Monday, January 31, 2011
Are the Commissioners qualified to decide?
A week from tomorrow could be the biggest decision ever made by the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners. Yet, are they qualified to make decisions based on zoning issues? There were many violations mentioned at the public hearing. Some residents desperately called it, "minutiae." Are we going to get a fair decision? Joe votes the way Raja votes. Raja is best buds with Ed and Dan. Dave was in the Posti Gazette for BOSN. Oh yeah. Sounds definitely "fair" to me. To be fair, maybe they should rely on the Zoning Hearing Board's expertise and send it their way on Feb. 8 and let them study it for a month. What is one more month? It is the right thing to do.
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33 comments:
Don't overlook one of Raja's other R "best buds" on the SB being *go-along-to-get-along* Dale.
It would be very unfortunate for this project to not be judged solely on the merits, pro v con representations, of complete conformance with all applicable local ordinances and state laws, and instead be decided on purely political majority grounds...that would be a complete travesty of local governance.
This is the largest, most complicated and expensive project - public or private - in the history of Mt. Lebanon. How its plan will be ultimately judged and turn out will define the true LEBO for decades....juat like the 1970-72 "Taj Mahal" high school project being demolished : boondoggleville !
Bill Lewis
Bill,
According to policy, party politics has no place on the school board.
I assume this includes go-along-to-get-along.
Policy BCA:
[each Board member] Shall represent all his or her District constituents honestly and refuse to surrender his
or her responsibilities to special interest or partisan political groups.
David Huston
David,
Silhol refused to surrender his vote and the deadbeat athletic supporters knocked him off the school board.
Then the Superintendent put the deadbeat athletic supporters on his Key Communicators Committee - along with a group of his local Komrads mixed in with some very nice folks and some not so nice folks.
John Ewing
I was thinking about an article that I read maybe four or five years ago in the Posti Gazette. The reporter interviewed a man named Raja who elaborated on the inefficiencies and poor quality of our American public schools. I seem to remember Raja saying that our public schools were inefficient and wasted money. He went on to boast about $1MM in private charitable contributions that his company made the prior year.
What happened to Raja?
My God - he gets a little whiff of public power under his belt and suddenly we see this incredible transformation. Rather than working to address the inefficient schools by using his role as president of the Mt Lebanon Republican Committee to improve operational efficiencies in our school, and rather than work to instill Republican principles in our community RAJA PRESIDES OVER THE LARGEST EXPENDITURE IN THE HISTORY OF MT LEBANON!
- and the sad truth is that I actually believe that RAJA THINKS THAT HE'S DOING A GOOD JOB!
When is the vote? In one week? Please Raja, tell us that you have decided not to vote, resign from the party, the Commission, sell your house, load your kids in the car and move - move- move away so that you'll put what is left of our community out of the misery that you have given us!
That's a little harsh, John. Raja has ALWAYS answered my emails. That is more than I can say about my commissioner. Raja doesn't need to move away; however, he needs to go back to the old Raja. Don't let politics influence you, Raja. Do what the old Raja would have done.
Elaine
No Elaine,
In my opinion this entire project has been characterized by back-room deals, hollow promises, and rather liberal interpretations of the rules that we have governed ourselves by for decades. I feel that there is no excuse for this type of behavior.
The loud and influential athletic supporters within our community, and Raja, have to get their priorities in order. Their influence is about to ruin the lives of ALL of the people in the community.
John, I'm back just briefly to invite you to the first 2011 meeting of the Mt. Lebanon Football Association. This meeting will be held on Feb 9 @ Bado's. All of our meetings are open to those interested in the Association.
For the love of God John, since we're plotting to ruin the lives of 30,000 people, certainly there should be some motivation on your part to attend this meeting and save Mt. Lebanon!
Or perhaps you and Mr. Ewing should picket outside of the Rec Center tonight as the Mt. Lebanon Baseball Association holds its second registration. The horror!!
For those of you who aren't on the Lebo Citizens mailing list, I sent this eblast out the other day.
Dear Mt. Lebanon Resident:
On February 8, 2011, the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners MAY be voting on the largest, most expensive, most controversial, most complicated project in Mt. Lebanon history.
At the public hearing on January 24, 2011, many zoning issues were raised. Please write to our Commissioners urging them to take the time to go back to the Zoning Hearing Board and rely on their expertise before they make a hasty decision that will define Mt. Lebanon for decades. The Commissioners have until March 8 to decide. Send an email to commission@mtlebanon.org and ask them not to rush and to base their decision on fact, project merits, and zoning conformance, not on party politics.
If you wish to be added our email list, send me an email to info@lebocitizens.com with "Subscribe" in the subject.
Elaine
I won’t be anywhere near the Football Association meeting, Mr. Franklin, but I would be glad to post another email from a member of the Football Association Board you serve on if you keep defending these dishonest athletic supporter deadbeats.
I’ll take my football from better-behaved folks, thank you!
Go Steelers!!!!
Wow! I never thought about picketing outside of the rec center... But wait, that's private property and I could get arrested for trespassing, right ?
It may be worth going!
Thanks Dave!
John -are you up for it?
8)
Well Mr Franklin, as you know I am a business traveller. Generally, that means that I arrive around midnight and then struggle to find where I can eat dinner at 12:30am
A few days ago I was in that situation in Raleigh. I happen to stay where the hot chicks that market for the NHL stayed for the All Star Game. I'll admit, these women are great to look at, a lot of fun to be around - and BOY do they know how to talk to men; but all the fun that sports brings aside, there is an equitable question about who has to bear the burden for the entertainment of a relatively small minority of the community. A minority that is in a position to write a check for EVERYTHING that they have asked our community to provide for them. From what I've read of his comments to the press it is my opinion at Raja can write a single check for the entire $120MM high school project and then everyone would have what they want!
Unfortunately, that's not the situation that we are in - and it's really unfair to so many residents who have given so much that are now being asked to sacrifice more for the entertainment of a very few.
I appreciate your offer to attend, but I think that I'll have to agree with John Ewing.
No thank you, Mr Franklin - to the meeting or anything else that the athletic community wants.
I really loathe doing this - I really do. But Mr. Kendrick, your comment (chauvinistic remarks aside) got me to thinking - what level of athletic spending DO you support? If you are of the belief that we should scrap the athletic department all together, well then you're probably never going to convince anyone of anything and you certainly don't understand Mt. Lebanon. However, if you believe that athletics play a role in our community and in the high school experience then I hope that you would agree that teams require facilities, etc.
Look, it's easy to scream and stomp your feet and say we suck, but its another thing to acknowledge certain facts and then to couch your arguments around those facts. The facts as they relate to sports are these - they exist in our community and at the high school and they will continue to be supported by our community and - in part - by our tax dollars. If your preference is to just blow them all up, then please just keep pounding your head against the wall. However, if you can bring yourself to acknowledge those facts, then I'd like to know what level of spending you support.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful speech Dave - beautiful, but do us a favor and put it in a can and save it for the February 9 meeting. It would make a great piece to add after everyone finishes a pledge of allegiance to the basketball in the front of the room.
Sorry Dave, but none of us want to see a hot check cut from the School Board for a $120MM facility that we can't afford!
Have you ever stopped to realize most good coaches would be better off coaching at an orphanage? Why? The adults aren’t there to interfere with the students and the good coaches.
There are lessons learned in athletics and fine arts that are not taught in the classroom. I enjoyed athletics in high school and do and will continue to support them.
My objections to Mount Lebanon athletics come from the antics of a few deadbeat parents who interfered with an election and engaged in deadbeat promises to the District. The Deadbeat Group didn’t even try to keep their promises – they just walked away.
If you are as involved in sports as you say, I don’t need to tell you who they are or what they did. If you want to find out more details you can file a Right-to-Know Request with the superintendent’s assistant.
I’m sure I would meet some very nice folks if I accepted your invitation to attend some sports meetings. However, I find your efforts to invite me to attend a meeting that may be attended by deadbeat athletic supporters to be insincere and manipulative. There are some folks I just don’t want to meet, associate with, or support. It is too bad a few bad apples have a way of making the whole barrel rotten.
Perhaps you saw this story
Former Mt. Lebanon Athletic Director in the Post-Gazette. Do you recognize the name? Do you agree with his example for children?
Are these the kinds of examples you want for your elementary, middle, and high school children?
I wish all of your children better than that. When you clean out the bad apples invite me for support.
John Ewing
As expected from the Johns, a lot of sizzle and no steak. Your absurd statements and over generalizations demonstrate your collective lack of any meaningful information on this subject. Mr. Kendric, you've loudly taken issue with what is currently on the table, so I asked you to offer your alternatives or position on an appropriate level of athletic spending. Seemed like a fair question to ask someone who - for the last 6 months - has complained daily about what is presently being offered. Unfortunately, like always, you chose to duck and cover.
Mr. Ewing, Alan Sihol lost his seat on the Board by 33 votes. 33 votes!! I'm sure at least 100 Silhol supporters were either sick, forgot to vote or got stuck at work on election day, yet you believe this ridiculously small margin was the product of some well-orchestrated coup by the athletic associations. Amazing.
I've done this before and I got not response, but I'll try it again: Please raise your hand if you were persuaded NOT to vote for Mr. Silhol by someone involved with athletics in Lebo. Let's see who has your back Mr. Ewing.
I know my dates may be a bit off, but for heaven's sake Relich was the AD in Lebo close to (or over) a decade ago. What on Earth do the events of this week have to do with anything in our school district?
It's just another red herring thrown out there by Kendrick/Ewing to avoid any challenge to their nonsensical theories about Mt. Lebanon.
Life would be easier if you two just exchanged emails with each other and left the rest of us out of it.
Dave,
I welcome "the Johns'" opinions on this blog. I welcome your opinions too. I believe John and John have backed up most of their statements with information obtained from Right To Knows. I think they have Mt. Lebanon's back. Their big gripe (and mine too) comes from the Master Design Team minutes as well as many emails where large donations were promised from the "the athletic supporters." We don't need to get into that again. We know the promise wasn't from you, but we have such a bad taste in our mouths because this high school renovation seems to be all about sports. We're still going to look at bad windows or leaky pipes for several years since they are starting with the sports complex. A large sum of money is being spent for the kids who are involved with sports. Mr. Kendrick said that. Mr. Ewing said that. And I am saying that. That red herring that you speak of is worth eight million dollars!
To tie in this week's event in Peters with Lebo, read my update on TRANSPARENCY part 2.
I hope you, as well as "the Johns" have written to the Commissioners asking them to defer their decision to the Zoning Hearing Board since they are the experts on zoning issues. We would get an unbiased ruling, not driven by politics but by state and local codes, ordinances, and laws.
Elaine
Elaine, my request of John K. was pretty simple . . . what - if any - level of spending is appropriate for athletics?
Can you and I agree that if he says that we should blow up the athletic department all together that he's in a pretty small minority?
I'll ask the same of you . . . If we should not spend/do what is currently on the table as far as athletic facilities are concerned, what should we spend/do? It's easy to say that what's on the table is wrong or too much, so please tell me what is right or just enough. I'm not picking a fight, I just want to know what the right answer is since some of you contend that what's on the table now is so wrong.
I would also note, because it is often overlooked, that many who use these facilities have absolutely no connection with high school sports. The track is widely used by hundreds of residents each day of all ages. It is indeed a very public resource that is used by many and not just a few. The Associations who use the turf (soccer, football, lacrosse) all pay to do so. The tennis courts at the high school are probably used more by more folks unaffiliated with the high school than they are by those on the boys and girls tennis teams.
Make no mistake, these facilities that you guys so readily mock are used by many and not a few.
If your preference is that they all just go away, that's fine. That's your opinion. I doubt that most in our community would not share that opinion. Given that, isn't it more productive to suggest alternatives instead of the random generalizations and attacks that we so regularly get from the Johns?
Also, if you are upset that the high school project is "all about sports" than it seems logical that you would agree that the Johns are driving that bus. Every time they post something about the project or anything else in Lebo, the "deadbeat" athletic rant always comes up. Should I assume then that you are all OK with the budget numbers that are attributable to everything else like the orchestra pit, the auditorium, the cafeteria, the lights, the flooring, the HVAC, the doors, the windows, etc. It sure seems that way because all anyone who is opposed to the project focuses on is the athletic components. Is everything else absolutely perfect?
I guess I have to go back to the petition that I signed almost a year ago. $75 million for a high school renovation. Throw in the $8 million red herring. Go back to the Zoning Hearing Board (again) and ask for a parking variance for all the additional parking needed for the groups that you pointed out who will be sharing the facilities. Or how about this? Look at what Pitt is getting for $110 million.
University of Pittsburgh Look at how much they are spending on education. How much are we spending on our kids? How much of our education dollars will be spent on community use, as you point out? Read about the Lebo Shell Game. Look at the Almanac cartoon on the Blog. Read about tearing down the 1972 Taj Mahal.
Most importantly, email the Commissioners and tell them that the Shared Parking Agreement will not provide the additional spaces needed for the community use that you pointed out. They need to hear that.
Elaine
Elaine,
Did Franklin promise never to return to the blog?
Did the athletic supporters promise funding to the district?
Do you see my point?
Personally, I don't care if Franklin comments or not - I've enjoyed the stimulating exchanges; but I'd prefer cash in advance from the athletic community!
John,
Dave Franklin made some excellent points about how we will need additional parking for all the community use. As he pointed out, hundreds of residents of all ages use the track all day long, not to mention the use of the tennis courts. Maybe Bill Lewis' parking analysis was right on the money. Well, of course it was!!!!
Elaine
Once again with the over generalizations. NEWSFLASH: every runner/walker/athlete who uses the track/turf is not there at the same time. In fact, many of them don't drive there at all.
John and Elaine, I'll make you a deal - if you get to the high school and can't find a place to park, call me and I'll come get your car, wash it and fill it with gas while you do whatever it is you were at the high school to do.
Dave, I don't want to argue. You can call it over generalizations. But if you listen to the meeting where Bill Lewis had a snapshot of an evening in the fall, I was in the parking lot and could not find a spot. Rob Papke announced that he was one of the lucky ones to get a spot, but I had to park on a side street. I wish I had known about your offer back then. My email address is EGillen476@aol.com, Dave. Email me your phone number and I will call you next time. It really does happen. In fact, a resident spoke at the public hearing held by the Commissioners and had said that her son was denied a parking permit. He was told to park on a side street. There were no more available. I don't make this stuff up. It is all documented in the podcasts. Take some time and listen to them, before you make such generous offers. I do mean that your offer is generous, because I could definitely take you up on it. Perhaps others could use your services too. It would move the project along. Thanks!!
Elaine
Dave,
Sorry, but I wouldn't trust any athletic supporter with my car (see Ewing post and article above) ; and even though I know that you have gas I don't need any of your gas either. 8)
Best,
While we are on the subject of parking, a real concern at the high school currently, please go back to that $110.5 million Pitt project link I provided in a previous comment. The Pitt projects "are expected to generate 778 construction and support jobs." I hope this doesn't sound like a generalization, but it is conceivable that means 778 parking spaces are needed. Granted, there could be workers walking to the job, car pooling or taking public transportation. Would 500 spaces be a fair estimate for the Pitt project? How many parking spaces would be required for our renovation? Don't forget, they would need space for their equipment too. I hope our open-minded Commissioners take all these parking issues under consideration. I don't think Dave Franklin will be able to keep up with the demand.
As Bill Lewis wrote in the first comment, "It would be very unfortunate for this project to not be judged solely on the merits, pro v con representations, of complete conformance with all applicable local ordinances and state laws, and instead be decided on purely political majority grounds...that would be a complete travesty of local governance."
Elaine
Thank God, we have Mr. Franklin as a watchdog to direct us to the real waste concerning high school parking.
Now why do you suppose the municipality put up all those parking restriction signs for a non-existent parking problems on the neighboring streets to the high school?
Remember, this is the same governmental body that had to borrow money they didn't have to pave our streets! ;-)
Giffen Good
The agenda for Tuesday's meeting is up on the Municipal website. You can see it here too.
Commission Agenda 02 08 11
David Franklin said:
"John and Elaine, I'll make you a deal - if you get to the high school and can't find a place to park, call me and I'll come get your car, wash it and fill it with gas while you do whatever it is you were at the high school to do."
For those of you who need a parking space, a car wash, and a tank of gas, Mr. Franklin's phone number is
412-263-18xx
I strongly suggest to everyone to please read the Commission Agenda. The Commissioners are being totally transparent so there are no surprises. I'm just sayin'.
Elaine
Who writes this stuff??? What a bunch of meaningless jibberish!
#3. The understanding that this approval does not allow any non-High School uses to take place on the property, and that additional zoning approvals may be necessary. In particular, reference was made during the hearing about a health club use in the athletic facility and office spaces in the field house The Municipality, by granting this approval, is not in any way implicitly or explicitly approving, agreeing to, or ruling upon any particular ancillary use or plan that does not relate to the operation of a high school or the administrative offices of the District, even if an ancillary use or plan has previously been mentioned or is known to the Municipality.
So what does this recommendation mean? That the commissioners subtly acknowledge that the school board made statements under oath in prior meetings that they were building facilities for use by the general public during school hours? But, never designed the necessary parking to meet zoning regulations.
What exactly is a "non-High School" use any way? Is say- a community swim club program, classes or tournament in the new high school pool or gyms a "non-High School" use? What about community theater or dance group use?
They're using the high school pool or auditorium so logically it is a "High School" use right? After all it is in the 'high school' so it can't possibly be defined as a "non-High School" use!
Sounds like a rather vague recommendation, purposely left to broad interpretation to avoid having to make a decision!
Furthermore, once these programs started- exactly what happens. Will private citizens once again have to pay for lawsuits to get rulings for or against ourselves once again?
Giffen Good
Hats off to Dan Miller, Dave Brumfield, and Matt Kluck for voting to waive Executive Session for this VERY important decision. Starting at 6:15 on Tuesday: Review of school district conditional use decision and development agreement will be done in front of the public. Residents cannot speak at the Discussion Session, but voting to waive an Executive Session has never been done before.
We are all for a transparent government! Hear this, School Board?
Elaine
Giffen Good,
I am wondering how this is going to play out. According to the UPMC agreement, MTLSD agreed to serve as a regional center for UPMC, allowing them to have four events per year where they are allowed to charge admission. I can't wait to see how the School Board wiggles its way out of this one. Clearly, this would be a violation of conditions.
The agreement is on the home page of lebocitizens.com.
Elaine
When leaving a comment, please include your real first and last name, so that I can approve it. Thanks!
Elaine
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