High School Resource Officers Discussion

On the agenda for discussion tomorrow night, May 14, 2018:

High School Resource Officers – Chief Aaron Lauth and Principal Brian McFeeley will be present to discuss the placement of school resource officers. 

On a related note, in Upper St. Clair:

School district names next chief of school police

Suddenly, it's all about guns, one way or another

First, it was about the walkout and the shootings in Florida. Then, I posted that the high powered rifles being fired in undisclosed areas of Mt. Lebanon has ended. Followed that with the Democratic candidate who supports Assault Weapons Ban Legislation.

Now, it is about the "conversation about school safety" with Tim Steinhauer and Aaron Lauth.
From Facebook:

Thank you to all who braved the snowy night to attend the Community Conversation About Safety and Security last night. Dr. Steinhauer and MLPD Chief Aaron Lauth shared information about our school safety programs including ways we secure our buildings, train students and staff along with prevention strategies.Click here for more information and to watch a video of the program. https://www.mtlsd.org/page.cfm?p=578&newsid=1593

Changes to the Police Blotter are Coming

We are in the process of phasing out our current police blotter for a new enhanced technology.  This new platform will allow us to share crime / incident-related data in a much more efficient manner that also complies with the standards set forth in the Criminal History Records Information Act.  The new system involves an interactive community crime map, which is tied to our Tip411 app.  Here’s how it works: Information from daily police reports goes into a spreadsheet, which is then pulled into mapping software.  You can go to www.communitycrimemap.com, select Mt. Lebanon (PA - Mt. Lebanon) in the drop-down menu, and then sort the crime by many details, such as date range, type of crime, etc. The crime reports will be mapped for you. When you click on one, you will see specific details about the incident and have the option to send an anonymous tip about the event directly to Mt. Lebanon Police without any information to identify you.  We are currently working with our webmaster to update our website with buttons that link directly to this interactive map, as well as a few additional new features.  Once these updates are complete, we will publicize the updates through an outreach campaign via social media and other sources.

Thanks,

Aaron V. Lauth

Chief of Police

Mt Lebanon Police Department

555 Washington Road

Pittsburgh, PA  15228

(412)343-4015

alauth@mtlebanon.org

www.mtlebanonpd.org

Susan justifies The Folio: Show UPDATED

Remember Mrs. Morgans Goes To The Big Apple? In today's mtl Magazine, Susan Morgans tells all of her readers why she is going to New York City next month.

Susan, comparing your trip next month to The Folio: Show which "is packed with lively luncheons, vibrant receptions and one-on-one interaction, all designed to give you a unique opportunity to meet with the people you want to meet and develop a professional network that will serve you for years to come" with Aaron Lauth going to the FBI Academy for ten weeks of hard core training is insulting. How can you put yourself in the same league as our chief of police?

Yes, your FEMA training was free and we covered your travel costs, but your trip to The Big Apple is not. Why we have to pay for your dinners with new friends is beyond me. Exactly what part of lively luncheons, vibrant receptions, one-on-one interaction (whatever that means), or having dinner with new friends will you be sharing with your staff when you return?

By the way, my tax dollars pay for your trips too, even though I didn't vote for any of the commissioners.

Update November 2, 2016 8:19 AM Keith McGill justifies The Folio: Show

From: Keith Mcgill [mailto:kmcgill@mtlebanon.org]
Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2016 2:21 PM
To: Nicholas Meduho, Jr.
Cc: Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; Ian McMeans <imcmeans@mtlebanon.org>
Subject: Re: taxes

Good afternoon Mr. Meduho,

As I am sure you are aware one can quickly find countless articles on the internet espousing the benefits of continuing education and a well trained workforce.

Specific to Mt. Lebanon and my philosophy, here is a quote from an article that appeared in mtl magazine's October 28, 2016 issue, written by Laura Pace Lilley, Living the FBI Life.

"High-level training is important for top municipal staff. “The Mt. Lebanon Commission has consistently recognized and supported investment in advanced training for our municipal employees, especially those in leadership positions,” says Mt. Lebanon Manager Keith McGill. “This philosophy has allowed the municipality to remain an innovative and recognized leader in identifying available resources and providing services to residents in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.”

The conference that Ms. Morgans is attending has value in that media and the way people want to receive information changes constantly. It is important to have continuing education about everything from marketing and advertising to new software and design.There will be seminars on advertising, which could benefit the magazine by identifying ways to generate more revenue as well as other sessions which will offer insight and information that Ms. Morgans will bring back and share with the municipal staff, PIO staff, myself and the municipal commission.

Keith

Warning: Crosswalks May Be Dangerous To Your Health UPDATED 2X

Thanks to a tenacious Mt. Lebanon resident, here is the official Crash Breakdown 2013-2015  report from our police chief.

The report includes bicycle crashes, deer/car collisions, hit and runs, and pedestrians hit within and out of crosswalks. The number in parentheses is pedestrians hit within crosswalks. It appears that jaywalking is much safer in Mt. Lebanon.


From: Aaron Lauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>
Date: Mon, Feb 15, 2016 at 12:44 PM
Subject: Re: Collision Rates in Mt. Lebanon
To: Mt. Lebanon Resident
Cc: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>

Mt. Lebanon Resident,

Please see the attached document for the statistical information that you requested.  Please note that we do not separately account for "single vehicle collisions", however the most appropriate statistical category related to these types of collisions would be hit & run crashes as shown on the spreadsheet. 

Please let me know if you have any questions related to this information.

Thanks,

Aaron V. Lauth

Chief of Police

Mt Lebanon Police Department

555 Washington Road

Pittsburgh, PA  15228

(412)343-4015

alauth@mtlebanon.org

On Wed, Feb 10, 2016 at 2:41 PM, A Mt. Lebanon Resident wrote:

Municipal Manager McGill,

To make certain that my request is clear:

Mt. Lebanon asserts that we have seen a sharp rise in the number of deer/vehicle collisions over the past three years.  I am asking for the most recent three-year data (2013; 2014; and 2015) reflecting the occurrences of:

     deer/vehicle collisions

     pedestrian/vehicle collisions

     pedestrian in crosswalk/vehicle collisions

     bicycle/vehicle collisions

     vehicle/vehicle collisions

     single vehicle collisions

     and any other motor vehicle collisions for which records are kept.

I am confident that such statistics are kept as a matter of course and look forward to your response.

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Update February 19, 2016 7:35 PM From Chief Lauth:

Your interpretation of the Pedestrian / Vehicle crash numbers is correct. These numbers should be interpreted as follows:

2013: 12 total, 5 of which were in crosswalks
2014: 11 total, 7 of which were in crosswalks
2015: 10 total, 7 of which were in crosswalks

**********

2013 42% of the pedestrians hit by cars were hit in a crosswalk
2014 64% of the pedestrians hit by cars were hit in a crosswalk
2015 70% of the pedestrians hit by cars were hit in a crosswalk

Update February 20, 2016 5:35 AM Another pedestrian was hit in a cross walk on February 13, 2016 at 4:43 PM. Mt. Lebanon Police Weekly Press Report Thursday, February 11, 2016 through Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Two different responses Updated 2x

How many weeks does Coleen have left? Too many. Here is her response to my email to Chief of Police Aaron Lauth

Same email, Aaron Lauth's response.

So when we feel like we are being harassed, call 9-1-1.

The good news is that tomorrow is the last day of archery season until December 26, 2015.

DEER, ARCHERY (Antlered and Antlerless) WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D: Sept. 19- Nov. 28 and Dec. 26-Jan. 23, 2016. 

Update November 27, 2015 8:07 PM She doesn't stop! Vuono's second email.

Update November 28, 2015 7:32 PM No response to this email:

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; kmcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>; alauth <alauth@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: philip.weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>
Sent: Sat, Nov 28, 2015 8:41 am
Subject: No Hunting signs

Since legal archery ended yesterday on Mt. Lebanon public property, will the bow hunting signs be removed and no hunting signs go up in their places? Legal archery in Mt. Lebanon parks, Public Works, Conservation District on Connor Road and golf course will resume on Monday, December 28, 2015.

Elaine Gillen

Highlights from the commission meeting

I didn't go to the commission meeting last night, so I am relying on Matt Santoni's Twitter feed and callers who attended part of the meeting.

1. Matthew Santoni ‏@msantoni  12h12 hours ago

   #MtLebo sets June 9 hearing for shorter public notice for debt, removing 4-vote supermajority for borrowing. Would get Nov. referendum.

   12 hours ago
2. 
   
3. Matthew Santoni ‏@msantoni  12h12 hours ago
   .@MtLebanonPolice Deputy Chief Aaron Lauth is promoted to McDonough's position, unanimously confirmed by commission.

I hope the super vote issue is a dead issue. I will be watching out for that one when the video is posted this afternoon.

Congrats to Aaron Lauth, who will be our new chief of police! Dan Miller and Matt Smith honored Coleman McDonough, retiring police chief.

PAYT is being recycled again. All the comments were about PAYT. Only one spoke against it. The pro PAYT folks will be counting on Chief Lauth and his force for becoming the trash patrol, moving up from corn police.

The one anti PAYT resident had concerns about all the apartment buildings in the area. Many have seen that TV sitting on Kenmont for weeks. Kelly Fraasch, the remaining commissioner who is for PAYT, assured everyone that she lives near apartment buildings where leaving furniture and other large items has never been a problem.

As one pro PAYT resident assured the anti PAYT resident, the police don't have anything else to do. Definitely. There are no drug issues or speeders to deal with in Mt. Lebanon. 

Where were all the PAYT people when the commission approved toxic turf at Middle and Wildcat Fields?