PRESENT – President Bollendorf, Vice President Reichner, Councilwoman Shay, Councilwoman Jacobus, Councilman Hendrickson, Councilman Myers, Councilman Hoover, Mayor Schultz, Manager Hegele, Assistant Secretary DeRenzis, Chief Ruegg, Solicitor Geiser, Engineer MacNair, Fire Marshal Valesky, Fire Company President Brown, Treasurer Smith, and Library Borough Representative Johnson were present.

CALL TO ORDER – President Bollendorf called the January 27, 2025, Council Meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

INVOCATION – Mayor Schultz gave the Invocation.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – Chief Ruegg led the Pledge of Allegiance.

MEETING NOTES – President Bollendorf read the Public Comment policy on the back of the agenda regarding addressing Council and time allotment.

PUBLIC COMMENT – VOTING ITEMS ONLY – Gary Blickley, 46 Harding Avenue, asked if the maintenance for Miller Meadow was budgeted and Councilman Myers stated that it was due to the overgrowth and that Land Stewards was paid 11,650.00 for the removal and that it is a 1 time fix which was budgeted. He also stated that Public Works will be trained on how to identify invasive species and how to remove them.

MAYOR’S REPORT – Mayor Schultz congratulated Jones N Bagels on their grand opening and Congratulated the Eagles on the Super bowl win and that all was good in Hatboro with the celebration thanked our PD and PW for all of their hard work and the residents for a fun celebration with no issues.

OFFICER’S REPORTS –
•PRESIDENT’S REPORT – President Bollendorf reminded everyone that they have 24 hours from the cessation of snow fall to shovel their properties. He also stated that Public Works are out there plowing, salting, collecting trash, etcetera and to please be considerate.
•TREASURER’S REPORT – Treasurer Smith stated the balance in all accounts for the period ending December 31, 2024, the balance in all accounts is $ 1,194,302.08 with interest earned in the amount of $ 2,202.92.

SOLICITOR’S REPORT – Solicitor Geiser stated she has been working on the sale of District Court which closes on Wednesday and has worked on routine legal matters with the Borough Manager and staff.

ENGINEER’S REPORT – Engineer MacNair stated G&A is reviewing the revised Land Development and HOP fir 21-23 & 37 N. York Road. A preconstruction meeting was held on January 17, 2025, but several conditions need to be met prior to recording the plans and the start of demolition and construction. She also stated they are continuing to monitor the construction of Milliner Lofts (24-28 S York), reviewing the submission for conformance for 206 Wood Street, kick off meeting for Memorial Park Trail, permitting for MS4, and provided requested recommendations for addressing bridge maintenance.

MANAGER’S REPORT – Manager Hegele stated she attended pre-construction meeting for the new apartments at 21-37 N. York Road and wanted to educate the public that before construction starts on any large project staff and professionals meet and review a myriad of things that are needed from both the developer and the Borough. These meetings include the Montgomery County Conservation District, who reviews 4 to 6 pages of requirements that their office has for projects and these meetings are another layer to ensure that developers have everything in place before they start work and that includes but is not limited to recording plans, recording stormwater agreements, escrow, inspection schedules for site work and construction. All projects like this and the ones being built (CVS and VV) are subject to frequent inspections to ensure that all regulations and plans are followed and thought it was worth sharing after the Borough received some feedback over the last few weeks. She also stated this developer hopes to begin site work in March or April, all is weather dependent, and they expect the site work to last approximately 6 months. The contractor will be required to provide notification to surrounding property owners and the Borough will also share updates as we are notified.

Manager Hegele stated PECO and Asplundh have been removing trees in Hatboro and surrounding communities and trees were recently removed in Upper Moreland Township along the creek on West Monument Avenue and the debris was left in and along the creek. The Borough has been working with Upper Moreland Township to get this debris cleaned up now vs. waiting for rainy weather and the possibility of the creek rising and the debris washing down stream and creating issues. The bulk of the debris was removed, and she observed some stuff remaining and did reach out to UMT late last week and asked them to get it removed.

Manager Hegele stated the county solicited bids for the W. Monument Bridge as bids were due in December for Bridge 38, which is this one and has not heard anything on the results but did follow up to see if she could get a status on this as she did not see award on the January commissioner’s agenda.
She also stated that she continues to work with the contractor and Septa on the removal of the tower at the PD and Septa has not issued a right of way permit yet to contractor. Once the permit is issued then the contractor can work with the Borough to schedule the removal, and we can work with logistics for commuter parking and the use of the fuel pumps, and we are still receiving rent while this process works out.

PC met and continued review of the zoning re-write ordinance.

ZHB met 15 West Monument variance to change dental office to apartment, which was granted.
333 N. York Road, dimensional variance to keep townhomes proposed to keep with footprint of existing building as the property owner wants to build 4 town homes where the former Delta Marketing was located.

Manager Hegele stated the Parking Commission meeting for tomorrow night has been postponed due to a lack of a quorum, stay tuned for a new meeting date.

Tax bills will be mailed soon, typically hit mailboxes at the beginning of February, which is right around the corner, just seems like it was Christmas.

It is almost time to begin to think about the 2025 pool season and staff are working on staffing, preparation for the sale of memberships. It does not feel like pool weather, but time is flying so that will be here before we know it. Thank you to the Hatboro Police Department for their work last night along York Road and making sure everyone was safe and celebrated responsibly, sorry that those officers who are Eagles fans will have to do this again in two weeks for the Super Bowl. Just a reminder to everyone, please come to Hatboro and support all our small businesses who have Eagles goodies, Eagles specials, let’s get our green out and paint the town Green in honor of the Birds.

STAFF REPORTS –
•POLICE – Chief Ruegg stated families celebrated the NFC Championship last night on York Road without any incidents and thanked everyone and stated a great time was had by all celebrating. He also stated that planning is underway already throughout the County in case of a Super Bowl win. He also thanked Public Works for the work they are doing at the station using the material from the initial construction so no money was spent and is happy with how the floor, etcetera turned out. He also stated that Sgt. Bruckner attended crypto currency investigation which was paid for with dividends and already have their first investigation and warned everyone to be careful.

•TAX COLLECTIONS – The Tax Collector’s report was electronically submitted.

•PUBLIC WORKS – Manager Hegele stated Busy working on inside projects in between snowstorms.
Working with the engineer and scheduling the inlet work at 501 S. York Road if you remember the resident was at a previous meeting regarding this. We have the plans and are now gathering supplies and as soon as the weather allows, staff will begin the work at this property. The cold weather has not been too kind to some of our facilities, been dealing with some heating issues as well as plumbing issues. Just a reminder to everyone, sidewalks need to be shoveled 24 hours after the snow stops. We have several property owners who did not do this and unfortunately were cited. Despite the cold there are still many who walk, including kids, to school and it is the law that sidewalks must be shoveled. Some other snow tips we have been sharing include helping the fire department. If you have a fire hydrant on or near your property, please clear snow and make sure it is visible and accessible the time spent by you saves minutes in an emergency. If you can during a snowstorm, our plow drivers ask you to park in your driveways. You must do this if you live on a snow emergency route, but when this practice is done on other roads, it makes clearing the roads much easier. During a storm PW staff make one pass to keep roads open and then once snow stops return to plow curb to curb. If you have a portable basketball net in the right way, if they are damaged during snow removal the Borough is not liable to repair or replace. Please move these, a few years ago one of these fell and hit one of our fire trucks and broke the window and injured a firefighter, please move these out of the right of way. All these tips are found on our social media sites. Your help is very much appreciated. A big thank you to our PW staff, they worked long hours, clearing the Borough streets and borough owned sidewalks at all of our facilities and like they always do pick up trash, recycling and yes yard waste, there were a few bags out there for collection in the snow. Rain, sleet and snow do not stop trash collection in Hatboro, and we are very lucky to have such dedicated staff who work hard for the property owners of Hatboro.

•DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT – There was no report this evening.

•FIRE MARSHAL – Fire Marshal Valesky stated 82 Commercial Fire Inspections (YTD: 431, *NOTE: This number includes Fire Inspections and Commercial U&O Inspections, 7 Residential U&O Inspections (YTD: 78, 16 Units/ 10 Properties Rental Inspections (YTD: 730 Units/121 Properties, 1 Fire Re-inspection, 1 Rental Re-inspection, FIRE CALLS/INVESTIGATIONS, 7 Fire Calls (YTD: 114), DETAILS: Various fire calls. 2 Investigations (YTD: 25), DETAILS: 105 N. Warminster Rd Electrical Fire/ 12 N. York Rd Fire, SMOKE DETECTOR INSTALLS: In partnership with the Red Cross, I assisted with installing 1 smoke alarms (YTD: 128),Note- I have found so many homes during U&O inspections or rentals that do not have working smoke detectors, or enough working smoke detectors. By code, you are required to have one smoke detector on every level of your home, and one in each bedroom. By code, you are required to have a CO detector if your home has gas. I recommend every home have at least one CO detector, but two would be better. If you need smoke detectors, please reach out. TRAINING, I attended the monthly Bucks County Fire Marshal Association meeting, a Stormwater Management training, a Subdivision Review Process training, and an Open Records Act training. PERMITS:0 Fire Permits (YTD: 2) PROPERTY MAINTENANCE: We received 11 complaints (YTD: 372). The breakdown is as follows:2 Work w/o permit complaints 0 Unregistered rental complaints 0 Unregistered business complaints, 1 Grass/tree/overgrowth complaint,3 Safety/Fire complaints, 5 Misc. complaints (dirt in street, unpaid inspections, unpaid rentals), I had my monthly meeting with the resident at 5 James Road regarding hoarding. COURT: Non, OTHER: I worked on evacuation maps for the Pennypack Community Center and posted them in each classroom. I met with the Building Code Official and the Borough Manager at 206 S. York Rd regarding some issues. I followed up on 15 S. York Rd regarding someone possibly living in the business. I followed up on an issue with 460 Oakdale Avenue. I met with a representative for 400 Lincoln Ave to discuss expired U&O and new tenants. MONTHLY SAFETY MESSAGE: December, January, and February are peak months for home heating fires. If you use space heaters, always plug directly into the wall and use it in a low setting. Keep them at least three feet away from anything flammable, such as upholstered furniture, curtains, mattresses or bedding, and turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep. In addition, never store clothing on or around the unit, and never cover the cord or put anything on top of it. Have a three
-foot kid-free zone around space heaters, as well.

•FIRE COMPANY – President Brown reviewed the numbers for the year 2024 of which EFC responded to 155 calls in the Borough which consisted of a combination of construction fires, fire alarms, electrical fires, CO call, special service, elevator rescues, brush fires, gas leaks and trash on fire. He stated the Fire Company had their election and will give the results at the February meeting, but he is still President and Matt Hauser is the new Chief. He also stated that they are all volunteers and are always looking for volunteers and anyone can reach out to the Fire Company for more information on how to join.
•SECOND ALARMERS – Quarterly report was electronically submitted.

•UNION LIBRARY – Borough Representative Johnson stated since 12/31/25 they had 34 new card members, ordered and received 143 new books, 32 programs, circulates 2,119 books DVDs, etcetera, completed the sidewalk construction, is getting ready t=for the visible construction project, she also stated the upcoming programs are switch and chat, fading history, forgotten heroes’ monthly event, and a spirit medium fundraiser.

ORDER OF BUSINESS AND VOTING ITEMS
ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF REPORTS – Vice President Reichner made a motion to acknowledge receipt of Public Works, Fire Marshal, Tax Collector, Treasurer’s Reports, Shade Tree Minutes, EAC Minutes, and UMHJSA minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

APPROVAL OF WARRANT LIST, PAYMENT OF BILLS, MANUAL CHECKS AND TRANSFERS – Councilman Hoover made a motion to approve Warrant List, Payment of Bills, Manuel Checks, and Transfers for the month of January 2025. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Hendrickson, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

NOVEMBER 18, 2024, COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to approve the November 18, 2024, Council Meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilman Myers, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

DECEMBER 2, 2024, COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES – Vice President Reichner made a motion to approve the December 2, 2024, Committee Meeting Minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motin carried 6-0 with 1 abstention as Councilwoman Shay was not present.

DECEMBER 16, 2024, COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to approve the December 16, 2024, Committee Meeting Minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilman Myers, all ayes. Motion carried 6-0 with 1 abstention as Councilman Hoover was not present.

JANUARY 13, 2025, COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES – Councilwoman Hendrickson made a motion to the January 13, 2025, Committee Meeting minutes. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

ENTERPRISE FIRE COMPANY EXPENDITURE LIST – Councilman Hoover made a motion to approve the Enterprise Fire Company Expenditure List in for the month of December 2024 in the amount of $ 14,536.52. Motion was seconded by Councilman Myers, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

PENNYPACK WALMART GRANT – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to approve application to the Walmart Spark Grant for materials necessary for children’s and adult programming at the Pennypack Community Center. Motion was seconded by Councilman Myers, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

2025 COMPUTER LEASE – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to approve the 2025 Computer Lease with HP Financial Services in the amount of $ 142,592.39. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

SPECIAL EVENT REQUEST: EAC BIRDING WORKSHOP – Councilwoman Hendrickson made a motion to approve the Special Event Request for the EAC Birding Workshop taking place on February 18, 2025. Motion was seconded by Councilman Hoover, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

EQUIPMENT PURCHASE – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to authorize the purchase of a S86 Skid Steer Loader for the Public Works Department in the amount of $ 101,216.88. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

Manager Hegele stated Attached is the invoice for the purchase of a S86 T4 Skid Steer Loader. Public Works has tested three different types of machines and feels that this piece of equipment is the best fit for the Department and our operations. Some of the attachments already in our possession will fit this machine as well. They have requested Council consider the purchase of a snow blower attachment which is included on the original quote and a broom attachment which is a separate quote (attached). We have gotten 3 quotes, all costars’ vendors so we have met the bidding process to proceed with this purchase should council vote to authorize. The quote includes two additional items that are outside the features listed and already included in this piece of equipment. Those include the addition of strobe lights at a cost of $900.00, this is needed when the vehicle is working in traffic and a 60-month extended warranty at a cost of $1600.00 which we are recommending the council authorize. The total cost for everything is $101,216.88. The equipment as quoted is in stock and can be picked up in about a week, after strobes are installed. The vendor allowed us to use the broom and the snow blower last weekend, which worked out well since we had plowable snow. The snow blower was used to clean parking lots, tight spaces, sidewalks, and trails in Miller Meadow. They chose Miller so I could see what it looked like when I got to work after the storm. They tested the broom feature last Friday in Miller and it worked very well, clearing the goose feces as well as cleaning the walk. We are recommending the purchase of both these attachments as they will be put to good use for parks maintenance, events and cleaning up, snow, etcetera. How to pay for the equipment and attachments- I reached out to PennDOT regarding the use of Liquid Fuels money to purchase the equipment in its entirety and/or just the snow blower attachment, the broom will not qualify. Per PennDOT we can purchase the snow blower attachment using this funding. PennDOT also indicated council can use these funds for the purchase of the skid steer, but you would only be able to use it on the roads and not the parks. Unfortunately, our operations include the use of this skid steer for other uses that include parks, trash, in addition to snow removal and roads. I would recommend not using Liquid Fuels funds to purchase the equipment itself. Under our current Fee in Lieu of uses, fee in lieu of funding can be used to expand, improve, and maintain our existing parks or to acquire land and develop new recreational facilities. The purchase of the broom attachment would qualify as an expenditure paid with these funds should council desire to do so. The vendor is still waiting on the financing terms and paperwork, and we should have this on Monday, it is an outside finance company, and I have some additional questions regarding financing in addition to the terms. They are aware that I need this by Monday to purchase. The vendor is waiting to see if the quote can be broken down to remove the broom and snow blower in case you want to pay for those attachments using other funds and just finance the actual piece of equipment. We wanted to give you all the options to consider which are as follows: 1. Pay the entire cost of $101,216.88 (from sale of DC, Authority funds, etc.). Both funds would have to be used as we are in the process of purchasing a pool slide from the DC sale. 2. Pay the cost of the equipment from the same funds and use Liquid Fuels for Snow Blower and Fee in Lieu of the broom a. Snow blower $8,324.94 b. Broom $6,079.32 3. Finance the equipment in its entirety 4. Finance the equipment only and pay for the attachments using LF and Fee in Lieu of. We would have a net 60 to pay for this purchase should it be approved. In closing, the current bob cat would be listed on municibid next month. We have seen others on the same list of conditions and sell for $10K to $15K. We are not guaranteeing that we will get that for ourselves when we sell it, there is no need to keep it, but we would be setting the reserve for bidding at or close to $10K, this money would be returned to the Gen Cap account to help offset the purchase. Option 2 was chosen by council to pay for it up front.

PENNYPACK PLAN ADOPTION – Councilman Myers made a motion to approve the final Pennypack Plan. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Hendrickson, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

MILLER MEADOW MAINTENANCE PLAN – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to approve the Miller Meadow Maintenance Plan with Land Stewards in the amount of $ 11,650.00. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Hendrickson, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0.

OLD BUSINESS AND UPDATES – There was no old business or updates.

NEW BUSINESS – There was no new business.

PUBLIC COMMENT – Judy Dautcher, 210 N. York Road, stated that she used our refuse service then was told that she couldn’t and has been paying for a service she hasn’t used and thinks the Borough should refund her for the past 6 years. President Bollendorf told her to give him her contact information after the meeting and he will look into it for her.

ADJOURNMENT – Councilwoman Shay made a motion to adjourn the January 27, 2025, Council Meeting. Motion was seconded by Councilwoman Jacobus, all ayes. Motion carried 7-0. President Bollendorf adjourned the January 27, 2025, Council Meeting at 7:43 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by:
Diane C. Hegele, Borough Manager/Zoning Officer/Open Records Officer
Transcribed by Cindy Bollendorf, Recording Secretary