City Council of the Mayor and Council of New Castle

Regular Council Meeting
Tuesday – July 8, 2008 – 7 p.m.

Present:
Council President William Blest
Councilperson Donald Reese
Councilperson Janet Churchill
Councilperson Teel Petty
Councilperson John Gaworski, Jr.

Also Present:
City Treasurer Janet Carlin, City Solicitor Roger Akin, City Administrator Cathryn Thomas, Police Sgt. Bernard Torres, Director of Public Services Joe Freebery, Building Official Jeff Bergstrom

Approval of Minutes by Date

A motion was made by Councilperson Churchill to accept the June 10 and June 12, 2008, minutes as presented and was seconded by Councilperson Reese and passed unanimously.

Approval of Treasurer’s Report

Janet Carlin reported that there was $400.00 in petty cash, $230,610.17 total deposits for the month, $415,415.57 in the Wilmington Trust Accounts, $775,328.10 in the Certificates of Deposit and Delaware Government Investment Pool and $1,190,743.67 total cash on hand. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to accept the report as presented and it was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously.

Approval of City Administrator’s Report

Mrs. Thomas stated that her report to Council was in their packets. Mrs. Thomas also stated that the sidewalk project at Deemer’s Landing Apartments on Washington Street at its intersection with 9^th Street has been completed. Mrs. Thomas also reported that Fratern Tarimo, the new Recreation Department Coordinator, turned in a report to Council. Summer Camp commenced yesterday and 37 children are signed up.

Approval of Staff Reports

Sgt. Torres stated that the Chief’s report was in Council’s package. Sgt. Torres also mentioned that the department seized $25,000 worth of illegal drugs in the form of 21 pounds of marijuana. Jeff Bergstrom reported on the tidal gates at Buttonwood. They are going to be replaced by the New Pump Co. This project should be completed before the end of summer. Mr. Freebery stated that his report was also in Council’s packet.

Grant Review

Mrs. Churchill gave the grant information for the month of May. Expenses for the month were MSAF $6,502 and $7,736 to Kercher Engineering for street paving to Kercher Engineering, Various Invoices for Separation Day totaling $22,279 and $2,859.96.

Communications

Mayor Klingmeyer forwarded a letter to Council selecting the following residents for appointments to the Planning Commission: Bernard Pinkett, David Bird and Jack Norsworthy.

Councilperson Gaworski stated that Dr. Padmalingam is requesting a handicap parking spot in front of his office for his patients and that he has received requests from residents for a STOP sign at Clayton and 7^th Streets.

Business from the Floor (concerning agenda items only)

Earl Carpenter had questions for Council regarding the budget.

Business from the Mayor

None.

Business from the Council President

None.

Unfinished Business

None

New Business

1. Motion, Discussion and Vote on Resolution No. 2008-19, considering approval of the 2008-09 City Budget and Setting the Tax Rate. Councilperson Churchill read the Resolution. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to adopt the Resolution. It was seconded by Councilperson Petty and passed unanimously. Councilperson Churchill read a statement reflecting her own personal review which was that she had hoped to pass the budget without increasing the tax rate. The tax rate will remain the same as last year at $1.15 per $100 of assessed value.

2. Motion, Discussion and Vote on Resolution No. 2008-20, considering acceptance of the proposal from Belflint, Lyons & Shuman, P.A., accounting firm, to conduct annual audits for the City of New Castle through the year 2010, for a fee in the range of $11,000 to $13,000 per year. Councilperson Churchill read the Resolution. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to adopt the Resolution. It was seconded by Councilperson Petty and passed unanimously.

3. Discussion concerning a new building for the City Administration offices. Councilperson Petty discussed the need for a new City Administrative building and would like to have a workshop to discuss different locations and buildings that would be available to Council. Council was generally in favor of looking into this issue around September, 2008.

4. Motion, Discussion and Vote on a Bank Resolution to pay Wilkinson Roofing for work on the Bellanca Air Hangar Project. Councilperson Churchill read the Resolution. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to adopt the Resolution. It was seconded by Councilperson Petty and passed unanimously.

5. Discussion of a request for a handicapped parking space to be located in front of Dr. Padmalingam’s office at 25 W. 7^th Street. Council discussed the need for a handicap parking spot and Council President Blest requested that the item be tabled until more information is ontained. It was questioned whether the spot would be for handicap parking always or just during business hours and shouldn’t Dr. Padmalingam be living at that property. Councilperson Churchill made a motion to table this item until next month’s meeting. It was seconded by Councilperson Reese and accepted unanimously. City Solicitor Akin will look into this matter.

6. Discussion of the 2008 road and street repair projects. Joseph Freebery gave a presentation to Council regarding the streets he is recommending being repaired. Mr. Freebery also stated that some of the projects will be determined depending on the amount of grants received from the State.

7. Comments from the floor.

Earl Carpenter had questions regarding the budget. Councilperson Reese stated that Marian Delaney found quite a few properties that the County had recently assessed but the City was not notified so now these properties will taxed by the City and additional funds will be forthcoming from this. Therefore, Council was able to balance the budget without raising taxes.

A resident from Booker Circle complained about the conditions of Booker Circle. Drugs, garbage, parking, go karts and dirt bikes were the main concerns. Sgt. Torres addressed some of the residents’ complaints and will pass on the information to Chief McDerby.

Esther Lovely spoke regarding the Oxygen Group. They will be meeting on July 21.

8. Executive Session to discuss a matter of pending litigation. A motion was made to adjourn to Executive Session by Councilperson Reese. It was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Jill DiAngelo

City Clerk