www.newstanton.org/content%20pages/borough-council03/oc -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 10/16/2006
Last Visited: 10/29/2007
Mr. James Evans said I would like to encourage Council to rescind the previous motion and retain Mel as the current Code Enforcement Officer and I think we need to have somebody who is available to our community during the work day on a relatively short notice for code enforcement purposes so I encourage the Council to keep Mel or to hire somebody who is in the Borough during most of the working hours so that person is available.
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I personally have worked with Mel and have found him to be satisfactory with my dealings with him so again I encourage you to continue using him and I understand from discussions last week that it is easier on the budget so I encourage Council not to spend extra money and to retain Mel.
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Councilman Mack said we are not raising taxes and it is a job that Mel had dual duty of.We are not adding another person on top of it just the ten hours he was devoting to code enforcement is going to be ten hours that somebody else is going to do so that he can concentrate on the roads and it is not adding a penny to the tax structure.
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Councilman Mack said Mel is not doing the job that he is doing it is code enforcement there is no money difference.
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Mel said he got his truck keyed, his birdbath knocked over because of zoning issues.
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Denise Campbell said as a resident, Recreation Board Member, and Planning Commission Member, zoning encompasses more than just Mel; we have Zoning Hearings that you just got done saying are expensive so we are going to pin it on one individual rather than the entire group of us.
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It's not personal against Mel.Councilman Bussard said that has nothing to do with it and he is not my tenant.Councilman Ilgenfritz said he has been requested many times and when you ask him it is in his briefcase and he forgets to put it in his file.
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Mrs. Quinn said how did Mel get the job?
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Mel is doing a great job as Supervisor of the roads but he's admitted that he needs more education and $5 more and hour.
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Mel admitted that he does not have the education to do the job.
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First of all I know Mel through the dealings with Mel as Code Enforcement and he has always been there for us and has always done his job.I have not seen a complaint from the people that I know or from myself or my husband.He makes sure that it is all done right.Just recently when we had our street all torn up to replace a waterline, my backyard was flooding and somehow he got the message and he was there.If we get somebody that is not around or close he is not going to be at our beckoning call.We are the people who need him.I can't see why we have to replace him when we have someone who's doing the job.If he made one mistake, two mistakes, three mistakes, show me one person in this room that has never made a mistake and I'll show you the perfect person.We are all imperfect but I say Mel's the one I want and I hope other people here in New Stanton are representing what I say.
Mr. Mel Steele said I just want to clear one thing up.When we had the meeting where we went over about giving up the zoning and that was fine and I had no problem with that.The only problem I have is with the way things have been handled lately and I have been accused of not doing my job by a fellow employee and I know who that fellow employee is.That fellow employee and I will not mention any names gets those permits before I do and sometimes I don't see the permits, sometimes I'm just told to sign it and move on.Let's check where some of the mistakes are being made, let's not put the blame always on Mel.As far as the education goes, I've tried to get education, you know it Mr. President and the rest of Council knows it.I've come here and asked to be sent to classes and the argument was why do we need to send him to classes, he should know what he is doing by now.
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If Mel would get fired I would hire him again for work for me, I don't have a problem with Mel personally but there are some issues and just to bring one up and Joe will recall this over at Robertshaw with having a permit to tear a building down with mercury or something and it was a mistake and I realize it was a mistake and the problem is a lot of things should be professionally done.
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Mr. Arthur's said all I'm asking is was that specific issue written in the code just that Mel should have been able to respond to it.
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Mr. Steele said I don't know what the Robertshaw thing is all about because the DEP would be the one to release any of the mercury information or asbestos information, and if this office did not receive that information, we do not know that it is there so issuing a demolition permit is a standard demolition permit period.The mercury came up after they were done tearing the building down.Councilman Bartlow said you asked if we ever put our finger on anything specific no, what I've seen since I've been on Council, these guys come in every meeting, Mel did this like they are telling on him and then Mel comes in and explains it.They don't go to Mel and straighten anything out they want to come in and make him look bad.Anybody who comes to regular Council meetings will see that's what happens.Once again I can't tell you what goes on in executive session but say they come and discuss what Mel did wrong, usually Mel comes in and clears up whatever it is.
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Mr. Steele said I don't remember what we talked about.Councilman Mack said we had a cordial conversation; they are making it out like I am trying to chop your head off.I said to you that I've never been against anybody making a living and I always want people to do well with their living.Mr. Steele said you've said that here also.Councilman Bartlow said but Mel is not your puppet.Councilman Mack said I don't want people thinking that he and I have some kind of hostility in general over things.Councilman Bartlow said Mel is not our puppet and Mel is not your puppet and that is what is upsetting you.Councilman Ilgenfritz said Mel do you have any hostility with me?Mr. Steele said it is building.I'm personally being attacked and I'm not supposed to be upset about it.You attack me personally.I take my job personally and when I hear about things and Todd said it no body comes to Mel to discuss something.
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I hear about after a meeting because I'm being reprimanded for nothing because no body bothered to talk to Mel and I do take that personally and I think there is something clandestine about it.
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Mr. Steele said yes, I think we handled it nicely.
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Mr. Steele said we have worked together on occasion very well.Mayor Kazan said I just wanted to say that anytime that I've seen something that should be corrected, I would go back and talk to Mel and it would work out.
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Mr. Steele said I don't lie, my integrity is very important to me.
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I've sit here at meetings before when Mel was asked about something that he did and he would sit there and explain it and everyone on Council said fine.If it wasn't fine then it should have been put in his record.There is nothing in his record, the guy didn't do anything wrong forget it.
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Again I encourage you to have someone who is available to us for our Planning Commission meetings that we have once a month and Mel has been available and has been proactive with the companies coming in with doing advisory's with them so things go smoothly.
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Councilman Ilgenfritz said there are things in executive session consequently that we can't tell you but I will be willing to discuss it with Mel after the meeting but there are things that we are not at liberty to tell you.Councilman Bartlow said this Council has been in more executive sessions this year than it has in the past thirty years.
A motion was made by Todd Bartlow second by Wilbur Bussard to rescind any prior votes to eliminate Mel as the Code Enforcement Officer and Mel will remain the Code Enforcement Officer in 2007.
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