Minute by minute

STARRUCCA - The meeting minutes from the Borough Council of 2006 continue to pose a mystery.
The bound minutes from 2006 are not signed, stamped or sealed by then secretary Laura Travis. Of those minutes, the six that were missing from the official book have been found.

The tales the minutes tell lie between the lines of the recorded minutes and time stamped video documentation.

Of the found minutes from 2006, of which two are signed, discrepancies continue to surface. In one instance, the found minutes from a special meeting held March 13, 2006 to discuss then solicitor A.G. Howell and easements, the minutes reflect that there was no public discussion. In the actual video, there are multiple questions posed to council from concerned citizens.

In that meeting, easements were drawn up by then Solicitor Howell to be given to two landowners- Lou Gurske and Renee Warden-who both own land near the Shadigee Creek Wall. Warden was owner of the house sitting directly on the wall and Gurske owns land near the creek as well. These easements were to allow for the removal of debris caused by severe storm damage.

When public comment was called, multiple citizens began to ask questions about the removal. One citizen asked, “How far up the creek will debris be removed?” to which council responded, “Just what the last storm deposited there.”

Another asked “Does DEP know about another section down below the bridge?” Council president Kirk Rhone responded: “I would think they did; they were there and looked it over.”
The July 5, 2006 regular meeting minutes are unsigned, unbound and previously unrecorded.

During this meeting, attended by then solicitor Robert Bugaj, they discussed the declaration of a state of emergency after intense storms ravaged the region.

In these minutes, under the section of public comment, it lists three questions with the names of who posed them. Borough council’s answers to the questions are not recorded in the documented minutes.

When compared to time stamped video, both Robert Martin and Loreda Everett asked when the borough declared a state of emergency. The response, given by president Rhone, was that it was declared “on Tuesday.” The minutes state that “Starrucca declared a state of emergency on June 27 (2006) at approx. 1 pm.” In the video, Rhone states that he “declared it to Laura who then declared it to Honesdale.”

Everett further asked if there was a meeting held by council to declare the state of emergency.

Rhone replied to the question with “No.” Former borough solicitor Bugaj then stated that he would “recommend” borough council vote on the formal declaration at that meeting.
The minutes reflect that Jack Downton asked, “Why did you fix washed out Kellogg Road?” When compared to video, that was not the question Downtown asked during public comment.

The video of the meeting shows that Downtown asked “In the state of emergency, what was declared?” Rhone responded by saying “we will discuss that in the meeting.”

Following that question, Everett wanted to know if the “easements have been signed” that were presented at the previous meeting regarding “the Shadigee Creek Wall project.” Rhone responded with “No,” adding that he “hadn’t looked at them yet.” Everett remarked that he had had them “for a month” and wanted to know why he had not looked at them yet. Solicitor Bugaj assured those in attendance that the wall project would be dealt with at the meeting.

The minutes were read into the record followed by the accepting and reading of the treasury report.

The bills were presented with councilman Lou Gurske requesting a copy of a bill from Delta Engineers. This activity is reflected in the minutes.

After the acceptance of the bills, the events recorded in the meeting minutes are not in the order in which they occurred during the meeting. The minutes state that “Committee Reports” were discussed next, with the first item listed underneath being “Starrucca declared a state of emergency on June 27th at appox. 1 p.m. Starrucca declared $55K in damages.”

When compared to the video, it shows that correspondences were read from Honesdale National Bank, the Wayne Conservation District, Community Development Block Grant funding correspondence regarding work on Stephano Bridge, and IRS correspondence regarding problems with filed payroll taxes from 2003. Another document was read regarding a bid on the Shadigee Creek Wall project. Committee reports were not given until after correspondence had been read.
FEMA Agent Darl Haynes gave a report about the status of the Shadigee Creek Wall, saying that the damage is “being reassessed.” Haynes continued to give a report on the state of other roads in the borough and the damages they sustained.

Gurske asked how much money the borough would be asking FEMA regarding the damages. Haynes replied with “$55 thousand” as his figure. Gurske stated that was “not the number we agreed on.” Shadigee Creek Wall damage was discussed between Gurske and Haynes. Gurske stated that he “was told by an official that there will be no more money given for that wall.” Gurske’s comment is not reflected in the minutes.

Written minutes state “Old/New Business” was discussed next, with topics being a motion to advertise for bids for the Buck Bridge project and to advertise to borrow “up to $15,000.00” for “general borough purposes.” Lou Gurske opposed a motion to borrow “up to $70,000.00” for the reconstruction of Buck Bridge. He stated “he would not be involved in further bankrupting this borough.”

Former Solicitor Bugaj then presented a report regarding Shadigee Creek Wall and the easements. Bugaj stated the easements were signed and are awaiting the signature of the contractor, Ken Rauch, in order to begin work on the wall. Bugaj recommended that statement be obtained “in writing” from various parties involved in the wall project. Bugaj recommended the borough “confirm the declaration of emergency” and asked borough council to allow him to m correspond with Attorney Giangreco regarding Ken Rauch to obtain “engineering plans, notarized easements, FEMA’s latest assessment of damage, and provide all permits necessary” to move forward with the wall.

The declaration of emergency was not formerly made during the borough meeting until 47 minutes and 13 seconds into the regular meeting and not at the beginning of “Old/New Business” as the meeting minutes state.

A discussion, absent from the recorded minutes, between Renee Warden and Solicitor Bugaj regarding if the borough was responsible for damage to her house caused by the rain. The only discussion noted in the minutes states that Warden authorized Haynes to contact her attorney regarding when FEMA could asses damage to the wall and the property.