At the December 18th meeting of the New Milford township supervisors, Mr. Jim Hunter presided over the proceedings for the last time of his twelve year term. 

It was announced that the budget would be available at the township office for review until January 6, at which time it would be enacted. 

Several items were being put out to bid, to be opened at the February meeting. 

Various notifications had been received and were reviewed.  Bluestone Gathering planned to submit a GP-5 to DEP for the purpose of operating a Natural Gas Compressor Station within the Township, on East Lake Road.  This had been planned for a while, Mr. Hunter noted, they were just getting started on it.  Angeline Gathering Company planned to lease 16.31 acres on Sutton Road from TNT, to construct a new compressor station.  Mr. Hunter noted that this was just the beginning stages of the paperwork.  SWN was applying for an ESCGP-2 permit for a new gas pad on Howell Road. 

The township office was planning to go to thirty hours after the reorganization meeting.  This would represent five days a week, six hours a day. 

The reorganization meeting was scheduled for January 6 at 7:00 pm with regular meeting to follow. 

When the meeting was opened to public input, no one spoke.  A motion was made to pay the bills and adjourn.  Various people thanked Mr. Hunter for his service.  After the meeting cake and cookies were available, in commemoration of the occasion.

Five days before, the Harford Township Supervisors recessed their regular December meeting to give themselves a little more time to consider offers from Medico Industries for a Case machine, and from Cleveland Brothers Equipment for a Caterpillar, to replace the township’s ancient bucket loader. Both Wilkes-Barre companies sweetened their pitches at the last minute. When they resumed the meeting on December 17 they had elected to purchase a Caterpillar 924K wheel loader for $136,194.

Supervisor Garry Foltz said that Cleveland Brothers very nearly matched the 3-year, 3,000-hour full-machine warranty offered by Medico (what Cleveland was calling a “governmental premier warranty”). Aside from the lower price, according to Supervisor Doug Phelps, the size of the “Cat” will be “more suitable” to the township’s purpose; the larger Case machine would have had to be fitted with a smaller bucket to work well with the township’s dump trucks.

The township crew wants the machine as soon as possible, to keep from wearing out the backhoe loading trucks with winter materials. Stephen Simko, representing Cleveland Brothers at the meeting, said the machine is now in Pittsburg. He expected it to be delivered as early as possible the following week.

The machine will be paid for with a lease-purchase arrangement on a 5-year contract. The township will pay out $36,194 up front, financing $100,000. The natural gas “impact fee” income is expected to cover the cost.

After all the paperwork was signed and Mr. Simko had left, Mr. Foltz took the opportunity to air something of a disagreement over the township’s “time-off policy.” It seems that employees who work on a holiday are to be paid for the holiday as usual, plus time-and-a-half for the hours they work that day. Some confusion over the policy apparently caused a ruckus with an employee – a “blow-up” as Mr. Foltz put it. He said that he was “attacked” over the issue. Details were not forthcoming, or solicited.

Mr. Foltz also complained about the cancellation of his health insurance policy through the township that caused him to incur some extra cost when purchasing eyeglasses. He asked the township secretary to clear that up by the end of the year when he leaves office.

The Harford Supervisors will meet next on January 3, 2014 with their insurance broker. They will reorganize themselves with the newly-elected Conrad Owens on January 6, 2014, and meet with auditors to set pay rates on January 7, 2014.

Walking into a meeting, it’s always easy to tell when something is wrong. The Hallstead Borough meeting on Thursday, December 19th was no exception. A drastic increase in public attendance usually means there are issues to be addressed, and there were.

It seems there were plowing issues following the previous week’s snow fall. Several residents and at least one member from the Fire Department were in attendance to describe their grievances towards the Borough’s new plow driver.

In an extremely tense public comment session, Mr. Treadway was the first to take the stage in a series of complaints. He stated that the plow driver had plowed into his actual yard, damaging the underground fence in place to keep his dogs within his yard and breaking the line, making it useless. He worried this may allow his dogs to get loose, putting them at risk of getting hit- something he nor any parent would want to explain to his young children. The Borough agreed to look into and fix the damage done to the property.

Another resident also came forward, complaining that they had called the Borough to request plow maintenance. He said that he was then told that the plow service must contact Michelle Giangrieco before going ahead and doing the maintenance. Ms. Michelle Giangrieco stated that permission is not needed to go ahead with plow work; thus confusion ensued over the phone call.

Being both a resident of Hallstead and a member of the Fire Department, another gentleman wanted to express his concerns. He stated that he and a fellow Fireman spent some time shoveling out fire hydrants around the Fire Company, the Borough building, and the Emerson apartments. He stated that the current plow driver had plowed snow into the areas around the fire hydrants, blocking them from access. Though understandably silent, Mr. Newman did thank the gentleman for removing the snow from the fire hydrants.

At this point, tensions were high and a sort of confusion and anger took hold of the meeting as conversations erupted from every corner of the room. One resident stated that the gentleman who plows the roads may just need some more guidance in his work and training. The Borough agreed and stated that he is receiving some guidance and that as long as he is showing improvement there should not be any future problems- and if there are, they will be dealt with accordingly. He is, after all, a new employee adjusting to his job. This did not satisfy one resident however, who argued that the best man wasn’t chosen for the job, considering the experience of other applicants. Council members argued this, stating that resumes and interviews were held fairly and the best candidate was chosen for the job.

Snow removal wasn’t the only cause for comment, though, at the meeting. A resident from Hallstead also sent a letter to the Borough, describing a “junk yard” like appearance of a residence on Church Street in Hallstead. In his letter, he stated that this property not only devalues surrounding properties, it creates a fire hazard to the nearby wooden homes, and also impedes on the use of the sidewalk. The Council all seemed familiar with which house he was referring to, and a letter is being sent to the homeowner(s).

Aside from Public Comment, the meeting was fairly short. It was announced that Ms. Michelle Giangrieco has served twenty-eight years on the Council, and it was cause for applause within the meeting area, as Council Members thanked her for her service to Hallstead.

In light of signs disappearing from the road, the Borough wanted to remind residents, particularly on Main Street of the Alternate Snow Parking Route that is in effect between November 1st and April 1st. Using this alternate route for parking properly allows for safer travel and ease when removing snow from streets.

The next Hallstead Borough meeting is to be held on January 16, 2014, the third Thursday of the month.

The December 16th meeting of the Mountain View School Board was packed nearly to overflowing, with visitors lining much of one side of the room behind the board. Many of them wore blue shirts emblazoned with MVEA. Recently appointed board members, Mr. Casselbury and Mr. Richmond were present, as was the recently hired Director of Social Services, Gail Wnorowski.

The meeting began with Pride of Mountain View awards. Only one member of the Girls Soccer Team, Megan Getz, was present, and neither of the CTC students of the month were there.

Ms. Getz then gave the Student Government Liaison’s Report. She briefly noted a variety of school happenings. Mountain View had won a canned soup sculpture competition. Various holiday events were going on, to include: an instructor door decoration competition with a holiday song theme, candy grams, a holiday spirit week, building decorations, and pictures with Santa. The FBLA was preparing for the Regional Conference, the Scholastics team was scheduled to compete at the Northeast PA Challenge (at Mountain View) and a competition at Waverly, NY in February. Both the Honor Society and Jr. Honor Society were scheduled to go caroling. The 2013-2014 yearbooks were on sale, those wishing to order one were to contact Mrs. Fitzpatrick. The STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Fair was to be held on April 12th at 10 am. SADD was awaiting results on the Shift competition and was working on a possible Easter egg hunt for pre-K and K students. Wrestling meets had started; only away meets were scheduled. The Jr. Honor Society had done a Feed a Friend field trip to Trehab.

A motion was made to approve the Dual Enrollment program with Lackawanna College as presented. Mr. Twining wished to bring a few things up about this prior to the vote. He said that they had spoken on the topic at the last meeting, and he had some concerns. He was okay with the curriculum as far as it was approved for college credit, his concern was that the students would be taking it and would have to pay the $100 to Lackawanna College. If the students went to Lackawanna then, it would count as credit, but this wouldn’t be guaranteed if they went to another college. His concern was that this wouldn’t be clear to all parents. Mr. Presley replied that the college had an agreement with all Pennsylvania state universities that credits would be accepted. The college did suggest that parents of children going to a private college should contact the school to see if credit would be accepted. It might be accepted as an elective credit. Mrs. Shea said that guidance would speak with the students about the subject, and it would be reviewed with parents as well.

Mr. Presley then explained that if the agreement was made, not only could students take the five courses which had been matched up at the school, but they could also take other courses on campus on nights and weekends for the same price, which would be a significant savings.

Mr. Twining said that his personal thought was that they would want the child to experience the whole realm of going to college. Mr. Presley responded that they would still have to go to college; the most they earn was like a semester’s worth of credit.

The courses would cost $300 ($100 per credit) which would still be a significant discount. A visitor asked for clarification that the students would be sitting in Mountain View classrooms, the instructors would be using their material, the students would get college credit for it, but the district would receive no money. This appeared to be the concern of various people present, that Lackawanna College was not doing the work but was receiving money from the students for it.

Mr. Presley maintained that the students were receiving a benefit, and the district was there for the students. He also pointed out that there was no requirement from signing the agreement - if it was signed and no student participated it was fine. Also, it was no extra work for the instructors, as they were using their normal curriculum.

Mr. Richmond said they hoped that it would boost some of the kids to go to college. In response to concern that high school classes were counting as college credit, it was explained that the curricula had been examined and there had to be a match in order for a class to be part of a program. The course being taken would not necessarily count for the same class at the college - for instance honors pre-calc students might receive credit for a college algebra class, where the material they would be covering would be more advanced than what they would have received in that college class.

Mr. Twining said he was perfectly okay with it as long as parents understood that once the kids left, if they went to a college outside of Pennsylvania the credits might not transfer. Mrs. Shea wished to add that there were a number of other courses which would have matched up, but it was decided by committee that Mountain View wouldn’t include them. Mr. Presley explained this further, saying that they stayed away from any course that would take away from AP courses. That was why they had kept to the five courses listed. It was also noted that not all students taking one of the five classes would have to participate in the college credit opportunity.

During his report Mr. Taylor spoke about a discussion at a previous meeting regarding an energy broker. A representative from the company, Mid Atlantic Energy Services, was present to address questions. The man stood and talked to the board, saying that he had gotten a look at their energy bill about a month ago and had put it out to bid with the 8 energy suppliers they worked with. He had brought back information suggesting that his company could save the district about $40,000 a year. Mrs. Aherne asked if there were extra fees they would have to pay that they weren’t paying at that time. He responded that their price wouldn’t change, under the agreement on the table that night it would be locked in at 6.4 per kilowatt hour. He said that there were no hidden fees - he was a taxpayer in the district and was there to save them money. The fees and the gross receipt tax were included in the cost estimate. The best deal he had received back from the bid was a 17 month contract with PPL Power. This would take them to June of 2015. Mr. Richmond asked if this would take them at a disadvantage, as they had been told that sometimes the price went up. The representative responded that this was where he came in - he monitored the market. The district would be locked in for 17 months. About a year into the agreement, his company would monitor the market and shop around, working to try to get them a lower rate when the contract ended. He would need 30 days notice if the district chose to terminate at the end of that time, however he would ask for 30 days notice. Mr. Kilmer asked how long they had to decide on this. The agreement with PPL Power was only good until the close of business on Wednesday. Mr. Stoddard didn’t see how they could take action on it that evening, he said, as neither they nor their solicitor had seen the contract previously. The representative replied that on whatever day the district decided they wanted to go forward he would put them out to bid with the eight suppliers. Mr. Stoddard thought the January meeting would be the soonest it could be acted on. It was confirmed that at that time the rate could be up or down, though it was estimated that it might be at most a $3,000 difference in either direction.

The MVEA Labor relations meeting was canceled on the ninth due to weather, it was announced. As of that night nothing new had been scheduled, but that didn’t mean that it wouldn’t be.

Mrs. Shea, during her report, said that she had attended the chorus and band concert, and she wanted to publicly thank the staff involved who had done a wonderful job trying to prepare the students despite snow days and other conflicts.

The other administrators present also gave their reports. Mr. Patchcoski wished everyone a merry Christmas from the business office. Mrs. Kelly reported on a PBIS incentive at the elementary school, in which gracious faculty had agreed to be pied. She said that the students were extremely excited about it, and she thanked the instructors for being good sports. The Christmas program at the elementary was scheduled to happen that week. Mr. Presley also wanted to thank the musical staff and students for the concert. He expressed a desire to thank Dr. Plonski-Sezer as well, for her donation toward the piano lab. That made three pianos toward the lab at that time.

He then broached the topic of tournaments, which had been discussed at the last meeting he was at. He said that the cost wasn’t really an issue, and passed around a paper to accompany his argument in favor of this assertion. The district was only allowed so many competition points a year. A tournament usually cost one point per game.

He compared the cost of attending a tournament to the costs of hosting home or away games worth the same number of competition points. The League hadn’t done the district any favors, he said, as varsity basketball games were to start having three referees present instead of two. The cost could then go up to around $434 per home game. A ball park figure for away games was about $200 a game. So for basketball to play two competition points, the same as a tournament would use, could cost the district $500 or $600 total. The cost for a tournament could be pretty comparable, or even less, with a larger discrepancy in wrestling.

The tournaments also allowed them to see different competition. If they were looking to improve teams, he opined, they wanted to do this. If the district didn’t want to pay for the total tournament cost, they could only pay the entrance fees. He was concerned about the liability of this however, with students driving on their own but representing the district. He thought this put the district in a bad position.

He asked then, if the board would let them schedule some competitions, and he would keep cost in mind and not schedule any tournament that was going to be much more expensive than game competitions.

Mr. Twining asked, from a wrestling standpoint, if they had pretty much agreed that they wouldn’t be doing any home meets. It was confirmed that they would not, due to a lack of mats.

Mrs. Stine asked if the parents were still donating funds for tournaments. It was responded that the booster clubs were fund raising for fees, but the parents or students were driving.

Mr. Presley also broached the topic of entry fees into home games. They were one of the, if not the, only district in the area that didn’t charge entry fees. It wouldn’t raise a lot of money, but it would bring in some.

Mr. Stoddard asked if the ban on tournaments was a board motion. It was responded that it was a directive. So what was needed was for the board to just give permission. Mr. Presley reiterated that he would not let the sports do large cost events. Mr. Stoddard asked if the board was so disposed. It was generally agreed that it was.

It was noted that the topic of admission fees had been brought up repeatedly. Mr. Kilmer asked about it being done as a donation. Mr. Stoddard said that could be done so long as it was carefully controlled. A visitor pointed out that one of the other districts had a sports family pass, which would address the concern of admission fees being a financial burden on families with multiple kids. This could be a full-year pass. It was also pointed out that a lot of schools didn’t charge for outdoor events. Mr. Presley noted that officials costs were going up.

A track coach asked if the chance that the district would pay for tournaments would extend to all sports. When it was responded that it did, there was applause from the audience. Mr. Presley closed his report by also wishing people a happy holiday.

Ms. Wnorowski was welcomed by Mr. Stoddard as the new Director of Special Services. She said that she was thankful for such a welcoming reception. She said that she was very impressed with the dedication of the staff, and she was happy to be here. She received applause as well.

A visitor spoke up then, saying that she was trying to see from different school districts in the county who might be interested in helping to build an athletic complex in the county. There were some who were looking into different ways of trying to do this, as a structured program. A project of that size would cost millions, but she noted that New Milford Township alone got over $600,000 a year in gas money. She had spoken with someone from Susquehanna, and she was invited to speak at a superintendents meeting shortly thereafter. Mr. Stoddard said that with the initial chunk of gas money the district received they had built a track, a security system, and done work on two roofs. Mr. Richmond asked where they were looking at running it. It wasn’t certain if it could be county owned. She said that they thought the best bet would be to have it privately owned. She thought the best thing would be to have a non profit. She thought it would create a lot of jobs, and said that she wanted her money to stay local rather than to pay the Scranton athletic complex. Mr. Richmond asked if there was any way that if a school gave funds they would receive reduced use fees, and she said at that point anything was on the table. This was all very preliminary, she just wanted to put it out there. It was stated that it was a great idea.

The Susquehanna County DOMESTIC RELATIONS Section has outstanding BENCH WARRANT’S for the following individuals as of 10:40 a.m. on December 20, 2013: Duane M. Aldrich, Edwin Blaisure, Allen S. Bowman, William J. Casey, Anthony M. Choplosky, Cody A. Cook, Justin D. Cook, Marc K. Deesch, Thomas D. Earley, David J. Fischer, James Gerard, Jon W. Hanson, Timothy M. Holmes, Kay L. Knolles, Todd J. Layton, Charlie J. Legere, Derrick J. Lezinsky, Shawn N. Marcho, Robert J. McCrone, Matthew S. Miller, Ronald N. Mitchell, Vincent J. Petriello, Jeffrey A. Ransom, Jose A. Rodriguez, Scott A. Russell, Bruce A. Schurr, David J. Shiner, Eric J. Snell, Nathan C. Strohl, Frederick Swingle, III, Justin S. Thompson, Kathleen M. Visavati, Steven G. Warner. Please contact the Domestic Relations Section at 570-278-4600 ext. 170 with any information on the location of these individuals. 

Kristen M Kinner, 24, of Wyalusing, PA to 9 months probation, pay $250 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, not to have contact with the victims in this case for Simple Assault in Montrose Borough on May 18, 2013.

Andrew James Miner, 32, of Montrose, PA to 11 ½ to 23 ½ months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $300 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $100 Act 198 fee, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, receive a drug and alcohol evaluation and treatment, pay $250 DNA testing fee and submit sample, not to possess transport or consume alcoholic beverages, not to possess firearms while on supervision for Criminal Conspiracy in Springville Township on August 7, 2012.

Andre Orlando Robinson, 30, of Jacksonville, FL to 90 days to 23 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $500 fine, pay $100 Act 198 fee, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, pay cost of prosecution, not to possess firearms while on supervision, pay $250 DNA testing fee and submit sample, supervision may be transferred to Florida for Manufacture, Delivery or Possession with Intent to Manufacture or Deliver on February 20, 2013 in Lenox Township.

Joel W Warner, 19, of New Milford, PA to 9 months probation, not to have contact with co-defendants, not to have contact with anyone on supervision, receive drug and alcohol evaluation and counseling, maintain employment, pay $200 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee for Theft by Unlawful Taking in New Milford Township on March 31, 2013.

Christopher R Stiehl, 27, of Towanda, PA to 30 days to 15 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $500 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $50 Criminal Justice Enhancement Act fee, not to possess transport or consume alcoholic beverages, perform 50 hours of community service, not to possess firearms while on supervision for Accidents Involving Death or Personal Injury in Springville Township on June 12, 2012.

John D Strohl, 27, of Montrose, PA to 6 months to 23 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, followed by 3 years probation, pay $500 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $100 Act 198 fee, receive drug and alcohol counseling, not to possess weapons while on supervision, not to have contact with anyone on supervision for Manufacture of a Controlled Substance in Montrose Borough on July 19, 2013.

Brian David Pierson, 25, of Brackney, PA to 90 days to 12 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $1,500 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $100 CAT Surcharge, pay $300 Act 198 fee, pay $10 EMS, complete a safe driving school program, receive drug and alcohol counseling for Driving Under the Influence in Liberty Township on May 26, 2013.

Lance Lee Landes, 30, of Montrose, PA to 2 days to 6 months in Susquehanna County Correctional Facility, pay $500 fine, pay cost of prosecution, pay $100 Act 198 fee, pay $50 CAT Surcharge, pay $10 EMS, pay restitution to the victims for Driving Under the Influence in New Milford Borough on February 20, 2013. Mr. Landes was also sentenced to pay a $300 fine and to pay cost of prosecution for Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property in New Milford Borough on February 20, 2013.