[0:00] I would like to call to order the

[0:05] council meeting for Tuesday September

[0:06] 3rd of 2019 if we could all please stand

[0:09] for a moment of silence in the Pledge of

[0:11] Allegiance

[0:34] Madam Secretary may I please have roll

[0:36] call Olivia Brady Mallory Scott Cooper

[0:39] Akeem Jones Derrick Perry Rebecca Smith

[0:43] Heather Lewis Sonya Sanders here but a

[0:48] member of council like to make a motion

[0:49] to approve the council work session

[0:51] minutes from August 20th of 2019

[0:55] all in favor the ice havoc council

[1:00] workshop minute meetings are approved

[1:01] earlier this evening we did not have an

[1:06] executive session our next order of

[1:10] business we have is the presentations

[1:13] beginning with the National League of Cities with mr. Tim

[1:17] Evans to present good afternoon everyone

[1:28] good afternoon thank you all very much

[1:30] for allowing me to be here again my name

[1:33] is Timothy Evans

[1:34] I represent the Northeast mid-atlantic

[1:36] region

[1:38] I do membership for the National League

[1:39] of Cities you all have been an engaged

[1:42] and longtime partner this is an

[1:44] effective partner within the National

[1:47] League of Cities and have played a key

[1:48] role but what I want to do first is to

[1:51] kind of share with you all some of the

[1:52] things that members such as yourself are

[1:55] talking about the National League of

[1:57] Cities and the impact that it can have

[1:58] within a municipality so without further

[2:01] ado I'm going to play a video up here

[2:18] NLC brings together local elected

[2:20] officials from across the country we

[2:22] come together United to protect our

[2:24] local residents make sure that we're

[2:26] learning from our council colleagues

[2:27] that's how we respond to national issues

[2:29] locally one of the things I share with

[2:31] my citizens in Union City if I'm gonna

[2:33] make a promise to you it's gonna be a

[2:35] promise cap if I can't do that I won't

[2:37] promise it to you so we got to make sure

[2:41] that the federal government realizes

[2:43] that because not only did we but our

[2:45] citizens they also sent them to

[2:48] Washington to be able to do a job when

[2:50] we argue for better policies at a

[2:53] federal level that's only going to

[2:55] enhance what happens for mayors and City

[2:58] Council's at every level it doesn't

[3:00] matter if you're a small city a towel a

[3:03] hamlet when we get together it just

[3:05] sends a strong message the National

[3:07] League of Cities provides cities with

[3:09] resources and tools to educate the

[3:12] elected officials best practices and how

[3:14] you communicate policies that affect

[3:16] your communities with federal leaders so

[3:18] it's a wonderful way of doing that they

[3:20] provide the tools and the Nexus to the

[3:22] White House which essential for elected

[3:25] leaders in municipalities throughout

[3:27] United

[3:27] States city government affect

[3:30] everybody's lives and when local leaders

[3:32] are stronger those cities are better by

[3:35] coming to NLC by being engaged with the

[3:37] various committees that provide the

[3:39] resources whether it's on how do you go

[3:42] about engaging your citizen toward the

[3:44] substance of what you can do to help

[3:45] people NLC is there with the solutions

[3:48] that local leaders can really use in

[3:51] 2014 I was selected for a scholarship to

[3:54] attend a city summit with a lot of other

[3:57] leaders from around the country and it's

[3:59] made me a stronger but also a much more

[4:01] thoughtful leader in my community and

[4:03] I'll see makes it easier for us at the

[4:04] local level to advocate for our

[4:06] constituents by helping us understand

[4:08] what's happening in other cities I can

[4:10] learn from folks in LA what they're

[4:11] doing to address the homelessness crisis

[4:13] I can learn from people in DC about how

[4:16] they made sure that tenants have the

[4:18] first opportunity to purchase their

[4:19] apartments if they go to sales and

[4:21] without NLC I'm not sure I would have

[4:23] learned about the activities happening

[4:25] in DC and Los Angeles it's bringing

[4:27] together folks it's bringing together

[4:29] minds and it's really helping our

[4:31] constituents I'm proud to be an NL se

[4:33] member because it provides a great value

[4:35] and helps us advocate for change there's

[4:37] so much that our country needs to do

[4:39] better to support our cities when we

[4:41] advocate for that change it makes our

[4:44] work so much stronger in the cities

[4:48] [Music]

[4:52] okay okay so as you can see you know the

[5:03] National League of Cities the National

[5:06] League of Cities is definitely a

[5:07] platform for not just your large

[5:10] municipalities but also your

[5:13] medium-sized and small municipalities

[5:15] across the country and one of the key

[5:17] things that they talked about in that

[5:19] video and what we share with communities

[5:21] across the country

[5:22] is that it's really important to

[5:24] understand that one there's a strong

[5:26] network of individuals that you as a

[5:29] municipality can be able to tap into -

[5:31] you can think about also what are some

[5:34] of the things that not only that you all

[5:35] can benefit from as municipal leaders

[5:38] and you as a municipality but also what

[5:40] your residents can benefit from and so

[5:42] one of the things that I'll do within

[5:44] this presentation quickly is kind of

[5:45] just share with you some of the things

[5:47] that we can definitely see that we want

[5:49] to make sure that you all are taking the

[5:50] most I'll give you the most out of in

[5:53] your membership with the National League

[5:55] of Cities so who we are again we are a

[5:59] organization that represents cities

[6:02] towns villages boroughs Hamlet's

[6:05] whatever that whatever the term is but

[6:07] we represent municipalities across the

[6:09] country representing more than 2 million

[6:12] people in various communities nationally

[6:15] and within the US territories such as

[6:17] Puerto Rico we really focus on three

[6:21] areas one we want to be able to

[6:23] strengthen your local leadership

[6:25] thinking about how look at what best

[6:27] practices can you all take from other

[6:30] municipalities from across the country

[6:31] what are some of the trainings and

[6:33] expertise that you can kind of think

[6:35] about that you can bring back to your

[6:36] local community we think about our

[6:38] federal advocacy as well thinking about

[6:41] local like what are the issues here

[6:43] within the state that are so important

[6:45] that maybe your that actually are even

[6:47] just just as important at the federal

[6:49] level that can bring resources and

[6:51] information back to your communities and

[6:53] then the final one is thinking about

[6:54] innovation what are some of those things

[6:56] whether it be thinking about the future

[6:58] of work whether it

[7:00] where they'll be looking at housing what

[7:01] does housing look like in our ears

[7:03] communities and what are some of the

[7:04] challenges but also solutions that are

[7:06] coming out so within the federal

[7:09] advocacy space you know as you can see

[7:11] some of the things that we have done so

[7:13] are we have one of our convenience which

[7:15] is our congressional City conference

[7:16] that happens in DC during March of each

[7:21] year and the point of that conference is

[7:22] to bring you all together with your

[7:25] other people with your peers from across

[7:27] the state and the nation to look at what

[7:30] are those federal things what are those

[7:31] things that we can be advocating for

[7:33] that actually help to support your own

[7:35] individual communities and so one of the

[7:38] things I will point out as well within

[7:39] the space is that we are always trying

[7:43] to push for more representation as it

[7:45] relates to the Northeast minute lanta

[7:47] cree j'en within our organization we

[7:50] represent first of all over 2000

[7:52] municipalities of those municipalities

[7:54] more than 80% of them are under 50

[7:58] thousands are in the populations or have

[8:00] populations of under 50,000 which means

[8:03] that the key point there is that it

[8:07] hopefully can dissuade or help to show

[8:10] that the National Agency is not just a

[8:11] large city group or a large city space

[8:15] but also a small medium community space

[8:19] that everybody has a role to play in

[8:21] this in this organization but then on

[8:24] top of that as a relation our federal

[8:25] agnus advocacy we have several different

[8:27] policy committees of which we really

[8:30] struggle as an organization to have the

[8:32] representation from the Northeast and

[8:34] what that really means is that when

[8:36] policy gets developed and when policy

[8:38] gets written about what the nationalist

[8:40] National League of Cities advocates for

[8:42] then where the represent where's that

[8:44] representation from the Northeast and

[8:46] thinking about whether that deals with

[8:48] housing whether that deals with

[8:49] infrastructure and some of the key

[8:51] things that are important to the various

[8:52] communities in the Northeast those are

[8:54] some of the things we want to make sure

[8:55] we continue to do so one of the things I

[8:57] will ask as you all have been members

[8:59] and continue to be members one of the

[9:01] things I'll ask is that there there's a

[9:02] greater focus on the federal advocacy

[9:04] and maybe think about we can talk later

[9:06] about what that means um

[9:08] the solutions for sea

[9:10] our key four key areas here there are

[9:12] other ones as well but I want to just

[9:14] make sure thinking about I said not only

[9:16] do we represent and not only do we

[9:17] provide resources for you all as council

[9:20] members but we also provide resources

[9:22] for you all as a municipality so

[9:25] starting today or starting even tomorrow

[9:27] morning if you give me a call one of the

[9:29] things that we do as part of your

[9:30] membership is provided prescription drug

[9:33] discount program for your residents they

[9:35] will receive a card that um that will be

[9:38] shipped to you while a carts will be

[9:39] shipped to you as a municipality and

[9:41] they can be distributed throughout the

[9:43] community in order to make sure that

[9:45] when your residents are going to get

[9:47] those prescription drugs on average they

[9:49] can get around 24 to 25 percent off of

[9:52] their prescription drugs which is

[9:53] definitely something that we've learned

[9:54] and found that a lot of communities can

[9:56] use um you all actually have the service

[9:59] line warranty program and I can talk

[10:01] about that a little bit more the other

[10:03] one that's another easy one that's

[10:05] already a part of your membership grant

[10:07] access so what we do is we have a

[10:09] platform that we actually provide to you

[10:12] all through your membership that will

[10:15] provide you all access to federal state

[10:18] local Foundation grants that you all can

[10:21] be able to source to make sure that

[10:23] ultimately you may not have to go to

[10:25] several different web sites in order to

[10:27] get those those grants and opportunities

[10:28] and then technical assistance finally

[10:31] I'm thinking about like what are some of

[10:33] the best practices that you all can lead

[10:34] on moving forward and I think those are

[10:37] some of the key areas that I was want to

[10:38] quickly mention now on top of that I

[10:40] mentioned some of the solutions for

[10:42] municipalities so I'll keep here some of

[10:44] the different reports that we've written

[10:46] whether it went whether it be within

[10:48] city solutions and/or thinking about our

[10:51] Institute for youth education and

[10:53] Families but I want to bring your

[10:54] attention to the local tools for

[10:56] addressing housing affordability that

[10:58] was one of our most recent ones that we

[11:00] really focused on like by state by state

[11:02] what are some of the areas that are

[11:04] really important to you all is local

[11:06] elected officials that you all can take

[11:07] back to your communities and kind of

[11:09] think what are what are the best

[11:10] practice that we can move forward on and

[11:12] on top that we just released our housing

[11:15] task force report which is called

[11:17] homeward bound and what that does is we

[11:19] actually spit

[11:20] a better part of six months really

[11:22] working with a cohort of local elected

[11:25] officials across the country small

[11:27] medium and large to think about what are

[11:29] some of the challenges that are

[11:31] impacting communities across the country

[11:33] and what are some of the solutions as

[11:34] well that can be very important to

[11:36] helping support them and so I definitely

[11:38] will send out a link that can that you

[11:40] all can be able to take intellectually

[11:42] look at those resources to help make

[11:44] some better to think about what other

[11:45] decisions that you all can make within

[11:47] your communities around housing

[11:49] affordability and then the last one I'll

[11:52] say is the 2020 census which is

[11:53] something that we find consistently is a

[11:56] big factor in a lot of our communities

[11:58] and making sure the count is right when

[12:00] we talk about leadership development and

[12:02] training one of the key things as well

[12:04] is that our conferences and even some of

[12:06] our other smaller convenience we do a

[12:08] lot of training and development for

[12:10] local elected officials because we

[12:11] understand that educate that local

[12:14] elected officials that have the tools

[12:15] resources and also the insights and

[12:17] networks to bake the bit to be able to

[12:19] make better decisions are a key thing to

[12:22] making sure a community is thriving and

[12:24] in supportive by their own not only the

[12:26] residents but also by their colleagues

[12:29] as well networking as we talked about

[12:32] before

[12:33] not only just at our convenience ID of

[12:35] our convenient thinking about some of

[12:36] the best practices that you can actually

[12:38] bring to bear within your communities

[12:40] just by having a conversation with you

[12:42] know another municipality from across

[12:44] the country or even just a municipality

[12:46] somewhere maybe not it may be that in

[12:48] Pennsylvania but in Delaware those are

[12:50] some of the key things that you know

[12:51] what we understand that sharing those

[12:53] best practices across the country our

[12:55] great resource for you all looking into

[12:58] the future

[12:59] lastly I'll just mention that our city

[13:01] summit is going to be happening in San

[13:04] Antonio Texas and what you can expect

[13:06] from our city summit again one is

[13:08] networking that's one of the critical

[13:11] things that we have found to be

[13:12] successful and being in bringing back

[13:15] solutions and I know that council member

[13:18] Scott Cooper and then also I know

[13:20] councilmember haire there at Perry and

[13:22] then also the council president has been

[13:24] and I think they're couple people have

[13:25] yep

[13:26] councilmember Smith have you gone this

[13:28] well okay you have not gone but the key

[13:30] thing is that I want to just make sure

[13:32] that there is a there's

[13:33] Tootie's to help make sure that you all

[13:35] are bringing not just what you all have

[13:38] learned locally from your peers within

[13:40] the state of within the state of

[13:42] Pennsylvania but also you can bring to

[13:44] bear what's going on across the nation

[13:46] into your own municipality to help make

[13:49] better decisions and to ultimately think

[13:51] about what can help to make your

[13:53] communities better the final note that I

[13:55] will mention is that the final note that

[13:58] I'll mention is that we also have one of

[14:00] our peers in the room one of our

[14:01] advocates in the room and definitely

[14:04] what I mentioned council member Derek

[14:06] green from Philadelphia came to be some

[14:10] represent and also just to be a part of

[14:11] this conversation so I want to thank you

[14:13] all very much for your time and open it

[14:15] up for questions about the National

[14:17] League of Cities

[14:29] so once again thank you for the

[14:33] presentation

[14:34] it's not the first time that we probably

[14:36] said this a million times so our

[14:39] colleagues about going to the National

[14:41] Lisa cities and understanding the

[14:44] dynamics of other communities and what

[14:46] they go through but also what we can do

[14:49] to bring back policies back to NARS town

[14:51] which we have been doing but the thing

[14:55] I'm gonna say once again is that we

[14:57] there's like twenty thirty classes and

[15:00] we can't make them all so I mean when

[15:03] we're looking at the book and we're like

[15:05] oh my gosh

[15:06] I would love to go to this one but this

[15:08] one is better than the next one all of

[15:11] us can't make it so and the networking

[15:14] is great obviously

[15:16] councilman green has been a great

[15:19] advocate to me as we you know we're

[15:22] talking get together but also the

[15:25] diversity of the National League's the

[15:28] city also very big diverse and

[15:32] everybody's trying to do something great

[15:33] for the communities we should be next

[15:37] we're behind you know we can't keep

[15:40] saying the same old thing and doing the

[15:42] same old thing we do got to make changes

[15:44] and people are not gonna like it but

[15:46] let's keep moving forward councilman

[15:53] Scott Cooper

[16:00] Thank You Timothy for coming out and

[16:03] sharing your knowledge of what the NLC

[16:06] can do for us and this is more of a

[16:10] testimony than anything else you know as

[16:12] a board member of the NL C I can contest

[16:15] to the fact that what councilman Perry

[16:18] just said number one which is a real

[16:21] major issue when you get one or two

[16:24] council members attending these events

[16:27] and there's maybe 10 different classes

[16:31] going on at the same time you have to

[16:33] try and pick and choose which one you

[16:36] feel may be more beneficial to bring

[16:38] back home I would like to encourage all

[16:41] of our council members to attend at

[16:44] least once a year to give not only me a

[16:48] break but also to see the value in

[16:52] attending networking you know you hear

[16:56] of networking happening more and more

[16:58] today than ever before when I was young

[17:01] what was networking who knows it may

[17:03] have been just talking to a friend but

[17:06] today in this in this world we need to

[17:10] hear from the minds of other people who

[17:12] have experienced things that we have it

[17:15] who have been into situations that we

[17:18] haven't who can help us and give us

[17:20] ideas on what we can do to improve this

[17:25] municipality so again thank you for

[17:27] coming here

[17:28] I truly appreciate it I'm sure all of us

[17:31] do and we look forward to seeing more of

[17:34] North Town Council at some of these

[17:37] conventions thank you councilman Scott

[17:43] Cooper councilman Jones hey good evening

[17:48] thanks for your presentation one of the

[17:52] highlights of my experience in with the

[17:55] NLC just so happened to be going down to

[17:58] Birmingham Alabama

[18:00] small town of Bessemer Alabama one of

[18:04] the lowest household median incomes in

[18:07] the country but just seeing the things

[18:09] that they were able to accomplish for

[18:10] their community was was inspirational

[18:13] and things like that you can bring back

[18:15] to your community so I agree with my

[18:18] colleagues the networking was definitely you know a great thing but

[18:24] taking some of the positive highlights

[18:26] that we're seeing around the country it

[18:28] really opened opened my eyes you know we

[18:30] think of the history of the south and

[18:32] that the discrimination and the

[18:35] challenges if if they can move and get

[18:38] things done with the limited resources

[18:40] that they have there's no reason why we

[18:42] shouldn't be able to do the same things

[18:44] up here so that was definitely a

[18:46] highlight of my experience um thank you

[18:55] very much I really appreciate you for

[18:57] mentioning that I think the other thing

[18:59] can I'm just gonna add to what you were

[19:00] saying you know there's this sense

[19:03] sometimes that when we are doing well we

[19:06] don't need to communicate with other

[19:08] people you know we have it on our own

[19:10] but then what happens is that when

[19:13] something hits us or when something

[19:16] follows up you know so when our

[19:17] community falls prey to some issue some

[19:20] challenge some economic challenge then

[19:23] we're scrambling to try to figure out

[19:25] what should we be doing who should we

[19:28] talk to the National League of Cities

[19:30] provides you that platform before

[19:34] anything happens and that's what's the

[19:37] key thing about thinking about well

[19:38] thinking more toward the future what are

[19:40] some of the things that we can be

[19:42] thinking about ahead of time to make

[19:45] sure that the networks to make sure that

[19:46] the best practices are already in place

[19:48] so that when it does occur we know who

[19:52] to contact we know what resources to go

[19:54] after in order to make sure that when it comes you're already

[19:58] prepared and I can tell you this from

[20:00] just my own personal experience as a

[20:02] taxpayer of Baltimore City they are a

[20:07] part of the National League of Cities

[20:08] but I always challenge not only them but

[20:10] also I will challenge you all as members

[20:12] as current members

[20:13] really make sure that you are leveraging

[20:16] these various things that you all are

[20:18] part of because ultimately as a resident

[20:21] as a taxpayer of Baltimore City I am

[20:24] going to ask my councilmember how are

[20:26] you taking advantage of that and how are

[20:28] you bringing those resources back to the

[20:30] communities that you serve and so I

[20:33] think that's one of the things that's

[20:34] really important as well and so to that

[20:36] point I definitely agree that ultimately

[20:38] those are some of the great things and I

[20:40] continue to actually to continue to

[20:42] think about ways you can engage whether

[20:44] that be through federal advocacy

[20:45] committees whether that be through I had

[20:48] a couple things here first here suburbs

[20:50] so thinking about you on the outskirts

[20:52] of Philadelphia maybe some of those

[20:54] things that could be great I mean I

[20:55] think one of the key things that the

[20:57] first year suburbs did this year was

[20:59] actually host a competition focused on

[21:02] housing right so they had someone who

[21:04] actually had a company that was willing

[21:06] to provide economic development taa for

[21:08] free for municipalities for a group with

[21:11] municipalities who applied ultimately

[21:13] they actually wound up in Kansas but

[21:15] ultimately I think the key thing was

[21:17] that those are some of the resources

[21:18] that are just happening in some of our

[21:20] various councils whether that be large

[21:22] cities small cities first tier suburbs

[21:24] these are some of the spaces that really

[21:26] are going to benefit hopefully your

[21:28] municipality moving forward mr. Jones

[21:36] Madam President thank you I just wanted

[21:38] to for the sake of citizens who might I

[21:41] know that councils involvement in the

[21:45] National League of Cities has nationally

[21:48] the cities has already paid dividends in

[21:50] terms of actual grant rewards to the

[21:55] municipality that we would not have

[21:56] received because they were NOC targeted

[22:00] programs and from councilmembers who

[22:02] brought that back so we've received over

[22:04] at three hundred thousand dollars in

[22:06] grants in in our year so involvement

[22:09] with it we did the sustainability grant

[22:13] as a result of council members attending

[22:15] a conference we also had to enter in

[22:19] financial stability grant

[22:21] over 250,000 dollars as a result of our

[22:25] involvement with the NRC and we also got

[22:28] national recognition for our diversity

[22:31] program particularly out of the police

[22:33] department was nationally recognized at

[22:36] an NLC conference as well so council

[22:40] members who have attended have been very

[22:42] engaged in making sure that information

[22:45] gets back to the staff and challenging

[22:47] us to get those applications in and and do the work to get involved and

[22:53] we're really appreciative of the support

[22:55] from an administration that we've gotten

[22:57] both from Council than the NOC in

[23:00] getting our applications and projects on

[23:03] the table Thank You mr. Jones

[23:09] council any other questions mr. Evans do

[23:13] you have anything else to add to your

[23:15] great presentation

[23:16] no but thank you all very much for

[23:18] taking the time to hear and then more

[23:20] importantly I look forward to

[23:22] continuously working with you all in the

[23:24] future thank you thank you and thanks

[23:28] again for the presence of councilman

[23:30] Derrick green it's good to have you good

[23:32] to see you in ours town we normally do

[23:34] see councilman green as mentioned at the

[23:37] various conferences and again it is also

[23:39] a great opportunity to to network and to

[23:43] find out what other municipalities are

[23:46] struggling with because as you begin to

[23:47] network you realize that you may have

[23:50] something in common and someone has

[23:51] already experienced that and you could

[23:53] take that experience back home and share

[23:55] that experience and then turn that

[23:57] experience into a resolution or

[23:59] ordinance in the north down so we thank

[24:02] you each

[24:08] okay so our next order of business we

[24:11] have are the announcements thank you

[24:19] madam president

[24:20] so we would like to wish all Norristown

[24:23] area school students a successful school

[24:25] year this being the first day of school

[24:27] arts in the park will be held this

[24:29] Saturday September 7th from 2 p.m. to 6

[24:32] p.m. at Elmwood Park vendors live music

[24:35] art and beer garden it's a free event

[24:39] Norristown Recreation is offering a free

[24:41] soccer clinic on Saturday September 28th

[24:45] for ages 3 to 9 for more information

[24:48] please email recreation at Norristown

[24:51] org Gospelfest will be held on September

[24:56] 15th from 7 to 9 p.m. at Elmwood Park an

[24:59] array of performances special guests

[25:01] vendors and much more that's also a free

[25:04] event the citizens Leadership Academy is

[25:07] now open for registration applications

[25:09] are available online or by email at Pio

[25:13] at Norristown org and the rock the block

[25:18] which is an annual event for the Habitat

[25:20] for Humanity will be held on Saturday

[25:23] October 5th registration at 8 p.m. the

[25:27] events going to be running from 8 p.m. 8

[25:29] a.m. to 2 p.m. at Cherry Street Park in

[25:33] Norristown a number of blocks have been

[25:36] targeted for various different projects

[25:38] throughout the day such as George Feeny

[25:41] and light carpentry work yard cleanups

[25:44] and even some small repairs here and

[25:46] there the letters have been going out

[25:48] for residents to notify them of this and

[25:51] the following blocks are currently

[25:52] accepting applications the five hundred

[25:55] ten hundred fifty eight block of Cherry

[25:57] Street 111 to 136 Wayne 19 to 29 West

[26:02] chestnut 14 to 157 West Elm one thousand

[26:07] to ten eighty nine Powell ten hundred to

[26:11] ten eighty to Willow ten hundred to ten

[26:13] ninety six sweet twenty five to twenty

[26:16] nine East Spurs to two to ninety eight

[26:19] West

[26:19] spruce to 238 east basin and 1/2 to 99

[26:25] West basin if you want to have a project

[26:30] on in your block please the the deadline

[26:33] for submitting the required forms is by

[26:35] from Friday September 13th 2019 and you

[26:39] need to email shreddy that's SCH ett or

[26:44] i at habitat del habitat mod Codelco org

[26:50] or you can call them at six one zero two

[26:53] seven eight seven seven one zero

[26:55] extension one zero seven as they're all

[26:58] the announcements I have council members

[27:04] do we have any other announcements

[27:07] councilman Jones as we all know it's

[27:12] football season so I just wanted to

[27:14] share some information for North town

[27:16] high school they will be traveling to PW

[27:19] this weekend a Friday night 7:00 p.m. at

[27:23] PW the following weekend September 13th

[27:27] Norrish town will have its first Friday

[27:29] night game ever at the high school

[27:31] complex it will also be the first night

[27:34] game since 2010 when Roosevelt closed

[27:37] down so just anybody that's looking that

[27:40] support the local football program they

[27:42] have two games in the over the next two

[27:44] weeks

[27:44] thanks Thank You councilman Jones seeing

[27:50] that there are no other announcements

[27:51] Madam Secretary I'm sorry Council on the

[27:54] Scott Cooper

[27:58] for them

[28:02] okay this coming Thursday September the

[28:05] fifth there will be a gun violence Town

[28:10] Hall at the George Washington Carver

[28:14] Community Center from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and

[28:19] that's at 249 Jacobi Street Norristown

[28:23] congresswoman Madeline Dean invites you

[28:26] to attend as you will be able to not

[28:29] only have a dialogue on gun violence and

[28:32] what Congress is trying to do about it

[28:36] but they're also trying to get some more

[28:39] ideas she's open to more ideas from the

[28:42] community so she's asking that everyone

[28:45] attend bring a neighbor bring a friend

[28:48] and let's see how we can keep North town

[28:52] safe as our chief is doing now Thank You

[28:59] councilman Scott Cooper are there any

[29:02] other announcements seeing none Madam

[29:05] Secretary do we have any public comments

[29:07] this evening yes we do Dalbert Harrison

[29:15] even console good evening could you

[29:18] please state your address I'm here to

[29:21] see the to ask Council your dress too

[29:25] long you can't hear me Oh Norristown PA

[29:30] I'm here this evening to ask council to

[29:34] look into this problem because according

[29:38] to the commissioners I spoke to them

[29:41] this weekend it's a municipal problem

[29:44] two years ago you guys awarded a

[29:48] contract to a kenny excavation for

[29:51] grading of the soccer field at simmons

[29:54] park the park was not graded the dirt

[30:00] dumped on it was on it for a year and a

[30:04] half and the grass wouldn't grow when I

[30:06] contact Crandall and Cathy last August

[30:11] they told me it was the dirt where they

[30:14] told it they told the DEP because I

[30:16] asked a DEP to look at it me and couple

[30:17] of residents say well that dirt is

[30:19] contaminated because the grass is not

[30:21] growing on it Crandall told the DEP the

[30:23] dirt was from there the dirt was not

[30:26] from the I stand there and watched him I

[30:28] have a 2 3 bar employees who would

[30:31] testify in court that the dirt was not

[30:33] from there I will testify in court

[30:35] because I stood there and watch them

[30:36] dump that dirt on there Larry Powell

[30:39] from local 135 or testified that that

[30:43] dirt was brought from over here and

[30:45] dumped on it all they did was covered a

[30:47] stone with the dirt but it was not

[30:50] grated for you guys around here it's

[30:53] been 2 years and there has not been a

[30:55] fully match on there if you play on

[30:58] there the Mexicans would be all over it

[31:00] you can't play on there because the

[31:02] field is like this it's worse than when

[31:04] they did it it's not level the

[31:09] commissioners can't do nothing about it

[31:11] because the municipal problem you guys

[31:13] ran on town people for Norrish down

[31:16] first here's your chance to fix

[31:18] something you can't let kragle come here

[31:19] and just dump dirt on our kids like that is not that is not the dirt

[31:25] is from if it's from over here back

[31:27] that's all like that that Greece and and

[31:29] gasoline running from from over Angeles

[31:32] to a run down a bit that's why the grass

[31:34] wouldn't growth we have to do something

[31:37] about it

[31:38] there's to you wasn't you walked on the

[31:40] fuel I saw you walking on the field

[31:42] Sunday how you tell them how we look I

[31:44] saw you walking on the field and

[31:45] checking it out me eval me mister I went

[31:48] over there and looked at it also it is

[31:50] not graded it has not been graded all he

[31:53] did was dump the dirt on it to cover the

[31:55] stones at the truck drive if you go down

[31:56] a foot and a half from from where the

[31:59] front that old goalpost is it's not what

[32:03] stones on and eat it and the dirt that's

[32:05] on there is stones we never had stones

[32:08] around it's football season like you

[32:10] said mine I have two nephews one with a

[32:13] computer science degree from temple the

[32:14] other one is in Harlem teaching seven

[32:17] eighth grade science they all came out

[32:20] Oak Street Park you have a cousin

[32:22] Brianna I talked to her mom last night

[32:25] Oak Street Park played a major partner

[32:28] skill development

[32:29] she got a college to college to

[32:31] scholarships to Scott there's a numerous

[32:33] amount of kids that that that that that

[32:36] part has benefited we like you guys to

[32:40] do something about it the old gold posts

[32:43] they brought two old gold soccer goal

[32:46] reject go we don't need them down there

[32:48] permission to move them because the

[32:50] Puerto Rican League has their own goal

[32:52] that you're makings have their own goal

[32:55] and the Mexicans have their own goal

[32:57] those gold if you if you if you play

[32:59] with those go to score be a hundred one

[33:01] hundred and fifty because you can't stop

[33:03] it the goal is wide from there to there

[33:04] anybody could kick a ball to that those

[33:07] all reject goal from wherever you guys

[33:09] brought them for a little token make it

[33:13] look like you're doing something for ya

[33:15] we don't need them for me if you give me

[33:17] permission I'll cut it up and jump and

[33:19] myself or to borrow or you guys can move

[33:21] them the public works we don't need them

[33:23] we need to feel right now to put a guy

[33:26] that's practicing football to run up and

[33:28] down it even if it's not even it's not

[33:30] right but they can still practice

[33:33] football on it the courts itself

[33:37] the basketball course itself there was a

[33:39] 10 year contract

[33:41] Jane will tell you I was the one that

[33:44] let her know there was a grant for that

[33:45] contract her and then borrow municipal

[33:49] that straight miss named David oh I

[33:54] forgot his name but anyway I notify her

[33:57] I let him know because they didn't know

[33:59] there was a grant for that part it

[34:01] wouldn't be no courts there if I didn't

[34:02] tell them about it mr. Harris excuse me

[34:05] but your three minutes are up and okay

[34:07] well it's my understanding though that

[34:09] you are here at the last council meeting

[34:11] I'm not sure public works at the time to

[34:14] address your issues or concerns or not

[34:16] but we will continue to look at it mr.

[34:19] Jones do you have anything okay thank

[34:23] you I will at madam president

[34:28] as far as any comments that mr. Harris

[34:31] made attributed to me I wasn't aware

[34:33] that I made those comments I will also

[34:37] iterate reiterate as I shared with

[34:39] Council that because of mr. Harris's

[34:44] inquiry with the ep we did respond our

[34:50] municipal engineer did have Penn State

[34:53] University analysis oil analysis test

[34:57] done they provided us with the results

[35:01] of that test we shared that those

[35:04] results I have copies of this those

[35:06] results that out be happy to place here

[35:10] for anybody's in about his purview the

[35:14] soil that was installed out there was

[35:16] not toxic it was alone soil and it was

[35:20] rated as optimum to above optimum long

[35:26] soil which which makes it fine for those

[35:30] who might not know loam soil is a

[35:32] mixture of soil that is ideal for plant

[35:35] growth for plant as a plant growing

[35:37] mediums and actually a combination of

[35:40] soil normally equal parts clay silt and

[35:43] sand which gives a benefit of each with

[35:46] a few with few other disadvantages

[35:48] by combining all these three types of

[35:51] soil loan gives you the best

[35:53] characteristics of all three this

[35:55] enables you to grow almost any type of

[35:57] plant without having to add much too

[35:59] much to the soil the challenges that we

[36:02] had and we did go back at least once and deal with the challenges that we had

[36:10] with with that field had to do with when

[36:15] the field was initially graded and grass

[36:17] was initially planet people started

[36:20] walking and even parking on that field

[36:22] almost immediately after it was made

[36:24] available so but as far as toxicity is

[36:28] concerned it does not exist it was a

[36:31] third party that did two tests not the

[36:34] municipality not municipal engineer we

[36:36] just had them commissioned two tests

[36:39] from Penn State University thank you

[36:41] that was done was done on the other part

[36:44] of the original part of the dirt not the

[36:46] dirt that was there discussion further

[36:49] because this is actually not here you

[36:53] got a Western in answer at this time so

[36:56] thank you we heard you and we will

[36:57] address it Madam Secretary do we have

[37:03] any other comments thank you madam

[37:05] secretary do we have any communication

[37:07] this evening thank you

[37:09] so our next order of business we have

[37:11] will be the appointments for PML mr.

[37:15] Jones if you could just give us a brief

[37:17] summary of PML certainly thank you madam

[37:21] president

[37:22] council as you know the municipality has

[37:24] been a member of the Pennsylvania

[37:26] Municipal League for a few years now

[37:30] when Sylvania Municipal League is

[37:33] actually the official official affiliate

[37:36] with the National League of Cities and

[37:39] council has since its membership

[37:41] annually appointed a voting delegate and

[37:45] an alternate voting delegate to their

[37:48] annual meeting policy meeting where

[37:51] a lot of the decisions are made and the

[37:53] platform's have put together for policy

[37:56] related to advocacy at at the state

[38:01] assembly in Harrisburg currently

[38:06] councilmember Perry is is the voting

[38:10] delegate of the Pennsylvania Municipal

[38:12] League and annually they send a ballot

[38:16] and and request that council make a

[38:19] decision regarding who that the voting

[38:24] and altitude Ellicott would be and this

[38:26] is that time we need to have councils

[38:29] select those two positions and so that

[38:32] we can submit the forms to the PML and

[38:36] the forms are due this Friday

[38:38] thank you ma'am Thank You mr. Jones

[38:42] Council do we have any questions or

[38:44] comments in terms of the appointments

[38:48] that we're going to councilman Scott

[38:49] Cooper yeah I just have a comment and I

[38:53] think it's important that we keep in

[38:56] mind when we make our choice of

[38:59] delegates to attend that they need to be

[39:02] available to attend so that if one

[39:07] cannot make it the other one will so we

[39:09] have to make sure that those who want to

[39:12] be a delegate are able to attend

[39:19] Thank You Councilwoman Scott Cooper

[39:22] counsel do we have any appointments for

[39:26] the voting delegate for PML for 2019

[39:42] I vote that Derrick Perry be our

[39:51] representative just so that I can

[39:55] clarify the voting delegates Madam

[39:58] Secretary may I please have roll call

[40:00] Olivia Brady Mary Scott Cooper Akeem

[40:04] Jones Gerry Perry Rebecca Smith

[40:07] Sonja Sanders aye Derrick Perry is a

[40:11] 2019 PML voting delegates at this time

[40:15] what a member of council like to

[40:18] [Music]

[40:21] nominate the alternate voting delegates

[40:40] you're going to get it I vote that Sonia

[40:44] Sanders be the alternate Madam Secretary

[40:51] may I please have roll call Olivia Brady

[40:54] Henry Scott Cooper Akeem Jones Derrick

[40:57] Perry Rebecca Smith

[40:59] Sonja Sanders I will be the alternate

[41:03] for PML 2019 voting delegates Thank You

[41:08] council members next order of business

[41:11] we have is planning a municipal

[41:13] development miss Musante came before

[41:29] council at the last meeting seeking

[41:32] preliminary and final land development

[41:36] approval we have representatives from

[41:39] their waste of money here tonight and we

[41:41] also have fire from Penn Oni who will be

[41:46] able to elaborate any issues pertaining

[41:48] to do waivers just for a recap the

[41:54] improvements to the Waste Authority

[41:56] include internal circulation driveways

[41:59] creating additional tests from

[42:00] Washington Street demolition of two

[42:03] buildings and a building overhang as

[42:06] well as a coalition of a one-story

[42:07] building construction for 567 square

[42:11] foot structure for chlorine and a 1200

[42:15] square foot lower building striping of

[42:18] 22 parking spaces at the eastern end of

[42:21] the parcel and side preparation

[42:24] of an existent wooded area for the

[42:26] construction of a 4,000 square-foot

[42:28] maintenance building and rain gardens

[42:31] and related improvements as council will

[42:33] recall I had informed you that the

[42:37] applicant had been granted a special

[42:38] exception from the zoning hearing board

[42:40] on August 8 2019 because of the section

[42:46] of Zoning they were required actually to

[42:48] go to the design review for therefore

[42:50] you are unable to ask them this

[42:51] application at the last meeting and

[42:54] since then the applicant has gone to the

[42:57] design review board and I believe they

[43:00] appeared in front of the 2n review on

[43:02] August 28th and I placed on the desk

[43:05] this evening the recommendation that

[43:07] came from the design review board which

[43:09] is the recommendation for approval with

[43:12] the condition that the waivers that are

[43:16] going to be granted taken to account the

[43:19] sidewalk improvements I have placed that

[43:22] information in front of you near deaths

[43:24] there's an existing rendering of the

[43:28] facility as the first image and the

[43:32] second image is the proposed image of

[43:35] the screening that we're asking council

[43:38] put as a condition on the approval for

[43:41] this land development

[43:56] it's a solicitor there there we go

[44:05] that is correct mr. moose Anya there are

[44:07] 12 waiver requests I understand at the

[44:10] workshop meeting there might have been a

[44:12] mishap that one of the waiver requests

[44:14] was missing but that has been corrected

[44:15] for tonight so from the last meeting

[44:17] waiver requests per the resolution in

[44:20] front of you tonight are the same one

[44:21] through 11 the addition is number 12

[44:24] which is a waiver from the requiring of

[44:28] preparing a separate existing resource

[44:30] in site analysis map also known as an e

[44:33] rsam when that same information is

[44:37] included on the existing features plans

[44:39] set that has already been submitted

[44:41] I believe miss I believe that Pannonia

[44:43] has already reviewed that request

[44:45] they have no objection to that request

[44:47] and I believe that an existing features

[44:49] map has already been prepared showing

[44:50] all that information so there are

[44:52] technically already in compliance

[44:53] assuming that the waiver is granted if

[44:57] counsel once we could certainly go

[44:58] through all the other 11 requests

[45:00] however again I believe this was done at

[45:02] the last meeting so I'm not sure it's

[45:04] necessary the only thing I would note

[45:06] with counsel is if there are if there is

[45:09] going to be a vote tonight which

[45:10] hopefully there will be on this

[45:11] resolution I would please ask that the

[45:13] motion reflect whether or not you are

[45:15] recommending approval or not approval of

[45:17] the 12 waiver requests we can certainly

[45:20] go through each waiver request

[45:21] individually if Council would prefer but

[45:23] you could certainly vote to approve the

[45:24] resolution I would just ask that you

[45:26] make a notation whether that includes

[45:28] approval of all 12 waiver requests not

[45:33] sure the applicant is here tonight

[45:34] represented by counsel as well as our

[45:36] engineer I'm not sure if there's

[45:37] anything further they would like to add

[45:38] beyond what I've stated or misma Sonia

[45:40] stated

[45:45] and again I did have a chance to speak

[45:47] with counsel before tonight just to

[45:50] confirm again you'll see a number of the

[45:52] waiver requests relate to plantings

[45:55] while that is true I would also note

[45:58] that as one of the conditions of

[46:01] approval is let me find it here number

[46:04] for preparation and submission of a

[46:07] landscaping screening buffering plan

[46:09] post construction to be approved by the

[46:12] municipality that will provide the

[46:14] maximum amount of additional buffering

[46:16] and beautification that can be

[46:18] implemented at the property for

[46:19] screening purposes so essentially what

[46:21] the applicant here is proposing is

[46:23] requesting waivers as per the saldo

[46:25] however they're agreeing that post

[46:27] construction they want to put in green

[46:29] greenery they just not sure how it's

[46:31] going to look and how they can best

[46:32] maximize it at this time and therefore

[46:34] they're agreeing that at a future date

[46:36] after construction is completed they're

[46:37] going to prepare a plan and the

[46:39] municipality has to approve that plan

[46:40] with regard to the greenery so in some

[46:43] ways they're really not getting out of

[46:44] the greenery requirement we just not

[46:45] sure what it's going to look like at

[46:46] this time we'll know after construction

[46:49] did I accurately reflect that at least

[46:51] for your understanding

[46:53] so mr. solicitor I have a question then

[46:56] so the design that we have in front of

[46:59] us then on the second page are we

[47:03] looking to go for that look so yeah and

[47:07] maybe the engineer could speak to this

[47:09] having prepared it as I understand this

[47:10] was basically a a rendering that was

[47:13] provided for purposes of the design

[47:14] review board perhaps ideally this is

[47:17] what what they may want to envision at

[47:20] some point following post construction

[47:21] but this is not the plan that has been

[47:23] approved the plan has not yet been

[47:25] submitted yet and we will certainly

[47:27] review it and vet it along with Pannonia

[47:30] and we will make sure that it provides

[47:33] as it stated in there the maximum the

[47:37] maximum amount of additional buffering

[47:39] and beautification that can be

[47:40] implemented Thank You mr. solicitor

[47:44] that's a woman although be a breeding

[48:24] here

[48:42] thank you for the explanation

[48:44] Councilwoman Brady councils do we have

[48:46] any other questions or comments

[48:48] and again Thank You mr. solicitor what a

[48:52] member of Council like to make a motion

[48:54] to consider resolution nineteen dash one

[48:57] four zero which would grant preliminary

[48:59] and final plan approval for NARS town

[49:01] municipal waste authority recommending

[49:03] 12 over 12 waiver requests as listed

[49:09] Madame secretary Bagley several called

[49:11] olivia Brady Mary Scott Cooper Akeem

[49:15] Jones Derry Carrie Rebecca Smith

[49:18] Sonia Sanders I the ice habit resolution

[49:22] 19-1 four zero is approved and passed

[49:25] thank you you're welcome miss miss

[49:27] onyang next order of business we have is

[49:30] from the administration in terms of

[49:33] resolution 19-1 four or five for the

[49:36] reinstatement of the fourth thank you

[49:39] madam president

[49:40] council this resolution is actually a

[49:43] housekeeping matter for some time the

[49:46] municipality has maintained a 457 plan B

[49:53] plan on behalf of a handful of now a

[49:56] handful of employees and that plan used

[50:02] to be under a master plan by the

[50:05] Pennsylvania Association of barrels

[50:07] Pennsylvania Association of boroughs

[50:10] notified us as well as other

[50:12] municipalities who were operating under

[50:14] that master plan that they would no

[50:17] longer continue to hold the master plan

[50:20] and ask that each member who still had

[50:24] employees within that plan of members

[50:27] within that plan would actually enact a

[50:30] resolution where they would reinstate

[50:33] the miss municipalities plan and take

[50:37] Pennsylvania Association of boroughs out

[50:41] of the master plan status the

[50:44] solicitor's office specifically mr.

[50:47] Hitchens has been working diligently

[50:49] on this issue for almost a year so it's

[50:53] been a kind of a bear to go through just

[50:56] solid the iterations of dealing with

[50:58] psab and state law etcetera but we've

[51:03] got it done and this will just provide

[51:06] the continuity of a plan for those those

[51:09] personnel who are still covered by that

[51:12] plan and we have all of the necessary

[51:16] administrative support to continue that

[51:19] plan it is administered through our HR

[51:23] department by HR manager and this is a

[51:25] request Council to reinstate the plan

[51:31] Thank You mr. Jones Council do we have

[51:33] any questions or comments seeing none

[51:37] but a member of Council like to make a

[51:39] motion to consider a resolution 19 - 1 4

[51:42] 5 which will reinstate the

[51:44] municipalities 457b plan for the

[51:46] employees madam secretary can apply

[51:52] several call Livia Brady Mary Scott

[51:54] Cooper Akeem Jones Derrick Perry Rebecca

[51:58] Smith Sonja Sanders I the ice habit

[52:03] resolution 19 - 1 4 or 5 is a program

[52:06] pass thank you

[52:08] next order of business we have is Public

[52:10] Safety

[52:11] mr. Tobin or should I say chief

[52:15] you say whatever you want thank you

[52:22] madam president

[52:23] ordinance number 19 - 10 is in regards

[52:28] to council considering parking

[52:30] restrictions and making changes to

[52:34] eliminate parking time limit

[52:36] restrictions in the 100 block of East

[52:39] for Nance the 100 block of East Frehley

[52:43] Street and the 100 block of Summit

[52:46] Street these requests came at the

[52:49] request of people in the area we studied

[52:52] it and found that there were no add any

[52:55] adverse consequences that came from

[52:57] making these changes and we suggest that

[53:00] this makes sense

[53:03] Thank You chief - how the council's do

[53:06] we have any questions or comments seeing

[53:10] none what a member of council like to

[53:12] make a motion

[53:13] approving ordinance that I'm sue I'm

[53:15] sorry approving ordinance 19 - 10 to

[53:18] eliminate parking time limited

[53:19] restrictions for the 100 block of East

[53:21] 14th Street and the 100 block of these

[53:24] freely Street and the 100 block of

[53:26] Summit Street

[53:29] then I'm secretary my police have roll

[53:31] call Olivia Brady Mallory Scott Cooper

[53:33] Akeem Jones Derrick Perry Rebecca Smith

[53:37] Tony Sanders I the ice habit resolution

[53:41] 19 - 10 is approved and passed

[53:47] resolution 19 - 144 is reserved disabled

[53:53] parking residents at 3:27 west

[53:57] Fernan street and 1425 Powell Street

[54:01] both have medical conditions that impact

[54:04] their mobility and need this

[54:06] accommodation

[54:11] counsel do we have any questions or

[54:13] comments singing on what a member of

[54:16] Council like to make a motion

[54:17] approving resolution 19 - 144 which

[54:21] would authorize the approval of sign

[54:23] installation of 327 what's west Fernan

[54:26] street and 1425 Powell Street Madam

[54:31] Secretary my police have roll call

[54:33] Olivia Brady Valerie Scott Couper Akeem

[54:36] Jones

[54:36] Derrick Perry Becca Smith Sonja Sanders

[54:40] I the ice habit resolution 19 - 1 4 4 is

[54:45] approved and passed

[54:46] Thank You cheese talvik next order

[54:51] business we have is Public Works mr.

[54:53] Denny bow

[55:48] Thank You mr. odden Evo counsel do you

[55:51] have any questions or comments mr. Perry

[56:16] yes that's it councilman Perry see no

[56:20] other questions for a member of Council

[56:22] like to make a motion

[56:23] approving ordinance 19 - 0-5 which

[56:26] amends these the existing surety bond

[56:29] amount requirement Madam Secretary may

[56:34] please have roll call

[56:34] Divya Brady Barry Scott Cooper Akeem

[56:38] Jones Derrick Perry Rebecca Smith

[56:41] Sonja Sanders I the ice habit ordinance

[56:45] 1905 is approved and passed Thank You

[56:48] mr. Bertoni as any go what a maverick

[56:51] council like to make a motion to adjourn

[56:52] the meeting

[56:56] all in favor meeting is adjourned thank

[56:59] you

Norristown Council Meeting held on September 3, 2019

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