Commission is stalling: School Resource Officer

Watching the Mt. Lebanon School Board meeting from Monday, the school board's hands are tied concerning the SRO for the high school. They are waiting for the commission to discuss and vote on a partnership with the district, and would like to have this officer in place in time for the beginning of school.

Based on the recently posted Commission Discussion Session agenda for Monday, June 25, 2018, that discussion is not going to occur any time soon.

At the 01:12:38 timestamp from the June 18, 2018 school board meeting, the school board was voting on the resolution:

School Resource Officer: RESOLVED, that the Board directs the Superintendent to conduct discussions with the Municipality in an effort to arrange for a full time School Resource Officer to be available to the District for the 2018-2019 school year.

when the school board directors expressed their frustration that this may not be in place in 30 or 60 days since this has to be approved by the commissioners. The school solicitor also pointed out that the municipality will also need time for the new hire.

So why is this so far down the list for topics of future discussions?

Tentative list of follow-up items for future meeting(s):   

1. Parking Beverly Road area 

2. Litter (June /July) 

3. Mt. Lebanon Emergency Operations Plan (July) 

4. Garbage contract/recycling market changes (July/Aug) 

5. Mt Lebanon Community Foundation 

6. Crosswalk policy and request for traffic study policy (July/Aug) 

7. School Resource Officer 

8. RAD funding 

9. Overnight parking

If the commissioners play their cards right, they could be voting on a school resource officer at the same meeting where they will be announcing that lethal weapons will be discharged on public and undisclosed private properties in Mt. Lebanon.

The municipal manager's administrative report was just sent out with not one word mentioned about school resource officers.

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

On March 8, 2016, the Mt. Lebanon Commissioners approved Resolution No. R-6-16, the transfer of a liquor license to GUTBUBS, LLC. GUTBUBS, LLC, has a lease for property located at 292 Beverly Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15216 and was seeking to transfer a liquor license to a restaurant they plan on opening at this location.  The resolution shows that it was approved February 22, 2016, but it was actually voted on and approved on March 8, 2016. See Agenda Item #5 as introduced by John Bendel.

But that is minor. There's a bigger problem with this liquor license. It is within 300 feet of Lincoln Elementary, a violation of Policy MB OPPOSITION TO APPLICATION FOR MALT BEVERAGE AND LIQUOR LICENSES WITHIN 300 FEET OF SCHOOLS.

According to Dr. Steinhauer in his email to a Mt. Lebanon Parent:

Dear [Mt. Lebanon Parent]

The School District objected in writing to this transfer of a malt beverage and/or liquor license in accordance with District Policy MB on February 17, 2016. The location was within 300 ft. of Lincoln Elementary School.

Timothy J. Steinhauer, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Mt. Lebanon School District

412-344-2076

What did you do today to improve the life of a child?

The question that has gone unanswered is:

Was a protest filed by the District with the PA LCB as per the attached petition and guide?

Are Timmy and the School Board objecting with the same intensity as they did with the shooting along safe walking routes thirty minutes after elementary school children were dismissed? 

Our commissioners don't answer to anyone, while our superintendent questions what we did today to improve the life of a child.

Update March 15, 2016 7:30 PM The unanswered question has been answered.

Dear [Mt. Lebanon Parent],

No, for many years the District has only objected to the Municipality and not with the PLCB.

Tim Steinhauer

Update March 15, 2016 9:36 PM Shaking my head...

From: Keith Mcgill <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
Date: Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 9:17 PM
Subject: Re: liquor license
To: E.T. Gillen egillen476@aol.com, Kelly Fraasch <kfraasch@mtlebanon.org>, Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: Philip Weis <philip.weis@bipc.com>

Good evening Elaine,

The resolution that was posted on the website had a typographical error regarding the date that was corrected before the resolution was signed.

As to the proximity to Lincoln school, in accordance with the school district policy the school district did submit a letter opposing this transfer as they did with the license that was transferred to Iovino's and Sushi 3. Prior to the meeting I spoke to the Superintendent who indicated that while the school district by policy would not be supporting the transfer of this license they did not have any specific concerns related to the transfer.

As several Commissioners indicated during the meeting, the restaurant owner is a Mt. Lebanon resident with a proven track record in the restaurant business and the liquor license is secondary to the primary focus of the business, which is a restaurant and deli.  

Keith

On Tue, Mar 15, 2016 at 8:34 PM, Kelly Fraasch <kfraasch@mtlebanon.org> wrote:

Can you address this about the ordinance?

Sent from Kelly's iPhone, please excuse typos or auto-corrections.  

Begin forwarded message:

From: "'egillen476@aol.com' via Commission" <commission@mtlebanon.org>
Date: March 15, 2016 at 7:47:44 PM EDT
To: commission@mtlebanon.org
Cc: TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net, schoolboard@mtlsd.net
Subject: liquor license
Reply-To: "egillen476@aol.com" <egillen476@aol.com>

Commissioners,

On March 8, 2016, you approved Resolution No. R-6-16, the transfer of a liquor license to GUTBUBS, LLC. The resolution shows that it was approved February 22, 2016, but it was actually voted on and approved on March 8, 2016. See Agenda Item #5 as introduced by John Bendel.

But that is minor. There's a bigger problem with this liquor license. It is within 300 feet of Lincoln Elementary, a violation of Policy MB OPPOSITION TO APPLICATION FOR MALT BEVERAGE AND LIQUOR LICENSES WITHIN 300 FEET OF SCHOOLS. 

The School District wrote in opposition to this resolution, yet you still approved it. Please explain your reasons for approving it.

Elaine Gillen

Update March 16, 2016 10:42 AM I am so glad my grandkids are not if the Mt. Lebanon School District.

From: Dr. Timothy Steinhauer <TSteinhauer@mtlsd.net>
To: 'egillen476@aol.com' <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: School Board Email list <SchoolBoardEmaillist@mtlsd.net>; 'Keith Mcgill' <kmcgill@mtlebanon.org>
Sent: Wed, Mar 16, 2016 10:26 am
Subject: RE: liquor license

Dear Ms. Gillen,

School District Policy MB is still applicable and relevant. As noted in the policy, the School District submits an objection in writing to the agency that has ultimate regulatory authority.

Timothy J. Steinhauer, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Mt. Lebanon School District

412-344-2076

What did you do today to improve the life of a child?

From: egillen476@aol.com [mailto:egillen476@aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 15, 2016 9:41 PM
To: Dr. Timothy Steinhauer; School Board Email list
Subject: Fwd: liquor license

School Board Directors,

Why not abolish Policy MB? It is meaningless.

Elaine Gillen

There WILL be citizen comments at MONDAY's organization meeting

The agenda for MONDAY'S Commission organization meeting has been posted.

Highlights include:

• John Bendel, Kelly Fraasch, and Steve McLean will be sworn in as commissioners.
• Kelly Fraasch will be sworn in as the new president of the commission. 
• Dave Brumfield will be sworn in as vice president. 
• Steve Silverman was passed over. He should have been the next VP. 
• Keith McGill will be appointed as municipal manager.
• There will be citizen comments.

I emailed the commissioners to confirm the start time as 8:00 PM. The start time was not indicated on the agenda.

Commissioners and School Board Members: PLEASE Unvote

Dear Mt. Lebanon Commissioners and School Board members,

Please "unvote" the ill-fated Wildcat Field artificial turf project. Today, I received the following press release, CONSUMER GROUP WARNS SCHOOLS AND TOWNS OF NEW QUESTIONS SURROUNDING ARTIFICIAL TURF SAFETY University of Washington assistant soccer coach, Amy Griffin reported that 13 Washington soccer players on her recruiting list have been diagnosed with rare cancers and 11 of those are goal keepers. That is horrible news!

The Artificial Turf Project, or as you like to call it, "Field Enhancement Project" has been a problem since Day 1. Lack of transparency concerning funds, the secret Turf Project Task Force meetings, intimidation tactics used at the Not For The General Public public meeting, the official statements from the Parks Advisory Board and the Environmental Sustainability Board who are in opposition to the project, an "unbiased" presentation at Mellon Middle School with Dr. McNitt - who has his private consulting business and partnership with FieldTurf, the deficiencies identified by the PA Department of Environmental Protection and Allegheny County Conservation District, the fabrication that personal donations are at risk while knowing that contracts clearly state that the donations are nonrefundable and will be used for future field improvements, the Commission President's "misrepresentation" of the ESB's position, the Commission's tunnel vision in regard to the health, safety, and environmental issues as presented by residents, and the use of municipal staff for raising non-municipal funds.

PLEASE take the time to read the 09.15.14 Press Release linked in the first paragraph. PLEASE consider the new questions surrounding the safety of artificial turf. PLEASE unvote the Wildcat and Middle Artificial Turf Project.

Elaine Gillen

Commissioners vote on infill tomorrow night

First of all, I would like to thank and welcome all the new Lebo Citizens readers. I wanted to let everyone know about the Commission Discussion Session tomorrow evening at 6:30 PM in the Municipal Building on Washington Road.

During the Commission Discussion Session, the Commissioners will be voting on the type of infill to be used at Middle and Wildcat Fields. There is the toxic tire crumb infill and the "organic" infill which is used as a filler to the plastic "blades of grass" and plastic backing. Here is a picture of the backing which can be seen at the high school stadium.

Installed July 2010

According to the Discussion Session Agenda, the Commission will be voting on assigning more funds to the turf project at Middle and Wildcat Fields. Unfortunately, the Public is not permitted to speak at this meeting, just observe.

The time to speak would be at 8 PM during the Citizen Comments portion of the Commission Regular Meeting. A sign up sheet is provided at the entrance to the Commission Chambers. Residents are given five minutes to speak on any topic. Here is the agenda for tomorrow's Commission meeting.

The latest justification for this project comes from Commissioner John Bendel.

Most fields in Mt. Lebanon are diamond-based, which are designed primarily for baseball and softball. Over the last decade or so, the popularity of the sports using rectangular-based fields such as lacrosse, soccer and field hockey has increased significantly. Therefore, the focus of field enhancements has been to expand the number of rectangular-based fields. 

He wants to strip mine this area, ripping out the natural grass to add toxic turf at a cost of over one million dollars. You decide what shape it is.

Please sign this petition if you want to halt public funds for use of artificial turf at Wildcat and Middle Fields.

Sports Advisory Board Redux

It appears that adding two words to a sentence in an ordinance requires a super vote; four votes are required. Those two words in the Sports Advisory Board Ordinance are "up to."

§133.2 Membership and Term. The Sports Advisory Board shall consist of such members as are appointed by the Commission from time to time, each appointed for a three (3) year term. The term of the initial members shall be set by the Commission so as to be staggered in order to expire evenly. There shall be up to thirteen (13) voting members of the Board that will consist of: (i) eleven (11) members chosen from any sports organization recognized by the Commission and/or the Parks Board; and (ii) two (2) at large positions. The Municipality and School District will also be able to provide a liaison and staff members, all of whom shall be nonvoting members. Any Parks Board representative shall be nonvoting.

Recommended Action: Move to adopt Ordinance (Bill No. 5-13) by special procedure (roll call taken with four votes required).

In addition, there will be a new appointment to the Sports Advisory Board, replacing the Upper St. Clair resident.

On February 12, 2013, the Commission appointed 13 members to the recently created Sports Advisory Board. The appointee from the Mt. Lebanon Hockey Association cannot serve because he resides in another community. Section 125 of the Administrative Code requires that "members of any board or authority shall be residents of the Municipality." Tonight’s action will appoint the alternate nominee of the Hockey Association to replace the initial appointee.

Recommended Action: Move to appoint Dave Klasnick of 1021 Martin Avenue to fill an unexpired term ending March 31, 2014.

Thank you Readers and Commissioners, for working together to make things right. Take note, School Board Directors.

Something is up UPDATED

I feel like something is not right in the municipality. Monday's meeting is set for the reorganization. According to the agenda,

John Bendel 1. Nomination and election of Commission President for 2013.
Recommended Action: Move to nominate and elect Matt Kluck as Commission President.

Dave Brumfield 2. Nomination and election of Commission Vice President for 2013.
Recommended Action: Move to nominate and elect __________________ as Vice President. 

Why the lack of transparency for VP? Who is the mystery person? It will be one of three people, listed in alphabetical order:

• John Bendel
• Kelly Fraasch
• Kristen Linfante

It is not up to us to decide, unfortunately. Sadly, it isn't up to the president either. It is done by majority vote. It also has nothing to do with qualifications or how engaged the commissioner is.  In this situation, all three are Democrats, so it isn't a party thing. It might have something to do with musical abilities, but I can't be sure. 

Who would you want to be VP? Remember, commissioners serve four years, so not everyone gets a turn.  My vote goes to the one who is respectful of residents, someone who is engaged with the community, someone who truly listens to constituents. Sorry, but my commissioner does not fit that bill.

Update January 5, 2013 2:15 PM When the comments turned to talk of a rotation, I tried calling Kelly Fraasch this morning for verification. I then emailed her this:

Kelly,

Would you by any chance know who was president and VP of the Commission by Ward? I have only been involved for the last couple of years. Is there a rotation?
Thanks.
Elaine Gillen

Here is her response:

Hi Elaine,

Happy New Year!

I apologize for not answering the phone earlier today but I was in a meeting.
I requested the listing a couple of days ago from our Municipal Manager.
Please see the attached document.

I don't find a solid rotation. One area that I do find consistent is everytime a "freshman" Commissioner's Ward comes up for President they don't take that spot.
For example, Dan Miller in 08, he did not get to be President. Dale Colby (Ward 4) took the spot as President and John Daley (Ward 2) as VP. When John Daley (Ward 2) was President, Raja (Ward 1) became VP and when Raja (Ward 1) was President then Dan Miller (Ward 5) became VP. Dan Miller was President and Joe (Ward 3) was VP last year so since Joe was not elected Dave Brumfield took the spot of President and Matt Kluck as VP.

I hope that is what you are looking for, if not, feel free to call me or email me with further questions.

Kelly Fraasch
Commissioner, Ward 5

Posti too busy for Commission

At last week's Commission discussion meeting, Joint Discussion Meetings was an agenda item. Evidently, the Commission has been trying to set up another meeting between the School Board and the Commission to discuss, among other things, the Joint Maintenance Agreement. Remember that fateful night when Josephine Posti said that I have hate in my heart, so she was praying for me? Apology to Josephine Posti That meeting included Dave Brumfield, Kristen Linfante, Steve Feller, Elaine Cappucci, and Josephine Posti.  There has not been another meeting since February 28.

In Citizens' Comments, I expressed my feelings and thanked Dave and Kristen for all the abuse they were getting from Josephine Posti. It was revealed during the Discussion Session that Josephine wanted to see an agenda before she would commit to another meeting. I had said that if the Commission felt that they should have another meeting, then they should have a meeting. This time, the Commission wanted to have a public meeting with as many Commissioners and School Board Directors present, as possible.

In so many words, Josephine blew off the Commission. So I filed a Right To Know on September 13, 2012, asking for all communication between the Commission and School Board Directors concerning joint meetings between Municipal and School Board representatives. 

Here it is. Not only is she much too busy for any meetings, but Josephine also encouraged the Commissioners to attend the School Board coffees along with the rest of us.
Joint Discussion Communication

School Board is apparently filing criminal charges against me

I found out that the school board is filing charges against me. I had approved an anonymous comment about the Joint Maintenance Agreement yesterday. The copy of the JMA that Steve Feller has is not a fully executed document. Unfortunately, I only skimmed the comments yesterday and didn't catch that the commenter suggested that those four commissioners who approved the JMA and the SB should be executed. Tonight (technically it was yesterday) after the Commission meeting, I was outside the municipal building talking with Kelly Fraasch. She mentioned that my blog was brought up today. She told me about the post which I totally missed. Dave Brumfield was outside also and Kelly asked him which thread had the comment. The three of us looked through my published comments and found the comment. I was shocked and immediately deleted it in front of them. It was a crazy day and I didn't read every comment carefully before approving them. When I got home from the meeting, there was a very important voice mail where I was told that Mt. Lebanon School District is filing criminal charges against me. The police are investigating. Also, the police were inquiring as to whether the commissioners would want to join in on the complaint.  Fortunately, I deleted the comment in front of two of the commissioners.

Apology from the Commission

On behalf of the Commission, President Dave Brumfield issued an apology at last night's meeting over the launching of fireworks from Mt. Lebanon Cemetary on July 4, 2012.

Commission Apology

This feels so wrong

On tonight's Commission agenda:

Consideration to financially participate in the Mt. Lebanon School District’s involvement in property assessment appeal hearings.

Diversified Municipal Services, Inc. (DMS) represents Mt. Lebanon School District at first-level Allegheny County property assessment appeals. DMS develops evidence in support of sustaining current values on owner-filed appeals and appears at hearings to present the evidence. DMS charges the school district $150 for attending a hearing at which the owner is present and $100 for appearing for a hearing at which the owner does not attend.

It is proposed that the municipality participate in funding this effort.

Recommended Action: Move to direct the Municipal Manager to reimburse the Mt. Lebanon School District for 17% of the actual costs billed by Diversified Municipal Services in representing the taxing body at residential reassessment appeal hearings for the 2012 appeal year.Move to direct the Municipal Manager to reimburse the Mt. Lebanon School District for 17% of the actual costs billed by Diversified Municipal Services in representing the taxing body at residential reassessment appeal hearings for the 2012 appeal year.

As was pointed out to me in an email:

The municipality is using tax dollars to fight taxpayers who are using their own resources to defend their property value against an inflated tax dollar funded assessment.

"By unlawfully delegating general authority to staff members (to file the appeals) the commission of Mt. Lebanon unlawfully discriminated against the intervenors and those property owners similarly situated in an attempt to require them to bear an unlawful and disproportionate share of the tax burden of Mt. Lebanon"
-Raymond Cromer on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. William Anderson Jr. of 749 Gypsy Lane, published in the Pittsburgh Press 19-MAY-1976 on page 3.

In yet another email:

Where are the Lebo taxpayers who will suffer as a result? Why is there no injunction being filed against the District & Muni by those being affected? Why, why, why, ? ? ? ? Why have we become a herd (not a community) of sheep??

It was nice while it lasted

I am carrying over the discussion from Blog-Lebo concerning the appointment of a school board liaison.  Joe Polk posted the PG article and I left the first comment to the post.

 E. T. Gillen said...

The PG incorrectly reported that Kristen Linfante was appointed as liaison. As of yet, nobody has been appointed as school board liaison.
Elaine Gillen

JANUARY 30, 2012 5:53 PM

This was followed by a second comment from President Dave Brumfield.

 Anonymous said...

Commissioner Linfante was appointed to be the liason at our last meeting. The position that remains unfilled is the representative(s) to the joint meeting with the School District.

Dave Brumfield

JANUARY 31, 2012 8:41 AM

I beg to differ, Dave.  The Commission makes that liaison appointment by a formal motion, seconding by a Commissioner, followed by a majority vote.  Please look up Home Rule Charter Section 317 and Municipal Admin. Code Section 113.1 that says that "Official actions by the Commission...by Ordinance, Resolution or Motion..." Commission appointments are "official actions" by motions and voting. I have been unable to find in either the Charter or Admin. Code,  the specific powers of self appointment without official action, i.e. motions and votes, by the Commission.  Perhaps you can cite the source(s) granting such rights.  I am not going to buy into the argument that "past practices" (even though improper, illegal, etc.) justify continuing the practice, therefore making it bonafide.

I miss Dan Miller being president of the commission.

Commission Financial Reforms and then there is the School District

Dan Miller's December 9 post on his blog, is Financial Reforms.  Dan writes:

But as our budget vote quickly approaches I have worked with staff, other Commissioners, and citizens to put together a series of financial reforms that I believe will make sure that we do not repeat the same mistakes that have gotten us here. And to be clear- this failure in my opinion rests on the Commission majority. While acknowledging that an overwhelming amount of residents are happy with Municipal services- the Commission majority has been unwilling to tell you that these services cost more then you are being billed. I believe that simply voting for a tax increase alone does not “fix” this problem. In my opinion any tax increase must be accompanied by such fiscal reforms listed below that will mandate real responsibility from elected officials- regardless of whether service levels are cut or increased moving forward.

Dan goes on to list his eight proposed ordinances and comments but adds:

* Note: These ordinances may not yet be finalized completely. While I do not expect the intent of them to change it is possible that in order to receive majority support some words or items may have to be altered. I also have included a couple areas where I believe it is reasonable to negotiate. Additionally I have offered some brief comments after each one to help give context for them- believe me, I have more to say on every one.

Dan, I want to publicly thank you for all your hard work - even up to the bitter end of your term.  You have been fair and open.  You have adopted constituents outside of your ward (like me) and have been an excellent role model for our new junior commissioners, current commissioners, and hopefully has made an impact on our school board directors.  Thanks, Dan.

Now the School District, on the other hand, has this on their next agenda.

2012-2013 Preliminary Budget – The Board must prepare and approve a final budget for
2012-13 in May of 2012. In preparation for this final budget, the Board’s first action
must be to determine what potential millage increase will be required in that final budget.
There are still many uncertainties in preparing the budget for 2012-13 so early in the
year. We do not yet know our staffing needs, student course selections, numbers of
retirements, health care cost increases, earned income tax trends or state funding
parameters. Without these critical pieces of information, any budget projection at this
time includes inherent inaccuracies due to estimates without factual basis. Act 1 of 2006
gives the Board the option to pass a resolution in December of 2011 stating it will not
exceed a millage increase permitted under the approved Index which calculates to about
.37 mills if the Index is 1.4%, or .45 mills if the Index is 1.7%. We believe that we will
require significant budget cuts to meet Index limitations. If the Board wants to preserve its rights to raise millage to include both the increase for the Index plus the three allowable exceptions for PSERS cost increases, Pre-Act 1 Debt and special education cost increases, the Board must pass a preliminary budget at the January Board meeting. That preliminary budget must include a millage rate high enough to require exceptions to the Index. Note that even if the Board approves such a preliminary budget in January, the final budget in May does not have to include the same millage rate. It can be approved at any millage rate up to the one allowed by the Index plus any approved exceptions

Granted there are still many uncertainties on the District budget side, but I would like to add something to the equation that needs mentioned, a presentation made by former School Board Director, James Fraasch. Perhaps James will update the numbers if, or when the bids come in too high.

Every dime the School Board doesn't take from us...

Every dime the School Board doesn't take from us, the new County administration will take.  Allegheny County tax hike pondered  Funny, they waited for the election to pass to announce that.

An FYI, the Commission introduced an ordinance last night (Bill No. 24-11) to raise the millage by .71 mills to a total of  5.47 mills. The uncertainty of the reassessment process will require future modifications to this rate.

After the December 7 opening of the bids for the high school project, I am counting on money experts out there to analyze what they mean in terms of tax increases. 

Bottom line, my Dress 4 Work service project next year may be intended for Mt. Lebanon residents. Something has to give.

Staff Report on Issues Pertaining to Proposed Improvements at McNeilly Park and Swimming Pool

Or... Everything You Ever Asked About McNeilly Park and more

The Commission asked the Mt. Lebanon staff to prepare a report on the proposed improvements at McNeilly Park and the Swimming Pool by October 6, 2011.  Here is the link to the 112 page report.
Staff Report on Issues Pertaining to Proposed Improvements at McNeilly Park and Swimming Pool 
It includes traffic studies, public safety review, a written analysis of maintenance costs, a proposed fee schedule for use, comments from advisory boards, maps, etc.  It is all there - from 2003 to today, October 6, 2011.

I haven't had a chance to read it, but it looks pretty impressive. Thank you,  Commissioners for your transparency, as usual.

Commission says to let voters decide

There was quite a discussion tonight during the Commission Discussion Session held before the regular meeting concerning arrests and convictions of candidates.  The Commission has no say when it comes to candidates, but they do when it comes to boards and committees.  Solicitor Phil Weis, Marcia Taylor, Susan Morgans, and Chief McDonough all participated in the discussion with the Commissioners and Steve Feller.

Commissioner Bonnie VanKirk said that the political parties are to vet their candidates. I don't know who is responsible for the Democratic Committee, but Commissioner Joe DeIuliis does that for the Republican Committee here in Mt. Lebanon.  He was unable to attend tonight's meeting.

President Dan Miller stressed how important it is to know the candidates. We all need to do our homework before we vote.

Update September 14, 2011 6:52 p.m. Dan Miller contacted me to say that he "asked the solicitor to check into a couple of things to flesh out the discussion last night."  To be continued...

An open letter to our leaders

This was sent to the Commission and school board directors.

Dear Commissioners and School Board Directors,

I have emailed you at various times about situations that were embarrassing moments for the community.  We have a commissioner who lied about paying his taxes and yet voted on issues that affected all of us. We have a school board president who apologized for not citing all of her sources and the school board does nothing about it, yet all vote on policies that affect our students.  We have a candidate for Ward 1 who thinks nothing of running for commissioner and has a criminal record.  And now we have a swimming coach who is charged with leaving his five and seven year old children alone in a car.  Yet, when I bring up these situations, I become the issue.  Why is that? 

Must you create new policies or update our comprehensive plan Home Rule Charter for our leaders, or at some point, should our leaders take responsibility for their actions?

Elaine Gillen

Update September 13, 2011 4:20 p.m. Mt. Lebanon suspends coach accused of leaving kids in car

More on the Recreation Bond

Do we want to spend $3.1 million developing property on McNeiily Road? I have had a couple of emails asking, "Where exactly is McNeilly Park?" After David Huston and his daughter were kind enough to show me last week, I can tell you. If you are looking at the Citgo gas station on McNeilly Road, the entrance to the park is to the left of the parking lot. It is very easy to walk around since the Municipality (or someone) has been cutting a pathway in the grass. 

I imagine a traffic light will be needed at that intersection now.  Is that Brookline, Baldwin, or Mt. Lebanon? 

According to the Trib, parents and coaches of Mt. Lebanon athletes are interested in developing McNeilly Park.

Members of the youth sports community were planning to attend to show support for adding more athletic fields to the McNeilly property.

The meeting is this Monday at the Municipal Building. The discussion session generally starts at 6:30 while the Commission meeting starts at 8 p.m. For those who have never attended, the discussion session is open to the public, but are not allowed to speak.  If you wish to comment, the opportunity to speak is at the beginning of the 8 p.m. meeting.  A sign up sheet is in the back of the room.

It goes without saying that our taxes will go up. To contact the commissioners, email them at: commission@mtlebanon.org

To see the conceptual plans for McNeilly Park, visit http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=4045 and http://mtlebanon.org/DocumentView.aspx?DID=4046

And the rest is history...

Cleaning out my mailbox, I found this classic.

-----Original Message-----
From: DRW <raja@ceiamerica.com>
To: egillen476@aol.com; jdeiuliis@mtlebanon.org
Sent: Sun, Jan 30, 2011 6:03 pm
Subject: RE: Advice

Hi Elaine,

Thanks for your interest and email. Joe is the Chair of the Committee in RCML that interfaces with local candidates => please contact him directly at (412) 953-7048. Please also discuss with Joe the topic of his running again. Thanks.

Raja

From: egillen476@aol.com [mailto:egillen476@aol.com?]
Sent: Friday, January 28, 2011 12:02 PM
To: DRW; jdeiuliis@mtlebanon.org
Subject: Advice

Hi Raja and Joe,

As a registered Republican, I wanted to come to you for advice.  I live in the 3rd Ward as you know, but upon hearing Joe's decision to not run again, I am interested in running for Commission.  Can we get together at some point to discuss this?

Elaine

My taxes are paid.

How can a commissioner discuss the Budget when his own taxes are overdue?  A sitting commissioner receives $3500 annually from the Municipality. How can my commissioner answer the Commission President when asked what to do about the unbalanced budget - raises taxes or cut services, when he doesn't pay his own? 

5/10/11 Commission Discussion Session Part 2 Podcast