Fiery Resignation Tonight

Paradise’s  Bad Attitude

May 9, 2017

Paradise has a bad attitude toward the environment says the resigning Chairman of the Mt Lebanon Environmental Sustainability Board.   

Andrew Baram, an executive at a major bank, is resigning in disgust from the Board  tonight (May 9) at a Mt Lebanon Commission meeting at the Mt Lebanon Municipal Building during the public forum at 8 PM.  

Baram has chaired the ESB for several years, and for those years his advice and that of the Board itself has been “ignored and blatantly misrepresented.”

Baram accuses one of the Mt Lebanon Commissioners of using “alternative facts.”  But he charges the Commission and the town manager with manipulating a student and “junior” commission’s attitude questionnaire, she crafted for the local high school, to fit their own agenda.

Baram contrasts Mt Lebanon’s poor record on the environment with Cranberry Township’s focus on sustainability.

 Statement of Resignation

Mt Lebanon Environmental Sustainability Board

Andrew Baram, Chairman

Before the Mt Lebanon Commission

May 9th, 2017

I’d like to start by thanking you. Thank you for teaching me many valuable lessons over the last several years, and more importantly, giving me a gift few have given me, the gift of time.

I have learned that it was not a good use of time to contribute to the town’s comprehensive plan, as I have not once heard anyone reference it, especially the part regarding the environment.

I have learned that unplanned expenditures that are associated with pet projects don’t always have to follow guidelines for being a formal agenda item, for example, the forgotten fence for the turf field.

I have learned that you can nominate anyone to a task force, including a neighbor, who has no interest in having an open dialogue. You can also give said neighbor a captive audience of the Commission without telling others on the task force and allowing one point of view to win the day.

I have learned that a Commissioner can send something out to all of his constituents that is biased and even contains information that is false. For example: the rate of recycling has increased every year. But in this day of alternative facts, why should I be surprised?

I have learned that just about every time the Environmental Sustainability Board (ESB) has suggested something, it is almost always met with a “why we should not do that” instead of truly considering the possibility of the suggestion.

We were ignored and blatantly misrepresented regarding the turffield. Our suggestions concerning pesticide notification and reclamation of bricks in the streets were instantly challenged. Even something as simple and symbolic as not using disposable water bottles goes unheeded.

Thankfully, we have not weighed in on the deer, not that it would have mattered. A simple suggestion of trying to save our local businesses’ money by pooling their resources and getting better waste removal contracts, in addition to trying to reduce their waste, was never of real interest.

Speaking of waste reduction, considering Pay As You Throw (PAYT) was an exercise in futility from the beginning. I should have known that when the first task force convened and one of the few documents that was shared with us was the ill-fated high school PAYT questionnaire. This survey was crafted by a former junior commissioner. But she was forced by the former town manager and others to change it to make it completely biasedagainst PAYT and brought the junior commissioner to tears on several occasions.

This commission’s reactions always seem to be about finding ways any new scenario could be bad. The latest nail in the coffin was regarding how homes of lesser value could be negatively impacted. No one stopped to question the analysis, as I am still not convinced it is very clear. But even if it isfinancially sound, did anyone even think to suggest that we could do something to offset those who might lose? Of course not.

I am South Hills Interfaith Movement (SHIM) board member. SHIM serves the needy and the disadvantaged. Would I endorse a program that was structured to negatively impact those in need? Of course not. Did anyone ask how the other thousands of towns with PAYT programs handle this situation? Of course not. Has anyone besides Kelly actually taken me up on my offer to speak with another town who has adopted a successful PAYT program to understand it more? Of course not.

It was always about “I received so many phone calls from residents who did not like this.” Do you think there is a reason that residents in PAYT towns, who were polled by an independent company, actually really like PAYT? Could our residents with negative comments just simply be misinformed or afraid of progressive change, just as so many of our current leaders seem to be?

I hope that as you move forward you truly consider why you have an Environmental Sustainability Board. You have great men and women who care about this town and the environment, but feel like they have no real voice. Other than using the Board discussions about storm water to count towards your Municipal Separate Storm Sewer (MS4) requirements, our efforts have been largely ineffectual.

I know you feel our views are extreme (yes, I watched the video of your discussion of the Sustainability Board on April 24), but anyone I know in this town who truly cares about the environment would vehemently disagree with your reactions and words that night. They would never mistake our town for Cranberry, who was recently on the front page of the Post-Gazette, not for its approach to four-legged creatures, but for its leadership in sustainability. They also would not mistake our town for one that wants to “raise the bar for environmental sustainability,” something I should have realized long ago doesn’t matter or guide the actions of this Commission in any meaningful way.

I want to thank the ESB’s current Commission liaison, Steve McLean, for at least listening. And I would be incredibly remiss if I did not thank, Kelly Fraasch, who has always been a great advocate for the environment, has never been afraid to stand against the majority, and has shown the type of leadership this town needs to move forward.

So, I will end where I started. Thank you for giving me the gift of time. As a smart municipal employee recently told me, “government moves slowly and maybe I would be better off taking my talents and energy elsewhere.”

I will heed that advice, so please formally accept my resignation as chair and member of the Environmental Sustainability Board, as I plan to take my “extreme” views elsewhere.