Priorities and another service eliminated UPDATED

From the Manager's Recommended 2017 Budget page 6 - recommended on November 1, 2016:

At the October 3, 2013 Sports Advisory Board meeting, the condition of the aging ice rink was brought to the SAB's attention. Additionally, Commissioner John Bendel addressed the SAB members and asked how they wanted to spend their pot of gold. It was on the meeting video, but for some strange reason, that video is no longer available on the Mt. Lebanon website. Of course.

However, I have the link to that video from a blog posting:

Update November 3, 2014 3:19 PM In addition to the videos that Albert Turfstein provided, please view the October 3, 2013 Sports Advisory Board Meeting. Click on Turf Project and watch Tim White say, "Mr. Bendel pissed away all the money we had."

John Bendel went around the room and asked each member how they wanted to spend the remaining funds from the original $829,000 unassigned funds. The minutes show that the "consensus on the board was that Middle and Wildcat fields would be the preferred location."

Apparently getting the turf passed was more important that the ice rink. Priorities.

Another service no longer provided by the Municipality is their notary service. 

Keep cutting back on services, Mt. Lebanon, but take care of the special interest groups. Kill those deer. Turf those fields. Ignore the ice rink which is enjoyed by the public. Eliminate our solid waste collection service. Great job.

Update January 8, 2017 7:29 PM I forgot to include the bids for the ice rink. Alternates are also listed. Keith McGill added, "The probable opinion of cost was developed by Gateway Engineers in conjunction with Stantec who is consulting on the project."

Fraasch reads to commissioners UPDATED

Albert Turfstein has added another video. He writes:

Commissioner Kelly Fraasch goes through some of the hazards listed in the artificial turf MSDS sheets as well as uncovers the fact that the Zinc levels will be ABOVE state of California limits in contradiction to what Commissioner Linfante says. The "expert" in the room doesn't know how much zinc is in grass, doesn't know if flame retardants will be used and doesn't know if chemicals will be used to lessen static issues. Commissioner Silverman likens turf zinc to lozenges you might take for a cold. Really?

Watch Dave Bumfield. He is the only one who doesn't follow along while Kelly Fraasch reads the warnings from the MSDS data. He has never seen anything negative concerning artificial turf because he refuses!





Link to video: http://youtu.be/DWWSNKOJpZU

Updated November 6, 2014 9:30 AM Albert Turfstein has uploaded another video. In this video, Gateway's Dan Deiseroth discusses the non-issue of runoff. He also states that the NPDES permit will be in hand by Friday, July 11, 2014.

Note: With all the revisions to stormwater management required by the DEP, the NPDES permit was finally granted on October 16, 2014. No word from the commissioners on how many millions of dollars will be added to the cost of the project for these mandatory upgrades. Thank you to all of the public commenters, or else the ACCD would have not taken this seriously. The ACCD forwarded it to the DEP for review.




Link to video: http://youtu.be/aV3SOz878YI When the video is embedded into a blog posting, the actual views are not tallied on YouTube. The number listed on YouTube is always less than the actual amount of views of any video.

Hope to see you at the protest on Saturday!

UPDATE November 7, 2014 5:49 PM Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for artificial turf mentioned above

Commissioner Brumfield on Artificial Turf

This is the one I was waiting for. Thank you, Mr. Turfstein. NBC should see this. Coach Amy Griffin should see this. Every parent in Mt. Lebanon needs to see this.

Link to YouTube video - Commissioner Brumfield on Artificial Turf 

Commissioner Linfante- Zinc is not harmful to humans

I received a link to a YouTube video from a man by the name of Albert Turfstein. It is a clip of Commission President Kristen Linfante claiming that zinc is not harmful to humans.

According to the CDC:

Taking too much zinc into the body through food, water, or dietary supplements can also affect health. The levels of zinc that produce adverse health effects are much higher than the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for zinc of 11 mg/day for men and 8 mg/day for women. If large doses of zinc (10-15 times higher than the RDA) are taken by mouth even for a short time, stomach cramps, nausea, and vomiting may occur. Ingesting high levels of zinc for several months may cause anemia, damage the pancreas, and decrease levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. 

Eating food containing very large amounts of zinc (1,000 times higher than the RDA) for several months caused many health effects in rats, mice, and ferrets, including anemia and injury to the pancreas and kidney. Rats that ate very large amounts of zinc became infertile. Rats that ate very large amounts of zinc after becoming pregnant had smaller babies. Putting low levels of certain zinc compounds, such as zinc acetate and zinc chloride, on the skin of rabbits, guinea pigs, and mice caused skin irritation. Skin irritation from exposure to these chemicals would probably occur in humans. EPA has determined that because of lack of information, zinc is not classifiable as to its human carcinogenicity.

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
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The commissioners have "done all the research." Artificial turf is safe. Zinc is not harmful to humans. The link to the video is above. Additionally, I am adding it to this post. Feel free to share with family and friends. Send it to government agencies. I hope it goes viral.

Mr. Turfstein, I am looking forward to a video of Dave Brumfield next. Thank you for sharing this.

Link to the YouTube video