City Council

CITY OF MCKEESPORT REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY 7:00 P.M. JANUARY 3, 2018 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. The following Members of Council were present: RC-1 PRESENT: JAMIE BREWSTER-FILOTEI, LUETHEL NESBIT, BRIAN EVANS, TIMOTHY BROWN, RICHARD DELLAPENNA, KEITH SOLES, JIM BARRY ABSENT: NONE Also present were Mayor Michael Cherepko, City Administrator Tom Maglicco, City Solicitor J. Jason Elash and members of the Administration. Solicitor Elash announced that at this time since we did not have our reorganization meeting Council needs to reorganize. We would like to accept nominations for the election of President of Council. MOTION: Mrs. Brewster-Filotei moved, seconded by Mrs. Nesbit, “to nominate Richard Dellapenna as President of Council.” RC-2 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, SOLES, BARRY (6) ABSTAIN: DELLAPENNA (1) President Dellapenna announced that next we have to open up the floor for the election of the Vice President of Council. Are there are nominees? MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Mr. Soles, “to nominate Jamie Brewster-Filotei as Vice-President of Council.” RC-3 YEAS: NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (6) ABSTAIN: BREWSTER-FILOTEI (1) [1] APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: Mrs. Nesbit moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of December 6, 2017.” RC-4 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) COMMUNICATIONS: Received both the Police and Fire Department Reports for the month of December 2017. MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Cherepko said thank you Mr. President and Congratulations Mr. President and Madam Vice President. Congratulations to Mr. Evans being sworn in for the first time and of course Mr. Barry sworn in for the second time. I do look forward to working with each and every one of you. It’s no secret, we talked last month about what we have planned for 2018. I most certainly am extremely excited for it as well I know most of you are through our conversations so there’s a lot of good things for McKeesport in 2018. From demolition, to paving the streets, looking forward to Pure Penn which we are going to hear about here shortly in a few minutes. Get them up and running. Durabond getting started, Vegely Welding opened up his corporate headquarters here and of course continue with Ollie’s and Aldi’s and some of the others. We have a couple of others on the horizon as well. As our gentleman Phil opened up his new business from Duquesne on Walnut as well, a construction business, so there’s a lot of exciting things going on. Not to rehash all those but I most certainly am excited and look forward to working with each and every one of you. Just a few things because I am going to be very brief tonight. I do just have to ask for one Board appointment and then I have some Proclamations which I am going to get to. With the passing of Billy Richards just a few months ago, Billy served this City with much pride and dignity for many years. He helped out in every way he could whether it was through Boards, whether it was through the Task Force, throughout the communities. But he without question is someone that is going to [2] be missed. Tonight, I am going to ask you to fill his seat with a young lady that has been no stranger to this Council with her role at Pure Penn, which we will hear a little bit from hear, I think she is speaking tonight as well. A life-long resident of the City and has been involved for quite some time and that’s Gina Rosso. So, I am going to ask for a Motion and approval for Gina Rosso to join our Zoning Board this evening. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to appoint Ms. Gina Rosso to the Zoning Hearing Board of the City of McKeesport.” RC-5 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) I do want to commend, I know someone mentioned it, Steve Kondrosky and the Public Works Crew. On the down-side I hate to see the Payroll, there’s a lot of overtime, and our guys are coming our straight working around the clock and for the most part, sometimes Steve and I just look at each other and it felt like a never-ending battle. From the time you make your routes and get through all the roads and complete them that snow kept coming and coming and they’d be covered again but I think for the most part Steve, great job to the Public Works Crew as well for getting out there and we tried to stay ahead of it the best we could. With the Proclamations tonight, you may have seen the most recent In Community Magazine. We are trying to once again ever quarter select individuals from the community. You can make recommendations and submit names through the Mayor’s office. When you talk about living the message, the community message of Respect, Love, Dignity and Hope they are principals that obviously when the select Committee and Crime of Violence came up with the four words they are principals that if each and every one of us would live by those four principals we wouldn’t have any issues that we have today or, at the very worst-case scenario, very few issues. Unfortunately, something that is getting lost in today’s world, the structures, with the parenting, single parent families out trying to earn a living and work while raising families, poverty, drug epidemic and so many other things that just hold us back. These are not problems just of the City of McKeesport, these are problems just in society in general and I think for [3] those who are trying to live this message and try to be an example and try to shape the minds of our youth, you know so that when it comes time for them to make choices in their life that they can make the right choice and it goes back to where it really does take a village to raise a child. Whether it is through the work of the Boys Club, that Jimbo and Tim, and Tommy do so often, and others as well, through coaching and other opportunities, or mentoring programs. Whatever the case may be, our teachers each and every day. You know, the bottom line is every little bit helps. These are individuals we try to select. We’ve had younger, older, male, female, it makes no difference, groups, organizations, and I think our awardees for this quarter are very well deserving. I for one, as Mayor, and both personally, want to thank each and every one of them for living that message, living the life they are living. Whether it is through volunteerism, that helps our community, I for one don’t want anyone to think we don’t appreciate it. I always say sitting as Mayor, the one thing that is great to see that many people don’t get to see is how many people we have in McKeesport with so much pride in McKeesport. Even though we like to get, often times we are beat up in the media over things. We have so many people that just believe in our City and volunteer their time, their efforts to just, whatever role it is, just making McKeesport a better place to live and I could tell you, not just as Mayor do I appreciate that, but as a life-long resident myself I appreciate that. We have a couple of those tonight. We also have a young man that’s just living the life that when you talk about hope, you talk about future, he absolutely exemplifies what that means. So, let’s start off with our first one, a life of Respect and this is a gentleman that goes well above and beyond what a good neighbor would be. I never had the opportunity to meet him and Jennifer and I went over and spent about a half hour or so talking with him and sharing his stories and everything else. You talk about someone living Respect, I look forward to this as well, talk about a learning experience. To sit there and hear some of the history and the stories that was shared that day with George. I can tell you what it is something that I wish I had more time to do. Here’s a guy that is no stranger to his community, his neighbors, anyone you talk to, he just goes above and beyond, and this award is going to George Mushalko. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and [4]  WHEREAS, George Mushalko defines the role of caring, outgoing neighbor. At the age of 86 not only does he maintain his own property, but he reaches out to neighbors in need by tending to their yards and home gardens; and WHEREAS, one of George’s favorite pastimes is creating elegant silk flower arrangements for his family and friends as he believes sharing art is a way to spread joy; and WHEREAS, George focuses on good will and kindness in every aspect of his life. He finds goodness every day in McKeesport and is always willing to talk about our communities many assets when making new friends. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor George Mushalko as the Living the Message awardee for Respect. George Mushalko said a few words and thanked everyone and said he is proud to have grown up in McKeesport. Mayor Cherepko said you can see the wealth of knowledge and what I was talking about when I had the opportunity to spend a half hour or so with George. Not to put pressure on anyone else but there’s no need for long speeches. I see Carlinos over there, I think he is starting to get nervous. Thank you, George, for all you do and thanks for the kind words. You would have thought, I could have used you this week because I actually took a battle on about our City and pretty much what George was saying is what I was driving home that once again it’s people like him that encourage me and re-charge my battery on days that you kind of feel just beat down a little bit. So, thanks for all you do George. Our next one is a young man that when you talk about leading by example, you talk about making decisions in life, making the right decisions in life, I always say growing up as a teenager as a young man, young girl, the popular choice is not always the right choice and you know the right choice is not always the popular choice. I think all too often that’s what our young people today have a problem with dealing with. Going with the flow, falling into peer pressure, but it really talks about a true leadership when you can make these decisions. You can stand up and you can say this is the way I am going to live my life. That’s why our awarded for Hope, when you talk about Hope, with young men in this world, young ladies in this world, Carlinos Acie is just that. So, with that I am going to read the Proclamation. [5]  WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Carlinos Acie represents Hope for an up and coming generation of young McKeesporters whose education and extracurricular activities serves as the ticket to their futures; and WHEREAS, Carlinos is a straight A student and a star Athlete drawing attention from Ivy League Schools as he considers his post-secondary education opportunities and a career in Sports Medicine; and WHEREAS, Carlinos is a member of the McKeesport Area High School National Honor Society and he volunteers as a tutor for elementary age students at Twin Rivers Primary Intermediary School. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Carlinos Acie as Living the Message awardee for Hope. Carlinos said thank you to everyone and Mayor Cherepko said thank you Carlinos for giving us all Hope and all the young adults, not just in McKeesport, but in this world today. Its people like you, you have nothing but, your future is unbelievable, the sky is the limit for you and I look forward to reading about you, I can tell you that. Our next one is a joint. We have two that are taking the awardee for Love. We talk about volunteers, as I said, one thing as Mayor I get to see first-hand, most of the events that run through the City of McKeesport, Jim Brown is one person as Recreation Director I can tell you he depends on his volunteers to make these things happen. The City depends on the volunteers because these events can’t take place. We can’t afford to pay people to run the different events, whether it is Easter Egg Hunts, Halloween Parades, Festival of Trees, and our Christmas Parade, and just on and one, and most recently the Festival of Trees. These two young ladies have been volunteering their efforts for quite some time with the Festival. They Co-Chair the Festival of Trees and this award goes out to Cheryl Cotter and Pat Harris. So, I am going to read this off for these two, I wrote it up to read it as just one but they both will be receiving their own. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and [6]  WHEREAS, Festival of Trees Co-Chairs Cheryl Cotter and Pat Harris have been spreading cheer and sharing their love for the Holiday Season with the McKeesport Community for more than 10 years; and WHEREAS, the Festival of Trees has a 32-year history of inviting the community not only to attend a beautiful Holiday Exhibit but also take part in the creation of the display itself; and WHERAS, Cheryl and Pat are active volunteers who interact with participants and attendees guaranteeing the Festival of Trees is a joyous Holiday event for the entire McKeesport Community. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Cheryl Cotter and Pat Harris as Living the Message awardees for Love. Pat Harris said on behalf of Cheryl and herself that they have a love for Christmas, the children and people and that’s why they love the Festival of Trees and thanked everyone. Mayor Cherepko said I don’t believe our last awardee is here but I do want to read it. Once again, you talk about volunteers, you talk about people that are just trying to make their neighborhoods a better place to live, whether it’s cleaning up the street, cleaning up trash, cutting a neighbor’s grass, things like that. This award winner does those things. This is Melissa Staley and she gets the award for Dignity. She can’t be here, but I do want to read it. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Melissa Staley has lived in the City of McKeesport for just under 5 years and in that short time has made a tremendous impact on her neighborhood; and WHEREAS, Melissa has inspired her family and neighbors to become active in the removal of blight, working with the City to clear trash, debris, and overgrowth from vacant lots and abandoned homes; and WHEREAS, Melissa also works with the elderly residents to help maintain their properties by mowing lawns and trimming shrubs with the goal of returning her neighborhood with the level of tidiness for which we all can be proud. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Melissa Staley as the Living the Message awardee for Dignity. Mayor Cherepko said we will make sure Melissa gets that. [7] Once again to all the awardees, Congratulations and more importantly, Thank you! As I said both as the Mayor of the City of McKeesport I say thank you but as a life-long resident who has his pride in the City as well I just say thank you as well personally. Mr. President that concludes my Report. President Dellapenna said thank you Mayor. CITIZENS IN THE AUDIENCE: President Dellapenna called for Citizens in the Audience to come forward, state their address and their topic they would like to talk about and reminded them they have 3 minutes. Mr. Regis Mellinger come forward. Regis Mellinger, 1612 Packer, McKeesport, PA 15132. You guys ready for the best idea in McKeesport ever? I don’t know about you but are you ready for the best. Ok, we have the 50th Anniversary of International Village coming up, so we must plan something huge, right. That’s 2019. Also, this year 2018 you intend to demolish between 150-200 vacancies which is an unprecedented improvement. Thousands of people are very excited about it and you guys do deserve some praise. However, that’s only 25% of our total goal. We still have a lot of mountain to climb to get to the top. So, what is the best idea ever? The Dream Concert. D-R-E-A-M, Disaster Relief Environmental Aid for McKeesport Concert. Relief Concerts have been done across the globe so hypothetically we can do it too. Raising funds for demolition that’s kind of a tough sale, raising funds to save the environment, everybody loves that. Plus, everyone loves music. The DREAM Concert can serve many purposes. We can raise funds necessary, about Ten Million Dollars. One Million for a Concert, Seven Million to demolish everything 100%, with Two Million Dollars still left over to create parks and cover administrative costs. Two, it will bring people from all over to see a great Concert. People will travel hours to see great music. McKeesport needs tourism and like Farm Aid, Live Aid, you name it, people will show up. It will give a much- needed boost in sales to local businesses. They will love that. Four, people will realize we are a beautiful City if we have this Concert by the River. We have acreage available. Five, the 50th Anniversary of International Village, remember [8] that. Let’s hold this Concert Festival the weekend, or maybe even a week if you book enough acts, prior to the 50th Anniversary so we can advertise International Village, making it the biggest and prosperous International Village yet to date. Some people ask me, hey Regis do you know how much Ten Million Dollars is? And the answer is yes, I do. If you read the news recently the U.S.A. is slashing hundreds of Millions of Dollars of Foreign Aid like every week. Ten Million Dollars flies around economies all the time. It might not be in my pocket. It might not be in yours but Alphabet, the Google Parent Company of Amazon, they spend Four Billion Dollars in research annually. So, Ten Million Dollars is out there. Reason number Six this idea will work. We will succeed by writing many letters to many large companies and philanthropic foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which will at the same time subconsciously get these companies to look into our City, maybe even open up offices or research facilities. One open door leads to many more and many companies are repatriating not only their headquarters but also many funds back to the Unites States with this huge tax cut that everyone is talking about. Number Seven and final is the DREAM Concert will be the most fun way to put McKeesport back at the top so let’s work together to make the biggest Concert McKeesport has ever had, raise funds for the environment, making our City 100% clean, therefore 100% safe, while covertly inviting companies to take a look at us and finally giving International Village the biggest 50th Anniversary possible. If we set our minds to it, it certainly can be done. Thank you. I hope I have managed 3 minutes. President Dellapenna said you did Mr. Mellinger, thank you! Thank you for the ideas. Mayor Cherepko said just to comment very quickly. As far as International Village, it’s funny he brought it up tonight, we actually were just talking today in the office, it will be the 60th Anniversary next year in 2019, but we do plan on doing something very special and we obviously have a year and a half to plan that. We have to worry about International Village this year, but we are going to do something pretty special for the 60th Anniversary in 2019. Thank you, Mayor, said President Dellapenna and then called Ms. Gina Rosso. Gina Rosso, 213 Wainwright. I am the Community Liaison for Pure Penn. I just wanted to announce in front of Council and the citizens that we were deemed [9] operational by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, so we just wanted to say thank you so much. It’s hard to express how humbled we are by the support that we have received. We owe tremendous thanks to all of you on Council, Mayor Cherepko and his administration, and all of the residents of McKeesport. We look forward to you seeing our next steps in bringing the high-quality medicine to the patients of Pennsylvania and we are exciting to continue our partnership with the great City of McKeesport. Thank You! President Dellapenna said thank you Ms. Rosso and congratulations! Mayor Cherepko said some may wonder if you have seen the facility, the facility is not completely finished but they did get four sections approved through the State and that’s what they were required to do in order to produce it and four of their I don’t know if you call them pods or labs, whatever, where they are going to produce are up and running. So, we are very excited, we are excited to have Pure Penn and I think in time you are going to see that probably the most exciting part, not just being part of the industry but I’ve said numerous times, I think Pure Penn is so sincerely focused on being part of our community and part of our revitalization efforts in this City and that means a lot. It’s authentic, up to this point I know they are not up and running and many of you haven’t seen them on a regular basis but it’s very authentic. They want to be part of this community. Their actions have shown that it is not uncommon. I think at one point when they first got into their office on 9th Street and they were walking right through our neighborhoods down to their Plant and one of our police officers on patrol actually stopped and they didn’t know who they were and is everything ok because you know that was them they wanted to be in the community. They walked down Jenny Lind on down through town down to the plant. So, we are excited as well and Gina thank you as well and we look forward to working with you! NEW BUSINESS: President Dellapenna asked Secretary James for New Business. RESOLUTION NO. 2018-001 – BILL #1 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, APPOINTING ANNETTE JAMES AS CITY CLERK FOR A TWO-YEAR TERM. [10] MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Barry, “to approve Bill #1.” RC-6 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-002 – BILL #2 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, ESTABLISHING REGULAR MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL FOR 2018 AND JANUARY 2019. MOTION: Mrs. Nesbit moved, seconded by Mr. Brown, “to approve Bill #2.” President Dellapenna asked for discussion and Mayor Cherepko said as I said earlier the only change will be the first Wednesday in July is July 4th, so we moved that meeting to the 3rd, so it will be July 3rd and our Work Sessions will be starting at 6:30 p.m. in 2018 instead of 6:00 p.m. RC-7 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-003 – BILL #3 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, SETTING FORTH THE PAYDAYS FOR THE YEAR 2018. MOTION: Mr. Evans moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to approve Bill #3.” RC-8 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-004 – BILL #4 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AMENDING THE FISCAL YEAR 2013 CDBG PROGRAM. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Brown, “to approve Bill #4.” President Dellapenna asked for discussion and Mayor Cherepko said we had some money left over in 2013 funding that Mr. Tedesco was able to come up with for a [11] small shortfall that we had in our Pier Project. We were ok with the project, we had money in 2017 but when it came to Phase 2 with the Amphitheatre and everything else, we were going to need some additional revenue, so I do commend Mr. Tedesco for getting this money for us and the Pier is complete down there, Phase 1 at least and operational. RC-9 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (6) ABSTAIN: SOLES (1) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-005 – BILL #5 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICERS TO ENTER INTO AN AGILITY AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. MOTION: Mr. Brown moved, seconded by Mrs. Nesbit, “to approve Bill #5.” President Dellapenna asked for discussion and Mayor Cherepko said all this does for the most part is make it easier for us to exchange services with the State of Pennsylvania. So, if their Public Works Crew, we needed them to help us out, maybe lining a road off or something, it would make the process much easier once we have an Agility Agreement like this signed. There’s no cost involved. It just gives us both the authority to trade services. RC-10 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-006 – BILL #6 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO AMEND THE AGREEMENT WITH COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS CORPORATION. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Evans, “to approve Bill #6.” RC-11 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) [12]  NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-007 – BILL #7 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO EXONERATE AND STRIKE TAX & MUNICIPAL LIENS ON LOT & BLOCKS LISTED BELOW ON THE CENTENNIAL SCHOOL PROPERTY. MOTION: Mr. Brown moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to approve Bill #7.” President Dellapenna asked for discussion and Mayor Cherepko said there were lots that were never subdivided on the Centennial property. There is a buyer off the School District for Centennial. That building has sat vacant for a few years as you are aware. This gentleman plans on spending a few million dollars to renovate the building and turn it into might be senior housing complex which could be an opportunity not just for residents here to move into there but from other communities as well. The gentleman purchasing it is a great landlord here I the City; has a lot of property; maintains them; very responsible; and as a landlord if there is an issue he resolves it very quickly. He takes a lot of pride in his properties here in the City of McKeesport. This is just an opportunity. It shouldn’t have been taxed at the time. It was a school sitting there and for whatever reason there were tax bills being sent out. We were not rightfully owed the money. President Dellapenna said thank you Mayor. RC-12 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, NESBIT, EVANS, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, SOLES, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) [13] ADJOURNMENT: President of Council Dellapenna said I’d like to thank everybody for attending and wish everyone a Happy New Year in 2018. Thank you! The meeting is adjourned. The meeting then adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Annette James City Clerk and Clerk of Council APPROVED: Richard Dellapenna President of Council das [14]