ROCKLEDGE BOROUGH COUNCIL
COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
OF JULY 11, 2005

The Rockledge Borough Council met at 7:30 p.m. on July 11, 2005, at the Rockledge Volunteer Fire Company. After the prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance were recited, the roll was called as follows: Mr. Denelsbeck, Mrs. Walz, Mr. Beady, Mr. Kelleher, Mr. Caffrey, Mr. Casey and Mayor Costello.

The following addition was made to the agenda: Mr. Beady added discussion of building renovations at RCC and Police Station. Mr. Kelleher added some updates regarding Streets, Lights, and Sewers.

A motion was made to adopt the agenda. All were in favor.

A motion was made to accept the June 13, 2005 and June 27, 2005 minutes. All were in favor.

Law and Planning:

Mr. Beady made a motion to accept the monthly Building Inspector’s report. All were in favor.

Finance

Mr. Casey made a motion to accept the monthly bills, Mercantile Tax report, Tax Collector’s report, and Financial report.

Mr. Denelsbeck noted that due to the lack of progress on the Rockledge Park walking path, he felt that the bill due to DiLemmo Construction should be put on hold until further progress was made.

Mr. Denelsbeck asked that the Lenni Electric bill be adjusted to $40,000 since they have not yet fixed the louvers on the traffic light at Robbins Avenue.

All were in favor of accepting the above-noted reports and monthly bills with the above-noted changes.

Public Service

Mr. Caffrey made a motion to go with Kayden Group as the new web site provider. All were in favor.

Mr. Caffrey announced that the Summer Newsletter would be mailed out this week. He also asked that a thank you letter be sent to Jenkintown Borough for the use of their street sweeper on Huntingdon Pike on July 2, in preparation for the Fourth of July Parade. Mr. Truman assured Mr. Caffrey that he would send them a letter of thanks.

Public Safety

In Mr. Mori’s absence, Mrs. Walz made a motion to accept the Police Report, Fire Marshal’s Report, and Fire Company Report. All were in favor.

Streets, Lights, and Sewers

Mr. Kelleher made a motion to accept the Streets Department and Streets Opening Reports. All were in favor.

Mr. Kelleher stated Lenni Electric is still working on fixing the Robbins Ave. louvers. An adjustment will be made on the red light at Robbins Ave. in the a.m. hours only. The “No Turn on Red” signs will be removed on the Sylvania Avenue side of the traffic light. Mr. Kelleher has not heard any negative feedback regarding the traffic light.

Caddick will be done their work in the Borough very soon. The paving bid will be going out on August 1. Aqua has agreed to pay us $160,000 for permits which will go towards paving. Mr. Kelleher asked Chief Leary to direct the police officers to keep a close watch on the Caddick workers on Saturdays.

Mr. Kelleher thanked the Streets Crew and Police Department for a job well done in helping out with the Fourth of July Parade and Fireworks. The Streets Crew is keeping up with grass cutting at the playgrounds, etc., in the Borough.

CRI Restoration will be beginning their repair work of the inlets shortly.

Caddick is still on Huntingdon Pike and should be wrapping up by August 1. Mr. Caffrey asked Mr. Kelleher to request that Aqua run a street sweeper on all of the streets that they have worked on. Mr. Kelleher will look into this.

Mr. Naudascher asked about a curb that was damaged in front of his neighbor’s house. Mr. Kelleher advised Mr. Naudascher to have his neighbor take pictures of the curb and send them to Mr. Kelleher.

Recreation

Mrs. Walz announced that Summer Camp is underway and will run through July 29. The gazebo has been installed at Rockledge Park and the walking trail is still under construction.

Property

Mr. Beady voiced his concerns regarding the slow progress of the renovations occurring at the Police Station and Community Center. The plans put together by the architect for the lobby area at the Community Center do not meet code. The bid includes hanging a suspended ceiling at a height of 6’6”, which does not meet code. Altchem has submitted a few proposals to fix this problem. They are also currently waiting on a variety of unanswered questions from the architect. Mr. Beady spoke to the new architect (Doug Heckrotte) and requested that he contact John Prajner (project manager) from Altchem regarding these questions. Mr. Beady questioned Mr. Heckrotte regarding the lobby plans not meeting code. Mr. Heckrotte could not explain this.

Construction has now slowed because Altchem does not have answers to their questions. Mr. Beady is concerned with this as this may change the projected date of completion (September 1). A decision will have to be made regarding the lobby area. Mr. Beady feels that Mr. Heckrotte has not yet familiarized himself with the details of both projects.

Mr. Beady explained the proposals to fix the ceiling problem. These proposals range in price from $5,000 to $15,000. Mr. Beady feels that the Borough should not be responsible for this extra cost as it was a bad design on the architect’s part. Mr. Kelleher stated the only option to fix this problem would be to move the pipes up and drop the ceiling. Mr. Bresnan commented that the problem Altchem is having with the architect is remarkably similar to the problem they experienced on a project they had worked on previously in New Jersey. Mr. Bresnan suggested getting a definitive statement from Altchem listing what they are able to complete and what is holding them up so that we can then question the architect. Mr. Truman will contact Altchem tomorrow. Mrs. Metzinger assured Mr. Denelsbeck that proper documentation is being kept regarding this project. Mr. Bresnan suggested keeping a daily progress report of what is completed. It was decided to wait until the next project meeting (7/13/05) to get more information on the ceiling from the architect.

Personnel

There was nothing to discuss at this time.

Public Comment

Mr. Denelsbeck announced that there has been more Real Estate Property Tax collected this year than was budgeted. Our Deed Transfer Tax is at 142%. Our Earned Income Tax is at 54% and should be at 50%. Our Mercantile Tax is over what it should be. Our Police Fine and Forfeitures are over what they should be for the year already. Our interest income is also up. Lease of space is already at its limit. Manager’s expenses are at 161% instead of 50%. Mr. Denelsbeck stated that printing for tax collection is at 146%, noting that perhaps the Borough paid the School District’s bill for printing the school taxes. Mr. Denelsbeck stated that the permits in revenue are less than what we are paying in Building Inspection Contracted Services.

Mr. Denelsbeck thanked the members of the Fourth of July Committee for a job well done with the parade and fireworks. State Representative George Kenney contributed $5,000 from a state grant to these festivities, which represented one-sixth of the cost of this two-day event (a little over $30,000). He asked that residents continue to be generous in their contributions so that these festivities may continue.

Mr. Denelsbeck asked for public comment. Mrs. Bernadette Ivey, 300 Montgomery Avenue, reported that a large statue weighing about 200 pounds was stolen from her property sometime between Friday and Saturday. She stated she filed a police report and voiced her disappointment that something such as this has occurred in Rockledge and questioned what will be done to stop this from happening. Mayor Costello stated that police officers do patrol the town. According to the monthly police report, arrests are up. Mayor Costello stated that residents need to be observant and report any suspicious activity to the Police Department.

Chuck Aungst asked about the missing flag at the Jarrett Avenue Playground. Mr. Denelsbeck stated that the Streets Crew Foreman has noted that the string is broken and a bucket truck is needed to repair this. This will be addressed within the next few weeks.

Motion was made to adjourn. All were in favor.

Respectfully submitted,

Grace Metzinger
Assistant Borough Manager