City Council

CITY OF MCKEESPORT REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY 7:00 P.M. JULY 6, 2016 This Meeting of Council was called to order on the above-stated date at the above-stated time after the Pledge of Allegiance and a Moment of Silence by President of Council Richard Dellapenna with the following Members of Council present: RC-1 PRESENT: LUETHEL NESBIT, TIMOTHY BROWN, JAMIE BREWSTER- FILOTEI, KEITH SOLES, V. FAWN WALKER-MONTGOMERY, JIM BARRY, RICHARD DELLAPENNA. Prayer was led by Pastor Warren Smith from St. John’s Lutheran Church. Also present were Mayor Michael Cherepko, City Administrator Matthew Gergley, City Solicitor J. Jason Elash and members of the Administration. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of June 1, 2016.” RC-2 YEAS: NESBIT, BROWN, BREWSTER-FILOTEI, SOLES, WALKER- MONTGOMERY, BARRY, DELLAPENNA (7) NAYS:NONE (0) COMMUNICATIONS: Received the Police Reports for the months of May and June 2016 and also received the Fire Department Report for the month of June 2016. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Cherepko said thank you Mr. President. Being that some people had to listen to approximately 35 minutes of me just less than an hour ago, we are going to be pretty brief this evening. For those who don’t know or tend to forget, we are off in August so there will be no meeting. So we need to keep in mind of course International Village will come up in August starting up with Kid’s Village on Monday, that’s the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th, I believe. International Village is [1] Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We are also going to follow that up this year, get more information out on it but one man by the name of Armand Harper is really heading up a gathering for that week and we are going to use the facilities for like a Gospel Concert. We are getting through all of the details now but it is almost something, not the same, but a few years back we were doing a Rally in the Valley like thing against violence and what not so we are going to do some sort of Gospel Concerts, have some food and festivities and activities the weekend after that. Of course we have a lot of our other activities with the tennis clinic coming up. Right now as we speak Mr. Grayson is running a basketball clinic. It will take place until the end of the month on Wednesday nights from 6-8 pm for any young kids, grades 5, 6, 7 and 8. Movies in the Park will be August 12th. Our first one was a huge success. I do commend Councilman Soles and the Recreation Board and Recreation Director Jim Brown for all the events they do, but the first one was a big hit, I think, uh. Mr. Soles said about 150 kids. Mayor Cherepko said people are asking why don’t we do it more often. Well if we are going to get feedback like that and get such a good turnout, probably next Summer we will look to do it a little more often. Pop up and Play is run throughout the Summer on Wednesdays throughout various Parks of the City. I was ready to get into something else but I cannot announce it yet. We also were designated a Playful City USA for the 4th Consecutive Year for our commitment to the youth. We are proud to get that first designation I think right after the first year in office. So we are going to continue to do what we can with the limited resources that we have to provide our youth with as many positive life-learning experiences that can help them turn into productive citizens someday. Which leads into my last thing, I have a stack of Proclamations here. Every three months the select committee on Crime of Violence, the sub-committee on that, which is the Message Committee, Respect, Love, Dignity and Hope, have been giving awards to different individuals who come recommended to us that are living the message. We have several with us this evening and with us too, I think I saw Harold Allen come in. Harold Allen has been with the Message Committee now pretty much from the beginning. Jennifer Vertulo was part of the Message Committee to an extent, even prior to when she came over and worked for me in the Mayor’s office. When you talk about that message, to see people that live [2] that message there are a lot of people and we want to try to recognize those people. I need your help in spreading the word to people from the community because these are not people that we come up with. These are people that come recommended, whether they read our In-Committee Magazine and they see we are taking recommendations and in this day and age I don’t think anyone can argue, society as a whole, we lack that respect and dignity and love and hope. When you take a City like McKeesport, when we sat down and we were brainstorming for 4 key words, Respect and Dignity was pretty obvious, if everyone had that than we wouldn’t have pretty much any of the issues that we have. But when you talk about Hope and here we are in the Mon Valley where the whole Mon Valley has been on a downhill swing since 1982 with the collapse of the steel industry. When you talk about those that are out there that still believe in the future and that that stay away from the negativity and really just promote the positive. When you get into Love, it’s those that not only love their community but love thy neighbor, their children. I say this all the time when I speak at different places, when was the last time you told your son or daughter, grandson, or granddaughter that you love them? Because as an educator for 12 years I can tell you that it was very disheartening to see that all too often you had young kids that weren’t told that too often. They too were part of the negativity of just having all the negative stuff said to them and never really lifted up in any way. So we take this message, it is something I take to heart. I wear my bracelet no matter where I go, you can probably see the tan line. It’s a reminder to me and it’s not just, you know anyone can say a message, have a message, but when you try to live that message, that’s what good leaders do. With these award winners, we have selected winners of all ages. I think you will see that tonight as well. We have had young kids, we have had older kids, young adults, and we have had people that have finished their careers and with retirement they are still part of the community. Not just what they have done throughout their lives but they are still taking part in their community which I think you are going to see today a very good sample of that. With that being said I am going to get started. I am not going to read them all but I will read each winner and then we have multiple winners for one and I will probably just read one Proclamation. The first thing we are going to talk about, we are going to talk about love. Our award winner for love, I am going to have her come up and I will read the Proclamation and that is Joanne Welch. Joanne would you like to come forward. [3]  LIVING THE MESSAGE – Honoring Those Who Show Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Joanne Welch has served the City of McKeesport out of love for her community and the Earth – made evident by her involvement in the Haler Heights Task Force, National Night Out, Joyful Bloomers Junior Gardeners, Angora Gardens Junior Gardeners and various community beautification projects; and WHEREAS, Joanne initiated the “Respect Our City, Respect Our Earth” program, which promotes Earth Day through electronics recycling and environmental education. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Joanne Welch as the Living the Message awardee for Love. Mayor Cherepko told Joanne she was welcome to say something if she liked. In summary, Joanne Welch then thanked everyone in her community and the officials of the City of McKeesport. Mayor Cherepko said he really needed to take the opportunity, because he kind of jumped right into them, but Joanne, believe me when I tell you, is no stranger to the Mayor’s office. She is calling constantly with concerns, ideas, planning and communicating with Jennifer on a regular basis and without question you are very deserving of this award Joanne. The next one is for Dignity and we have a duo, a partnership winner here. They are definitely no stranger to the community, both have dedicated their lives in the School District for so long. Individuals that without question I have always had the utmost respect from the time I was little and had the opportunity to go to school with their children and they just mean a lot to this committee and if I could have Mr. and Mrs. Kirby come forward. LIVING THE MESSAGE – Honoring Those Who Show Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Theodore and Mary Jane Kirby are committed to public education, including their lengthy careers within the McKeesport Area School District; and WHEREAS, the Kirbys have a long history of community involvement, including work with the NAACP McKeesport Unit, Zion Baptist Church, Partnership for Minority HIV/AIDS [4]  Prevention, McKeesport Area School District Diversity Committee, McKeesport Neighborhood Initiative, and the McKeesport Joint Task Force; and WHEREAS, the Kirbys value their roles as mentors for McKeesport youth – spending much of their free time counseling first-generation, college-bound students through the application process, including admissions, scholarships and financial aid. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Theodore and Mary Jane Kirby as the Living the Message awardee for Dignity. Mr. and Mrs. Kirby said thank you all. The next one that we have is Hope. This is another individual that was an Educator in the McKeesport School District. Someone that I have also had the opportunity to know and had as a Principal as a youth. Someone that I have gotten to work with and become friends with. He has daughters who are also Educators, a wife who is always standing by his side, and someone that we talk about Hope really just believes in McKeesport through and through. He is also, I guess it was announced, will be inducted into McKeesport High School Hall of Fame this year as well. If we can ask Mr. John Bertoty to come forward. LIVING THE MESSAGE – Honoring Those Who Show Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, John Bertoty, a retired educator and administrator of the McKeesport Area School District, has been at the forefront of smart home technology to aid senior citizens and disabled people in his work with Blueroof Technologies; and WHEREAS, John, in partnership with the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation and local entities including the McKeesport Area School District, Penn State Greater Allegheny and the Pittsburgh Steelers, helped to coordinate the donation of the “Tiger Vet House” to a veteran who relocated her family to White Oak. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor John Bertoty as the Living the Message awardee for Hope. Mr. Bertoty, in summary, said thank you to the Mayor and Council for providing encouragement for an environment for economic development. The next one is very special to me, not as the Mayor hat, but I will be honest with you, as a father, you will see these young ladies up front. As a not official Uncle but Uncle to some of the other young ladies, I would like to say as a father that [5] there are not too many things that I am not aware of that my daughter is involved with. I was told about her and her wonderful friends when they came recommended to the Mayor’s office about a project that they were doing in school and I was caught off with this. I had no idea, but we are talking about 4 young ladies, 4th Grade and I see their teacher. When you talk about educators who go above and beyond I see Mr. Camic standing back there, another example of an educator who goes above and beyond. He just wanted to see these girls get honored today and I thank you for coming Mr. Camic. When you talk about respect, I do not think it is a secret, when we talk about that is what society lacks today, the same thing with our youth and we as adults sometimes don’t show respect and the youth is no different. These are 4 young ladies that I have come to learn that with the bullying thing that goes on every now and then, I know our School District does a great job to eliminate that and to limit it, I should say. These 4 came up with a program of their own and took it to their teacher and said we want to launch this program as an Anti-Bullying Program and present it to the other classes and people throughout the school and I think with this day and age we talk about young people taking initiative and being a leader and living that life of respect, I think they exemplify just what that means. I can tell you as Mayor I was hesitant to give this award because my daughter was part of it and everyone told me listen, she came recommended, this is great, we need some youth. So with that being said, I didn’t want to penalize her for being one of the four wonderful young ladies. I am going to have them all stand up and I am going to introduce them. We will start over here. The first we have Brooke Evans. Next we have Madeline Cherepko. We have Brooke Cain, and the fourth one we have with us, last but certainly not least is Jenna Cottom. So we do have individual awards for them but I am going to read one and kind of try to make this record for all their names in it even though it is only written for one of them. LIVING THE MESSAGE – Honoring Those Who Show Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Brooke Evans, Madeline Cherepko, Brooke Cain and Jenna Cottom, all 4th Graders at Twin Rivers Intermediate School, and three close friends, launched a Project that embodies the notion of Respect - having shared with fellow students a creative Anti- Bullying Campaign called “If We Stick Together We Can Stop Bullying;” and [6]  WHEREAS, they encouraged students in the McKeesport Area School District to choose kindness and compassion over negative behavior - with themselves pledging to set a positive example by treating all people with the respect that they deserve. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor all four of these young ladies as Living the Message awardees for Respect. At this time a picture was taken of the awardees and their teacher and Mayor Cherepko congratulated the students. Mayor Cherepko said, now a few more things, no, that concludes my report Mr. President. President Dellapenna said thank you Mayor. CITIZENS IN THE AUDIENCE: President Dellapenna asked Mrs. Longo to please come forward and state your address, your name and your comments please. Beatrice Longo, 200 Wainwright Street. I am actually here for Belinda O’Keson who is a little shy to get up, but she resides in White Oak. Since there is no meeting next month we wanted to get the word out early that the Annual J. Terrence Ferrell Memorial Bike Ride will be occurring on September 24, 2016, and there is a Facebook page. You have to start with Annual J. Terrence Farrell and it has all the information about the Bike Ride. I am bringing it up here tonight because the funds that are raised by the Bike Ride have for the most part gone to organizations in McKeesport. There were generous donations made from last year’s profits to the Heritage Center and McKeesport Hospital Foundation and the Library. The Library is trying to raise funds to tear down a vacant building that is adjacent to the library property so that the parking lot can be extended and as we all know this is a wonderful resource in our City that is used by many of our citizens and having additional parking would be very helpful and I understand some of the funds raised will also go toward the event, toward the parking lot. So we would like you if you could to spread the word about the event and if anybody needs additional information or posters, they could contact Belinda and she would provide those to them. Just as a parting word asking a question, is not necessarily negative. There are no bad questions and if someone sincerely wants an answer, and even if they don’t, I think the most direct route is answering the question and I think the Mayor has been trying to do that but I don’t think it is necessarily negativity to ask it in the first place. [7] President Dellapenna thanked Mrs. Longo. Mayor Cherepko stated that he is available 24/7 and if anybody has a question they can feel free to call him. NEW BUSINESS: RESOLUTION NO. 2016-021- BILL #28 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH DAVID COLLURA. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Brown “to approve Bill #28.” Solicitor Elash stated that he wanted to note that this has the corrected second page from what was on the original Agenda and which will read the correct amount of $13,600. Mayor Cherepko said just so everyone is aware, there is a slight increase in that when we got the Bid. To be honest, we are so used to him keeping his price the same cause I want to say he has been our Wild Life Specialist for probably 10 years or so and I don’t think he has ever raised his rate so it might even go back longer than that. Solicitor Elash said we wrote this as an amount not to exceed because there had been some discussions that it may go back so we put not to exceed. RC-3 YEAS: NESBIT, BROWN, BREWSTER-FILOTEI, SOLES, WALKER- MONTGOMERY, BARRY, DELLAPENNA (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2016-22- BILL #29 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENTER INTO A SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH THE MCKEESPORT HOUSING CORPORATION. MOTION: Mrs. Brewster-Filotei moved, seconded by Mrs. Nesbit “to approve Bill #29.” President Dellapenna asked for any discussion and Mrs. Walker-Montgomery said that she does have discussion, and she knows she is a broken record when it comes to MHC because I say this nearly every time that we vote on it. I [8] appreciate the testimony and the stories that I hear. My biggest thing is just outcome of numbers because I am a data person. So I am always going to ask for numbers and data before I vote on things. Specifically, when our money is going to, I don’t want you to think I hate the program, I really just want the data and I really want the numbers and I want to make sure that if we have a housing program in the City that it is going to meet the needs, which is to increase our tax base and we have a lot of renters. Maybe a rent-to-own program, rental assistance because the rent is really high and people cannot really afford it because they are on fixed incomes or they are on SSI so those kind of housing programs are what I mean when I say an effective housing program. So I just wanted to go on record and I know I am a broken record but I will keep being a broken record until I want to make sure that I am heard and I want to make sure that we have an effective housing program. President Dellapenna said thank you Mrs. Walker-Montgomery, any other discussion? Mayor Cherepko said if I may Mr. President, I just want to go on record that this is a bill to provide grants to homeowners who cannot afford to fix up their own home. That is what we are voting on. Mrs. Walker-Montgomery said I know what we are voting on but I am allowed to state my opinion. Mayor Cherepko said I know. Mrs. Walker-Montgomery said I know what we are voting on; you don’t have to tell me that because I could read. President Dellapenna asked if there was any other discussion? Mrs. Walker- Montgomery said no. RC-4 YEAS: NESBIT, BROWN, BREWSTER-FILOTEI, BARRY, DELLAPENNA (5) ABSTAINING: SOLES (because I sit on that Board) (1) NAYS: WALKER-MONTGOMER (1) [9] RESOLUTION NO. 2016-23- BILL #30 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENTER INTO A SUB-RECIPIENT AGREEMENT WITH THE MCKEESPORT HOUSING CORPORATION. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei “to approve Bill #30.” President Dellapenna asked for any discussion and Mrs. Walker-Montgomery asked if this is the one pertaining to the VCA. Solicitor Elash said yes, the Fair Housing Officer required by the VCA. Mrs. Walker-Montgomery said ok. RC-5 YEAS: NESBIT, BROWN, BREWSTER-FILOTEI, WALKER- MONTGOMERY, BARRY, DELLAPENNA (6) ABSTAINING: SOLES (1) NAYS: NONE (0) ADJOURNMENT: President of Council Dellapenna thanked everyone for attending and said keep in mind there is no meeting in August and please enjoy the rest of your Summer. The meeting then adjourned at 7:33 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Annette James City Clerk and Clerk of Council APPROVED: Richard Dellapenna President of Council das [10]