CLARKS SUMMIT — During the Clarks Summit Council meeting via Zoom Feb. 2, councilman Bob Sheils asked Clarks Summit police chief Chris Yarns about local police departments providing paid leave to part-time employees who need time off due to COVID. Yarns replied that he spoke with chiefs from other departments but received “mixed decisions.”
“We’ve been fortunate in our department,” he said. “We really haven’t had anybody with COVID.”
Yarns said that he reached out to council for a decision. He explained that a lot of departments are losing part-time officers by becoming hired full-time. He said that it costs about $6,000 in Clarks Summit to train a part-timer. “If they’re (part-timers) only here six months or a year or even a year-and-a-half, they’re out the door, then we have to start all over again with another part-timer,” he said.
Borough manager Virginia Kehoe said that council put into the contract the vacation part-timers receive based on the average hours they work during the previous year. “Our part-timers that worked last year do have some available hours to them,” he said.
Solicitor Mariclaire Hayes announced that South Abington Township Police Department pays their officers both part-time and full-time within the five days after being tested positive for COVID. She explained that according to the CDC guidelines, someone who tests positive for COVID has to isolate for five days. Councilman Dave Jenkins said that he agreed with doing this for the most of five days.
“Because we’re not only talking about the police department, we’re also talking about one of our office workers as well as one of our employees from the DPW (Department of Public Works),” he said. Councilman Josh Mitchell asked Jenkins if the employees should require proof of a positive test. Sheils suggested to give all of the employees five days no questions asked. Mitchell then suggested if the employees can get a doctor’s note. “I just want to have some guardrails,” he said.
Yarns recommended to maybe have the employees show documentation from a pharmacy since it may be a problem to get a doctor’s note. Council president Gerrie Carey said that a readout from a COVID test should qualify an employee’s time off of work.
Jenkins suggested getting legal authority from the solicitor. Hayes mentioned that some people use home tests to see if they have COVID.
“So, it’s really a question of whether or not you want to rely on someone’s word,” she said.
Hayes said she agrees with requiring verification of COVID. Jenkins expressed agreement with showing proof. Council voted to approve giving part-time employees up to five calendar days with PCR tests provided, and full-timers will be reviewed on a case-to-case basis.
Also in his police report, Yarns announced that the two new police cars are in service. He said that the police department will receive body cameras on Wednesday, March 2.
In other business, Mitchell said that Waverly Township decided not to approve the letter of intent. He said that he spoke with the chair of the board of supervisors who told him that they didn’t want a regionalized police force. He said that Clarks Summit submitted their letter of intent as well as South Abington Township, Newton Township and Ransom Township.
“The four of us have already received from DCED (Department of Community & Economic Development) the survey,” he said.
Mitchell mentioned that Clarks Green Council, who has also been invited to police regionalization, will soon have their business meeting. He said that he reached out to Glenburn to participate. Jenkins commented that he didn’t approve of Newton Township and Ransom Township joining in the police force regionalization. He said that he felt the police regionalization should be strictly between Clarks Summit Borough and South Abington Township.
“And then, if after a few years of experimentation, everything worked out well, or seemed to be working out well, then we could farm our way into the surrounding municipalities,” he said.
Mitchell rebutted that the communities are covered by the police forces. He said that the municipalities should be included in the study to work out the numbers.
“All of these variables need to be considered,” he said. “From my perspective, it’s best to really think about how do we police all these communities that are right now already being police by someone,” he said. “And what does that look like in a regionalized way, and that’s really the intent of the study.”
Mitchell added that Newton Township’s contract with South Abington Township was ending last year and was reaching out repeatedly to Yarns since South Abington raised the cost. “At the end of the day, I think that including all these municipalities will likely be impacted, makes more sense,” he said.
Sheils recommended including police unions from Clarks Summit and South Abington Township.
“I think they’re going to have a say on how this works,” he said. “So maybe we want to include them along with the municipalities that don’t have their own police departments.”
Mitchell said that he heard from Magistrate Paul Keeler and Representative Bridget Malloy Kosierowski, who are both in favor of police regionalization. He said that there are also grant programs to support these efforts.
“We’re not in a position right now to apply for that, but a year from now, we probably will be,” he said.
Mitchell said that the support of representatives can help get funding for a regionalized force. Kehoe said that Clarks Summit’s contract with the police union specifies that they support a study of regionalization. Carey praised Mitchell for his work in this effort.
“We have all the confidence in the world,” he said. “We just keep making progress as we go along.”
In other business, council voted to approve Resolution 2022-02, which is the liquor license to Summit City Market.
In other business, Kehoe reminded council about the DeWilde property located on 502 Waverly Ave. She recalled that it was originally a one-family estate, but a new owner converted it into four apartments. She said that a family moved into it and made it back into a single-family house. She said that the family is asking council to switch from four EDU’s (Equivalent Dwelling Units) back to one EDU.
“We considered going retroactive last fall when then they (family) moved in,” she said.
Code enforcement officer Jenn Basalyga said that the family paid major liens totaling about $20,000 when they purchased the home. She said that they paid the legal fees as well.
“I think since they moved in, I personally think the right thing is to bill them for the one unit,” she said.
Council voted to approve reducing to one EDU retroactive to the day of closing.
In other business, council voted to place the two old police cars for sale on Municibid.
In her solicitor’s report, Hayes announced that she talked with Yarns about updating written procedures of the civil service commission. She said that he will like to give a test and would like a list of individuals in order to replace officers who leave the department. She said that she hopes to include this in the next work session, so that it can be voted on in March.
In other business, council decided not to sell Lewis Lane Park to residents since it is used by the neighborhood residents for recreation. Carey praised the outcome of the Clarks Summit Ice Festival. She said that she has extra chicken noodle soup for sale, which she was selling at The Gathering Place during the festival. Council decided for the work session on Wednesday, Feb. 23 to be virtual.
