MINUTES OF THE BIG BEAVER BOROUGH COUNCIL MEETING March 17, 2015
HELD AT THE BIG BEAVER MUNICIPAL BUILDING, 114 FOREST DRIVE, DARLINGTON, PA 16115
President Landsbach called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm followed by the Pledge of Allegiance to the United
States of America and the Lord’s Prayer.
Roll Call:
Present:
President: Jason Landsbach
Vice President: Roz Miller
Council members: Dennis Stiteler
Bart Carr
Michelle Joy
Jeff Magee
Bob Davenport
Admin. Assist: Becky Bell
Admin./Treas.: Virginia Binder
Solicitor: Shannon Steele
Engineer: Larry Lennon
Code Enforcement: Dawna Pella
Road Master: Don Reeher
Absent: Mayor Don Wachter
Visitors:
Ms. Karla Evans from the Beaver County Prevention Network Tobacco Coordinator attended the meeting
to present to council information on promoting a “Tobacco Free” playground area in the community park
which will soon be mandated by the state. After her presentation, council thanked her for coming.
Mr. Jarett Svihra and Mr. Tom Reed were present to inquire about property they purchased near the
Interstate 376 corridor and to get preliminary guidance from council. Currently it has five zoning districts
assigned to it. Mr. Svihra and Mr. Reed came before council seeking advice and asking for possibly rezoning
this property to C-3 zoning district to allow commercial development to take place. After a lengthy discussion,
President Landsbach advised council to review the current zoning districts assigned to the subject property
before moving forward with the visitors request.
Minutes:
The minutes from February 17th and March 3, 2015 were reviewed by Council and a motion to accept as
written was made by Roz Miller seconded by Bart Carr. All in favor, motion carried.
Financials:
Admin./Treas. Ms. Binder presented the February financials and a motion to accept the February financials
was made by Roz Miller, seconded by Jeff Magee motion passed. The prepared March bill list was read by Ms.
Binder. Michelle Joy motioned to accept and pay as funds become available, seconded by Bart Carr. All in
favor, motion carried.
The Act 32 Earned Income Tax & LST Monthly Report was reviewed by council.
Ms. Binder presented an invoice for approval from Cottrill & Arbutina regarding the Borough Real Estate tax
collections. Michelle Joy made a motion seconded by Jeff Magee to accept the invoice from Cottrill &
Arbutina to pay the invoice for Borough Real Estate tax collections. Roll call vote, all in favor, motion carried.
The borough field audit that was conducted by Cottrill & Arbutina was completed March 12 th & 13th.
Street & Roads:
Bob Davenport reported on the catch basins and sinkholes in the Traegesar Plan. Engineer Lennon from LSSE
prepared an Opinion of Probable Cost for the replacement of the storm sewer on Patricia Drive to the outfall
on Wallace Run Road. After council’s review and discussion, council asked Engineer Lennon for advice on
possibly prioritizing these repairs. Engineer Lennon and the Road master will highlight the high priority items
to be completed first and the remaining catch basins will be repaired over time.
Ms. Binder mentioned to the road master the Shenango Road catch basin that needs to be tied-in with the
municipal building storm water project. Road master Reeher replied that the basin needs to be core drilled.
Engineer Lennon will get quotes for core drilling.
Buildings & Equipment:
The borough road garage was discussed. LSSE met with the Borough’s Building Committee to discuss potential
options for the building location, location of existing utilities and the configuration of the building. LSSE is
finalizing a Conceptual Sketch Plan for consideration by the borough.
Roz Miller asked about the municipal building renovations that Alphonso Construction prepared a quote a few
years ago. That correspondence will be available for council’s review at the next meeting.
Municipal Authority:
Jeff Magee gave his report. The Authority discussed the delinquent accounts and possible shutting off service.
He also reported on the Municipal Authority’s Secretary/Treasurer submitting her resignation effective June
30, 2015. Advertisement was submitted to the Beaver County Times for her replacement.
Roz Miller inquired about minutes from the municipal authority’s meeting and requesting a copy for council’s
review at our meeting.
Ordinances & Resolutions:
The next Ad-hoc Committee meeting is March 30th at 7:00 p.m. The committee will be reviewing the Grading,
Demolition, the Oil and Gas ordinance and the Special Events Permit.
Public Relations:
Michelle Joy has researched a website administrator to update our domain as necessary. She reported that
Ms. Jamie Marshall from Ninety Nine Media Design has offered to update and redesign our website for a cost
of $390.00 a year. Roz Miller made a motion to accept Ms. Jamie Marshall as our website administrator to
design and update our website for the cost of $390.00 a year seconded by Dennis Stiteler. Roll call vote,
motioned carried.
Planning Commission:
Dennis Stiteler reported that the Planning Commission has completed reviewing the zoning definitions and will
forward them on to B.C. Planning Commission for their review. He also reported that the commission will be
reviewing the zoning ordinance.
Dawna Pella, Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer will provide to the planning commission, once a month, a list
of any building activities throughout the borough.
Zoning:
Dawna Pella, Zoning/Code Enforcement Officer reported on the permits she did issue. Activity will be
increasing as the weather improves.
Solicitor:
Solicitor Steele reported that the property lien on Rockland Drive is completed and was submitted to the
county.
She also drafted the two motions for the lawn equipment to be registered.
Solicitor Steele sent correspondence via certified mail to Centurion Turnpike, LLC regarding the Turnpike
Distribution Center and the traffic issues occurring on or near their property. She reported that she got a
response from one of the owners of the distribution center and he responded that their tenant is in process of
putting together a formal proposal with their plans to rectify the traffic issues.
Engineer:
Engineer Lennon reported on the County Flood Plain Ordinance. A draft of the ordinance has been prepared
and forwarded to FEMA for review/comment.
The flood plain administrator position was discussed. The committee of several council members, Engineer,
Solicitor and Zoning Officer met on March 13th to review the model FEMA Ordinance and to discuss the
administrator position. The committee appointed the Administrator/Treasurer to oversee the floodplain
ordinance and disperse paperwork accordingly.
Engineer Lennon presented the DCNR Recreation Grant Application resolution to be adopted by council for
submission for the 2015 park improvements. Roz Miller motioned and seconded by Jeff Magee to adopt the
resolution from DCNR for the park grant. Roll call vote, motion carried.
MarkWest Liberty Bluestone has asked for release from the access Maintenance Agreement for the roads they
utilized during construction. LSSE will review video and address any issues to the borough.
At 9:30 p.m. President Landsbach suspended the regular meeting to go in to executive session for a legal issue.
At 10:05 p.m. the regular meeting resumed.
At 10:05 p.m. Roz Miller made a motion to adjourn the meeting seconded by Bart Carr. All in favor, motion
carried.
Respectfully Submitted,
Becky Bell