January 31, 2019

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MINUTES
City Council Meeting
City of Butler, Pennsylvania
January 31, 2019

Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Mayor Smith and Council members Walter, Smith, Bonus and Roche were present. The pledge of allegiance to the flag followed an invocation given by Reverend Leigh Benish, Hill United Presbyterian Church.

PERSONS TO BE HEARD:

Alan Milanovich requested dedicated parking spaces on Second Street for Hill United Presbyterian Church.

Anthony Grenci requested an area in front of 420 S. Main Street to be restrictive parking instead of free parking.

PRESENTATIONS:

Erin Stinner-ABM presented an overview and preliminary savings from energy costs the City could use towards capital improvements for the City’s facilities.

Motion by Mayor Smith with a second from CM Walter to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of January 8, 2019. All voted aye.

Motion by Mayor Smith with a second from CM Walter to acknowledge receipt of the monthly minutes from RACB, including the CDBG/HOME Program activities. All voted aye.

MONTHLY BOARDS AND AUTHORITIES LIAISON REPORTS

Liaisons gave brief reports from boards and authorities that met in December.

MONTHLY & ANNUAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS

(Note: Department Reports Distributed to Council electronically)

Department reports for the month of December and 2018 year-end reports were approved by individual, unanimous votes.

COUNCIL REPORTS/ACTIONS

Councilman Walter

  1. Motion to approve a proposal submitted by Maher Duessel Certified Public Accountants for auditing services for Fiscal Year 2018 through 2020 as outlined in their engagement letter of January 8, 2019 and to authorize the City Clerk to sign said letter on behalf of City Council. Second by Mayor Smith. All voted aye.
  2. Motion to approve a proposal submitted by Caruso & Spencer, PC, Certified Public Accountants for monthly auditing services for Fiscal Year 2019 as outlined in their engagement letter of January 1, 2019 and to authorize the City Clerk to sign said letter on behalf of City Council. Second by Mayor Smith. All voted aye.
  3. Motion to approve a payment in the amount of $216,284.89 to Wells Fargo Bank for debt service for the City’s 2005 general obligation bonds. (Note: This payment includes principal of $194,978.64 ($195,000.00 less credit from funds on deposit of $21.36) and interest of $21,306.25; due March 1st.) Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.
  4. Motion to adopt the City of Butler Website Management/Policy. Second by Mayor Smith. All voted aye.

Councilman Smith

  1. Motion to approve the agreement with the YMCA for use of the Christie Avenue Playground for a recreational program to be held from June 17th through August 23rd.  Second by Mayor Smith. All voted aye.
  2. Motion to approve the agreement with the Butler County Children’s Center for use of the Butler Memorial Park Miller Shelter for a recreational program to be held from June 1st through August 31st.  Second by CM Bonus.  All voted aye.

Councilman Bonus

  1. Motion to approve payment for application #6 and #7 (final) to Gregor Contracting, Inc. in the amount of $34,097.29 for the North Monroe Street Culvert Replacement Project.  LIN 18 430 436.  Second by Mayor Smith. All voted aye.
  2. Motion to install “Children at Play” signs at both ends of Euclid Avenue on a 90-day trial basis. Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.

Mayor Smith

  1. Motion to accept the bid from Tri-Star Motors in the amount of $52,208.00 for the purchase of (2) two 2019 Ford Interceptor Sedans to be used in the police department. (Costars Contract #013-146)  LIN 01 410 270. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  2. Motion to readopt the Residential Anti-Displacement and Relocation Assistance Plan applicable to the Community Development Block Grant program. Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.
  3. Motion to approve the Citizen Participation Plan and Form for the City of Butler and Redevelopment Authority of the City of Butler Community Development Block Grant/Home Programs.  Second by CM Bonus. All voted aye.
  4. Motion to approve the updated Section 504 Grievance Procedure and forms. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  5. Motion to approve the annual Section 504 Policy Regarding of Non-discrimination on the Basis of Disability, and Policy on Effective Communication.  Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.
  6. Motion to approve the updated Notice of Nondiscrimination to reflect Kerry Dowdy as the City of Butler’s Section 504 Officer. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  7. Motion for the introduction and first reading of City Ordinance No. 1774; an ordinance of the City of Butler amending Chapter 60 of the codified ordinances of the City of Butler. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  8. Motion to accept the bid from IbisTek, Inc. in the amount of $20,283.00 for the upfitting of two Ford Interceptor Sedans to be used in the police department. (Costars Contract #012-101) Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  9. Motion to approve the utilization of the Farmers’ Market beginning on April 27th through May 5th for a Bicycle Rodeo to be held on May 5, 2019. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  10. Motion to approve the conditional hiring of Susan E. Dowdy for the Meter Violation Monitor position. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  11. Motion to accept the bid from Marshall Offstein for the 2013 Chevrolet Impala in the amount of $400.00. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  12. Motion to accept the bid from Beau Sneddon for the 2005 Ford Crown Victoria in the amount of $311.00. Second by CM Walter. All voted aye.
  13. Due to a tie in bids received for the 2006 Ford Explorer; Motion to reject the bids and re-advertise for the 2006 Ford Explorer. Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.
  14. Motion to approve the promotion of Patrol Officer Caleb Forsythe to the rank of Sergeant in the Butler Bureau of Police effective February 3, 2019. Second by CM Roche. All voted aye.

The City Treasurer, Councilman Bonus presented a Monthly Intake Report for December, 2018.

The City Controller presented bills for payment as follows: from the general fund – $272,033.84; from the parking fund – $4,313.27; from the capital projects fund – $37,232.29; and from the liquid fuels tax fund – $50,604.47; for a grand total of $364,183.87. Motion by Mayor Smith with second from CM Bonus to approve payment of bills as presented.  All voted aye.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

  • WISR City Hall – Mayor Smith and Councilman Smith
  • First Responder Light Up Night – Saturday, February 2nd

Mayor Smith thanked the community for the generous donations that have been made to the police and fire departments.

Mayor Smith presented his 2018 annual report:

“2018 was a great building year for Butler’s City Council. I cannot express how thankful I am of the cooperative spirit that each member has shown while also being willing to stick to their beliefs about important issues. Here are just a few of the things that City Council and city officials were able to accomplish by working together.

Council successfully passed two budgets that were in line with realistic expectations and exercised great fiscal responsibility, allowing the city to be in great financial shape. We are certainly not a wealthy city, but we are a city that is prepared to meet the demands we face head on with financial stability.

At the end of 2017 all three union bargaining agreements expired. Through a series of level-headed and thought out meetings, we were able to reach agreements with all three of these unions to see great compromise between the city, the IAFF, the FOP, and AFSCME that provided both losses and gains for each party involved. A true compromise is reached when all parties feel like they’ve gained something, and we believe we accomplished exactly that.

Though the city is still without a ladder truck to help protect and serve our citizens, a problem which must be remedied, we were able to secure vehicles for many of the city’s departments – including three new vehicles for the police department whose vehicles were aging rapidly. We’ve also secured essential vehicles and equipment for other departments in the city that enable them to provide our citizens with the highest service possible.

John Evans and his team in the office of Business and Community Development have continued to do great work and oversee record amounts of work being done in the city both in building new business and demolishing blighted properties. Together, we’re committed to making Butler more attractive to our current residents and businesses, as well as attracting new ones. In addition, John and his team have overseen long-needed work on the exterior of the City Building and we’ve also seen many systems inside the building be updated or replaced. The mandatory replacement of some curb ramps and sidewalks as well as the slow but sure process of catching up on street paving that fell behind in recent years.

In collaboration with County officials, we were able to make application and receive an award from the County Infrastructure Bank to go towards long-needed improvements to the Sullivan Run Flood Control Project as well as address our issues with deteriorating light poles and infrastructure on Butler’s Main Street Corridor. We expect these projects to make significant headway in 2019.

City Council voted and is still actively working towards putting measures in place to help preserve some of our city’s historic homes and buildings in an effort to keep what we have and attract new residents. In addition, we’ve seen a variety of new businesses open and flourish in the city, and are eagerly anticipating more in the coming year.”

Mayor Smith recessed the meeting at 8:23 PM to have an executive session to discuss personnel issues.

Mayor Smith reconvened the meeting at 8:49PM

Mayor Smith adjourned the meeting at 8:50 PM.

 

 

 

 

 

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