City Council

CITY OF MCKEESPORT REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY 7:00 P.M. DECEMBER 5, 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 Moment of Silence in Memory of President Bush by President of Council Richard Dellapenna. The following Members of Council were present: RC-1 PRESENT: JAMIE BREWSTER-FILOTEI, BRIAN EVANS, LUETHEL NESBIT, KEITH SOLES, TIMOTHY BROWN, RICHARD DELLAPENNA, JIM BARRY APPROVAL OF MINUTES: MOTION: Mrs. Nesbit, seconded by Mr. Soles, “to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of November 7, 2018.” RC-2 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, EVANS, NESBIT, SOLES, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) COMMUNICATIONS: Received both the Fire and Police Reports for the month of November 2018. MAYOR’S REPORT: President Dellapenna asked for the Mayor’s Report. Mayor Cherepko said thank you, Mr. President. We did talk briefly about some budget things in the Work Session so I am not going to repeat myself. Some of the things, some other updates, we did mention that the Daily News, we are hoping to have tenants in there without question by the end of the year, including the Warrant Office with District Attorney Steve Zappala’s Office as well. The street light is supposed to come in at Walnut Street and Route 48 intersection down there before you get to Ollie’s in the Christy Park Section of town. That is [1] still moving along through the process. Without question that is something that is going to really help that entire area for that matter. We are also, some updates have been done to the other lights on Walnut Street, just as we had done to Lysle Boulevard years ago where traffic flow can continue based on the sensors and what not to keep the traffic going. We are also updating some of the lights along the Walnut Street section as well. Paving is continuing through the project. I think they are going to be pretty much another two weeks or so before the one plant closes down that our contractor is using and then he’ll have to pick up in the Spring. Demolitions will continue throughout the entire winter, weather permitting. So, as quickly as we can get the asbestos surveys done, just as quickly as we can get the houses torn down. You may have seen a press release today. I need to commend our Police Department along with the collaboration of the District Attorney’s Office, the County Police Department, the Sheriff’s Office, on a seven-month long investigation into narcotics distribution here in our City. They have 70 warrants that came from this investigation, 36 was the last number I heard that was actually apprehended today. Did that number change Chief? So, they did pick up over half and you have the remaining warrants out there. We will continue to make public safety the utmost importance of this administration in addition to the demolition of blight, the elimination of blight, the infrastructure improvements, the park improvements and everything that makes our City more attractive. I do just, I think we take it for granted here in the City of McKeesport, the Police Department we have. Our men and women reside in the City. When you talk about community policing it becomes natural because they live in the City, their kids go to school within the City, and many of our police officers are part of coaching whether it’s wrestling, Little Tigers Football, Boys & Girls Club, you know, baseball, whatever it might be. Many of them are in the community and with that I think that’s why you truly don’t see the issues in McKeesport that you see on the national platform right now and I think we are very fortunate with that. We take it for granted that these men and women come in each day and put their lives on the line to make sure that our City becomes a better place to live, to reduce crime so that it’s a better place to live, a better place to work, a [2] better place to raise families, and they do so with all of their exhaustive efforts and they do so just planning to end their tour that day and return home safely to their families. So, I don’t think we really think too often about the stress on the families as well as the officers but I can’t commend them enough, Chief, you know, not just for this but for the on-going police work that is done here and I think your efforts are seen from the top all the way down and no one is saying we are perfect, because we are not, but I will tell you I am very proud. To me our Police Department is second to none. With this you have 36 people at least for now they are apprehended, it’s in the system of the Courts now, it’s up to the Courts what happens and there’s the remaining 34 with warrants out there. We were able to do so very safely today, no injuries to police, suspects, anything, so I just commend you Chief on a job well done. Other than that the only thing I have because we are going to be short tonight because we do have Light Up Night and it’s probably getting colder by the minute but we have, I have four Proclamations for those that we continue to try to select four individuals on a quarterly basis that are recommended by the public, individuals that are Living the Message when you talk about respect, love, dignity and hope. I always really like what this has developed into is that it’s such a diverse group all the time and it’s from we have some of the people that are older who still put forth all their efforts, whether it’s volunteering and Living this Message to a couple tonight you are going to see they are very young and to see them go above and beyond to want to help and make things better gives us all, it’s encouraging, it gives us all hope for what our future truly does hold. So, I am going to go through and just give out these four awards and I can’t commend them enough for whatever role they’ve played, which we’ll talk about when I read the Proclamations, continue the good work. I said it once, I’ll say it a million times, the one thing I do get to see as Mayor that is an amazing part of my job is just seeing how many people we have in our City with that sense of pride and the ambition to just volunteer their time to just help make McKeesport a better place to live. That’s the best part of my job, I got to be honest and that’s why I never like to miss an opportunity to just say thank you for all that you do and not just those ones that get recognized, there’s so many people out there and it’s amazing when you are outside the City of McKeesport and you hear people talk negatively about it I just shake my head and say they have no idea what we have, people [3] that just, when they say “Once a Tiger, Always a Tiger,” that truly means it. Unless you are one of us, I don’t think you truly understand just what it means and we also bring people in that maybe weren’t Tigers when they were young and they still come in and it rubs off on them as well. So, I just want to commend them. I’m going to go through with this. The first one we have is the award winner for Respect and this is going to go to Alana Demis. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Alana Demis, a 12-year-old Christy Park resident who attends 7th Grade at Founder’s Hall Middle School is a straight A student who finds time to supplement her time in school and extra-curricular activities with many volunteer hours; and WHEREAS, Alana is a member of the prestigious international order of the “Rainbow for Girls,” a character-building organization that promotes leadership and effective communication while fostering a love of community service; and WHEREAS, Alana started a book club of peers who meet monthly to share their thoughts on a selected novel, watch a movie, and participate in a group service project such as their bake sale to raise nearly $500 for the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Alana Demis as the Living the Message awardee for Respect. Mayor Cherepko said when you bring the young ones up here like that you can’t commend the families that are raising these young ones, you deserve the credit so thank you and God Bless You! Our next one, we actually have two that are more on the younger scale of things this month as well. This next one I don’t know if you had a chance to make it out to the Lemonade Stand a little while back. This one is going for Love and this one is going to Peyton Estochin. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Peyton Estochin combined her love for puppies and police to raise funds for the McKeesport Police Department Canine Unit which includes 4 canines and their trained handler officers; and [4]  WHEREAS, Peyton, a 6-year-old Christy Park resident who attends First Grade at Praise Christian Academy, opened a Sweet Tea Stand in her neighborhood in August of 2018 raising $700 for the McKeesport Canine Unit and hopes to host a Hot Chocolate Stand for the same cause in January 2019; and WHEREAS, Peyton’s community service is a reflection of her early career goals having named Police Officer as her dream job since preschool and recently noted that she wants to become a canine officer someday. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Peyton Estochin as the Living the Message awardee for Love. Our next awardee is definitely no stranger to the City of McKeesport. She is someone that served this Police Department for many years, now has a wonderful job with the Attorney General’s Office still putting forth all of her efforts to just have everyone live in a safer town, community and for one thing she does not ever forget about the City of McKeesport. She’s someone that I’ve known from the time that I was a young man and have always had the utmost respect for her and everything she has accomplished and I have the privilege of working with her now as she serves as the President of the NAACP in McKeesport Chapter as well. So, the award of Dignity is going to go to Brenda Sawyer. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Brenda Sawyer is no stranger to the McKeesport community, having been a life-long resident, a former employee of the McKeesport Police Department, and a dedicated volunteer in the youth and minority programming; and WHEREAS, Brenda, in addition to her demanding role as Regional Director of the PA Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics and Drug Control employs her expertise from years of working in law enforcement toward youth development programs in McKeesport where she serves as a Site Manager for youth places and a Board Member for the Cash for Kids Foundation; and WHEREAS, Brenda also serves as President of the NAACP McKeesport Unit which hosts annual award dinners, pancake breakfasts, and community awareness events. She serves on the McKeesport Past & Present Committee and the community partnership for HIV Prevention. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Brenda Sawyer as the Living the Message awardee for Dignity. [5] As with so many of our awardees as you see and I know you hear me say this every time we present but these are individuals that are not here to say words, they are not here for an award, and nine out of ten of them decline to even say anything because they just do what they do to make McKeesport a better place so we are very grateful for that. Our last one is unable to be here tonight but Mom is here to collect this on her behalf. Definitely no stranger to the City of McKeesport. We’ve been seeing her a lot lately. I have had a lot of great discussions with her and not only have we been seeing a lot of Swin Cash recently but I think we are going to be seeing a lot more of her with some things she has in line that can really become critical components of our City in a few different ways that I really can’t say right now but we take it for, I can’t help it when we think of Swin….Swin is Swin. You know I went to school with Swin, one of the most remarkable young ladies that I have ever met. What you see today is how she was as a young adult and once again, I mean, Mom, without question you deserve the credit for that. But she is someone when she put, you talk about keeping your eyes on the prize, Swin Cash did that from the time she was a young lady and to think you know she is a hero to so many. Not just sports heroes but when you talk about being a good role model. Between the Olympics and the National Titles at Yucon and the WNBA Championships, you know, it’s unbelievable. When you talk about an incredible list of accomplishments and someone that doesn’t forget about her roots, you think of Swin Cash. I had the opportunity to attend a dinner last week and they were recognizing Swin for her accomplishments. Tommy and I happened to be the only men out of about 75 I think to 100 people that might have been there but it was an honor to be part of it. When you talk about someone that, I think of her because at that event they were talking about someone that really wanted to stand up for women, talked about the differences in pay and things like. When she was a young girl and I will never forget this, when she was a young lady working for the City of McKeesport typically when their summer jobs come the ladies work in the office, they help Tasha out, or you know Jennifer in my office, those are the jobs generally they took with the City. Not Swin, ok, Swin was out there with the guys, on the paint crew, the weed crew, or whatever it took to show that guess what, just because I am a female does not mean that I can’t do the work that the men are doing and the boys. I think she has taken that, you see that as a young lady back then when she was probably about 15, probably 16 back then, and you see what she’s doing now and [6] the fight that she has taken on that I got to hear a little bit about at the meeting and Tommy did as well. I just think it speaks volumes. To the young kids, my daughter loves her. I had to, it was unbelievable, my daughter knew I was going to this event and I had to physically tell her you are not getting in the car with me. I think that’s the kind of impact Swin has had on so many and to see her back here and she was the Grand Marshall of our Christmas Parade and some of the things that I know she is lining up Cash for Kids and things that Brenda is involved with, and so many things and these other things, I think we are blessed to have her doing so much as she does. Not only for kids around the world because she is a hero on a National level, she’s a superstar, role model, but specifically here in McKeesport. So, with that I am going to go ahead for Hope. When you talk about Hope the award is just so appropriate. WHEREAS, the McKeesport Message Committee uplifts the values of Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love through community programming and other efforts; and WHEREAS, Swin Cash is a McKeesport native whose successful career includes success as an Olympic Gold Medalist, WNBA Player, Director of Franchise Development for the New York Liberty, and Commentator and Analyst with CBS Sports Network; and WHEREAS, Swin is the founder of Cash for Kids, a 501©(3) Non-Profit Organization dedicated to serving the youth in the communities where she has lived and worked, teaching young people to be responsible and embrace health and wellness and follow their dreams and embrace opportunities for success; and WHEREAS, Swin is promoting a new podcast called “She’s Got Time,” which shares positive messages for women of all ages and lifestyles who face unique challenges but share common struggles and can look toward their commonalities as inspiration. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby honor Swin Cash as the Living the Message awardee for Hope. Mr. President I am just going to remind everyone that the Festival of Trees starts tomorrow. Please get out to the Park. We have 94 trees which may be close to a record. I want to say 94-95 has been the record and I think what’s nice about the Festival is not only is it enjoying Christmas spirit but it’s nice to see when you talk about collaboration and you talk about working together for a better McKeesport, to see all the different groups and organizations that put up a tree to help support the event I think it’s extremely unique and something that I can tell you that I enjoy as Mayor without any question and again, Light Up Night is going to be right [7] outside for those that would like to stick around where we do have some hot chocolate I think and some other things and Challis is going to perform some music and we are going to light the tree. So, with that Mr. President I conclude my report. President Dellapenna said thank you Mr. Mayor. CITIZENS IN THE AUDIENCE: Regis Mellinger, 310 25th Street. Alright I was thinking about one simple trick that can turn around downtown. You see Fifth Avenue, where it stops and goes one way is completely backwards. Present day Fifth Avenue discourages people from entering downtown. Reversing Fifth Avenue’s one way will encourage thousands of more people to pass through downtown. More people using the street means more business. So, let’s read on and find out how. Feel free to get to the next page. Current Fifth Avenue offers benefit only from the Walnut Street area where most drivers take Lysle Boulevard as it is still quicker anyway. Reverse Fifth Avenue and it encourages thousands of more people driving from the opposite direction to pass through downtown including everybody who is up on the great hill will have easier access to the trail. They would just be able to hop onto Fifth Avenue and go right down to the river if you live on the hill without having to go through scary five lane Lysle Boulevard. Everybody from Fawcett Plan will have an easier way to get downtown as well and if you are up in the Eden Park Area and every community beyond. There’s two ways to get on Fifth Avenue, one is down by Walnut Street and the river and the other way has about four lanes of traffic, including the Duquesne Bridge, everybody from White Oak and North Versailles. The flow coming from the UPMC side just simply makes more sense to turn Fifth Avenue around to the other direction. At this point I would go to the second page or the third, I guess. So, think about traffic patterns. What’s easier? Making two left turns across two lanes on a fast road or making two right turns? You can look on the papers in front of you. Example one is making two left turns across Lysle Boulevard. That’s what you currently have to do if you want to get down to say the Sinclair Street area. If you reverse Fifth Avenue drivers who are on Lysle Boulevard will then be able to take two right turns to get onto Fifth Avenue. Two right turns from Lysle Boulevard is much simpler. Furthermore, people from the UPMC side who would normally turn left on Lysle Boulevard will [8] begin taking the UPMC entrance. That will lead to less left turns across Lysle Boulevard altogether shorter traffic commutes on it. Furthermore, if you are coming from the Walnut Street area to begin with, Walnut Street drivers who may want to get onto Fifth Avenue in the first place they may start taking 6th or 7th Street which more cars on Fifth Avenue will eventually lead over to more cards on 6th and 7th from the Walnut way if you want to take a short cut. So, next page, let’s talk about lunch. Lunch is good. Some new restaurants have opened up on Fifth Avenue, Marva Joe’s Bistro has excellent mac-n-cheese, I highly recommend it. So, let’s say people from UPMC or maybe down at the RIDC Park want to get some lunch, currently they are discouraged from going towards past the Fifth Avenue side by the Shop-n-Save but we really need UPMC to start shopping downtown. Sheri’s Boutique is a wonderful boutique with fancy clothes. She makes some of them herself. She would sure appreciate UPMC money, the nurses and doctors who would come by to shop at her restaurant, and RIDC is building more and more. We got Pitt here, Penn down there. It would be much more beneficial for people who want to have lunch to turn downtown if we reverse Fifth Avenue. Lastly, let’s talk about the Salute to Santa Parade. Some of the best pictures you can get of McKeesport are at the Salute to Santa Parade. We have the Peoples Union Bank Building with McKeesport branded really huge on the other side. If we turn around Fifth Avenue all of a sudden Santa is coming towards the River, towards the Palisades and you’d be able to take that picture of Santa Clause with McKeesport right behind it. All of the old cars coming would face you going toward the river and you’d be able to get that big McKeesport building right behind it. It would even benefit the Salute to Santa Parade. Then you could have a giant cookout and party down at the riverfront park. You might as well have everybody at the Palisades at the end of the parade instead. Turning around Fifth Avenue I believe can turn around a lot of downtown. It’s a very simple, but I think it would be very effective, when you have thousands of more people on the UPMC side not to mention millions of dollars coming out of the hospital. We really need them to shop there. So, just something to consider for the upcoming year, the turn-around of Fifth Avenue. It’s always been experimental street so you might as well keep it up. That’s all. Thank you very much. [9] NEW BUSINESS: President Dellapenna asked Secretary James for New Business. ORDINANCE NO. 18-021 – BILL #86 (INTRODUCED BY MR. EVANS) – AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, FIXING THE NUMBER AND COMPENSATION OF CITY OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT; LEVYING TAXES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR, MAKING APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2019. MOTION: Mr. Brown moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei “to approve Bill #86.” RC-3 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, EVANS, NESBIT, SOLES, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-064 – BILL #87 (Introduced by Mrs. Nesbit) – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO EXERCISE OPTION YEAR THREE WITH BIG’S SANITATION, INC. FOR THE COLLECTION OF GARBAGE, RUBBISH AND RECYCLING FOR A ONE YEAR PERIOD COMMENCING JANUARY 1, 2019, AND EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2019. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei, “to approve Bill #87.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and Mayor Cherepko said as I mentioned earlier, he’s actually, instead of keeping his rates the same we are actually going to get a slight decrease on rates. President Dellapenna said thank you Mayor. RC-4 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, EVANS, NESBIT, SOLES, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) [10] RESOLUTION NO. 2018-065 – BILL #88 (Introduced by Mr. Barry) – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICERS TO ENTER INTO A PEST CONTROL CONTRACT WITH PEST B GONE FOR A PERIOD OF ONE (1) YEAR. MOTION: Mrs. Nesbit moved, seconded by Mr. Evans, “to approve Bill #88.” RC-5 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, EVANS, NESBIT, SOLES, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) RESOLUTION NO. 2018-066 – BILL #89 (Introduced by Mrs. Brewster-Filotei) – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH MR. JOHN FOR THE 2019 PORTABLE RESTROOM RENTAL PROGRAM. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Mrs. Nesbit, “to approve Bill #89.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and Mayor Cherepko said once again, as we started a few months back, when we do the meetings on the same night, we discuss these in the Work Session. We now have those meeting Minutes on line as well so anyone can see discussion that we had. President Dellapenna said thank you Mayor. RC-6 YEAS: BREWSTER-FILOTEI, EVANS, NESBIT, SOLES, BROWN, DELLAPENNA, BARRY (7) NAYS: NONE (0) [11] ADJOURNMENT: President of Council Dellapenna said that concludes our meeting. Chaplain Boniface Igba has joined us. He was a few minutes late, maybe you would like to leave us with a closing prayer. Boniface Igba then led Council in a closing prayer. President Dellapenna said that concludes the Council meeting. I would like to remind everyone that we are having Light Up Night right outside. The meeting then adjourned at 7:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Annette James City Clerk and Clerk of Council APPROVED: Richard Dellapenna President of Council das [12]