March 6, 2007, Council Meeting

Summary of Action Taken

Minutes

Citizen Comments: None

Administration: Monthly Reports; Work Session Location Change; Approved GASBY Portion of Audit; Approved Purchase of Computer; Approved Ms. Freenock to Attend Seminars; Purchase Order Procedures Approved

Downtown Committee: Revitalization Committee Update; Surveys Involving Downtown Discussed

Public Works: Monthly Report; Clean-Up Day Reminder; Hired Jack Eck as Temporary Fill-In; Department Commended on Plowing Job

Public Safety: Police Cruiser in Service; Discussed Color Scheme

Housing and Zoning: Monthly Report; Thanked Media for Coverage on Volunteers for Snow Shoveling Program

Recreation: None

Mayor’s Report: Public Needs Meeting; Reminder Community Breakfast; Thanked Students for Volunteering to Shovel

Old Business: None

New Business: Turn Clock Forward; Committee Working on Clarion County Human Resource Directory

Correspondence: Thank You Note from Clarion Area Chamber of Business and Industry

The regularly scheduled meeting of Clarion Borough Council was held on March 6, 2007, in the Assembly Room of the Clarion Free Library.

Acting President Moore, in the absence of President Wilshire, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Councilmembers present included Mr. Herman, Ms. Leonard, Ms. Vavrek, Ms. Moore, and Mr. German. Mr. Zerfoss and President Wilshire were absent. Mayor Stroup, Ms. Freenock, Mr. Ragon, and Chief Hall were also present. Mr. Stutzman and Solicitor French were not present.

Acting President Moore asked everyone to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

The minutes of the January 29, 2007, Work Session, were approved on a motion by Mr. Herman with a second by Mr. German. The motion carried with a vote of five yea.

The minutes of the February 6, 2007, Council Meeting, were approved on a motion by Ms. Leonard with a second by Mr. Herman. The motion carried with a vote of four yea, with Mr. German abstaining.

The minutes of the February 21, 2007, Special Council Meeting, were approved on a motion by Ms. Vavrek with a second by Mr. Herman. The motion carried with a vote of four yea, with Mr. German abstaining.

Citizen Comments: There were none.

Administration: Acting President Moore presented the appropriations for the month of March.

On a motion by Mr. Herman with a second by Ms. Vavrek, approving the appropriations for the month of March, was carried with a vote of five yea.

Acting President Moore also presented the Treasurer’s Report of Fund Totals and Overtime Comparison Report for information purposes.

Acting President Moore stated a Work Session is scheduled for March 26, 2007, at 5:00 p.m., but the location will be changed to the Clarion Fire Hall.

Acting President Moore asked Ms. Freenock to explain the GASBY portion of the audit.

Ms. Freenock stated Council approved Zelenkofske Axelrod to complete the 2006 audit at the February Council Meeting. The only thing on the agenda at that time was the normal audit. The government is changing the way it wants municipalities to account and is trying to make them more business like. In order to do that, there are Government Accounting Standards that need to be put in place; there’s 34, 35, and 45. For the past 2 years, Clarion Borough has been somewhat compliant with GASBY 34. Since Zelenkofske Axelrod isn’t sure what to expect, a separate bid was prepared for this portion indicating the estimated cost of $9,900-18,000. Ms. Freenock explained the purpose of GASBY 34 is to give all the fixed assets of the Borough a dollar value. Susquehanna Group, the financial consultants, feels they will be able to hand to the auditors all the documents they need, resulting in the Borough paying the lower cost. But until Zelenkofske Axelrod reviews them, this is not definite. However, Ms. Freenock stated the Borough doesn’t have a choice and has to approve the auditor to do this work. As a reminder, the Borough bid the auditing services for 3 years. Ms. Freenock expects the price should decrease every year.

Ms. Vavrek inquired the acronym for GASBY?

Ms. Freenock commented Government Accounting Standards Board.

On a motion by Mr. German with a second by Ms. Leonard, approving the GASBY portion of 2006 audit to cost between $9,900-18,000, carried with a vote of five yea.

Acting President Moore asked Ms. Freenock to discuss the purchase of a computer.

Ms. Freenock reported the cost to purchase a new computer is $1,412. There will be an additional fee for the Borough’s municipal software provider to transfer the operations to the new computer. It will be an Acer Pentium with a 19” LCD color monitor, Microsoft XP package, virus scan, and a battery back-up, which Ms. LaVan doesn’t have now. The hope is to wipe everything from the old computer and place it at the other desk out front for officers to use. It will be purchased from Computer Support. This was included in the 2007 Budget.

On a motion by Ms. Vavrek with a second by Mr. Herman to approve the purchase of a new computer at the cost of $1,412. The motion carried with a vote of five yea.

Acting President Moore stated President Wilshire and she looked at several seminars Ms. Freenock is requesting permission to attend and have agreed it would be advantageous for her to do so. The seminars are as follows: 1) PSATS Conference held in Hershey on April 23 and 24 at a cost of $135 for registration and hotel fee for 1-night; 2) TEAM Conference in Harrisburg held April 11 and 12 which involves no registration fee since the Borough is a TEAM-member only a hotel fee for 1-night; 3) Institute of Municipal Clerks in Shippensburg from May 13-16 at a cost of $240 for registration and hotel fee for 3-nights; and, 4) Borough’s Association Conference in Valley Forge from June 24-27 at a cost of $200 and possibly no hotel fee since Ms. Freenock may stay with her mother.

Ms. Freenock stated that the Reed Smith TEAM Conference will be very good. There is going to be a collective bargaining session, which will be valuable since the Police and Public Works Contracts come up soon. Attending PSATS seminars in the past, Ms. Freenock believes that conference will be helpful. Quite a few sessions concern auditing and financial statements are scheduled.

On a motion by Mr. Herman with a second by Ms. Vavrek, authorizing Ms. Freenock to attend the following conferences: 1) PSATS to be held in Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 23 and 24, 2007, at a cost of $135 for registration and 1-night hotel charge; 2) TEAM Conference to be held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, April 11 and 12, 2007, at no cost since the Borough is a group member and 1-night hotel charge; 3) Institute of Municipal Clerks in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, May 13-16, 2007, at a cost of $240 for registration and 3-nights hotel charge; and 4) Borough’s Association Conference in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, June 24-27, 2007, at a cost of $200 for registration and possibly no hotel charge, carried with a vote of five yea.

Acting President Moore reported Susquehanna Group recommended the Borough change a few procedures and one is to use a purchase order and asked Ms. Freenock to explain.

Ms. Freenock informed everyone the consultants suggested for any purchase over $250 the requesting Department should fill out a purchase order, which she would approve. It’s truly for accounting measures so when the Borough is close to the end of the year Ms. Freenock knows how much is out in orders. Generally, that is not known. The suggested amount might be too low, and Council may prefer the amount be $500.

Mr. Herman agrees it may be too low for Public Works.

Ms. Freenock commented the Borough used purchase orders at some point because old forms were found. There have been only two occasions that vendors have asked Ms. Freenock for a purchase order. The complete form wouldn’t need to be used; instead, they could be torn apart.

Acting President Moore inquired if Ms. Freenock wanted to set an amount tonight.

Ms. Freenock stated yes. If Council would rather wait and discuss this in Committee, that would be okay. Since it is a new procedure, President Wilshire felt it should be voted on.

Ms. Vavrek stated it’s a great idea and should be done but doesn’t know what amount.

Mr. German agrees and asked if the Chief is okay with $500.

Chief Hall thinks that should be good.

Mr. Herman thinks $500 is fine for Public Safety but doesn’t know Public Works well enough to make a comment.

Ms. Freenock reported Mr. Stutzman is comfortable with this. Generally both Mr. Stutzman and Chief Hall come to Ms. Freenock about a purchase, but this is a way to document it.

On a motion by Mr. German with a second by Ms. Vavrek that Department heads fill out a purchase order when wishing to purchase an item that cost $500 or more with evaluation to be given on the amount in 6-months. The motion was carried with a vote of five yea.

Downtown Committee: Acting President Moore attended a meeting where the Clarion Area Chamber of Business & Industry was finalizing their plans for Spring Fling.

At the last Revitalization Meeting, Acting President Moore reported discussion took place on how to get motorists to visit the Downtown District. The Committee received permission to erect signs at Exit 64 (old Exit 10) to direct motorists to the Clarion Downtown area. The sign is supposed to be put up soon.

Acting President Moore asked Ms. Vavrek, who is a member of a sub-committee with the Revitalization Group, to discuss their project.

Ms. Vavrek informed everyone this committee is an appendage of the original committee, which was the Main Street Program. This Committee meets the first Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. in the basement of the Lutheran Church (in April, it will be the second Thursday) and focuses on the downtown. Jake Jacobson chairs the 5-6 member committee. The Clarion Conservancy Committee was very big and never seemed to come up with a specific solution. Hopefully, since this is a smaller group, something will be achieved. The Committee is working with Dr. Kevin Roth at the University, who is working with some students in other towns as well. There are 6 students working with the Committee. Dr. Roth is putting together a survey of all the businesses and service providers in the business district of Clarion. Ms. Vavrek pointed out this will deal with the issue of students who might come Downtown but don’t really know what’s there. The group of students is going to put together a survey as well to assess perception, needs, and expenditures. A web site will developed to use as a tool in communicating with other businesses and people in the community. Ms. Vavrek added the students are going to look at what they call the best practices in about 8 other downtowns that house a university. Hopefully, before the semester is over, a couple of community members will be able to visit a university community that is prospering and find out why that is happening and how they got to that point. The students are also using their time in this project to inventory or assess literature that’s available on Main Street Reorganization restructuring. Dr. Roth was able to get a $1,000 grant through the Community Grant Program, which is a partnership with the University and someone else in the community; in this particular case, the Downtown Revitalization Committee. Some of the money will be used for transportation and to work on a website. Ms. Vavrek feels this is moving in the right direction. Even though some of this may have been done before, this is a fresh start and will give a sense of what the Downtown might need. Also, this involves a student’s perspective, which Ms. Vavrek doesn’t believe was done before.

Public Works: Mr. German, in the absence of Mr. Zerfoss, stated the Public Works Report is in the packet for everyone’s review. The report indicated planning for a new building for salt storage that will be done this summer. This will be discussed in more detail at a later date.

Mr. German reminded everyone Clean-Up Day is scheduled for May 19, 2007. More information will be provided at future meetings.

Mr. German stated the Committee is asking for approval to hire Jack Eck as a temporary fill-in, if necessary, while Mr. Tom Thompson is away for reserves. Mr. Eck has plowed snow for Penn Dot and worked for the Borough before. Mr. German stressed Mr. Eck will not be guaranteed a certain number of hours. If Mr. Stutzman needs him, he’ll be called.

On a motion by Mr. German with a second by Ms. Leonard to hire Jack Eck as a temporary fill-in Public Works employee, if necessary.

Mr. Herman inquired if this is for the next 30 or 60 days.

Since Mr. Thompson may get deployed later in the year, Mr. German thinks Mr. Stutzman would prefer to have Mr. Eck hired until the end of the year. At that time, the Committee could evaluate the situation.

Mr. Herman thinks that should be included in the motion.

Upon recommendation, Mr. German amended his motion to include Mr. Eck’s employment would be for the year 2007 with re-evaluation at the end of that time. Ms. Leonard agreed to the amendment. The motion carried with a vote of five yea.

Ms. Leonard commended Mr. Stutzman and his employees for their diligence against all the snow and bad weather particularly in her neighborhood. The Leonards have lived in the Chernicky Development since 1991 and the wind is awful. Ms. Leonard stressed the Public Works Department has cleared the roads very well and stayed on top of it the entire season, which is much appreciated.

Public Safety: Mr. Herman reported the police car approved at the February 21, 2007, Special Council Meeting, has arrived and is in service.

Mr. Herman received Mr. German’s request, which will be discussed at the Public Safety Meeting. Public Works will review it as well.

Mr. German likes the color scheme of the new police cruiser and asked if the other one on order will be identical.

Mr. Herman stated yes.

Housing and Zoning: Ms. Vavrek commented the Housing and Zoning Report is in the packet for everyone’s review.

Ms. Vavrek thanked the newspapers and the radio station for announcing the program where college students volunteered to shovel snow for senior citizens. It worked out well. This year there were more volunteers than people who needed assistance.

Recreation: Ms. Leonard had nothing to report.

Mayor’s Report: Mayor Stroup attended a public needs meeting with Ms. Leonard where broadband issues were discussed.

Mayor Stroup reminded everyone March 22nd is the Community Breakfast, which will be held at the American Legion. The speaker is Mike Ebert from the YMCA.

Mayor Stroup thanked the college students for helping with the snow shoveling program. It was very nice of them to volunteer for this service.

Manager’s Report: Ms. Freenock stated the second public hearing for the 2007 CDBG Application will be held March 23, 2007, at 10 a.m. Then it will be open for a comment period from March 26 to April 3, 2007.

Ms. Freenock commented Penn Dot sent out notices of intent to property owners along Route 68 for that project. It notified the owners they will be starting work in the near future.

Old Business: There was none.

New Business: Mr. Herman reminded everyone the new federal law on turning the clock forward occurs this Saturday.

Ms. Vavrek mentioned the Clarion News published an article on committee of the United Way, which is a Woman’s Initiative Group. The group is gathering information for a project to produce a Clarion County Human Resource Directory that includes things happening in the County with churches, schools, as well as health or senior issues. The directory would provide information on what’s available if a person wanted to find a resource in the community or county. Ms. Vavrek reported this would be available in a data base format and also in booklet form for people that prefer it that way or don’t have access to a computer. The committee’s only been in existence for 4 months. Ms. Vavrek stated the members are calling other agencies to link all this information together. Once the directory is prepared, the hope is to keep it updated in the future. Anyone wishing to get involved with this Committee can contact Ms. Vavrek.

Acting President Moore inquired if this is similar to the Resource References printed in the newspaper.

Ms. Vavrek informed everyone it will be more extensive than that. The State of Ohio has a wonderful printed directory that its Area Agency of Aging gives out free each year. This has been going on for 10 years now. The guide is paid for strictly by ads. It’s a wealth of information and covers all the counties in Ohio. That’s the direction this committee is heading.

Correspondence: Ms. LaVan read a note from the Clarion Area Chamber of Business & Industry, the Board of Directors, and Joe Billotte, Annual Awards Dinner Chair, thanking Council for the generous contribution the Borough made to the Annual Dinner Auctions. The Chamber collected 169 items for the Chinese Auction and 25 items for the Silent Auction. The Chamber thanked the Borough for their continued support.

On a motion by Mr. Herman with a second by Ms. Leonard, the Council Meeting was adjourned at 7:37 p.m.

______________________________

Nancy K. Freenock

Borough Secretary