I went to Gateway and bought the bid documents for the Middle/Wildcat Turf Project. This was a new experience for me. I received this book
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The book is very thick and has things like Prevailing Wages listed. It also contains descriptions of the Add Alternates. One of the Add Alternates is the addition of Middle Field Plaza. Below is the description:
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I also received many bid documents that were about 2'x3'. The very first one I saw was this one, with the message "No Wetlands Exist on Site
Site is not in the 100 year floodplain"
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| Better photo, but upside down |
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The actual monument looks like this:
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It is curved, like the new Samsung curved TVs. You can see it in the Plaza photos by the MTL logo. The plaques on the right say, "Sponsor with logo".
Look at the special thanks in the center panel. Mt. [Lebanon] Department of Recreation???? How about "This Park Was Made Possible By [Major Naming Sponsor and logo]"
"A Community with Character" Hardly. What about the Dixon Family? Seriously Boys, can you be any more offensive?
Lebo Citizens, had enough of this yet? Do you think it is about time to get involved?
38 comments:
What a bunch of self centered, audacious glory hounds who have been conducting themselves in both a specious and inglorious manner for far too long ! This was never revealed in public discussions on the project ! That's why most of it occurred behind closed doors.
I suggest we have a tar & feathers ceremony at the site if & when this boondoggle unfortunately comes to pass.
If that is ever erected, I give it less than 24 hours before it's vandalized or "removed" and rightfully so.
All paid for with our tax dollars. Marble and bronze. That is worth a couple of road repairs!!!
Elaine
Now I understand why Kimberly and myself were rudely asked to leave the Turf Task Force meeting by Dave Donnellan when all we wanted to do was sit and listen.
Nick M.
Yep, you got that right, Nick.
I guess Gateway will get a marble plaque since they donated $4000. If they donate another $2000, that could put them in the lead over Dick's Sporting Goods for naming rights.
Isn't it amazing that John Bendel isn't comfortable sharing what these groups are contributing, but all will get marble plaques with their names on them?
Elaine
10:07 is right on target!
Don't forget, now say it all together now... "IT'S ALL FOR THE KIDS!"
Give 'em their plaques. It'll make it easier to remember which businesses not to patronize.
There was a suggestion by a Mount Lebanon voter on Matt Smith’s telephone call tonight that municipalities use radar to raise more revenue.
That monument to self-importantance hardly looks big enough to display the name of every taxpayer that contributed to the $750,000+ from the municipality.
Or wait, the commissioners' name names will be displayed prominently as will the SAB and we can't take away from that-can we?
3:52 AM, and Gateway Engineering will get double billing as Muni Engineer/Project Manager AND as perhaps a major if not possibly the largest donor !
Life can be good in the bubble when you're dealing with a stacked deck of cards.
There are donor recognition plaques and signs in/on other Municipal facilities (Public Safety Center, Library, Tennis Center, etc.) but they are much smaller, more modest or conservative, and far less "grand". And cost very little.
This monumental insult is a prime example of myopia on the part of those responsible for a self-centered and seriously flawed undertaking.
Have the donor names of those who donated $1,000 or more for the Veterans Memorial ever been added to the Memorial as promised ?
The Plaza itself is absolutely unnecessary. Who were the bird brains who conjured up this poor excuse for rational thinking ?
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit" Philippians 2:3
"No grace shines more brightly in a Christian, than humility. Wherever SELFcomes in — it mars the beauty of the work we are doing. Seek to do your work quietly. Do not try to draw attention to yourself, to make people know that you did this or that beautiful thing. Be content to pour your rich life into other wasted, weary lives, and see them blessed and made more holy — and then withdraw and let Christ have the honor. Work for God's approval, and even then, do not think much about reward. Seek to be a blessing to others — and never think of self-advancement. Do not worry about credit for your work, or about building monuments to yourself; be content to do good in Christ's name." — J. R. Miller
We have a lot of places of worship here in Lebo though apparently not nearly enough!
I am confused. We just HAD to change the sign ordinance to generate revenue. There was talk of the yearly fee being raised to $750. For that, Chip was investigating using a screen or fabric type of material for the signage. What is the inentive to buy a sign every year? Donate to the project now and you can be forever immortalized in bronze and marble! Your donation will count toward the non-municipal funds while your generosity will be recognized with municipal dollars! At the same time, you will have equal status as our fallen heroes. And if you are lucky enough to work for the municipality as a consultant, staff, or commission, you get paid for your unselfishness with our money! THIS is what you came up with as incentives, Dave Franklin? A new low, Buddy.
Elaine
* incentive
Elaine
Today, twenty-five years ago my spouse gave the valedictorian speech at his high school graduation. The theme of his speech? "There's no such thing as a free lunch". Some men are enlightened, even as teenagers, but apparently, they don't currently serve on the SAB or the commission.
"Have you seen the little piggies
Crawling in the dirt?
And for all the little piggies
Life is getting worse
Always having dirt to play around in
Have you seen the bigger piggies
In their starched white shirts?
You will find the bigger piggies
Stirring up the dirt
Always have clean shirts to play around in
In their styes with all their backing
They don't care what goes on around
In their eyes there's something lacking
What they need's a damn good whacking
Everywhere there's lots of piggies
Living piggy lives
You can see them out for dinner
With their piggy wives
Clutching forks and knives to eat their bacon"
— The Beatles
The Sports Advisory Board is meeting tomorrow evening at 8 PM in Meeting Room C in the Municipal Building.
I am not going since I run the risk of my iPad getting knocked out of my hands.
I think there is enough information here which would make for good comments.
Elaine
I understand we are getting heavy rains this evening. The weather forecast is calling for an inch of rain.
I would be happy to post any photos of flooding, I mean, standing water, on the blog. Just email them to egillen476@aol.com
Elaine
Why don't we dispense with the turfing and just go directly to building the shrine to the self-serving, sports proponent school board directors and commissioners
I don't want to pay for a stinkin' monument that was shoved down my throat.
So we will have a sports center in the township which is a Potemkin Village.
I think there is a typo on that monument design. Shouldn't it read:
Mt. Lebanon
"A Community with Character[s]!"?
What is the height of the prospective donor memorial?
Not being able to see all the numbers in the drawing, the monument looks to be 7 feet wide by 7 to 8 feet high.
Mt Lebanon managed to LET OUR KIDS PLAY... EVEN WHEN IT RAINED.. TODAY. I don't know how they did it without turf. I may have to set up a baby monitor in my kid's bedroom just to make sure he's breathing through the night.
While we previously celebrated planting trees here in the bubble, it's now OK for public works to remove healthy trees for plastic grass installation. This is probably why we needed the new hire in public works; it takes a specialist to kill healthy trees in a built-out community.
In fact, its OK to just forget about shade for youth athletes, even when you are creating a heat island. This will create the perfect setting for a Youth Athletics Plastic Grass Survivor Series. Episode one could be "Kids: It's Do or Die".
Back to my tree advice: Hack those 20+ beautiful trees out of the way as quickly as possible per the bidding instructions. Of note, I suggest undertaking the tree killing project in the middle of the night. The select few in the community that love mature trees may get upset watching this process so its better to handle this like the turf task force meetings -- keep it all under wraps.
Then later, in daylight, swing by Costco and purchase 20 non-native boxwood shrubs 12 inches in height. If that's too difficult after the all-nighters killing trees, I suggest purchasing some plastic boxwoods (about $50 each) via mail-order. However, the plastic boxwoods could theoretically be stolen since they will be outside the new fencing and not actually be rooted in soil. The removable plastic boxwoods could result in a need for increased security around the periphery of the new crown-jewel though. Ugh. This is expensive!
So while the latter advice deviates from plastic bubble love, you may want to plant the real 12 inch non-native shrubs. I don't actually expect them to grow due to the toxic off-gassing but it's worth a try. It will at least look crown-jewelish for a week or two and the deer will definitely stay away.
Anyone going to the Sport Meeting tomorrow please ask if the kids playing on the turf will be required to wear helmets? Visit the High School turf and see for yourself how hard the surface is. I'd rather my kids be muddy and miss a few games than in a hospital room with a concussion.
http://www.mrsoshouse.com/pa/citizenguide.pdf
I found the above publication "Citizen's Guide to Local Government" which discusses some very interesting stuff starting on page 50 under the section heading "Public Accountability".
Unfortunately, as usual it does not have a section that advises what citizens should do if the local government violates Codes and Charters.
Talking to the Commissioners is like spitting into the wind, it is time now to organize and concentrate on who violated what and getting their actions penalized or thrown out of office.
Interesting, Elaine, but I was always taught to give discretely and without attention as it takes away from the act of kindness.
Can you imagine how desperate this rich town has become because of its inability to steward its resources? We have wasted so much money that now we are reduced to making residents pay for traditional services, like storm sewers and garbage collection, while our taxes go up and the municipality and the school district sit on the corner with tin cups in their hands. Don't the politicians see what a terrible job of managing our affairs they are doing?
The Sports Advisory Board is not about sports. It is about supporting the waste and overspending of the commission. On the one hand we are told that the youth sports organizations are private entities, but then the this Board tries to impose all of their wants and interests on the municipality as if they were just part of Parks and Rec. It has to be one or the other. Just like poor Mr. Bendel, confused, confused, confused. All the denial and secrecy is the product of saying one thing while doing another.
The Sports Advisory Board is meeting TONIGHT, not tomorrow night, 5:11 AM.
"The Plaza" is where the water fountain is going. It is all part of the Add Alternate. For those in the know, can portions of Add Alternates be included, or is it an all or nothing sort of deal? We only heard about the water fountain, but nothing about "The Plaza" and the monument. It is a concrete area, which will create an impervious surface. I'm surprised the super secret Turf Task Force didn't think about adding cooling areas, like at Disney World, where there are misting systems. When the players show signs of heat exhaustion from the turf, they can run over to "The Plaza" (why does that sound like an expensive hotel?) and cool off in the mist.
The pre-bid meeting held tomorrow morning at the Rec Center, Second Floor, at 10:00 AM is open to the public. Steve Feller wrote "The mandatory pre-bid meeting is a business meeting for contractors to better understand the project. We will allow other interested residents to attend and observe, but will ask that they refrain from asking questions or making comments so that we can fulfill the purpose of the meeting."
Elaine
I forgot to add that in one of the plans, a storm sewer is tied into a sanitary sewer. Remember all the dye tests we were subjected to years ago? This would fail the dye test.
But what do I know about construction? That is why we pay the big bucks to have Gateway draw the plans.
Elaine
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/monitoring/programs/cwa/csos.html
Now I always thought we are being forced to pay a stormwater FEE (remember it is not a tax-- ha) was to prevent stormwater and sanitary discharges from mingling and overwhelming water treatment plants.
Now the commissioners are going to undo that
a not only mingle the two, they're going to flush plastic and ground up tires into the treatment plants.
Great idea!!!
Want to see a half-size sign like the monument planned for the turf plaza.
Look at the Pines sign on Rt. 19 by Primanti's. The sign that sits between the Medifirst and the old BP station.
It is about same shape but about 50% in size.
I wonder how much Gateway billed for the design and preliminary drawing of the turf monument? Will that time still be billed if the monument is dropped from the installation?
3:42. The trend in aesthetics: smaller is better.
Restraint is both fashionable and classy. The natural environment provides true beauty.
10:59 do we need a tribute at all?
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