DUBOIS – Seven months into the year, DuBois City Council has finally set wages for the city’s administrative staff. At Monday’s meeting, council members noted that the delay was due to the recent high turnover rate among city employees.

City Council also took initial steps to approving a bond sale which will effectively refinance three loans. If refinancing is ultimately approved, DuBois could save $100,000 a year for the next 15 years.

Also at the meeting, council started the process of requesting quotes for the demolition of two properties within city limits. One is located at 115 ½ South Highland Street, and the other is the old Carpet Outlet building along South Brady Street.

 

Here are the notes from the July 22nd DuBois City Council meeting:

Blight, Zoning, and Ordinances

·The City voted to request quotes for the demolition of two properties.

·Property 1 is 115 1/2 S Highland St. A structure damaged by a previous fire and hasn’t been satisfactorily repaired.

·Property 2 is 113 South Brady Street, the “Carpet Outlet” building.

·This is only seeking quotes to get an idea of the cost of tearing both buildings down.

·According to Zoning and Code Enforcement Officer Zac Lawhead, Waste Management won’t be able to get a dumpster to the South Highland structure property. The Carpet Outlet building owner has already appealed the demolition order.

·In appealing the order the City learned it needed to appoint residents to the required “International Property Maintenance Code Appeals Board” as the board’s three members oversee appeals. The council voted to appoint the minimum required two members and is accepting a volunteer to fill the third position.

·According to Lawhead, the last time anyone appealed a decision to the board was in 2011. The Board collapsed when its last member’s term expired in 2022 without anyone being appointed to fill the vacant three positions since then.

Employee Wages

·The City Council voted to affirm and set the admin staff wages for the 2024 year.

·This is something normally completed in either December of the prior year or early January. Making this seven to nine months later than normal.

·The delay was blamed on the recent high rate of employee turnover within the City of DuBois.

Halloween Parade and Hours

·City Council voted to approved Priority Media’s request to close West Long Avenue from the Shankel’s parking lot to the intersection of West Long Avenue and Brady Street at 4:30 pm for the annual Halloween parade.

·City/Township Manager Shawn Arbaugh stated that Trick-or-treat hours will be from 6 to 8 pm, but officially accepting those hours will be put to a vote at the next Consolidation Joint Board meeting.

Regularly Scheduled Road Closure

·The City Council voted to approve closing Orient Avenue between Division Street and School Mall Road from 2:35 to 2:50 pm daily when school is in session.

·This is to improve safety between buses loading students after school is finished, traffic caused by students trying to leave the school, and other traffic passing through.

·There are homes that exit onto Orient Avenue between those two roads. The school resource officer will help residents trying to reach their homes while the road is closed.

·The City Police had reviewed and approved the plan.

Bond Sale

·The City Council voted to approve the first reading of Ordinance 1881. Additional readings and votes will have to pass before this ordinance is finalized.

·This ordinance is the bond sale discussed at previous City Council meetings and the Consolidation Joint Board meeting. The Council, as members of the Joint Board, previously voted to accept the debt sale.

·The City will be taking on up to $16 million in debt, but this isn’t precisely new debt.

·$2.5 million is to pay for work on the City Municipal Building required for consolidation that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will reimburse the City for after the fact through a RACP grant.

·The remaining up to $13.5 million is paying off three high interest loans with new lower interest rate bonds. At the Joint Board it was stated this should save the City of DuBois, and after 2026 the Consolidated City of DuBois, $100 thousand a year.

Paving Bid

·The Brady Street paving bid was awarded to low bidder HRI Inc. for $182 thousand.

Misc

·Jim Aughenbaugh and Shane Dietz attended via phone

·First meeting with City Engineer Mike Haynes.