On Monday, January 4th, 2021, the Lake Township Board of Supervisors held its monthly meeting at the Municipal Building via teleconference. The meeting was held in this manner due to the current State and Federal regulations in place from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman Jerry Price called the meeting to order at 7:33pm.
Meeting Attendees: Bob Pace, Jerry Price, Gary Booth, Solicitor Mark McNealis, and Secretary J. Carlene Price.
All joined in the pledge to the flag.
Chairman Price declared all offices vacant and appointed Robert Pace as temporary Chairman and J. Carlene Price as temporary Secretary.
Pace called for a nomination for Chairman. Pace nominated Jerry Price.
Seconded by Booth – Pace, “Aye”, Booth, “Aye”. Nomination Carried.
Price nominated Robert Pace as Vice-Chairman.
Seconded by Booth – Price, “Aye”, Booth, “Aye”. Nomination Carried.
Pace moved to appoint J. Carlene Price as Secretary Treasurer and Building Permit Liaison at a Salary of $1101 per month.
Seconded by Booth – Pace, “Aye”, Booth, “Aye”, Price, “abstain”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to set bond at $300,000 for Treasurer Carlene Price.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Danny Ayers as Road Foreman at $23.26 per hour and Laborers for the Road Department, Gary Long and Jason Jones, at $22.24 per hour. All to receive Blue Cross, and vacations and holidays as follows: 2 Personal days, 6 paid holidays, Ayers to receive 8 vacation days, Long to receive 10 vacation days and Jones to receive 7 vacation days. Employees will contribute 3% to Blue Cross.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Supervisor Gary Booth to be in charge of the Road Department, Supervisor Jerry Price to be in charge of the SEO and Supervisor Bob Pace to be in charge administration and applying for grants.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to authorize any Township Supervisor to be paid as a part time employee hourly for additional work after approval from the Board of Supervisors according to the rate established by the township auditors
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Mark McNealis as solicitor to be paid a fee of $150.00 per hour.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint William Bilby as Sewage Enforcement Officer and John Belles as alternate to be paid on an established fee schedule.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint BIU to continue being our third-party building code official.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Gary Booth as Code Enforcement Officer @ $22.24 per hour.
Seconded by Price –Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”, Booth, “abstain”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint 2 auditors to work with elected auditor Eric Hansen to set the wages for the paid working Supervisors.
Rich Chocallo and Ira Hufford
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to adopt resolution 21-01 to appoint Ray Knaub and Co., a Firm of Certified or Competent Public Accountants to examine all the accounts of the Township for the fiscal year 2020.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to adopt resolution 21-02, WHEREAS, PennDOT and the Township of Lake, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania have agreed to use the DotGrants on-line reporting system to file the required Liquid Fuels forms annually; including, but not limited to the MS-965, MS-329 and MS-999 forms.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to adopt Resolution 21-03, the PSATS Pennsylvania Municipalities Pension Trust Disclosure Statement required by Chapter 7-A of Act 44 of 2009, covering the administrative, actuarial, investment and advisory services which are provided to the pension plan through PSATS Pension Trust, Summit Financial Corp. and Nationwide.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Dennis Dobinick as EMA Coordinator and Gary Booth as Assistant EMA Coordinator, and to Re-appoint the following individuals to the Back Mountain Regional Emergency Management Agency in conjunction with the Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement between Dallas Borough, Jackson Township, Lehman Township and Lake Township:
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Harry Vivian as the Back Mountain Regional EMA Chief Coordinator representing Dallas Borough
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John J. Wilkes as the Back Mountain Regional EMA Deputy Chief Coordinator representing Jackson Township
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James Welby as the Back Mountain Regional EMA Assistant Coordinator representing Lehman Township
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Dennis Barney Dobinick as Back Mountain Regional EMA Assistant Coordinator representing Lake Township.
Seconded by Price –Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”, Booth, “abstain”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Doug Trumbower, an Engineer, to work on projects as needed.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Bob Halowich as Chairman of the Vacancy Board.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint Vito Pilosi, Thomas Grundowski, Brett Raspen, and Kenneth Gronski as the Unified Construction Code Appeals Board.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to appoint the Pennsylvania Local Government Investment Trust and First National Bank as depositories of the Township funds.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to set the mileage rate at 56 cents per mile for reimbursement expenses for all
Township personnel who use their own vehicles for Township business other than coming to work.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to set the regular monthly meeting dates for the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7:00 PM with work session starting at 6:00 PM and the regular office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 9am to 1pm. Budget meeting will be Oct 26th, at 4:30pm.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to authorize Secretary to pay the following bills on or before the due dates: UGI, Frontier, Insurance Premiums, Withholding Taxes, fuel bills, and any other routine bills that may come due prior to the next meeting.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to authorize the Secretary to certify PA DEP reimbursement forms with the Township seal.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to name the Secretary as the Chief Administrative Officer for the purpose of certifying information to the Office of the Auditor General for the pension fund.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Booth moved to appoint Carlene Price as delegate and Bob Pace as alternate delegate for the purpose of attending Luzerne County Tax Collector Committee quarterly meetings.
Seconded by Price – Booth, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”, Pace, abstained. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to approve the minutes of the December 9th meeting.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to accept the following reports: Financial.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to approve the list of bills.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to adopt PSATS Pension Trust Act 44 Disclosure Form. This form states that the Trust has entered into a number of subcontracts with firms that provide various professional services, and provides a list of those subcontractors and their services.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to accept the materials quote for bituminous materials from H & K/Pikes Creek.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to add item to agenda to advertise for purchase of truck.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to advertise the purchase of a new or used truck to replace the one damaged in incident with PENNDot Plow truck.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Communications:
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Received a check from the County in the amount of $35,323.95 from the CARES Act COVID Relief Funding.
Pace moved to accept the communications as read.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Other business
Additional motions were added to the agenda due to an incident involving one of our plow trucks and a PENNDot plow truck. Our vehicle is potentially damaged beyond repair and may need to be replaced as soon as possible due to the need to keep up with the winter weather.
Laptops, printer, lighting, foggers, and monitor were all purchased with the relief funding for COVID-19. Installation of lighting will take place as soon as the company is able to.
Roadmaster’s Report
Dangerous trees will start to be removed along Loyalville Road beginning Jan 5th. One of our road crew employees was injured on the job when he slipped on ice. He has been treated and is able to return to work.
Code Enforcement
Hearing scheduled for February 10th will most likely be postponed again. Please check the website for any updates.
Pace moved to adjourn.
Seconded by Booth
Price declared the meeting adjourned at 8:39pm.
J. Carlene Price
Lake Township Secretary/Treasurer
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THE FOLLOWING MINUTES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
February 10th, 2020, Meeting Minutes
On Wednesday, February 10th, 2020, The Lake Township Supervisors held their regular monthly meeting via teleconference. The meeting was held in this manner due to the current State and Federal regulations in place from the COVID-19 pandemic. Chairman Jerry Price called the meeting to order at 7:05pm.
Meeting Attendees: Jerry Price, Bob Pace, Gary Booth, Solicitor Mark McNealis, and Secretary J. Carlene Price.
All joined in the pledge to the flag.
The municipal Audit was submitted by Ray Knaub and reviewed by the Supervisors. There were no findings and the township is in good financial order.
Pace moved to pay Ray Knaub CPA for performing the Lake Township Municipal Audit for 2020 at a cost of $3225 and the Tax Collector Audit for 2020 at a cost of $1450, and sign engagement letters for next year’s audits.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to approve the minutes of the January 4th meeting and the January 5th auditor’s meeting.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to accept the following reports: Road Foreman’s, Tax Collector’s, SEO’s, and Financial.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to approve the list of bills.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to accept materials quotes from American Asphalt and New Hunlock Investments for aggregates.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Opening of bids for replacement truck:
Pace moved to accept the bid from Eastern Surplus in the amount of $27380.00 for new truck.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to adopt Resolution 21-04, Increasing the Tax Collector’s wage to 6%.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Booth moved to adopt Resolution 21-05, Sewage Enforcement Plan Revision for New Land Development.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Pace moved to send Supervisor Gary Booth to PSATS Convention in April 2021.
Seconded Price –Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”, Booth, abstained. Motion Carried.
Communications:
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In case of a snow delay with the Lake Lehman School District, office hours for the Secretary will begin at 10am.
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Thank you notes from Pastor’s Pantry, Patriot’s Cove, Sweet Valley Fire Dept, and the US Census.
Pace moved to accept the communications as read.
Seconded by Booth – Booth, “Aye”, Pace, “Aye”, Price, “Aye”. Motion Carried.
Other Business-Roadmaster
Booth stated that the new truck has been delivered from Bradco but there are some essential items that are missing before it can become road-worthy. Supervisor Bob Pace is recovering from COVID-19, which has delayed the installation of COVID related light fixtures and products at the township building. He has been cleared of contagion and should be able to continue with the set-up in the near future. Supervisors plan to inspect Troxell Switch and North Mountain Roads with the engineer to determine stability of certain concerning areas.
Code Enforcement
Hearing date for Brown property has been rescheduled to March 24th at 12:30pm. Letter was sent to the owner of 423 SR29 regarding dumping.
Pace moved to adjourn.
Seconded by Booth
Price declared the meeting adjourned at 7:36pm
J. Carlene Price
Lake Township Secretary/Treasurer