[0:00] I'd like to call to order the Bath
Borough Stormwater Authority
[0:04] meeting for Monday, August 24th, 2026.
If we could all stand for the Pledge of
[0:08] Allegiance.
[0:12] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America,
[0:16] » [clears throat]
>> and to the republic for which it stands,
[0:19] one nation under God, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for all.
[0:28] » If you'd like to call the roll.
>> President Mirabito.
[0:31] » Here.
[0:34] » Secretary Romanishan.
>> Here.
[0:36] » Treasurer Shamberg.
>> Here.
[0:38] » Member Angst.
>> Here.
[0:39] » Solicitor Sennett.
>> Here.
[0:41] » Engineer Madison.
>> Present.
[0:43] » Manager of funds present.
[0:53] » Okay, motions.
Approval of the minutes. The minutes are
[0:59] » Can they be tabled?
>> Yeah, you can table those.
[1:02] We'll take them up at the next meeting.
Yeah.
[1:04] » Okay, tabled.
Announcements, non-public comments.
[1:14] Okay, who was here first?
>> Uh
[1:16] » If you'd like to come up to the podium
and say your name.
[1:24] » I'm Paul Goldman, I live at 90 East Main
Street.
[1:28] Uh I'm here on behalf of the
Bath Borough Tax Collection Committee,
[1:32] and sometime ago I was at a council
meeting and requested to know the status
[1:38] of the uh Supreme Court ruling
uh that applied uh
[1:44] to the Bath Borough Water Authority, our
Stormwater Authority's ability to tax
[1:49] non-
uh taxable entities.
[1:53] Uh the Supreme Court ruling
uh they said that the uh
[1:57] bottom line was the court ruled that
it's an
[2:00] unenforceable local tax rather than a
service fee and they're, of course, tax
[2:05] tax exempt entities not obligated to
pay.
[2:09] And at
council meeting, I was told that I had
[2:12] to come here which I have been doing for
the last month or two now.
[2:17] » Lee, do you want to respond to that?
>> Yeah, I mean there's a lot we can go
[2:20] into on the Supreme Court decision, but
I think one of the updates I was going
[2:23] to provide a little bit later is that we
we have and if you received the the
[2:28] P-sets email blast, you might have
already seen this as well, but we did
[2:32] receive the first opinion from a county
court after that Supreme Court decision,
[2:38] weighing in on the question of whether
or not an authority charging
[2:41] [clears throat] a storm water fee was
permissible.
[2:43] Uh, and in that instance, the, uh,
Luzerne County courts, uh, I'm sorry,
[2:48] Lackawanna County Court did find that
pursuant to the Municipality Authorities
[2:52] Act, a storm water fee based on
impervious surface is permissible, um,
[2:57] because the Authorities Act expressly
authorizes such a fee.
[3:03] » Uh,
so it so
[3:07] the court decided that it is
uh, it's not a tax
[3:10] » Correct. Because
>> fee even though
[3:12] » that this question was not posed to the
Supreme Court. That was a borough
[3:16] charging a fee, not an authority
charging a fee pursuant to express
[3:20] statutory authorization.
Which was not the question at the
[3:24] borough. All right, the Supreme
>> that all it is is a different entity
[3:27] charging it. There's no difference in
how the fee was calculated or how it was
[3:31] applied. It was just who who who
who established the fee and why was it
[3:37] applied, not that it was legal or not.
It is that who is applying it and is it
[3:41] legal to apply it to a tax exempt
entity?
[3:44] » When the Supreme Court considered that,
some of the justices in their dissent
[3:48] expressly noted that they were not
considering a fee charged pursuant to
[3:52] express statutory authorization or
a regulatory fee, which is what the
[3:58] stormwater fee that Bath Authority
charges is. So, that question has not
[4:02] been presented to the Supreme Court, and
the court has not ruled on it.
[4:08] » I'm I'm not certain. I'm not I just I
just know what I read about the article,
[4:12] and it certainly seemed that
the state was in favor of not charging
[4:20] uh that fee to tax-exempt entities.
Tax-exempt entities are
[4:24] for a reason.
>> Again, that court
[4:26] » service the whole community, not just
that entity that's being taxed.
[4:29] » Again, that's that decision was
incredibly narrow and based specifically
[4:34] on the facts presented, and and almost
every justice noted that. Even those in
[4:38] favor of the tax and those in favor of
the fee, it was a 5-4 decision,
[4:42] and the one justice who ruled that it
was a tax
[4:47] was very specific that it was only in
that factual circumstance, and she would
[4:52] not necessarily rule the same way when
presented with different facts.
[4:57] » So, the tax or fee or whatever you call
it as it is as it stands today, nobody's
[5:02] proceeding with trying to dissolve it?
>> Correct.
[5:14] » Next.
>> Hi, my name is Michael Wallace at 223
[5:18] Grove. Just a follow-up on that.
So, in Westchester, as long as they then
[5:23] created their own stormwater authority,
then Westchester University would not
[5:26] all of a sudden pay their stormwater
fee?
[5:31] » Uh I don't know. I think that the fact
is it was a borough charging a fee,
[5:36] which wasn't statutorily authorized to
do so.
[5:39] » Weren't those the same arguments that
you made in your amicus brief?
[5:42] » Uh they Actually, I would say the the
majority of opinions looked favorably
[5:47] upon that amicus.
>> Okay. Well,
[5:50] before I run out of time here, let me
just say
[5:54] People first sustainability, what is the
difference between community leadership
[5:57] versus council leadership? Community
leadership is a collaborative grassroots
[6:01] approach to public service where power
and decision-making are shared directly
[6:04] with the people rather than operating
top-down mandate. It's built on mutual
[6:08] trust, active listening, and collective
participation. Power shared, not
[6:12] awarded. Rooted in live and lived
experience, collaborative and inclusive,
[6:17] action-oriented.
This style of leadership empowers
[6:20] everyone who has a stake and a voice in
the collective future. B. Council
[6:24] leadership is a top-down governance
model where a governing body or
[6:28] individual wields power
without public input. Instead of serving
[6:32] as a collaborative public trust,
authority is wielded as a tool for
[6:35] control. Top-down authority, power over
people, gatekeeping and control, and
[6:40] exclusive.
Suppression and of suppression of
[6:44] dissent, systematic disconnection. This
style of leadership creates environments
[6:48] of fear, apathy, and division.
That there, what I just read was a post
[6:52] by Lauren Bullwinkel, one of these are
replacing her this evening on this
[6:55] council.
>> You're not a council.
[6:59] » Okay. On your authority.
Uh and this brings me to a couple
[7:04] questions. One of the big things that
I've raised here, we've discussed taxes
[7:08] versus fees. Now, it's come to my uh
information that I raised with council
[7:14] is that
you guys are dictating how we spend
[7:18] hundreds of thousands, if not close to a
million dollars in in
[7:21] residents' money. Yet, Mr. Marbito, you
yourself have not yet paid property
[7:26] taxes on any of your own rentals
uh for over 2 years.
[7:31] I have paperwork here.
>> I don't care what you have.
[7:33] » Okay, great. Great. Uh also, it then
raises the question
[7:37] when it comes to these fees, those fees
that we all pay and that we send in to
[7:41] the uh
They're processed by the board, which is
[7:44] also the mayor. So my question would be
>> It's not.
[7:47] » Oh, it's not? Okay. Well,
my question is have you actually paid
[7:51] your own sewer and water for the fourth
quarter fees?
[7:54] » They're due by the end of the year.
>> Okay. Okay. Did you pay last year's?
[7:58] » Of course I did.
>> Oh, did you? Okay.
[8:00] » Why do we have to answer him?
>> But more importantly, Mike, your time's
[8:03] up.
>> Oh, that was 5 minutes? Okay, that's
[8:06] funny.
That's a fast clock.
[8:11] » Stop wasting our money.
>> In the back, anybody?
[8:14] » No, I'm not wasting your money. Stop
wasting our money. Maybe you should pay
[8:17] taxes and you know how we feel.
>> Okay.
[8:20] » Instead of living in your house.
>> pay your taxes, so how do I do know how
[8:23] you feel?
>> Get a job.
[8:25] » Okay.
Next.
[8:28] » Thank you, sir.
>> This is exactly what Warren was talking
[8:31] about.
>> Yeah, how about that?
[8:34] » We uh
have a letter from Lauren Bolsnick uh
[8:37] resigning
[8:42] from
Uh-huh. And her reason is I have three
[8:45] vacations coming up that put me away for
the next 3 months. I also feel a bit
[8:51] disconnected since I left council.
And
[8:56] she is resigning from the
Penn Vest 4 board.
[9:01] Is there a motion to accept her
resignation with
[9:06] regret?
>> Motion.
[9:08] » Motion by Brian. Is there a second?
>> Second.
[9:12] » Second by Jim. All those in favor
signify by saying aye.
[9:15] Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
[9:23] Pearl manager's report.
[9:27] Yes, we do continue to process some
credits. There's an appeal that we're
[9:31] also processing and we have about 80% of
collected for 2026 through end of July.
[9:41] Okay. Any questions for Brad?
[9:45] Solicitor's report.
>> Well, I've already touched on the main
[9:48] item I wanted to touch on, but I think
that we have an executive session noted
[9:52] here on the agenda, but I don't I don't
think we have need for one tonight.
[9:57] » Okay.
Any questions for the solicitor?
[10:03] Engineer's report.
[10:08] » I have a couple updates. Um
Our office will be has been working with
[10:16] the borough staff. At the end of this
month, we will be submitting the annual
[10:20] report for the MS4 permit, which runs
from uh
[10:27] July 1st of 2025 through June 30th of
2026. That's the permit period, and
[10:34] we'll be submitting that report with
Brad both online versus first email for
[10:38] all the activities and all the uh
outfall inspections conducted over the
[10:44] past year by the public works department
on behalf of the stormwater authority.
[10:48] Um
[10:51] The construction project is moving
forward. Um all the
[10:56] uh preliminary mobilization
>> [music]
[10:59] » Sorry. Excuse me.
All the preliminary mobilization has
[11:03] been done. All the orange construction
fence has been put up on the school
[11:08] district property within the easement to
keep any children out of the
[11:11] construction area for the rain garden.
Uh orange construction fence has been
[11:16] placed uh
on both Dr. Mathers and Mrs. Young's
[11:21] property
cuz they're in close proximity to uh
[11:25] basin number two. And then also around
basin number one, orange construction
[11:30] fence has been put up. The contractor
will be removing the existing damaged
[11:36] fence, 4-ft high fence around basins 1
and 2 as well. They've also removed all
[11:41] the trees
from basin 1 and the large trees within
[11:46] the easement between
Dr. Mather's and Mrs. Young's property.
[11:51] Um
the pay request number two was submitted
[11:55] by Grace Industries.
It was for work
[12:00] conducted through
August 21st, 2026.
[12:04] We submitted a letter dated August 21st,
2026
[12:09] recommending paying number two in the
amount of $59,666.94.
[12:16] Um
this is for all the work completed to
[12:18] date less last month's pay request
number one and 10% retainage.
[12:24] The
project is basically 12% complete based
[12:28] on a payment basis.
This will require action by the board to
[12:34] approve submitting
um
[12:37] this pay request to PennVEST for re-
disbursement of funds and then
[12:41] ultimately payment of Grace Industries.
So, I would
[12:46] like to have a motion to approve
approve payment number two in the amount
[12:50] of $59,666.94.
[12:57] » Motion.
>> Motion by Pam. Is there a second?
[13:00] » Second.
>> Second by Brian. All those in favor
[13:02] signify by saying aye.
>> Aye.
[13:04] » Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
>> Uh Brad has been working with PennVEST
[13:11] to set up the banking
account for which PennVEST will
[13:16] distribute funds based on the the loan
amount.
[13:19] Um that should be completed in the next
couple of days.
[13:23] At this point, we will submit
all the invoices to date, which will
[13:28] include Grace Industries Construction
contractor's invoices number one and
[13:34] two,
but also uh the legal
[13:37] uh invoices uh for uh all the
documentation for the PennVest loan,
[13:43] the engineering invoices for the design
phase, the PennVest loan uh
[13:49] application, and the bidding phase, and
the first
[13:54] uh two months of the construction phase.
So, these are all part of invoices that
[13:59] you already approved in your financial
report. Just letting you know that
[14:03] they're now going to be submitted to
PennVest so that the BBSA gets
[14:07] reimbursed uh
>> [sighs]
[14:09] » uh by the PennVest loan.
Uh lastly, I wanted to bring up that um
[14:18] we
uh
[14:22] And that we were not able to come up
with a shed in stock to replace Mrs.
[14:26] Young's shed. If you recall,
uh the contract was set up to move her
[14:31] existing two sheds, and the contractor
got in the street and that they would
[14:36] probably fall apart if they were tried
to be moved, so
[14:39] uh the board agreed to
uh install new shed, let her move her
[14:43] private uh materials within the shed
from the one shed to the other so the
[14:47] contractor doesn't have to be involved
with that. Um
[14:51] the new shed is going to be
just over $9,000
[14:58] um
because it includes the sales tax
[15:01] because the shed will be not a permanent
asset of the BBSA, the solicitor
[15:07] determined that uh
that shed purchase would not be tax
[15:11] exempt. So, the contractor has to pay
the sales tax,
[15:15] and then we'll ultimately have to uh
pay back the contractor. Um it's that's
[15:22] not before you today, but just wanted to
be informed.
[15:27] That's pretty much where we're at on all
things associated with the capital IMS 4
[15:32] project and, uh,
other aspects [clears throat] that we're
[15:36] working on.
>> Okay, thank you.
[15:39] Any questions for Ron?
[15:46] Finance update, uh,
treasurer's report and payment of the
[15:50] bills.
[15:54] Is there a motion to or there are there
any questions about the, uh,
[16:00] treasurer's report?
[16:05] Okay, is there a motion to pay the
bills?
[16:08] » Motion.
>> Motion by Brian, is there a second?
[16:12] » Second.
[16:14] » Second by Jim.
All those in favor signify by saying I.
[16:19] » I.
>> I. Opposed?
[16:21] Motion carries.
Is there anything else
[16:27] that anyone needs to bring up?
>> No.
[16:30] » Then I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.
>> [sighs]
[16:35] » Motion.
>> Motion by Brian, is there a second?
[16:38] » Second.
>> Second by Jim. All those in favor?
[16:41] I. Opposed?
Motion carries.
[16:47] All right.