Council, Borough Manager and Mayor may ask questions of the applicant without endorsing anyone. A roll call vote will be taken by the Borough Manager asking each Council member to state who they are voting for.
President Atkinson said how did Oxford Borough Council get here today from this point last year? He then read the timeline of events. In September of 2010 Councilman Atkinson emails Council President Randy Teel to let him know that Council is becoming increasingly concerned with his attack against the Mayor and Police Chief. The consensus is that it has become personal. Council President Teel responds that it is not.
He said on November 2010 Business Owner, Vernon Ringer, attends a Borough Council meeting to express some concerns that businesses have with the delays in the Streetscape project. After hearing this Councilman Atkinson contacts the Borough Manager, OMI Director, Mayor and other Borough Council members to propose a “Shop Borough Day and Month.” Council members would agree to shop and volunteer in different local businesses during the holidays in the month of December. Council President Teel becomes upset at Councilman Atkinson for offering this proposal without talking to him first and wanting to take his job. Councilman Atkinson explains that this was not the case he was just trying to be proactive.
In December of 2010 Council President Teel emails the Mayor and gives an order that the Mayor is not allowed to speak at Council meetings unless it’s about the Police Department. This order is done without consulting with other council members, upsets Council. At the January meeting the proposal is made to reorganize a year early. Mr. Teel resigns his Presidency. Three Council members are nominated to replace Mr. Teel as President and Mr. Atkinson was chosen. Atkinson also makes the announcement that he will complete his term and not seek re-election.
In May of 2011 Mr. Teel resigns from Borough Council. He then decides to keep his name on the ballot and continue to run to be placed back on Borough Council. Mr. Jamie Cole and Mrs. Sue Vinciguerra both express interest in being appointed to replace Mr. Teel on Council. Council chooses Mr. Cole.
In November of 2011, Mrs. Lombardi is re-elected. Mr. Teel is voted back into office and John Thompson is voted in as well. Sue Vinciguerra finishes a close forth. Mr. Stevenson resigns from Borough Council due to health reasons. Mr. Cole submits resignation from his appointed seat from when Mr. Teel resigned.
Tonight, December 11 Council makes a decision on Mr. Stevenson’s replacement. Council decides to leave Mr. Cole’s seat vacated, the seat the Mr. Teel held, for the last meeting.
President Atkinson said he has to be honest with everyone. There have been some comments shared with me by several community members and Council applicants. Community members have expressed to me that Council-Elect Teel has shared with them that Council members are having their arms twisted to vote for a particular candidate.
He said this is a fair and open process. He can assure everyone that the vacancy appointment process will be fair and open. Council members will listen attentively to all interested applicants. Nothing is official until all interested applicants are heard and questioned and the votes are tallied tonight.
President Atkinson said he emailed Council-Elect Teel regarding this issue. Council-Elect Teel’s response: “I do not know who you talked to but any conversation regarding John’s open seat I may have had with anyone, did not have any person mentioned. I have not stated your name or Betsy’s in any conversation other that the remark you made in the meeting concerning Council’s right to interview all applicants. The statement I made on that is that I did not know why that statement was made since interviews have never been done as long as I have been on Council. I did mention the improper tactics some Borough officials and organizations used to try and stop my re-election and your name was not brought up in that conversation as a conspirator either.” (November 29, 2011).
This is not the first time Council-Elect Teel has alleged a conspiracy or has made comments that have caused false rumors.
As Council President did Mr. Teel ever attempt to speak on Council’s behalf and forbid the Mayor from speaking at meetings?
The answer is yes. In an email to the Mayor.
Geoff,
I am aware that you are responsible for the OPD and the Chief. I shall remind you that I am responsible for the rest of the Borough including payroll and Council decisions. Since I am responsible for Council, I thought it would be respectful to allow you to participate in discussions. I guess that was a mistake as you help them in making decisions that are not within your jurisdiction. As of 1/1/11, I am revoking your freedom to participate in Council discussions except for Police matters. (December 12, 2010)
In an email from Council President Teel to Councilman Atkinson, Dec. 30, 2010.
From December 30, 2010 on his criticism of the Mayor.
If you and the rest of Council would have listened to my complaint instead of the Mayor’s cover up story, you would have realized that the Chief’s contract has nothing to do with my complaint of Policy Violation. First, I would like you to understand that the Mayor has NO AUTHORITY to allow the police (borough owned) vehicles out of the Borough, except for police or borough business. The Police Chief’s Association is in no way affiliated with government, with the exception of their lobbying. But then again, Geoff will not tell you that. You are totally ignorant of the case that I presented.” Accusing the Mayor of misusing his office.
Councilman Atkinson – I defend the Mayor. He did nothing wrong. Council felt the same way I did.
Did Council President Teel accuse the Borough Manager, Sewer Authority Director and other municipal officials of ‘fraudulent acts’?
The answer is yes.
Council President Teel email – December 30, 2010.
“The whole issue of the OASA Act 537 and the USDA repayment is a dead issue. The only thing to do is wait and see if DEP rejects the 537 for lack of Title 25 information. It passed Council and that’s the end of it. My opinion is the 537 is needed and the loan is needed, but I want it done right the first time without lies. The information you were given in order to make a decision was fraudulent. (Implies that Ed Lennex and Betsy Brantner committed illegal acts.)
President Atkinson said that Council President Teel was in the wrong for making such a serious accusation. I defend all people he has accused.
Did Council President Teel write that he believes the Borough Manager deliberately misinformed the Borough Council about Oxford Sewer Expansion and was part of a cover up?
The answer is yes.
(An email from Council President Teel – December 30, 2010)
To show you how a cover-up works, at the last Council meeting we agreed to meet with Mike Wolf and go over the financial figures before meeting with the townships. This meeting with Mike was supposed to occur at the 1/10/11 meeting. Now, East Nottingham Township (by way of Ed Lennex) has decided to have a meeting with all municipalities on 1/5/11. If you have no concerns for the tax payers in this town, you will be going to the meeting (Randy ended up going). You do not have any information on the costs of this loan as Betsy has not released it to Council.
Do you realize you have not been given the right figures for the payoff of the $27M loan? This information has been withheld from Borough Council by your friends, Ed Lennex and Betsy.
You are not aware of the fact that Betsy and Ed are long time old friends and Ed has cut deals with EDUs for the Borough and some of Brian Campbell’s properties. When I had heard of these deals, I asked Betsy not to do this as that is not proper and all EDUs should be distributed as stated by the rules and regulations.
I am not the one sabotaging the 537 or the loan. There is a rumor of this whole thing going to the Feds for investigation…because of all of the games being played, this sewer issue may get delayed for another year. I don’t want this delayed. What I want done is what law is and it has not been done legally. (Implying that illegal acts have been committed by the Sewer Authority and surrounding Municipalities.)
President Atkinson
Council President Teel was and is in the wrong for making such a serious accusation especially given his leadership position. I defend all people he has accused.
Did Council President Teel make comments critical of OMI and Oxford Borough Council for last year’s holiday “Support Borough Business Day”?
The answer is Yes.
Teel’s email of November 19, 2010:
By standing in a store or business in no way shows support. As a business owner, I am in the center of town six days, sometimes, seven, a week and sitting on the various business committees, I see and hear a lot that no other Council member does. The problem is within OMI. To make it clear, Sue Cole, who is a great person and manager, cannot do her OMI work because she is constantly doing other business for them. Certain OMI Directors are using OMI to better their business. I won’t mention any names but all you have to do is look around. It is because the Borough Manager and Council deny that any problems exist, the pimple has festered into a cyst.
President Atkinson – I defend Borough Council, Sue Cole and OMI Board of Directors for attempting to encourage people to visit and shop in Oxford.
Did Council President Teel believe that no Council people ever come to town except for him?
Answer: Yes
November 19, 2010 email from Randy stating that no members of Council are ever in town except him:
Do you know why Vernon states that the Borough Council doesn’t support the businesses of Oxford? It’s because none of us are ever in town, with the exception of me and that’s because I have a business here. I do walk up town at least three times a day: some for exercise but mostly for checking the town for needed improvement.
President Atkinson: I defend Council and have noticed many Council people in the center of town for various reasons. I myself am often in the center of town.
Did Council President Teel make sarcastic comments supporting the business owner of Oxford?
The answer is Yes.
I am not against businesses in Oxford even thought 95% of the owners are not Borough residents. (Nov. 19, 2010).
President Atkinson: I defend local businesses owners no matter where they live. I defend their choice of where they want to live. I just appreciate the time, effort and money they put into our local economy.
Did Council President Teel ever accuse Council of turning a blind eye to illegal acts?
The answer is Yes.
November 19, 2010 – By not enforcing polices, you now open the door for more serious matters. All of Council has allowed for policy violations. The P&PS Committee (under leadership of Dr. Doyle,) which has no authority in granting requests to the Chief, and Borough Council have repeatedly denied policy infractions in order to protect the Chief. Well, it too has festered. Before I resign, the issue at hand for Improper Use of a borough vehicle may become a criminal issue. (Implies that members of Borough Council committed criminal acts).
President Atkinson: I defend Borough Council. I defend our Police and Public Safety Committee.
Did Council President Teel ever accuse the Borough Manager of conspiring with local Republican Committee people?
The answer is Yes.
February 14, 2011 – The only problem I know about is your prior meeting concerning the Budget Committee that you had with Sherry, Geoff, and Betsy. The latter is the most disturbing. This budget and tax reduction will be at the top of the Republicans list of objectives due to her connections. Betsy is playing two Democrats against each other with false statement. The statement of “The Oxford Democrats are stabbing each other in the back” was a statement from R. District Leader Palmer to all of the R. Heads the night of my resignation as President.
President Atkinson – I defend our Borough Manager and Local Republican Committee people who are involved in no such conspiracy.
Did Council President Teel ever accuse former Mayor Gray, current Mayor Henry and the Oxford Police of preventing Mr. Teel from winning the Mayoral race in the early 2000’s?
Yes
Council President Teel made the comments to me and several local Democrat Party committee people. I defend the former Mayor, current Mayor and the Oxford Police.
Did Council President Teel ever accuse several local Democrat committee people from taking up his case after losing the Mayoral election to Mayor Henry?
Yes.
I defend the local Democrat Committee people who Council President Teel accused of not taking up his case.
Did Council President Teel, his cousin or people he knows ever follow around the take pictures of Chief Slauch and the Oxford Police while they were working and hoping to catch them in an “illegal act”?
The answer is yes.
Councilman Teel showed pictures to me as well as to at least one other Council member as well as the Mayor. I defend Police Chief Slauch and the Oxford Borough Police.
Did Council President Teel make disparaging remarks about OATS – The committee that attempted to bring public train service back to Oxford?
The answer is yes.
Did Council President Teel as well as candidate Teel make disparaging remarks about OMI and Borough Officials collaboration on First Friday’s, Country Christmas and Halloween Parades?
The answer is yes.
This information (emails and comments) were presented tonight to document that when Council President Teel held office before he quietly spread these vicious rumors. As Council-Elect the vicious rumors continue. As the new Council President I have had anonymous letters placed in my mailbox with complaints directed toward Mr. Teel. I have also had face to face discussions with members of the community who have been concerned about how casually Mr. Teel tosses around the terms “fraudulent” and “illegal acts.” One reason I speak tonight is because others feel hesitant to say anything.
Full email conservations have been given to the Mayor, Borough Manager, and Borough Solicitor and Council members to show that I did not take any of Mr. Teel’s quotes out of context.
My remarks tonight are more of a defense of local officials that an attack on Council-Elect Teel. I simply want to make sure that our community members know the truth and not vicious rumors.
I realize that by sharing this type of information I now open myself up to attack by supporters of Council-Elect Teel. He said he could have just walked out of here next week and enjoyed his Christmas. We share many mutual friends. I’m sure there will be questions if I collaborated with others – I did not. Also questions about why the information is being released now. I had felt that Mr. Teel was walking away from public office and I had not wanted to tarnish his many positive accomplishments serving over 16 years. However, Mr. Teel re-entered the political arena and his quiet attacks have persisted and have been stronger than in the past. I could not walk away from my term in office knowing that good people were being attacked.
Before we fill the vacant Council seat I yield the floor and give Council-Elect Teel the chance to respond. After that members of Borough Council will be allowed to respond and members from the community.
Council-Elect Teel will be granted the same amount of time that I used.
Thank you for your time. I have worked hard as Council President to keep our meetings away from such sideshows as it takes away from the many positive accomplishments we are striving to achieve.
Mr. Teel said as for the Sewer Authority, I want everyone to check their packets for the September 16th letter that was written to the municipalities. See if you have it. President Atkinson asked if there was anything else he wanted to mention. Mr. Teel said other then the comments on the Mayor discussion that we had and the reason for you to want to oust me as President this year – all those letters and emails that you received that infuriated you – who sent them? President Atkinson said you sent them. Mr. Teel said “no I did not.” He said he did not send one letter to him about that. President Atkinson asked if he was saying none of those emails were yours. Mr. Teel said he kept the conversation between the Mayor and me. He sent the letters to you to get you involved. President Atkinson said to him it does not matter – you spoke on behalf of Council. Mr. Teel had other questions here. He said how many people sitting at that table right now are on the Board of Directors or the Arts Alliance or OMI. President Atkinson said he was on the Board of Directors for the Arts Alliance. Two people replied they are on the Board of OMI. Mr. Teel said the statement that I made in which your name was not mentioned was that the Directors of those two authorities are the ones that are controlling what Council does. He said the names were not mentioned, people ask who is on the Board of Directors. He said it is on the list. President Atkinson asked if that was it. Mr. Teel said that is it for now. But, I would like to know what this has to do with your meeting. President Atkinson said we are about to appoint a person to fill a two-year commitment. He said he has had people that are interested in the position who want to know what’s going on here because they have talked to you. Mr. Teel said that has no bearing. President Atkinson said he disagreed.
President Atkinson asked if anyone would like to make any other comments.
Ms. Brantner said in regards to her being on the Board of Directors of OMI, she said she was on this since it began. She said she was one of the founding members thanks to Carl Fretz. She said she thinks we all should be involved with community organizations, so she is not sure why that is being pointed to as something bad.
President Atkinson addressed his comments to Council. In regards to what he presented is anything wrong? Mr. Teel said he thinks there is one date that was wrong, November 11th.
Mrs. Lombardi said she was actually stunned that these conversations were even occurring. She said she is a little speechless. She is glad to know now that they were occurring and I am concerned they will occur in the future.
President Atkinson said again this in defense of current Borough Officials and other people from outside the Borough. He said he was not saying that Councilman Elect-Teel did anything illegal. He questions his judgment on some of terms he keeps throwing around. (Illegal acts and fraudulent).
President Atkinson said everything in there was fact. Everything in there were your own words; not my words.
Mr. Price - Basically I feel that all the entities in town, Borough Council, the Police Department, OMI, the Chamber, the Neighborhood Service Center, Bud McCoury’s group – everybody, we have to work together. We are stronger together. We feed off of each other’s ideas and I think we have to work together. We have to have a good working relationship and if we don’t we are not as strong. We would not be moving forward at the rate that we are.
President Atkinson said one of the things that I was shocked about, just like you said, is that we have to work together. And as a new Councilperson, serving on Council to find my Council President, that I serve underneath, is following the police around and taking pictures of them while they are at work, disturbed me.
Mr. Teel said excuse me. I was taking pictures? President Atkinson said you presented pictures to us. Of the Chief all the way up at the Pocono’s at a conference. Mr. Teel said he did not take those pictures; they were stuck in his door slot. He said do you want to know the truth behind the whole matter? You want me to bring it all up here right now? He said I would be glad to talk to you afterwards. President Atkinson said he has heard it.
Chauncey Boyd – Mr. Boyd said he was a lifetime resident of the Borough and one of the three applicants for the vacant position. Actually, in my opinion, your presentation was nothing less than a kangaroo court directed at a newly elected Council member. A great man once said that a country divided cannot stand. It takes everyone working together. He said they have done a great job here but there is a deep division. He said we cannot continue to be divided at that capacity. He believes that these kinds of comments are better directed, not during a public meeting, but perhaps after if that’s your concerns. Being that you are leaving Council, and that vacant seat, whoever fills that Chair will now have that much more difficult to try and unify this existing Council. He said I don’t see what your presentation has to do with filling the vacant seat. He said he does have a concern tonight in that Mr. Cole has resigned his seat and yet he is also one of the applicants, I understand, for the vacancy. He said he hopes it is not a pre-cut and dried situation that we are looking at here tonight but the fact of the matter is, whoever fills that seat, should be the most qualified, the most familiar with the Borough, and the constituents that lie within. Comments from people outside the Borough, in this instance, pertaining to Borough business are not important. They are not Borough members. They do not reside within the Borough. So any effort to continue to divide, or drive the wedge deeper I think is uncalled for and unnecessary. He certainly hopes that this wound can quickly heal and this Council can be reunified for the betterment of our entire community.
He said he encourages each one here to consider the applicant totally; to consider the one most qualified for the position based on all associated facts of how many years one has lived here; business owners in the community; property owners in the community and so on and so forth. And then select the best candidate for the position; I tell you right now unequivocally, in my opinion, that’s me. But this kind of nonsense and I will tell you all, if I am selected to fill that vacant chair, will not continue in that we will be unified and work together or I too would be the next person to resign my Chair on Borough Council.
Mr. Randy Teel – On the November 11th – which was the second one you showed, the first one you showed which was November 10th which said I made a statement before I resigned – I did not make my resigning until the 26th of December. He would advise anyone that before that is printed you make sure of the facts. When you said that before I resigned – November of 2010 – that was not a fact. I decided to resign on December 26th. I notified you of that and I have often many times offered to have a meeting with you to discuss some issues. You refused to acknowledge that. Mr. Teel said issues of supposedly of what I had said, rumors that had gotten to you. I told you one time I said – when you tried to pull the coup, as I call it, of January of 2011; I told you I know who has put you up to this. You said nobody has put me up to this. Mr. Atkinson said nobody has. Mr. Teel said Betsy and perhaps Sue was at the Chamber meeting, and they can attest to this, the statement was made that now that we have Andrew Atkinson on Council as President, maybe now we can move along much more quickly. He said I am talking about the Directors at the Chamber and how they influence people and what’s going on.
President Atkinson said we are going to move on to the Council vacancy now. We have three qualified candidates and we would like them to feel free to share.
Council Vacancy (Statements, Questions, Nomination, Appointment)
Susanna Vinciguerra – Ms. Vinciguerra said she would like to acknowledge her Republican Counterpart, Mr. Mark Plaugher, our area Chairman; and Mr. Paul Andriole, a former President of Borough Council and Kathy Hazy, a Committee person that was very kind and helped me campaign. She appreciated their support. She said she stood before them this evening as a legitimate Republican candidate and requesting membership into Council. I engaged in the election process by becoming an endorsed candidate and performed my due diligence in going out into the neighborhoods and knocking on the doors and asking for support. I did the one-on-one; I walked the walk and spoke to as many voters as possible. She said many of them were very candid about what their expectations were. She said some had very creative ideas about what they thought would improve our community and make it a better place. She said that is ultimately what our goal is here as Council members to make our community a better more affluent place to live in. Secondly, I talked the talk. I did the meet and greet at the polls and on Election Day surprisingly 231 who I contacted directly or had received my literature were inspired and came out and voted and had confidence in me as a newcomer. They took the time to come out and do their part to see me elected. She said thanks to them I received within two percent of their highest number of votes of any candidate running. I could not believe it. I was so pleased and thankful for this. Paul Andriole told me later that we had a 20% turnout of voters. That was really great. She said if it is not a presidential year we usually only get about 10%. So what does this mean to us all? It is that people do care. They want to see positive change in Oxford. They are depending on us in this body to seek creative methods that will provide this change for them. I want us to be the gold standard that communities measure them self by. I think that the way to possibly accomplish this goal is through creativity, spontaneity and innovation. Finally I have been with you all each month since announcing my candidacy, listening, observing and learning how this body functions and governs the people. I have been thinking as well about the abilities that I have to bring to the table. She said but what you don’t know is how do I deliberate; how do I make my decisions as an individual? She said as far back as I can recall, one of the most important lessons that my mother taught me was to learn to think for yourself. Don’t let other people do your thinking for you. And trust me I do that. I did this with my children and now with my grandkids. She said she is aware that things are rarely one dimension or black and white. She said she had a good friend that served as a judge in Delaware County. His name was Joseph Battle. Our families were friends over the years and we occasionally had lunch together and talked about the times. I asked him how he makes decisions on the complex cases that he hears. He was silent for a moment and thoughtful; he said after you hear cases over time you develop what is called a sixth sense and you listen for the ring of truth. You hear the voice of reason, and during the interim you hear a lot of that other stuff. As they continue you don’t give much weight to it; you just put it into perspective set it aside, consider the source and stick to the issue. She said she would use her experience as a probation officer and domestic relations hearing officer. This is the kind of thing that will be brought into this forum if I become a Council member. She said she will be listening to Mr. Hershey’s perspective, Dr. Doyle’s, Sue’s and whoever else. It is important to understand the way to carefully iterate things and not move to the left or the right and to just keep the mind focused straight ahead to the most rational goal; the one that will serve the most people. She said in summation the matters she sees on the agenda so far have not been more inspiring then the matters I have encountered in courtroom but they are equally important too because they affect people’s lives and people’s money. Our method of governing and the way that we decide these agenda issues are crucial to us all. She asked if there were any questions.
It was decided to ask questions after all the candidates spoke.
Ms. Vinciguerra went on to say that she hoped she had inspired enough confidence in her that Council will cast their ballots this evening for her.
Chauncey Boyd – Mr. Boyd said he did not come prepared with a speech. He said this weekend my wife made chocolate chip cookies. I love them. To make chocolate chip cookies it takes a bunch of stuff all mixed together that individually does not taste too good. You have some flour, white sugar, some brown sugar, some vanilla, some eggs – all of that mixed up processed through the trying of the fire; you end up with a chocolate chip cookie. He said what he is trying to say is that it takes individual personalities to come out with a good finished product. He said he has been a resident of the Oxford Borough all of his life. I have been personal friends with Chief Slauch and worked well with him throughout his tenure here. I have worked hand in hand with Mayor Henry, and Mayor Gray previous to Mayor Henry. I was successful for eight years on our school board, with seven years as President and led along with another group of fine people and administrators our school district out of the 20th century and into the 21st century. He said he charged everyone here tonight to choose the most qualified individual – based on number of years living here, mileage throughout the entire Borough and past political experience. He said and with that he thinks the choice is relatively clear. I did not choose to run in the election. I commend the lady for her challenge there and that’s not a bad turnout, 200 and some votes. He said had it been different candidates I think we would have had a different outcome. But I chose not to go that venue. But when I saw that seat vacated and having been in supportive of Mr. Stevenson I commended his zeal. His attempts to bring the railroad back here; I think he should be commended for his past work and contributions. He said Mr. Stevenson and he had a lot in common on a lot of issues. Mr. Stevenson is also a fellow Republican. He said he believes Council is obligated to replace a Republican with a Republican and not a Democrat. He thinks ethically Council should. Mr. Stevenson was a strong Republican and did a fine job and someone has to follow closely in his footsteps. And again the only caution I throw out there tonight is that it just seems susceptible that tonight you have a seated member resigning prior to this appointment. I charge each one of you to do the right ethical thing.
Jamie Cole – Mr. Cole said he would like to make something clear. His intent was to submit his resignation at the last Council meeting that he had attended. Unfortunately, if he would have there would not have been a quorum and the business that needed to continue before Council would not have been done. I did not submit it. The purpose of that was so there would be a quorum for that meeting. He said he just wanted this to be clear. He said he was pleased to present his position in filling the vacancy, regrettably, by John Stevenson. I believe now, just as I did when I was provided the opportunity to fill the vacancy left by Mr. Teel that serving on Council is a privilege and the best way to positively impact our community. He said he has learned many things during the time serving on Council and some have felt that the glass is half full; others have felt that the glass is half empty. And even with those differences we all agreed the glass is in fact filled. Council as it stands has not once in my time raised partisan issues or in any way divided along political lines. He said it has in his opinion acted proactively on behalf of all Oxfordian. I wish to continue in that process. He said he believes he is the best individual to fill the vacancy on Council for the following reasons; my family and I live here in the Borough and have lived here for five years. We have two children in the Oxford Area School Districts. He said he currently works for a local business, Custom Machine and Design located inside the Borough. He said he has served on Council for seven months developing his knowledge and contributing to the decision making process that affects all Oxfordians. He said he served as Chairman of the Codes Committee moving several projects forward. He said he served as an active member on the Finance Committee and the Special Projects Committee. He said he had the opportunity to ride along with an officer of the Oxford Police Department to familiarize himself with department procedures, the staff and understanding the challenges that may exist. Mr. Cole said he built contacts with Gary Smith and Bob Grabus of the Chester County Economic Development Council and have volunteered to represent the Borough of Oxford on the Route 1 corridor task force with specific meetings beginning in January. This task force will focus on bringing in industry and commercial development to help build our properties and businesses in the Borough and to help offset homeowner property taxes. Mr. Cole says he volunteers in an Oxford base group called SILO; which stands for serving, inspiring and loving others to help out the less fortunate in the Borough with things such as hot meals, friendship for those with no family and etc. He said he volunteered along with his family for three years to help set up and carry out the events that take place downtown; and to help develop the town into a great place to live, work and play. He said he looks forward to positive development in Oxford where the residents are safe, secure and proud of their community and what it has to offer. Mr. Cole said it has been his humble experience to serve with each of the members of Council and asks for the opportunity to continue to serve on Oxford’s Borough Council.
President Atkinson thanked all three candidates for their words. He now asked if Borough Council, the Mayor, or Borough Manger had any questions of the candidates.
Mayor Henry said he had the same question for all the candidates. He said perhaps in fairness to each candidate these responses should probably respond without the other’s hearing it first.
Council asked if two candidates were willing to leave the room. Mr. Boyd felt he thought the other two candidates should have the opportunity to listen to their counterpart’s answer.
Mayor Henry asked Mr. Boyd what he saw as two major issues facing the Borough in 2012 and if you were appointed how you would addresses each one of them?
Chauncey Boyd - Mr. Boyd said he thought one of the major issues; maybe the largest issue is the completion of our sewer system to accept the population explosion that nobody really was prepared for. Is it being handled properly or correctly; we could argue that all day and all night. But the fact of the matter is when we have people waiting for years on a list for EDUs and it is not being accomplished, something definitely is broken. He feels this is a major issue. Secondly, the issue he sees is that the Borough, like it or not, has been supplying police service for some of our surrounding townships at the cost of the rest of the Borough residents. He said there are a couple of agreements, for instance, we are policing the new rec. park; we are on second call to the high school, second responders in the event the state police are not available; and we patrol out and beyond those areas. He thinks the other major issues is looking at and implementing a regional police force that could bind all of these townships together where others contribute to the financial obligations and yet receive the same good service that we get here in Oxford. He said he read the other day, crime is down in the Borough. He believes they are attentive and Chief Slauch is doing a good job. He does not think it is an easy task. He said we are not the small one red-light town that we used to be. He said now we have two – we are going big time. He says we need to prepare and keep our residents, and our surrounding residents and those that come from outside of borders and into our Borough safe and secure. He said he thinks a major factor is that we need to bring more industry into our community which offsets our tax base, compliments your borough. We see businesses open up and in 6 to 8 months they are gone. We need to attack this and keep these businesses here and bring businesses that are conducive to a downtown atmosphere and will attract more people. He said they are elusive on the north end of town because they are on the right track and that is not the Borough up there. He said Jennersville has done it and we ought to be able to do it here too. He thinks those are the three major issues that stand before this Council. He said there are a whole bunch of minor issues. He heard sidewalks are not out there, and a few other things. He said all those things will come before this Borough Council in the next couple of years especially with this expansion of the sewer project going forward. He said there is going to be a lot of big changes and he thinks we need to be prepared.
Mayor Henry asked Mr. Boyd if he could select one of those three priorities, which would you like to tackle.
Mr. Boyd said personally he is not a big fan of the sewer project so he would probably strike that. He likes the way that John Slauch has conducted business here in the Borough and I am proud of most of our officers assisting him in any way, shape or form perhaps to expand to a regional type police force. He knows he has experience. This might be a drive that he would get behind whole heartily. He said by the same token getting more businesses in this town. He can remember the days when you would go to the movie theatre and the bank and you had to stand in line. People were lined up on South Third Street to get into the movie house. He said the bakery uptown used to be full of goods and people were everywhere. Mr. Boyd said Friday night was a big thing. He said he commends the effort last week with the Christmas festivities; he said it was neat to see that many people back in downtown Oxford. But we don’t need that once or twice a year. We need to see that every Friday night. He would like to see a bubbling metropolis; we don’t even have a movie theater. I guess we are getting one but that is not here in the Borough. We lost that opportunity. I see Jennersville thriving the way they are thriving and we missed another opportunity. I have seen manufacturing facilities out there. He said he sees businesses like Mr. Price’s that need more support that hopefully expand and grow within our Borough. He said they are both real important. He would support all three of them in reality which ever I could best focus my energies and my intent and ideas.
Susanna Vinciguerra – Mrs. Vinciguerra when she was out there campaigning and talking to the people at the poles the topic was what to do about the taxes. She said there are some things that just have to be funded; there is no way around it. We have obligations that we have to meet. She said maybe a Way and Means Committee could be started to see if there were ways to trim the budget. Deal with what we have coming in and not ask the tax payers for more money. We should do something about that. She thinks we have to attract more businesses to help the town and help with the tax increases. She said she would be looking to get on the Finance Committee and try to see ways to rein in on the spending if possible. She also mentioned attracting new businesses. She thinks that is what is needed here to make the community grow and to sure things up for us financially.
Jamie Cole – Mr. Cole said he thinks the largest is business final and that is within the business district itself, and then you obviously you branch out. He thinks that needs to be tempered with the historical significance of the town itself. He said with the Chester County Economical Development Council there are significant plans for continued growth along the Route 1 corridor. He said quite frankly the communities that are along that corridor that are more conducive to business and continually open up and allow business to grow easily without the red tape that is involved through continued development existing business growth, and things that are conducive to pulling in more and more business. Without those, we will miss those opportunities. He said as Chauncey said, Jennersville has gotten a good mix of that development and I think we need to provide for incentive in order to get some of that piece of the pie as it continues to grow and develop down Route 1. He said and again he wants to point out the historical significance of our town really does need to be kept intact as well throughout that development. He said he would also like to say that some of recreational areas within the town itself need to be continuously developed. He said he knows the Borough has some properties – to have another park would be a great opportunity. He would like a nice community place for the kids within Oxford is another incentive. He said all of these things collectively go hand in hand. He said additional business structure would help to supplement some of the tax base to a certain extent through business development or additional residences. If you have a higher median income coming into the area it will contributes and drive to existing businesses and development within town. He said it is almost a get the ball rolling type of scenario. Mr. Cole said once you begin that process you will continue to grow. He said he thinks his focus would be business friendly in providing that incentive base through Council in order to attract and develop existing business as well as new business.
President Atkinson asked for each candidate to provide one example of how you have worked to bring people together, any example in your life.
Mr. Cole – Mr. Cole said in regards to bringing people together he mentioned a very simple and brief example. He said in his career as a retail store manager for several years some of the associates can be very taken back by nature of retail have to be very face forward and customer centered. He said to do those things he used simple exercises to allow the associates and people to come together and feel more free. He said putting people together in a room for projects in order to be able to team build and pull together resources and provide limited resources for people to work with to all achieve a common goal. He said those are ways I have been able to build upon existing associate or people relationships where it pulls it together. It allows people to continually interact and build a team environment and accomplish a common goal.
Susanna Vinciguerra – Mrs. Vinciguerra said when she worked with the area agency on aging as the coordinator I had a group of about 30 women and men. She said they would get together about once a month. She said they would come in with various issues about people living in the homes; she said it was her job to keep them in the homes. Mrs. Vinciguerra said she would bring them together and some would be disgruntled. She said it would be up to her to try and motivate them. She said it was a matter of letting people know that there was a need which inspired them in sprit. She said if people know there is a need to be filled; they will get on board.
Chauncey Boyd – Mr. Boyd said one of easiest ways to unite people is a smile and an extension of a hand. He said a collaborative effort to work together helps to bring people together. He said he thinks you have to be open minded and listen to everyone. He said everybody, including Mr. Dorety, is valid and worth listening to. He thinks you have to have an attentive ear and an extended hand. Mr. Boyd said examples of me uniting people; he said in 8 years you don’t build three state of the art educational faculties alone or by yourself. He said you must unite people. He said we built not only one of the finest high schools in Pennsylvania, and came in under budget. He said we took an old high school and refurbished it into a state-of-the-art middle school that came in under budget. Mr. Boyd said then we took a vacated elementary school and refurbished it into a state-of-the-art elementary building that again came in under budget. He said he did not do that. He said it was a collaborative effort of not only board members, community members, community committees that agreed and disagreed. He said but we did it and we did it successfully and we did it under budget. He said some would argue that taxes went up but you don’t build over a hundred million dollars worth of educational facilities in a community this size and not raise taxes. He said unfortunately in Pennsylvania that is how we support public education via property taxes. He said by the same token our population increased. He said it was almost an overnight influx and he does not think anyone was prepared. He said he thinks we were very successful contrary to what Herb Lieberman might write in the paper. He thinks they successfully reunited people. He said he thinks it starts with a smile and an extended hand, and a heart, to make a community a better place and then we all take the gloves off and dig in and start working.
President Atkinson asked if Council had any more questions.
Mrs. Lombardi asked how the three of them stay informed about what is happening here in the Borough and how you stay informed about decisions we are making in terms of moving forward. She also asked if she believed there was any baggage that you are going to bring to the table that we need to take into consideration if terms of your agenda.
Susanna Vinciguerra – Mrs. Vinciguerra said she is very aware and sensitive to what the issues are. She is sure she does not know everything. She said she kind of has a feel of how things are done, and they are done fairly. Mrs. Vinciguerra said she has been watching and observing and she thinks things are done fairly. She said as far as her baggage, she has none.
Mrs. Lombardi said let me clarify this, I have only lived in Oxford for about 16 or 17 years. She said she certainly does not have a lifetime residency or history that some have in this wonderful little town. I think one of the things I have done in these four years is move forward and try to let by-gones be by-gones.
Chauncey Boyd – Mr. Boyd does not think there is any baggage. He thinks there is a strong leadership role that I bring to the table in that regard. I can tell you where Niblock Alley is and I know where Second Street is. He said I might pose that to the other two and he doubts that they know. He said he was a paper boy when he was 12 years old all over town. He said that is when we had a thriving news shop and a Gillespie’s, and Scoffers, and JD’s Department Store. He wonders what happened to these things. He does not think there is any real baggage, some might argue that. He is one that was on the board contrary to the young ladies opinion that I was quick to reach across the aisle to the other party to say look education. And I think a community effort; you can put your political differences on the table and try to make Oxford a better place. He said I was quick to do that. Did we disagree, sure? He said do I bring anything to the table to be fearful of, no, I know Mr. Teel well. I have known him for most of my life and have disagreed and butted heads with him. But I certainly can work hand in hand with Mr. Teel, or anyone else, as long as their intent is to make Oxford a better place.
Mrs. Lombardi asked how he keeps informed. Mr. Boyd said Oxford is still a small town. He said he misses the Oxford Tribune. He does not know whose fault that is but we won’t hold it against her. He said there are some publications; Marcella Peyre Ferry does a good job of covering us in the Courier and some in the Daily Local. He said he is hesitant to give accolades but the Chester County Press reports some of the good things. He said he guesses we have Steve in here to thank for that. He said he sees a lot of the community members on the streets. He is uptown almost every day and does a lot of his business form home. Mr. Boyd said keeping an open ear is a good gage of what is going on. He said you will see me two or three times a year at Council meetings if I have a bug in my ear. He said he is not shy about letting his position be known. He said, and again, it is still a small town.
Jamie Cole – Mr. Cole said as far as the baggage question he has been on Council for the past seven months. He said as far as involvement and understanding that is why one of the reasons seven months ago I chose to be considered for Council to become a little bit more informed but also to become a part of the solutions. I did not want to be one of those that point the finger and say why is that. He said he thinks from community involvement he can say that over the past three years he has probably missed fewer events then he can count on one hand that occurred in the town. Mr. Cole said he is typically downtown for every event whether that is in setup capacity or take down or just an attendee and be able to enjoy Oxford and what it has to offer. Mr. Cole said he is directly involved with the people of Oxford through the SILO Organization. He said that is going to the less frequented places in Oxford; some of the less fortunate citizens to be able to partake in a community event or community development. This is not in connection with the Borough or the Council or any specific Oxford entity. He said it is just a group of people that have gotten together within the community. Mr. Cole said next is he can look at not just within the Borough but also outside the Borough things that would influence the Borough such as looking at the Route 1 corridor, or the Chester County Economic Development. He said having the pulse on that will ultimately affect the Borough and its residents.
Mr. Atkinson asked if there were any other questions. Mr. Hershey said he did not have any questions, but a few comments to make. President Atkinson said as long as it does not look like it is an endorsement of any particular candidate, he is fine with that. Mr. Hershey wanted to thank them all for their interest in Council. He said he thinks it is a luxury we have not had and he has been on Council for six years. He said we have had three or four appointments but never had more than one or two candidates previously. He said party was never a factor. He said he does not think at any time decisions on Council were made on party lines, other than occasionally the restructuring. He said other than that Council never acts on party line. He said we looking for an individual that fits with Council and are committed to the Borough of Oxford. He said we all bring something different I am sure.
Dr. Doyle said each of the candidates have mentioned a number of things which would be advantageous to the community. He said his only remark would be please don’t think that you are the first to think of this, what your job will be is to find out how the hell to do it. He said that is the end of my remarks.
Mr. Teel called a point of order. Ms. Fuller said Council has the floor. She said the President of Council has the floor, not the audience. Mrs. Lombardi said Mr. Teel said he can take it up with the press. President Atkinson said that is fine.
President Atkinson made a motion to nominate Mrs. Sue Vinciguerra, Mr. Chauncey Boyd, and Mr. Jamie Cole to fill the vacant Council seat pending a roll call vote and whoever has the most votes; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Mr. Hershey – Mr. Cole
Dr. Doyle – Mr. Cole
Mr. Atkinson – Mrs. Vinciguerra
Mrs. Lombardi – Mr. Cole
The roll call vote is 3 votes for Mr. Cole, and 1 for Mrs. Vinciguerra.
President Atkinson asked what the pleasure of Council is – do we want to have swearing in tonight, or next week.
Ms. Fuller said she believes we are at the end of the 30-day period so it should be done tonight.
Mayor Henry then swore in Mr. Cole to Borough Council.
Mr. Boyd said he wanted to follow up on something. Mr. Boyd wanted to call to his attention that for 7 years now you have appointed someone to a Borough Council seat that nobody else in the community has voted on. He said you reneged on a lady that had 230 some votes. He says he does believe regardless of what you think based on his earlier resignation that this was a cut and dried situation and you wasted about two hours of a lot of peoples’ time. Mr. Boyd said the election is coming in about two years and numerous of your seats will be up for grabs and it will then certainly be time for change. He said he would like to see somebody that would have the majority support or at least a couple of votes of support from people in the community as Mrs.
Vinciguerra did. Mr. Cole does not.
Paul Andriole – Mr. Andriole from Locust Street asked to make a comment. He said he is a Republican Committee person, but that is not why he is here. He said he was here as member of the community, a former Mayor, and a former member of Borough Council person. He said we have heard a lot tonight, and God knows what kind of a whipping we are going to take here in the paper. He said the Council’s job, as the President mentioned very early on, was the word transparency. We have heard unifying. He said Council has missed an opportunity in taking the message transpired in the last hour and a half and turning it around. He said the secret to this nation is participatory democracy. He said we have avoided participatory democracy that makes us sacred. We have circumvented. He said these are not disparaging remarks about any individual understand that with a disclaimer. However, to resign at the last minute and to come back to be reappointed – folks it waddles like a duck, and it quacks like a duck and it is duck. It is an affront to circumvention of the participatory democracy theory and process that we live under. He said everyone is this room had an opportunity to run for Council. My friends across the aisle left a vacancy. There was room there to run as a Democrat. Anyone could have run as a Republican. He said in view of what has happened here tonight and the whipping we are going to take we had an opportunity to unify and do away with the transparency and to make sure that the tom foolery that goes on in Washington is not happening here and we missed that opportunity. We have been here a long time and I expect we will get through it.
Approval of 2012 Budget – Ms. Brantner said everyone has seen the budget from the Finance Committee. She said people also had the opportunity to look at in on Borough Day. Dr. Doyle said the Committee did not do all of it; it has been given to the members of Council for their consideration for some time. President Atkinson thanked everyone for attending Borough Day last week. He said people had the opportunity to come to Bourg Day and ask questions. He thanked Ms. Brantner for all of her work. Ms. Brantner said all of the employees helped. President Atkinson made a motion to approve the 2012 budget; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Mr. Cole abstained. He said he did not want there to be a particular vision of conduciveness because my wife is part of Oxford Mainstreet and whereas there would be any type financial transactions between the Borough and them, I will abstain. President Atkinson said we had a vote of four votes for, a majority, and one abstention by Mr. Cole. Mrs. Andrews was not present. Motion carried.
Chamber of Commerce Holiday Home Decorating Contest – President Atkinson said the Chamber of Commerce, and Judy Abbruzzesi who is in charge of the Chamber of Commerce, have the Holiday Home Decorating Contest on their website. He said judging will be done randomly. The judging will be done Sunday, Dec. 18th from 5 to 7 p.m. Entrants must have their holiday lights on from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 18th. Judges are not permitted to judge any entry that is not lit. Judging will be based on curbside appeal only. He said the results will be next Monday, Dec. 19. Prizes will be awarded at the Borough Council meeting on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.
He said nominations must be submitted before noon on Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Date for January 2012 Reorganization Meeting (Tuesday, January 3, 2012) – Ms. Brantner said the meeting is scheduled for January 3rd at 7 p.m. due to the fact Monday is a holiday.
Letter from Resident, Jim Sumner – President Atkinson said we received a letter from Jim Sumner, an Oxford Borough resident. The letter was addressed to the Borough Council, Borough Manager, Police Chief and the OMI Director. President Atkinson said Mr. Sumner had some concerns about the Security Ambassador Program. President Atkinson thanked Mrs. Cole of OMI for putting a response out to Council. President Atkinson said he had also talked with Mr. Sumner to let him know OMI is working with the cooperation of Chief Slauch.
Review Ordinance #849-2011 – Tax Levy Adoption on 12/19/11 – Ms. Fuller said a draft of the ordinance is before Council and it is scheduled for a Hearing next Monday, November 19, 2011. She said it infatuates the tax rate for general purpose set forth in your budget which you just approved. Item carried forward.
Review Ordinance #850-2011 – Amending Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic – Adoption on 12-1911 – Ms. Fuller said this is an ordinance that we have been working on for awhile now. She said it is to clean up the motor vehicle and traffic section of the Code of the Borough of Oxford and reconcile it with the Motor Vehicle Code and clarify some of the violations divisions that are in there so it is consistent across the Code. This has been noticed and is scheduled for a Hearing and Adoption next week. Dr. Doyle asked if this is where the specific amount of a traffic violation fine will be. Ms. Fuller said the parking and those types of violations. She said this is where the dollar amounts are set forth. Item Carried Forward.
Easement Agreement/Oxford Borough/Fulton Financial Realty Company – Ms. Brantner said we had asked the County if we could add this on to our project because we had some remaining money. Ms. Brantner said that the County decided that since it was in the same scope of work and the same area that they would allow us to do that. Ms. Fuller said we have two easements signed by the Oxford Area Sewer Authority (OASA) and the Fulton Financial Realty Company, owners of the alley in sort of a convoluted manner. She said we did have the areas surveyed and plans drawn up so there is permanent easement in place along that alley way. It will be a permanent public easement to allow the alleyway to be available at all times for public use and a walk-way between South Third Street and the parking lot. Ms. Fuller said that was the only requirement from the County in order to facilitate the additional grant funds being used for the Streetscape Project. She said they wanted to ensure through the easement document that it remains a public access point. Ms. Fuller said she has advised both Fulton and the OASA in my opinion since they retain the obligation to maintain the alleyway after the work is done under the project that they enter into some sort of agreement between the two of them as to how that will be accomplished. She said the Borough does have the right to go in fix it if they have to if the property is not being maintained. She said it is incumbent upon Fulton and the OASA to maintain that alleyway once the work is done by virtue of the easement agreement. Ms. Fuller said what you have tonight before you is copies of the two original easements that have been signed by OASA and Fulton Bank and she asked that Council approve them tonight and authorizes Mr. Atkinson so sign them so that we can record them. She said the County will get originals of the signed agreements by all parties before they will sign off on the grant extension.
Mr. Cole made a motion to approve the easement agreement between Fulton Financial, as well as the Oxford Area Sewer Authority; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Mayor Henry asked that in the event the bank is sold will this easement agreement remain. Ms. Fuller said it is a permanent easement, it is perpetual, and it carries on in the future. Motion carried.
Easement Agreement/Oxford Borough Oxford Area Sewer Authority – See above. Borough Water Storage Tank Bid -Advertisement Approval – Ms. Brantner said we need approval to advertise this bid. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the advertising of the bid for the water storage tank; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Extension Request – December 31, 2012 -Meadowview Estates – Ms. Brantner said we did receive a letter from Meadowview to grant a one-year extension until December 31, 2012. Mr. Hershey made motion to approve the extension request; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Planning Commission Appointment -Seat vacated by Resignation of Mr. Stevenson (2010-2014) – Ms. Brantner said we have received a letter from Mr. Robert Roper regarding his interest in this position. Ms. Brantner said she attended the last Planning Commission meeting and there was another person interested in the position, but we have never received a letter. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the appointment of Robert Roper to the Planning Commission; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. The seat was vacated due to the resignation of Mr. Stevenson. The term will end in 2014. Motion carried.
PO# 018764 – Water Dept. $1,860.00 -Allied Control Services – Ms. Brantner said we have a purchase order for a data logger in the amount of $1,860.00. She said this would be paid for by the Gift Money. She said this will save them a lot of time currently the data is a big problem for them because it must be done manually. This will cut down their time a lot. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve PO#018764 for the Water Dept. in the amount of $1,860.00; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
PO #018194 – Police $1,249.00 Snap-On Tools –Ms. Brantner said this will be used both by the Police and Public Works. PO #018194 is for a vehicle scanner update in the amount of $1,249.00. This item is to diagnose problems on Borough vehicles. Mr. Hershey made a motion to approve PO #018194 in the amount of $1,249.00; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Oxford Church of the Nazarene Oxford Borough Zoning Hearing Board Decision of November 29, 2011 – Ms. Brantner said a copy of the Zoning Hearing Decision was included in the packets for Council’s review.
B. Patti Letter – President Atkinson referenced a letter received from the Patti residents who live in Sycamore Crossing. President Atkinson read the letter to Council members. The Patti family said they are pleased to see the excitement that OMI and other organizations have brought to this town. Their family thoroughly enjoys the First Friday events. It has brought them to the stores and also to purchase items. They also enjoy the Movies in the Park. Mr. Patti wanted to express his admiration for all the people that have not given up on Oxford and have made positive changes.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson said he has probably spoken too much tonight. He said if his words appear to be a dog and pony show then he says he apologizes. He says he apologies to all in the audience and members and the press. He again thanked each applicant for their interest in vacant Council seat. He says he agonizes over decisions regarding our town. I went into office to help work with like minded people to help others. President Atkinson said when people come to him hurting; then he is hurting. He said he has enjoyed working with every person on this Council and respected everything thing that they have done. He says he has great memories. President Atkinson said he appreciates all of their support and will defend you all to the fullest.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said he attended a meeting last Thursday and someone he thinks very highly of made a comment. He said the comment was if you act people will criticize; if you don’t act people will criticize. Mayor Henry said he applauded Mr. Atkinson for taking action. He said he realizes that decisions that are made with things that happen here might not always be easy for you to make. He said when you enter public service you understand you probably will be criticized. Mayor Henry said he would hope that this Council will always be open to criticism for taking action and not open to criticism for inaction. He said you do what you have to do, as long as it is the right thing.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS
Ms. Brantner wanted to say again that the Borough Day was a success. She said she thinks the reason it was a success was because of all the employees. She said we had an opportunity to explain what each employee here does in all the Departments; the Public Works Department, Admin., and the Water Department. Ms. Brantner said she thinks our employees also enjoyed it. She said we did a power point presentation for each department. She said it made them feel like they are valuable to us, which they are. She said from that perspective I think it was a good opportunity to sit and talk with everyone. She said she would like to ask Council to make this a permanent fixture for the first Monday of every December. She said it would run well with the budget advertisement that we usually do. She said it is good to provide a day when people can come in and talk to us and ask questions and we can provide them with information.
Mayor Henry said the Borough Day from the perspective of the Police Department was successful as well. He said we had approximately 25 people visit the Police Station. He said the Police were able to run some safety checks of child seats. Mayor Henry said also during Borough Day we had the opportunity to meet with the Representatives from the Coatesville Veterans’ Administration. He said he was glad the press was here. He said the Coatesville VA has been looking to place a vehicle in the Borough of Oxford where veterans would be able to ride that vehicle and be transported to the Coatesville VA. He said it looks like probably in the beginning of the year a formal announcement will be made letting the public know a vehicle will be parked at the Police Station and a driver will be assigned each day. They would drive residents from Oxford and the surrounding area each day to appointments at the VA. He thinks this is a good chance to partnership with the VA and an opportunity for the Borough to help others. He also wanted to thank Ms. Brantner for volunteering the use of staff here to be the intake people and the Chief for letting the vehicle parked at the police station parking lot. Ms. Brantner said she wanted to thank the Mayor because she thinks we too often forget the Veterans and that is something we should not do. We should do whatever we can do to help them; they have certainly done enough for us.
Mr. Butch Saranetz asked to speak. He said as you know I am the Chair of the Oxford Town Watch Association. We take looking after our neighborhoods very seriously. He said he has come before Council in the past in order to get some traffic calming devices on 5th Street. We have asked for four-way stop signs on the corner of Broad and 5th. PennDOT has not seen the need for it. He said to picture this scenario. A little child eight or 9 years old being struck by a car; her body is bent at a 90 degree angle from the waist down. Tossed in the air ten feet vertically and at least 25 feet horizontally and the crumbled body on the ground after the impact. He asked if they could imagine that. He said he does not have to imagine it because I saw it today right in front of his house on 5th Street. He said luckily the vehicle was being driven by a responsibly driver who actually anticipated the child’s move and slowed up enough so that massive injury did not occur. He said to let one child parish because of inaction by PennDOT is inexcusable. He said he is pleading with Council to approach PennDOT and our state legislators in order to get some sort of traffic control on 5th Street. It has become a drag strip. The issue is not with the Police. He said by the time a call is placed – the driver is gone. He said this occurred around 4:30 p.m. He said the child was five feet in front of him and he could do nothing to stop it.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to adjourn at 9:12 p.m.; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
November 21, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on November 21, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by Vice President Hershey at 7 p.m. Vice President Hershey then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Hershey, Vice President Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Dr. Doyle, Member Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mrs. Andrews, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
C. Randy Teel - Mr. Teel said that Mr. Dorety could not attend this evening but he wished everyone a nice holiday. Mr. Teel also wished everyone a safe and happy holiday.
Susan Vinciguerra – Mrs. Vinciguerra also wished everyone a happy holiday.
RECURRING REPORTS FOR APPROVAL
The following reports were presented to Council for approval: Council Meeting Minutes of 10/17/11(Cole-Lombardi); Council Meeting Minutes of 11/14/11 (Lombardi-Cole) Report of the Treasurer 10/31/11 (Lombardi-Doyle); Mayor Henry commented on the month to date figure for the parking meters; he said National Penn Bank no longer counts coins. He said the money is there but has not been counted yet. Ms. Brantner said we are now sending the coins out of town to be counted. Paid Bills 11/21/11 (Lombardi-Doyle); Unpaid Bills 11/21/11 (Lombardi-Cole); Mr. Hershey asked if the cost changed at all with the new lights down town. Ms. Brantner said she would have to check with Mrs. Anderson. Mayor Henry asked if there was any recovery from the Condemnation Action from the property owners. Ms. Brantner said they have the right to appeal. Dr. Doyle said he was curious about the charge from Lifesong Christian Books. Chief Slauch said he purchased a microphone from the store. Mrs. Lombardi asked about the charge for William Hope Handy. It was believed it was associated with one of the court cases. Report of the Tax Collector 10/31/11 (Lombardi-Cole); Mr. Hershey said it seems like we are carrying the balance collectible all the time in the same amount. Ms. Brantner said we have to lean if they don’t pay by a certain time. We keep checking with the county and the mortgage companies. Dr. Doyle said we are a little bit behind. Building Codes Report 11-15-11 (not submitted); Zoning Officer Report 11/15/11 (Lombardi-Doyle).
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to adopt the agenda, Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Ms. Brantner added Item B, Ordinance, Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic - Approval to Advertise; Item C, Salvation Army Box; Item D. PO#018760 - meters; Item E, P.O. #018739 -paper to New Items of Business. Ms. Brantner added Item B., Oxford Corporation to the Discussion Items. Motion carried to adopt agenda as amended.
REPORT OF THE MAYOR
Mayor Henry gave his report on accidents, incidents, citations and fees collected for the month of October. Mayor Henry said overtime for the month of October was 139 hours; 56 for shift coverage; 5 for court; 4 for investigation; 24 ½ for training; and 49 ½ for detail which included the Halloween Parade, First Friday and Trick or Treat. Mayor Henry said he did run a comparison year-over-year for the last three years through October. He said it was interesting to note the police involvements are down from 763 per month in 2010 to 752 in 2011. Initial investigations are down as well, 89 to 69 compared to 2010 and 59 so far this year. Supplemental investigations are down about 50% compared to where they were the prior two years. Mayor Henry said parking tickets issued are down from 139 to 89 last year per month, to 85 for the first 10 months of this year. Parking ticket revenue in 2009 - $9,191.00; 2010 -$6,833.00; and in 2011 so far it is $6,925.00. He said District Court fines are down significantly, in 2009 they were $30,452.00; 2010 -$24,630.00 and so far in 2011 they are $16,370.00. He said DUI fines are running about where they were in 2009 at $2,810.00. Mayor Henry said Traffic Citations are running about the same at an average of about 21 per month in 2009; 28 in 2010; and 19 in 2011. Non-Traffic Citations averaging 10 per month; there have been 8 per month so far this year. He said in regards to Criminal Arrests, in 2009 - 9 per month; 2010 -11 per month; and so far in 2011 averaging 10 per month. Mayor Henry said in regards to Parking Meter Revenue and again we do not have October’s revenue to report – in 2009 it was $9,797.00; in 2010 $6,070.00; and in 2011 is $9,039.00.
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the additional 77 hours of overtime; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion passed. Mrs. Lombardi asked Mayor Henry to what he attributed the decrease. Mayor Henry said enforcement is up with parking tickets and a lack of the need to respond. Mayor Henry said the Chief said the goal of a police department is to have a community where there is no crime and we are there to serve as a deterrent.
Mr. Cole made a motion to accept the report of the Mayor; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Codes Committee – Minutes of the October 24, 2011 meeting were submitted.
Finance and Personnel – Ms. Brantner said the budget is on the agenda tonight for approval to advertise.
Police and Public Safety – A meeting was not held.
Local Traffic Advisory Committee – Mr. Hershey submitted minutes from the November 7th meeting. He asked if anyone had any questions.
Public Works – Mrs. Lombardi said a meeting was held but she did not have a report. She said Public Works employees are working very hard and have been doing a great job. She also discussed the creation of a pavement management program. Ms. Brantner and Mr. Schaible are working diligently on a way to systematically decide when roads get addressed. Ms. Brantner said they are considering the cost and have a vision for a 5-year plan. They are working with PennDOT on this as well.
Mr. Teel questioned where they place the leaves for disposal in the business district. Ms. Brantner said they can be put on the curb for disposal. Doctor Doyle said property owners are under no coercoin to do anything with the leaves. Mrs. Lombardi said it is just the nice thing to do.
Special Projects – Special Projects did not meet.
Planning Commission – The minutes of the September meeting were submitted for Council’s review.
Historical Commission – No minutes were submitted.
Chief’s Activity Report – The November 21st Report was submitted.
Public Works Supervisor’s Report –October 2011 Report submitted for review.
Oxford Borough Workplace Safety Committee Report –The October 18th minutes were submitted for review. Ms. Brantner said she spoke with the insurance broker that handles the safety committee and gives us the pricing for our insurance. He said they are actually using the Oxford Safety Committee as a model because of the money that we have saved with this committee over the years.
Union Fire Company Report – Report from 10/1/2011 to 10/31/2011 submitted.
Oxford Area Recreational Authority – Draft minutes of the July 14, 2011 and September 14, 2011 submitted. Mr. Hershey asked how things are going at the park. Mayor Henry said the park has been used and we have applied for some grants to extend some of our trails for next year. He added there was also some discussion about the possibility of having a part of the existing park set aside for a “Bark and Run “park for dogs.
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to accept the Committee Reports; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion passed.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Regional Planning Commission Appointment – Mr. Hershey said Mr. Saranetz has submitted a Letter of Interest in serving on the Regional Planning Commission. Mr. Hershey said that the Committee requires a member of Council and a member of the Planning Commission to serve. He noted Mr. Saranetz is a member of the Oxford Borough Planning Commission. The seat was recently vacated due to the resignation of Mr. John Stevenson. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to appoint Mr. Saranetz to the Regional Planning Commission; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Permission to Advertise 2012 Budget - Ms. Brantner said they would like permission to advertise the budget. She said it would then be up for approval at the first Council meeting in December. Mrs. Lombardi mentioned that if residents have questions about the budget they can ask about them during Borough Day. Dr. Doyle made a motion to advertise the 2012 budget for approval at the first December meeting; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Mayor Henry said he did put a spread sheet together regarding the budget. Mayor Henry congratulated those that put the budget together. He said he thought it would meet the needs of the Borough without significantly raising taxes. Motion carried.
OARA 2012 Budget – There were no additional comments.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Copperfield Escrow Release Request No. 21 - ($10,218.00) – Ms. Brantner said that this is to release $10,218.00 for work that has been done which has been approved by our engineer and also checked by John Schaible. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve Escrow Release No. 21 in the amount of $10,218.00; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Ordinance Chapter 15 –Motor Vehicles and Traffic - Approval to Advertise – Ms. Brantner said this has gone through Codes. She said we also had the solicitor and our zoning officer review this. This ordinance amendment is for Chapter 15, Motor Vehicles and Traffic. Ms. Brantner said there was some handicapped issues and several other issues we have been working on. Ms. Brantner said we need approval to advertise and to send it to Chester County Planning. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve advertising for changes to Chapter 15 and to send it to Chester County Planning Commission; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Salvation Army Box - Ms. Brantner said that Mrs. Anderson works with the Salvation Army, especially this time of the year. She tries to help people in the community. Mrs. Anderson asked if we could put a Salvation Army Red Kettle at the Borough. She does put them at different locations in the area. Mrs. Lombardi asked if there would be anything that would preclude that in terms of it being a municipal building. Mr. Hershey said we should check with our solicitor because it is a religious organization. Dr. Doyle said he did not think the Borough should be involved with that.
P.O. #018760– Meters – Ms. Brantner said the amount is $2,664.00 and they do have it in their budget. She said they are systematically going through and trying to replace water meters. She said it is an intense project because you need to get into the home. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve PO #018760 in the amount of $2,264.00; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
P.O. #018739 – Paper - Ms. Brantner said this if for 40 cases of 8 ½ by 11 paper. The cost is $1,198.00. Ms. Brantner said this amount of paper lasts the Borough approximately 2 plus years.
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve P.O. #018739 in the amount of $1,198.00 for paper; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Zoning Hearing – Nov. 29, 2011 Oxford Church of the Nazarene – Ms. Brantner said a public hearing will be held on November 29th at 7 p.m. at the Borough for the Oxford Church of the Nazarene. They are requesting a special exception to use an existing church building as a day care facility.
Oxford Corporation – Ms. Brantner said that Ms. Fuller informed her that the Commonwealth Court website had issued a Decision on the Oxford Corporation. They affirmed the Zoning Hearing Board’s Decision on the Oxford Corporation case.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
Vice President Hershey had no comments.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry wished to remind everyone that the First Friday in December is coming up. He said Borough Day will be held December 5th. He said this month he had the privilege of providing three Proclamations. He said one was to Oxford Mainstreet Inc. proclaiming November 10th as OMI Day in the Borough. He said November 11th was proclaimed as Veterans’ Day in the Borough of Oxford. Mayor Henry said President Atkinson delivered a Proclamation to the Second Presbyterian Church in his behalf proclaiming November 19th as Second Presbyterian Church Day in the Borough of Oxford and recognizing their 130th Anniversary.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Brantner said her report is enclosed in the packets. She noted that they had 1,000 hits in one week this month on the Borough website. Ms. Brantner said they are constantly adding new items to the website. She mentioned they just added a Google map.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session held.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to adjourn at 7:48 p.m.; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
November 14, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on November 14, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. President Atkinson asked that during the moment of silence we remember Borough employee, Jean Kutz, whose daughter passed away on Sunday, November 13, 2011.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mr. Hershey, Vice President
Dr. Doyle, Member Mrs. Andrews, Member
Mr. Cole, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Betsy Brantner, Secretary
Stacey Fuller, Solicitor
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Stevenson, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
President Atkinson asked that all public comment be made at this time and for everyone to adhere to the four minute limit in order to keep the meeting running smoothly.
Susanna Vinciguerra – Mrs. Vinciguerra asked that at the appropriate moment that Council consider her to fill the position of Mr. Stevenson after his resignation is accepted. She said her thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Stevenson and his family. Ms. Vinciguerra presented Ms. Brantner with a Letter of Intent.
Buzz Dorety – Mr. Dorety thanked President Atkinson and other Council members for supporting the Holiday Decorating Contest for the Oxford Borough residents.
C. Randy Teel – Mr. Teel thanked everyone for coming out to the elections. Mr. Teel questioned the amount of parking tickets issued in the month of September. Mayor Henry said he would look into the matter. Mr. Teel said in regards to not interrupting the meetings that if we don’t know what is going on during the meeting may we ask questions? President Atkinson said questions would be allowed but you should be recognized by Council to speak. Ms. Brantner said this is because it is hard to transcribe the meetings when people speak from the floor and don’t say their names for the record.
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Ms. Brantner added the Item H., the 2012 Minimal Municipal Obligation to New Items of Business; President Atkinson added Item I, Chamber of Commerce House Decorating Contest to New Items of Business. Motion to adopt agenda as amended passed.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
There was no Business Carried Forward.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
2012 Chester County SPCA Contract - Ms. Brantner said that we renew this contract every year. She said we usually go with Contract #1. Ms. Brantner said if that is paid before 1/15/2012 there is a cost break. She said it is slightly higher than last year. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the payment of Contract #1 in the amount of $4,675.00; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Social Media – Ms. Brantner mentioned that she and Mrs. Andrews attended courses regarding this matter at the PSAB Conference. Ms. Brantner said they basically said it is not a good idea. She said to be involved with sites like Facebook is another liability. Ms. Brantner said she also discussed it with the Borough solicitor who did not feel it was a good idea. Ms. Brantner said we are getting a lot more hits on the Borough Website. Mrs. Andrews mentioned that one of the speakers at the Conference was a state policeman. She said from the site at work they were able to get on his home Facebook account. Ms. Brantner said she spoke to people from other municipalities at the Conference and they did not feel getting on Facebook was a good idea either.
Copperfield Escrow Release Request No. 20 ($47,635.75) – Ms. Brantner said the Borough Engineer and John Schaible have approved this amount. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve Release Request No. 20 in the amount of $47,635.75; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Letter of Resignation from Borough Council Member - C. John Stevenson, Jr. – Ms. Brantner said a letter is enclosed in the packet from Mr. Stevenson and regrettably he has resigned. Dr. Doyle made a motion to accept the Letter of Resignation from Mr. Stevenson; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Mayor Henry hoped that Council would send a letter to Mr. Stevenson thanking him for his services. President Atkinson said he believes we have 30 days to make an appointment for his position. President Atkinson suggested informing the public that there is an opening on Council and appointing a new person at the December 12th meeting. Mayor Henry asked if Council does not appoint someone within 30 days does the Vacancy Board come into play or if the Court gets involved. Ms. Fuller said it would be the Vacancy Board first. President Atkinson inquired if Council was interested in a vetting process(interviewing the candidates). Mrs. Lombardi said she thinks it would depend on how many people express interest. Mrs. Lombardi asked the length of the term. President Atkinson said it is for two years and would expire in December of 2013. Mayor Henry asked if that person would have to run in the primary. He asked if there would have to be an unexpired term that would have to be elected. Mayor Henry asked if this depended on the time of resignation as compared to part of the term. Mayor Henry said when he was appointed he had to run the next spring for the unexpired two –year term. Ms. Fuller said the Code refers to the next municipal election. She said if someone is interested in running for that spot it would then be deemed eligible. She said the primary would then be relevant but would not fill the spot. Ms. Fuller said there is not a Municipal election until November of 2013. Ms. Fuller said there is nothing in the Code that references a two-year limit. She said it says you fill the seat until the next Municipal election. President Atkinson said Council will appoint someone at the meeting on Monday, December 12, 2011. President Atkinson said that anyone interested in being appointed to Borough Council should send a letter to Ms. Brantner expressing interest. Motion carried unanimously to accept the resignation of Mr. Stevenson from Council.
Letter of Resignation from Planning Commission - C. John Stevenson, Jr. – Ms. Brantner said a Letter of Resignation from Mr. Stevenson was enclosed in the packets. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to accept Mr. Stevenson’s Letter of Resignation from the Planning Commission; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Mr. Hershey mentioned that John Stevenson also was a member of the Regional Planning Commission. He said we will need to appoint someone from the Planning Commission to fill that as well. Ms. Fuller said Council would make that appointment. This item will be Carried Forward to the next agenda. The motion to accept Mr. Stevenson’s resignation from the Planning Commission carried.
2012 Budget –Mrs. Andrews said Council has their papers before them. Mrs. Andrews said they can take their papers home and review them. She said there will be some changes because the insurance figures don’t come in until the end of the year. Mrs. Andrews said she would like to get approval to advertise the Budget at the next meeting so that it can be finalized in December. President Atkinson added that this is one of the reasons we will be having a Borough Day in December. If people have questions they can come in and discuss it that day. Ms. Brantner said if they have any questions they can call or email them to her or Mrs. Anderson.
Streetscape Improvements – Amendment #3 – Ms. Brantner said we received an amendment to change the contract terms for our Streetscape Improvements. Ms. Brantner said we need Council to approve changing the contract time to June 30, 2012. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the Streetscape Improvement – Amendment #3 with an end date of June 30, 2012; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
2012 Minimal Municipal Obligation (MMO) – Ms. Brantner said we must approve the Minimum Municipal Obligation in the amount of $111,050.47. Ms. Brantner said the amount is dependent on the amount of employees that we have. Dr. Doyle said it also depends on the amount of money we have in the pension plan. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the MMO for 2012 in the amount of $111,050.47; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Chamber of Commerce House Decorations Contest – President Atkinson said he received a call from Judy Abbruzzesi of the Oxford Chamber of Commerce regarding the House Decorating Contest. This contest is based on the recommendation by Mr. Dorety. President Atkinson said he has agreed to donate a basket from Phillips Florist for the winner. President Atkinson said Mr. Dorety will be there as well to help hand out the gift basket.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Letter from PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Act 537 Plan Update -Ms. Brantner said that DEP has approved the Act 537 Plan.
Oxford Library Fund Raising – Ms. Brantner said the Library is going to be doing a fund raiser to get their project up and going. She said they have asked if they can put up a construction fence. They will be selling advertising signs that will be installed on the fence. Ms. Brantner said she did approve it. She spoke with George Guss and he did not see a problem with this. President Atkinson asked if Ms. Brantner could write a letter to Mr. Ken Pienkos on behalf of Borough Council thanking him for all his hard work. President Atkinson said Mr. Pienkos is leaving and has done an amazing job.
Draft Budget for the OARA for 2012 – Mayor Henry said speaking as a member of the OARA, the by-laws require us to submit a proposed budget annually to the member municipalities. The municipalities are given the opportunity to comment on the budget. Marcella Peyre-Ferry added they have another grant application ending for the same project. She said if that comes through there will not be a deficit. Mayor Henry said it is based on capital improvements. Council did not comment.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS – President Atkinson passed around the cards for Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson for Council to sign. He also said that OMI gave a presentation that lasted from about 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. last Thursday. He said people were given time to ask questions or express their concerns. He said it was encouraging to see such a high attendance at the meeting. He said if people don’t know their accomplishments they would have learned a lot by attending the meeting. Mrs. Cole was in attendance and noted she was very pleased with the amount of attendance they had. She said their goals for 2012 were also discussed.
President Atkinson said Borough Day will be held Monday, December 5th from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. He said he will be able to attend after work. President Atkinson said the Borough will provide: continuous power point presentations of how the Borough operates; understanding your water bill, information on conserving water, recycling information, hand-outs on what to do in the event of a catastrophe, an opportunity to review the Borough’s Open Space, Revitalization Plan, Draft Parking Study, budgets to review, tax information, and a walk through the website. He said we have tried in a variety of ways to get the word out about our budget. He thanked the Police Department, the Mayor and Borough Manager for trying something new. President Atkinson said we want residents to be as informed as possible. Ms. Brantner said she thinks it will be a good opportunity because she does not think people feel as free to get up in the middle of a meeting and ask questions. She said this will be a one on one. She noted there will be refreshments.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS – Mayor Henry noted that yesterday the Eagle Hog Chapter from Eagle, Pennsylvania rode into town on about 35 motorcycles and dropped off a huge van of food for our Neighborhood Service Center. He said they have been doing this for about the last 20 years. He said on the 19th the Second Presbyterian Church will be celebrating their 130th Anniversary. They have a celebration planned at the Fire Company. He said some time in the not too distant future they will be breaking ground for a new community and fellowship center. He hopes members of Council can attend the ground breaking ceremony.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS – Ms. Brantner said she hoped we have a large turnout for Borough Day. She said we will also be giving out freebies. Ms. Brantner said OMI had a very good Town Meeting. She said one of the first grants we got in the Community Revitalization Program was on Old Street. She said that helped a lot of residents with stormwater problems that created flooding. She said we get these grants because of the cooperation we have between OMI and the Chamber. She said whatever grant we are applying for one of the questions asked is who are we working with? It makes a difference with the funders if we are working with other agencies or municipalities.
Ms. Brantner said November 12-20, 2011 is National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week in Chester County. She said the information is on our website. We have a separate page that deals with Chester County News. She said Rover Community Transportation has announced a decrease in fares for seniors to ride Rover for essential trips.
Ms. Brantner said we had listed a Legal Matter for our Executive Session but our solicitor has advised it does not have to be discussed in the Executive Session.
Ms. Fuller said there was there was a condemnation matter pending before the Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board for the Borough for Michael and Phyllis Keith, owners of Morning Glories. She said the Board has since rendered their Decision. She said now that the vote has been public it is not an appropriate Executive Session item. Ms. Fuller said to her knowledge there have been no appeals. She said the Morning Glories structure itself was divided into four areas, based on the engineering reviews we had seen. She said Area 1 had been previously demolished; this was referred to as the red brick portion. She said Area 2 was condemned by the Board and the decision of George Guss as the Code official upheld. She said the Keith’s were instructed to demolish that portion of the building within 180 days of the date of the order. Ms. Fuller said portions of the warehouse building in Areas 3 and 4 were deemed condemned, and again Mr. Guss’s determination was upheld. She said the Keith’s were directed to repair as set forth within the order, Areas 3 and 4 within 180 days. If the repairs are not made within 180 days they are directed to demolish Areas 3 and 4 as well. She said there are requirements that the demolition be consistent with Borough Code and any other environmental regulations. She said the Order is now in place. Ms. Fuller said they do have 30 days to appeal. If we don’t hear anything by December 8, 2011 we will trust that they will comply with the Order. Ms. Fuller added that the Keith’s were originally cited back in 2004 for the same issues. She said they did not appeal that notice. Ms. Fuller said we did spend over a year working with the Keith’s trying to resolve the problems.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 7:56 p.m.; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
October 17, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on October 17, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Dr. Doyle, Member (arrived at 7:17 p.m.)
Mrs. Andrews, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Hershey, Member Mr. Stevenson, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Buzz Dorety – Mr. Dorety noted he was glad to see that 612 Hodgson Street now had the blue handicapped paint on the sidewalk.
Mr. Dorety shared his opinion regarding the 5K Walk held by OMI. Mr. Dorety inquired why the Borough did not decorate for Halloween. He said another town he visited was having a Harvest Decorating contest. He feels Oxford only worries about the businesses and not the residents.
Mr. Dorety inquired why Oxford did not have any Ground Zero material. He thinks it would be a nice addition to the town.
Ms. Mary Baringer – Ms. Baringer said that this coming Saturday eleven Girl Scout Troops are coming in to Oxford to decorate the light posts for Halloween.
Ms. Baringer asked what the policy was on taking down outdated signs. Ms. Brantner said Public Works will typically pick them up if they are on borough property. If there is contact information on them they will call the people.
Mr. Randy Teel – Mr. Teel questioned why was it when he asked for American flags to be put on the light posts the request was denied. He said he was told they could not be put up because they were afraid the posts would get scratched which would void their warranty. Ms. Brantner asked Mr. Teel to whom he was addressing this question. Ms. Brantner said she did not recall the request coming before Council. Mr. Teel said he had asked OMI. Mr. Cole said he thought the point of contact and the attachment of the flag was the issue.
M. Walter Saranetz – Mr. Saranetz addressed Council. He said as most of you are aware I currently serve on several Commissions of and for the Borough. He said he came before Council this evening not as a representative of any of these commissions or associations, but as a resident of the Borough, to express his outrage and disappointment in regards to an incident which occurred during the October 10, 2011 Borough Council meeting. Mr. Saranetz asked Council to please allow him to refresh everyone’s memory. He said at this meeting a concerned resident and business owner of the Borough, while addressing members of Council with respect to the issues facing business owners and residents of Third Street within the business district, was confronted by Council President Atkinson with what amounted to be a political attack. He said the individual made the obvious rhetorical comment that these issues could be resolved by eliminating the residences above the businesses within the BID to which President Atkinson replied, for the record, is your campaign platform. Is your platform to remove all the residences above businesses on Third Street? Mr. Saranetz said this was an unabashed attempt by President Atkinson to sabotage this individual’s effort to gain a Council seat during November’s election. He said he is appalled that such an event should occur during a public meeting of our municipal government. He said political posturing has no place at a Borough Council meeting. Mr. Saranetz said in addition he is dismayed and disappointed by the lack of response from other members of Borough Council during this attack. He said as a matter of parliamentary procedure every member of Council had the right to request a point of order in which to take the floor and renounce this attack. He said by remaining silent it appears all of you, as Council members, condone this type of behavior. Mr. Saranetz said as a tax paying member of this Borough, I must remind everyone that this attack occurred on my time, and on my dime. He said he does not appreciate attending the meeting of a government body and being subjected to political maneuvering that is not selector to the business at hand. Mr. Saranetz asked to remind Council that they serve as elected officials at the pleasure and discretion of the residents of this Borough. He said each of you, both individually and collectively, are held in trust to perform the duties of municipal government to the best of your abilities and in a manner that affects the greatest benefit to the citizens of this Borough. He said these duties do not include abusing one’s position for political means. Mr. Saranetz said if members of Borough Council feel they are unable or unwilling to perform their duties as entrusted to them by the public he suggests they rethink their positions as Council members and consider resignation. Mr. Saranetz thanked Council for their time.
President Atkinson apologized to Mr. Saranetz if he upset him in any way. President Atkinson said he apologized to Mr. Teel if he upset him in any way. He asked if anyone on Council had anything they wished to say.
Mrs. Lombardi said it didn’t strike her at the time that President Atkinson was acting out of line. She said she felt it was a fair question that was raised in regards to the concerns about the residences. She said she didn’t interpret it as a political stance.
Mrs. Andrews said she conferred. She said she thought it was a question that you were asking just simply to ask. She did not see any problem with it herself. She said she does not understand what Mr. Saranetz was so upset about.
Mrs. Lombardi said her initial interpretation was that this was something that Mr. Teel felt strongly about and it would be fair for people to know if it was something he was going to pursue. I didn’t experience it as attacking. President Atkinson said Mr. Teel was concerned about the foot traffic, the loitering outside and he has a right to address those concerns. He said Mr. Teel mentioned if we could eliminate those residences that would solve the problems. President Atkinson said we have plenty of people that want to run for Council. He said I am not running for Council and have nothing to gain from it or lose from it if Mr. Teel becomes a member of Council. President Atkinson said you told me after the meeting this was a comment as a concerned citizen and not a candidate. He said the fact is you are a candidate. He said you made a public comment at a public meeting that is recorded by press and by our tape recorder. He said as a point of clarification it was something he thought if this is a comment referring to running for office; I wanted to know if it was or not. Mr. Teel said it was not and that answered my question.
Mr. Teel wanted to clear the air a bit. First he wanted to ask Mr. Saranetz if he was instrumental in any way to having him write this letter. Mr. Saranetz said he was not. Mr. Teel said he was not going to retaliate. Mr. Teel said the actual statement that he made was it was the opinions of the other concerned residents if we didn’t have the apartments up there we would not have the issues and concerns. He said he did not intend to eliminate those people, but more or less this is what you would have to do to eliminate the three issues. He said as long as this is a residential area we will have these problems.
Mr. Teel said last week he had asked a few questions. He wanted to know if we were going to do anything with the alley way beside the OASA. Ms. Brantner said she had asked if the county would allow the Borough to do this with funding that is left over from our Streetscape. She said if we don’t use that funding it is simply sent back. Ms. Brantner said that is a very busy alley way for businesses, and for business people to get through to travel back and forth from Market Street and South Third Streets. Ms. Brantner said when she talked with the county they thought it was a good use of the funds, but there is a process to go through. She said the alley is located in the Streetscape area. Ms. Brantner said right now we are working on easements to be able to do that. Mr. Teel asked if this was private property. Mr. Teel referenced the editorial article in the Chester County Press regarding grant money. Mr. Teel said the article said grant money is tax dollars. He said we have a 4 mill (BID) tax on the buildings in the business district. Mr. Teel said he thought that money was used to do the improvements. Ms. Brantner said that BID money is an OMI issue and she could not speak to that. Mr. Teel said we have given OMI a tax to help them improve their buildings and properties. He said we are using tax dollars which we did not spend. He said according to Uncle Irv grant money is tax payers’ money. Ms. Brantner said we have received about four million dollars from the county. She said if our municipality doesn’t get that money here in the Borough of Oxford it simply goes to another municipality. She said there were 18 municipalities that applied for Community Revitalization Program funding at this time and only 8 received it. President Atkinson said he also read the article in the Chester County Press. President Atkinson asked Mr. Teel if he was upset that we are taking the money verses giving it back. Mr. Teel said yes because we had three incidents when we were doing to the Streetscape Project when we had to spend money. He said we were under budget but were using money for some of the mistakes that occurred. Mr. Teel referenced when the curb was lower than the roadway. Ms. Brantner said she wasn’t aware of the mistakes Mr. Teel was talking about. Mr. Teel said any left over money from Streetscape should go back to the county for a more viable project. He said if we use the money for this it means the money is not going back for someone else to use. Ms. Brantner said what he was saying was not accurate. Ms. Brantner said it is the county’s choice. They make the decision as to whether the project fits their criteria and is needed. She said we have to present it to the county. Ms. Brantner said they have awarded us money because we have been a good steward of all the money that we have used. She said it was discussed that 18 municipalities have applied for money and only 8 have received additional money. We are fortunate to have received any grant money. Ms. Brantner said this extra project that was added in was a continuation of our revitalization project. Ms. Brantner said they would not approve it without a vigorous review. She said this is a County decision made by the County Commissioners, the Department of Community Development and Chester County Planning. Mr. Saranetz asked if she was referring to the alley way between the bank and the OASA. She said that she was. Mr. Teel referred to what Mr. Dorety said earlier that it is a private area. He said Mr. Dorety mentioned that we do a lot for the businesses but not the residents. Mr. Teel said an example of this is that we have an electric pole sitting in the middle of a sidewalk. Ms. Brantner said that is out of our authority; it is PECO’s. Mr. Cole asked if Mr. Teel was not complaining last week that the alley way was not corrected; and now this week you are complaining that we are correcting it. Mr. Teel said we did not know we had a surplus until this year. Ms. Brantner said we could not have known that until we were done with the project. Mr. Teel said we have people in the Borough that have been waiting 7 years for Holton Alley. He said all we have done in 7 years is to cut a tree down and grated every now and then. Ms. Brantner said you are talking now about something entirely different. President Atkinson said for point of time, and not to cut you off, he would like Mr. Teel to summarize the point. President Atkinson asked would you like us to be doing more for residents instead of businesses. Mr. Teel said not instead of businesses, but along with businesses. Ms. Brantner said we have done that. Ms. Brantner said she would like to remind him that the first community revitalization project that we did was on Old Street. She would like to mention this because she thinks it is a glowing example of how well something has worked. She noted she also mentioned it at the Urban Centers Meeting. Ms. Brantner said Old Street would have been flooded out this year with all the rain that we got if we had not done a storm water management program on the street. Ms. Brantner said because of that project people didn’t lose their homes. She said right after she came here residents called the Borough due to flooding. Residents could not even get into their homes. She said one of the first things we did was to install storm drains and pave the road. Ms. Brantner said had we not done that project those people would have been out of their homes. She thanked Mr. Teel for the opportunity to point out the project. She said that is what is required with any project through the county that it benefits the businesses and the residences. Ms. Brantner said a lot of residents and shop owners come through that alley for the bank and other businesses. She thinks this is important to them as well. She said it is a convenient and safe place for them to park, especially if they are handicapped. She mentioned this is the kind of consideration the county gives to things. Mr. Teel said he would end with this if you drive down Holton Alley now. Ms. Brantner said we were talking about grants and now we are talking about something else. She said Holton Alley has been addressed at our Public Works meetings and it is on a road priority list. She said if you would like to speak with me about that later we can discuss it. It does not fit the criteria for a grant.
RECURRING REPORTS FOR APPROVAL
The following reports were presented to Council for approval: Council Meeting Minutes of 9/19/11(Cole-Andrews); Council Meeting Minutes of 10/10/11 (Lombardi-Cole) Report of the Treasurer 9/30/11 (Lombardi-Doyle); Paid Bills 10/17/11 (Lombardi-Andrews); Unpaid Bills 10/17/11 (Lombardi-Andrews); Report of the Tax Collector 9/30/11 (Cole-Lombardi); Building Codes Report 10/15/11 (Cole-Andrews); Zoning Officer Report 10/15/11 (Cole-Andrews).
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to approve the agenda, Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
REPORT OF THE MAYOR
Mayor Henry gave his report on accidents, incidents, citations and fees collected. Mayor Henry said the overtime for the month of September was a total of 100 hours. He said the resolution allows for 60 hours; he requested the approval of the additional 40 hours. Mayor Henry reported to Council that the Chief was successful in receiving a grant from the Department of Justice in the amount of $2,425.00. This money will be used to supplement the replacement of some of bullet proof vests for the officers. He said the Police Department has received donations in the memory of Mr. Larry Nelson.
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve 40 hours of additional overtime; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to accept the Mayor’s Report; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Codes Committee – Meeting notes of the 9/26/11 meeting were submitted for Council’s review. Mr. Cole said the potential criteria for requesting and designating a handicapped space has been sent to the solicitor for review.
Finance and Personnel –Mrs. Andrews submitted minutes from the October meeting for Council’s review. She noted more revenue has been lost due to real estate changes. President Atkinson added that the public is invited to “Borough Day” on the first Monday in December (December 5th). Ms. Brantner said it is an opportunity for the residents to come in and discuss the budget or other concerns. The Public Works supervisor, the Treasurer and Water Department employees will be present if there are any questions. Ms. Brantner said we also have some free things we will be handing out.
Police and Public Safety – Dr. Doyle submitted minutes from the meeting of October 5th meeting.
Local Traffic Advisory Committee - A meeting was not held.
Public Works – A meeting was not held.
Special Projects – A meeting was not held.
Civil Service Commission –Minutes of the Oct. 3rd meeting were submitted.
Planning Commission – No minutes submitted.
Historical Commission –Minutes of the Sept. 14th meeting were submitted for review.
Public Works Supervisor’s Report –Sept. 2011 Report submitted for Council’s review. Mrs. Lombardi said the report was very detailed. President Atkinson said compliments to Mr. Schaible for his report.
Oxford Borough Workplace Safety Committee Report –Minutes of September 27 submitted. Ms. Brantner said they continue to do good things.
Union Fire Company Report – September Report submitted.
Oxford Area Recreational Authority – No minutes submitted.
Chief’s Activity Report – August and September Report submitted for Council’s review.
Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to accept the Committee Reports, Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Parking Waivers (Ordinance #797-2006) – Ms. Brantner said Council asked her to research parking waivers. She said she also discussed this with the Borough Zoning officer. Ms. Brantner said council would not do parking waivers as such. She said when ever property was purchased with apartments above it they were grandfathered in. Nothing would have been done as long as they continued to use the property for the same thing. Ms. Brantner said the last thing we did in regards to parking was Ordinance #797-2006. She said this was actually an amendment to the previous ordinance. Ms. Brantner said Section 5 of Ordinance #797-2006 states – no off-street parking shall be required for any existing or proposed nonresidential use permitted and located within the C-3 Central Business District. She said this was approved by Council in 2006. Ms. Brantner said she believes this ordinance was done to encourage business to come here. Mr. Teel said the apartments were changed and the waiver was given between 1980 and 1985. Mr. Teel said it was the Oxford Hotel. Ms. Brantner said it would have had to be done through the Zoning Hearing Board. Mr. Teel said he thought he was on the Zoning Hearing Board at this time. Ms. Brantner said anything of that nature would have been done through the Zoning Hearing Board or Planning Commission. Ms. Brantner said you were also talking about Outback; she said that was grandfathered because they did have apartments there. Mr. Teel said the question is regarding taking retail and converting it into apartments. Ms. Brantner said if there are any more questions Mr. Teel can come in and see here and they will research it further.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Copperfield, Escrow Release Request No. 19 – Ms. Brantner SSM is recommending that Council approve a release in the amount of $2,700.00 for work that has been successfully completed. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve Escrow Release #19 in the amount of $2,700.00; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Union Fire Company/Oxford Borough Agreement – Ms. Brantner said the Union Fire Company has sent the Fire Protection Contract to the Borough for payment. She said the amount due is $40,872.97. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the Union Fire Company Agreement; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Urban Centers Meeting –Ms. Brantner said she included a list of all the municipalities in the packets so Council can see how the Borough placed. She said we have received almost 4 million dollars through county awards of either the Community Revitalization Program or the Community Development Block Program. Ms. Brantner said she wanted to mention that there were 18 applications that were received. She said only 7 were funded. She said of all the applications submitted, all Urban Centers did a phenomenal job in demonstrating their Statement of Need. However, Organizational capacity is what sometimes effects the application. Ms. Brantner said this refers to how well we handled the monies. She said there is a lot of record keeping. Ms. Brantner said it was very important to put John Schaible on as a project manager. President Atkinson said Philadelphia Magazine looks at things like this to see what downtowns are doing. He said Phoenixville was voted by the magazine as the number one place to spend a Sunday afternoon in the Chester County Philadelphia region. He said maybe in some point of time Oxford will be a place where you want to go on a Sunday afternoon. Ms. Brantner said it does help us to be continuing the Streetscape projects. She said businesses are looking for communities that are going up, not down.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson said he wanted to thank Officer Richards and Corporal Brown, and the ambulance service in Oxford for coming to the rescue of his wife on Thursday and transporting her to the Chester County Hospital. President Atkinson said he greatly appreciates it. He said his father-in-law and mother-in-law were amazed at the speed and professionalism of the police department and the ambulance service.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said the Annual OMI Town Meeting will be held on November 10 at Ware Presbyterian Homes at 7 p.m. Mayor Henry, along with Ms. Brantner, both sit on the OMI Board. He said at the last meeting there was a lengthy discussion about the 5K Race. Mayor Henry said they had problems with the computer timing which delayed the presentation of the awards. He said they are open for suggestions regarding next year’s race. Mayor Henry said that OMI is proceeding with the Ambassador Program. He noted it is being funded by a private donation for a six month trial. Mayor Henry said Trick or Treat will be held on October 31 from 6 to 8 p.m. for children 12 and under. He said the Halloween Parade will be held on October 27th with a rain date of October 28th.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Brantner said her report was included in the packets. She reminded Council that Mrs. Andrews and she will be attending the PSAB Conference this coming weekend.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn, Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted
Beatrice V. Brantner, Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
October 10, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on October 10, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mr. Hershey, Vice President
Dr. Doyle, Member Mrs. Andrews, Member
Mr. Cole, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Betsy Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Stevenson, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
Ms. Pam Jennings – Mrs. Jennings thanked Council for the opportunity to come in and address them tonight. Jennings said she owns the Oxford Diner located at 233 South Third Street. She was there to discuss the 5k-Run which was held on September 17th. Mrs. Jennings said she is not against having events in town, but was concerned was about the length of time the street was closed. She said there were several complaints from people and the cook saying they had difficulty getting to the diner. Mrs. Jennings said Saturday mornings are one of her busiest times. She said this affects not only her but also her employees and other businesses. Mrs. Jennings said there was a loss of income to her business as well as others. She said there was a loss of income to her waitresses that rely on tips. She said there was an extra expense to the Borough for police officers and personnel to direct traffic. Mrs. Jennings said she is not saying the Borough should not have the 5k Run but they should come up with a better plan. She asked that Council take all of this into consideration. Mrs. Jennings asked them as elected officials to consider what kind of inconvenience and frustration this caused to the local citizens and businesses. President Atkinson thanked Mrs. Jennings for coming in to share her concerns with Council. He said we can’t come up with a solution unless someone tells us there was a problem. President Atkinson said solutions to make this better will be discussed. Mrs. Jennings asked if she could receive some kind of notification to how this will be changed. President Atkinson said there will definitely be better communication.
Mr. Randy Teel – Mr. Teel said he was present to discuss the September 21th article in the Chester County Press which covered the last Council meeting. He said last month he attended the Police & Public Safety Meeting and addressed a few issues with the Mayor and the Chief. He discussed loitering, pedestrian crossing areas and the police as far as exposure in downtown Oxford. He mentioned he had not seen any real foot patrol; he has seen maybe one or two officers occasionally come through. Mr. Teel said he was told they are on foot patrol and they have a regular schedule. Mr. Teel said the problem he ended up with was the security ambassadors. He said he spoke with Sue Cole and was given a definition of their scope of work. Mr. Teel said the definition includes curtailing loitering, littering, curtailing residents perching off of roofs, tenant profanity, riding of bikes and scooters, and etc. He said these are the actual job descriptions of our police officers.
He said we are collecting a Local Services Tax which covers emergency services such as police, fire and ambulance at approximately $60,000.00 a year. He said we are now using our grant money to hire another agency to do the work for us. Mr. Teel said he thinks it is well needed. He asked if this means that we don’t need the police in our business district.
He said we are paying several thousands of tax dollars and he can’t see hiring another agency. He said he understands it is grant money, but it still tax dollars. He said he suggested using our “town watch” coming down as they would do it for nothing. He said when we offered the “town watch” to the business district nobody wanted it. Mr. Teel said in regards to these matters he keeps getting the same response. He is asked why he doesn’t call the police if he has a problem. Mr. Teel said he has a job and does not have time to stop and make a phone call every time something happens. He said maybe that is why we have 750 calls a month. Mr. Teel said one of the biggest problems we have, and this includes the parking, is that we have residents in the Borough in the business district. Mr. Teel said this happened because property owners didn’t want to use it all for retail and this was a quicker way to get their money back. He said they made all these residences and gave them waivers for off-street parking. He said this was never brought up in the parking study that was done. He said the Oxford Hotel is a good example of this. Ms. Brantner said we actually did bring this up in the parking study. Mr. Teel said the third floor is completely vacant so he knows it is not being used. Mr. Teel said these are being calculated as needing parking places when we already gave all the ones in the business district waivers that they didn’t need off street parking. He said one simple solution is to get rid of all the residences. He said that is difficult to do, but look at the problems it is causing. He said it causes parking issues, security issues and loitering. Mr. Teel said the three biggest problems that we have in the business district are all caused not by the residents, but by the residences being there. He said that is one of his concerns.
Mr. Teel said another concern was the suggestion of using the Streetscape excess money to pave the alley between Fulton Bank and the Sewer Authority. He said that alley has had yellow caution tape around it for months. He wants to know why it has not been fixed. He said one of his neighbors had a sidewalk they wanted fixed immediately because the neighbor’s tree broke the cement. He said his neighbor had to replace his sidewalk immediately because it was near the school.
Mr. Teel said that at the last OASA meeting it was mentioned they are going to lower the sewer tapping fees by $400.00 because the lagoon project came in under bid. He said he can’t imagine in this economy that it would come in under bid. He said because it is not going to cost them as much to build they are going to lower the tapping fees. Mr. Teel said he will remind Council right now that they signed resolutions on a 27 million dollar loan based on the money that is going to be recuperated from the connection fees. He said if they lower every one of them $400 that is a considerable amount of money. Everyone is this room is going to end up paying. He said that is provided all the development occurs. He said as you know development is not speeding up right now. It is at a standstill. He said if the development doesn’t happen the rates are going to sky rocket and the Borough will be responsible for 44%. Mr. Teel said he does not think the $400 fee should come down. He said it is not benefiting the sewer authority what-so-ever.
Mr. Teel said the one other topic he is concerned about is that we are trying to bring business into this town by bringing bigger businesses in. He said his thought on having restaurants bring in business to our shops, is kind of backwards. He said as he remembers that when he used to go shopping it was not where he ate that decided where he wanted to shop. He said the Consumer Spending Report of 2009 done by the International Council of Shopping Centers stated that the number one thing people gave up when the economy went bad was fine dining. He said the second thing they gave up was casual dining. He said the number one thing to prosper was grocery markets. He said people are not going to dine outside. He said he does not see us putting all our eggs into a restaurant to pull the economy back. He does not feel that is what we need. Mr. Teel said in regards to the definition of the ambassadors it talks about assisting the seniors in this town. He said there is nothing for the seniors except Rite-Aid. He said if the seniors don’t drive they walk to Rite-Aid. He said they don’t have anything in this town to benefit seniors.
President Atkinson thanked Mr. Teel for his comments. He said he just wants to make sure there is some type of response for the record. President Atkinson asked if anyone on Police & Public Safety wished to respond to the comments.
Dr. Doyle said the business people want a presence of authority. He said we can’t afford to pay enough policemen to provide it without taking it away from the rest of the Borough. Dr. Doyle said this organization is our substitute and not as expensive as our policeman. He said they will give us authority in the business district at a lesser price than trying to provide police coverage. He said they do have police coverage, but they want more.
Mayor Henry said the funding for the ambassadors is not coming from grant money. He said it is coming from private sources so there will be no additional burden to the taxpayers. Mrs. Cole of OMI said it is in the form of a donation. Mrs. Cole said she would like everyone to keep in mind that OMI is happy to provide this service as an extra component in the business district. OMI has agreed to take over the responsibility of overseeing the project. She said it is their hope that this will be able to strengthen the business district as a whole. The ambassadors would be available whether it is a resident, a visitor, a business owner or a property owner who needs assistance with change for a meter, parking directions, etc. She said they will also be the eyes and ears of the police department because they can’t be there all the time. Mrs. Cole said if there is something these ambassadors learn while there on streets they are absolutely going to be the direct connect to the police department. She said it is an asset to the police department as well as it is to OMI and the property and business owners.
Mayor Henry said he thinks that the message is that it is not that the Borough is unsafe and as a result of that we need extra folks in town. He said it is just to supplement what is already there and to have more individuals accessible to provide help to people.
President Atkinson thanked everyone for their comments. President Atkinson said to Mr. Teel that if he felt he was being put on the spot here he did not have to answer. He said one of the comments you made was that in your opinion you believe we have to eliminate, not the residents, but the residences. Mr. Teel confirmed it was residential units. President Atkinson said, “If I am correct I believe you are a candidate for Borough Council. For the record, so voters know where you stand on this issue, if you were on Council and you had to make a decision, the platform issue that you were going to run on is eliminating those residences.
Mr. Teel said, “No, that is not a platform issue.” He said he could not do that alone. He said if he ran on a platform it is for something he could actually do. Mr. Teel said the entire Council would have to do that. He said he would be willing to work with them on that. Mr. Teel said he does not like giving people a waiver for off-street parking and have the same people complain that they don’t have parking.
Mayor Henry asked if some research could be done as to whether or not those waivers were actually granted, and when they were granted and for what time period. Mayor Henry said this is the first he is hearing of it. Mr. Teel said it started with the hotel. Mr. Teel said they did get a waiver. He said it was a number one topic.
Mrs. Lombardi inquired if he was on Council at that time. Mr. Teel said no it was before 2000. Mr. Teel said JayDees was also given a waiver. He said they bought those buildings with full intentions of converting them over into apartments on the second and third floors. He said they did not buy the building to start a retail store on three floors. They wanted to convert it and with the numbers of apartments in there you don’t have the parking spaces for them. Mr. Teel said he knows there was one apartment on the third floor in JayDees. President Atkinson said for the point of time he wanted to end the discussion. He said some research could be done to see if we have any waivers in place. He asked that it be added to the agenda for next week.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Dorety - Mr. Dorety asked if the curb on Hodgson Street has been painted yet. Ms. Brantner said they do have the paint but it has not been painted yet. She explained that in order to save money they wait until they have more than one curb to paint, but she felt it would be addressed soon. Mr. Dorety said he thought the Community Meals at the Presbyterian Church were very nice. Mr. Dorety asked about the benches in town and if they were going to be moved. Ms. Brantner said the benches were in a plan that was approved by PennDOT and the County which provided the funding. She said we can’t move things once they agree to the plan.
President Atkinson said he appreciated the comments about the Presbyterian Church.
Kenny King – Mr. King said that the Streetscape looks very nice. He said he had some concerns with the cross walks though. He felt the one of the signs blocked his view traveling north, and the flowers block his view traveling south at the crosswalks. Mr. Teel said when cars fill the intersection it is very hard to see. He asked if there was a possibility that we could get could get a sign to keep that intersection open so south bound traffic can at least see the crosswalk on the left.
Mary Baringer – Ms. Baringer said that at night time down at La Sicillia if they are coming from the Broad Street side you can’t see pedestrians until they are in the middle of the road. She noted the lighting down there is very bad.
Sue Cole – Mrs. Cole prepared two handouts for everyone. She said the first one is some tactical suggestions to Pam Jennings regarding next year’s Annual 5k Run. She wanted to let everyone know the OMI is willing in every way to be able to tweak things so they are beneficial to the downtown. She said any suggestions she put on the table for her would be subject to approval. Mrs. Cole said OMI does host the event but yet it takes an army of organizations to launch this event. She said next year is their 10th anniversary. Mrs. Cole said the timing company that was hired did have technical difficulties which kept the street closed longer than usual. She will be talking to Officer Scott Brown about planning for next year.
Mrs. Cole also updated Council as to where they are with the Security Ambassadors Program.
Paul Andriole –Mr. Andriole offered the use of his farm wagon to any group or organization that might want to decorate it and use it in the upcoming Halloween parade. He said it is a great event and good for the community. President Atkinson said this would be a nice comment for the local newspaper. He asked if this could be put on the Borough website.
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Ms. Brantner added Item B, Resolution Appointing a Solicitor for the Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board. Motion to adopt agenda as amended carried.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
There was no Business Carried Forward.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Ware Presbyterian Village Expansion Extension Request – to May 5, 2012 – Ms. Brantner referenced the letter asking for 180 additional days to review the plan. Mr. Hershey made a motion to grant the extension request for Ware Presbyterian Village Expansion; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Resolution Appointing a Solicitor for the Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board – Ms. Brantner said everyone should have a copy of the resolution appointing Thomas F. Oeste as Solicitor for the Oxford Borough Property Maintenance Appeals Board at an hourly rate of $150.00. Ms. Brantner said he currently serves as our Zoning solicitor as well. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve Thomas F. Oeste as solicitor to the Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Public Works Response to PECO Equipment Failure – Ms. Brantner said she thought it would be interesting to see the involvement of the Borough during the PECO Equipment failure. Ms. Brantner said there is a memo attached informing Council of what the Public Works Supervisor has done in response to this. She said we received a letter from PECO thanking the Borough.
Gawthrop Greenwood, PC 2012 Fees for Legal Services – Ms. Brantner referenced the letter enclosed in the packets informing Council that they will not be increasing their rates in 2012 because they are sensitive to the financial pressures currently being experienced by all municipalities.
Bid Limit Legislation – Ms. Brantner said one of the big issues that Boroughs are concerned with is the fact we have to go through the bidding process. She said there are two letters in the packets from Senator Pileggi regarding Bid Limit Legislation. President Atkinson asked if Ms. Brantner and Mrs. Andrews would be attending the PSAB Conference this year. Ms. Brantner said they would both be attending.
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Municipal Wasteload Management Program - Ms. Brantner said there was a letter included in the packets from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection regarding the OASA. She said the letter is to keep Council aware of what is going on with the sewer authority. She said if there were any questions to please call Ed Lennex at the OASA.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson thanked those that came to the Council meeting to voice positive and negative happenings in the community. He said that we can’t fix things without people communicating with us. Council members congratulated President Atkinson on becoming a “Dad.”
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said the Halloween parade is scheduled for October 27th. There has been a rain date set for Friday, October 28th. He said Trick or Treat will be Monday, October 31st. from 6 to 8 p.m. for ages 12 and under. Mayor Henry said he was pleased to announce that on October 28th the OARA will be officially receiving two representatives from West Nottingham Township.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS
Ms. Brantner said she wanted to let Council know that they have received approval for another Streetscape Grant in the amount of $367,467.00 and will continue our work up North Third Street and funding for Lancaster Avenue as well. Ms. Brantner said through Chester County Community Development Block Grants and the Chester County Community Revitalization Program we have received over three million dollars. Ms. Brantner said that Chester County has helped us a lot.
Mayor Henry congratulated the Oxford Chamber of Commerce for an excellent Oxfordian.
Mayor Henry encouraged residents to subscribe to Nixle at www.nixle.com.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session held.
ADJOURNMENT
Dr. Doyle made a motion to adjourn at 8 p.m.; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
September 19, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on September 19, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Dr. Doyle, Member
Mrs. Lombardi, Member Mrs. Andrews, Member
Mr. Cole, Member
Ms. Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Hershey, Member Mr. Stevenson, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor
SCHEDULED VISITORS (4-Minute Limit)
Andrea L. Devoti - President & Chief Executive Officer, Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc. – Ms. Devoti thanked Council for having her and distributed a package with information about their agency. She said they have been in existence since 1912 and provide homecare and Hospice to the Oxford community. She said they also have a 22-bed inpatient Hospice. She explained their programs to Council members. Ms. Devoti said their outreach department does flu clinics, blood pressure screenings, body composition/hydration screenings, fall risk screenings, and health education programs at Oxford Terrace Apartments and Ware Presbyterian Village.
Sue Cole – OMI – Mrs. Cole told Council members about a ten-day cycling tour scheduled for next June which is being sponsored by the Chester County Visitors Bureau. She said there will be ten stops throughout Chester County. She said it should draw extremely large crowds and they are anticipating Oxford as a starting point.
Mrs. Cole said that shortly people will be seeing Security Ambassadors in the downtown Oxford business district. She said she is currently working with the Police department on creating a job description for what the Ambassadors will be doing within the business district. Ms. Cole said they will be helping customers and visitors in the downtown area with amenities that make a downtown have a nice environment. She said the ambassadors will also help curtail loitering, littering, and skateboarders within the downtown area.
Mrs. Cole thanked the Police Department, the Public Works Department and the Fire Police for helping to organize the 5K Run.
Mrs. Cole said October 7th will be the grand opening of the Muse Restaurant on Market Street in Oxford and they are currently hiring.
Mrs. Lombardi asked if the Security Ambassadors was a volunteer or paid position. Mrs. Cole said it is a paid position and they will be working for a security firm that OMI has contracted. Mrs. Cole said one of the primary requests that they have is that they do speak Spanish. Mrs. Cole said they will be purchasing a second kiosk to place on the south side of Third Street. She said information will be placed in the kiosk identifying the additional parking in town and also the ordinances in regards to skateboarding and bicycling in the business district.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Dorety – Mr. Dorety asked when they will be painting the curb at 612 Hodgson Street. Ms. Brantner said she will let him know when it is scheduled. Mrs. Andrews said the paint has been purchased.
Mr. Dorety asked about Oxford’s disaster evacuation plan. Chief Slauch said we do have an emergency operations plan. He said it operates in coordination with the county’s overall emergency operations plan. He said we also have a regional emergency operations plan that takes in the entire school district. Chief Slauch said we have shelter locations in the regional emergency operations plan. Chief Slauch said we also have a reverse 911 system which is one of the ways we would notify you. He said calls would go out automatically to the residents affected. He said we would go door to door if necessary.
RECURRING REPORTS FOR APPROVAL
The following reports were presented to Council for approval: Council Meeting Minutes of 8/15/11(Doyle-Cole); Council Meeting Minutes of 9/12/11 (Lombardi-Cole) Dr. Doyle abstained due to absenteeism; Report of the Treasurer 8/31/11 (Lombardi-Doyle); Paid Bills 9/19/11 (Andrews-Doyle); Unpaid Bills 9/19/11 (Lombardi-Andrews); Report of the Tax Collector 8/31/11 (Lombardi-Cole); Building Codes Report 9/15/11 (Andrews-Cole); Zoning Officer Report 9/9/11 (Cole-Lombardi).
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adopt the agenda; Ms. Lombardi seconded the motion. Dr. Doyle added Item G., Sprint Air Cards to New Items of Business. Motion carried to adopt agenda as amended.
REPORT OF THE MAYOR
In Mayor Henry’s absence, Chief Slauch read the report on accidents, incidents, citations and fees collected for the month of August. Chief Slauch said there were a total of 120 hours of overtime; shift coverage 63; court 5; investigation 8; training 30; and detail 14. The Chief said the ordinance allows for 62 hours so we would need approval for 58 additional hours. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve the 58 hours of overtime; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mr. Lombardi made a motion to accept the Mayor’s Report; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Codes Committee – Minutes of the Codes Committee meeting of 8/22 were reviewed. Mr. Cole said Committee discussed the final wording of an ordinance regarding handicapped parking.
Finance and Personnel – Mrs. Andrews said the Safety Committee was started in 2004 and has saved a total of $94,921.65.
Mrs. Andrews said she needed approval for PO #018157 in the amount of $8,412.00 for the first installment of salt. She noted it is paid for by Liquid Fuels. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve PO #018157 in the amount of $8,412.00 for salt; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Police and Public Safety – Mrs. Lombardi said they had a visitor, Mr. Randy Teel, at their meeting. She said Mr. Teel expressed his concerns regarding children’s’ safety in regards to skateboards and bicycling. Mrs. Lombardi said she thought posting the ordinances in the new kiosk should help with this problem. Mrs. Lombardi thanked Chief Slauch, Officer Dever, and Officer Wills for the job well done during the electrical fire. Ms. Brantner also thanked the Public Works employees.
Local Traffic Advisory Committee –A meeting was not held.
Public Works – Mrs. Lombardi said a Public Works meeting was not held.
Special Projects – A meeting was not held.
Planning Commission – A meeting was not held.
Historical Commission – No minutes submitted.
Public Works Supervisor’s Report –August reported submitted for review.
Oxford Borough Workplace Safety Committee Report – Minutes submitted from the August meeting.
Union Fire Company Report – August report submitted.
Oxford Area Recreational Authority – There was no report because they did not have a quorum at their meeting.
Dr. Doyle made a motion to accept the Committee Reports; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion passed.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Adoption of Ordinance #848-2011 –Advertised for Adoption 9/19/11 –Accepting Dedication of the Streets in Sycamore Crossing Development – President Atkinson opened the Hearing for Ordinance 848-2011 advertised for adoption for 9/19/2011. He asked if there were any questions from Council. President Atkinson asked if there were any comments or questions from the public. Hearing no questions, President Atkinson closed the hearing. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to adopt Ordinance 848-2011; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc. Re: Contribution -2011-2012 Budget - President Atkinson said he thought it was great that we had someone here from this agency telling us what they do in the community. Dr. Doyle made a motion that we transfer our gift of $1,000.00 from the YMCA to the Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc.; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Mrs. Lombardi said she was uncomfortable about taking their contribution away without them having an opportunity to respond. President Atkinson said we do appreciate what the YMCA does. Dr. Doyle said we only have so much money available to us in the budget for charitable contributions. He said moving from one to another is about the only good choice that we have. Mrs. Andrews said we had to decide whom it will benefit most in our community. Mrs. Andrews said we have a lot of older people in the Borough. Council discussed the matter in detail. The motion carried unanimously.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Benches in BID District – Ms. Brantner had enclosed two complaint letters in the packets regarding the benches in the business district. Ms. Brantner said the benches were a part of the Streetscape plan that was approved by PennDOT. Due to the fact it is a state road we must get approval to put anything along the road. Ms. Brantner said it was also approved by the county. She said it would be hard to go back and change the plan at this point; the county just did a walk-through and the plan has been finalized. The issue with the benches has to do with people congregating there and some bad behavior, which is a policing issue. Ms. Brantner said that we are hoping that the security group that OMI is hiring, in conjunction with the Police Department, will help that situation. Ms. Brantner said there is ongoing communication with the property owners.
Third Street Streetscape Project No. 13 (FINAL) $5,313.00 – Ms. Brantner referenced the copy from SSM regarding the final payment. Ms. Brantner said it leaves us with approximately $157,000.00 left. Ms. Brantner said the engineer has approved it and John Schaible also walked the area. Mr. Cole made a motion to pay the final payment in the amount of $5,313.00; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Addition to Streetscape Project – Ms. Brantner said we have over $157,000.00 left on that grant that we have not spent. She said if we do not use that money it simply goes back to the county. She said we have had an issue at the Oxford Area Sewer Authority alley that needs to be repaired to be safe. She noted that the estimate of a probable construction cost from the engineer to repair this is $35,000.00. Ms. Brantner said it is an important pathway as it goes back to the biggest parking lot in the Borough which a lot of the businesses use. Ms. Brantner said if Council allows we can ask the county to use some of the money to repair the alley. Chief Slauch recommended lighting also. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the writing of a letter to the county requesting the use of funds to repair the alley; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Sopher’s Alley Illegal Dumping – Ms. Brantner said this has been an ongoing situation. Chief Slauch said right now he has around 4,000 photos that have been taken at this location. He said we are attempting to try to identify the people that have dumped more then what is considered residential garbage. Chief Slauch said he has spoken with the Codes Department regarding the number of times the trash is actually collected. Ms. Brantner said Jean Kutz is asking property owners in the area for a copy of their contract regarding their trash service. Ms. Brantner said we have also looked at signs today to put up at the location in both English and Spanish. Chief Slauch thinks we have to identify the people that are dumping things other than trash.
Borough Day – Setting Date- Ms. Brantner said she would like to have “Borough Day” on the first Monday in December from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ms. Brantner asked Council people to attend as well. She said she sent an email to Public Works today asking them to bring up some of our trucks and equipment for Borough Day. She said we would also promote it through the schools in the event any classes wanted to attend. Ms. Brantner said the Department heads would be available to answer any questions. Ms. Brantner said we would also be approving the budget around the end of November and then it would be advertised. She said the budget could be available for the public to view or ask any questions during this time also. President Atkinson thanked Ms. Brantner for this “Open Door Policy” He encouraged people to come in and learn something about their local government. Ms. Brantner said we will be able to answer questions about the water bills, taxes, and the budget. President Atkinson said Borough Day will be set for Monday, December 5th from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Ms. Brantner suggested the Police Department be involved as well.
Parking Study Draft – Ms. Brantner asked Council to review the draft and let her know if they have questions, concerns or additions. Ms. Brantner said she is taking it to our Revitalization Group this Wednesday. Ms. Brantner said parking is an issue. She said there are a lot of businesses that have no parking at all. She said we have issues where people are parking in private lots and have their cars towed away. In order for us to continue to revitalize we need to deal with the parking problem.
Sprint Air Cards – Dr. Doyle said these allow the police to have their cars in communication with West Chester. He said West Chester is in communication with the whole state. Chief Slauch said it will allow us more specifically to access our records management system from the car. He said rather then come back to the station to do reports; the officers will be able to do reports from the car. He said you would be able to send the reports back to the station through the air card network and have them integrated into our records management system. The Chief said also last month we approved our share of the Southern Chester County Virtual Roll Call software that New Garden hosts. This will allow the officers to access that from the cars. Chief Slauch said it is another component to upgrade the system we have that will keep the officers on the streets verses inside doing reports. Chief Slauch said there is a cost of $1,069.95 monthly to Sprint-Nextel to provide the service. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve $1,069.95 for the contract for the Sprint Air Cards for 12-months; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. This has been endorsed by the Finance Committee and the Police and Public Safety Committee. Motion carried.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
There were no Discussion Items.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson said he would like to thank the first responders again for all their work with the underground fire. He said the Halloween Parade will be held on Thursday, October 27 at 7 p.m. which is sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. He said “Trick or Treat” night will be held on October 31 from 6 to 8 p.m.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
The Mayor was not present.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Brantner told Council members that the Chamber of Commerce is having a Legislative Breakfast on Friday, October 7 at 8 a.m. at the Wyncote Golf Club.
Ms. Brantner added that they did get the annual audit from Oxford Mainstreet.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 8:16 p.m.; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion.
Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
September 12, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on September 12, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mr. Hershey, Vice President
Mrs. Andrews, Member Mrs. Lombardi, Member (Arrived at 7:12 p.m.)
Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Betsy Brantner, Secretary
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Dr. Doyle, Member Mr. Stevenson, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Dorety – Mr. Dorety asked if the curb at 612 Hodgson Street could be repainted blue. He said there is a handicapped sign at the residence but the blue paint is all chipped up. Ms. Brantner said she would speak to Public Works regarding this matter.
Ms. Vinciguerra - Ms.Vinciguerra was present regarding a loose street sign on her street. She said the sign was located on the corner of Delaware and Summit. She said she is concerned because the children come up to the corner and play at the sign and try to climb it. Ms. Vinciguerra said she sees the Public Works out there all the time and they do a fantastic job.
Mrs. Sue Cole – Mrs. Cole noted that Bike Riding Signage was on the agenda. She said when the item was discussed she hoped to contribute at that time. Mr. Teel noted he would also like to make some comments.
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Ms. Brantner added Item C, 2012 Minimum Municipal Obligation and Item D., Copperfield Escrow Release Request to New Items of Business. President Atkinson added Item E., Oxford Youth Advisory Council to New Items of Business; and Item C., West Chester Borough Example to Discussion Items. Motion carried to adopt agenda as amended. It was noted that Mrs. Lombardi arrived at 7:12 p.m.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
Contract – Betsy Brantner – Mrs. Andrews said she is sure everyone has reviewed the contract. She said all we need to do is vote on it. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the contract for Ms. Brantner; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Adoption of Ordinance #845-2011 - 9/12/11, Amending the SLDO Regarding Preliminary
Plan Submission – President Atkinson said that Ordinance #845-2011 amending the SLDO Regarding Preliminary Plan Submission was advertised and opened the hearing. He asked if there were any questions from Council. President Atkinson asked for comments or questions from the public. Hearing no questions President Atkinson closed the hearing. Mr. Cole made a motion to adopt Ordinance #845-2011; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion to adopt carried.
Adoption of Ordinance #846-2011, 9/12/11 Building Height Exceptions and Residential Conversions – President Atkinson said that Ordinance #846-2011 on Building Height Exceptions and Residential Conversions was advertised and opened the hearing. President Atkinson asked if there were any comments or questions from Council. President Atkinson asked if there were any comments or questions from the Public. Mr. Teel asked if this ordinance covered anything that we just had the Zoning Hearing Board. Ms. Brantner said that it didn’t. President Atkinson closed the hearing for Ordinance #846-2011. Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt Ordinance #846-2011; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Adoption of Ordinance #847 -2011, 9/12/11 Amending Water Rates – President Atkinson said that Ordinance #847-2011 Amending Water Rates was advertised and opened the hearing. He asked if there were any comments or questions from Council. President Atkinson asked if there were any comments or questions from the public. Hearing no comments or questions he closed the Hearing for Ordinance #847-2011. Mr. Cole made a motion to adopt Ordinance #847-2011; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion to adopt carried.
Review Ordinance #848-2011 –Adoption 9/19/11 Accepting Dedication of the Streets in Sycamore Crossing Development – President Atkinson said Ordinance #848-2011 was advertised and opened the hearing. President Atkinson asked if there were any questions from Council. President Atkinson asked if there were any questions from the public. Hearing no questions, President Atkinson closed the hearing. Mr. Cole made a motion to adopt Ordinance #848-2011; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion to adopt carried.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc. Re: Contribution -2011-2012 Budget - Mrs. Andrews said this was discussed in Finance and it was decided to take what we donate to the YMCA and donate it to the Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc. Mrs. Andrews said the YMCA is not active in the Borough of Oxford now. She said she feels the $1,000.00 donation would benefit the older population in the Borough. Mrs. Andrews said the Neighborhood Health Agencies is for Hospice, Home Health Care and Private Duty services. Ms. Brantner said that Andrea L. Devoti, President and CEO of Neighborhood Health Agencies, Inc., is available to do a presentation if Council wishes. Mr. Teel said he thinks it would be a good idea to have a Community Fair to raise money for these agencies. Mr. Teel does not think the tax payers can keep contributing. President Atkinson said he thinks it is good to have discussions. He suggested it be discussed as an agenda item and thanked Mr. Teel for his comments. Ms. Vinciguerra also offered suggestions. President Atkinson suggested inviting Mrs. Devoti to the next meeting to do a presentation. Item carried forward.
Storm Water Run-Off -Ms. Brantner read her Stormwater Report to Council members. She said the reason she called this to everyone’s attention is because the Public Works Department has worked very hard to take care of these problems. They systematically clean out and repair storm drains.
She also added that the Borough has included storm drains in their grant projects, and when we are going through some of these grant projects and streets are torn up people may question the benefit of the inconvenience. When it is completed they don’t have anything to see after the street is paved, until lately. Ms. Brantner said we have solved a lot of flooding problems. Ms. Brantner said many communities had serious problems that drove residents out of their homes. President Atkinson suggested sending the article to the newspaper. Ms. Brantner said if anyone sees people throwing their grass clippings, trash, or other items into storm drains to please report it.
2012 Minimum Municipal Obligation – Act 205 of 1984 requires that the “chief administrative officer” of the pension plans inform the “governing board” of the municipality of the Minimum Municipal Obligation for the following year by the last business day in September. Ms. Brantner said the amount for the Non-Uniformed Minimum Municipal Obligation is $36,276.08. The Minimum Municipal Obligation for the Police is in the amount of $106,691.93.
Copperfield Escrow Release Request - Ms. Brantner said the Borough engineers and John Schaible have inspected Copperfield and have recommended that we approve a release of the escrow in the amount of $47,527.65. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the requested amount of $47,527.65 to be released; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Oxford Youth Advisory Council (OYAD) – President Atkinson said for the past three years we have had an Oxford Youth Advisory Council to which he has been a liaison. He said typically the applications go out at the end of spring. He said the students have asked him to do it at the beginning of the year and have the swearing in ceremony in October. President Atkinson said he feels that they have done projects that benefited the community and there has been no expense to the Borough. Council gave their approval to the requested change.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Borough Facebook Page –Mayor Henry said reflecting on some of the comments that Mr. Teel made several weeks ago that there is really no vehicle in the Borough to get information out to the residents. He said he was able to find 15 municipalities that currently have active Facebook pages. The Mayor said his thought was that it was something the Borough might want to consider as a vehicle to get information out to the citizenry. He said he realizes that OMI does have a Facebook page but he does not feel it gives out information specific to the Borough. Mayor Henry said he has a Facebook page for his office and the Police Department also has one that is monitored daily. He noted that posts that are not appropriate are not placed on either one of those pages. Mayor Henry said he subscribes to 13 different Boroughs’ Facebook accounts. He said this gives him a sense of what is happening in the municipality. President Atkinson said that he saw the PSAB has a Fall Leadership Conference in October. He said that on Saturday, October 23rd they have a seminar on the legal issues of social media. He said they will have an attorney that will address the legal issues associated with Borough officials and staff using social media. President Atkinson said he thought it would be great to have someone attend. Mrs. Andrews said they would look into it further at the PSAB conference. Ms. Brantner said her feeling is that we really don’t need to do a Facebook page. She said she has talked to our solicitor and our computer person. The computer person said he would not set up a Facebook page on our network because of the damage that it could do to our system. Ms. Brantner said we have $30,000.00 software package that handles our payroll and water billing. Ms. Brantner said that Ms. Fuller said she would not recommend the Borough doing a Facebook page. Ms. Brantner said she polled the Borough employees and they did not think a Facebook page was appropriate. Ms. Brantner said we have also added a lot to our website. She also noted that our IT person said that if we get a Facebook account he would require us to have a separate computer and a separate dedicated line. Ms. Brantner also said it takes her a lot of time just to update the Borough website. Mrs. Lombardi said she would like to hear more about the pros and cons. Mrs. Lombardi says she felt people are more apt to see things on Facebook then searching out the website. Ms. Brantner reminded Council that we do not want to corrupt our software. Mrs. Cole suggested E-Blast. President Atkinson suggested tabling the matter until November after the PSAB conference.
Skateboarding/Bike Riding Signage – Ms. Brantner said that Mayor Henry has asked that we put up signage that Skateboarding and Bike Riding is not allowed in the Business District. Ms. Brantner said she has been discussing this with Sue Cole of OMI. She said rather than just putting up more metal signs we wanted to think this out carefully. She said they would like to put signs up where the parking is off Broad Street. Sue Cole said SSM had provided a possible solution for us. Mrs. Cole said everyone is familiar with the kiosk we have on South Third Street. She said the kiosk itself has four different panels to it. Mrs. Cole said the long term plan was to have a kiosk on the southern part of Third Street. When the subject came up that we needed to get signage for the new parking lot on Broad Street, a kiosk was suggested. She said it was in the plan anyway. OMI currently has some HUD fund money left and this project would actually fit in the line of that narrative. She said we would be able to create our own signage by approval of the Police Department that would summarize what the rules are. We could put that in a panel in the north and the south kiosk. Mayor Henry asked if that could be written in Spanish as well. Ms. Brantner suggested that the Police could hand out literature on this matter. Mayor Henry said there is a skateboard brochure that the police have available. Mr. Teel said he has watched children with bicycles and skateboards actually tumble into the roadway. He said his whole parking lot has become a skateboard park. Mr. Teel said he will be putting signs up in his parking lot. Mr. Teel said there are children in his area on skateboards, bicycles and scooters that run up and down the sidewalk from Rite-Aid down to Pizza Hut daily. He added it is a dangerous situation and our ordinance should be enforced. Mr. Teel said the majority of people that he tells act like they could care less. Mrs. Cole said that Mrs. Ringler was hit by a bicycle. Mrs. Cole said we must keep focused on it for not only the safety of the children, but the pedestrians as well. Mayor Henry reminded Mrs. Cole to call the police if they see any incidents. Council members and audience members discussed the matter in detail. Mr. Hershey said he thinks a few citations would help. Ms. Brantner asked Chief Slauch for a brochure so it can be added to the Borough website and possibly the water bills. Mrs. Lombardi suggested the Mayor put up something on his Facebook page.
West Chester Borough Example - President Atkinson brought this up because he saw that in West Chester the Borough Council has appointed a Citizens’ Financial Advisory Committee to examine the financial challenges facing the Borough and making recommendations for ways to address the long term financial future. They are to prepare a report by December 31st 2011, with a possible extension to March 31st 2012. The CFA Committee has begun its work plus elected officers. President Atkinson said he wanted to mention it because it is one of trends he sees many of the Boroughs doing. From speaking with Ms. Brantner and Mrs. Andrews he says there are some concerns as to how you would pick members that would serve on Financial Advisory Committee. President Atkinson said we advertise the budget and encourage people to attend the meetings and nobody shows up. Ms. Brantner said she put a statement on the website encouraging people to attend the meetings and has invited people when she is attending other meetings. President Atkinson said part of the reason he brought this up is because one of the editors of the Chester County Press has criticized the Oxford Borough Council again. The article said members of Council and the Borough are not forward thinking and they are not coming up with alternative ideas. Ms. Brantner said she feels the Borough is doing well and noted the budget is balanced. Mrs. Andrews brought up that many residents have requested hearings and are getting their taxes lowered. Mrs. Andrews said many people don’t know all the underlying problems. Ms. Brantner said she would like to have a “Borough Day” where we invite the residents to come in and ask employees and council members’ questions. We could have the office open from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson noted how thankful he thinks we should be to first responders; fire fighters, police officers. He thanked everyone. He said he felt a good example of first responders was the underground fire in the Borough just a few weeks ago. President Atkinson said Ms. Brantner wrote an article about the amazing work that Public Works does which he hopes will go in the newspaper. President Atkinson encouraged anyone interested to attend the Fall PSBA Conference and mentioned that Ms. Brantner and Mrs. Andrews will be attending.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said he felt that Steve Hoffman did a real nice job covering the incident that occurred at the corner of Market and Third Street. Mayor Henry said from his understanding it could have been a lot more then it was had the fire burned through one more layer of covering over the main gas line. He knows a lot of people worked hard to keep people safe. Mayor Henry noted the generator in the Church parking lot is using 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel a day. He said at the Police and Public Safety meeting it was noted that the police station does not have emergency power and this will be coming up on a future agenda. Mayor Henry thanked the Police and the Public Works and said we have a lot of good people. Mr. Teel asked where we are supposed to go in the event of an evacuation. Mr. Teel feels we should post something. Chief Slauch said it depends on a lot of factors. He said he has spoke with both the school district and Lincoln University. He said communication in an event is a problem.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S COMMENTS
Ms. Brantner said she passed around an article she did for the Oxfordian. She also mentioned the video that is being planned showing what the Borough does for the community. She read the statistics regarding the amount of views of the Borough website. Ms. Brantner said that that Jeff Dillard of Public Works rode with Scott Brown of the Police during the hurricane. She was pleased that there was good cooperation between the police and public works department.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
There was no Executive Session.
ADJOURNMENT
Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adjourn at 8:32 p.m.; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
Beatrice V. Brantner
Secretary
MINUTES
OXFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING
August 15, 2011
The meeting of Borough Council was held on August 15, 2011 at the Borough Municipal Building. The meeting was called to order by President Atkinson at 7 p.m. President Atkinson then led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance which was followed by a moment of silence.
IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Atkinson, President Mr. Hershey, Vice President
Dr. Doyle, Member Mrs. Andrews, Member
Mrs. Lombardi, Member Mr. Cole, Member
Mr. Henry, Mayor Ms. Brantner, Secretary
Ms. Stacey Fuller, Solicitor
NOT IN ATTENDANCE
Mr. Stevenson, Member
SCHEDULED VISITORS
There were no scheduled visitors.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Dorety – Mr. Dorety said he will have a lot of questions for the next meeting. Mr. Dorety thanked Ms. Fuller for answering all his questions.
Randy Teel – Mr. Teel said he has a new perception of the meetings from sitting in the audience. He said last year he suggested they stop reading the minutes from the Council Committee Meetings held during the month. He said there are so many things that are done by Council that the public does not know about. Mr. Teel suggested that the minutes be read aloud so the public is aware of what Council is working on each month. Mr. Hershey noted that Committee meetings are open to the public and has seen very little attendance. Dr. Doyle said he was conscious of what Mr. Teel said. Dr. Doyle said perhaps they could be put in the newspaper. Mr. Teel said he did not feel the minutes would have to be read verbatim; he suggested the highlights be mentioned. President Atkinson said that if anyone had something important they wanted to highlight from their meeting to mention it.
Robert Adelman – Mr. Adelman said he lived here 17 years and was unaware of the meetings. He said he would like to spread the word about attending the meetings to his neighbors.
RECURRING REPORTS FOR APPROVAL
The following reports were presented to Council for approval: Council Meeting Minutes of 7/18/11 (Hershey-Doyle) Mr. Atkinson and Mrs. Lombardi abstained due to absenteeism; Report of Treasurer 7/31/11 (Doyle-Hershey); Paid Bills 8/8/11 (Hershey-Doyle); Unpaid Bills 8/8/11 (Lombardi-Hershey); Report of the Tax Collector 7/31/11 (Doyle-Cole); Building Codes Report (Lombardi-Cole); Dr. Doyle mentioned that the Enforcement Notices give us a real good picture what the town would be like without a Codes Inspection; Zoning Officer Report (Andrews-Lombardi).
AGENDA ADOPTION
Mr. Hershey made a motion to adopt the agenda; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Ms. Brantner added Item F, Audit Proposal; Item G., Emergency Purchase Order for Well #3; Increase in Water Rates, Item H to New Items of Business. Ms. Fuller said on New Items B and C, in reference to Sycamore Crossing, there are actually a total of five items she needs Council to act on this evening that are encompassed with this matter. Ms. Fuller said there will be three agreements and the Resolution accepting the Deed of Dedication under New Items of Business, Item B, Sycamore Crossing Agreements. She said the release of the Letter of Credit will be under New Items of Business, Letter C. Mrs. Andrews made a motion to accept the agenda as amended, Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion passed.
REPORT OF THE MAYOR
Mayor Henry said there were 120 hours of overtime for the month of July. He said the Resolution allows for 62 hours; we need approval to pay the additional 58 hours of overtime. Mayor Henry gave his report on accidents, incidents, citations and fees collected for the month of July. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the 58 hours of overtime; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mr. Cole made a motion to approve the Mayor’s Report; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS
Codes Committee – Mr. Cole said they discussed handicapped disability parking. He said they also discussed some enforcement issues.
Finance and Personnel – Mrs. Andrews said they are working on the budget and discussed the audit information.
Police and Public Safety – Dr. Doyle said the Chief discussed the Sprint Air Cards. He said we will have to spend more money on getting the police brought up to date on the latest information technology.
Local Traffic Advisory Committee – Mr. Hershey said a meeting was not held.
Public Works – Mrs. Lombardi said a meeting was not held.
Special Projects –A meeting was not held this month.
Planning Commission – Minutes were not submitted.
Historical Commission –Minutes of the May 11th meeting were submitted.
Chief’s Activity Report –Report not submitted.
Public Works Supervisor’s Report – July 11th Supervisor’s Report enclosed in packets.
Oxford Borough Workplace Safety Committee Report –Minutes of the July 26th meeting enclosed in packets. Council questioned the park vandalism and fire at the gazebo.
Union Fire Company Report – Report submitted.
Oxford Area Recreational Authority – A meeting was not held in August. Mayor Henry noted they are inching closer to having West Nottingham become a member of the Authority. It was also noted they received their grant from the County.
Mr. Hershey made a motion to accept the Committee Reports, Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
BUSINESS CARRIED FORWARD
There was no Business Carried Forward.
NEW ITEMS OF BUSINESS
Union Fire Company – Truck Committee –Ms. Brantner said President Goodley of the Union Fire Company wanted to know if Council will be sending a representative to the new truck committee meetings. President Atkinson said he would volunteer for the committee. Dr. Doyle also volunteered. Dr. Doyle and President Andrews will alternate if that is acceptable. Ms. Brantner said she would send them a letter to that effect.
Sycamore Crossing Agreements – Ms. Fuller said that in 2001 Sycamore Crossing received their final plan approval for Phase 1, and a few other Phases. Ms. Fuller said Phase 1 is now completed. She said they received word today from David Bright and John Schaible that all of the punch list items have been remedied. She said as part of final plan approval there was a continuing offer of dedication of the roads. Ms. Fuller said she received the Deed of Dedication from the developer tendering title to the road-beds of Trinity Drive, Beaumont Drive, and Manchester Street. Ms. Fuller said she has a standard resolution ready for this evening that accepts dedication of these roads. She said they will then become public roads which the Borough will be responsible for maintaining. Mrs. Andrews made a motion to adopt the resolution accepting the deed of dedication for the three roads in Sycamore Crossing; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Maintenance Agreement secured by Escrow Deposit – Ms. Fuller said as part of accepting the dedication of roads the developer is required to post for an 18-month period an escrow amount for the maintenance of the roads. She said that SSM, in consultation with the developer, agreed the dollar amount that should be posted is $130,000.00. Ms. Fuller said that is the sum that may be needed to maintain the roads during that 18-month period. She said it is the developer’s promise to you that the roads will be maintained during that period. Ms. Fuller said after that period the escrow will be released and it will be up to the Borough to carry it on from that point forward. She said this gives the Borough an 18-month window to see if there are any defects that are not apparent at this time. She said this is standard maintenance agreement. Mrs. Andrews made a motion to approve the authorization of the agreement, Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Easement Agreement
Ms. Fuller said that she prepared the Easement Agreement which has been signed by Starr Road Farms, Inc. and Sycamore Crossing Homeowners Association, Inc. She said the purpose of this agreement is to grant to the Borough easements for the installation of a water line to convey raw water from Well #14 to the water plant across the lands owned by Sycamore Crossing and the Homeowners’ Association. She said it also creates a 150-foot radius circle of land (easement), which they call a Wellhead Protection Area, around Well #14. Ms. Fuller said this will protect it and insulate it from any toxic items being placed in that area. Ms. Fuller said it is to preserve it so that nothing happens to the water that is being drawn from Well #14. She said this easement agreement grants those easements to the Borough in order to be able to expand the municipal water system. Mr. Hershey made a motion to approve the easement agreement; Mr. Cole seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Storm Water Management Facilities Maintenance Agreement
Ms. Fuller said the purpose of this agreement is to clarify that the developer and the Homeowners’ Association has an obligation to maintain the storm water management facilities that are within Phase 1. It also grants the Borough the right to go on to the property if there is a problem, remedy it, and then charge back the Developer or Homeowners’ Association for the cost of doing the remediation. Mr. Hershey made a motion to approve the Storm Water Management Facilities Maintenance Agreement; Mrs. Lombardi seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Approval of Letter of Credit, Wells Fargo Bank /Sycamore Crossing
Ms. Fuller said now that the Maintenance Agreement has been approved and she has a certified check with her in the amount of $130,000.00 which is the escrow amount required, the existing Letter of Credit that was put in place by the developer to secure the improvements during the course of the construction remains in place. She said it is approximately $90,000.00 at this time and is being held by Wells Fargo. Ms. Fuller said the developer has requested that the Borough release that Letter of Credit now that the new security is in place to secure the same improvements. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to authorize the release of the balance of the Letter of Credit for Phase I; Mr. Hershey seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Permission to Advertise Building Height Exceptions and Residential Conversions Ord. #845-2011 – Ms. Fuller said Council has previously seen this ordinance. She noted we have received the review letters from the Chester County Planning Commission. Mrs. Andrews made a motion to approve the advertisement of Ordinance #845-2011 for adoption at the September 12, 2011 meeting; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried. Item carried forward.
Permission to Advertise Ordinance Amending the SLDO Regarding Preliminary Plan Submission Ordinance #846-2011 –Ms. Fuller said this ordinance is also ready for a hearing. Dr. Doyle made a motion to approve the advertising of Ordinance #846-2011 for adoption at the September 12, 2011 meeting; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried. Item carried forward.
Audit Proposal – Ms. Brantner said we received a few letters regarding the audit. She said there was nothing found wrong with the audit. Ms. Brantner said we also received a proposal for the next audit. Ms. Brantner said one year’s cost would be $19,275.00; the three year proposal was $54,750.00. It was noted we would save about 5% savings per year on the three year proposal. Dr. Doyle said we would have to pay three years in advance in order to save 5% per year. Dr. Doyle made a motion to approve the payment of the audit process in the amount of $54,750.00 for the three years proposal from Woolard, Krajnik, Masciangelo, LLP; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Emergency Purchase Order for Well #3 –Ms. Brantner said this is PO #018032 to Aquaflow Pump and Supply Company in the amount of $2,662.42 to replace pump, motor, wire and miscellaneous parts to Well #3. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve PO #018032 in the amount of $2,662.42; Dr. Doyle seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Water Rate Increase – Ordinance #847-2011- Ms. Brantner said we kept the basic rates the same. We have changed the excess per 1,000 gallons between 5001 and 50,000 gallons which was $6.48; we are asking to change it to $6.60. She said the excess between 50,000 gallons and 100,000 gallons there is an increase from $7.08 to $7.22. Between 100,000 gallons and 150,000 gallons we have gone from $8.03 to $8.19; excess over 150,000 gallons from $8.26 to $8.43. Ms. Brantner said Finance has agreed on Ordinance #847-2011 for the increase. Dr. Doyle said our rates are quite reasonable. He said the water is the only thing that keeps the Borough afloat. Ms. Brantner added that the cost of chemicals to treat the water continues to increase. Ms. Fuller noted one revision. She said Section 4 should read this amendment shall be effective for invoices issued on or after January 1, 2012. Mayor Henry asked if there was any estimate how much additional revenue this would additional revenue this would create for the Borough. Mrs. Lombardi made a motion to approve the advertising of Ordinance #847 as amended; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried. Mr. Hershey asked if this was not usually done when we adopt the budget. Ms. Fuller said you need to do it earlier because of your billing cycle. She said it needs to be adopted by September 15. Item carried forward.
DISCUSSION ITEMS
Funding Allocations for Urban Centers - Ms. Brantner said the 2002-2011 Funding Allocations were enclosed in the packets. It shows what Oxford has received from the County and how it compares to other areas. Ms. Brantner said she thinks the Borough is doing pretty well. She said she did not know if this dollar amount included the money for the Water Tank Grant. Ms. Brantner also noted that we just recently applied for another grant.
PRESIDENT’S COMMENTS
President Atkinson wanted to report to Council that he and Ms. Brantner took a tour today of the Tasty-Kake factory. He said Dan Scott had offered us an invitation to come over. He said they had an impressive tour. He said they have complimentary donuts from Tasty-Kake tonight. President Atkinson said that Flowers Foods Inc. purchased Tasty-Kake and they are committed to the plant in Oxford. Mr. Scott also said they would like to be more involved with the community. President Atkinson said they are possibly hiring as well. He said interested parties can apply at www.tastykake.com or Bernard Personnel Consultants.
MAYOR’S COMMENTS
Mayor Henry said he hears a lot of pleasant comments about how good the main street of Oxford looks. He said he is encouraged about the turn out on First Fridays and the Oxford Edge events. Mayor Henry said he received an email thanking the Borough for correcting the Cemetery Alley sign.
BOROUGH MANAGER’S REPORT
Ms. Brantner said she included her report in the packet and would be glad to answer any questions anyone might have.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
Council took a short break at 8:20 p.m. Council went in to Executive Session at 8:24 p.m. to discuss a Property Legal Matter and Ms. Brantner’s contract. Council came out of Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. No decisions were made. President Atkinson said Ms. Brantner’s contract will be added to the September agenda.
ADJOURNMENT
Dr. Doyle made a motion to adjourn at 8:40 p.m.; Mrs. Andrews seconded the motion. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
