Flyers are being distributed to neighboring streets by residents who believe the Mt. Lebanon Middle and Wildcat Fields Turf Project must stop. The reasons are plentiful:
- THIS IS A POTENTIAL HEALTH RISK
- THIS IS POOR ECONOMIC POLICY and a MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT
- GOVERNANCE BY THE COMMISSION IS QUESTIONABLE
- MUNICIPAL REGULATIONS HAVE NOT BEEN CONSIDERED (all the while fundraising is already underway)
- THIS IS A RISK TO OUR ENVIRONMENT
Joan E. Gibson submitted an opinion piece to The Almanac (Saved in Google Docs) this week, asking commissioners to further investigate the dangers of playing on artificial turf, citing the American Academy of Neurology and "the article in the most recent issue of American Family Physician Practice Guidelines (April 1, 2014) the article is entitled 'Evaluation and Management of Concussion in Athletes: Recommendations from the AAN.'”
According to the Turf Project Task Force Presentation timeline, Mt. Lebanon will advertise for bids on May 15, 2014. We have a very narrow window of opportunity to stop this before bids go out.
MAKE YOUR CONCERNS KNOWN TO THE COMMISSIONERS!
Important meetings this week:
- CRITICAL MEETING: The turf project is on the Planning Board Agenda for 4/22. This is the best opportunity to stop this project. Go to the Commission Chamber in the Municipal Building at 7:00 PM.
- Attend the Municipal informational meeting on 4/24 at the concession stand building at the fields on Cedar Blvd. at 6:00 PM and ASK QUESTIONS! (In case of inclement weather meet in the ice rink lobby.)
- Attend the Commission discussion meeting on 4/28 at 6:30 PM, and then the regular meeting at 8:00 in the Municipal Building. Plan to ASK QUESTIONS when they are permitted at the beginning of the 8:00 meeting! Sign up to speak near the Commission Chamber door. Bring friends and family. (Agendas to follow)
- Attend the Environmental Sustainability Board’s (ESB) Educational Forum on Artificial Turf on 4/30 at 7:00 PM in the Municipal Bldg. Get the real facts about artificial turf!
- Write to the Commissioners at commission@mtlebanon.org
MOST IMPORTANTLY – GET INVOLVED! The commission is putting your health and safety at potential risk with this project. You have VERY LITTLE time to tell them NO!
For more health and environment information, here are some useful links:
Commissioner Kelly Fraasch’s blog: www.kellyfraasch.com/blog
Lebo Citizens www.lebocitizens.com
Recorded public meetings including those of the Commission, Sports Advisory Board (SAB), Planning Board, Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB)and Parks Advisory Board (PAB) can be viewed at www.mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?NID=2151
Note: The hyperlink to James Cannon's presentation has been removed from this page.
72 comments:
I got my flyer today. Thank you James Cannon and committee.
The Municipality claims to believe in and support complete transparency and open government - so they remove Jim Cannon's 2012 turf presentation because it conflicts with their own misguided and conflicted beliefs !
This place has become a real mess.
Concussions are the second most common injury to children in sports and the number is growing. The impact is often devastating.
The sports-concussion link is so strong that GWU Law School now offered a class on the subject.
Parents: If you need an attorney b/c MTLSD or MTL sports surfaces result in your kid's injury, call Michael Kaplen.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/sports/football/concussion-cases-inspire-new-course-at-george-washington-law-school.html?hpw&rref=health&_r=0
I had no idea this was in the works, than you for posting this!
Looks like the sports lobby is, once again, promising to pay a fraction of the cost for their edification. When replacement is required every 8 years for at least $600,000.00 who will be paying for that? YOU!
Wake up Lebo, you are going to be fleeced!
A promise and a contribution are not the same.
I agree with 12:16 - this place has become a huge mess.
It is widely know that the turf contains toxins including zinc and lead that kill zebrafish. But you might wonder, "Why should I care about zebrafish?" or "Aren't we going to try to avoid killing the zebrafish with our zinc containment systems?" or "We can tell our kids to wash their hands". No worries.
But here is the deal: Zebrafish are studied because they are very similar to humans in their genetic makeup and vertebrate model system. Several zebrafish genes so closely parallel the human genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases that they have been chosen in developmental neurotoxicity studies to define genetic mechanisms of toxicity and associated neurobehavioral alterations.
Furthermore, while these studies are in their infancy, current findings suggest that early life exposure to toxins, like lead, are linked to adult neurodegenerative disease development including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease.
So even if you don't like fish, or play in streams, if you care about life, you should be worried about what the zebrafish are telling us.
I would like to welcome all the new people to my blog, Lebo Citizens. There is a search box in the upper left hand corner. By entering keywords such as "toxic turf" or "turfing middle and wildcat" in the search box, you will find plenty of reading material.
If you have questions, ask them here, email the commissioners, or send me an email at EGillen476@aol.com. If I can help you, I will. If I can't, I will find someone who can.
Together, we can stop this. Don't let the commissioners fund their pet project with our tax dollars. Come to the meetings and tell them, "NO. We don't want artificial turf!"
Elaine
Elaine, sorry to say it but Linfante told us that constituent opinon and input doesn't count with her or the commission.
She emphatically stated that despite advisory board recommendations they had the three commission votes needed to proceed with installing artificial turf.
The commission doesn't even need to hit the pause button and there isn't a damn thing taxpayers can do about it.
I hope residents keep this in mind when the Home Rule Charter revision to eliminate the 4 vote super majority needed to raise taxes comes up for referendum.
That is why commissioners need to resign. It is not a dictatorship, and Linfante and Brumfield have forgotten that. When I heard that Kristen was running for commissioner, I knew I had to do something in the third ward. Unfortunately, the people who supported her couldn't see her for what she really is. She will be missing the meeting on April 28. She gets paid whether she makes the meetings or not. I do this full time for no pay and wasn't even invited to the volunteers' dinner.
Anyway, I digress. Kristen also said that Dan Miller is not commissioner anymore, so it doesn't matter what he thinks. I will remind him of that when I meet with him on Tuesday. She is really bad news. So is Brumfield. He is the ringleader and Kristen is his puppet. They don't include Kelly or Matt, when he was president, in emails. I found that out in my RTK.
The commission is a sham. So is Feller. So is the Sports Advisory Board. So is the media. Press coverage about the police department investigating a deer that got away when we have a finance director double counting to the tune of $36 million is what made the news. Now you know why they want me to go away.
The fact that the commission and Sports Advisory Board are ignoring the issues about toxic turf and all the reasons listed in the flyer, in my mind, is grounds for resignation. The SAB needs to be dissolved and the commissioners in favor of toxic turf need to resign.
Elaine
According to Collins English Dictionary —
"dictatorship n
1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) the rank, office, or period of rule of a dictator
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) government by a dictator or dictators
3. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) a country ruled by a dictator or dictators
4. absolute or supreme power or authority
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003"
So essentially, the voters of Mt. Lebanon abicated their power to a local government of dictators because approximately 70% are too tired, too busy or too apathetic to care how their community is run.
Further evidence of the dictitorial nature of our municipality and school district lies in the fact that commissioners can hand pick members of their advisory boards.
Even given that perogative, should the advisory board recommend a certain path the commissioners don't like, they can completely ignore the advice.
More evidence is noted by Elaine's volunteer dinner shunning and its a good bet you'll never see her in a "This town would be different" mtl magazine feature or accepted as a distinguished MTL alumni.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mkoPq5AOCOA
It would be interesting to run a tally of the subject matter of Lebomag articles.
I'm betting the number one subject has to be something involving alcohol, whether Beerfest, First Nights, Chili Cook Offs, Craft Beers, etc., etc.
Hell there are sports parents that can't endure their kids ballgame without a drink in their hand!
How many beautiful trees will be removed for the new turf installation? How many more will be removed for enlarged parking lots?
Doesn't matter, 3 votes is all it takes 12:31.
Trees? We don't need no stinkin' trees.
Actually, just to offset the carbon footprint of ripping up grass and replacing it with artificial turf, we would need to plant 1861 trees. That does not include any tree removal for parking lots.
I remember pictures of Kristen making rain barrels on Earth Day. Remember her big push for Pay As You Throw? What a hypocrite. She isn't respecting the number one Democratic Value of "Be GREEN by pursuing the efficiencies and benefits of a green community." Pretty pathetic for a commission consisting of all Democrats.
Elaine
Yeah, the Dems are a bunch of hypocrites (with one exception on the Commission) and the Republicans have no idea what's going on!
Time for a new party in Mt. Lebanon!
Or have R's and D's actually practice and respect their party values.
Elaine
I hope people step away from their keyboards and go to the meetings this week. Get involved!
Elaine
Is this really a political issue? Do you really think that the only corrupt individuals related to this situation are democrats? I can see that the 3 votes from the commission are democrat but the long-term planning involved with managing municipal revenue to result in substantial undesignated funds several years in a row while repairs and fixes needed in the community go unaddressed -- you are saying that is all the result of those 3 commissioners and Feller? Of course, the ongoing corruption is their responsibility but who else is involved? Is Franklin a democrat? Are the actively involved members of the SAB democrats? Are Grogan, Cappucci & Steinhauer democrats? All these players are involved. They'll try to say they aren't, especially the district folks, but since MTL Varsity baseball has priority standing on these fields, they are involved.
2:12 there are 4 supporters for the artificial turf project, not three. fraasch stands alone.
The undesignated funds were not intended for this use, I believe it was a "rainy day " fund in the event of some unforeseen circumstance. The democrat committee worked hard to get these people elected and now look at how it backfired. This may be the undoing of the D's here. Cappuccino is also a dem and she is most likely involved in some way. If so, isn'tt she some kind of environmentalist? Man, power sure does make some people's values go by the wayside!
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2014/03/06/was-it-over-when-the-germans-bombed-pearl-harbor/
Unfortunately, the democratic party has learned the fine art of branding any opposition as Bluto.
We saw it with Taylor, Fraasch and Hart, Gillen, Stephenson, Bies, Wertheim and Cannon, to name a few and who can forget "What the Kluck!"
For our fears being Bluto, we have Twins Hills, McNeilly and a high school project nowhere near the under $100 million Kubit projections!
Who is the third vote? Linfane, Brumfield and ?
http://m.bbc.com/news/business-26871084
Hmmm, and what investment does our leadership in the Great State of Mt. Lebanon focus on "for the kids!" besides tweets, pizza parties?
Why a million dollars worth of plastic grass, of course!
3:05 Bendel makes three. Silverman supports the turf, but he wasn't sworn in until January. The vote was before that.
Even if all of the Commissioners are in favor or proceeding with this project they have a responsibility to look out for the public interest. Therefore, I think that this project should be a precedent for all future special projects that are designed with public-private funding by REQUIRING THE 25% THAT WAS PLEDGED TO BE PLACED IN AN ESCROW ACCOUNT BEFORE ANY WORK BEGINS!
We all remember the $8,000,000 that never materialized. In fact, we all know where the name Deadbeat Athletic Supporters came from.
Granted, the Commission wants this project to move forward. However, there isn't any reason why any future project that is planned with public and private funds should not begin until the private portion has the cash in the bank.
It's not just for athletics. I'd say the same even if it was a ham shack. ;)
Is that too much to ask for?
Just an FYI. It is next to impossible to record outside. So the "not for the general public meeting" that David Donnellan is hosting on Thursday will only be heard by the "not for the general public." Plan to attend if you want to be informed.
Elaine
I believe the 25% does have to be in hand before the project begins. Isn't there a deadline of May 15?
Doesn't Brumfield serving as a lacrosse coach AND voting to assign these funds for turf qualify as a conflict of interest?
Good point 5:42 PM. Commissioners Silverman, Linfante and Bendel also have kids in field sports, and all are behind the artificial turf.
How about filing a complaint with the PA Ethics Commission - they have a Pittsburgh office. Be sure to copy Matt Smith and Dan Miller.
5:42 PM, theoretically there is a deadline for $250,000, not 25% anymore. Bendel said that the commission has not decided which one it will be. If you go on the Mt. Lebanon Endowment website, you will see there is no deadline for contributions. If you think about the way it is set up, the alleged deadline is before the bids come in. So the SAB can say that they didn't know it was larger than a million dollars. Brilliant, huh? But we believe everything that Bendel tells us because we can trust him. Just like how he doesn't feel comfortable telling the public how much soccer has donated. We were told that Gateway contributed $4000 last year, Baseball donated $25,000, Dick's Sporting Goods donated $5000, but it is still a mystery what soccer has donated. wink, wink.
As far as a conflict of interest, I think Brumfield told me that there is no financial gain for him so it isn't a conflict of interest. That is not to say that his family and friends don't benefit.
Elaine
Elaine and 5:42pm,
We've heard all of that BS from the Athletic Supporters before. Listen to Bendel's comments in the Commission meeting that Elaine is referring to.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if $0 is sourced privately and the project proceeds.
That's the reason that I am asking for the CASH to be deposited into an escrow account.
We don't want the stinkin' turf, period, cash or no cash Kendrick.
It's not just about the money, try and see it that way.
"No financial gain..." You keep believing it! Just like the IRS never targeted anyone and four Americans died because of a movie no one saw. The NSA only targets terrorists and "You can keep your Doctor...". Brumfield's kid plays lacrosse. The other one is into swimming. So two turfed fields and two new pools are here for tax payers to fund. Next is the indoor lacrosse field. Then Mellon, Jefferson and Robb Hollow will be turfed fields. Then comes the lights! Want to bet that "certain" kids will have scholarships to college paid by 75% of the taxpayers and 25% (cough cough) sports groups.
Nobody stops him, 10:40 PM.
Elaine
8:48pm,
Truthfully, I don't want the turf either; but do you know what? I didn't want the school renovation either. The reality is that there are some battles that we just can't win and this may be one of them.
So try to frame it this way... If the Commissioners are going to target individual homeowners for tax increases and build special interest projects without a solid commitment to fund their part of the deal, no matter whose project it is, then are these the folks that we want in elected office?
If the DAS get away with finding yet another project without the private contributions that were promised then you'll never see me casting a vote for a Democrat in any Mt Lebanon office!
This may be a battle we just can't win? Gee, thanks. If that is the case, then in the words of the great Kristen Linfante, I should "shut down this [blog]."
Elections are two years away. We're all going to sit around for the next two years waiting for an election? We did that with Brumfield. And what happened? He was reelected because he ran unopposed!
As 8:48 PM said, we don't want the stinkin' turf.
Elaine
I'm rooting for you - all of you. My point is simply that rather than fighting the issue based on turf it may be a better appeal to address the financial management of Mt Lebanon and the consequences of reckless fiscal management.
It may happen that in the process of addressing the matter of requiring the cash up front [ a decision that will protect ALL of our interests] that the Turf Project and many other pet projects won't move forward.
That's my point.
As for the turf - I won't be using it, I there's nothing in it for me and I don't want it either.
Happy Easter everyone,
John Kendrick,
Quite honestly, you have some perspective to lend to this situation in Mt. Lebanon. The thing is, what have you personally done to rally the troops besides posting your personal opinions on Elaine's blog?
We need action - attendance at meetings and help spreading the news instead of just blog posts.
Will you help??? What will you do? - offer up some postage to get the word out? If so, please say so!
A concerned citizen of Mt. Lebanon
Something for those residents to keep in mind that place blind faith in their local officials!!!
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/east/2014/04/20/Monroeville-private-investigative-firm/stories/201404200158
"Should this have been put on the March agenda meeting for approval? Probably," Mr. Little said."
"Monroeville in February hired a private investigative firm and was later billed more than $4,000 for 45 hours of work, all prior to any public discussion about the agreement or a vote by council, according to documents obtained by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The paperwork raises questions both about potential violations of the Sunshine Act and public statements made by Monroeville's solicitor in which he denied that any "agreement" or "understanding" existed between the firm and the municipality."
"Council discussed the matter in two executive sessions, Monroeville manager Timothy Little said last week. He said council authorized him to work with Mr. Dice to move the process ahead.
A CSI invoice shows that it commenced its investigation Feb. 19 -- six days before being formally employed by Monroeville -- when seven hours of work was performed at an hourly rate of $90.
Work continued on three other days that month and then on two days in March before a scheduled March 11 council meeting.
"Should this have been put on the March agenda meeting for approval? Probably," Mr. Little said."
On April 2, Mr. Little's signature was affixed to a municipal purchase order above the block "approved for purchase."
Continued...
... Continued
Mr. Little said the signature was computer-generated and that he later signed off on payment after an April 8 council meeting, when council publicly approved a motion to hire CSI and pay the firm up to $10,000.
CSI will not get any money until May, Mr. Little said.
"I approve dozens of purchase orders before they get to the actual approval of a council meeting," Mr. Little said. "There's scores of pre-paid bills that I sign that come in here that have to be approved for purchase before a council meeting."
Mr. Little said he did not believe the way Monroeville handled the hiring of CSI violated the Sunshine Act.
"Now, am I here to say everything operated the way it should have operated? No," Mr. Little said. "But there was no impediment here. There was no malice here. No violation of the Sunshine Law."
Melissa Melewsky, media law counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, said the process followed by Monroeville in this case seemed to treat the state Sunshine Act as a "mere formality."
"The public meeting, public comment and public voting requirements of the Sunshine Act serve a purpose: to allow the public to witness and participate in agency decisions before the decision is made. This obviously can't happen if the agency makes decisions and treats the public process as perfunctory exercise," Ms. Melewsky said.
"In this situation," she continued, "it appears the decision to hire was made at some point in February, long before the public had an opportunity to comment in April. The fact that public comment was accepted after the fact does not undo the damage."
Mr. Little said the public had a chance to comment. He said the hiring of CSI was disclosed at Monroeville's public April 3 agenda-setting meeting and was on the council agenda five days later.
Mr. Little said that at the council meeting "a gentleman got up and said, 'This is $10,000 we don't need to spend. Let's put this to bed.' Words to that effect. So the public did comment on it then."
On April 3, the Post-Gazette reported that Monroeville had hired CSI. That night during the public meeting Mr. Dice told residents that contrary to the story, it was not true that the municipality had hired CSI.
"That's just not happened yet," Mr. Dice said. "They don't have an agreement with us, there's no understanding, there's been no situation where a contract has been signed by anybody."
Mr. Dice did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him last week."
Gee, discussions and meetings going on without public knowledge... nah, it never happens in Lebo!
I agree with 1:44. It's not enough to make suggestions on a blog. You have strong opinions and are affected by the newcomers tax so what else are you willing to do?
I hope readers print out the flyer that is being circulated among neighboring streets to the fields and send it to friends and neighbors. This project affects all of Mt. Lebanon, not just the neighboring streets. Our kids are being subjected to toxic turf. Our environment is at risk. Our tax dollars are paying for it. We will continue to pay for it every eight years until...forever.
Elaine
Listen to the audio of the Commission meeting earlier this month. The Newcomers made an impact because they came prepared and they took a stand. I don't think the commission expected what they got.
If you want to make a difference, you must do the same. You must prepare your arguments. You must not be intimidated or bullied. If you see someone trying to bully someone at meetings, take a video with your cell phone. Upload it to YouTube. Get the word out.
I cannot attend the meetings this week as I will be out of town. I hope others can stand up and let the commission know we are not happy that they are going to spend $750,000 (or more) to replace perfectly good ball fields. that money could be going to reduce the amount of money we need to borrow to fix other infrastructure in Mt Lebanon that is falling apart (aka sewers that are causing flooding on a regular basis).
11:14 AM, you witnessed the newcomers in action! Too bad you can't make any of the meetings this week. Linfante won't be at the April 28 meeting, but I hope you can attend that one.
Elaine
Hi 9:18am,
What else am I going to do? Well, stick around a few years and you'll see what I am going to do! ;)
As far as the meeting next week I am going to sit this one out and let you all run with it. If you think that you can make a difference please go forward - but please don't become so emotional that anyone does anything foolish.
Apparently Kristen won't be at the next meeting. I really don't think that Kristen was laughing at any of you, but I also don't think that is was a very smart idea for Kristen sit up in front of the room and make facial gestures in front of an angry mob at a public meeting either - particularly while she controlled the situation; but that was Kristen's choice, and there are many police in the room with lots of big guns...
It's a beautiful day today and I am going for a long walk on the beach. Maybe I'll be thinking about the next election, the new commission and turf replacement vs the cost of selling the land to developers in six years, ...or maybe not.
Nice to meet you 9:18am. Please stand by your beliefs and you'll never be disappointed.
Take care,
http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/19/scalias-students-high-taxes-certain-point-perhaps-/
"Scalia to students on high taxes: At a certain point, ‘perhaps you should revolt’"
"Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia told a group of law students that it might be a good idea to revolt if taxes become too high in the future.
While speaking at the University of Tennessee College of Law on Tuesday, Justice Scalia was asked by a student about his interpretation of the constitutionality of the income tax, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported
Longest-serving justice currently on the bench answered the student by saying that the government has the constitutional right to implement the tax, “but if it reaches a certain point, perhaps you should revolt.”"
"Justice Scalia continued to tell the students that they have every right to express criticism of the government.
“You’re entitled to criticize the government, and you can use words, you can use symbols, you can use telegraph, you can use Morse code, you can burn a flag,” he said, according to the News Sentinel."
See that Commissioners and School Board Directors— a Supreme Court Justice says citizens are entitled to criticize the government... that includes you!
“but if it reaches a certain point, perhaps you should revolt.”"
Has it reached a certain point?
Elaine
More bad news: silica is in the sand used for infill (along with the crumb rubber). OSHA is currently working feverishly to reduce amount of silica workers can be exposed to because of hazards associated with silica particulates (see news of recent findings that fracking workers are being exposed to silica in very high doses and that it is also circulating in PA air).
OSHA is for grown ups though.
No OSHA for kids.
10 million dollar fields...4 years old... football field sinking in the middle. Grand jury says it's dangerous.
http://www.kcra.com/news/el-dorado-co-grand-jury-hs-football-field-potentially-dangerous/25404086
John, I guess it is easy for you to say not to get emotional. The rest of us have to deal with this mess day in and day out. You keep walking on the beach thinking about the next election or not. Thanks.
Elaine
Major (recently published) survey: Pro soccer players link artificial turf to higher risk of injury
http://www.biomedcentral.com/2052-1847/6/11
Pro women are currently protesting the use of synthetic turf for the World Cup next year in Canada
Did you hear about the case with General Mills? If you like them on Facebook, you can't sue them. "Like" General Mills may void your right to sue
I wonder if there is something like that going on here and you won't be able to sue the commissioners over the turf.
Elaine
How is the planning meeting the best opportunity to stop the project? Will they make recommendations to the commission? Will they be taking a vote?
"Wildcat/Middle fields turf project" is on the agenda.
The Planning Board typically rubber stamps every project that comes to them. They need to know that there is opposition to this project. They will make a recommendation to the commission. They will base their recommendation on the 2013 Comprehensive Plan.
Start reading page 72 (page 80 of the PDF.)
You will read about how they are basing their decisions on what is cost effective, immediate initiatives, community outreach, community health and well-being. How does toxic turf that needs to be replaced every eight years, forced upon the public and not considered an immediate initiative, fit in their decision making?
"This plan is a working document that will be
reviewed every year to evaluate progress
related to each goal and the status of the
Action Plan."
"Cooperation: Participate in a regional strategic planning approach regarding education, outreach and the creation of effective, responsive systems of community health and well-being."
Elaine
"I wonder if there is something like that going on here and you won't be able to sue the commissioners over the turf. "
You'd think as an ambulance chaser, Brumfield would know better than to set up the township for a health-related lawsuit. It was bad enough when asbestos was flying around the high school. Now the commission is pushing to install fields FOR CHILDREN that contains materials known to be toxic. How dumb. Just plain dumb. The beauty of this blog is, Brumfield can't claim ignorance of the possible health consequences of installing carcinogenic material on a field to be used by kids. People can go after Dave personally in court should their children develop health issues as a result of playing on the toxic field.
And I have the proof that Dave Brumfield reads this blog. Read what his specialty is. He is a personal injury attorney. "AlpernSchubert P.C. proudly serves personal injury victims in Pittsburgh, PA, and the surrounding areas by providing quality legal representation for personal injury cases and civil litigation matters." Dave knows better.
Elaine
But Dave hasn't actually tried any reported cases. His bio states that he has been mentored by a series of other attorneys, and that's it. He's hopped from one firm to another. His professional accomplishments rival those of a first year associate. He might have graduated from law school, but his professional experience appears to be severely lacking.
Wonder if Dave Brumfield learned about fraudulent concealment in law school? Wonder if he has coached other commissioners to keep quiet on the existence of the undesignated funds so that the majority could go to synthetic turf? If he and the other commissioners failed to share information about the undesignated funds with residents who were inquiring about municipality resources, they could be in big trouble. Wonder if Dave Brumfield and John Bendel should right the course of this ship before its too late?
There is a Pay As You Throw informational meeting tonight, sponsored by the ESB. It is from 6-7 in the commission chambers. Who is paying for the turf disposal every eight years?
Elaine
Is this yet another project that builds up municipal resources to fund their pet projects? We will be paying for garbage pick up, Folks.
Elaine
This is the only time that the commission is listening to the ESB. They are supporting Kristen's project.
Elaine
Do you have the email addresses of the planning board members?
2:32 Try Contacting Municipal Planning Board Liaison Keith McGill at:
Keith Mcgill
He should be able to hook you up with the Planning Board
Let me see if I'm getting this straight!
We're going to a PAYT garbage collection plan to save the planet and reduce the amount of waste we send to landfills. Right?
On the other hand we're going to spend $1.2 million or more installing artificial turf that will eventually have to be torn out and send hundreds of tons of environmentally unfriendly plastic and rubber to landfills every eight years.
"Some brands of artificial turf are made of a polyethylene-propylene material that is woven to look like blades of grass; this is held upright by an infill layer composed of recycled tires, small rubber particles (called crumb rubber), which may be mixed with silica (sand). Infill is spread to a depth of 2-3 inches over the surface of the field. It takes from 20,000 to 40,000 used tires to produce infill required to cover a football field."
Is Mt. Lebanon collectively bipolar or just plain stupid?
Plus, didn't President Linfante recently write in a blog or mtl magazine about a conversation she had with her son about recycling and landfills. How does her position on artificial turf mesh with her Green agenda and PAYT rationale ?
When you are the ESB liaison and lie about the ESB's position on artificial turf, it goes together nicely.
Elaine
Municipal Planner, Keith McGill is the staff liaison for the Planning Board. He can be reached at kmcgill@mtlebanon.org. I would also copy the commission at commission@mtlebanon.org
Elaine
Another fly in the ointment - according to the collective bargaining agreement for custodial and maintenance employees, Middle and Wildcat Fields are not listed on page 3 as approved work sites since they are municipal fields. Why is that a problem? Because the SAB thinks that the school district will maintain the fields in lieu of paying fees.
Elaine
This might be a resource for a group of neighbors, green group, or citizens who would like to challenge the turf installation:
http://www.law.pitt.edu/academics/juris-doctor/clinics/environmental
I'm on the edge of giving up on this town. I tried to talk my kid out of a field sport today, explaining these issues with respect to the turf, and s/he said "well mom, this turfing is going to happen with all sports. it's just going to keep happening". My other child, also a field sports player, basically said, "let's move" and got on a bike and posted fliers.
I grew up with tremendous appreciation instilled in me for nature and caring for the environment. My kids have the same orientation.
So here is my opinion on the ESB:
Do they not see the bigger picture? They might get PAYT but their only going to be throwing out synthetic turf that is placed on open spaces.
If the ESB really cares about the environment, I think they should get off of PAYT and FOCUS ON THE TURF. That's it -- nothing else -- FOCUS ON THE TURF. The money charged for PAYT is somehow going to result in more TURF, anyhow. Why do they continue to trust the process when they see what has happened??
If this TURF goes in, even with the DECEPTION/LIES by Kristen Linfante, the ESB has failed. They not only should tell their story of being lied to, but they should also demand that the project does not go forward without public forum and re-vote in the SUNSHINE.
Every board in Mt Lebanon should be thinking about how to protect their goals/initiatives because they can't trust 4/5 commissioners.
By the way, I have emailed commissioners, attended meetings and met Elaine. I don't want to hear that I am a slacker when even my kids post fliers.
"How to live and govern in a highly taxed Community" is a day that will go down in infamy. Everything discussed in this forum has come to fruition since this "town hall"! How can these participants predict the future? Because government was transparent at this time. What has happened since; only God knows!
Constance Spicuous Consumption
James Cannon has a lot of grit and, most importantly, integrity! He has put his neck on the line by not cross filing and running as a true Republican for the school board, representing the other side of the turf issue with facts and figures that are irrefutable and best of all, he represented the community without bias. My hat is off to him!
Constance Spicuous Consumption
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