Archery Program Update from the Chief

Several of us had asked Chief McDonough if we could have a copy of what he presented to the Commission, as I had written in an earlier post. Chief McDonough promised that he would share copies when it was written in final form. The Chief came through as promised with the following email:

Since you folks asked if you could see the deer program docs I presented to the Commission the other night, please see the attached.

Obviously, since I could not foresee the feedback I was going to receive from the Commission on Tuesday, the documents were in draft format that time, pending revisions based on the direction of the Commission. The attached documents incorporate the feedback of the ML Commission.

--

Chief Coleman McDonough
Mt. Lebanon Police Department
412-440-2057
cmcdonough@mtlebanon.org 

Archer letter 

Bow Hunter Certification 

Deer Program Summary to the Commission 

Rules and Regulations

I see that two locations were removed from the archery program; Iroquois Park and the Conservation District at Connor and Terrace. Regarding harassment of the archers, no worries about me. I will be faaaaar away. I know that was a concern during the last two deer killings and yet there were zero protests.

Die deer, die!

I'm sitting through the deer management discussion and Chief McDonough is speaking. As I thought, they want to expand the killing fields.

McNeilly (2)
Bird Park (4)
Portions of Iroquois Park (5)
The Conservation District on Connor Road/Terrace (6)
Golf Course (1)
Robb Hollow Park (3)

Numbers represent priorities.

There are 20 volunteers from four different municipal departments; IT, Police, Fire, and Public Works. It will be done on December 26, 2014 through January 24, 2015 and off the clock. The time period will be one month, six days a week, excluding Sundays, during daylight hours. The municipality will pay the $15 donation fee for the Food Bank since the archers are donating their time. All hunting will be done from temporary tree stands. The archers are responsible for entrails but not the blood.  All areas will be parceled with archers assigned to each parcel. No baiting of deer. Antlerless deer must be taken first. Hours of operation of half hour before dawn to half hour after dusk are being considered.

Brumfield is for the Golf Course and McNeilly. He is on record saying that he has concerns about McNeilly. I asked the police chief if they will alert the neighboring communities and they may. Mt. Lebanon residents will be notified by Lebo Alerts, through Facebook and Twitter. Maps will be on the municipal website. In addition, I requested a copy of what the chief passed out to the commission and he said that it is still in draft form.

The archery will be done while the two permits from the Game Commission are being considered in Harrisburg.

To be continued.

Update December 10, 2014 5:34 AM From another sleepless resident.

Oldest Eagle Scout in the Nation passed away

I had the honor of meeting Bernard Queneau at a recent Commission Discussion Session. He was being honored for his many years as a volunteer at St. Clair Hospital and at Mt. Lebanon Public Library. We joked about Mr. Queneau, 102, asking for time off of work to receive his citation from the Commission. I had only found out today that Mr. Queneau was the oldest Eagle Scout in the Nation.

Sadly, Mr. Queneau passed away on Sunday. He was amazing and I was lucky to have met him.
102-year-old man dies day after Eagle Scout honor

This could complicate things UPDATED

Oops! Mt. Lebanon Baseball forgot to file their 990's for three consecutive years and the IRS is a little cranky. They revoked Mt. Lebanon Baseball Association's tax exempt status on May 15, 2014 with the Revocation Posting Date of August 11, 2014 (IRS posted notice of automatic revocation on IRS.gov).

Who are the officers of Mt. Lebanon Baseball Association?

So here is where it gets complicated. Mt. Lebanon Baseball donated $50,000 on June 29, 2014 to the turf project, after they lost their 501(c)(3) status. Does any of that money belong to the IRS? If any goes back, what happens to the $250,000 non-municipal funds obligation? Do the sponsors lose their tax deductions? Technically, any funds (revenues or income) including dues received after losing their tax exempt, non-profit status becomes taxable to them and any donations or gifts, money or goods, by donors cannot qualify for federal tax deductibility for the donors.  

On May 10, 2012, I had a visitor come to my door. At that time, I could mention his name. I happened to bring up 990's in the course of our conversation. Did we ever get to the bottom of the YSA Joint Maintenance Agreement payments? I see that the YSA is a 2014 Sponsor. So they ARE still around.

I wonder if any of the officers notified the commission. Speaking of the commission, on Tuesday evening, the commissioners will be voting to adopt the 2015 Comprehensive Fee Schedule. I see fees for block parties, Right To Know fees, stormwater fees, advertising fees for mtl Magazine, golf fees, swimming pool fees, yoga fees, tennis fees, ice rink fees, pavilion rentals, sanitary sewer fees, parking fees, Kennywood tickets, etc., but gosh darn it, no fees for Wildcat Field. Oh, and no fees for signs at ball fields. Why is that?

Update December 9, 2014 11:41 PM I asked about the fees for Wildcat and for signage. They were added to the 2015 Comprehensive Fee Schedule today since it was an oversight.

Late start? UPDATED 2X

It is highly unusual for the Commission Discussion Session to start at 7:00 PM. There must be some hot topics scheduled for Executive Session. Could it be lethal vs. non-lethal deer management discussions? Or how are they going to deal with PETA?

Or is it related to the lawsuit filed against the Commission and Steve Feller? United Police Society of Mt. Lebanon v. Mt. Lebanon Commission; Stephen M. Feller Marcia Taylor should have been fired.

How about hiring a new Public Works Director to replace retiring Tom "I'm too old for this bullshit" Kelley?  http://www.apwa.net/workzone/career/28231/Public-Works-Director-Pennsylvania-Pa-Mt-Lebanon

Will Dave Brumfield try to convince fellow commissioners that Zamagias deserves another extension? (Number 8?)

Since when does "Consideration of Ordinance (Bill No. 21­-14) amending municipal park rules" involve First National Bank? I thought it had to do with the use of guns in our parks.  Speaking of parks, perhaps the commission will be discussing the removal of crumbling toxic rubber tire pavers in Main Park, now that NBC Nightly News continued their investigations concerning tire crumb in playgrounds and artificial turf.

How about how the toxic turf change orders will be funded?

Or will the commissioners be celebrating the end of Kristen Linfante's term as president? I know I will be celebrating.

The deer must die!

Update December 7, 2014 12:59 PM This appeared in today's St. Bernard's Church Bulletin.

Update December 9, 2014 11:32 PM The commission voted 3-2 to extend the Zamagias agreement. A resident asked Dave Brumfield why he voted to extend the agreement and his response was something to the effect of "Do you want to waste $450,000 to buy back the property?" 

ANOTHER Hit and Run UPDATED

The suspect vehicle is a Black GMC.  I wonder why we haven’t gotten a Lebo Alert.

http://www.broadcastify.com/listen/ctid/2242

Allegheny County Pennsylvania Live Audio Feeds

Incidents Displayed Below Provided by Incident Page Network
Incident	Description
TRAFFIC ADVISORY 12/04/14 22:21	(MT LEBANON TOWNSHIP - 472.575/460.625) UNITS ON SCENE HIT AND RUN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT. UNKNOWN EXTENT OF INJURY. SUSPECT VEHICLE A BLACK GMC. REQUEST FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR HAZARDS. [PEN018]

	PGH Metro Fire Alert (@SWPAFireAlerts)
12/4/14, 10:24 PM Mt Lebanon (Allegheny County) Scott Rd & Washington Rd. Hit & Run MVA. Unknown extent of injuries. FD requested for hazards. 22:23

PETA is getting involved

On Tuesday, the Mt. Lebanon Commission will be deciding which cruel method will be used to kill deer in Mt. Lebanon. PETA has a call to action on their website. Urge Mt. Lebanon Officials to Ditch Cruelty to Deer! I am sure that the commissioners will discount all emails from residents outside of Mt. Lebanon. Of course, when it came to toxicologists concerning the artificial turf, residents from Mt. Lebanon were biased and they only wanted to hear from those outside of Mt. Lebanon. Double standards prevail with the Mt. Lebanon Commission. 

Commissioner Fraasch has updated her blog with Final Deer Posting before December 9th Kelly has been an advocate for nonlethal methods, such as deer sterilization, of deer management. Please read her blog posting for more background and her thoughts on this topic. 

Avid bow hunters are asking why the archery will be limited to municipal employees when the law states: "No privileges shall be granted by those owning or operating the posted lands or waters to any other person to hunt for any game or wildlife upon the property; nor shall the person or persons owning or in charge of the lands be eligible to hunt for any game or wildlife on the lands or waters."  

Even Fake Lebo is mocking the municipality. From Facebook:

Courtesy Fake Lebo

I have been blogging about deer on Lebo Citizens for four years. I went to all the meetings back in 2006 and later begging the commission to stop the deer culling. Please attend Tuesday's Commission Meeting. Email the Commission or visit PETA's website and send the Commission a note asking the Commission to scrap bowhunting and lethal trapping.

Another chapter of the McGill and Feller Follies UPDATED

It's that time of year to write about the Zamagias property on the corner of Bower Hill and Washington Roads. I believe this project has been on the books for almost twenty years. We can't blame the current commissioners entirely. However the two individuals who have been involved from the beginning are Municipal Manager Steve Feller and Municipal Planner Keith McGill.

As Commissioner Fraasch has written on her blog post, Bower Hill/Washington Road Part II, the Commissioners will vote on December 9 to either extend the agreement for the ninth time with Zamagias or exercise their right to buy back the property. It only takes three votes to end this nonsense. I can't be sure, but I would think that Brumfield and Company would vote to extend the agreement for another year. They need all their unassigned funds for athletics. Much more money will be needed to complete the turf project at Brum Field.

Here are links to all the articles I have written about this topic.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

This is disgusting!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Letter to the Editor: The Importance of Being Earnest UPDATED 2x

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Informational Meeting about Zamagias Property

Monday, October 29, 2012

Zamagias meeting still on for tomorrow

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tonight's Zamagias Property meeting

Thursday, November 1, 2012

It's not a loan. It's a grant.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Upper St. Clair doesn't fool around

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Maybe moving to Dormont is a good idea

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Comments on comments?

Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Don't try this at home UPDATED

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Another TIF in our future? UPDATED

Update December 5, 2014 3:47 PM As I predicted. From the December 9, 2014 Agenda:

DB (Dave Brumfield)  20. Consideration of an Eighth Amendment to the Agreement of Sale with Michael G. Zamagias Interests.

This amendment would extend Section 23.7 of the purchase agreement pertaining to“repurchase.” 

Recommended Action: Move to approve the Eighth Amendment to extend theprovision until December 31, 2015.

Afraid of getting SLAPPed?

What is SLAPP? It stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. There are forces in Mt. Lebanon who have used this technique to stifle critics, whether they be bloggers or private citizens. The message is always, "Speak up and we'll threaten to sue you."

How many are afraid to try to stop the turf project for fear that Mt. Lebanon will counter sue? I have heard that over and over. Look at what neighbors are currently faced with:

Little, if any, construction since before Thanksgiving. The contractor is waiting for payment for Change Order Number 1 with more to follow. Pools of mud. OSHA visits. Neighbors protesting. Planting anti turf signs in their yards. Speaking at commission meetings. Parents speaking about health and safety issues. National and local pediatricians speaking out. Environmentalists opposed to the turf project. All powerless. All fearful of getting sued by outspoken Mt. Lebanon attorneys.

So what can we do? The following is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. I have found the Pittsburgh ACLU to be quite helpful.

A Guide for Community Residents and Environmental Justice Activists

Online Journalist Successfully Defended Against Lawsuit Intended to Silence Criticism Included in this article is the new ACLU Online Toolkit to help those who are facing SLAPP lawsuits.

Pennsylvania Lawmakers Move Forward On Anti-SLAPP Legislation

No crumb rubber for kids under ten

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams ran a follow up story tonight on the use of shredded rubber tires on playgrounds. Some parents are not permitting their children on these playgrounds. Dr. Philip Landrigan, dean of global health at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital and a top expert on the effect of chemicals on children believes that children under ten shouldn't be anywhere near it.

The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that more studies of crumb rubber need to be done, and has retracted an earlier assurance that crumb rubber turf is safe. Both the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, however, recommend and promote rubber mulch.

Here is the video link to the NBC Nightly News Investigation Report.
http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/are-recycled-tires-used-in-playgrounds-a-health-risk--366304835835

Brian Williams reported that towns all across the country want to remove their artificial turf. Here in Mt. Lebanon, our defiant commissioners and staff are turfing on!

Larry's excited!

The Mt. Lebanon Board of School Directors held a reorganization meeting on December 1, 2014. In a unanimous vote, Lawrence Lebowitz was elected Board President and Mary Birks as Board Vice-President for a term of one year. The School Board also took action to appoint Thomas P. Peterson as School Board Solicitor and set the Board calendar for 2015.

Podcast is available here.

Keeping Our Schools Safe while Mt. Lebanon gears up to kill deer

Mt. Lebanon School District and Mt. Lebanon Police are hosting a School Safety Meeting on December 3, 2014.

The Mt. Lebanon School District and the Mt. Lebanon Police Department will hold an informational meeting for parents about school safety on December 3, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the Mellon Middle School Auditorium. The program will focus on an introduction to ALICE, (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, and Evacuate) a school safety program that provides a research-based, proactive approach that teaches options in response to a school intruder. This past summer the MLPD trained all District administrators and staff in ALICE. The program will be introduced to our students during the second semester. The ALICE program will be used as an enhancement to the School District's safety strategies.

A concerned parent sent me this email regarding ALICE.

They are going to train children to thwart would-be assailants and gunmen in the schools. An ex-policeman came up with this ALICE program and is claiming it is research-based and it is not. His own district, where his wife was a principal, originally intended to use the program and after seeing what the training involved, all of the other principals from the district wrote a letter vehemently against the program, and the district withdrew from using the program. Please see the mtlsd website for more information about this developmentally inappropriate, non-scientific, anxiety-inducing program. Parents will need to convince the district not to employ the program.

At the same time, Mt. Lebanon Commissioners have introduced this amended ordinance.

Introduction of Ordinance (Bill No. 21-14) amending municipal park rules. -  

A new state law will take effect in January, known as Act 192. Mt. Lebanon is modifying its recreation rules to comply with the state law. 

Recommended Action: Introduce Ordinance (Bill No. 21-14).

Towns are not taking this legislation lightly. A previous comment submitted by a Lebo Citizens reader included this:

Here's the docket and petition for the lawsuit submitted by a group of legislators and mayors of Philly, Pgh, and Lancaster re: Act 192

Docket Number: 585 MD 2014

Petition for Review Leach v Commonwealth: Suit seeking overturning of law that lets NRA sue cities.

Where are our State Representative and State Senator?

On top of all of this, Mt. Lebanon Police, Firefighters and Public Works are gearing up to begin a deer culling program in Mt. Lebanon. Mt. Lebanon staffers become hunters to attack deer problem

This is insane.

Mt. Lebanon approves archery, trapping to cull deer population UPDATED AGAIN

I moved this topic "above the fold" and added this photo to go along with the November 29, 2014 at 3:39 AM comment.  Thank you for your series of comments, 3:39 AM.

OK Kristen, you win. Now go away.

The commissioners approved the deer management plan that I shared on this blog. They have approved archery and "trap and bolt,: as their lethal deer management plan.

Mt. Lebanon is applying to the Game Commission for a broader archery program and the use of “trap-and-bolt” methods that can take place on public or private land with the homeowner's consent. With trapping, deer are lured into a corral with bait, shut in with an automatic gate, then killed with a captive-bolt gun to their heads similar to those used in slaughterhouses. 

The commission will then submit a second application for using surgical sterilization to control the deer population, though Benner's report noted that Pennsylvania has never approved it before.

Read more: Mt. Lebanon approves archery, trapping to cull deer population

http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/mt-lebanon-council-votes-how-deal-growing-deer-pop/njFZ7/



Update November 29, 2014 6:56 PM

The game commission requires any deer-management plan to include controlled hunting on public land, which the staff and Mt. Lebanon commissioners decided could be implemented fastest by signing up municipal employees who are experienced hunters.

Read more:  Mt. Lebanon staffers become hunters to attack deer problem

Happy Birthday, Lebo Citizens Blog

Four years ago today, I rolled out this blog. Wow, that is longer than four-fifths of our commissioners' years in office.

Some totally useless stats, courtesy of Google Analytics:

• I have had 55,321 new users on Lebo Citizens Blog
• From 122 countries
• All time Pageviews 1,128,132
• I have published 1,456 posts
• Approved 30,529 comments
• I have 470 comments in my spam folder
• I may have had a visit or two from the Municipality (7,749) and the School District (5,803) 
• My most popular article remains "Parent offended by article in The Devil's Advocate UPDATED" 
• The Top Ten Posts
• 1 impostor blog shut down by Google

During this time of Thanksgiving, I want to thank all of my readers, trolls and all, for reading my blog. Thanks goes to my friends who send me countless links, photographs, digital recordings, videos, Right To Knows, and tips. I want to thank my awesome graphic designer who is looking for work. And most of all, I want to thank my entire family for their support. 

Happy Birthday, Lebo Citizens!

Shop Small Business Tomorrow

I refuse to go shopping on Thanksgiving and wish more people would do the same. According to the news reports, I avoided the madness. I spent today, Black Friday, supporting three small businesses and plan to spend a traditional Shop Small Business Saturday in Uptown Mt. Lebanon with my family. 

This year, the Mt. Lebanon management decided to allow free parking on Washington Road, something that I have been asking for several years. Take advantage of the free metered parking and support all the wonderful businesses in our community.

Shop Small Business Saturday.