Monday, June 30, 2014

"This is bullshit and I'm going home." UPDATED

That is what Public Works Director Tom Kelley said at the June 3, 2014 Parks Advisory Board meeting at 00:55:13.

PAB Chair Hugh Beal was asking for an accounting of the funds allocated to the Parks per the Budget. Not enough money is being spent on the Parks, in his opinion. At 00:47:33, Hugh asked to look at Forestry. His copy of the 2013 Budget Actuals showed that there was $348,000 designated to Forestry. Beal pointed out at the 00:49:20 time stamp, that he found six dead trees in Rockwood Park, a park the size of a postage stamp, for example. Hugh said that he wasn't questioning Tom Kelley's competency or auditing anything; he was just inquiring about how the money was being spent. Kelley responded that he didn't care if Hugh was. To my surprise, Tom Kelley even mentioned my name when talking about Rockwood Park! He went on to say that he didn't like Hugh Beal's attitude and stormed out of the meeting. Yikes! Is this what the PAB has to deal with because they are against the turf project at Middle and Wildcat Fields?

By the way, the Parks Advisory Board representative for the Sports Advisory Board was not at the PAB meeting again. They didn't have a quorum. Who's the PAB representative on the Sports Advisory Board? Dave Franklin. I think it may be time to kick Franklin off of the Parks Advisory Board. It might also be time for Mr. Feller to have a little talk with his staff.

Commissioners, do you see what you are doing to Mt. Lebanon? You have boards and staff trying to keep Mt. Lebanon safe, and you have tied their hands by allocating over $750,000 to turf beautiful grass fields. That money could be well spent in other ways.

For anyone wondering, the dead trees have been removed from Rockwood Park. Thanks to all involved.

Update July 1, 2014 11:07 PM The Mt. Lebanon Parks Summit was held this evening. Hosted by the Parks Advisory Board, individuals from the Environmental Sustainability Board and the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy shared their thoughts on possible improvements to the park system. The podcast is available here.

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

The municipal employees need a lesson on exactly who it is that they work for!

Try a stunt like that in an advisory board or committee meeting in the private sector and see what happens!

Anonymous said...

What a big baby. If he is too old for this crap maybe he should retire! The attitudes of the municipal employees is disgusting.

Anonymous said...

This is unbelievable. Seriously. Has anyone heard of this sort of behavior among municipal staff in the past? Objectively, is the turf situation resulting in the degradation of Mt Lebanon across the board? He should be fired.

If this horrific situation hadn't just been reported, I would have liked to ask Tom Kelley a question I have been waiting on for a long time: just how many trees are being removed for the turf project? I'd like to know but....

Anonymous said...

This town is run by a handful of rich lawyers, aided by their moronic thugs and the local media. They will tell you what you like and don't like, and what is best for you.

Get it? Got it? GOOD!

Lebo Citizens said...

1:42 PM, I happened to stumble upon it. I was curious as to what was happening with the PAB. I never expected to see this! Since this happened almost a month ago, I would expect that this was dealt with from a management perspective. Then again, who knows?
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Before the blow-out when Mr. Kelley stormed out, he said "I could care less" about the questions being asked of him.

Impressive, Mr. Kelley.

Anonymous said...

Should we not take Mr. Kelly at his word????

If he could care less about about questions being asked of him by an appointed board, then he really doesn't give a sh*t!
If he doesn't give a sh*t, find someone to replace him that does.
We work far too hard to earn a buck and pay our municipal employees far too well to put up with an attitude like that.
Can him.

Lebo Citizens said...

Tom Kelley is retiring at the end of the year.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Why wait for the end of the year?

A committee of residents with significant knowledge of parks, open space, environmental issues, etc., ought to have a say in his replacement.

Anonymous said...

So the taxpayers have to put up with attitude so he can coast to the end?

Lebo Citizens said...

Would you be referring to the ESB and the PAB? They don't have a say in anything. Linfante has proven that with the ESB. Bendel has not consulted his Historic Preservation Board. Silverman didn't say anything to Kelley at the PAB. And the PAB is powerless anyway. The only board that has any power is the SAB. They're running the show.

The commission has no say in this. They can urge Feller to take action, but that is about it. Staff reports to Feller. Feller reports to the commission.

What they do have a say is how the money is budgeted. Sigh.
Elaine

Lebo Citizens said...

I believe so, 7:55 PM.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

This PAB meeting reflects an essential point for Mt Lebanon to recognize and prioritize:

We need to take care of what we have.

This should come before tearing up beautiful fields and installing synthetic turf.

Anonymous said...

The municipal employees know exactly for whom they work, and they are implementing a program of "love it or leave it" as a substitute for open government. Shame not on the employees (though they should have more integrity than to play good little brown shirts for an oppressive regime), but on the masters, the fab five commissioners who run a small but orwellian machine. It is time to elect five new commissioners - the rest of the reforms will flow from that.

Anonymous said...

Usually an employee behaving that way has the decency to resign on his way out the door!

Lebo Citizens said...

10:03 AM, we're not going to have five new commissioners for two election cycles. You know that, right? Three seats will be opening up in 2015.

The commissioners that we have need to fire Steve Feller. That takes three votes. Presently, there are not enough votes to do that.

Our newly elected commissioner should have gone after Tom Kelley, but he chose not to. His term ends December 31, 2017.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

Did you say this reported Kelly hissy fit at a PAB meeting occured about a month ago?

Then that would explain the "Gearing Up For Summer" damage control article by the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propoganda --  more widely know as Lebomag.com.

Another thought. Do these people ever tire of writing about themselves? Is anyone entertained by stories like the mouse incident in a staffers home.

How about a story about the rat population around the T Stop? I'd say we have more to fear from rat fleas than the ticks Linfante is worried about.

Anonymous said...

Has the thought occurred to anyone that the Parks Advisory Board will be meeting TONIGHT, Tuesday, 01-JUL-2014 at 7:30PM EDT?
That's right, your chance to confront Tom Kelley personally and ask him why his is still on the municipal payroll will occur in six (6) hours and fourteen (
14) minutes.
How about asking Silverman why he never brought Kelley's tirade to the Commission's attention?
Get your hands off the keyboard, butt off the seat and show up at 710 Washington Road!

Anonymous said...

Elaine corrected me.
Apparently, instead of a PAB meeting tonight, there will be a Parks Summit meeting.
It's at the same time, same place.
Not sure if Mr. Kelley will attend.
Individuals from the Environmental Sustainability Board and the Mt. Lebanon Nature Conservancy will share their thoughts on possible improvements to the park system.

Anonymous said...

Ya know. Tom Kelley had a melt down because we expect nice parks, healthy street trees, and a walkable community. We expect these things because Mt Lebanon markets itself as offering these amenities. Perhaps, in reality, Tom Kelley can hardly keep his head above water. So maybe, just maybe, Mt Lebanon can try being REAL so that employees don't go around saying "I could care less" and volunteers don't go home from municipal meetings go home asking themselves, "Now, remind me again, why do I live here?".

Anonymous said...

Let's talk personnel issues even though our elected officials cannot.
Suppose Mr. Kelley has an impossible job and an attitude problem.
If we keep him, the parks situation is unlikely to improve.
If we put someone else in his position, at least the attitude problem will go away.
I have been fired for much less than what Mr. Kelley has done.

Lebo Citizens said...

Nobody gets fired here. They are afraid of lawsuits. Think about some of the things I have posted here.
Age discrimination lawsuits are rarely clear-cut, but always a possibility, especially in Mt. Lebanon.

I uploaded the podcast to last night's Parks Summit. I understand it will also be on the municipal website later today or tomorrow. I understand that Steve Feller attended, as well as Commissioners Fraasch and Silverman. I did not hear if any staff members were present.
Elaine

Unknown said...

The one thought I had after I watched this is that if he is so upset over someone questioning his books then there is a HUGE need to have an outside auditor look at the entire government financials. This standoff-ish attitude fuels scepticism, paranoia, and doubt that the department heads are qualified.

Anonymous said...

12:40 I am thrown off by your comment. I have been overwhelmed in my job before, maybe some would say I have a hard time keeping my head above water with certain projects. However I am passionate about what I do from the time I start on the T in the morning until I head home. Sometimes that means a 12-15 hour day too and I have a young family. I wouldn't ever be caught with an I don't care attitude no less spewing it to the very people that are volunteering or working for me.

Anonymous said...

The very fact that this SOB thinks he can address an appointed board representing his empoyers (we taxpayers) speaks volumes about the attitudes that prevail throughout the municipal offices.
We're in the midst of revising our Home Rule Charter. Whether it is gender neutral or not is the least of our concerns.
Dealing with attitudes, the lack of transparency and disdain for for the taxpayers is the biggest change needed in the charter.

Lebo Citizens said...

I wonder if PW ever received grant money. If so, it is my understanding that the funds allocated to PW for that particular project gets dumped into unassigned funds. What is their incentive or any department to get grant money? If PW is short on manpower, ahem, personpower, then it is up to Tom Kelley to ask for more at Budget time. I guess it is too late for that since he is retiring at the end of the year. Grants just mean more play money for the commissioners' pet projects. When a department comes in under budget, they are penalized. Use it or lose it. With a zero based budget, should there be any unassigned funds?

I have watched the PAB segment a few times and I was shocked to see how it went down. The Chair had just finished saying that he wasn't questioning Kelley's competency, when Kelley threw the first jab with his remark. I was taken back by that. I still maintain that the commission liaison should have put his foot down. Let's see. We have rogue commissioners, rogue staff, and rogue school board directors. (Why do I keep thinking about the song, "Purple People Eater"?) Mt. Lebanon is so out of control.
Elaine

Anonymous said...

1:14 - this is 12:40. Public works doesn't deliver on expectations, consistently and TK KNOWS FULL WELL that PW does not deliver, can't deliver, and maybe he is darn tired of the marketing Mt Lebanon puts out there year after year about all he can deliver.

Money that could be going to his staff, forestry, etc. is going to turf and he is screwed. He looks very bad given that the prevailing complaint in Mt Lebanon is that our fields, trees, and streets are not being taken care of properly.

He is also in a situation where the majority of Commissioners don't respect the residents, which encourages undesirable behavior throughout the entire system.

What he did was egregiously wrong and he should be held accountable, there is no excuse.

PW has been offered many grant opportunities. PW needs more qualified personnel, motivation, a higher bar and a real parks division.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Kelley the guy who bungled the municipal garbage contract? I hear hundreds of people failed to have their garbage picked up and it's been going on for weeks.

Lebo Citizens said...

I don't think so. The contract was awarded to Republic by the five commissioners. Republic fired two employees because of the problems in Lebo and rented additional trucks until the new trucks arrive. At the last meeting, I thought it was reported that they are all caught up.
Elaine

Johnny said...

Id say based on what has shown up onthis site, people suing for "age discrimination" would have a hard time making a case.
Come on, Commisshes--call their bluff.

Anonymous said...

The code and charter has provisions for suspending or dismissing a municipal employee for just cause.
I'd say an employee standing up and declaring "This is bullshit" is just cause for a suspension at the very minimum.
Coupled with the shoddy upkeep of our parks and sports fields over the past decade (everybody and that includes Franklin, Linfante and Brumfield have been stating regularly how bad our fields are) and a Kelly suspension w/o pay would be justified.