The action, taken at the April 13 meeting of Council, was by a 3-2 vote with President Ken Robertson and Councilors Darryl Jannone and Chris Thoren voting to table and Alfonse Ciaccio and Kurt Bastion voting nay.
Others present were Mayor John Vineski, Administrator Amy Seeley, Junior Council Member Jessica Pavey, Police Chief Doug Seeley, Solicitor David Brann, Street Employee David Groover and Code officer Dave Wilson.
There was an audience of nineteen, many of whom raised objections to the wording of the Ordinance, particularly to the "right of entry" clause. Council and Mrs. Seeley assured the audience that the ordinance conveyed no additional powers beyond what Council already possessed and that any entry would be only with probable cause, but the visitors were not convinced and expressed fears that the Borough would be able to demand entry at anytime for capricious reasons. Although Council tried to explain that the protections contained in the Ordinance applied to it in whole, and not just the paragraph containing the right of entry clause, the audience continued to express objections, and after over half an hour of discussion with the audience, Council cast the vote to table the Ordinance.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Council went into executive session to discuss legal matters. Prior to the executive session, it was not expected that any action would be taken but after the meeting resumed, a motion was made to have Solicitor Brann rewrite the right of entry clause utilizing the language of the Borough Code in response to concerns of members of the public and authorized readvertisement of the revised version so that it can be dealt with at the May meeting. The vote was 4-1 with Mr. Ciaccio dissenting.
Jim MacDonald, Dave Larson and other visitors objected to Section 4 of the proposed Ordinance. Mr. MacDonald said, "Section 3 should be rewritten…this Borough is continually overgoverning…you are overreaching."
In addition to the Code Ordinance, the Borough also is working on a draft of a rental inspection Ordinance, and had allowed landlords to review the Ordinance. Several landlords had reviewed the draft and many had objections to that as well, and the public discussion at tonight's meeting involved both Ordinances
Jaap Westerbaan said, "There is a good side to this [Ordinance], I am in favor of Code Inspection.
Ryan Allen objected to a provision in the Rental Inspection Ordinance that made the landlord responsible for the actions of his tenants. Councilor Darryl Jannone indicated "that is a problem with both Ordinances. I don't support growth in government or growth in government overreach. The way these are written I don't support either of [the Ordinances]. Voices from the audience could be heard saying, "Thank you," in response to Mr. Jannone. He continued by expressing objections to "landlords who are landlords only on the day that rent is due," and said "[landlords] have an obligation to ensure good living conditions." He then said, "We need to table this, This is a 'hot-button' topic."
Mr. Brann also said that the wording needed revision. "The word 'shall' should be changed to 'may.' I absolutely understand where [the objections] are coming from." Mr. Jannone pointed out that he had returned to Canton from Hawaii and said, "If I saw this, I would [have looked] somewhere else [to live.] It needs to be rewritten in a manner in which you can understand it. 'Probable cause' makes me think of crimes. This is entirely too much power, and it could morph into something else," he said.
The discussion continued, with questions and explanations about "probable cause" and other terms. Mr. Bastion described some woefully substandard conditions in properties that Council had dealt with in various ways. Mitzi Martin, a landlord, asked, "Where are our protections?" She noted how difficult it is to evict a tenant.
The discussion continued and grew louder and more personal, with some in the audience accusing Mrs. Seeley of "running the town." Stacy Robbins objected to Chief Seeley coming on her property to take photographs, and also wondered how much money the Borough "wasted on sending certified letters," for code violations.
By this stage several people were speaking at once and some of the arguments grew louder and more heated. Mr. Brann said, "The motion is tabled. Any suggestions that come in [on the rental inspection ordinance] will be considered. We will change the [code enforcement ordinance] and readvertise it."
Other topics were discussed at the meeting. After the minutes and bills lists were approved, the LERTA (Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act) Ordinance was on the agenda. Council passed the measure last year when Frank and Glenda Watson purchased the former Swayze/Dr. Grue building on Troy Street. The LERTA allows for abatement of increases in real estate assessment for abandoned and deteriorated properties that undergo substantial improvement and increase employment. The other local taxing entities, the School District and the County, must agree to the terms in order for the LERTA to take effect, and the School District objected to a couple of the provisions of the Ordinance, specifically the ten year time frame for abatement, the 100% abatement, and the area in which properties are eligible, which is the entire borough. School Board Solicitor Richard Sheetz said this could be interpreted to authorize the tax abatement for all properties in the Borough, while the Borough contends that only abandoned and deteriorated properties would be eligible, and then only when substantial improvements are undertaken and jobs are created. Mrs. Seeley said that Council drew the area so it would not be accused of discriminating in favor of Mr. and Mrs. Watson. After lengthy discussion the Borough agreed to meet with the school district and to amend the ordinance so that the entities could agree on the terms. Mr. Robertson said, "We apologize for not inviting [the School District] to the meeting" where the LERTA was approved. Mr. Ciaccio said, "It was an oversight."
Council handled two other major matters: the purchase of a new street truck and hiring personnel for the War Memorial Pool thissummer.
Council voted to purchase a 2016 Ford Super Duty F-550 DRW from Hondru Ford at the state bid price of $37,578.25 ,and to spend an additional $32,015 with Watson Diesel for upfitting the truck. Mr. Bastion said the truck would not be delivered for at east four to six months, and Mr. Watson said that the upfitting would be accomplished within three weeks after delivery.
These people were hired to work at the pool this summer: Manager – Kari Koval; Head Lifeguard – Toree Baxter; Regular Lifeguards Emma Boyd, Morgan Burgess, Elizabeth Tymeson, Gabrielle Tymeson, Madison Thoren, Dominique Comereski; Substitute Lifeguards – Mackayla Wesneski, Abigail Martin, Katie Henson, Whitney Bailey, Brittany LaMont, Matthew Berryman
Council covered many other matters. Space limitation prevents their inclusion in this issue. They will be found in next week's paper.