Tyrone Borough Council held their first meeting for the month of February last night.
All members of council were present. Council started by wishing Council member Virgie Werner a happy birthday. Council held an executive session prior to the regular meeting to discuss personnel and real estate issues. There was nobody present for the public comment section of the meeting.
The minutes from the January 8 meeting were approved by council.
All financials from December 2006 and January 2007 were presented by Finance Director Phyllis Garhart and unanimously approved by council.
Council discussed the possibility of having the Tyrone Area School District collecting the EMS/LS Taxes. Tyrone Borough would have to purchase software which would be a significant cost to the Borough. Council voted to enter an agreement with the Tyrone Area School District for tax collection.
A member from EADS Group was present to discuss zoning in the Borough’s Comprehensive plan. Council was asked if they wanted to be more involved in the zoning process for conditional use hearings. Council unanimously voted not to change anything and that the zoning hearing board is doing a good job.
Borough Manager Sharon Dannaway and Solicitor Larry Clapper reported that they met with representatives from Comcast to discuss changes to the Cable Franchise Agreement.
It was decided by Council that Tyrone Borough residents who were delinquent on their real estate taxes, were sent individual notices at the beginning of November, and have not yet paid their taxes will be handed over to a collection agency.
Council voted in favor of going into the Park and Ride Agreement with PennDOT. This will be along 10th Street under the I-99 bridge. This area will be used for parking. PennDOT will take care of the lighting and the Borough will be responsible for plowing it in the winter and running the street cleaner through this area in the summer. There will be no charge to park in this area. Dannaway said that the earliest residents will be able to park there will be late summer or early fall.
Police Chief Joe Beachem talked about a number of staffing problems the Tyrone Police Department has had due to recent resignations of some of their officers. He presented a request to council asking them to approve the hiring of four part-time police officers. Council unanimously approved his request adding four part-time police officers to the department.
Council discussed and expressed concern over the Fred Waring Memorial in front of the former Lincoln Elementary School. Council discussed the fact that nobody can see the memorial at its present location. Borough Manager Sharon Dannaway contacted S & A Homes, the owner of the property. They stated that they would allow the Borough of Tyrone to move the memorial to another location. Council will discuss this further at future meetings.
It was reported that a group of Borough employees had formed a safety committee. This committee’s responsibility is to make sure the conditions are safe for all Borough facilities. They recently created a mission statement and inspections are up and running. This committee will inform the various department superintendents if they find any safety concerns during their inspections so the superintendents can correct them.
The meeting was adjourned by Mayor Kilmartin at 8:20 p.m. The next Tyrone Borough Council meeting will be Monday, February 12 at 7 p.m.
