The Summit Hill Borough Council, meeting in regular session on Tuesday night, passed two ordinances, one aimed at making landlords more accountable for leasing properties in the borough and the second one changing costs and fees associated with permits required by borough roles.

Ordinance No. 2 of 2022 is an amendment to the rental property code of the borough. The change is designed to “provide reasonable regulations for the use and condition of real property in the Borough of Summit Hill as rental properties, both residential and commercial.”

The new ordinance require landlords to obtain a certificate for leasing a rental property. In order to obtain the certificate, a landlord will have to meet criteria stated in the ordinance.

The second passage, Ordinance No. 3 of 2022, amends previous costs and fees for permits. One of the main additions to the ordinance includes the outstanding balance(s) of all liabilities owed to the borough by the requester and/or the landowner(s), including fines, civil penalties, past due sewer bills, land use/subdivision charges and/or past-due permit fees.”

In other business, the council members discussed the proposed fire escrow ordinance that was discussed last month. The purpose of the escrow account is to make sure the borough will have the funds necessary to demolish a property if a homeowner walks away or abandons a property that burns down.

“We just wanted to make sure that we are covered if someone should walk away from their property, we have enough money to tear it down, if need be,” explained borough secretary Kira Steber.

The amount of the escrow was first given as $2,000 for each $50,000 of the claim.

“So, a $90,000 house burns down, we would be collecting $2,000 in escrow to tear the house down?” asked borough councilman David Wargo.

“To me, we should be getting at least 50% of what they are getting,” councilman Michael Alabovitz added. “We just don’t want them to walk away and leave us stuck.”

Borough solicitor Robert Frycklund will look into how to set up the ordinance.

Elsewhere, the council discussed recommendations from Keystone Technology, the borough’s information technology company, which recommended upgrades are needed for the borough’s computer systems.

“It will be about $16,000 to make things right,” Steber explained. “A server would cost $4,200, and they want to break the network down into three servers, for security reasons. The police would have one for $4,200, the administration and public works would have one for $4,200, and the water authority would go on its own. Another option is if Keystone hosts it with the servers at their office, the cost of which would be $350 per month.”

The consensus of the council was it would be better to purchase the equipment outright and keep the servers on the borough property.

The funds for the upgrade will come from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Council passed a motion to purchase the equipment as long as the cost is paid for using the ARP funds.

The council members said they will also be looking at more ways to use the ARP funds.

“We got the first half back in July,” Steber said. “I’ve already had to do a report on what we’ve spent so far. I don’t want to sit on the money. We only have a few years to spend it; if not, we have to give it back.”

Council discussed some possible projects like upgrade some HVAC equipment in the borough hall.