MINUTES
City Council Meeting
City of Butler, Pennsylvania
September 22, 2022, 7PM
Agenda: 2022 Agenda Sept 22
Mayor Dandoy called the meeting to order at 7:03 PM. Mayor Dandoy and Council members Reese, Shearer, Christy and Herr were present. The pledge of allegiance to the flag followed an invocation given by Rev. Leigh Benish, Hill United Presbyterian Church.
The following actions took place at the Forum Meeting held on September 8, 2022:
Mayor Dandoy made a motion to approve letters of support for the Commonwealth Finance Authority Multimodal Transportation Fund Bantam Avenue Reconstruction Project as requested by Butler County CDC.
Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
Motion by CM Herr with a second from CM Christy to approve the agenda for the regular meeting of September 22, 2022.
Mayor Dandoy made a motion to add a Motion to approve the use of the Farmer’s Market by the Community Cat Network for a Spay and Neutering Cat Clinic to be held on Monday, October 3, 2022. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
All voted aye, agenda amended.
Motion by Mayor Dandoy with a second from CM Christy to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of August 25, 2022. All voted aye.
Motion by Mayor Dandoy with a second from CM Shearer to acknowledge receipt of the monthly minutes from RACB, including the CDBG/HOME Program activities. All voted aye.
MONTHLY & ANNUAL DEPARTMENT REPORTS
(Note: Department Reports Distributed to Council electronically)
Motion to accept the monthly reports from the Office of the City Clerk, the Police Department, Fire Department, Office of Business & Community Development/Code Enforcement, Department of Public Works and Parking Department for the month of August. Motion by Mayor Dandoy. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
COUNCIL REPORTS/ACTIONS
Councilman Reese
1.Motion for the second reading and adoption of City Ordinance No. 1811, an ordinance of the City of Butler, Pennsylvania amending the City’s traffic control schedules contained in Chapter 245 of the codified ordinances of the City of Butler by making permanent the experimental regulations previously adopted by city council on a 90-day trial basis. Second by CM Christy. All voted aye.
2.Motion to approve a block party on West Fulton Street, from 220 West Fulton Street to 229 West Fulton Street on Saturday, October 1, 2022 from 4:00 PM to 10:00 PM. Second by CM Herr. All voted aye.
3.Motion to approve a block party on East Brady Street, from Franklin Street to Rattigan Street on Sunday, October 16, 2022 from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
4.Motion to direct the City Clerk to seek proposals for limestone and asphalt for Fiscal Year 2023 with such proposals due not later than 2:00 PM on November 2nd. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
Councilman Shearer
5.Motion to approve the 2023 Municipal Benefits Services renewal. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
6.Motion to approve the 2023 Minimum Municipal Obligations for the City’s three pension plans as follows: for the Firefighters Pension Plan – $247,270 and for the Police Pension Plan – $337,964 and the Officers and Employees Pension Plan – $-0-. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
7.Motion to approve City Resolution no. 2022-09-22 revising the 2020 CDBG program as follows: 1. Decrease the Street Improvements – South Main – BG 2 line by $24,308.19 and reallocate to a Street Improvements – Kaufman Drive line item. 2. Decrease the Planning line item by $20,000 and reallocate the same amount to the Administration line item. Second by CM Christy. All voted aye.
Councilman Christy
8.Motion to review and approve a subdivision as requested by Joseph Caparosa and Marilyn Horan’s Plan – 707 N. Main Street. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
9.Motion to review and approve a subdivision as requested by the Butler Township’s Plan – Pullman Center Business Park. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
Councilman Herr
10.Motion to accept the resignation of Heidi Fleming from the City of Butler Parks, Recreation Grounds & Facilities Authority. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
11.Motion to extend the use until 9:00 PM and light the tennis courts in Memorial Park, the pickleball courts in Ritts Park and the skate park in Father Marinaro Park on a trial basis until October 31, 2022. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
12.Motion to approve the quote from Shults Ford-Lincoln in the amount of $45,439.00 for a 2022 Ford Truck F150 for use in the Parks Department. (Costar Contract #346888). Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
13.Motion to direct the City Clerk to advertise for sale one used 2008 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Truck from the City’s Parks Department. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
14.Motion to approve the use of the Farmer’s Market by the Community Cat Network for a Spay and Neutering Cat Clinic to be held on Monday, October 3, 2022. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
Mayor Dandoy
15.Motion to authorize the City Clerk to sign the updated Engagement/Fee agreement letter of September 7, 2022 for legal representation by the firm of Campbell Durrant, P.C. in all areas of labor and employment matters, including but not limited to collective bargaining, contract administration issues, grievances and arbitration hearing defense. Second by CM Christy. All voted aye.
16.Motion to approve the inspector for the Streetscape project. The inspector will be Thomas Peacock of A&A Consultants, Inc. and his rate has increased from $29.85 to $31.50 per hour. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
17.Motion to authorize Mike Ogin from Gateway Engineers to approve this inspector within the ECMS system. Second by CM Shearer. All voted aye.
18.Motion to approve leasing All Saints Parish/ St Peter’s Church Hall for a public meeting to be held on September 27, 2022. Second by CM Reese. All voted aye.
19.Motion to approve letters of support for the Butler Technologies, Inc. Manufacturing Facility Expansion, Butler County Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program as requested by Butler County CDC. Second by CM Herr. All voted aye.
Mayor Dandoy made the following statement concerning the Butler Area Sewer Authority:
“As many of you know, the Butler Area Sewer Authority Board of Directors has received a formal offer from the Pennsylvania American Water Company to acquire our wastewater system for $231.5 million.
As the sole owners of BASA, the City of Butler and Butler Township would receive the proceeds from this proposed sale, after the system’s $49 million in debt is paid off.
We have been engaged in serious negotiations on this issue for several months, and we have been working hard to ensure any proposal puts customers, BASA employees, and communities first.
Now that we have a proposal in place, we want to hear from you.
There is a lot of information in this proposal, so I encourage you over the next few weeks to find time to study the issues to learn about the benefits of this potential transaction. Your feedback is very important to us.
We want to hear what you think about the plan, but also how we could use this funding to support essential services for residents, meet future financial obligations, and invest in various other community improvements.
Information is available at www.resources4BASAcustomers.org.
Additionally, we are putting together several open houses where you can come and talk directly to representatives from BASA, the City of Butler, Butler Township, and Pennsylvania American Water Company, which already provides drinking water services to many local municipalities.
The first two open houses will be held at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Tuesday, September 27th at St Peter’s Social Hall at 127 Franklin Street.
The second two open houses will be held at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday, September 29th at the Butler Township Municipal Building at 290 South Duffy Road.
I encourage you to attend one of these open houses to learn more about the plan and have your questions answered, and to share your thoughts about the proposed sale.”
The City Controller presented bills for payment as follows: from the general fund – $1,303,631.62; from the parking fund – $42,438.28; and from the liquid fuels tax fund – $15,058.47; for a grand total of $1,361,128.37. Motion by Mayor Dandoy with second from CM Shearer to approve payment of bills as presented. All voted aye.
September Public Announcement – Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
As part of an ongoing education plan, we would like to remind local residents to properly dispose the leaves on your property and not brush/sweep dirt, leaves, etc. into any storm drain or onto any street. Either place the leaves and dirt on a compost pile, or contact your local municipality for “leaf collection” days or to see what programs your municipality offers for the disposal of yard waste. Remember, the purpose of the storm sewers is to direct stormwater runoff to the local streams. If the system is clogged from garbage, yard waste and dirt, then flooding may occur during a large rainfall event.
- ANNOUNCEMENTS
- First Responder Light Up Night – Saturday, September 24th
- Trick or Treat, Monday, October 31st from 6PM to 7PM
PERSONS TO BE HEARD:
Debbie Bicker shared her concerns about the poor condition of Virginia Avenue.
Loretta Crawford voiced her concerns about issues with the police investigation and response after the death of her son.
Mayor Dandoy adjourned the meeting at 7:55 PM.
