Parks Township Board of Supervisors June 21,2021
The
Parks Township Board of Supervisors held their regular monthly meeting on June
21, 2021 at 7:00 pm in the Community Building, 26 Jackson Street, North
Vandergrift.
MEMBERS PRESENT: Thomas M. Filo, III, Chairman Scott
Kifer, Member Mary E Ralston, Secretary - Treasurer
VISITORS PRESENT: Jay
Start, Jeff Retter, Rich Simpson, Ken Reynolds Jr, Brenda Milliman, Edward
Soloman
OTHERS PRESENT: Chief Doug Ciuca, Parks Township Police; Sgt. John Arce, Parks Township Police
Mr.
Filo called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm following the Pledge of Allegiance
to the Flag. Copies of the Agenda,
Minutes, Treasurers Report, and Bill Payment List were posted on the bulletin
board for review. Public comments will
be taken at the end of the meeting. Mr.
Artman was not in attendance.
Mr.
Kifer made a motion to adopt the Minutes from the May 17, 2021 regular monthly
meeting. Mr. Filo seconded it.
Mrs.
Ralston presented the Treasurer's Report
for May 2021. Mr. Kifer moved to accept
the Treasurer's Report; Mr. Filo seconded the motion. Receipts for May were $191,763.81 and
expenses were $83,940.91 leaving a total balance of $437,810.72. (General Fund – $169232.64; Capital Fund – $32,008.68;
State Fund - $253,708.91; and Street
Light Fund – $14869.17).
Mr.
Kifer made a motion to approve the Bill Payment List for May 14, 2021 through June
17, 2021 and Mr. Filo seconded it.
Each Supervisor stipulated that his vote did not include anything
pertaining to himself or any member of his family.
CORRESPONDENCE
The Application Renewal for Logansport Mining from
Rosebud Mining was reviewed.
STAFF REPORTS
Police
Report – Mrs. Ralston read the Police Report for May 1, 2021 through May 31,
2021.
Maintenance
Crew – Mr. Filo reported that the Massey
Ferguson was repaired and the crew has finished berming and is now mowing and
trimming.
TOWNSHIP
COMMITTEES
Parks
Committee - There was no meeting held in
May. A Park inspection was done on May 25, 2021. The following is a list of
issues needed addressed:
North Vandergrift Park:
· Swing
Brackets are needed
· Seesaw
needs repaired or replaced (Tires and Seats)
· Benches
need sanded, painted, and repaired (some need new boards)
· Picnic
tables need sanded, painted, and repaired
(some need new boards)
· Fence
needs installed behind the backboard at the basketball court
· Elephant
ears need cut off the bridge bank
· Wooden
posts along the alley are rotted and need replaced or removed
Kepple Hill Park:
· Down
spout on pavilion is missing
· Play
area needs mulch, is nothing but grass
· Handicapped
parking space needs redone
· Large
hole needs filled in
Kiskimere Park:
· Extremely
high grass all around the perimeter
· Handicapped
parking spot is completely covered over
· Wetlands
need underdrained between the basketball court and the play area
All the
parks need some signs replaced.
Dogs and
Crap – The Solicitor stated that the Supervisors can adopt an ordinance
requiring all pets must be on a leash and all waste must be cleaned up; however,
this is really hard to enforce because you have to see any violation happening. A citizen can see and report a violation, but
they must be willing to appear in Court.
Signs can be posted that owners must clean up after their pets, but no
fines can be levied unless there is an ordinance. The Secretary was instructed to have the Solicitor
prepare an ordinance for their review, also she was told to give the road crew
a copy of the inspection list so they can start working on it. Kepple Hill Park needs weeds cut down in the
basketball court. There was a brief
discussion about spraying the weeds, but you need to be certified to spray. Mrs. Ralston will contact Mr. Duriancik to see
if he is still licensed to spray and would be willing to help. Mr. Kifer said
he was to be notified of the inspection date and time as he has been working
with the parks. Mrs. Ralston apologized
and said because it was discussed and set up at the meeting she just assumed
everyone was aware.
Planning
Commission – There was a meeting on June 14; there was a quorum. They discussed blighted properties in the
township; Rich Simpson was elected Chairman; they will begin reviewing
ordinances dealing with accumulated trash, burning, and junk automobiles. A previously proposed property maintenance
ordinance will also be reviewed.
OLD BUSINESS
Locust
Road - Project completed.
Maple
Road –The deadline for the grant is the
end of July; an engineer must prepare a design because of the landslide and no
one has been able to meet with Mr. Braun. A meeting will be scheduled with Senate
Engineering to inspect Maple Road to have a preliminary proposal prepared.
Summer
Projects – Mrs. Ralston reported she met with Gregg Smith about Laurel Road and
Ridge Extension; the deadline for that grant is the end of August.
American
Recovery Funds – An application has been submitted to DCED to participate in
the distribution of funds. There were several steps that needed to be completed
in order to submit the application. We
are still waiting for a final email confirmation that everything is complete. Our application was accepted through DCED;
however we still have not received notification that the S.A.M.S. registration
has been activated. This has to be done
before any funds can be deposited into our account.
Traffic
Study Grant Street – The Solicitor is preparing the ordinance which should be received
, advertised and adopted at the July 19, 2021 meeting. Once adopted, the residents on Grant Street
will have to be notified 30 days before any citations can be issued. Mr. Kifer stated that it will be September
1,2021 before the ordinance can go into effect.
Hyde
Park Borough Mutual Aid Agreement – Mr. Filo said this has been tabled but we
need to send it to the Solicitor for review.
NEW BUSINESS
Amick Family Request – A letter was received from Mrs.
Marci Amick of North Vandergrift requesting that July 25, 2021 be declared as”
Jaycee Renee Amick Day”. Jaycee is a student at Kiski Area. She has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy
treatments for ATRT, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. The family requested the Supervisors join in
the participation of Jaycee’s 13th
Birthday Celebration/ Christmas in July by proclaiming a Jaycee Renee Amick
Day. Mr. Filo made a motion to declare July 25,
2021 as Jaycee Renee Amick Day and Mr. Kifer seconded the motion.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mrs. Brenda Milliman questioned the process of
training a new secretary, the cost of
two secretaries during training, the turn around time, and the impact on the
General Fund. She asked Ms. Cerra her
qualifications and experience. Mrs. Milliman had questions about the Police
Pension Fund believing the rumors that money had been misused. Mrs. Ralston assured
her that the Pension Funds were audited by State Auditors this year and there
was no money missing nor was any money used for anything other than pension
payments. She also requested that
information on “Dumpster Day” be clarified. Mr. Filo explained that the
Township was looking into having a dumpster at the Dime Building 12 months of the year. There were no available funds to have “Dumpster
Day” in the Spring; hopefully one can be held in early Fall unless a permanent dumpster
can be placed at the Dime Building. Mrs.
Milliman asked about the entrance to Kiskimere and the damage done by People’s
Gas Company; Mr. Filo said he is aware of the problem and it is being taken
care of. She complained about the drain
in front of the Church on Johnson Street
and water running into her yard. Mr. Filo
said there used to be a ditch along the entire street but for some reason now
that ditch no longer exists past your
property line. The ditch needs to be put
back into place.
Mr. Edward Soloman expressed his frustration over
the fence that his neighbor is installing on the property line; he never did a
PA One Call; and there is some conflict with the state road right of way. He asked the Supervisors to help him get the fence poles moved off of the property
line. Mr. Filo asked Chief Ciuca if
there was an ordinance stating setbacks for fences and Chief Ciuca said there
is no ordinance. Mr. Filo told Mr.
Soloman it is a civil issue between property owners. Mr.
Soloman said he was told by an attorney
that townships and boroughs need to follow the BOCA code. Mr. Filo asked him to get the section number
of the code and Mr. Soloman said he would.
Mr. Jeff Retter would like to thank the three
Supervisors and the two Secretaries for fixing Locust Road.
.ADJOURNMENT
The
next regular monthly meeting will be held July 19, 2021 at 7:00 pm in the
Community Building, North Vandergrift.
There
being no further questions or comments, Mr. Kifer moved to adjourn at 7:35 pm; Mr.
Filo seconded it.
Respectfully
Submitted,
Jeanna
Cerra
Assistant
Secretary
Mary
E. Ralston
Secretary-Treasurer