A large number of teachers displayed their mutual solidarity at the meeting of the Blue Ridge School Board on March 7th, most wearing red and black shirts emblazoned with the logo of their union, the Blue Ridge Education Association (BREA).  The teachers have threatened a strike at the end of the month, having failed so far to reach agreement with the district on a new contract.  They have been working under a contract that expired almost 2 years ago, and are asking for higher pay increases than the district has been willing to accommodate, among other things.

The evening session actually began with a meeting of the Board’s Finance Committee, to start reviewing budget requests as presented by Business Manager Brian Dolan.  Starting off slowly, Mr. Dolan offered only 3 parts of the spending plan, covering the Maintenance Department, Food Service, and his own Business Office.  The preliminary figures did not include the biggest component, which is salaries; that will come later.

Of the 3 sections covered so far, Maintenance and the Business Office are asking for overall increases of between 4 and 6 percent.  Linda Cole-Koloski’s Food Service budget request is actually lower, by over $6,000.  The items covered include supplies, equipment, maintenance contracts and the like.  The committee did not like the extra $3,000 requested for a “FOB entry system” on the Middle School stairwell that would supposedly save staff a few steps. 

Mr. Dolan also asked for an additional $22,000 in “contingency” funds for the Maintenance Department, money that could be spent only with the explicit permission of the School Board.  Contingency funds were first established a few years ago for most areas of the budget, and then last year quietly discarded.

In total, the 3 sections covered so far make up just over $1 million, about 5% of what can be expected to be a budget of some $17 million.

Once the Board’s business meeting got under way, Middle/High School Principal Peter Supko introduced his chosen seniors for the month, Briar Susavage and Audrey Tyler.  Mr. Susavage thanked a long list of people for his achievements, and said he would enter the military, take up welding, or cook in a restaurant.  Ms. Tyler was more taciturn in her brief presentation in which she thanked her mentors at Blue Ridge.

Briar Susavage

Audrey Tyler

Elementary School Principal Danelle Decker, glad to be back from maternity leave, introduced her Citizens of the Month, Brooke Tingley, Griffin Whitehead, (Tristan Leon and Cheyan McDonald are not pictured)

Before launching into the published agenda, Board President Chris Lewis called on Andrew Whitehead, who had asked to speak on the labor dispute at Blue Ridge.  Introducing himself as a life-long, 53-year resident, and graduate of Blue Ridge, who earned a PhD degree and now teaches in a college, Mr. Whitehead said that he himself lived through a strike as a student at Blue Ridge over 35 years ago.

Claiming that the financial position of the district is “very sound,” and that Blue Ridge teacher salaries are “some of the lowest in Susquehanna County,” Mr. Whitehead said that the teachers are “not asking for a great deal,” but that the increases in their health-care contributions amounted to a cut in pay.  He said that low fuel prices should also offer more resources.  And he asked that the district schedule more meetings with the teachers to work out a deal and avoid a strike.

Refusing to discuss salary and benefit negotiations in public, Mr. Lewis responded that the average teacher salary in Susquehanna County is about $46,000 per year, while at Blue Ridge the average is about $55,000.  He said that the self-funded health plan at Blue Ridge uses a complex formula to arrive at employee contributions, which he said he might be able to make available to Mr. Whitehead.

Mr. Lewis said that transportation costs were higher (by about 17%) because of the extra runs that had to be contracted out this year.  He said that, while “no one is saying that our teachers aren’t doing a fantastic job,” the “governor is holding the money hostage” in his battle with the legislature, and no one knows what the outcome of the state’s budget battle will be.

He also noted that, while he would have liked more negotiation sessions with the teachers, once they announced a possible strike, a state mediator became involved, not to mention the lawyers on both sides.  The mediator assigned to Blue Ridge has 52 open cases, and the 3 dates chosen were the only ones that would allow all parties to assemble.

The business agenda for the evening – 18 points, plus 2 in an addendum – passed quickly without comment.  A couple of items concerning buses and busing contracts drew absentions from Board members Fred Lewis, Christina Cosmello and Brooke Solcum, whose families have interests in bus contracts.

Among more routine items, the Board approved:

• An updated calendar for the current school year.   The last day of classes will be June 9, with graduation scheduled for June 18.
• The budget for the Northeastern Intermediate Unit #19.  “The IU” is a consortium of school districts that provides services that individual districts do not, primarily in special education.  There was no increase in the budget, nor in the Blue Ridge contribution.
• The audit report for the fiscal year that ended last June; a summary of the report was provided by Mike Dougherty of Murphy, Dougherty & Co. last month.
• An agreement to continue with Sweet, Stevens, Katz & Williams LLP as the district’s solicitor for the next school year.  The firm charges up to $195 per hour for attorneys and $125 per hour for legal assistants.
• A recommendation to place a full-page advertisement in the Harford Fair premium book, for $140.
• A contract for policy review services by the Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA, the lobbying organization of the state’s public schools) for about $6,000.
• Renewing the Regional Wide Area Networking service providing Internet access from the IU through the fiscal year ending in 2021, for an annual cost of about $13,500.
• A “five-year partnership” for all student transportation beginning with the next school year with Samuel J. Cosmello, Hawk Bussing, Inc., Lewis Bussing, Inc. Martin MacGeorge and Rebecca MacGeorge; and a similar one-year partnership with Lisa Stepniak.  The terms of the partnerships were not provided at the meeting.

The Board also gave final approval to a collection of policy manual updates that were reviewed and offered for inspection last month.  The entire policy manual is available through the district’s website (www.brsd.org).

The student representative, Ashlee Derrick, told the Board that there was significant concern among students about the impending strike by the teachers.  She and Mr. Lewis commended Superintendent Matthew Button and Mrs. Tricia Gilboy for keeping the student body informed.  Mr. Lewis called it a “great learning experience.”

However that may be, the next public meeting of the Blue Ridge School Board is scheduled for March 29, 2016, the date the strike – if there is one – is to begin.  The first strike, that is.  State law provides for a mediated cooling off period once a strike is called.  Meanwhile, negotiations continue.

Keep up with everything at the Blue Ridge district website.  There are budget meetings scheduled through June.  Ms. Cole-Koloski’s budget should provide enough to continue nourishing the Board with soup next year.

Susquehanna Depot Borough Council gathered for an advertised Special Meeting on Wednesday, March 2, from 5:30 to 6:40 p.m. The purpose of this meeting was to (1) to consider and reconsider matters related to the acquisition of a police cruiser; and (2) to consider other matters, as necessary.

Though the borough’s occasional special meetings are not usually reported in the newspaper, this Special Meeting is noteworthy in that at meeting’s end council members concluded all borough business for the month of March had already been satisfactorily handled. As such, there appeared to be insufficient reason to hold another meeting in March. Accordingly, Council voted unanimously to cancel the regularly scheduled meeting of March 9, 2015.

President Joe Varsik presided over March 2nd’s Special Meeting. Council members present were Sue Crawford, John Hendrickson, Roy Williams, and Deb Zayas; members absent were Barbara Larsen and Dana Rockwell. Others present were Mayor Nancy Hurley and Secretary/Treasurer Margaret Biegert. In the interest of full disclosure this reporter was not present and the article which follows is composed entirely from Secretary Biegert’s (unapproved) meeting minutes.

In relation to the borough’s first objective, acquisition of a police cruiser, Council “rescind[ed] the motion of February 10, 2016 to purchase the 2014 Dodge Charger V-6 from Domino’s Auto for $26,475.” Next, Council approved a motion “to purchase a 2016 Sedan Police Interceptor for $24,824.81; price to include car, Co-Star discount, and trade-in for 2008 Police Charger, push bumper, and service to transfer light bar from the Charger to the Interceptor.” Council members voted unanimously for approval of both motions.

As to the second objective, Council unanimously approved the Finance Committee’s recommendations to make line-item adjustments to the borough’s 2016 budget, and to impose a moratorium on departmental spending until completion of 2015 & 2016 inventories. Adjustments resulted in an increase of $12,797 spread out over five line items, and a decrease of $3,197 spred over two line-items. Included within the increase is funding for DPW part-time hours by 12 hours per week from April through November. Also increased was funding to hire a part-time Codes enforcer for eight hours per week, with a decrease of four hours per week for Councilman Williams.

Three other matters were considered by council before adjournment:

• Rust assessment for the borough’s Durango police cruiser once the aforementioned newly purchased 2016 Interceptor is received and placed into operation;
• Councilman Williams’ recommendation for a change to Flood Plain Ordinance #465 to change the requirement as to who may review and certify engineering plans pertaining to construction in the flood plain area (Current wording assigns the duty to the Code Enforcement Officer; Mr. Williams recommended it be changed to read, “a qualified person or company making those certifications.”); and
• Discussion of the DCNR/DEP meeting facilitated by Peter Wolfhorst of Penn State, and held at the borough building the previous meeting, with regard to Ira Reynolds River Front Park.

Council held an Executive Session from 6:28 to 6:36 p.m. for discussion of a legal issue. No official action on the legal issue was taken when council returned to Regular Session, and Council adjourned at 6:40 p.m. after approval of a motion to cancel meeting on Wednesday, March 9.

Susquehanna Depot’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for the second Wednesday of April at 6 p.m.

Obstacles serve a purpose: they give us a chance to find out how badly we want something.

Oakland Borough Council has been meeting in Lanesboro’s Community Center for a fair number of years. A room in the private residence of the borough secretary serves as her official office. The front seat of the borough’s police cruisers often serve as the office of Oakland’s Finest. That could all be changing by the end of this year.

Council President Brian Rhone presided over this momentous Thursday, March 10, 2016 meeting. Councilmen Jack Agler, Eric Page, Gary Boughton, Nelson Towner, Doug Arthur, and newly-sworn-in Dave Dibble were present, along with Mayor Ron Beavan, Secretary/Treasurer Flo Brush, and Code Enforcement Officer (CEO) Shane Lewis.

Upon commencement of the meeting and routine formalities, President Rhone administered the oath of office to Dave Dibble. Mr. Dibble was sworn in to replace Dave Trevarthan on borough council.

With the availability of CEO Lewis, President Rhone deferred to him for presentation of the Codes Report. Mr. Lewis reported that a homeowner in the borough will be on-hand next meeting, with his attorney, to present an architectural plan concerning a retaining wall; the borough will likewise have its Solicitor, Myron DeWitt, on hand. Aside from that issue, CEO Lewis noted two other properties that require long-term monitoring to ensure owner compliance with the maintenance code. He further reported on the status of a home undergoing long-term renovation, as well as three structures that are in various stages of condemnation with an ultimate aim of demolition. It is unfortunate that demolition significantly reduces the borough’s tax base, but when houses are in such advanced stages of deterioration no other solution presents.

The real purpose for Mr. Lewis’ attendance at the meeting however, was to discuss some technical issues in support of Councilman Page’s work on the building committee. Mr. Page and his committee have been hard at work with the goal of a municipal building for the borough their objective. Recent events have opened up the opportunity for the committee to consider an already existing structure in the borough to be the next home for the borough. Mr. Lewis, Mr. Page, Mr. Dibble, et al. have gathered sufficient factual data, as well as a positive signal from the structure’s owner, to warrant concrete steps toward possible purchase of the building.

All three of the aforementioned--Messrs. Lewis, Page, and Dibble--discussed their findings regarding the suitability of the structure for municipal purposes. The totality of their findings culminated in a motion to investigate the possible purchase of an existing building within the borough for use as the borough’s municipal building. Because the negotiations still lie ahead, including negotiation of a purchase price, Council requested that disclosure of the building location be withheld until the deal is finalized. Council members also noted that the borough has a fall-back position should negotiations for their prime objective be unfruitful. Readers may expect announcement how the borough will proceed at April’s Council meeting.

In other matters, Councilman Boughton presented the Parks Report. His report centered on usage of the concession stand at the borough’s park. Councilmen Boughton and Arthur presented their plan to Council for Little League to be given authority to operate the concession stand, while paying a set percentage of profits to the borough. Mr. Boughton also indicated that Council will require Little League to sign a release to operate the concession stand. The full Council discussed these arrangements and indicated by consensus that they were acceptable, as well as a “Plan B” if these arrangements are not acceptable to Little League.

Mayor Beavan presented the Mayor’s Report. In doing so, he discussed the “Drug Activity Reporting Form.”  The form, Council agreed, will be available through a link on the borough’s website. The form originated in the County District Attorney’s Office and is another tool for use in reducing the drug abuse problem in Susquehanna County. Anyone may report illegal drug activity anonymously.

Mayor Beavan also presented the Police Report for the month of February 2016. It showed Oakland PD had eight response incidents: Miscellaneous (5), debris in road (1), harassment (1), and littering (1).

In other matters before the borough:

• Council voted unanimously to sign on in support of New Milford Borough’s effort to lobby state legislators for reforms that would provide borough governments with royalties based upon horizontal fracking originating in adjacent townships;
• Councilman Doug Arthur reminded all residents that a county-wide burn ban is in effect from March 5 through April 5;
• Susquehanna County Recycling Center has notified municipalities that it is struggling to handle the current level of electronics being turned in for recycling; it therefore discouraged local authorities from projects of mass collection for turn-in to the Center.

Council adjourned at 8:04 p.m. Next Council meeting is scheduled for the second Thursday in April at Lanesboro’s Community Center.

Lanesboro’s regular monthly meeting is scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month. But an inconvenient circumstance defeated the borough’s best laid plans for its March 8 meeting. Council President Dan Boughton, along with Councilmen Dale Rockwell and David Glidden, Mayor Chris Maby, and Secretary/Treasurer Gail Hanrahan were present at the 7 p.m. start time. Nevertheless without the presence of a fourth council member a quorum could not be constituted and conduct of the meeting could not proceed.

Lanesboro currently has two vacancies on its borough council, but the borough has petitioned the Court of Common Pleas to reduce its current size from seven to five seats. An April 1, 2016 hearing is scheduled for hearing of said petition. The two councilmen absent from the March 8 meeting were Tom Nitterour and Jason Fissel. Notably, Councilman Fissel has not been in attendance at a council meeting in over a year. Councilman Nitterour was “under the weather.”

Lanesboro will make a second attempt to convene this month’s regular meeting on Tuesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the Community Center.

Starrucca Borough Council took decisive action on several fronts during its monthly meeting of Monday, March 7. Council accepted Wayne County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. Council approved a one-year intergovernmental agreement with Harmony Township for borough road maintenance, less snow-plowing and cindering.  Approval was granted for use of the Community Hall for the April 26 General Primary. And Council decided who would carry out the borough’s lawn care, and who would represent the borough in an ongoing legal case.

Council President Peter Frank presided over the 7 to 8:46 p.m. meeting. Present and participating in the monthly meeting were Councilmen Kirk Rhone, Louis Gurske, Darl Haynes, Art Kopp, Jason Heeman, and Donald Haynes, Jr. Also present were Mayor Mary Ann DeBalko and newly-installed Secretary/Treasurer Keith Payne.

Unlike previous meetings, Council proceeded smartly through routine formalities: approving previous meetings’ minutes, the treasurer’s report, the bills list, and discussing 16 items of correspondence on the meeting’s agenda. While approval of the meeting minutes for January 4 and February 1 was not unanimous--Councilmen Heeman, Gurske, & Darl Haynes opposed--Council proceeded without the prolonged disputations that had marked previous meetings. Mayor DeBalko, under later questioning by Starrucca resident Jack Downton, acknowledged that she was responsible for preparation of the minutes for the January 4 meeting. Mayor DeBalko volunteered that the raw notes taken by previous Borough Secretary Pattie Smith were available for inspection by any interested party.  

In financial matters, the borough’s general fund had a balance of $13,124.16 on February 1; its closing balance on March 1 was $5,784.24. The borough’s liquid fuels balance on March 1 stood at $3,936.57.

In the public participation portion of the meeting Jack Downton presented historical documents to Council President Frank and Mayor DeBalko. Mr. Downton presented copies of Darl & Carol Haynes’ property title (obtained from county records) and a Liquid Fuels Report from 2009. The documents formed part of the bases for Mr. Downton’s contentions regarding the borough’s jurisdictional lines and the residency of council member Darl Haynes. Council, while permitting Mr. Downton to assert his views, did not take any action favorable to those views. Mayor DeBalko asked Mr. Downton several questions (about borders), and more than one council member took the position that no actionable item was before council for consideration.

In other public comment Starrucca resident Peggy Soden questioned the borough’s commitment to the publishing of meeting minutes in “The Susquehanna County Transcript” as well as a second paper in Wayne County. President Frank reassured her that Council would ensure meeting minute publication, as promised. He noted the delay in approval of meeting minutes and that minutes could only be printed AFTER formal approval.

Also in public comment Auditor Dan Kramer provided a line-by-line review of his audit results for the borough’s 2015 finances.  Council members thanked him for his detailed work.

Old Business consisted entirely of three legal cases, none of which were noticeably advancing through the legal system. That said, the meeting shifted to New Business. It was in this portion Council discussed, and ultimately approved, the borough’s acceptance of the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan. President Frank noted that he was through page 59 of reviewing the 109-page plan.  According to President Frank the borough’s last hazard mitigation plan approved and on file with the county dated from 2008.  How the borough could have neglected approval of a more updated plan since then was not known, but President Frank explained that council’s approval of the plan would return the borough to good standing for a period of five years. Federal and county regulations require each municipality to maintain a current Hazard Mitigation Plan. After full discussion of the matter Council voted unanimously to adopt the county’s plan for Starrucca Borough.

Councilman Donald Haynes, Jr., next proposed a motion to accept Harmony Township’s offer to take over Spring/Summer Road Maintenance for Starrucca. Mr. Haynes read through the list of fees (including operator costs) for each piece of road and roadside (brush/tree) maintenance equipment Harmony has at its disposal. The motion, as proposed  by Mr. Haynes, called for one-year’s agreement and excluded winter (plowing/cindering) maintenance. Starrucca Borough retains complete freedom to hire anyone, as needed, for winter-road maintenance. Final approval was ultimately granted by a 5-2 vote, with Councilmen Heeman and Gurske opposing.

Council President Frank next brought up the contract for mowing season lawn care. He had sought bids from four sources, but ultimately only one of the four had submitted a bid. The Gillerans were the winning bid, providing lawn care for the same price as last year--$2,025. Council unanimously approved the bid and agreed to the terms of providing three separate payments of $675--in June, August, and October 2016.

The borough’s search for a volunteer for Emergency Management Coordinator bore no fruit, but better success was had with filling the vacancy on the borough’s Vacancy Board. Regular Readers will recall that Keith Payne had volunteered to serve on the Vacancy Board when the vacancy was first noted at February’s meeting. However, when Council hired Mr. Payne as Borough Secretary/Treasurer he could not be approved as concurrently serving on the Vacancy Board (a conflict of interest detailed in the State’s Borough Code). At this meeting Jack Downton volunteered to serve on the Vacancy Board when President Frank put out the call. Council voted unanimous agreement.

At 8:10 p.m. Borough Council went into Executive Session to discuss legal issues. The meeting ultimately returned to Regular Order before final adjournment at 8:46 p.m. Official action taken before adjournment was the hiring of Lavery Law Firm of Harrisburg to defend the borough in the Federal Civil Rights action filed by Darl Haynes last fall. Neither Darl Haynes nor Donald Haynes, Jr., participated in the Executive Session or the motion to hire.

 Next borough council meeting is scheduled for the first Monday in April.

Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin today announced the approval of a $446,000 grant through the Pennsylvania First program to the Central Bradford Progress Authority for a waterline extension project that will support a business expansion creating 20 new, full-time jobs in Bridgewater Township.

"Infrastructure enhancement is essential to the health of the economy of Pennsylvania," Davin said. "Business development does not occur without the assurance of a strong infrastructure to support its growth. This project is an excellent example of a public-private initiative that will have a positive impact on an entire region."

The Central Bradford Progress Authority has received approval for a $446,000 Pennsylvania First grant on behalf of Diaz Manufacturing, LLC for the construction of an 8,500-foot waterline extension along the Route 29 Enterprise Zone corridor to Ellsworth Drive in Bridgewater Township. Diaz Manufacturing will build a 25,000-square-foot expansion to its existing manufacturing facility and construct a nearby 50,000-square-foot building for warehousing. Diaz Manufacturing has committed to investing $7.5 million in their expansion project and the creation of 20 new, full-time jobs and the retention of 80 existing positions over the next three years.

"The use of $446,000 of PA First Funds has leveraged nearly $12,000,000 of new investment, partnering the county, state, local governments, and utilities as well as impacting 150 jobs with true value-added manufacturing of Pennsylvania hardwoods," Alan Hall,Susquehanna County Commissioner said. "This project has included cooperation of both public and private entities, not to mention other existing and future benefactors of the Route 29 development corridor."

The project will also include a public waterline extension to help secure adequate volume for fire protection for the area, as well as provide adequate well service for the Susquehanna County Recycling Center and the Susquehanna County Correctional Facility.

Pennsylvania First is a comprehensive program that facilitates job creation and retention, infrastructure projects, and workforce development, and allows the commonwealth to compete more effectively with neighboring and competitor states. Funds can be applied for machinery/equipment; job training; infrastructure; land and building improvements; environmental assessment/remediation; acquisition of land, buildings, right-of-ways; working capital; and site preparation, demolition, and clearance.