July 28, 2022 - Committee Meeting

Overview

This meeting was well attended again, anticipating discussion on Lemon Street upgrades and a proposed public comment policy. This article will provide an overview of most topics, but detailed articles regarding HAFSC, Public Comment policy, and a food truck issue will be forthcoming.

Lemon Street - Sidewalk & Curb Replacement

Schick reported that he, borough engineer Michael, and borough supervisor Kevin did a walk-through of Lemon Street where sidewalks and curbing are to be replaced. They reviewed each property and spray-painted pink dots on sections that will require replacement. Schick advised that a lot of the curbing in the area was still in good shape, but many of the sidewalks, especially near driveways will need to be replaced. This should save property owners some money.

Next steps: The local police agency will use their drone to create a base map of the area, hopefully with the ability to spot the pink dots. From there, the borough will identify the square yardage for sidewalks, curbing, and aprons and bid the project as a whole. This will help determine which path to take: Have residents do the work or have the borough source it out. Schick reminded everyone that chances are good that residents having the work done would be cheaper due to Prevailing Wage Laws in Pennsylvania. Residents can be put at ease that the replacement mandate will not occur in 2023; rather, they will most likely have until Summer 2024 to get the work completed (this timeline is still to be determined).

Sidewalk Ordinance

Borough Solicitor Amy Leonard presented her findings after a review of borough ordinances relating to sidewalks and curbs. She has made some suggestions that the Council will adopt at the next meeting. There was nothing of significance to report on this, other than more time and energy will be devoted to making sure the town is "woke enough".

Going around the table for feedback, everybody except Council President was fine with the proposals by Amy - until this:

"We need to make it gender neutral"

It may seem an insignificant ask, but time is money. Our taxpayer money, being burnt up to appease individual interests.

Prepare Now - Potential Increases in Water & Trash Next Year

Borough Manager Karen went over the preliminary 2023 budget for water and trash. As with everything these days, costs are going up faster than our paychecks. You may want to start preparing to adjust your own budgets to take into account these possible increases:

• Water - If you remember, we had no increase in our water rates this year, as the borough applied the ARPA funds to cover the normal 3% increase. To stay on track with infrastructure maintenance, upgrades, and replacement, a 3% increase is being proposed. Currently, the borough's base rate is $72.70/quarter. The 3% increase will raise that by $2.18, making the new base rate $74.88. At the end of the year, you'll have paid a total of $8.72 more than this year.

• Trash - Our contract with Waste Management ends this year (end of year). Waste Management has 2 one-year add-ons to the contract available, which may be cheaper than other vendors. Currently, the borough pays $19,966/month for trash services. Waste Management's 2023 rate would increase to $21,923/month, a total increase of $23,400 for the year. There are two recommendations for this: 1) Put it out for bid and see if we get better rates; 2) Stick with Waste Management and increase each resident's cost by $40/year. What this means for you: You currently pay $64.50/quarter for trash. If the borough continues with Waste Management in 2023, your quarterly rate could be $74.50/quarter.

  This is not set in stone, these are only preliminary numbers! We're providing this information only so you can plan for potential increases since every dollar counts.

Upcoming Event:

National Night Out will be Tuesday August 2, 2022. It will be held at the Swimming Pool area from 6pm-8pm. There will be an open swim, bounce houses, touch-a-truck, and more activities/snacks for everyone. (All swimmers 18 and under must pass a swim test or have a responsible adult with them at all times). For more information, visit the East Pete borough page.