Closurer?

Latest LeboAlert.

Don't forget to see how much is budgeted for the Public Information Office for 2019. Budget sessions scheduled are listed here. http://mtlebanon.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=871

Statement from Chief Lauth UPDATED

Mount Lebanon Police Department Alert

Statement from Chief Lauth regarding yesterday’s Lebo Alert On Saturday, we generated a Lebo Alert and social media post to advise the community about a rash of crimes that directly affected several of our residents. These incidents involved what was described as a white pickup truck with Virginia license plates and multiple actors who were engaged in home improvement scams and distraction style burglaries. As a result of the alerts, we received numerous tips and sightings of the suspects that will hopefully lead us to their identification and eventual prosecution for the crimes committed. The sole intention of the Lebo Alert and social media post was to share information with our residents, however wording was used to describe the style of criminal activity that may have been considered offensive.  We sincerely apologize to anyone who may have been negatively affected by the description that was used. We understand and value the concept of intent versus impact. If our message impacted anyone negatively due to the choice of wording, the intent is overshadowed and our goal of sharing information was not as successful as it was intended. At the Mt. Lebanon Police Department, we always strive to exceed standards in everything that we do. Unfortunately, this  Lebo Alert and social media post may have come up short of those expectations. We will do our best to reevaluate our policies, procedures and training to ensure that this type of situation does not occur again in the future. Lastly, I would like to offer my thanks to our residents for your continued support. It takes the efforts and cooperation of our entire community to achieve the safety and security that we enjoy on a daily basis. Sincerely, Aaron Lauth Chief of Police  Mt. Lebanon Police Department Alert sent on 07/08/2018 at 11:57 EDT

Original LeboALERT:

From:	LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>
To:	EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>
Subject:	LeboALERT: White pickup w/ VA p...
Date:	Sat, Jul 7, 2018 4:44 pm

---

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


White pickup w/ VA plates committing gypsy-type crimes in area (driveway scams, burglaries, etc). If something seems odd, call 911 ASAP!!!

Update July 8, 2018 6:12 PM Mt. Lebanon Police Apologize for offensive word in crime alert

Keith says to spread the word

In this week's administrative report, Manager Keith McGill is asking the commissioners to forward Seven Ten, the newsletter that has "breaking news" every two weeks.

This isn't the first time I have written about the new bi-weekly magazine. See Get "breaking" news every other week! I signed up the day it came out. I want to make sure I am getting breaking news. We get up to the minute information with LeboALERTS and of course through Facebook. mtl--Mt. Lebanon Magazine They now include footage from drones!  (Isn't that kind of creepy?) AND, you don't want to miss reading about Lebolife bloggers who live in San Diego. It doesn't get any better than that. Anyway, spread the word!

Commission meeting canceled

From:	LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>
To:	EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>
Subject:	LeboALERT: The Mt. Lebanon Comm...
Date:	Thu, Jul 6, 2017 10:39 am

---

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


The Mt. Lebanon Commission Discussion and Regular meetings scheduled for Tues., July 11 are canceled. For the complete meeting schedule, view our website.

Get "breaking" news every other week!

Kinda funny...

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. 

Sign up for Seven Ten, the Mt. Lebanon Magazine newsletter, and get breaking news emailed between mag issues. www.lebomag.com (box in right column).

Our PIO is offering a new service. Read about it in Keith McGill's weekly administrative report.

Gotta love the PIO

 Gotta love the Public Information Office.

From: LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org> To: EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>Sent: Tue, Feb 16, 2016 4:05 pmSubject: LeboALERT: Deer culling utilizi...

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

Deer culling utilizing sharpshooting will be conducted in February and March. Please visit http://www.mtlebanon.org/index.aspx?nid=2114 for more info.

No hours, no locations. No dates.

I emailed the commissioners, asking if there is a character limit with LeboALERTs like there is with Twitter. No response. I sincerely would like to know.

I am still trying to find out what kind of bait White Buffalo is using. Is WB using apples like the USDA used or are they using corn like Merlin the Magnificent used? Has anyone seen any bait stations?

I always think of this when I see "WB." sigh.

For those keeping track, here is the updated "Ongoing Deer Incident Report." Note the increase of deer hit by cars during Archery Season. We told the commissioners that this would happen. sigh. again.

Latest Lebo ALERT

From: LeboALERT
To: EGillen476
Subject: LeboALERT: Deer management arch...
Date: Fri, Sep 18, 2015 4:49 pm

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. Deer management archery program begins tomorrow (Sat.) on designated private properties. Read FAQs at www.mtlebanon.org.

It should have said "We're sorry, but it is no longer safe for you to leave your house."

Heads up

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. 

The Mt. Lebanon Area DUI Task Force will be conducting roving patrols in 6 different communities this weekend. Please don't drink & drive. [this weekend.]

No Need For A LeboALERT

A Lebo Citizens reader sent me this Lebo[Citizens]Alert:

Just an armed robbery of First National Bank on Greentree Road.. the suspect fled in the direction of the VA Manor Giant Eagle
http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20141231/NEWS/141239985


Then there is the armed (semi automatic weapon) robbery of two women leaving South Hills Village on Monday...
http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20141231/NEWS/141239984

Then there was the armed robbery at the Bethel Park PNC…
http://www.wtae.com/news/bethel-park-bank-robbed/30357618


Sincerely… no need to be concerned… shop and bank your way into the New Year, Lebo!

Another Lebo [Citizens] Alert

The traffic lights are out at the intersection of Terrace and Connor Roads. I understand there is a power failure in the Foster School area. Please stop at this intersection when the traffic lights are out.

Keep in mind that there was no LeboAlert for Sunday's water main break on Castle Shannon Blvd.

From the PIO:

From: LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>

To: EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>

Subject: LeboALERT: Mt. Lebanon Communit...

Date: Tue, Dec 16, 2014 9:24 am

“This is an important notice from LeboALERT.
Mt. Lebanon Community Endowment offers gift cards which donate $25-$100 to the local charity of the giftee's choice. Details:rkang@mtlebanonendowment.org”

No LeboALERT because it is political

From: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
To: klinfante <klinfante@mtlebanon.org>
Cc: sfeller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org>; cmcdonough <cmcdonough@mtlebanon.org>; nsohyda <nsohyda@mtlebanon.org>; commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; repmiller <repmiller@pahouse.net>; smorgans <smorgans@mtlebanon.org>Sent: Tue, Oct 21, 2014 10:06 AM
Subject: Re: Kids Health & Safety Fair

I see. It is unfortunate that you consider anything about kids' safety as political. I am not surprised.

Since the purpose of the June 12 presentation was "NOT to discuss the potential harmful effect of artificial turf" as Susan Morgans wrote in her May 23, 2014 email to Andrew McNitt, I was hoping that you would take this opportunity to let others "discuss the potential harmful effects of artificial turf."

I hope you are able to attend Sunday's rally, Commissioners.

Elaine Gillen

-----Original Message-----


From: Kristen Linfante <klinfante@mtlebanon.org>
To: egillen476 <egillen476@aol.com>
Cc: Stephen Feller <sfeller@mtlebanon.org>; Coleman McDonough <cmcdonough@mtlebanon.org>; Nicholas Sohyda <nsohyda@mtlebanon.org>; Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org>; Rep. Dan Miller <repmiller@pahouse.net>Sent: Tue, Oct 21, 2014 8:52 am
Subject: Re: Kids Health & Safety Fair

Ms. Gillen,

For clarification, w e send out LeboALERTs only for municipal events/issues or in response to requests from formally organized groups or 501C3s. For instance, we will send out a once-a-year-alert for YMCA Indian Princess/Guide Registration or for youth soccer registration or for a membership meeting for the Mt. Lebanon Junior Women's Club. In the spirit of neutrality, we do not send out anything political in nature and have repeatedly denied requests from both the democratic and republican committees to publicize their party events. We will send out an alert for something that an elected official is sponsoring that is open to the public—for instance Dan Miller's recent fair for young people seeking jobs (although we generally don't even do that prior to an election.)

I hope this helps to clarify the stance of the municipality.

Regards,

Kristen Linfante
Commissioner, Ward 3

Kristen Linfante

Commissioner, Ward 3
(412)561-2790

On Tue, Oct 21, 2014 at 7:48 AM, ' egillen476@aol.com' via Commission <commission@mtlebanon.org> wrote:
Steve,

I would think that a "Kids Health & Safety Fair" is the correct forum for any group concerned about kids' health.

Nothing was mentioned about my request for a LeboALERT to be sent out on Friday concerning Sunday's Rally. I had copied Susan Morgans, but as usual, I got no response from her. In fact I received ZERO responses from anyone and it wasn't until you talked with "Rep. Miller's office about this issue" did I get a response at all.

Mr. Feller, the customer service level within the Municipality is subpar. This is Brewfest Poster Request Redux.

Elaine Gillen

Turf Project is Out For Bid

Remember this photo that I had on my February 25, 2014 blog posting, Commissioner Franklin has Susan's ear UPDATED 2X?

Turns out, I nailed it. Here is the Mt. Lebanon Flood Zone map, directly from the municipal website. Middle and Wildcat Fields are located in Panel 0456. Any panel highlighted in pink contains a flood zone. The blue areas are the flood zones according to FEMA.

Gateway Engineers swears that the fields have never flooded. We know better than that, right?

So, the project continues...

According to the timeline from the Turf Project Task Force Recommendations made on February 11, 2014, the Project Schedule is as follows:

Design Development –Pending Commission 

Approval February/March 2014 

Construction Documents and Specifications 

April/May 2014 

Advertise for bids May 15, 2014 

Open Bids June 4, 2014 

Award Bids June 10th or 23rd 

Issue Notice to proceed and begin construction 

July 15, 2014 

Final Completion October 21, 2014 

We now know that May 15, 2014 was JT Sauer's deadline to submit to Gateway. The following information was pulled from the "Pittsburgh Builders Exchange," which requires a paid subscription. 

TURF RFP

This would be considered as a Request for Proposal (RFP). There are "bid documents" or "plans" associated with the RFP. These often include specifications, drawings, contract language, etc. Some times, the documents are provided at no costs in electronic format. Other times, such as this instance, there is a fee associated with them. For this project, the "plans" are to be obtained directly from the engineer and include a $75.00 non-refundable fee.

I guess this would be the time to announce the important LeboALERT I received on May 21, 2014.

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. Middle/Wildcat Fields improvement update meeting is Thurs., June 12, from 7 to 8:30 at Mellon Auditorium.

Pretty big venue for such a tiny "vocal minority." This meeting will also include Dr. Andrew McNitt, from the Penn State/FieldTurf Partnership, who will give us an "unbiased" opinion concerning the safety of artificial turf.

I hope that the Turf Project Task Force can get an "unbiased" opinion from financial advisors who have partnerships with FieldTurf who will tell us that we are making a sound investment.

Perhaps there is a FEMA/FieldTurf Partnership who will assure us that flooding is not an issue.

Finally, I am looking forward to hearing from the ESB/FieldTurf Partnership expert since June 12 is the next Mt. Lebanon Environmental Sustainability Board meeting. Gee, I wonder why that happened.

Middle/Wildcat Fields 05.24.14

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

If you are interested in displaying an anti-artificial turf sign in your yard, email me at EGillen476@aol.com.

Update May 25, 2014 6:15 PM Requests to see the draft were ignored. Dan Deiseroth email to Kelly Fraasch.

Another "helpful" LeboALERT

What number do we call? Where are the details? We only have 7.5 hours to call, so please respond quickly!

From:	LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>
To:	EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>
Subject:	LeboALERT: Woody Waste Curbside...
Date:	Thu, Apr 24, 2014 9:00 am

---

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


Woody Waste Curbside Pickup – Saturday, April 26th.  Must call for reservation 
by today at 4:30 p.m.  Please see website for details.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For up to date municipal information visit:

http://www.mtlebanon.org  -  http://pd.mtlebanon.org  -  http://www.mtlfd.org  -  
http://www.lebomag.com

Also tune to Comcast channel 17 or Verizon FIOS channel 34.

To unsubscribe or change your alerts, visit http://leboalert.mtlebanon.org..

Please do not respond to this message as it is sent from an unmonitored account.

By the numbers

On this first day of 2013, I thought I would toot my own horn, since you won't read about Lebo Citizens in Mt. Lebanon Magazine.

This month's mtl Magazine article, "Lebo Online" (page 9) caught my eye.  www.lebomag.com has been around for a year now. According to the article, Lebo Latest is where you can get an update to the latest commission meeting, staff meeting, or any other news that they think we need to know immediately. Their online advertisers help defray the cost of labor to produce the website. My website, lebocitizens.com has no advertisers and costs taxpayers nothing. The same is true for this blog.

I often wondered how popular lebomag.com was compared to this blog. Page 11 listed their numbers through early December.

Visits: 37,700
Pages viewed: 144,407

Lebocitizens.blogspot.com numbers through early December:

Visits: 152,985
Pages viewed: 351,866

The article does mention that we will see them grow even more, with expanded online news coverage, surveys, and other features.

What I don't do is Facebook or Twitter. The PIO has me beat on that one. A Lebo Citizens reader sent me a link to mtl Magazine's social media commenting policy, as published recently on Facebook:

Periodically, we post our social media commenting policy. We're not having ANY problems...our fans are the BEST. But to be consistent, we need to pop these on here every now and then to make sure we all understand the rules. Thanks!

terms of use

Social Media Comment Policy for Readers

As an extension of Mt. Lebanon’s official municipal website (www.mtlebanon.org), any official Facebook page or group sanctioned by the Public Information Office will allow for public comments and postings, with a goal of fostering open and transparent communication between municipal officials and residents, as well as promoting and strengthening the positive character of our community.

Once posted, Mt. Lebanon reserves the right to delete any submission that contains:

vulgar language
personal attacks of any kind, including comments that are abusive, threatening, harassing, slanderous, hateful or embarrassing to any other person or entity as determined by Mt. Lebanon in its sole discretion
offensive comments that target or disparage any ethnic, racial or religious group or foster discrimination of any kind
sexual content or links to sexual content
information that may compromise the safety or security of the public

Further, the municipality also reserves the right to delete comments that are:

spam or include links to other unapproved sites
clearly off topic
advocate illegal activity
solicitations of commerce
in support of or opposition to political campaigns, candidates or ballot measures

Keep in mind comments posted by members of the public on any Mt. Lebanon social media site are the opinions of the commentator or poster only, and publication of a comment does not imply endorsement of, or agreement by, the municipality of Mt. Lebanon, nor do such comments necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Mt. Lebanon.

Finally, the Mt. Lebanon Public Information office reserves the right to deny access to our social media sites to any person who violates this policy at any time and without prior notice. Play nice!

But that's not all, Folks. In addition to mtlebanon.org, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and lebomag.com, the PIO includes LeboAlerts in their "comprehensive family of outreach tools." So I got to thinking about a comment made earlier this evening. Is this too much of a good thing? Are we getting too many LeboAlerts? Do we really need the print edition of mtl Magazine? I will be adding a new poll. I would love to hear from you.

Trick or Treat Postponed

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


Trick or Treat postponed till  Sat., Nov. 3 from 6 to 8 because of weather.
Please do not seek or give out candy Oct. 31.

LeboALERT: School opens August 27

From:	LeboALERT <noreply@mtlebanon.org>
To:	EGillen476 <EGillen476@aol.com>
Subject:	LeboALERT: School opens August ...
Date:	Wed, Aug 8, 2012 12:03 pm

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.  

School opens August 27. For an update on traffic patterns around the high school construction site, visit www.lebomag.com or www.mtlsd.org.

Only problem is that there is nothing on the Mt. Lebanon School District website. Susan Morgans wrote a nice article about traffic patterns here at lebomag.com.  This proves that we really don't need two public information officers. 

Latest LeboALERT and Poor Field Conditions UPDATED

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

 Due to inclement weather & poor field conditions, Lil Sluggers is cancelled today (7/20).


If we had artificial turf, we still wouldn't have Lil Sluggers due to the heavy rain and thunderstorms.


Over on Lebo Fields, Dave Franklin put up a video from Penn State in his latest post, The Facts About Injuries and Turf.  Dave provides an excellent link to Penn State's studies. I found the following information.  http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc/news/2011/from-the-field-december-2010

So what do these studies tell us? Based on the results of the available research, the notion that athletes are at a greater risk of suffering injury when playing on synthetic turf is not valid, if they are playing on infilled synthetic turf. It is important to look at these studies collectively, as a whole, and not cherry pick the data from one part of one study. The fact of the matter is that while these studies are the best way to track injuries occurring on various surfaces, all research suffers from inherent limitations. For example, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether the surface contributed to an injury. Additionally, lumping all natural grass fields into one category is problematic, as the condition of grass fields can greatly vary. Surely, a hard, compacted field with little turf cover has a greater potential to cause an injury than a finely manicured field. This is true for infilled synthetic turf as well. The age, type, and maintenance of the surface can affect the playing quality. Nevertheless, when looked at collectively, the take away message from the available research is that the rate of injury on natural grass and infilled synthetic turf is comparable. 

OK, so artificial turf adds zero slots to playing time during thunderstorms. Injury rate is comparable to both natural grass and infilled synthetic turf. What about costs?  Surely artificial turf is cheaper according to the YSA. Well, according to the same Penn State link, their studies say no.  Resources

The general conclusions listed under Natural turf or synthetic turf: The numbers game:

• Synthetic infill systems can handle up to six times more traffic than natural turf fields in high-use situations
• Synthetic infill systems are less expensive to construct and maintain than sand-based fields; but they are much more expensive than soil-based fields.
• An existing sand-based field will be less expensive to maintain over a period of 10 years, than constructing and maintaining a new synthetic field that will need to be replaced at the end of that period.
• Existing soil-based fields are the least expensive of all to establish and maintain.

This and the lack of documentation from the School District showing YSA's payments make me question why the Municipality considered the YSA worthy of linking their proposal.  I see that it has since been removed.

Update: Friday, July 20, 2012 3:09 PM An important seminar for the YSA:

	501(c)(3) Status: Keeping it Legal with the IRS
	This full day workshop hosted by the Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management and presented by IRS Exempt Organizations specialists, explains what 501(c)(3) organizations must do to keep their tax-exempt status. Topics covered will include: Tax-exempt status Unrelated business income Employement issues Form 990 series Required disclosures Fee is $50 and includes lunch. This session will take place at the Robert Morris University Holiday Inn at 8256 University Blvd. Moon Township, PA 15108 on Tuesday, September 11 from 8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.For more information go to www.stayexempt.org. Pre-registration is required. Register online or by calling Shelby Gracey at 412-397-6000.

We may see more of these LeboALERTS with artificial turf UPDATED

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

Due to extreme hot temperatures and high heat index, Lil Sluggers T-Ball is cancelled for this afternoon, Friday, July 6, 2012. For info call 412-343-3409

Update July 8, 2012 10:36 PM Please read Penn State's Center for Sports Surface Research Synthetic Turf Heat Evaluation – Progress Report dated January 2012.

Pool Update - Go to Dormont UPDATED

Isn't this just swell?  Dormont saves the day.  Here is the latest LeboAlert:

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.

Pool closed. Might open Tues. Dormont honors Lebo permits till 8. Show receipt for permit purchase. Rec Ctr. can provide copy, 412-343-3409 till 5 or 412-561-4363.

Commissioner Fraasch, in answer to your question raised at the March 26, 2012 Commission Discussion Session, yes, we are to go to Dormont to swim.

This could have all been avoided.

Update July 3, 2012 10:10 AM

This is an important notice from LeboALERT. 

Hooray! New pool pump installed successfully and pool is open for business as usual.

My counter proposal to the YSA's - UPDATED

FIX THE POOL.

This is an important notice from LeboALERT.


Due a mechanical failure, the Pool will be closed for the day. We apologize for the inconvenience and will update when the problem is corrected.

Pool Update July 1, 2012 7:45 PM The pool was packed when it had to be evacuated. Our filtration system went down. This morning, the Aqua Club held a meet in dangerously low chlorine levels. Our kids were swimming in filth. I am listening to the March 26, 2012 Commission Discussion podcast. About halfway through the podcast, Kelly Fraasch asked David Donellan what would happen if the filtration system goes down. Matt Kluck had asked for a timeline and would never receive it. Kelly had said that she would hate for residents to have to go to Dormont's or Scott's pool. It was mentioned that if the filtration system would go down, it would be the end of the season. It seems that both James and Kelly Fraasch are prophetic.