The Great Bend Borough Council met on September 5th and got underway promptly at 7:00 p.m. They quickly dispatched approvals for the Agenda, prior meeting minutes and the Treasurer’s Report in order to get into the Road and Park Report.

It was noted that many of the concerns on the roads are still ongoing while further information is gathered from PennDOT and different contractors. It was noted specifically that Mountain Vista Lane and Orchard Road need to have a representative out from the State, in order to note what must be done by the Borough before any work can commence. The Borough is trying to get this scheduled as soon as possible.

Furthermore, with regard to Orchard Road, it has been suggested that the potholes are a result of plugged drainage. Discussion was held if a swale or possible catch basin will help. Due to needing the state to evaluate the area, this is on hold until it can all be reviewed.

With regard to the parks, a call placed to SV notes that they do not own Cedarhurst so information regarding the play equipment there has been stalled. Further research and phone calls to determine who the current owners are will be made so the Council can get information on the equipment they are seeking. Additionally, it was noted that Rick is researching the requirements for an installation of a water park. The final item of note for Roads and Parks involved the two quotes for a new 9 foot plow. The bid was awarded to Truxs Outfitter for a cost of $3,240.00 which includes installation.

The Police Report was presented by Chief Record. Of note for August were 12 Traffic Citations, 24 Traffic Warnings, and several arrests for under age drinking. Additionally, Chief Record brought a couple of items to the attention of the Council. The first was for 3 officers who assisted the Secret Service for the Presidential visit on 8/23; they closed ramps on I-81 and provided security at Exit 211. The Great Bend Police also took part in the 30th Annual National Night Out in New Milford, and it was a great success. The police car repairs have been completed and it looks great.

Chief Record then noted that the Arlington County, Virginia Police Officer John Kelleher sent the department rain coats, police line tape, and flares. On the 30th they donated almost 40 brand new gun holsters that have been distributed to Municipal Police Departments in the County through the Great Bend Police.

A final item was a memorial bench that Chief Record and the officers would like to have done for Officer Lomax. A bluestone bench from Meshoppen Stone has been discussed and approved for installation. Local officers, the Sheriff and the DA have all contributed funds to help pay for this bench. Approval was given by the Council for funds to be set aside to cover any difference in the cost of the bench from what has been donated. Chief Record noted that if any residents wished to donate to this memorial for Officer Lomax they should send a check payable to the Great Bend Borough, PO Box 745, Great Bend, PA 18821, and note the check as being for the Lomax Memorial Bench.

The Council had received several letters – one from the Attorney advising them not to sign the Adams Cable franchise agreement. After discussion, the Council is going to talk to the other Boroughs in the area and see if they can find better options as a group. The other was with regard to the Worker’s Compensation Insurance and the Council will discuss that with HA Thompson further. They also received a letter from Senator Gene Yaw about the Prevailing Wage Law and his work on trying to change it.

A brief update on the Hallstead/Great Bend Joint Sewer Authority was given with a note that should the current punchlist not be completed by the upcoming meeting there is a likelihood that a new contractor will shortly be sought to finish construction. A discussion on the spraying and the floor of the borough building commenced. There was concern about the marks on the floor and what had caused them. They will bring it to the attention of the company who recently sprayed the floors so they can be aware of it, and see if they can remove them and reseal the floor when they return this month.

The Borough Council then went into an Executive Session to discuss employee concerns, and returned at 7:57 p.m. to adjourn the meeting.

The Thompson Borough Council meeting, held on Tuesday, September 27, was attended by President Mark Carmody, council members John Anderson, Terrilyn Sergerstrom, Allen Lloyd, Jeffrey Sheldon, and Calvin Ripple. Also in attendance were Mayor Jim Delaney, Secretary Linda Lee, and Treasurer Marge Whitney. Without any residents present, the Public comment period was unnecessary, allowing the council to get started right away discussing the central issues affecting the Borough.

Mark Carmody began discussion with a burn ordinance that was sent out, with two variations, to the solicitor last month. This ordinance is in progress and will be up for discussion next month. President Carmody also touched on the subject of safety at meetings, stating that some individuals are concerned with the issue. Council discussed the benefits of having police protection, but questioned if cost would be an issue. All members were in agreement to look into pricing and police scheduling and take this matter into consideration.

Councilman Sheldon, with the road maintenance committee, spoke about trees that need to be trimmed on Erie Street. President Carmody mentioned that this needs to get underway before winter, as well as road work on two borough streets that are inundated with potholes. The price of this project needs to be investigated, so fixing the problem can happen soon. This will be on the agenda for the next council meeting. Mayor Delaney also reported that the faded crosswalks in the borough had been painted for $490.00. Members of the road committee said that trimming the trees could be done by themselves in order to save money.

Mayor Delaney presented the Police Report for the month of August, which included 16 total patrol hours. There were 18 traffic stops in Thompson, with 14 citations and 4 warnings issued for the following: Speeding violations (13), Inspection violations (2), Registration violations (2), and Insurance violations (1). Two additional events were included in the crime report: one case of underage drinking and one case of harassment.

The issue of property maintenance was debated among council for a large portion of the meeting. Part of ordinance 106 states that residents in the borough mustn’t store or accumulate garbage, vehicles or other items on their property and that in doing so, it is considered a nuisance for the residents of the borough. This ordinance also outlines dilapidated structures, stating that any resident who has a dangerous building on his/her property will receive a notice. Councilwoman Sergerstrom argued, “You see the beautiful ‘Welcome to Thompson Borough’ sign, then automatically violations against this code. It’s always been tabled, but nothing’s been done about it.” After some debate, council agreed that piles of garbage or unruly grass are a violation of the ordinance, so notices will be sent out in the future if necessary.

In new business, council briefly discussed the purchase of an electronic speedmonitoring device. This unit has a light that flashes if a driver is going over the limit. Councilman Anderson mentioned how it would reinforce what the cops are doing and keep drivers more aware of the speed limit. The device keeps up to eight months’ worth of data that can be downloaded at any time. It records the average speed of the day, and also monitors the lowest and highest speeds and the times that these instances occur. President Carmody stated that certain areas have problems with speeders, specifically when first coming into Thompson. The device, which is battery operated, would be moved to different locations every two to six weeks. Councilman Anderson discussed this notion to Police Chief Jim Smith, and said it’s just a matter of coordinating with the police department.

If residents of the borough would like to discuss any issues, the next meeting will be held on Monday, October 7 at 7pm.

At the September 5th meeting of the New Milford borough council, council president Terri Gulick was absent, so Larry White presided in her stead. Early in the meeting he reviewed correspondence.

It was stated that two property owners had formally appealed their tax assessments. The appeal had been scheduled for that day, though no resolution was noted at the meeting.

A letter had been received regarding prevailing wage. There was a bill put forth by the Senate which would increase the threshold at which prevailing wage was required for public works projects from $25,000 to $180,000. Ms. Cosmello related that Senator Baker was cosponsoring the bill, and that she thought it was a very good idea. Most of her small municipalities were doing a resolution to support the legislation. It was proposed and agreed that council should follow suit, passing a resolution encouraging legislators to adopt the bill.

A letter had been received from PennDOT regarding bridges. Mr. White summed it up. The letter said that the borough had at least one bridge, which was structurally deficient, warned the borough about this, and directed council to do something about it.

The subject of drainage issues by the senior center was broached. Since the last meeting council representatives had met with a representative from Soil Conservation, the architect of the project, and the builder, to review the problem. They had come up with some ideas that could fix the runoff and repair it. Ms. Cosmello said that she had gone by during the two heavy rainstorms and likened it to Niagara Falls. The water ran down Maple Street and crossed over Main Street, it was noted. There was concern about what would happen during times of freezing, when ice would form.

The slurry seal project had been completed the Friday previous. Mr. Ainey asked if they were pleased with it. Mr. White responded that he was happy with it, saying they had put a nice even coat all over, and there had been potholes filled in prior to the slurry. The project had cost $18,888.88 in total. Mr. White was informed that there were some other potholes, and it was proposed that the borough procure additional hot patch to address these.

A resident had contacted Amy wondering if there were any weight limits on James or Susquehanna Street, as heavier and heavier vehicles were driving on them. This led to a discussion regarding whether it was a bridge or a culvert off James Street, as the ramifications were different for the two. Mr. Ainey asked if it was in the right of way for Rt. 81; this was not certain, though a resident had suggested that the structure had been put in when they put in the highway. Mr. Ainey pointed out that if it was a bridge, there was a contract with the county to inspect all bridges. Ms. Hine negated this, pointing out that the contract only covered the two bridges in borough limits, which were over 20 feet.

There was some discussion regarding security at the borough building.

The Parks and Rec board was short one member, it was announced. They planned to put concrete pads under the benches at the park. A damaged lamppost was replaced. Mr. Carey noted that if anybody wanted to be a part of the recreation board, they were welcome.

Susquehanna County got a grant to do a study on housing in the County, it was noted. They had hired Delta Development Group to identify and quantify the impact of Marcellus shale on housing. Ms. Cosmello had attended a meeting on this, and was expecting a call to discuss the matter further. She was interested in the situation from the connection of 706 and 11 north. She had spoken with members of various communities within that geographical area to get their thoughts.

Ms. Cosmello had also spoken with a senator and Mr. Baker from DCED regarding sidewalks. There was to be a meeting held in the borough about this. She did point out to an interested visitor that it was a long process, which would require a survey and opined that she would like homeowners to participate in the contribution back to the project. Ms. Hine had also contacted someone about sidewalks, who had mentioned the existance of a New Communities grant.

Mr. Ainey said that his concern with housing was that for those from the gas industry, buying housing wasn’t an investment it was operational cost. What scared him was that the day would come when those houses were all of a sudden going to be up for sale and the owners wouldn’t care very much about the price. That could hurt the borough.

Ms. Cosmello said that she felt before housing they needed jobs, some kind of industry that wasn’t gas related. There was some discussion about the barriers to this in the borough. A resident spoke up opining that there was a lack of community spirit.

When discussing the Earned Income Tax Mr. Ainey raised the question of how taxes should be reduced - be it a general tax or specialty taxes.

Mr. Ainey had done some research on the auditor position. It was clarified that they did not have to be a Certified Public Accountant, but could hire a “competent” public accountant or firm. There was some discussion regarding the fact that the term “competent” was subjective. There were public accountants that lived in the borough limits. The borough made a motion to advertise the ordinance to establish an independent auditor.

Mr. Ainey reviewed a proposed cable contract. He had spoken with a party that reviewed the Adams cable contract and had been advised not to sign due to the number of differences. There were 21 municipalities in Susquehanna County who had Adams. The reviewers suggested talking about a Susquehanna County Cable Consortium. Ms. Wages asked how many people in the borough had Adams; this was not known.

There were two, non-exclusive franchise agreements in the borough at that time, with NEP and Adams. Mr. Ainey said that NEP was a good citizen to New Milford, and Ms. Cosmello concurred with this sentiment. It was pointed out that the company put up the borough’s Christmas decorations and scoreboard.

After discussion the matter of the Adams contract remained undecided. The subject was tabled.

A gentleman had come to the borough requesting permission to distribute Bibles in the park. There would be no fee or anything for these, and he wished to disburse them every Friday. The man said that he did distribute them in Montrose. Mr. Ainey asked if there was any sort of solicitation ordinance. It was responded that there was a peddler’s permit, but that the individual was not selling anything. It was noted that the Jehovah’s Witnesses didn’t apply for a peddler’s permit to go door to door. A visitor asked if the person would be approaching people, or if the people would be approaching him. There was some discussion regarding the repercussions and liability of either giving or withholding permission. Mr. Ainey stated that the Bible was not the question, it was about the person soliciting or giving items away. Mr. White said that he wished to make it fair to everybody. Mr. Ainey made a motion to send the request to the solicitor. This passed.

If there were concerns regarding 911 addresses, it was stated that residents could call 570-278-2918 for clarification. It was suggested that people post their house numbers somewhere visible.

Animal Complaint: On 08/05/13 at 7:20 a.m. Silver Lake Township Police responded to an animal complaint on SR 167. The resident reported that 2 dogs were attacking his chickens and running loose on his property. Charges were filed against the owner of the dogs and the dog warden was notified. Chief Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Emergency P.F.A. Service: On 08/06/13 at 6:20 a.m. Silver Lake Township Police were requested to serve a P.F.A. On Donovan Road. Gibson State Police responded to a disorderly conduct call and requested that Silver Lake Police serve an emergency P.F.A. While the victim was being attended to by them. Sheriff Benedict and Chief Burgh were the responding officers.

Burglary: On 08/06/13 at 12:40 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police responded to Lake Sophia Road for a burglary that had just occurred. Several items were stolen from the home including some firearms. The victim stated that he was only away from his home for approximately 3 hours. Other police agencies were notified immediately of the incident. Detective Streno from the Vestal Police Department assisted in the investigation that led to an arrest. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. On 08/29/13 felony charges were filed against a Broome County resident by Chief Burgh for the burglary. The defendant is currently being held in Broome County Jail. This case is still active.

Suspicious Vehicle: On 08/08/13 a suspicious vehicle was reported on Church Road. The vehicle left the scene prior to police arrival. Officer Levi Tiffany was the responding officer.

Theft/ Recovered Property: On 08/08/13 @ 11:00 a.m. Chief Timothy Burgh received information on a stolen golf cart that had been taken on 07/04/13. The stolen golf cart was located and the victim was notified of its location. Chief Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Littering: On 08/09/13 Silver Lake Township Road crew reported littering that had taken place on Heavey Road. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Harassment/Trespass: On 08/13/13 at 12:15 p.m. A resident reported that she had a person in her home that wouldn’t leave. Silver Lake Township Police responded to the residence. Susquehanna County Sheriff’s Deputy Bennett assisted with the incident. The individual was gone prior to police arrival. Chief Burgh was the responding officer.

ATV Complaint: On 08/13/13 at 1:50 p.m. A resident reported that ATV’s were running up and down the Laurel Lake Road all day. The resident stated that it was 2 young adults that were going at a high rate of speed. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Criminal Mischief: On 08/14/13 at 4:30 p.m. A resident located on South Lake Road reported that their windows had been shot out by a bb gun. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Erratic Driving: On 08/14/13 Silver Lake Township Police took a report of an erratic driver. The victim stated that the person passed him on a crest of a hill and passed his wife on a curve at a high rate of speed. The incident took place on the Quaker Lake Road. The victim was able to obtain a description and plate number of the vehicle. Charges were filed against the erratic driver. Chief Timothy Burgh took the report and filed the charges. This case is still active.

Trespassing: On 08/15/13 at 2:05 p.m. A resident reported trespassing at a home located on Progy Road. Upon arrival the incident was found to be unfounded. The person on the property had permission to be there. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.

Recovered Property: On 08/15/13 at 4:20 p.m. Silver Lake Township Police took a report of a stolen license plate. The caller stated that the plate had expired in 2005 and that someone was using it on their boat trailer. The plate was recovered by Silver Lake Township Police. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.

Criminal Mischief: On 08/21/13 while on patrol, Silver Lake Township Police discovered that criminal mischief had been done on Lake Sophia Road. A vehicle had driven in circles on the property of a resident doing damage. The resident was notified of the discovery and of the investigation. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still active.

Alarm/Security: On 08/21/13 at 2:00 p.m. Silver Lake township police were dispatched for an alarm on the Brackney Hill Road. Upon arrival everything appeared normal and secure. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer.

Disorderly Conduct: On 08/03/13 at 10:40 a.m. a Silver Lake Township resident reported that acts of disorderly conduct and harassment had occurred against her. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer. This case is still under investigation.

Disabled Vehicle: On 08/05/13 at 12:05 p.m. a Silver Lake Township resident reported a disabled vehicle on North Shore Drive. The logging truck had wires that the driver drove under and was stuck until the wires could be removed. Chief Timothy Burgh was the responding officer

Medical Calls: Silver Lake Township Police responded to 1 medical call this month.

Any information or questions for Silver Lake Township Police, please call 570-278-6818 or email us at silverlaketwppd@epix.net, all information will be held strictly confidential. You can look at the Silver Lake Township Website at www.silverlaketwp.org, to see all Silver Lake Townships' news, profiles, and resources, including the police reports

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:25 a.m. on September 6, 2013: Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, John S. Frisbie, Jr, Jon W. Hanson, Douglas R. Heath, James Karhnak, Joe R. Kimmell, Kay L. Knolles, Whade A. Koch, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Lawrence M. McGuire, Ronald N. Mitchell, Frank T. Perera II, Jeffrey A. Ransom, Anthony Reed, Scott A. Russell, Bruce A. Schurr, Desiree L. Shifler, David J. Shiner, Brian R. Shio, Eric J. Snell, Nathan C. Strohl, Frederick Swingle III, Robert J. Twilley, Steven G. Warner, Todd M. West, Kevin E. Yanney. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.