2008 STATE OF THE BOROUGH ADDRESS:
Presented by: Frank J. Bruno, Council Vice President
(written by Frank J. Bruno)
Happy New Year to all of you. I am proud to have been re-elected your Vice-President for the fifth year in a row. It has been and continues to be an honor to serve in this capacity for the best interests of our community. I am pleased to present to you this state of the Borough address for the year-end: 2008.
2008 was a very productive year for Trafford. The 2008 mission and strategic plan for Council set forth eight primary goals. I would like to take a moment to discuss each one of these goals in detail.
GOAL #1 was to continue leading the Borough Council, while maintaining a positive
environment for the officials and volunteers, as well as the residents, so that
we all may work together as one successful team.
President Rita Windsor was tasked with this goal, and all objectives were met. 2008 brought more and more people on board with our team effort than ever before in this town’s history. Strained relations seem like nothing more than a thing of the distant past. Five years ago, Ms. Windsor accepted the presidency role in the midst of much chaos and senseless bickering in the media. It was so bad at times, it actually made our town look foolish and instilled a poor sense of confidence in the town’s public officials as a whole. Rita’s task then was to bring all of our groups and committees together, and restore confidence in the Borough’s governing body. That was quite a task for a person who had only been elected president several weeks into her appointment to the governing board. It seemed like an impossible task at the time, but here we all are at the close of 2008, and I am proud to report that your Borough governing body, as well as its associated boards, committees, and employee base, are all one solidified team of individuals working toward one goal… the betterment of our town. Congratulations to President Rita Windsor on a job well done. Our team is strong and diverse. Men and women, Democrats and Republicans, seniors and youth. We might not always agree, but when we disagree, it is always with respect for each other, while maintaining a positive face to the community. This is what the constituents clearly want, and I can assure you, it remains President Windsor’s number one commitment in 2009.
GOAL #2 was to reduce Borough debt as outlined for year five of the strategic 6-year debt recovery plan.
I was personally tasked
with this goal, and all objectives were met.
Year five of my six-year debt recovery plan has completed on
target. Year four of the plan has now
been audited and confirmed to be a success.
Property taxes have not gone up in Trafford for the last four years,
and Trafford Borough will see a ¼ mil tax decrease in 2009. While taxes continue downward, services have slowly
been restored to levels not seen since 2004.
2009 will be a milestone year as it marks the final year of the 6-year
financial recovery plan. Ladies &
Gentlemen, I am proud to report that by the end of the first quarter of this
year, the Borough of Trafford will be completely 100% debt free….
GOAL #3 was to continue
to work with our fire department, TEMS, and senior citizens to finalize the
funding plan necessary to begin construction of phase three of the new
municipal complex and senior citizens center.
Rich Laird, Mayor Karazsia,
and I were tasked with this goal, and all objectives were met. 2008 marked the first full year with a
$52.00 LST tax instituted specifically for the purposes of constructing phase
three of our new municipal complex.
Many building committee meetings took place in 2008, yielding a
building, designed by representative leaders of the Fire Dept. TEMS, and Senior
Citizens together. The result was a
bold conceptual design for a new public safety and senior’s hall that meets
both the current and future needs of this Borough. The Borough aggressively acquired the Spit and Whistle bar this
past year. The removal of this blighted
building as well as its undesirable cliental not only signify the continuing
goal of completing phase three of our Municipal Complex, but strengthens our
commitment to the no nonsense approach of cleaning up the face of our community
for the future. In 2009, the Borough
intends to actively pursue further grant funding options for this
endeavor. In the meantime, it is my
pleasure to announce to you all that the long awaited construction on this
multi-million dollar super structure, will begin immediately in 2009.
GOAL #4 was to repave
Bruce Street with Liquid Fuels funds, replace storm sewers at Bruce Street, as
well as 5th and Gilmore, and assist in completing sewage mandates by
target deadlines.
Councilman Marco Bortoluzzi was tasked with this goal, and all objectives were met. Three new storm basins were installed this past year. Of note, was a collapsing basin in Belleau Woods. This basin was bumped up on the list ahead of the basins on 5th and Gilmore because of dangerous condition that existed there. The 5th and Gilmore basins will be placed back on the list, and completed in 2009. Bruce Street on the terrace was paved from end to end. In addition, our public works department added two new storm sewers to this road where Bruce meets Rte. 993. This eliminated the poor drainage that causes icy conditions here where our children cross the street to school. 2008 also saw the addition of a third full time public works employee. This remains consistent with our efforts to restore public services to pre-2004 levels, and to bring more work in house allowing our own service crew to be more self-sufficient eliminating the need for expensive outside contractors. In 2009, the goal will be to repave Fourth Street and Viaduct way. We will also be paving the remainder of Wallace Avenue in South Trafford. Also, the Public Works Department will be utilizing our new hire to assist with the federal sewage mandates so that we may continue to keep up with these repairs on time without overspending the sewage funds available.
GOAL #5 was to meet or overshoot all federal-mandated sanitary sewer repairs while remaining on or below budget.
Councilman Casey Shoub was tasked with this goal and all objectives were met. All federal sanitary sewer mandates remain on target for completion by year-end 2010. Several outside vendor contracts were completed and paid in full from the sewage fund, and the sewage fund was brought back in to the black. 2008 marked a turning point in the sewage repairs as we approved a contract for the remaining sewer repair work too complex for our internal crew to complete. In 2009, our goal is to complete the contracted work on the complex repairs to our sewage system, while simultaneously utilizing our own internal public works crew to remain at or ahead of schedule on the remaining mandates while staying at or below target budget. There is no question that it is because of Marco Bortoluzzi and Casey Shoub, that these mandates will be completed by year-end 2010. Finally, 2009 marks another historical event as the Borough of Trafford agreed to absorb an additional 16% Alcosan increase to the sewer rates rather than passing it on to the residents. Further proof of our commitment to manage the overall cost of doing business at an effective but efficient level.
GOAL #6 was to maintain the Borough Website, establish a Jr. Council in an effort to reach out to the youth in the community, and secure funding through aggressive grant writing for the complete restoration of the Duquesne to Cavitt Avenue walkway as well as the re-development of the South Trafford Ball Fields.
Stephanie
Bortoluzzi was tasked with these goals, and all objectives were met. 2008 marked another historical year for
Trafford as we witnessed the election of the youngest Councilwoman in Trafford
Borough’s 100-year history. Stephanie
has been a remarkable addition to our team in providing a connection to the
youth within our community. In 2008, a
Junior Council program was established by Stephanie, and since the program’s
inception, Trafford has had two Junior Councilors. Our current Junior Councilor (Matt Bohince) is an active Leo, and
has assisted in directing many other youth volunteers who have donated their
time to the community. Stephanie wasted
no time establishing a working relationship between Trafford Borough and the
Penn Trafford School District administration offices, so that these active
youth volunteers would get credit for their volunteer hours as required for
graduation. Stephanie learned a lot
about the complexity of filling out the DCED grant funding request forms, and
in one short year of service, has managed to secure funding for the restoration
of the South Trafford Ball Fields, as well as the Duquesne to Cavitt walkway
(also known to many as the “ash path”).
For years the Borough Council has discussed the possibility of a skate
park for the teenaged population within the town. Finally, in 2008, serious planning commenced on making this dream
a reality. Stephanie, working in
conjunction with Councilman Dennis Beene from Community Development, will be
continuing this pre-planning stage in 2009 to bring this much needed asset to
our community. In 2009, Stephanie will
be utilized for the uploading of information onto the Borough website in an
effort to maintain compliance as required by recent legislation to revamp the
“right to know” laws within the state of Pennsylvania. Also, in 2009, Stephanie will be tasked with
reviving the “little old green sheet” that most of you remember from many years
past. This version will start small as
a bi-annual newsletter and will focus on providing valuable information to the
four corners of our community.
GOAL #7 was to work with the Code Enforcement Officer to maintain the strict, but appropriate levels of code enforcement within budgetary constraints, act as a liason to both the rec. board as well as PTARC, and maintain the recycling program within the Borough.
Dennis Beene was tasked
with these goals, and all objectives were met. 2008 marked a positive year for community development. As the Borough continues to emerge from
debt, this department will continue to see increases to its available
budget. The town is over 100 years old
and has a serious need for revitalization.
The town has capital improvement needs such as sidewalk repair,
dilapidated structures that need redone, or demolished, and community
development is the key to this town’s future.
It will set the direction for the next 100 years. Dennis came to the Borough council in
January 2008 and since that time, he has completed a myriad of projects
designed to improve the conditions of the town. Dennis served as the liaison to the recreation board as well as
PTARC. Dennis was instrumental in the
passing of some tougher, but uniform building code enforcement laws. He was also instrumental in the pre-planning
stages of the skate park. He was a key
player in the integration of a “single stream” recycle program in the Borough
that allows for more material to be collected creating larger monetary returns
to the community. In 2008, Dennis
oversaw the South Trafford Ball Field restoration project, which was completed
in time for next year’s softball season.
A notable accomplishment for Dennis in 2008 was the inception and
installation of a web cam in the council chambers allowing those residents who
do not have convenient access to the borough building, to watch council and
recreation board meetings from home or work.
In 2009, Dennis will continue to lead the code enforcement effort in the
community, as well as the recycle program.
He will also act as the liaison to PTARC, and will continue working with
Councilwoman Bortoluzzi as the plans continue to take shape on the skate park
project.
GOAL #8 was to work with our police department and
properly address the actual needs of the department to ensure the continued
necessary public safety to the community within budgetary constraints, and to
expend the police department improvement grant adding some important safety
features to the police station.
2008 was a challenging
year for our police department. It was
also an extremely successful year. In
2008, citations were up 630%, not necessarily indicating a rise in criminal
activity, but a rise in the successful performance within our police
department. Trafford Borough’s police
department is no longer the little “Mayberry-style” department it once
was. It is now a well-oiled machine,
capable of handling all sorts of investigative work, as well as drug task force
related enforcement. Many times in the
past you would hear the residents of our community asking “what about the
speeding problem? what about the drug
activity? And what about the juvenile crime in town?” Well, after a year of enforcement to the tune of a 630%
increase, it is more than evident what is being done… Our Mayor has set a
no-nonsense standard in this town, and has made the unprecedented goal of a
zero-tolerance expectation for drugs and speeding. It may be unpopular at times to run such a tight ship, especially
in such a small community, but you ultimately have to ask yourself what type of
town do you want to live in? Kevin has
both asked and answered that question.
Finally, pre-planning of a “state of the art” jail cell and back up
generator was ordered in 2008 thanks to a capital improvements grant from State
Senator, Sean Logan. 2008 also brought
a commitment from our US Congrssman, Tim Murphy to provide new surveillance
equipment in our police cars. In 2009,
Mayor Karazsia will order the installation of the evidence locker, police cell,
backup power generator, and video cameras, thus modernizing the department’s
equipment in a continued effort to maintain the utmost safety of its
members. When I take a look at the
decay of some nearby communities, I, for one, am proud of the positive and
aggressive law enforcement practices of our police department. So much so, that the Council has unanimously
approved a 2009 budget with room for another full time police officer. Again, this coincides directly with our
commitment to restore all staffing levels to a pre-debt era, and speaks
directly to our faith and support of our Mayor and his police department. In 2009 the Council will support this
additional full time officer by reinstating a civil service commission and
increased hours for additional shifts within the Borough.
Although it is essential
that we set expectations and goals for each year, it is important to note that
2008 brought forth many other accomplishments besides that which was
projected. Of significant importance,
the council unanimously passed a sex offender ordinance restricting a
registered sex offender from living within so many feet of a school, daycare
center, public park or playground. 2008
witnessed the 1st of hopefully many, employee / volunteer
appreciation events. Last month the
Borough Council held a formal dinner at Banquets Unlimited to honor the active
employees and volunteers who serve on either a board or committee of
Council. 65 people were in attendance
in what was no doubt the single largest action of appreciation to those who
serve this community through membership on a board or committee of
council. In 2008, we witnessed the 6th
Street playground restoration as part of the Council and Recreation Board’s
commitment to restore all of our recreational areas in town. Through this Council, more funds have been
distributed to the Recreation Board, the Fire Company, and to TEMS, than any
other Council in this Borough’s 100-year history, and in 2009, we will continue
this trend. In 2009, Council has budgeted
$15,000.00 ($5,000.00 more than last year) to the recreation board for a
matching grant to restore the B-Y Playground.
As this town continues to emerge from debt, we will continue to increase
the funds allotted to these boards so they can continue all the great things
they do for our community. Finally, the
borough would like to commend the TECDC as they have begun the legwork on
providing this town with an up-to-date comprehensive plan for the town’s
future. This plan will replace the
current one, which was done in the 1960’s.
In conclusion,
I would like to take a moment to thank all who supported the goals and dreams of this team. Trafford is very important to my family. I grew up here, as did my father and his father before him. This is a proud town; one of historical content, and great people. Together we are strong, and together we will continue to succeed. Only together can there be “success through teamwork”.
Thank you for listening, thank you for your continued support of our entire team effort. On behalf of myself, President Windsor, Mayor Karazsia, the council, employees, and many volunteers who work together in a positive manner, Happy New Year to all of you, and as always…God Bless Trafford.