CS Borough works toward resolution

CLARKS SUMMIT- In a special meeting held Jan. 26 in place of its regularly scheduled monthly work session, Clarks Summit Borough council voted to move one step closer to financing the settlement approved in 2009 for the Grandview Street legal decision.

The council approved amended versions of the general fund and capital reserve budgets to incorporate the $1.9 million cost of the settlement. Council voted unanimously to approve a debt service budget in which the Grandview Street settlement will be paid with a borough property tax increase of 4 mills per property. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 in assessed property. The settlement will end a dispute ongoing since November of 2003, when the borough closed a section of Grandview Street that provided access to land owned by Peter Amato and developed by Michael Noto.

In terms of a financing option to acquire the funds to pay for the settlement, council heard from Murli Rajan, a professor of economics and head of the MBA program at The University of Scranton, and a former member of Borough council. Rajan explained the two options under discussion : financing through a bank or a bond issue. According to Rajan, the difference between the two is spreading the time involved in paying back the financing beyond 10 years, which would only be permitted under the bond issue option. By going with a 10-year option, Rajan claimed the borough could save approximately $30,000 in interest regarding the situation, and resolve the manner in a more expedient fashion than a period longer than 10 years would allow.

Using her own property in Clarks Summit as an example, Borough Manager Virginia Kehoe explained after the meeting that, given the average size and value of residential properties in Clarks Summit, the average increase for a homeowner in the borough could be $60 to $68 per year in property taxes over the course of the financing. A final vote on the choice of financing options is set to be on the agenda for the next scheduled meeting of borough council.

In other news, council voted to discontinue a pending lawsuit against the law firm of Rosenn, Jenkins and Greenwald for alleged mishandling of the original proceedings regarding the Grandview Street case. The resolution to discontinue the suit came at the advice of new Borough Solicitor Patrick Rogan and was passed with a vote of 6-1. The lone voice dissenting was Councilman Patrick Williams, who expressed disappointment at the decision to not follow through with the original plans for the suit.

Council also voted to grant Clarks Summit Police Chief Lou Vitale a bonus he was originally due to receive in 2008, which would pay him three percent of his salary for the 2008 fiscal year, or $1,796.50. Also approved by council were the appointments of John Kazista and Joseph Bontrager as alternates to the Clarks Summit Borough Zoning Hearing Board. Kazista and Bontrager were among nine applicants who expressed interest in the position and were interviewed by borough council members. Councilman Williams praised both the number and quality of applicants in the process.

“I have heard of similar openings on other such boards in other local municipalities, but rarely do you see this many quality applicants in a selection process,” Williams said of the applicants for the Zoning Hearing Board vacancies. “I think it speaks greatly to the commitment to civil service that exists here in the borough.”

The next scheduled meeting of Clarks Summit Borough Council is set to take place on Wednesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in borough council chambers.