Here is DeNicola's and Maddock's proposal

Someone sent me a copy of the June 30 proposal made by Anthony DeNicola and Jody Maddock.

The deer estimates are all over the place. I knew Wildlife Services was back in the picture. They were looking at my blog. USDA Wildlife Services were the killers from 2006-2008. I have an accident report about those clowns on my website, lebocitizens.com. They weren't drug tested, couldn't cite the safety rules, and were known to shoot themselves in the foot or through the floorboard of their trucks.

Former district judge gets GOP nod for special state Senate election, Arnet seeks Democratic nomination UPDATED

Former district judge gets GOP nod for special state Senate election

Former District Judge Guy Reschenthaler won the Republican nomination for a special election in the 37th state Senate district Saturday.

Mr. Reschenthaler resigned his Jefferson Hills judicial position immediately before accepting the nomination that he captured on the fifth round of balloting among Republican officials from the district. The seat includes communities in Allegheny County's southern and western suburbs as well as Peters Township in Washington County.

The special election, which will coincide with the Nov. 3 general election, was prompted by the resignation of former state Sen. Matt Smith, D-Mt. Lebanon, who left the seat to head the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Reschenthaler, a U.S. Navy veteran who was elected to his judicial seat in 2013, will have a head start on campaigning as the Democratic Party has yet to schedule its nominating session. Nancy Patton Mill, the Allegheny County Democratic chair, said she expects their nomination process will take place later this summer.

Six candidates filed for the GOP nomination. On the final ballot, Mr. Reschenthaler tallied 48 votes to capture the nomination over Bethel Park Councilman Paul Dixon, who had 31. There was one abstention.

They were the survivors of a field that included D. Raja, who was the GOP nominee against Mr. Smith when the Democrat won the seat; Natalie Mihalek, a Mt. Lebanon attorney; Tim Young, a former high school principal; and John Schnatterly, a member of the Bethel Park Republican committee.

Word on the street is that Mt. Lebanon's Heather Arnet will probably be chosen as Reschenthaler's opponent.

It will be weeks before Mr. Reschenthaler knows the identity of his November opponent, time that he said he would spend on fundraising and organizing. No Democrat has officially launched a candidacy although Michelle Zmijanac, the head of the Mt. Lebanon Democratic Committee, has expressed an interest in the seat. Another Mt. Lebanon resident, Heather Arnet, the CEO of the Women and Girls Foundation, has also been mentioned as a potential candidate.

Update July 15, 2015 2:20 AM Arnet seeks Democratic nomination for former Sen. Matt Smith's seat

Archery hunt planned UPDATED

The agenda for Tuesday's Commission Meeting, to be held at the Mt. Lebanon High School Fine Arts Theatre, has been posted. Looks like an archery hunt is a go!

13. Consideration of a proposal for professional deer management services. 

White Buffalo, Inc. has submitted a proposal to select and train archery hunters and work with property owners on an archery hunt. The contract proposal totals $15,460. Recommended Action: Move to authorize the proper municipal officials to enter into a contract for archery management services, with the understanding that: (a) Dr. DeNicola and Jody Maddock will follow the rigorous screening and training criteria outlined in their proposal of June 30, 2015; (b) Prior to conducting an archery hunt, representatives of White Buffalo will attend the September 8, 2015, Commission meeting to describe the details of the final program including the background of the manager and hunters, number of public and private properties to be used, and safety procedures that will be utilized.

Bubbles in the Bubble

Large mass of bubbles in Mt. Lebanon fountain may have been a prank

Authorities said a high school prank may have led to bubbles overflowing a Mt. Lebanon fountain this morning.

The suds started appearing sometime around 5 this morning in the fountain near the corner of Washington Road and Alfred Street by Clearview Commons Park in the municipality’s business district, according to Mt. Lebanon police.

“Whoever did it does it as a joke,” Mt. Lebanon police Lt. John Remark said. “They don’t understand it can ruin the pump.”

The lieutenant said that the bubbles might work themselves out or public works will be called in to clean up the mess.

Crumb rubber going in

RTK for Block Party Permit Applications

A Right To Know was filed for all block party applications submitted from March 2015 to July 2015. Of the thirty one requests, only one was for a street that was on the No Block Party List. See page 28 of the RTK.

The request on page 28 was for the July 4 block party that I wrote about on July 4. See Special rules for special people. This request was made by our PIO's family member.

This is an example of the arrogance and self-importance that I wrote about in the previous blog post, Watch out, Lebo. You're starting to act like Greece. A friend sent this to me:

These folks have lost the definition of what it means to be a public servant. On Laura Pace Lilley’s Twitter page it states, ”I get paid to write.” What does she write for $32.00 per hour? Facebook, Twitter? Is [this] the best and most responsible use of taxpayer monies?  

I see that Timmy applied for a block party permit. I hope he was charged the $25 fee, like the rest of us must pay. Well, maybe not the one for Sleepy Hollow.

Watch out, Lebo. You're starting to act like Greece.

I'm 100% Greek and because of my Greek heritage, I'm very concerned about what is happening in Greece. I'm not an economist and have no idea what Greece needs to do, but an article in Pittsburgh Business Times caught my eye this morning. What to do when employees start acting like Greece (arrogant, self-important) Those two words, "arrogant, self-important" come to my mind, at least, about the attitude exhibited by our local governments.

In business, arrogance and defiance are lethal combinations, too. Fortunately, you don’t find this much, but you do with employees who, like Greece, overestimate their importance to the organization.

The article talks about employees, which is exactly what our local governments are. We are the employer (taxpayers) and they are the employees.

Once employees become arrogant, it almost always leads to defiance. They think they are bulletproof because of their great significance to the organization. The sad part is this condition almost always afflicts people with outstanding performance. Rainmakers, if you will. 

If there is one thing I learned over the years, it's not to tolerate arrogance from an employee just because he is a rainmaker. Trust me on this, the collateral damage a rainmaker causes is not worth the rain. They treat other people badly. They ignore policies and rules in the organization. They do whatever they want without regard to the consequences. And that is because, many times, rainmakers have no consequences.

Our public servants think they are bulletproof.  They are arrogant and ignore the rules. Incurring more and more debt is a way of life in our community.

I saw this during the high school renovation. I saw it with the toxic turf project. I'm seeing it with the deer issue and even the block party policy. The commission will be deciding whether to put a referendum of the Home Rule Charter concerning the number of commissioners required to incur debt. I believe Mt. Lebanon is headed in the wrong direction. We better get our act together before we end up like Greece.

GOP picks nominee on Saturday

GOP to choose nominee for state Senate election

"The GOP meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday at the Crowne Plaza South, 164 Fort Couch Road, Bethel Park.

Mr. Roddey said the deadline to file for consideration for the nomination is Thursday. So far, the GOP candidates include D. Raja, a former county executive candidate who lost the seat to Mr. Smith in 2012; Natalie Mihalek, an Upper St. Clair lawyer and former Allegheny County prosecutor; District Judge Guy Reschenthaler, of Jefferson Hills; Paul Dixon, a four-term Bethel Park council member, and Bethel Park GOP committee member John Schnatterly.

I had nothing to do with it!

The June 25, 2015 through July 1, 2015 Mt. Lebanon Police Weekly Press Report gave an account of a theft on June 29, 2015.

Cedar Boulevard – Theft of field turf. 06/29/15 1120

Who would want toxic turf? Didn't we receive a LeboALERT around that time stating that the turf was not ready and that we were to keep away?

Welcome and thank you

Thank you for accepting my invite. I am sorry that I had to do this, but things were getting out of control. You wouldn't believe who were some of my more avid readers of this blog. Our tax dollars were paying the salaries of some pretty "high up" people on both sides of our local government. I have been looking at my tax bills and decided that it is time that our hard earned money not be used to pay public officials who have nothing better to do than read Lebo Citizens. All the hits were coming in during business hours. I have a problem with that. Unfortunately, everyone is now inconvenienced. Yes, readership will go down, but think of how productivity will go up in our local governments.

Our Public Information Office, for example, is paid to write ridiculous things on Facebook. Now, there is this job posting:

Our overpaid PIO now needs a "Content Creator." Steve Feller has an intern, in addition to Bonnie Cross, Assistant to the Manager! I can't find the information at the moment, but going from memory, his intern is a 53 year old man from NJ. Don't quote me on that, but why does Steve Feller need an intern? We all know that Mt. Lebanon is not an equal opportunity employer. You must have connections for everything. Block parties, tree removal, field sports facilities, lack of disciplinary action with certain staff members, and even favorable assessments, are just some of the perks available to those in the "inner circle" of our community.

I would love to withhold some of my taxes in protest, but unfortunately, I cannot do that without being penalized. So this is the next best thing. My silent protest. Thank you for your patience, Lebo Citizen readers.

Update July 6, 2015 6:12 PM Other than the number of comments decreasing, nothing else has changed. I am still accepting anonymous comments. I bet it was a long work day today up at the municipal building.

Special rules for special people

Mt. Lebanon has a rule for everything, including which roads are not permitted to have block parties. Guess where this block party is taking place today?

Sleepy Hollow is considered a collector street and is not permitted to have block parties. Thanks to our former commissioners, Bonnie VanKirk (who wants taxpayers to pay for her deer to be killed), and Joe DeIuliis, Mt. Lebanon residents must now apply for permits and pay a $25 fee for block parties. The link has in bold:

Also, permits will not be granted for highway, arterial or collector streets. Because of the volume of traffic on these streets block parties cause unnecessary traffic restrictions and can present safety challenges to people residing along these streets.

What is interesting is that this block is where a close relative of our PIO lives. This isn't the first time the rules were broken. My former commissioner lives on Roycroft. They were able to have block parties on Roycroft when she was commissioner.

The dedication for the toxic turf

has not been determined. In his weekly administrative report, Steve Feller writes:

Sorry MTL Baseball, your request for a July 4 opening doesn't look good.

The plan was always more deer killing this Fall

Somehow I missed the minutes from the April 8, 2015 Community Relations Board meeting.

Commission Liaison’s Report: Commissioner Silverman recapped this year’s deer cull. He said there would be another cull next year, but not necessarily one using the same method. A lengthy discussion followed during which members shared some of the comments they heard about the cull from residents and debated whether the board should have any role in the deer issue. Dianne Wainwright suggested that the board limit its role to encouraging people to call their commissioners. Bob Taylor and Susanne Wagner reminded Mr. Silverman that the board previously had decided it could not take a position on the issue but would support the Commission if and when it made a decision. Susanne Wagner said that she does not think the board should have a role in a deer-related project.

Steve Silverman gave his report days after Merlin Benner left town. Also in attendance was staff liaison PIO Susan Morgans, who told the press days before the meeting, that there was going to be "a cooling off period." Some cooling off period. You also told us that both lethal and non-lethal options will be considered. It was always going to be lethal methods only. John Bendel, were you aware that Steve Silverman was not resetting the dialogue as you were quoted as saying in the PG's Commissioners lament 'divisiveness' of Mt. Lebanon deer culling debate? It is right there in the Community Relations Board minutes of April 8, 2015.

The next commission meeting will be on July 14. Just like the June 22, 2015 farce, the July 14 commission meeting will also be held at the high school. This is when we have an opportunity to comment on the deer killing plan. Not that it will matter since it was decided back in April, according to Steve Silverman, that there will be more deer killing.

Oops, there goes our PlanCon reimbursement UPDATED

Listening to our school board directors and commissioners, "Corbett sucks" or Wolf was the greatest thing since sliced bread. This week, Gov. Tom Wolf announced his veto of the House and Senate’s $30.18 billion budget package, which did not include any new or increased taxes. This budget included more than $400 million in increases for education. The governor’s veto also included the Public School Code approved by the House and Senate.

Contained in the school code were additional reforms to the PlanCon (Planning and Construction Workbook) process, ensuring that districts are fully reimbursed for construction projects. Billions of dollars in reimbursements would have been returned to districts across the Commonwealth, including Mt. Lebanon School District. This is a major blow to our school district. Is Mary going to blame Corbett for this too? I would say that we are up Saw Mill Run without a paddle.

Update: July 2, 2015 8:22 PM From State Rep. Dan Miller's newsletter:

Budget NoteI know this is a light-hearted email, but I did want to acknowledge that our state budget was recently vetoed by Governor Tom Wolf. Unfortunately this did not come as a surprise. You should know that the vast majority of state services will not be impacted for at least the near future. It is my sincerest hope the work of putting together a bipartisan budget agreement will soon begin in earnest. I will have more to say on this in coming emails.

The real reason for deer/vehicular accidents

Hint: It isn't the deer. We have bad drivers here in Mt. Lebanon. Deer just happen to get in the way. Thanks to Allstate for donating an electronic speed trailer that tracks and stores data, 77% of the drivers in Mt. Lebanon were speeding when passing the speed tracking device.

According to the recent Trib article, 80 percent of drivers found exceeding speed limit in Mt. Lebanon, Bethel Park, police monitored Washington Road, Cedar Blvd., Gilkeson Road, and McNeilly Road.

Police selected high-traffic roads where drivers seemed to ignore the speed limit, Mt. Lebanon Lt. Duane Fisher said.

Deer killing corrals were placed in these areas, in hopes of reducing deer/vehicular accidents. Deer aren't the problem. It is speeding. On page 5 of her report, "Deer Doctor" Sandy Baker made recommendations concerning deer-vehicle collisions. She cited model community Rochester Hills, MI's  Deer - Vehicle Reduction Campaign.

Commissioners, focus on reducing speeding in Mt. Lebanon. You keep telling us that it isn't about gardens, and that it is all about reducing deer/car collisions by 50% in five years. We will have less accidents, making it safer for all two legged and four legged creatures. Get a grip on the real problem. Bad drivers.