a NE. aE EE a Sunday, December 20, 2009 THE DALLAS POST PAGE 3 DALLAS SCHOOL DISTRICT Position of AC unit in new building is an issue By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com | Representatives from Crab- ree Rohrbaugh and Associ- ates, the engineer for the new high school project, ad- dressed the Dallas School Board on Dec. 14 about con- cerns regarding a heating and air conditioning unit. Mark Kraynack, district su- pervisor of buildings and grounds, is unhappy with the placement of a heating and air conditioning unit in the mezzanine area of the new maintenance building. He says the unit is taking up a lot of space in the area. Plans for the maintenance building were originally de- signed without the mezza- nine, but the mezzanine was approved in an alternate bid. Board member Karen Kyle said it appears there was mis- communication between GPI, which did the design for Crabtree Rohrbaugh and As- sociates, and Crabtree as to where the unit was to be placed. Rick LeBlanc, of Crabtree Rohrbaugh and Associates, said Crabtree will come back to the board with several dif- ferent options regarding the heating and air conditioning unit issue. Board member Ka- ren Wega inquired as to what the costs would be and who would pay them, but LeBlanc said he did not know yet. Board member Richard Coslett said he was con- cerned about GPI, citing a past issue with intrusion de- tection being eliminated the new high school project. The issue resulted in the board approving a constructive change directive not to ex- ceed $60,000 to add security contacts and motion detec- tors. Other project news Bob Nesbit, of Crabtree Rohrbaugh and Associates, said the maintenance build- ing continues to be three weeks behind schedule. Nesbit said the high school is two weeks behind schedule because of a steel delivery is- sue to Lobar Inc., the general contractor. Also, Nesbit said the masons took a break from working last week because they said it was too cold. Achievement Awards All four schools in the dis- trict received Pennsylvania Department of Education Keystone Achievement Awards for 2009. Dallas is the only local district to have re- ceived a Keystone Achieve- ment Award in all schools ev- ery year since the awards were started in 2003. The Keystone Achievement Awards are given to public schools that achieve adequate yearly progress two years in a row. Superintendent Frank Gal- icki presented the awards to. the principals of Dallas and Wycallis elementary schools and to representatives from the middle and high schools. The principals from the mid- dle and high schools were not present because they had to attend events at their respec- See ISSUE, Page 11 CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK/ FOR THE DALLAS POST Members of the Dallas School Board take the oath of office from Judge Thomas Burke at the board's reorganization meeting on Dec. 7. From left, are Charles Preece, Maureen Matiska, Karen Kyle and Bruce Goeringer. Goeringer was then elected president of the board. DALLAS BOROUGH og Council passes budget with slight tax increase By REBECCA BRIA rbria@timesleader.com Council approved the 2010 op- erating budget on Dec. 16 in the amount of $1.085 million. The budget calls for a real es- tate tax rate of 1.28 mills, an in- crease in .21 mills from the 2009 rate. A mill is a $1 tax for every $1,000 in assessed property val- ue. Tax rates remaining at the 2009 value for 2010yinclude the earned income tax at .5 percent, the per capita tax at $5; the real estate transfer at 1 percent and the local services tax at $52. Zoning ordinance amended The final draft of an amended zoning ordinance was approved. Borough Manager Tracey Carr said in October that the rezoning is part of the borough’s master plan to revitalize the downtown area. The new zoning districts were created to allow a mix of us- es to recreate the downtown feel. According to Carr, the bor- ough’s zoning ordinance was last ® in 1992. Master plan funding Council authorized Carr to ap- ply for local share account gam- ing funds for implementation of the borough’s downtown master plan. The downtown master plan de- sign concept, created by Kairos Design Group, was approved by council in July. The plan includes increased retail space, parking, light posts, trees, sidewalks, bike racks and garbage receptacles. The plan is a result of survey find- ings from residents, businesses and students. Grant funding Carr was authorized to prepare documents required for the bor- ough to receive funding through two separate approved grants. I The first project is an inter-mu- nicipal cooperative effort admin- istered through the Northeastern Pennsylvania Alliance for traffic signal conversion funded through a Pennsylvania Energy Conservation Works! Grant. The second project is for the borough’s participation in the Pennsylvania Energy Conserva- tion Works! Grant for energy effi- cient building renovations award- jy | @: through the Back Mountain Community Partnership in con- junction with Kingston and Leh- man townships. Personnel James Joseph Barlow was hired as a part-time road depart- ment employee at a rate of $11 per hour for approximately 24 hours a week. Insurance The borough’s 2010 general in- surance package and workers compensation coverage was ap- ‘proved and renewed at a pro- posed annual premium of $29,801 as submitted by DGK Insurance. Payments approved Payment in the amount of $9,910 to Barbose Masonry through the State Liquid Fuels Fund was approved for repairs completed to the Center Hill Road Bridge. The Jan. 1, 2009 Act 205 Ac- tuarial Valuation Reports for the police and non-uniformed pension plans prepared by Beyer-Barber Company through Thomas J. Anderson & Associates Inc. were ap- proved. Thomas J. Anderson & As- sociates Inc. will receive $2,700 from the police pen- sion fund and $2,700 from the non-uniformed pension fund for completion of the reports. Natural gas rates Approval was granted to im- plement a customer buy-order with UGI Penn Natural Gas to purchase natural gas for the borough building during 2010 at a rate not to exceed $8.090 per dekatherm (a measure of the heat content of gas). Discounted rates with sav- ings of up to 25 percent were made available to municipal buildings served by UGI. Carr was unsure of the exact sav- ings the borough will receive. Christmas tree collection The road department will begin a curbside collection of Christmas trees the week of Jan. 11 and will continue through Jan. 30. Christmas trees should have all decora- tions removed prior to being placed curbside. Residents should refrain from placing their trees curbside when weather predications call for snow or freezing rain. Farewell wishes Council President Pat Peiff- er and council member John Oliver were wished farewell as it was their final council meet- ing. Peiffer, who has served on council for 20 years, said her main hope for council is to ob- tain funding for the down- town and the Kenneth Young Memorial Park master plans. Neither Peiffer nor Oliver ran in this year’s election to re- tain their seats. They will be replaced by Robert Edgerton Jr. and Brian Stevens begin- ning in January. Jack Appel, whose term was also up for election this year, was re-elect- ed to council. Mayor Tim Car- roll, who ran unopposed for mayor, was also re-elected. Reorganization meeting Councils reorganization meeting for 2010 will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4, in council chambers at the mu- nicipal building. ty. Santa visits boys and girls ~ Kids ofall ages enjoyed Breakfast with Santa, courtesy of the Noxen Fire Station 101, recent- ly. The event also featured a raffle to benefit the Noxen Food Pantry. CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK PHOTOS/ FOR THE DALLAS PSOT Ava Gubbiotti and her Mom, Star, get a first-hand look at Santa as he visits Noxen Fire Station 101's Annual Christmas Breakfast Par- in Noxen fast party. CG 2 8 EE es aE Li: ABOVE: Volunteer Kevin May is about to get a special hug from Santa at the Noxen Fire Station 101's annual Christmas break- AT LEFT: Lew Hackling is the chef when Santa visits the annual Christmas Breakfast Party at Noxen Fire Station 101.
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