Borough of Forest Hills Next Ordinance: 1067 Next Resolution: 1181 Call to Order: Pledge of Allegiance: Mr. Tomasic Mayor Porco Roll Call: Mr. Burleigh Present Mr. Erbeldinger Absent Ms. DeMarco Present Mayor Porco Absent Mr. Kiley Absent Janet Sullivan, Tax Collector Present Mr. Lawrence Present Stephen Korbel, Solicitor Present Ms. Sowiski Arrived Late David Gilliland, Engineer Present Mr. Tomasic Present Steven Morus, Manager Present Vice-President s Report: Mr. Tomasic No report except: Note that an executive session was held following the Oct. 3 and 10 committee meetings to discuss legal and personnel issues. Mayor s Report: Mayor Porco No report Tax Collector s Report: Ms. Sullivan Ms. Sullivan reported on monthly collections. Ms. Sowiski arrived at this time. Chief of Police Report: Chief Williams Chief Williams thanked all who helped with the hay ride and reported on department activities. Halloween trick or treat on 10/31 from 6 8. Mr. Tomasic also thanked all for the turnout for the hay ride and the donations. He especially thanked the Chief and Mayor who have taken this on and done a great job for 7 years. Fire Chief s Report: Chief Theilacker
Borough of Forest Hills Page 2 No report Woodland Hills EMS Report: Chief Mastandrea No report Solicitor s Report: Mr. Korbel Noted there will be an executive session to discuss personnel matters following this meeting. Wilkinsburg Penn Joint Water Authority Report: Ms. Broz Ms. Broz reported on breaks and work finishing on Greensburg Pike New Building Status Report Architect & Construction Manager Mr. Zang, Mr. Pfaffmann and Mr. DeCecco were present. Mr. Zang & Mr. Pfaffmann reported on activities and presented a written report to all. 8:05 comments and questions Mr. Morus: re: furniture & equipment, we are reusing as much as we can in the new building and then replacing later as needed. Mr. Pfaffmann noted the environmental aspects including geothermal and solar panels. Public Comment Agenda Items At this time, citizens may address council on any issue appearing on today s agenda. Only residents and taxpayers of the Borough of Forest Hills will be permitted to address council. Comments on non-agenda items will be taken at the end of tonight s meeting. Speakers will be permitted to speak for a maximum of 5 minutes. Groups of people will be required to designate a spokesperson to represent them before council who may speak for a maximum of 10 minutes. Citizens are asked to use the microphone at the speaker s stand, clearly state their name and address for the record and keep comments brief and to the point. Please spell the name for the record. No comments Committee Reports: PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE Ms. Sowiski
Borough of Forest Hills Page 3 General Report: 1. The borough engineer submitted the following report to the committee: A. Sewer Projects The repair of the 8 diameter storm pipe on Kenmore near Commonwealth Bank has been completed. The Ashley Court Storm Water Retention Basin Reconstruction may be bid this month depending on the availability of funds. DPW has discovered the storm pipe on Cascade near the playground has holes in the pipe. We also have been made aware of a drainage problem near the cul-de-sac on Fieldcrest Drive which will require a storm sewer extension. Both of these projects will be bid out in early 2018. B. CD 42 Demolition (109 Berkeley Avenue) Demolition of this house will begin in November. 2. The committee reviewed the following update from 3 Rivers Wet Weather (3RWW) on sanitary/stormwater issues: 3 Rivers reminded the borough of its upcoming conference and the availability of budget format suggestions on its website. Ms. Sowiski noted she attended their conference and listened to useful information. She also attended an ALCOSAN meeting that updated all on the status of the system. Mr. Tomasic commented on the eventual need to review and repair individual laterals which are the responsibility of the property owner. It will not be covered by the municipality. He hopes there will be answers down the road that may help. 3. The foreman reported on tentative work planned for October (other than normal maintenance work and Chalfant work and depending on weather): Clean and televise sanitary sewer various locations Storm sewer catch basin inspection Street Sweeping Inspect all playground and equipment in parks Install merry-go-round in Main Park Install pole lights Ardmore business district Trim trees along various roads, parks and alleys Patch roads and alleys with hot patch Koch Park bench installation, removal/replacement of bad sections of
Borough of Forest Hills Page 4 asphalt pathway Crack seal various roads with hot tar Pick up leaves FINANCE COMMITTEE Ms. DeMarco Motion: Move to approve payment of bills for the month of October in the following amounts: General Fund Budget: $ 288,838.73 Corrective Action Budget: $ 273,478.70 Fire Protection fee $ 41,089.95 New Building $ 120,290.30 Capital Improvements Plan $ 13,581.49 Road Improvements $ 5,023.85 Moved: Second: Ms. DeMarco Mr. Burleigh Roll Call Vote: Mr. Burleigh Yes Ms. DeMarco Yes Mr. Lawrence Yes Ms. Sowiski Yes Mr. Tomasic Yes Detail of Non-General Fund Items: Corrective Action Budget: Fire: New Building/Bond Capital Improvements Plan Road Engineering, ALCOSAN, fee refunds Utilities, insurance, Foreign Fire Construction costs Computer upgrades Patching materials, crack sealing General Report: 1. Members reviewed the cash flow report for 2018 through the end of September. 2. The borough continues preparation of the 2018 Capital Improvements Plan with review by this committee in November. The first draft of the 2018 budget along with information from the manager was presented at the October committee meeting. Budget review will continue in committee in November & December. All meetings on the plan and on budget preparation are conducted in committee and are open to the public. Committee dates can be found in the Tree City Times, at the end of this agenda, and on the borough s website (foresthillspa.org).
Borough of Forest Hills Page 5 3. Specifics on the first draft of the budget presented at the October meeting: The general fund budget totals just under $6 million, a 1.85% increase over 2017. No tax increase is necessary to balance this budget draft. The annual trash fee may increase by $3 though that is subject to change. The Corrective Action budget is incomplete but we anticipate no need to change the sewer fee. Discussions continue in November. 4. Budget discussions at the October meeting included a note on the reduction in the assessed value of all taxable properties in the borough. To explain: Since the original reassessment in 2013, the total taxable property value decreased by about 11%. The original reassessment in late 2012 for the 2013 fiscal year valued all taxable properties in the borough at $421,815,300. This was reduced via appeals. The latest value shown on the county website for these same properties totals $378,766,940 (as of 9/29/17), a decrease of $43,048,360. At the current millage rate of 8 mills, this represents a loss of taxable income in the amount of $344,386. The borough s millage rate has remained at 8 mills since the reassessment (i.e., beginning with the 2013 tax year). 18:16 Mr. Tomasic- I would just like to comment on a couple of things. To restate that on property values we had the assessment by the county and of course people have the right to appeal. The appeal process has caused us to have a net loss in terms of our values so in order to maintain that budget we either have to cut or increase taxes. We do not anticipate any of that at this time. In fact, I think that this is still on the books yet so if the Dunkin Donuts is still not on there I think it will be over 1 million dollars so I think this will bring in maybe over $10,000 and then, if you do not know by now, this building is probably going to be demolished and there will be some other businesses placed in this area after we move up to the new location. The EPI building is also being renovated and when that comes online there will be a small amount of taxes as well in terms of property values coming into the borough. We have consistently tried to do that so that we can maintain our budget and as I said before we have not raised our taxes for 10-years and we still maintain our operations. In addition to that, we also talked about the increase in the trash fee. This is minor but last year we went from a weekly to every other week pickup for our recyclables. We have not had anybody coming and complaining about that change, so we saved about $20.00 per unit last year so we are still ahead even with the $3.00 increase that is coming in here. As long as we do not get a massive amount of complaints about this every other week thing and we did that because there is no net change in terms of recyclables whether or not we were doing it weekly or every other week we are hoping that everything is going to stay the same as far as collection is concerned. Patty has made the point that also in terms of the environment if
Borough of Forest Hills Page 6 you cut the trips in half, you cut the cost of the fuel in half and those heavy trucks going around on the street do not do us any good in terms of maintenance. Patty added: The diesel fumes are reduced by half. Mr.Tomasic comments: Patty hates diesel fuel in case you have not figured that out. Now are on to the property. Mr. ------- is not here. Does anybody want to volunteer? Nina-I wish to approve the following change orders for the new building: 5. In Finance or Committee of the Whole, members will review a draft fee resolution for consideration at the December business meeting. BOROUGH PROPERTY Ms. Sowiski Motion: Move to approve the following change orders for the new building as change order #6: 026 Credit Conduit stub up Deduct ($1,866.00) 027R1 Change MC to Romex cable Deduct ($2,500.00) 037 Delete painting of fiber cement siding - Deduct ($2,426.00) 038 Modify lobby countertop & K9 gate $ 659.00 040 Add locking system Raydoors $ 795.00 041 Modify wall system to allow wiring chase $6,571.00 042 Add tubes at Windows D2, D3 & F; Add jambs at clerestory $3,930.00 Net Total $5,163.00 Moved: Second: Ms. Sowiski Mr. Lawrence Roll Call Vote: Mr. Burleigh Yes Ms. DeMarco Yes Mr. Lawrence Yes Ms. Sowiski Yes Mr. Tomasic Yes Motion: Move to approve the purchase of a phone system for the new building from Prime Communications in the amount of $10,971 including a 2 year hardware warranty and 3 year software assurance. Moved: Ms. Sowiski
Borough of Forest Hills Page 7 Second: Ms. DeMarco Roll Call Vote: Mr. Burleigh Yes Ms. DeMarco Yes Mr. Lawrence Yes Ms. Sowiski Yes Mr. Tomasic Yes General Report: 1. The borough engineer reported on the following: A. Swimming Pool We have been made aware of several issues regarding the renovation work done at the pool earlier this year. I will be meeting with the contractor on site to address these issues now that the pool is closed for the season. 2. Members reviewed several outstanding issues on new building construction including those related to budget and design. This week the crew drilled holes at the new building site for placement of flagpoles. We are re-using the ones we have at the current building and will move them soon in order to place prior to landscaping and paving. The honor roll/memorial stone will also move to the new site at a time to be determined. PUBLIC SAFETY Mr. Burleigh Motion: Move to accept continuation of an agreement with Hoffman Kennels for animal control services in the borough increasing the base fee from $175/month to $180/month and increasing emergency and after hours call outs from $75 to $80. Moved: Second: Mr. Burleigh Ms. Sowiski 23:41 Mr. Tomasic: I would like to make the following statement. We have this company to do our work for us; The Hoffman Kennels, and basically every year it has gone up a little bit in terms of pricing. The one thing that I would like to get out to everybody and I don t know if this is the best venue but I will do it starting here anyway. If anybody should have a problem with an animal, especially one that they might think is rabid, you have to call 911. This will get the police and they will then contact the kennel and do whatever is necessary. I at one time had a neighbor who consistently tried to get in touch with the borough over the weekend. You cannot get in touch with anybody in the borough and we try to get this out every year. If you have any types of problems, please call 911. They will then assist you and if they cannot they will take the call and do whatever is necessary in order to resolve the issue. So again, please call 911 with any types of problems that you think are just out of the ordinary. That being said, we have a motion and a second so we need a roll call vote.
Borough of Forest Hills Page 8 Roll Call Vote: Mr. Burleigh Yes Ms. DeMarco Yes Mr. Lawrence Yes Ms. Sowiski Yes Mr. Tomasic Yes General Report: 1. Members received a summary of October call volume from Woodland Hills EMS. 2. The committee discussed whether to request installation of an additional traffic signal at an intersection between Marion and Braddock along Ardmore Blvd. Members discussed the impact a traffic light and other suggestions for traffic control at Filmore & Ardmore could have on the borough public works employees and VFD members. 25:40 Listen Mr. Tomasic comments we have just had that idea throw out from time-totime, and I think this might be the time that we are going to start trying to work something out and get a little more involved in the process because it does include Penn Dot and it would require a traffic safety study. Dave can you help us out a little bit more in what we would have to do if we would try to install a light, or have a light installed on 30, which would be between Marion and the park at the corner of Braddock. The area we were talking about is the Centurion Commons across the Fairfax. Could you give us an outline of what we would have to do. Mr. Gilliland responds: Penn Dot has a format that would call for a traffic study that will look at accident data and traffic volumes to see if the plan is justified. It looks at the site distance, speed, and the speed that 85% of the people usually travel at; so even though the speed limit is 35 mph they may say 85% of the people travel at 42 or 45 mph. All those factors are considered and then is turned over to PennDot. They have the final decision since it is their road. There will be a number of factors, data gathered and analyzed to see if a light is justified. Mr. Tomasic comments: So we have this intersection with Ardmore, people going across Filmore to Drew s for example might cross four lanes. Sometimes people will sit there and wait until all four lanes clear before they will drive across it to Drew s. Once they get on the other side sometimes they wait for a complete clear-out. There have been discussions about making that a right hand turn and then people coming down the boulevard from the former bank are making a U-turn, as well as making left turns up and then cross and right turns into Dunkin Donuts, which is an issue we will be talking about later, but that traffic pattern has been in existence forever and a day. The turns coming across and going across have always been an issue and everytime we have brought this up someone has always had an objection to any idea and I think it is time that we really look into this in great detail and I think it merits more discussion as well.
Borough of Forest Hills Page 9 OPERATIONS & POLICY Mr. Lawrence Motion: Move to approve the minutes from the September 20, 2017 council meeting. Moved: Second: Mr. Lawrence Ms. DeMarco Voice Vote all in favor General Report: 1. The borough continues to seek volunteers for the 2019 Centennial Committee. A separate committee is important for planning, organization and fund raising purposes. Please contact the office if interested. The centennial celebration tentatively will coincide with the 2019 Community Day event. 2. The borough continues to seek volunteers to serve on various boards and committees and asks interested residents to contact the manager at the borough office for further information. A few vacancies remain. 3. The committee chair asked members to forward to him suggestions for awarding the Marty B. O Malley Citizenship Award for 2017. Suggestions are needed prior to the Nov. 2 committee meeting. 4. Members directed the manager to prepare the plaque for the new building that traditionally lists the names of mayor, council and others responsible for its construction. A similar plaque will be placed at the pool to memorialize the major renovations that occurred there last year. 5. The manager noted that the next issue of the Tree City Times would feature information on the new building including photos of various stages of construction and a timeline highlighting the steps in decision making that took place up to groundbreaking. This will provide a historical record. PLANNING & ZONING Mr. Burleigh Motion: Move to approve ordinance no. 1067 amending Chapter 27, Zoning to establish restaurant drive through as a conditional use in the S-2, S-3 and B-1 districts. Moved: Second: Mr. Burleigh Mr. Lawrence
Borough of Forest Hills Page 10 29:44 Mr. Korbel comments: I can give a quick summary. This ordinance is designed to fill a gap in our zoning ordinance for drive through restaurants as a result of Dunkin Donuts. When the Dunkin plan came through it was clear that the ordinance did not contemplate a restaurant that was more in-and-out vs folks sitting down. Our zoning ordinance did not address that so what this does, which does not affect Dunkin Donuts, but it makes it a conditional use and changes some of the parking requirements, etc. It is basically upgrading our ordinance perhaps in preparation to something that may happen on this site in the future. Mr. Tomasic comments: Just to go over the point he is making. One of the biggest problems that we have always had down here in terms of dealing with businesses and again this goes back to when I was a kid and that was a long long time ago. There is no parking down here and whatever they have done over the years they have never addressed that. I remember when the Roman Bistro was coming in about 6-7 years ago that one of the main sticking points with getting the restaurant in there was dealing with the parking. We even agreed to let them use our lots on off-peak hours; Saturdays, Sundays and evenings so that they could accommodate the parking and help that company out. Every time we go through one of these businesses coming in it is always a whole host of zoning ordinances, variances and so on. I remember months and months when we were going at the Bistro and also we put time in with Dunkin Donuts. This might alleviate some of these problems in terms of the parking issues in the future. I was hoping that new businesses may be right across the street because I heard that place has been for sale. This could be something that would be advantageous. Ordinance title reads as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOROUGH OF FOREST HILLS, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING CHAPTER 27 OF THE FOREST HILLS BOROUGH CODE OF ORDINANCES, ZONING, AS AMENDED, TO: (I) ESTABLISH RESTAURANT, DRIVE-THROUGH AS A CONDITIONAL USE IN THE S-2, S-3 AND B-1 DISTRICTS; (II) ESTABLISH PARKING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RESTAURANT, DRIVE-THROUGH USE; (III) ADD THE TERM RESTAURANT, DRIVE-THROUGH TO TABLE 27-1 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE; (IV) ESTABLISH USE-SPECIFIC CONDITIONAL USE CRITERIA FOR THE RESTAURANT, DRIVE-THROUGH USE; (V) AMEND THE DEFINITION AND USE-SPECIFIC CONDITIONAL USE CRITERIA FOR THE RESTAURANT USE; (VI) REPEAL ALL PRIOR
Borough of Forest Hills Page 11 INCONSISTENT ORDINANCES; AND (VII) ESTABLISH THE ORDINANCE EFFECTIVE DATE. Roll Call Vote: Mr. Burleigh Yes Ms. DeMarco Yes Mr. Lawrence Yes Ms. Sowiski Yes Mr. Tomasic Yes General Report: 1. Committee members met with code officer Don Branzel who reported on enforcement activities. 2. The solicitor advised committee members on sign regulations considering a Supreme Court decision re: a town in Arizona (Gilbert) and its sign regulations. Members opted to continue the regulations we have in place in the current Zoning ordinance (Chapter 27, part 8) which regulates, among other types, temporary signs including real estate, political and construction signs and limits placement in the right of way. As part of this decision to maintain the current regulations rather than create new regulations, an example of the procedures are as follows: a. Signs will be completely prohibited in the right of way including the Ardmore median b. Signs placed in the right of way will be removed and kept for a reasonable amount of time so that the sign owner can collect them c. A warning will be issued to a sign owner and/or property owner whose sign is placed illegally rather than first issuing a citation. d. Private property owners will be asked to move legal signs on their property that may be in the right of way to another place on their property. e. Staff will be asked to prepare and implement these procedures in the next few weeks. A notice in a future Tree City Times will be printed to remind property owners of these regulations. Old Business: None New Business: 34:50 Ms. Sowiski reminded all about leaf pickup. The leaves should be raked to the side of your property and not into the street. When they go onto the street they often get run over and if it rains it is almost impossible for the trucks to pick them up. Also, if the leaves are on the street and it rains they get washed down into the storm drains and
Borough of Forest Hills Page 12 clog the drains so if you see people raking onto the street please remind them that I said to piles of leaves on the street and not on the edge of the property. This is my own pet peeve because I see huge piles and then it rains and get washed onto one part of the road near me. Thank you Mr. Vice President. Public Comment Other Items At this time citizens may address council on any issue. Only residents and taxpayers of the Borough of Forest Hills will be permitted to address council. Speakers will be permitted to speak for a maximum of 5 minutes. Groups of people will be required to designate a spokesperson to represent them before council who may speak for a maximum of 10 minutes. Citizens are asked to use the microphone at the speaker s stand, clearly state their name and address for the record and keep comments brief and to the point. Please spell the name for the record. 35:51 start-get Mr. Tomasic comments after Brashear Ryan Brashear, 582 Filmore commented on concerns with traffic in and out of Dunkin Donuts at Filmore. Traffic directions are restricted and he is concerned because he has almost had an accident. He also offered suggested solutions. Mr. Tomasic comments: I have one question for you. When you are coming down here I assume it is in the morning could you give me a time frame when you are coming down and running into that traffic. Mr. Brashear comments: It is not just in the morning it is at all times. Mr. Tomasic responds: I just want to know what time. Mr Brashear responds: I usually leave the house around 6:40 AM. Mr. Tomasic responds: We are definitely going to put some police presence out there so by narrowing that time frame maybe that s what we can start doing right here. Thank you. Not to respond and get into a back-and-forth, but originally there were discussions that was supposed to be pork chopped with the entrance and exit being forced up Filmore. There were a number of reasons as to why we wanted to keep that entrance available for people coming down Filmore, people coming in emergency vehicles, etc. so we did consider that as well. Not to make any excuses but just so you understand the traffic pattern that is in existence has been a problem for years and years. About six years ago as a matter of fact when we had Paul Caufield come in here with a new district. We had people in the middle of Ardmore blocking it because they could not come in because they were backed up. When you got into the parking lot there was absolutely no place to park. We even had a state trouper park in front of the fire department. We made all kinds of changes, we had our code officer Don Branzell out there directing people across the street and into the Roman Bistro but every couple of days when those times were heavy we had to deal with that problem and it was not pleasant. I agree with you that we need to do something because what they did over there in terms of the final product is not what was envisioned. I know and you can check with our foreman, Jim Thielacker that when I was down here watching the progress of the building and I saw what they were going to put in I went right over to the project manager and said that is not the way it is supposed to be and he said to me that is what I have on my blueprint. This was during the process of finishing up and I said we will have to deal with it and we will deal with it.
Borough of Forest Hills Page 13 We will find a way to make this a safer situation. That is where all the accidents happen and it is just a mess and this is one of the reasons why we discussed the right turn only and going up to the light to make the turn around. People actually come out of Drew s at the lower exit and they will shoot across going against traffic. I have seen this happen at least half a dozen times. I really appreciate you coming, I appreciate the suggestions and we are going to be working on it. We are starting with the next public safety committee meeting. The first avenue that we have is to get the police out there and we will do whatever we can to get that stuff stopped. I have seen it too. I have seen a lot of cars but I don t know what the percentage is. I was down here this morning and we were pretending like we were trying to enforce it somewhat and what people would do is go up and look into their mirrors and then all of a sudden they turn and shoot across the street. Some people did follow the rules. One woman actually went up to Marion past the police station and then made her cross at that point. We are going to solve the problem one way or another. Thank you. 46:45---Did you want me to type word for word what Kemmer said? Mary Rose Kemmerer, 610 Decatur Ave. comments about the EMS and an incident with her father. He lives in Wilkins but she believes as a resident she should let council know as she has done with Wilkins. Her father was ill and the EMS drivers came about 25 minutes after the call; didn t have name tags. She complained about the way they handled the problem and their attitude that he was an old man. She said they questioned whether they should take the father to the hospital. She took him to the hospital herself. She also contacted Chief Mastandrea and he was apologetic and noted he would call them in and talk to them. Terry Gorol, 420 Pacific Ave. discussed rental property that she has at the top of Vine Alley and complained about the direction of traffic, trash thrown there, and speed limit. Also concerned about plumbing work on Halsey. Mr. Tomasic will discuss the latter with Mr. Theilacker. Adjourn: Motion to adjourn Moved: Second: Ms. DeMarco Ms. Sowiski Voice Vote all in favor Next Scheduled Council Meeting: November 15, 2017 Next Scheduled Committee Meetings (order may be adjusted): Thursday, Nov. 2, 2017: Borough Property, Public Works, Operations and Policy, Public Safety. Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017: Committee of the Whole, Finance, Planning and Zoning. Council may choose to meet as a whole and conduct business if necessary on either or both dates. All Meetings begin at 7 PM.
Borough of Forest Hills Page 14 Note on Meetings: As needs arise re: the new borough building and related issues and contracts, council business and committee meeting dates may change and/or committee meetings may include special business meetings where actions may be approved. Some changes or additions including stand alone special meeting dates could be made with very short notice (though they will be properly advertised).