It is unlawful to have a picnic...

in any park picnic shelter unless you get written permission from Municipal Manager Keith McGill.

Keith McGill

So says Mt. Lebanon Code Chapter XI Parks and Recreation, Section 102.14 No picnic shall take place at any Park picnic shelter without the written permission of the Manager or his designated representative.

I wonder if park sensors are going to be installed. I can see it now. A family is having a picnic at the park, when a police officer pulls up and questions the family.

"Our park sensors have detected that you have been parked at this table beyond the "just stopping by" time limit. Our state of the art park sensors are indicating that you may be having a picnic. Do you have written permission from Manager McGill? If not, I am forced to issue you a citation for having an unlawful picnic."

Money talks UPDATED

I am very lucky to say that I am surrounded by wonderful neighbors. These young parents are carrying on the tradition of spending every evening, weather permitting, in Rockwood Park. They are also stepping up to the plate to make Rockwood Park a safer place. A group went to the commission meeting the other night and witnessed our commissioner, along with the rest of the commissioners vote against the sole bid to make the upper lot of Rockwood Park a safer place. 

Manager Keith McGill was quoted in The Almanac article Mt. Lebanon commissioners reject bids for parks, history center 

“Even prior to tonight’s meeting, our police department has been paying a little bit more extra attention to that area of Rockwood Park,” said municipal manager Keith McGill. “The idea was to eliminate that upper parking area and green it over to address some of the issues. However, the lone bid we received came over twice the estimated cost established by our engineer. We only had one bidder that responded, so it’s more prudent for us to take a step back.” 

McGill acknowledged that the reason for the low interest in bidding was possibly attributable to the timing of when bids were sent out, during which many contractors already have scheduled their upcoming workload, along with other factors.

What this third generation of Rockwood Park parents may not understand is that Gateway Engineering, our municipal engineers, has the power to make or break any project in Mt. Lebanon. They control the solicitation of bids. This project was approved back in December with the new budget. But Gateway only contacts contractors who they believe would be interested in the jobs. Why did they wait so long to solicit bids?  Why can't our Public Works do the job? It wouldn't be the first time that Public Works would be used in Rockwood Park, in order to save money.

Granted, there is so much money available. But Commissioner McLean has already committed to bringing back White Buffalo to kill what few deer are left, even though archers would do it for free. What did we spend last year on killing deer? $100,000? Not to mention the cost of police enforcement on the streets, in the courts, and behind their desks. All in the name of public safety. But there isn't enough money available to correct a public safety issue that has been going on for generations.

It all depends on who is asking. In Mt. Lebanon, money talks. Rockwood is right at the Castle Shannon border. Had this been an issue in Ward 1, we would have been taken more seriously.

For example, Ward 1 commissioner John Bendel is pushing for bricks again. Continued in The Almanac article:

Also during the June 27 meeting, several residents complimented commissioners for deferring a project that would have replaced bricks on Morrison Drive with asphalt.

Residents expressed concern about how a smoother street might encourage speeding. They also are worried about the decrease in property values and overall allure that brick streets provide. 

The commissioners are focusing on replacing other streets in the municipality while attempting to formulate a policy regarding brick streets. 

“When we come up with our policy, those concerns brought up will be the main part of it,” Commissioner John Bendel said. “The reasons to keep the brick are the charm, the aesthetic value and the value it provides to their properties. It also slows down traffic because it’s an uneven surface. 

“The other side of the story is cost,” he continued. “It’s expensive up front to put brick in vs. asphalt, where it can be two to four times more expensive. The question is, do you get that back over the long term.” 

As a temporary measure, patches of asphalt will be used so that the street remains drivable.

This is nothing new. Two years ago, we went through this with Rae Drive, also in Ward 1.
Mt. Lebanon residents opposed to loss of brick roads What about Castle Shannon Blvd.? That road lost out to asphalt. Are people speeding more? Did property values drop on Castle Shannon? Does Ward 1 seem to think they are entitled to special treatment? Or is it just Bendel who is creating the fuss? John, are you willing to give up deer killing in order to have enough money to keep your bricked roads? Oh wait. We're in court with Scott Township because you want to kill deer in Twin Hills, also in your ward. There is so much money. Maybe you can save some for those of us living in the ghetto.

Update June 29, 2016 6:24 PM Sent to the commissioners:

Commissioners,

I wanted to remind you about the Mt. Lebanon Parks Master Plan, prepared and presented in March 2004.  http://www.mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/16.
Read about the condition of Rockwood Park starting on page 42 of 114. We did get new playground equipment since 2004. Read what the recommendations are for the upper lot and basketball court. From 2004.

Elaine Gillen

*****

Note the process that was used with the formulation of this plan.

Process and Goals The process that was used to create this Master Plan was intended to be open and accessible to residents. There was a series of public meetings designed to generate discussion, comments and guidelines for the design plans. Focus groups and interviews were conducted, which allowed for in-depth discussion on specific topics. Preliminary drawings were available on Mt. Lebanon's web site, and people were encouraged to directly contact LaQuatra Bonci Associates. The master planning process was guided by the Steering Committee, which was composed of the Commissioners and several members of the Municipal staff.

My husband and I were involved in the process. We had been trying to get these issues resolved for years prior to the Plan. Check out the Acknowledgments in the Plan.

Keith McGill and Susan Fleming-Stroyd-Morgans were on the steering committee. They should know all about this plan and the work that is desperately needed to make Rockwood Park safe. A temporary solution is to step up police presence and to initiate daily cleanups by Public Works. Wouldn't it be cheaper to just get the work done, Folks? But what do I know? We've only been at this since the 80's.

Deteriorating parking lot in 2004…deteriorating parking lot in 2016.

Update July 1, 2016 6:20 PM Save our brick streets, some Mt. Lebanon residents say

An Important Message from Pennsylvania American Water

Pennsylvania American Water crews will be making improvements to our system on Thursday June 30th, in your area, which will require temporary disruption of your water service. The following streets are effected:Ladora Lane, Hoodridge Dr, Vallevista Ave, Rockwood Ave, Willow Ave and Margaretta Ave in Mt. Lebanon Township and Castle Shannon Borough. Water service will be turned off at approximately: 9am and could be interrupted for up to 9 hours. Water will be available at the Intersection of Syracuse St and Vallevista Ave. Residents should bring their own containers. When service is restored, customers may experience cloudy or discolored water. If your water is discolored, wait until it runs clear before using. This should typically take only a few minutes. Thank you for your patience while we make this improvement to better serve you.

Rats as big as cats

Mt. Lebanon has a rat problem. There, I said it. We don't want to admit it, but we do. Rats as big as cats. Our municipality ended our rat control program less than a year ago. See Celebrate Rat Amnesty Day Over the weekend, Lebo Citizens reader Nick M. saw one of these legendary creatures with his own eyes crossing Cedar by the ball fields.

Mr. McGill, Commission and Mr. Sukal,

I went out for a bike ride last evening and was biking around the baseball fields and through the parking lot next to WildCat.

As I was biking through the parking lot an animal crossed the street (Cedar) in my direction. As I got closer to the entrance the animal ran back across the street.

This animal was an enormous rat, believe it or not, yes, it was the size of a cat, maybe bigger and the tail on the thing had to be a foot long.

I never would have believed Mt. Lebanon could have rodents this big until I saw one with my own eyes. So I have to ask, what the heck is being done about this? How is it possible our community could have rodents this big?

One thing is obvious: with garbage, food scraps and overflowing trash cans at the baseball fields, the rodents that live down that way are in their glory with all the food they could ever want. That’s one problem we need to solve and I’m sure you saw my email to Dave Donnellan.

But putting that aside for now, why does Mt. Lebanon have rats of this size and what specifically is being done to correct this? I have to assume if I saw one, there must be many more.

The only word that comes to mind at the moment is “disgraceful.”

Thank you,

Nicholas Meduho

Even though our commissioners collect a yearly stipend of $3600 each, they no longer answer emails. They have delegated that responsibility to our municipal manager. Soooo, Keith McGill wrote back to Nick M.

Good morning Mr. Meduho,
I can provide you with at least a partial response. Public Works collect trash from the municipal parks and ball fields Monday - Friday during the spring and summer months , which typically when these facilities see their highest use. Typically baseball/softball teams utilizing the fields on a weekend do a reasonable job of collecting their trash and placing it in the available receptacles. Unfortunately it does not appear that that occurred this past weekend.

Turf maintenance has been performed as scheduled and the g-max rating of the field was recently tested and found to meet the requirements.

Keith

On Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 12:16 AM, Nicholas Meduho, Jr. wrote:

Mr. Donnellan,

Can you please remind me of the trash policy down at the baseball fields.

I was biking down at the fields earlier tonight and I noticed the trash cans at Middle Field were overflowing with trash. I thought that after each game or use of the fields the trash was to be bagged and disposed of.

As it stands now, who will be going down there to empty the trash cans and pick up the water and sports drink bottles that have been thrown all over the place.

Is anyone policing or spot-checking things to make sure these fields stay clean and picked up after? If not, can we start doing this?

Also, has the school district done any maintenance to the artificial turf since it opened last year? Has any maintenance been done at all by anyone?

Thank you,

Nicholas Meduho

 Nick wrote back with:

Two things:

#1 So if the fields are being used on a Friday evening, all day Saturday and all day Sunday, the trash doesn’t get picked up and the trash cans don’t get emptied until Monday which means the trash cans over flow which leaves trash on the ground and for folks to leave their trash on the ground being they have no place now to put it? This needs corrected with either additional trash receptacles or bigger ones. And we wonder why we have rats as big as cats (see my previous email).

#2 Can we backtrack to find out who used the field over the weekend to find out who the culprits are? A reasonable job of collecting trash and placing it in the available receptacles is not good enough Mr. McGill, I’m sure these folks don’t leave trash laying all over their houses…well maybe they do.

These rules should be and need to be consistently reinforced at each and every SAB meeting. This ain’t rocket science folks.

So now I have to wonder…how long has this been going on with no corrective action and why are we paying these huge salaries to folks who should be on top of this instead of the residents.

Mr. McGill, you have the ability to fire and hire. Maybe the time has come to clean house.

The good manager that Keith McGill is, responded quickly and answered Nick with the following:

Mr. Meduho, 

While there were two cans that were overflowing this morning when I checked, there were at least 5 other cans in close proximity that had room for additional trash..This is not a capacity issue, this is a behavioral issue. I will ask Mr. Donnellan to remind coaches that they need to ensure that all trash has been properly placed in the available receptacles.

Instead of this becoming a Sports Advisory Board issue with Dave Brumfield as commission liaison, Keith is forced to continue the email exchange with Nick. You may remember how Dave Brumfield insisted that we needed to spend over a million dollars for artificial turf and rules were created to maintain this unnecessary expenditure.

Nick replied with:

Mr. McGill,

Let’s back up and review because I checked too.

At Middle Field, there are three trash cans, two on either side of the bleachers (that get filled immediately) and one way, way, way down at the other end of the field (see pics below).

If you are expecting people to walk way down there to empty their trash, it’s never going to happen. You see that little brown speck to the right of the port-a john in the picture above, that’s a trash can.

Two tiny trash cans are not nearly enough. It’s obvious that either we don’t have enough trash cans in this area and/or the trash cans are not large enough to handle all the trash. The size of those trash cans are the same size that most residents use at their houses. So basically you expect 3 days of trash from hundreds of people to fit into the same size trash can that most folks don’t fill up in a week. This part is not behavior, it’s common sense...

Dixon Field has trash cans all over the place, like every 10 feet or so. The thinking over there is good but do we really need all those cans over there?

Why not transfer some of those cans over to Middle Field? Such a novel idea, isn’t it?

Another question: why are we not encouraging recycling at the baseball fields. All trash including hundreds of plastic bottles every week goes into one trash can, no recycling. Why is that?

********

Here is my question. Do rats eat these? They are all around the upper Rockwood Park lot and basketball court.

Cleaning up Rockwood Park axed again UPDATED AGAIN

Our commissioners will be rejecting the bid for the Rockwood Park Greening Project on Monday night.

The upper parking lot at Rockwood Park has been a disgrace since I moved to this house in 1985. This is what my neighbors have been posting on Nextdoor since December. Our previous commissioner told us not to walk there. That was her solution.

From Nextdoor December 2015:

The Mt. Lebanon commissioners will be voting on the budget for 2016 tomorrow night (December 8). 

The commissioners agreed to a plan to remove the deteriorating parking lot area and seed it to allow for more green space. (In case you are not familiar with the park, there is a small, lit parking lot at the bottom, that is more than adequate for the size of the facility.) 

In recent weeks, however, our parking lot renovation was bumped down in priority and will not be included in next year's budget. 

The entryway to the upper parking lot has crumbled to the point that it is dangerous to walk on and has caused several people to fall. (It's happened to my family on numerous occasions). In addition, and in my opinion more alarming, is the fact that cars are pulling into this lot after dark (it's not lit) and using it for inappropriate activities. Used condoms and broken glass are regularly found in the lot. The police have had to be called on several occasions but the lewd behavior continues. 

If you have a couple of spare minutes tomorrow, and have enjoyed using this little gem of a park, please contact the following commissioners (below) to tell them that you would like the renovation included in next year's budget. 

Thanks so much!! 

Commissioners' contact information: 

John Bendel 412-559-2571
David Brumfield 412- 596-4095
Kelly Fraash 412-580-7665
Steve Silverman 412-491-3794
Coleen Vuono 412-862-5422

From Nextdoor June 25, 2016:

I hear it through the grapevine that the one (or two? After only listing it on the post gazette, i guess that was the expectation??) bids for this project are "too high" for what the commission estimated for this job and are planning to be rejected on Monday, stopping the process altogether (at least for this year?). If this is the case, it is completely ridiculous. If this crumbling, underlit parking lot were on "Upper Hoodridge", and multiple neighbors insisted that it was completely unnecessary, unsafe and a magnet for after hours shenanigans, does anyone really think that the commission would have sat on it this long, or in the end caved over a few thousand dollars? Take a look at this picture for yourselves if you haven't seen it yet..total disgrace. Here are the minutes from the meeting:

http://mtlebanon.org/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/2662 

From another neighbor on Nextdoor:

Thanks...! We plan on attending the meeting on Monday.

Our 20 month old daughter literally tripped on the rubble (AGAIN!) and nearly face planted on a used condom.

At the very least, the lot needs to be blocked off until they get the bid they want/need to see.

These delay tactics are brought to you by the same people who discuss "Gillen Litigation" month after month in Executive Session and...

Put me through hell when I was trying to get a dead tree removed in Rockwood Park.

Update June 26, 2016 12:39 PM I provided a little background on Nextdoor.

Congrats! You've officially become the third generation to fight for this. When I moved to this neighborhood in 1985, my back neighbor, Gertrude Patti lived in the old chicken coop which once stood next to the upper lot. Her car, which she always parked in that lot since she had no driveway or garage, had been set on fire more than once. MLPD used our back porch as a stakeout in 1988, trying to catch the culprits. After she passed away, my generation picked up the fight. I have been told that our neighborhood is in the ghetto. Nice, huh? Now you know how I have become so cynical. Good luck!

Update June 28, 2016 1:00 PM I talked with a friend who went to the meeting last night. The final outcome, I believe, is that Mt. Lebanon will not fix the upper lot, but have agreed to block off the driveway leading to the parking lot. I am livid with that decision. My friend said that the commissioners were acting like this was the first time they heard of this. When I interviewed for the Ward 3 vacancy on April 27, 2015, I raised this issue. It starts at the 8:50 time stamp. I asked the four commissioners, who are also current commissioners, for something to be done about our park. It is not the first time they have heard this.

Thank you to those of you who attended. I am livid because Mt. Lebanon takes the easy way out and never does the right thing. We are Mt. Lebanon residents and deserve more than a crumbled parking lot which will be blocked off. This is not the ghetto as some like to believe.

Update June 28, 2016 2:01 PM I stand corrected. It is a neighbor's understanding that they are sending the proposal out for a re-bid and that they would "look into" blocking the upper lot as a stop gap measure. "Look into" is never good. Just like when parents say, "We'll see."

And there it is. It's all about the meter feeders.

I called it. Thanks to Nick M., the true reason behind the parking sensors is below in his email exchange with Mt. Lebanon Director of Finance Andrew McCreery.

Mr. Meduho,

Responses to your questions.

Regarding the Streetline company and the associated apps/programs that come with it, how much is this costing Mt. Lebanon?

The current 95 sensors are $14/month per sensor. There is a current expansion being installed yesterday and today, with and additional 74 sensors. When they are activated, all sensors will be $13/month per sensor. The term of the contract runs through 8/31/17.

When did we start paying for this? Is this a monthly subscription? Can you please offer some information regarding Streetline.

We began with a pilot program at the beginning 2015. The program started September 2015. As a reminder, this program is funded through parking fees and is not supported in any way by the General Fund (tax dollars).

Regards.

Andrew

****************

In a separate email,

Mr. Meduho,

Responses to your questions.

Are we using the Streetline data to help with parking violations and/or enforcement? And if so, how?

Yes. We are using the Streetline enforcement application to help guide our enforcement of two hour violations. We successfully integrated the real time reporting with our meter vendor for expired meter violations, but determined the data requests were too cumbersome for the individual batteries on the meters. We were replacing too many batteries to make it cost effective. Therefore, we ceased the expired meter component.

Also, who can I ask for the data? Who is overseeing this.

As with all requests for specific data, you may submit a right to know request. The data is being analyzed and overseen by a combination of the finance department and parking enforcement. We review the data quarterly.
Thank you,

Andrew

Washington Road is getting parking sensors UPDATED 2X

Parking sensors are being installed along Washington Road, from Cedar to Shady Avenue on Thursday and Friday of this week. Work will begin at 7 AM and may be wrapped up by 3 PM. There will be rolling closures of on-street parking to allow for the installation. Once the device is installed, the space will be open to parking.

Shoppers will be able to identify available parking BEFORE arriving Uptown. The devices are concentrated along Washington Road and the South Lot (by Bill Few).

Update June 23, 2016 7:25 AM Here is the rest of the story.

ParkSight offers a clean, fast, and beautiful way to see your parking story in digital form. Data is captured in real time, around-the-clock… and then produced into stunning analytics charts and graphs that uncover easy-to-understand parking patterns. 

Our parking analytics platform offers historical reports to let you slice and dice your data to see everything holistically… or break it down. You’ll be able to assess demand by area, block, or blockface… and even by hour of the day. 

Reports are based on key metrics our customers use to make information-backed decisions and include insights such as average length of stay, enforcement actions, occupancy, parking sessions, potential violations, and turnover.

Update June 23, 2016 11:06 AM A Lebo Citizens reader wrote this to the commission and manager:

Parking in Mt. Lebanon is getting a bit outrageous in price, is it not? Especially at the Academy Lot.

$10 per hour??  Apparently I can purchase 24 hours of parking for same price as 1 hour.

http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/4187

In addition, this email exchange took place between Nick M. and the municipality:

From: Keith Mcgill [mailto:kmcgill@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2016 10:51 AM
To: Nicholas Meduho, Jr.
Cc: Nicholas Schalles <nschalles@mtlebanon.org>; Andrew McCreery <amccreery@mtlebanon.org>
Subject: Re: streetline

Good morning Mr. Meduho,

Mt. Lebanon will be and is already utilizing a variety of the applications offered by Streetline. Nick Schalles or Andrew McCreery would be able to provide you with a more comprehensive response as they are the individuals working directly with the vendor. A comprehensive update and publicity effort related to parking and parking services is planned for an October release.

Keith

On Thu, Jun 23, 2016 at 10:35 AM, Nicholas Meduho, Jr. wrote:

Mr. McGill,

Streetline offers apps (Parker and ParkerMap) that allows folks to find empty parking spaces in Mt. Lebanon.

Streetline also offers parking analytics (ParkSight) that offers reports such as average length of stay, enforcement actions, occupancy, parking sessions, potential violations, and turnover.

For clarification purposes, what all will Mt. Lebanon be using from Streetline?

Thank you,

Nicholas Meduho
Mt. Lebanon, PA

Update June 23, 2016 11:19 AM I found the press release from the PIO introducing this program. http://www.mtlebanon.org/documentcenter/view/10499 I am just a peon who is either sitting behind the computer or the sewing machine and not earning six figures, nor understands how to do a press release, but it would be helpful if She would date her press releases. Additionally, I cannot find out the cost of this program. I did a search on the new municipal website and found nothing in the commission agendas. It was discussed in Parking Facilities Committee meetings. February 26, 2015 Agenda If this group is authorized to spend tax dollars, then why aren't they required to file Statements of Financial Interests? Mark Quealy is listed as Parking Enforcement.

A reader asks...

I received this through the Blogger Contact form.

Does anybody know about the new pet policy at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery? I've never seen any problems, but something must have happened.

School board approves Timmy's increases tomorrow, June 20 UPDATED 4X

Tomorrow is a big day for Super Timmy. He will get a whopping increase and a $20,000 merit bonus after the school approves Agenda numbers 10 and 11.

The school district was singing the Budget Blues last month. 

Now, Super Timmy gets another bump in his contract. Not that it will make any difference, but agenda item #8 is:

8. Comments from Residents and Taxpayers Concerning Action Items for This Meeting Who Have Previously Requested to Speak – Presentations or comments are limited to four (4) minutes.

The school board will not listen. They may even be rude to you when you voice your opinion. What we CAN do is have some fun.  I have been asked how I made the meme in my post,
Timmy's getting what? Are they f-ing crazy? and below.

Here is the link:

https://memegenerator.net/Super-Timmy/caption

Have fun. Share your Super Timmy memes with me at EGillen476@aol.com. I would love to see them.

Update June 19, 2016 11:26 PM OK, this is pretty funny. Look what is under the newest meme characters. The middle photo in the second row is our municipal manager.

Update June 21, 2016 5:58 PM The School Board approved the amended contract last night. From The Almanac's Mt. Lebanon amends superintendent's contract to include raise:

“I’m fortunate to work for a good board who understands the importance of leadership in the district,” Steinhauer said.

What he really means is:

Update June 23, 2016 11:40 AM

Update June 24, 2016 6:13 PM So Remely thinks we have to hang on to Timmy since it could cost $100,000 to do another search. There's a shortage, you know. Hey, Dan, how about making Ron Davis our new super? Go back to one assistant superintendent. Take Timmy, please!
Mt. Lebanon school board OKs raise, bonus for superintendent Kudos to Hugh Beal for having concern for spending in the district. The $20,000 merit bonus for Timmy should have been offset by his failure to run a successful $30,000,000, $15,000,000, $6,000,000 fundraising campaign. 

Disney thinks THEY have problems?

Will there be hunting in Twin Hills this September?

Mt. Lebanon sure hopes so. MTL would like to present a motion to vacate the temporary injunction before Judge Michael McCarthy according to Docket GD-15-017557. Mt. Lebanon has spent our tax dollars to fight about deer before three Court of Common Pleas judges: Judge Nauhaus, Judge O'Brien, and now Judge McCarthy.

Judge Nauhaus called it "a tempest in a teapot" during the Castor hearing. He threw out the harassment charge and reduced Blaise's outrageous fines from $1100 to $1.

In my case*, Judge O'Brien ruled that personal security exemption does not apply.

Now, MTL is citing increased risks of Lyme Disease, destruction of plant life, deer excrement, and deer/vehicle collisions.

It is interesting that MTL is playing the Lyme disease card since there is a link from the PA Game Commission on the Municipality's website (http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentCenter/View/9630) stating:

• Risk of exposure to Lyme disease is correlated with abundance of acorns, mice, and chipmunks – key hosts for subadult ticks and their corresponding food source. 
• Deer are a dead-end host for the Lyme disease bacteria. They do not infect ticks with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease nor do they contract the disease when an infected tick feeds on them. They play no direct role in the transmission cycle.

Licenses go on sale June 20, 2016.  DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D:Sept. 17- Nov. 26 and Dec. 26-Jan. 28, 2017. One antlerless deer with each required antlerless license. One antlered deer per hunting license year.

I saw my former commissioner today at the post office. She is looking very well and is most likely suggesting to folks to see John in Rollier's paint department for help with choosing soothing colors for their basements. After archery season, we may be dealing with Tony and his patented, proprietary, super secret magic corn for another two months. Painting basements may be a way to beat the heat this summer. 

* I'm still trying to raise money through my gofundme account and now selling key fobs at $5 each, a $7 value - according to crafting blogs.  :)   My tax bill is funding litigation costs related to deer. The kind people who contributed to my gofundme are paying for both sides, just like I am!

Timmy's getting what? Are they f-ing crazy? UPDATED 4 TIMES

I'm sorry for the offensive title, but I really wanted to say something else. Our illustrious school board has decided to amend Super Timmy's contract as well as award him a [please sit down for this] a $20,000 merit bonus as well as increasing his salary this year to $194,779. Agenda is here.

Amendment to Superintendent's Contract

This is the man who wouldn't speak up for the safety of our children when Mt. Lebanon decided to have hired killers start shooting at 4 pm, one half hour after elementary school children were dismissed. Here is his letter to parents. Live from Mt. Lebanon, it's Dr. Timmy.  When he was notified of shooting along safe walking routes, where was Timmy? There will be shooting on properties that are on safe walking routes.  He didn't even mind Tony DeNicola baiting on school property. Parents, here's a comforting thought 

Where was Timmy when liquor licenses were being transferred very close to Lincoln School? 

School District to Blame! Was Commissioners do as they please. Again. UPDATED 3 TIMES

I don't see Timmy objecting to adding toxic turf on school property. https://lebocitizens.blogspot.com/2016/02/feds-finally-take-action-on-crumb.html

Tim was never a superintendent before he was hired here, yet he makes more than the superintendent of Upper St. Clair who was voted PA Superintendent of the Year, as well as voluntarily freezing his salary and declined pay raises.

What a kick in the teeth, right after receiving our increased school taxes in the mail...TWICE...because they got the dates wrong the first time. They were sure to get the correct amounts, however.

My question to you, Timmy is What did you do today to improve the life of a child? 

Update June 14, 2016 3:41 PM Evidently, the school board hired Timmy for his expertise in construction projects, not as an educator.  Mt. Lebanon School Board eyes raise for superintendent

See my post from 2012, Transfixed

Bob the Builder

Tim the Builder

Update June 14, 2016 9:51 PM Probably the biggest reason Timmy doesn't deserve a bonus is in my post, Despicable Updated 3X Here is the link to the docket where the defendants are Mt. Lebanon School District, John Grogan, and Brian Begor.

Update June 15, 2016 4:32 PM Mt. Lebanon resident, Bill Matthews has a letter to the editor in this week's edition of The Almanac. Superintendent's salary increase questioned I have not been able to find it online. Bill also spoke on this subject at Monday's school board meeting.

It's keeping me out of bars...

Here is my latest activity to help me escape from the reality that I live in Mt. Lebanon. I love my neighbors and I love my home. It is unfortunate that we are governed by ____, well, fill in the blank.

I am making key fobs/ backpack tags out of marine vinyl. I have over 200 designs available in a variety of colors.

L-R The Mouse, Aldi's quarter, USC rising senior, chicken, rooster

L-R The Stanley Cup, personalized hockey jersey, soccer, boxing gloves, skull & crossbones, Democrat, the coveted Mt. Lebanon unicorn, Republican, Hello Kitty, Eiffel Tower, scrubs, lightbulb, apple, Pittsburgh No Parking, camper

These can be personalized and are available for purchase at the low, low price of $5.00 each. Email me at EGillen476@aol.com, if interested in purchasing. I was thinking of writing "Lebo sucks" on my unicorn. That would help me feel better, since I am not moving.

Not taking into consideration of time and materials, I would have to sell 21,652 key fobs to equal what our Public Information Officer earns in a year* to produce magazine covers such as this one:

Scouting Honors Heroes and Heroin

*does not include longevity pay plus benefits such as breakfasts, lunches, dinners, health insurance, and phone bill reimbursement.

Thanks to those who ordered key fobs from me. Thank you, Pittsburgh Penguins for winning the Stanley Cup! It is my most popular key fob. Here are a few more that I have made.

L-R grocery cart, fire hydrant, nurse's cap, Mickey hand, mail truck, personalized volleyball,
cruise ship, tooth, and light bulb

Mt. Lebanon taxes arrived in the mail

Just a heads up.

Water main break at Castle Shannon Post Office

http://www.wpxi.com/news/water-main-break-floods-mt-lebanon-roadway/320394630

How many people are needed to replace our former assistant manager? UPDATED 2X

The answer is THREE. Welcome our new assistant manager, Ian McMeans*. He is featured in the latest issue of mtl Magazine, new assistant manager. Ian McMeans accepted a salary of $80,000. I'm sure if one questions this new hire, our manager will be quick to say that McMeans is also the municipal planner, the position Keith McGill held before being promoted to municipal manager.

When Marcia Taylor retired as assistant manager in July 2013 after 34 years with Mt. Lebanon, the decision was made to split her job into two positions; a finance director and an HR director. Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross were hired as full time employees earning close to $102,000 and more than $85,000 respectively. See 1st quarter earnings in 2016.  Marcia Taylor earned $118,000 in 2012.

How is this permitted? We've gone from paying full benefits for one position to full benefits for THREE individuals.

What IS an assistant to the manager? The job description for this position is here. In addition to these duties, Bonnie Cross is the Open Records Officer (ORO). The ORO grants or denies all RTKs. Steve Feller served as ORO, in addition to being municipal manager.

I questioned our commissioners, manager, and solicitor in January about the newly created position known as "assistant to the manager." Of course, the commissioners ignored me, but I did get a response from municipal manager Keith McGill. See the newly released archived post from January -   Another example of our rogue commisssion

So we've gone from a municipal manager, assistant manager, and municipal planner to:

• municipal manager
• assistant manager/municipal planner
• finance director
• HR director/assistant to the manager

along with full and part time assistant directors, as well as full and part time administrative support.

For that, we are now getting late RTKs, incomplete statements of financial interests, a lot of poor customer service, bad attitudes, less transparency, and being ignored by staff and/or commissioners while payroll costs increase.

*Our new assistant manager did not submit a statement of financial interests.

Update June 2, 2016 11:48 PM This comment was sent to me privately.

In reading your blog post from January 19th from Mr. McGill, he wrote:

Section 124 Administrative Offices gives the Manager the authority to create such administrative staff offices as may be required to administer the operations and affairs of the municipality.

The actual wording is as follows:

§124 Administrative Offices. The Manager may, within budget appropriations approved by the Commission, create such administrative staff offices as may be required to administer the operations and affairs of the Municipality. 

Do we know if McGill created the positions legally?

Update June 3, 2016 11:13 AM I forgot about this blog posting. Introducing Andrew McCreery and Bonnie Cross 

Also, did you know that the commission had passed a bill, Bill # 16-15 on November 23, 2015 (the day before the Office of Open Records ruled in my favor), where there are minimum and maximum bi-weekly wage ranges for specific employees?