The second Montrose Borough meeting of the month was sparsely attended. The meeting convened as usual at 7:30 pm.

The first item on the agenda was the insurance renewal. A representative of DGK, Jim Davis, was present for the discussion. He spoke up regarding Act 46 of 2011, the Cancer Presumptive Act, which was state legislation affecting worker’s compensation programs. This changed the eligibility requirements and benefits for firemen. Under the act if a fireman, paid or volunteer, was exposed to a class 1 carcinogen within the last 600 weeks and contracted cancer, he or she could receive compensation through worker’s compensation. Of the seven insurance carriers that used to provide coverage for firemen outside of the state system, three had backed out and one was deciding not to write any new policies. A lot of companies, he continued, were forcing the volunteer class to the state system. This was a state mandated benefit to the firemen of Pennsylvania, and he said that eventually the tax payers would have to feel the effect. That was why the premium for the borough had increased by $3,000 or $4,000 in total. Several claims had already been filed under the new law, some of them postmortem.

Mr. Schuster asked if the community center was under the borough’s coverage. Mr. Davis replied that the building itself was to be covered under the previous owner’s property insurance. The borough was purchasing renter’s insurance, and Mr. Davis stated that they had liability insurance.

Mr. Lamont stated for the record that a quote had also been received from Selective. This did not include workman’s compensation, he explained, however if workman’s comp was also taken out of the DGK proposal,  it came in lower. Mr. Davis stated that if the borough went with Selective, they had no workman’s comp market.

Mr. Granahan asked if council wanted to add another million to the umbrella. There was some minor discussion regarding this. Mr. Granahan then moved to accept the DGK proposal, with additional umbrella coverage. This motion was passed.

The new fee schedule and zoning applications were the next topic under discussion. Mr. Granahan made a comment regarding the zoning hearing board application cost, which was set at $600. That covered one session, he opined, speaking of a situation where the advertisement, etc. might need to be done more than once. He suggested making the cost $600 per session, for instances when someone decided to continue coming to the board and the board needed to convene multiple times. There was also discussion of how something might be handled should discussion of a matter not be completed, and the meeting be recessed. This would fall under the continuance stipulation, which set a price plus allowable expenses (such as a stenographer). What Mr. Granahan didn’t believe was that people should be able to keep returning under the same application; he felt they should have to file a new application. The Codes Enforcement Officer pointed out that under the new ordinance, the person requesting the hearing was required to pay for half of the stenographer cost. Mr. Reimel asked what kind of enforcement went with this. Mr. Granahan suggested that a stenographer bill the borough for only half of the cost, and the person for half. Mr. Reimel felt this might make it difficult to find a stenographer. Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Schuster suggested that the fee should have to be paid before the meeting was held. If it wasn’t paid, the meeting shouldn’t be held. The secretary pointed out however, that it might not be known what the bill, would be as stenographers billed per hour.

Mr. Lamont asked who made the decision that a stenographer was necessary. It was responded that, by law, one had to be present at the zoning hearing board, if a person was asking for a hearing. The situations under discussion (where a stenographer was required) were appeals, not general meetings. The subject was tabled.

The Montrose Chocolate and Wine Festival had requested permission to close Chestnut Street from Maple Street to Church Street on Saturday, May 18th from 12 pm to 10 pm. The motion was made and approved to give this permission.

Mr. Reimel broached the subject of police coverage for Forest Lake township. A Forest Lake supervisor, Frank Pinkowski, was in attendance. The proposal was for Montrose police to provide coverage to Forest Lake. Mr. Granahan said that he had heard Silver Lake had left the duty because the non-paved roads had been hard on the vehicles. He asked how Montrose would deal with this. Chief Smith responded that the force would likely use the SUV’s on those roads.

Mr. Lamont said that he wasn’t sure where the force stood with New Milford. He asked, of the roughly 20 hours coverage they provided, how much of it was court time. Chief Smith wondered if the court time was subtracted from the time. Chief Smith responded that it was added to the time, for New Milford, and that the court tended to collect tickets and try to hold various hearings at once. Mr. Granahan pointed out that Forest Lake had a different contract in that a flat fee was paid for an entire year. The question was then asked how this would work. Chief Smith pointed out that an extra five hours a week had been built in for this purpose.

Mr. Pinkowsky said that their position was that if there was an extraordinary cost on the borough’s part they could send Forest Lake a bill.

Mr. Chamberlain asked if they would have enough money factored in to cover wear and tear on the vehicles. Chief Smith responded that this was, in fact, factored in. Mr. Lamont asked if Chief Smith had reviewed this with the borough’s solicitor, who had some questions. Mr. Pickett suggested waiting to see what the solicitor thought. However, Mr. Granahan suggested that, with such an easy out clause, it could be passed now, and perhaps altered down the road. The motion was made and seconded to sign the contract, and to have the solicitor draft an agreement for Forest Lake township to approve. The borough police were to then provide some coverage in that municipality, starting April first. There was one vote against this motion. The Forest Lake representative thanked the council, and stated that he looked forward to being the liaison with the council.

A reporter asked about the court decision, wondering if there was any action the borough needed to make to strike a particular rule. It was responded that the council hadn’t been formally notified yet that there was a decision. After the meeting Mr. Lamont expressed his opinion that the borough had won. Although the ruling, when it officially came down, would allow people to ask questions more freely, it also reaffirmed the right of council members to answer “no comment”. He spoke of respecting the press, however stated that there had been some members of the press who had not earned the respect they were demanding.

With Sandy Hook still fresh in the minds of the public, Susquehanna Community School District Directors listened attentively to Lanesboro Mayor Chris Maby’s presentation of a proposal for increased police coverage for the school’s campus. Mayor Maby’s presentation at the school board’s deliberation and information session on Tuesday, February 19, outlined the basics of a still-to-be-formalized proposal for the board’s consideration and ultimate ratification at a future meeting. Included in the outline of police services would be on-campus police presence during the hours of 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on every school day. Hypothetically, Lanesboro borough would increase its police force by one full-time position, with the position pay range from $12.50 to $14.00 per hour. While the school district would be responsible for salary re-imbursement to Lanesboro for the contracted police services, Superintendent Bronson Stone indicated that grant monies would very likely be available to cover much, if not all of that cost.

Mayor Maby noted that the increase in borough police staffing would be a win-win situation for both the school and the community because of the increased police presence. While the officer selected for duty at SCSD would not be available for routine patrol duties, in the event of a true emergency within Lanesboro the officer would be available to temporarily respond, with return to campus as soon as back-up arrived or the emergency was controlled at the off-campus incident.

School Directors exchanged views and asked searching questions of Mayor Maby and Superintendent Stone concerning the exact nature of the duties of police presence on campus, as well as the qualifications that would be required of the successful candidate. Those present agreed that this police position might be more difficult to fill than many would anticipate, given that police presence would not be necessary during the summer break and on non-school days. Nevertheless, board members expressed their gratitude to Mayor Maby for local police patrols and for his presentation on what increased support was possible under a future agreement.

In related campus security matters, Superintendent Stone noted that since the Sandy Hook incident in December, local police - Lanesboro, Susquehanna Depot, or Oakland - as well as Pennsylvania State Police have patrolled on campus every day school has been in session. Mr. Stone shared with the board that a recent incident had occurred during which local police were not on duty, and 65 minutes were needed for a response. That incident was “a real eye-opener” for the administration, and Superintendent Stone expressed a specific benchmark, “It’s about ensuring a response in less than 30 minutes.” Until a formalized agreement with Lanesboro borough for on-campus police presence is instituted, that “less than 30-minute response time” appears to be the district’s standard for acceptable response.

Matters other than campus security were also decided at the 7 p.m., Wednesday, February 20, meeting. Present were President Steven Stanford, and board members Lori Canfield, Jason Chamberlain, Evelyn Cottrell, Carol Jackson, Holly Kubus, and Martha Stanford. Vice-President Clay Weaver and board member Amanda Cook were absent.

A budget preview, having been provided at the previous evening’s work session, brought fiscal matters to the fore. While stressing that it was very early in the budget process and the budget numbers will change, Superintendent Stone and Business Manager Gary Kiernan gave some preliminary numbers. Those rough figures showed salaries rising from $6.13 million to $6.53 million, a sizeable increase of 6.5%. Health care costs are projected to increase from $1.59 million to 1.75 million - a more ominous increase of 9% plus. The most frightening increase from 2012/13 to 2013/14 school budget projects are in the PSERS line item, where costs rise from $758,782 to more than $1.11 million, an astounding 45% increase - if no reforms are instituted by the state for the teachers’ retirement system.

Superintendent Stone noted that projections from Governor Corbett’s new budget give SCSD a $61,000 Basic Education Subsidy (BES) increase, albeit after two years of BES cuts totaling $1.4 million. Interestingly, he noted that Gov. Corbett also hopes to sell off the state’s liquor monopoly. As the third governor in 20 years to make that proposal, Gov. Corbett’s moxie is to be commended, but applause may be withheld until the actual sale of the state’s liquor stores occurs. On the off-chance it is achieved, education could conceivably benefit, especially if combined with pension reforms. A 2% increase in school property taxes will also provide projected revenue of $60,000. With the school board much more likely to pass a local budget before the state gets around to passing theirs, a conservative estimate of possible state aid will be utilized for local budget formulations.

Possible budget decreases stem from ending retirement incentives ($107,000) and benefit reductions ($303,055). Attrition by retirement will provide some savings also. The vacated senior English teacher position will be folded into the duties of another.

Future budget priorities for which the administration is planning include a new zero-turn mower (to keep Facilities Manager Donnie Norris and staff gainfully employed mowing the districts 87 acres); sanding down of the schools’ gymnasium floors by 1/16th inch, which must be done every so many years; and purchase of a van through the Co-Star Program, which will actually provide long-term savings by replacing a $17,500 annual contract for transportation.

In Superintendent Stone’s Report to the Board, Rtii (Response to instruction and intervention) took center stage. Mr. Stone and High School Principal Mark Gerchman, among others, had visited Union-Endicott High School on Tuesday, February 19, to observe their program. Mr. Stone highly commended Union-Endicott and noted that their visit had yielded extremely useful information to aid in planning for launching SCHS’s Rtii program next fall. He further noted that a more rigorous track for math education from sixth grade through Algebra I would be implemented next school year.

Elementary School Principal Bob Keyes explained that Saxon Math was closely aligned with the state’s common core curriculum for grades five and below, and that there were very few gaps, thus, providing excellent results in those grades. But “Carnegie Math,” utilizing functions of AI (Artificial Intelligence), is expected to produce far superior results for grade six and above. Mr. Stone added that the AI function of Carnegie Math will actually make adjustments to each student as he or she advances through the course work.

In personnel matters, the board voted unanimously to hire the following personnel for the positions noted:

- Jeremy Page - JV Baseball Coach for the 2013 season,

- Joe Collins - Varsity Softball Coach for the 2013 season,

- Tom Adornato - Junior High Baseball Coach for the 2013 season,

- Kyle Cook - Varsity Football Head Coach for 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons,

- Jody Stanley - Assistant Football Coach for 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons,

- Carl Zukus - Assistant Football Coach for 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons,

- Aaron Callender - Jr. High Football Coach for 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons,

- Paul Rooney - Jr. High Football Coach for 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons,

- Teresa Marino - Fall & Spring Drama, Chorus, & Marching Band Advisor for 2013/14 & 2014/15,

- Carla Perry - Junior Class Advisor for 2013/14 & 2014/15,

- Carmen Maby - Junior Class Advisor for 2013/14 & 2014/15.

Other personnel actions included accepting the resignation of John Seigle, per the negotiated resignation agreement effective February 20, 2013; approving a leave of absence for Melissa Franks, beginning on or about April 22, for the remainder of the 2012/13 school year until November 15, 2013; and approving transfer of Jessica Welch, high school instructional aide, to the position of high school special education teacher to cover an approved teacher leave (Spring - Fall 2013).

District substitutes approved for the 2012/13 school year included April Welch - van driver; Theresa Bedford and Amanda Butz - bus aides; and Megan Schmitt - substitute teacher.

Among the many motions approved by the board were acceptance of the final local audit report from Brian Kelly, CPA, for the 2011/12 school year; permission for the Business Office to solicit bids for general maintenance, technology education, sports and computer supplies for the 2013/14 school year; and approval of a WVIA agreement for the 2013/14, 2014/15, and 2015/16 years at a cost of $1,140 per year.

At half-past seven the board adjourned and Gary Kiernan served up the evening’s reward, no-bake peanut-butter cookies. By eight all the chit-chat had ended and directors melted away into the cold winter’s eve.

SCSD’s next board meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 20.

In last week’s County Transcript Report on the activity of Gibson Police Barracks, we reported a Mr. David Hannigan was involved in a hit and run car accident.

Mr. Hannigan called our offices and reported that he had, in fact, had an accident but he called the State Police himself to report it, waited by his vehicle while hurt and bleeding for better than half an hour for police to arrive and chose to seek medical attention for fear of complications from his injuries.

We apoligize for any inconvenience to Mr. Hannigan.

Jim Hunter was absent from the February 20th New Milford Township meeting, as were some of the regular public attendees. Nevertheless, business proceeded as usual.

A public hearing had been held prior to the regular public meeting, it was announced, to draft the Flood Plain ordinance. No public had been present; the meeting had been advertised. Don Shibley stated that later in the meeting, a motion would be made to address the matter. Shortly thereafter Jack Conroy made the motion to adopt the Floodplain Management ordinance. It was approved unanimously.

The bids were opened. Lindsey Oil was the only fuel bid, offering a delivered price of $3.55, which was subject to change for the day of delivery. Gas and low sulphur diesel were priced in the bid at 6 cents off the posted price. Vestal Asphalt was the only bid for liquid calcium, coming in at $1.01 per gallon delivered to the shop or $1.11 per gallon applied to the roads. The road materials bids were next to be opened. Bids were received from Eastern Industries, Lopke, Pennsy Supply, Hanson Aggregates, E.R. Linde, and Damascus 535. All road material bids were accepted, with Damascus 535 being primary and F.S. Lopke Contracting being secondary. The rest of the bids were also accepted in case material was scarce. The single bids for fuel and calcium had also been approved.

Council needed to adopt a resolution to go in on the Hazard Mitigation Plan of the county, the borough secretery said. Mr. Ken Bondurant explained this briefly, relating that the different municipalities had worked to update the Hazard Mitigation Plan. This process was undertaken every five years. The county had asked the municipalities to certify that they were buying into the plan. A motion was made to that effect, which passed.

A company, Glenwood Stone Co. LLC, had applied for a renewed NPDES permit. A notification had been received from DEP of an extension on a NPDES General Permit for a drill pad and roadway construction permit by Tri-City Highway Projects.

Susquehanna Gathering, notification had been received, had applied for 4.8 miles of pipeiline on the North West Gathering line. This was for two locations, one under route 11 and another along route 848.

Soutwestern was proposing, it was related next, to have two additional wells drilled off of pad 5 Drann. Notice had also been provided of intent to drill Pad 6H Woosman.

Mr. Bondurant announced that he had attended 16 hours of training, entitled Modular Emergency Response Radiological Transportation Training. The purpose of the training was to allow them to identify various radiological items which might be on trucks, railroads, etc. The program was put on by the federal government around the country. It not only trained those present on identification, but also on who to contact, how to read hazmat labels, and other topics.

To many the year 1955 animates memories of an idyllic past, the sweet-spot in American history, carefree and innocent by today’s standards. Ike was president, gas was cheap, and Susky High, newly erected, was the most modern educational facility in Susquehanna County.

Fast forward 58 years to 2013 and one is not surprised that some aspects of the school require a serious upgrade. At the school board’s February 19 meeting for information and deliberation, Superintendent Bronson Stone explained to school directors the extent of the renovations needed to return the auditorium’s stage to a safe level of operation adequate for the eight or so events for which it is used each year.

The first and foremost upgrade is that of the electrical control system. The stage area has literally been left in the dark for the past few weeks. The stage’s electrical boxes, having been sent to California for upgrading to modernity, made their return to the school on February 20 and will be placed back into service as soon as possible. An entirely new electrical control system would have cost taxpayers an estimated $60,000 to $80,000. By reconditioning the electrical components and using contract labor for electrical work, those estimates will likely be more than halved. Not since 1991 had the system undergone a major overhaul.

The second major upgrade involves the stage curtains. It was brought to Superintendent Stone’s attention that the curtains were in serious need of cleaning. In the course of getting estimates for what that service might cost, he noticed that the curtains also needed fire-proofing and discovered that the method by which the curtains were hung no longer meets state safety standards. Estimated cost for cleaning, fireproofing, and re-hanging curtains in compliance with code will be $9,805 with work to be completed this summer. Superintendent Stone noted that for purposes of safety the curtains would be fire-proofed every five years, and planning for this cost would be incorporated into future budget planning. He further remarked that in his 17 years with the school district, he had never anticipated he would be so concerned with the cleaning and hanging of curtains.

Also to be completed this summer is an upgrade to the stage’s pulley system. The antiquated manual crank-system reliant on dog-chain, fine for 1955, is considered a safety hazard and obsolete in 2013.

The silver-lining for taxpayers is that the administration clearly identified system deficiencies to be corrected; determined the level of upgrade necessary to meet the district’s needs; and obtained a variety of estimates. At their public meeting on Wednesday, February 20, school directors approved a motion for Superintendent Stone to apply for grants (which may require matching district funds) to offset much of the cost for these upgrades. And that may be the best silver lining of all as Susky High’s stage facilities enjoy a revival from 1955 into 21st century modernity.

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 11:15 a.m. on February 22, 2013: Elbert G. Allen, Sharon Baker, Christopher R. Brenner, William J. Casey, Marc K. Deesch, Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, John J. Jenisky, Jr, Kay L. Knolles, Lee Labor, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Robert Lewis, Michael A. Linden, Richard A. Murphy III, Robert A. Muzzy, Heather L. Nystrand, Anthony Reed, Bruce A. Schurr, Neil D. Shaffer, David J. Shiner, Jerome W. Slick, Eric J. Snell, Stephen Sorensen, Justin S. Thompson, Earl H. Thompson, Jr, Ronald J. Traver, Steven G. Warner, Roger Daniel Williams, Jamie L. Williams, Sr.. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.