Strasburg Borough Council
May 9, 2023 Municipal Brief

At the May 9, 2023 Strasburg Borough Council meeting, the Strasburg Borough Manager provided the annual MS4 public training and reviewed a PowerPoint presentation of the Eshelman Run Streambank Stabilization project that was funded by a Lancaster Clean Water Foundation grant.  The link to the presentation is available here:  https://strasburgboro.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/February-2023-MS4-Presentation-to-Borough-Council.pdf

In other business, Duda Actuarial Services, reviewed the Borough’s 1/1/2023 pension valuations and the asset smoothing study.  The Pension Committee will review the reports and provide a recommendation to Borough Council at a future meeting.  The Borough Manager also discussed, and Borough Council approved, replacing the existing banners with seasonal and military memorial pole banners.

The Borough Manager reported that 1) The Borough’s S&P Global rating, which is required due to the bonds, was updated and the Borough’s rate increased from an A+ to an AA-; 2) 93.5% of the Strasburg Borough and Lancaster County real estate taxes were paid at discount; 3) an excellent article on Judge Millen’s history will appear in an upcoming Heritage Society Newsletter; 4) he believes there will be two Zoning Hearings at the June 19, 2023 meeting, 27 Miller Street for office and storage use and the old Strasburg Elementary School for minimum unit size; 5) Benchmark Real Estate attended the May 1, 2023 Planning Commission meeting for a courtesy review for their project at the old Strasburg Elementary School and the Planning Commission is in support of the project at this point.  They will also need a Conditional Use Hearing which is estimated to be held at the July 11, 2023 Borough Council meeting; 6) Authority updates:  a) they decided that it is not in the best interest to sell the sewer system at this time, b) they are working on asset management plans, c) they are preparing to begin on stormwater, d) the DEP Technical Assistance Unit awarded a $67,000 budget to assist in locating a new water source to replace the Old Springs, e) the finished water tank refinishing project continues, f) the water infrastructure upgrade project was put out for bid; 7) the Commissioners will be here for a public presentation on Friday, May 12, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. for the ceremonial grant presentation.  Funds have been moved to PLGIT and, as of today, the interest is 5.08%; 8) he attended the May 2, 2023 HARB meeting.  He recommends Borough Council approve administratively permitting HVAC and mini-splits that are on the side or rear of the property and not mounted to the building noting that if there are any questions it will be reviewed at a HARB meeting.  The CLG Design Guideline grant application will be submitted this week; 9) the carport at 246 Julia Avenue was approved by the Commonwealth Court and the property owner was notified that he needs to obtain a building permit; 10) he is still working with the key stakeholders in Phase 1 for the stormwater project. 

The Police Chief reported for the month of April 2023, the Police Department had 419 calls for service.  There were no criminal arrests, 50 speeding arrests, 47 other traffic arrests, 2 parking tickets, 47 traffic warnings, and 8 accidents.  Officers Denlinger and Remington attended training and received V-SPEC and ENRADD certifications, Officer Neidinger attended The Three C’s of Leadership training at the Chester County Public Safety Center, and a meeting was held to discuss National Night Out. 

Consent agenda items were payment of the bills, approving a Historical Architectural Review Board Certificate of Appropriateness for 113 West Main Street, and acceptance of the Planning Commission Annual Report. 

Public Comment was heard from Dave Esh, on behalf of the Playground Association, who thanked Borough Council for their support and donation.  He also noted that next week is National Police week and thanked the Police Department for their service. ###

For additional information on this press release, please contact Borough Manager Steve Echternach at 717-687-7732 or echterns@strasburgboro.org