At the October 3, New Milford borough meeting, topics of discussion ranged from bridges to real estate taxes. The latter topic came up as part of an announcement on the effects of the new earned income tax. Much happened before this point however.

There had been a zoning hearing, Mr. Ainey noted, and during the hearing there was noted a complaint about an issue on Susquehanna Street. He asked if council ought to look into it, being that it was a documented concern. He asked that the codes officer respond to the concern. This was agreed upon by others.

A copy of a letter had been received from solicitor Briechle's office. This led to a discussion leading to confirmation that the borough had appointed solicitor Briechle, not his firm.

Contractors were providing estimates on the work desired as part of the COG lease, it was noted. Mr. Carey related details of his dealings with one contractor.

There were plans for someone to take care of the drainage problem near the new senior housing development. The designs had been received, and it was expected that the work would begin after the fourteenth of October.

Ms. Gulick had spoken briefly with solicitor Briechle, and asked if they wanted to update their ordinances. Mr. Ainey pointed out that process generally cost money, and that it often involved a consultant. It was stated that there were some old ordinances still in place, including the one which prohibited riding a horse on the sidewalk.

Ms. Hine had spoken with the Montrose borough secretary, who had not thought that purchasing salt from Montrose would be a problem. However she would bring it up before that council at their meeting the following week.

The topic of security was broached. Ms. Gulick noted that the addition of the inside door was a start. Ms. Hine said that Mr. White had met with precision glass about the door.

Mr. Carey reported that the recreation board had met the previous Monday, and was planning to fix the first base dugout. The patio, which had some safety issues due to buckling was planed to to be a repair project in the spring.

Mr. Ainey asked if, when they met with the baseball program, there would be a way to coordinate things so that tax payers were not paying for a port a john when there were bathrooms on site. The argument had been made that they didn't want the pipes to freeze, but Mr. Ainey pointed out that weather warmed up enough at a certain point where they wouldn't.

During the economic development section of the meeting, it was noted that there was to be a meeting with a regional director representative from DCED. At the meeting they would work to try to develop a plan for sidewalks.

Somebody asked if there was a curfew at the park. It was stated that the ordinance restricted use after dusk. Mr. Ainey asked why there was a lighted walking track, then. It was agreed that the ordinance should have the walking track factored into consideration. Mr. White asked what council would think of turning the lights off an hour earlier, as they were still on until 10 pm. It was decided that this would be rolled back to 9 pm, and remain that way through the winter.

There was discussion about the volunteer who had cleaned the snow off the walking track the previous year. A means of assisting him was discussed, and it was motioned and approved that he be given a gas card from Pump N Pantry, in appreciation of his service.

Southwestern was thanked publicly for their work fixing the catch basin on Main Street. It was noted that they had independently found a contractor and hired him. Mr. Ainey suggested that council write a letter to the editor and submit it to the local newspapers, acknowledging and expressing appreciation for this.

The South Main Street bridge curb had been repaired on both the left and right side. This improved the aesthetics of the bridge, it was stated.

A bid had been received in regards to the North Main Street bridge, from Al Sydloskly. He had wondered if council could provide money up front for materials. The contractor did not want to pay for the materials and then have to wait a month for payment upon borough approval. It was thought that the bid wasn't a bad price. It was thought that the work should take care of the problems at the bridge. Mr. Ainey made a motion that council accept the estimate and empower the street committee to oversee the work. It was stated that council had not paid in advance in the past, but that the streets department was authorized to pay him when the work was completed.

There had been a personnel committee, and they were going to make a couple of policy changes.

A couple meetings were held the week previous. One was regarding the siren. They were talking about creating some kind of a warning system with the siren, but wished to find out if there was a national signal system first. There had been some discussion regarding who would actually sound the alert in case of need; it was possible to activate it over the phone. The fire department was willing to take this on.

The other meeting regarded insurance. The borough was part of a pool. After speaking with insurance agencies it was decided that the borough had a good deal as it was. Ms. Gulick felt they could take insurance quote off of the agenda, then.

The finance committee had met and started the budget. Mr. Ainey said that the taxpayers of New Milford borough were going to be extremely happy. The earned income tax created more money than he thought it ever would. They were going to propose to council that New Milford borough cut their property taxes in half. The total millage was 10 mills, including 8.5 of general fund taxes, and they were going to propose cutting it to five. The finance committee was hoping to present this to council in November. It was pointed out that the first year of earned income taxes was not yet even over.

The finance committee was also making a recommendation not to touch the gas lease money (around $67,400), but that instead it be placed in a CD. This would make it more difficult for any council to spend it.

It hadn't been decided what to do with it yet, and Ms. Gulick said that the people of New Milford had a right to help decide this. A motion to create the account was made and improved.

It was said that drawing the line at the end of September, roughly $50,000 had been brought in through the EIT. In the future the plan would be that anything over this amount would represent a further reduction of taxes. Mr. Ainey pointed out that this was what the current council had decided, and that future councils might decide otherwise.

There had been no word back from the solicitor on the distribution of Bibles in the Midtown park, it was noted.

A couple of Leatherstocking surveys had been handed out by council. There was discussion regarding dividing the town up to get the rest of the surveys to the residents.

Mr. Ainey brought up the subject of gas lights in the Midtown park. There were many things which could be done with gas lights. That was one of his dreams. He said it was a beautiful park.

Mr. Ainey also said that he thought Main Street as a whole was not as aesthetically pleasing as Church Street was. Mr. White spoke highly of the trees.

A visitor asked why the large tree in the park was no longer lit with Christmas lights. It was responded that the borough no longer had any means of getting high enough to string it, the tree was so tall. She suggested that the White House ought to use one of of the borough's trees as their tree. Mr. White quipped that those trees weren't Democrat, they were GOP- Grand Old Pines.

The parade of lights was scheduled for October 26th. The parade was scheduled for 7 pm, with a costume contest and festivities scheduled before this.

A letter had been received from the borough's solicitor announcing that the Supreme Court denied the Bradley petition for allowance of appeal.

Every year the Blue Ridge School Board allocates some money to be distributed among students who request help for programs that generally involve travel abroad. One of those programs is sponsored by People to People, established in 1956 to “[challenge] tomorrow’s leaders to expand their global awareness [and] discover new experiences.” This year, 4 Blue Ridge students traveled to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji as part of a much larger group of students from around the country. Such trips often involve staying with local families, yet can still cost thousands of dollars.

The 4 students, Jenna Bennett, Abigail Roe, Dustin Ralston and Kara Empett, attended the Board’s workshop on September 30 to thank members for helping with the cost, and to present a slide show with photographs from their trip in July. They met with schoolchildren in Fiji and Maoris in New Zealand, and explored beaches in Australia. They were the first such group to return to the Board with a report on their experiences.

Blue Ridge People-to-People Ambassadors Jenna Bennett, Abigail Roe, Kara Empett and Dustin Ralston

The evening actually started off with a meeting of Harold Empett’s Facilities & Grounds Committee, which reviewed a long list of projects completed over the summer by the maintenance staff. Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Price reported the receipt of a check from EnerNOC for $200 for participation in a program that would have the schools cut back on electricity consumption at times of high demand. Blue Ridge was asked for a cut in hot weather during the first week of school. Mr. Price said that the first priority in these situations is to “keep it safe for the kids.” He said electricity usage on the campus was cut by about a third during that day, which had little impact on classes since it began late in the day. Nevertheless, it showed that “we’re doing our part,” said Committee member Shane Rumage.

Mr. Price asked the Committee and the Board to allow him to donate a supply of T12 fluorescent lights to the Susquehanna Community School District. As a result of the energy conservation program implemented a couple of years ago, the district converted all of its fixtures to the newer and more efficient T8 lights. He said that it could cost up to about 50 cents apiece to recycle the T12 tubes; giving them to Susquehanna where they can be used made more sense.

Mr. Price reminded the Committee that the district’s 2 boilers are now about 17 years old. While they are still in good condition and operating efficiently, the district will need to consider their replacement eventually. Mr. Empett reminded his colleagues on the Board that natural gas will be coming to the campus probably within 18 months or so. He suggested that the Board and administration begin developing a plan for replacing or modifying whatever equipment will be affected by the change. Natural gas, like the #2 fuel oil it will replace, will be only a fallback fuel, since the district will continue to use the still-cheaper wood chips for its primary heating fuel.

During the general workshop, the Board heard reports from administrators and committee chairs. Superintendent Robert McTiernan said that the old strategic plans required every 6 years by the state Department of Education (DoE) have been superseded by new “Comprehensive Plans.” The state last Spring received a waiver from the requirements of the Federal No Child Left Behind act such that schools will no longer be graded according to Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Henceforth (until they change it again), schools will be rated by the state using a new School Performance Profile. The changes in regulations promulgated by the sometimes opaque state education bureaucracy will have the administration scrambling to meet the modified requirements.

In the meantime, Activities Committee chair Christina Cosmella said that some 15 students had expressed an interest in a bowling program sponsored by the district. Mr. McTiernan outlined the costs, including transportation, the pay of a supervisor, etc. Other Board members were skeptical of such an initiative, since a bowling league would not be sanctioned by PIAA or any other authority. Why couldn’t interested students simply form a league on their own? Mr. Empett was concerned that creating such a program might set an open-ended precedent for other interests; for example, would horseback riders be next?

Wellness Committee chair Michael Detwiler reported that his group is beginning to focus on “emotional wellness” that could be related to bullying and other negative behaviors. The group is also considering a fitness program that might be targeted at students who “are not ready for” competitive sports. Along similar lines, the adult classes offered in the fitness center will resume on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning soon.

Technology Committee chair John Ketchur had the one business item for the evening set aside for the time being. Final details are being worked out on a contract with Northeast Data for the installation of new fiber backbone networking in the schools. The contract is worth over $170,000.

Mr. McTiernan reported that he had received no complaints about busing over the past 10 days or so. Issues that have come up have been addressed; he has even personally driven some of the routes. And traffic patterns at the school entrances have been smoothed out to improve bus arrival and departure scheduling. Administrators have noticed that breakfast in the cafeteria has become more popular due to the changes in the flow of people into the schools in the morning.

On the other hand, with the higher cost of food and more stringent regulations applied by the government to the school lunch program, Mr. McTiernan recommended that the district may “need to market the food service program any way we can” in order to increase revenue.

Board president Laurie Brown-Bonner asked her charges to be thinking about beginning planning for next year’s golf tournament through her Fundraising Committee. She also reported that discussions continue on the Superintendent’s performance and contract, mostly in executive sessions.

Ms. Brown-Bonner was especially proud that the school’s Leo Club has been collecting for the Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital.

The Blue Ridge School Board will have had a business meeting before you read this, on Monday, October 7, 2013. All meetings begin at 7:30pm in the cafeteria in the Elementary School, except when they don’t. Oh, and if you weren’t there for the workshop, then you missed Ms. Cole-Koloski’s outstanding apple crisp.

Ditches and drainage issues were a subject of concern at Hallstead Borough's monthly meeting on the 26th of September. It appears the catch basins in some areas are overflowing due to lack of efficient drainage, especially in parts where there are ditches. The council members are seeking a solution to these problems, particularly on and around Chase Avenue and hope to be fixing the issue shortly as well as other minor road issues. 

A motion was made to put up concrete bollards along the roadway at a park in Hallstead. The Council hopes that this will successfully prevent traffic from moving onto the lawn area at the park.

A decision was also made on whom to hire for the Maintenance Position the Borough had available. 

Also, November's meeting has been moved up to Tuesday, November 19th at 7:00 pm. October's meeting is on schedule to occur on Thursday, October 17th. 

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 4:00 p.m. on October 4, 2013: Shannon Andrews, Beverly A. Carvin, William J. Casey,, Anthony M. Choplosky, Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, John S. Frisbie, Jr, Jon W. Hanson, Douglas R. Heath, Joe R. Kimmell, Kay L. Knolles, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Ronald N. Mitchell, George M. Moran, III, Jeffrey A. Ransom, Anthony Reed, Jose A. Rodriguez, Scott A. Russell, Bruce A. Schurr, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Nathan C. Strohl, Frederick Swingle III, Timothy T. Towers, II, Robert J. Twilley, Steven G. Warner. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals.

At the October 3rd, 2013 Great Bend Borough meeting, the Police Department announced the completion of a detailed and stunning blue-stone memorial bench, dedicated to the late Police Officer Daniel “J.J.” Lomax Sr., of Factoryville, who selflessly served numerous communities as both a Police Officer and firefighter. The bench will be placed at the Borough Building in Great Bend.      

Great Bend Police will also be participating in the “National Take Back Initiative,” allowing a safe and easy way to properly dispose of prescription drugs. On October 26th, from 10 am until 2 pm, residents may bring their expired and/or unused prescriptions to the Great Bend Police Station for disposal and also gain valuable information about potential misuse of prescription medications.

On another note for the Police Department, a motion was made by Jerry MacConnell to possibly purchase a newer police car for the Borough, if said car were to meet their patrol car requirements. It was decided that the current police car would be sold in the event that a new one was purchased.

On the agenda also was the discussion of drainage, a common theme throughout the area, especially with winter on the way. Concerns over drainage at the bottom of Randolph Rd. were of focus, because of the paving on Washington Street, where water frequently runs off from the hill. There are also concerns with drainage on Carrol St. and Maple St. The Borough is working on getting these issues fixed before winter arrives.

The next Great Bend Borough meeting is set to take place on Thursday, November 7th, 2013.

The Susquehanna County Commissioners announce the Courthouse will be closed on Monday, October 14, 2013 in observance of Columbus Day. All court related offices will be available.