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."

Mt. Lebanon, the Money Pit

Two articles have me shaking my head.

Mt. Lebanon Ice Center could be replaced next year

“I think we are on borrowed time,” said Commissioner Steve Silverman about the lifespan of the main rink and a studio rink, which have been damaged by buckling floors and a broken defrost system...An alternative favored by all of the commissioners would be total replacement of both rinks, which would take place during the off-season, between March and August of 2017. The cost is estimated between $1.7 million and $2.4 million...The municipality could pay for the project through capital funds, a bond issue or Regional Asset District funds through Allegheny County.

Costly public works project looms for Mt. Lebanon

“We need to do this, period,” said Commissioner David Brumfield. “We've known this for years. We've been working on this for years. Even with other costs, the fact of delaying this isn't a feasible option. It's not like if we didn't do this, we wouldn't be putting money into the public works yard over the next 10 years. We've all been in that building, and let's just say there are going to be a few dollars headed there no matter what happens. We need to figure out how to move forward.” 

A modified site plan for the facility, in which the prevention of flooding is a primary concern, estimates the total cost for the project to reach approximately $6.5 million.

So why the hell did we tear up two perfectly good fields to put in artificial turf at the cost of $1+ million. The turf is a year old. It has a life expectancy of 8 years or so. Are we putting away the required funds every year to pay for the replacement?

Why are we spending over $100,000 a year to kill deer which is intended to lower car/deer collisions, but has only tripled them? 

Mt. Lebanon spent $26,364 for parking sensors on Washington Road. Seriously, was that really needed?

Why was the greening of Rockwood Park rejected? Here is how Mt. Lebanon corrected the problem in Rockwood Park. 

Parking lot

Upper entrance to Rockwood Park

Entrance to Rockwood Park

More rails are falling off and deteriorating.

The patrolling has stopped again.

Ward 1 is going to keep their bricked streets. Ward 1 will continue to demand killing deer in Twin Hills Park. The lacrosse people in Ward 1 got their artificial turf. These are all pet projects of Ward 1 commissioner John Bendel. 

Ward 2 commissioner Steve Silverman wants more deer killing, was working to get an artificial turf field before he was sworn into office. He says that we are on borrowed time when it comes to the ice rink.

Ward 3's Steve McLean wants more deer killing. 

Dave Brumfield, Ward 4's commissioner wants more archery, just had to have the artificial turf, pushing for the public works project, was a big supporter of the swimming pool, had to have McNeilly Park, and wants to turf Mellon School's field.

I haven't spoken to Kelly Fraasch, Ward 5 commissioner in over a year, but I do remember how she was pushing for more property for Robb Hollow. We bought more parcels, for what? She voted for parking sensors. 

Mt. Lebanon has replaced former Assistant Manager Marcia Taylor when she retired with THREE full time people. 

At least three of these commissioners are numbers guys - running businesses, accounting, or banking. Don't they understand that there is just so much money available? When spending in one area, spending has to be cut in other areas. Basic accounting, Folks.

Some good, solid ideas for the recreation bond money

How about a meth clinic in the ice skating rink?

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Recreating Recreation

I recently visited the Peter's Township Recreation Center and was impressed. Visitors can't help but be impressed by the brand-spanking new building, the amenities and the attention to detail. But this is not merely Peter's Envy. Although I realize that Mt. Lebanon's 30+ year old recreation center is adequate in many ways, seeing what Peter's did made me wonder: are we really planning and funding our recreation programs as well as we could?

Peter's rec center features multiple indoor basketball courts (almost all being used when I was there), games like fooseball, ping-pong, etc. as well as an upper level track that people can use to walk or run in the comfort of an air-conditioned, enclosed facility, year-round. There are also classrooms, like Mt. Lebanon, but with storage space for supplies, a laptop projector, good lighting and adequate furniture. The place was jumping. There were teens, kids and adults all using the center in the middle of the day. The skatepark in the back was also being used when I was there. The center offers a full schedule of classes appealing to every age and ability level.

The difference between Peter's and Mt. Lebanon is that I got the impression that Peter's assessed who their demographic was and how to meet their needs before building the rec center. This isn't to say that MTL didn't do the same thing 30 years ago when it built our rec center, but 30 years later, it's spending tremendous amounts of money repairing things that aren't being utilized to their potential. An example is the ice arena, a facility that loses money at a high rate every year. Most recreation programs don't make money but I use the ice rink as an example of one of the more expensive services to the community - a community nextdoor to Castle Shannon's Ice Castle. Now, I'm not here to argue the merits of having a municipal ice rink. I've used it a handful of times since I first moved here when I was 11, but I'm sure there are diehard skaters out there who use it regularly. I don't play tennis, either, but I think the tennis center is a much better investment of our recreation dollars. The courts are continually in use year-round and the maintenance cost is minimal compared to the upkeep of an ice rink.

So what am I suggesting? Well, since it's unlikely that we'll ever do anything that's actually useful with the ice rink, like make it into a methadone clinic or a W Hotel, I suppose we keep paying to have it resurfaced, pay for new Zambonis and continue to upgrade the AC and refrigeration when necessary. But why not think outside the box and discuss making it rather than a portion of Mt. Lebanon Park into a skate park. How about expanding the recreation center itself to the ice rink floor to allow them to offer better programming for the two populations that are actually growing in Mt. Lebanon: adults 25-44 and children under 5. Or how about taking a page out of Bethel Park's recreation book and make it into a Lifespan Center for older adults?

Adult recreation programming is currently limited to daytime classes with little variety. How about putting in a yoga studio that offers 6AM classes? Throw in a little wireless network while you're at it so I can finish some work while my kid's in ballet. The ice rink is the perfect size for an indoor track that would snake around the exterior. It'll never happen, but this is due to the fact that we've been in the recreation game longer than Peter's Township and have so much invested in our infrastructure that we can't imagine tearing anything down, even when they're duplications of services offered close by. Rather than taking a look around at all of the commercial and private ice rinks and swimming pools in the area, we continue to spend money on our own infrastructure for the simple reason "we were here first," rather than investing that money into new opportunities.

This isn't an observation unique to Mt. Lebanon. Change is scary, especially when you're trading in something known for something unknown.