"24 Hour Reserved" for Timmy

Student Parking is Back!

Student parking is available in the following areas: South Parking Lot (upper practice field side only), Commissioners' Parking Lot (School District designated spaces only), and Dixon Field Parking Lot. Students are NOT permitted to park inside the stadium fence. Please note that the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church Parking Lot is no longer being used for student parking.

All campus roads are open. Adhere to all traffic and parking signage. Do not park in "24 hour reserved" or otherwise marked "reserved" or "no parking" spaces/areas on the campus. Students and visitors are not permitted to park inside the stadium fence. Vehicles will be ticketed and may be towed.

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There is a school board meeting on Monday, but the agenda was never posted. I emailed the school board about Monday's agenda, but it is doubtful that Mary Birks will respond. She is a little cranky these days. Typically, when the agenda is late, it is a sign that Timmy is getting his contractual raise and a bonus for some bizarre reason. Maybe he is getting recognized for retweeting Dr. Ron Davis' tweets, certainly not for having an original thought.

Hmm. Very strange.

The July 17, 2017 School Board Meeting Agenda has been published. Typically, the superintendent's annual salary is voted on by now. Last year, Timmy received his $20,000 merit pay for doing a satisfactory job on June 20, 2016, in addition to his amended contracted salary increase. As of yet, the school board has not voted to accept Timmy's contracted salary increase. Former school board director, Scott Goldman always objected to the formality of voting on an annual contracted salary increase. Is this year different?

What this Joint Discussion/Regular Meeting does include is the closeout agreement of Timmy's church:

Lutheran Church Parking Agreement – We are concluding our agreement for supplemental parking at the Lutheran Church lot now that the high school construction is nearing its end. The Solicitor’s Office has prepared a closeout agreement that includes final payment for restoration of the parking surface. The Superintendent recommends approval of this agreement. 

Lutheran Church Parking Agreement - RESOLVED, That the Board approves the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church release agreement and amendment to provide for the termination of the license parking agreement and allowing the church to complete the restoration of the parking lot as per their low bid from Pittsburgh Asphalt Co. in the amount of $24,550. The Board has previously approved $27,500 per the capital project list for this work. 

The Parking Chair

Josephine Posti reports on her blog that "Students have been observing parking and walking restrictions." We did have a recommendation made by a Lebo Citizens blog reader for residents on Main Entrance.  They should resort to using "The Parking Chair." This would eliminate any "issues" concerning parking on side streets.



Photo by Jennifer Ciroli

I am not sure that is necessary [or legal], particularly since Jo Posti's relatives on Main Entrance said that everything was good in the 'hood when this all started.

While I was looking up some school policies, I stumbled upon this policy, Policy ECE TRAFFIC AND PARKING REGULATIONS. I advise parents to read this, especially those who use Hoover for football practice.

The speed limit for all vehicles on all school property, including parking lots, streets, roadways and play areas, is 15 miles per hour. No vehicles (other than District authorized vehicles) are permitted on tracks, ball fields, lawns or District property other than roadways and parking areas.

Just last week, a car was parked on the field. The person who observed this found it ironic since the sports groups complain about the condition of our fields.

Another point of interest is:

Student vehicles parked on District property are subject to search by the District and/or law enforcement authorities at any time for any reason, with or without notice. General and random searches (including canine sniff searches) are authorized. Students should have no expectation of privacy as to vehicles on District property. Parking is a privilege, not a right, and student parking permits will be issued only where students and/or parents consent to such searches. Refusal to cooperate in such searches may result in loss of parking privileges as well as disciplinary action.

This raises some questions in my mind. Are student vehicles subject to search by the District and/or law enforcement authorities at the Mt. Lebanon Lutheran Church or municipal parking, such as Dixon? Now that the students have to pay for parking, is it still a privilege? We still are not sure about the District's right to enforce anything on municipal parking lots, are we? Are they allowed to charge for student parking on municipal lots?

I recommend that the Policy Committee review Policy ECE after they cook the books, I mean, review the policies concerning "Purchasing Authority" and "Construction Contracts, Bidding and Awards."

Excuse me, but when did MTLSD take over the Municipality? UPDATED

From the Mt. Lebanon School District website: 

"Student parking is available in the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church Parking Lot and Dixon Field Parking Lot on a first-come, first served basis until paid permits are required on September 10."

Excuse me, but I'll park at Dixon whenever I please and suggest the students do the same and do not pay for a permit. The district has no authority to enforce and collect fees from students or anyone else that choose to park in a municipal lot. Who will be issuing tickets and how will they know if I'm in the Rec Center, the park, or the tennis courts and not a student parking my car? If the commissioners have somehow transferred control of the Dixon lot to the school district, when did this occur?

While I am on the subject of student parking and traffic patterns at the high school, the Campus Traffic Map indicates that we must make an illegal left turn into the North lot.

August 27, 2012 2:00 PM: Through a RTK, here is the Amended Church Parking Agreement signed by Timothy Steinhauer and Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church, where Timothy Steinhauer is a member.

Traffic plan needs tweaking

Email from the Washington School principal:

From: Mary Kay Davis <mdavis@mtlsd.net>
Date: Mon, Jan 23, 2012 at 10:58 AM
Subject: Traffic Alert



We have noticed a deterioration in the traffic patterns here at Washington, especially on days of inclement weather. Please remember the safety of our children is our top priority. The parking lot across the street is a municipal lot. Parking violations such as double parking or parking in the handicap spot without proper tags can be ticketed. 

Pick-up and drop-off at Lawncroft has also become unnecessarily congested. Please remember there is NO parking on the left side of the street. Cars are asked to pull all the way down to allow for safe entrance into vehicles. This would allow for up to five cars to pick up their children and prevent cars from stopping side by side each other. Children should be entering and exiting the right side of vehicles from the side walk ONLY. Please do not encourage your child to walk through cars to get to your car. If you do not see your child when you approach the school, PLEASE circle around to keep the traffic flowing safely.

Please talk to your children about inclement weather plans: where to meet them and what they should do if they do not see you right away. 

The high school construction has begun and parking on the high school campus has changed. This has increased the traffic on Washington Road both in the mornings and the afternoons. High school students are now parking at the Mt. Lebanon Unitied Lutheran Church.

If unsafe situations continue to occur that jeopardize the safety of our students, I will need to request police presence to assist with the violations. Thank you for your assistance in keeping all of our children safe!

Sincerely,
Mary Kay Davis
Principal




If the Lutheran Church parking lot is restricted to teachers and staff, perhaps that would ease the traffic since they arrive at school earlier than the students. There is nothing in their contract about parking close to the school.  As mentioned in the email, it is about keeping all of our children safe.

Traffic around the high school

As a Lebo Citizens reader mentioned, tomorrow will be a more accurate measuring stick in regard to the traffic around the high school.  In fact, according to the Commission Discussion Session Agenda, it will be the seventh item to be discussed at tomorrow evening's Commission Discussion Session.  I am curious to see what kind of a traffic jam will occur with students trying to make a left hand turn into the Lutheran Church parking lot tomorrow morning.  Crossing rush hour traffic can't be pretty. Is that portion of Washington Road considered a school crossing zone now?  Any additional signs added on Washington Road, or flashing lights alerting motorists that it is a school crossing zone and the speed reduced to 15 mph? I am still confused as to why there has never been a formal shared parking agreement about parking at the Dixon Field lot.  Speaking of shared, why does the District say that the parking is only available to students with valid student parking permits? Is that sharing?

Tomorrow's Commission Meeting might be the perfect time for students, parents, or any other residents to bring up their concerns over the traffic situation at the high school. Citizen Comments is always the first item on the agenda.  The meeting starts at 8:00 PM.  The sign up sheet for citizen comments will be on the table on the right hand side as you enter the room.  Tomorrow's Discussion Session will begin at 6:15, if you want to hear the Commissioners discuss the traffic situation around the high school.  There are no citizen comments at Discussion Sessions.

Church Parking Agreement

At the last school board meeting, Vice President Elaine Cappucci recommended that a Right To Know request be filed, in order to see the Church Parking Agreement.   This agreement, which between Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church and the Mt. Lebanon School District, will enable students to park at the church during the high school construction.  The request has been granted and can be found here.

Student Parking License Agreement

At Monday's School Board meeting, the Board approved the Parking License Agreement with Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church in substantially the form presented, subject to final approval by Dr. Steinhauer and the Solicitor. In this agreement, Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church will provide 127 parking spaces for $1500 per year.  The School District must remove the snow from the lot, including Sundays.  In addition, the School District will hire a crossing guard for the students.  The School District will repave and restripe the lot at the end of the construction project. 

Is this something the Municipality needs to be approving, as well?  The District gets its salt and fuel from the Municipality stockpile off Cedar Blvd. Crossing guards report to the Police Department, which I think, the Municipality funds 50%.

Update 10:09 PM  It has been confirmed by Manager Steve Feller that crossing guards are funded 50% by the Municipality.  He also said that there is no requirement of guards to cross high school students or adults, only elementary and middle school students.