Ford City Borough Council deliberated over two pages of an agenda during last night’s public meeting at the Latin American Club.
Ford City Borough Council covered a variety of topics at their public meeting held last night in the Latin American Club on Third Avenue.
West Penn Power
Council approved upgrading the 328 existing street lights throughout the borough to new LED fixtures.
Council Vice-President Tyson Klukan said that the number of street lights were taken directly from the West Penn Power spreadsheet and no physical audit was made for accuracy.
“The plan is to meet with First Energy officials once all the LED street lights are installed to see if anything was missed,” Klukan said. “They are using a third-party contractor for the upgrade. We believe certain lights can be removed in areas where there are too many street lights.”
Street light upgrades will lower consumption of electricity by as much as fifty-percent.
“There are two different types of light fixtures currently in use,” Klukan pointed out. “One fixture is a 100-watt and the other is a 200-watt mercury vapor light. Those are both being replaced at no cost to the Borough by First Energy with a lower wattage LED fixture. This will decrease the amount of the electric bill each month.”
Lawn Care Bid Tabled
A bid to award the 2019 Summer Landscaping/Mowing was motioned, but then tabled.
Councilwoman Beth Bowser made the motion to award the contract to Emminger, LLC, Jake Emminger of Kittanning in the amount of $660 per week for mowing and $38.50 per hour per man for Borough Park leaf removal. Emminger was the lowest of seven bids received. Although the motion was seconded by Councilwoman Mary Alice Bryant, the vote was never taken. Klukan made a motion to table the vote and it was seconded by Councilman Marc Mantini.
Klukan said that since the contract is under $10,000, services could be contracted out separately until such a time a contract is awarded.
“I would like to table this until we have additional information,” Klukan said. “I would like to talk to people out there who have services with this company.”
The vote to table carried, with Council President Carol Fenyes voting no.
Fenyes said that years ago, the borough workers did the grass maintenance themselves. Then, Council authorized hiring four part-time summer help workers to do the job. Last year, Council decided it was less expensive and more dependable to contract out the work.
Town and Country Transit Local Match
In order for Town and Country Transit to received nearly a half-million dollars in state subsidy each year, local municipalities are required to provide a portion in local match. For the 2019-2020 fiscal year, Ford City is required to contribute $11,740 to keep bus service operating in the borough. The authorization was motioned by Councilwoman Beth Bowser, who also serves as Ford City’s representative on the Town and County Transit board of directors, and seconded by Councilman Marc Mantini. The motion carried, with Klukan voting no.
“I asked Councilwoman Bowser to get some information,” Klukan said. “I believe there are entitlement communities that are paying less than we are. Not everyone in my opinion is paying a fair share, so that is why I objected. I believe the numbers need to be reworked for the various municipalities and townships that are in the transit authority. Agreements need to be evaluated.”
Bowser said there is specific criteria that is used to compute contribution requirement.
“Fifty-percent of the contribution is based on ridership in the municipality. The other fifty-percent is based on population,” Bowser explained. “The population in Ford City has changed since it was originally chartered with the transit authority in 1970. However, there is no sense in changing anything until the census numbers are available after 2020. Then we can revisit it after that.”
Playground Appointments
Council hired Linda Bissell as the Playground Supervisor for this summer at the rate of $10.50 per hour. They also hired Kyia Kline as a Playground Aide at a rate $9.50 per hour. Both positions are not to exceed 20 hours per week.
Borough Secretary said applications are still be accepted for various other positions at the two playgrounds.
Bids Awarded for Vehicles
Council awarded the sale of a 1997 Ford F250 truck to high bidder Peluso Roofing, of 1292 State Route 66, Vandergrift in the amount of $1,250.
Council also awarded the sale of a 1996 Ford Crown Victoria police cruiser to high bidder Paul Hughes of Butler in the amount of $1,000. Hughes is Ford City’s Chief of Police. He said he intends to use the car to travel to and from work daily.
Councilman Ray Klukan was absent at last night’s meeting because of a work conflict.
The next meeting of Ford City Borough Council will be a public work session on April 22 at 6:30 PM at the Latin American Club.