City Council

CITY OF MCKEESPORT REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY 7:03 PM April 5, 2023 The regular meeting of Council was called to order on the above-stated date at the above-stated time after the Pledge of Allegiance by Vice President Nesbit and a Moment of Silence. The community prayer was offered by Dr. Moni McIntyre of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. “Gracious God, at this most sacred time of the year, let us pause and remember the meaning of Passover and Easter. Both holy moments remind us that love is vital, not hate. Hope is vital, not despair. We come before you conscious that our police officers and other first responders live in constant danger as they seek to protect and serve our citizens. We are conscious that good must triumph over evil in our hearts and in our actions. Forgive us for our selfishness, greed, and refusal to give another a break. Forgive us for our unwillingness to treat others as we would have them treat us. Please give to this City Council the will to work on behalf of every citizen to the best of their ability. Amen.” The following members of Council were present: RC-1 Present: Mr. Barry Ms. Lape Vice President Nesbit Mr. Soles Mr. Evans Absent: President Dellapenna Mr. Brown APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Vice President Nesbit asked for a Motion to Approve the Minutes of the regular meeting of March 1, 2023. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Ms. Lape, “to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 1, 2023.” RC-2 YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: NONE (0) COMMUNICATIONS: Annette James reported that we received both the Police and Fire reports for the month of March 2023. Vice President Nesbit said thank you. MAYORS REPORT: Mayor Cherepko reported that he spoke during the Work Session regarding agenda items including another demolition contract and a labor contract with the McKeesport Fire Department’s union, IAFF Local 10. “Paving will be up and running very shortly. We are waiting for the plants to open, and hopefully with the weather, it will be soon. We are contracting out several streets to be paved. We are also going to be putting out to bid another contract by May’s meeting. Steve (Kondrosky) is here this evening representing our Public Works Department, and I know he is anxious to get these projects started as well, because we do a lot in house. Steve has done an incredible job with the men in our Public Works Department, especially last year. We had a long list, and we even changed that list and added things as calls came in. For the most part, we met 99 percent of our goals. If we would have stuck with our original list, they would have met 100. I do commend you, steve, and the work that our Public Works Department is doing ... Look for your In McKeesport Area Magazine for our lineup of community events. We get excited for this time of year, because it’s a chance to show off what our City has to offer. We offer a lot more than what you see on channels 2, 4, and 11, which most definitely does not identify who we are as a community. For example, the baseball tournaments, one of which we had over this last weekend that was conducted in honor of Officer Sean Sluganski and Officer Chuck Thomas. I believe Officer Thomas is actually with us tonight ... (PAUSE FOR APPLAUSE) It’s so nice to see that smiling face of his as he continues to go through the healing process both mentally and physically, along with all the men and women of our police department and our community. Tonight, we have three officers who were working part time for us. We met in executive session with our Personnel Committee to discuss promoting these officers to full time. I do want the public to get an opportunity to meet them if they haven’t had the chance already, because they have been here for about a year. This is Officer Parker Scherf, Officer Josh Kramer, and Officer Matt Cerasuolo. They will be an incredible addition to our full-time Police Department, which I believe is second to none. You’ve heard me say that time and time again. As we move forward, I think this community as a whole has a much better understanding of what these men and women do, and what they put on the line as they protect and serve us ... Many times we don’t put much thought into what their families and loves one’s feel ... how they worry ... how they dread. I think you’ve seen the support of our community. You are our heroes. I, for one, don’t take what you do for granted. There is no such thing as a normal traffic stop anymore. Those days are over. What was typically a normal traffic stop could be an extremely dangerous life-and-death situation. That is, unfortunately, the world we live in. We will continue to work as a community – not just from a policing standpoint, but as a community. We had an incredible meeting with the NAACP and their leadership about things we can do to help curb this addiction to crime and violence. It’s much more than a policing issue. It’s very easy to sit back and point fingers, but to be honest with you, it's much broader than that. It’s no coincidence that you have a shortage of police officers and schoolteachers today. There is a lack of respect from our youth all the way up to adulthood today. It’s the world we live in, but we as a community can do so much more. We can pull together and work together to impact these young individuals lives, even those who have maybe made the wrong choices already and they have a second chance. We as a community can be there for them. One thing we ALL have in common is that we all have decisions to make each and every day. There’s not a person in this room who doesn’t wake up every day and have to make a decision. If we make the wrong decision, it can change our life, impact our life, and even end our life. A few events to remember in the coming weeks ... Earth Day is April 22. We will be planting trees in Renzie Park and in the Downtown area. On April 29, we have our S.S. McKeesport ceremony, and we also have a citywide cleanup. Please follow our Facebook page for more information.” CITIZENS IN THE AUDIENCE Vice President Nesbit called for Citizens in the Audience and said, “When you hear your name called please come up to the podium, state your name and address, then proceed on with your concerns.” Louis Wilson, 707 Union Avenue, thanked City officials for addressing his previous concerns and spoke regarding drug activity and enforcement. He is concerned about the impact and influence that suspected narcotics sales and related behaviors will have on the children in the community, specifically in his neighborhood. Mike Kemp spoke about multi-family housing and asked about zoning regulations, because a building he currently owns is not zoned for residential use. Keenon Mikell, 2508 Riverview Street, spoke about resilience in recovery, First Step Recovery Homes’ 30th anniversary, an upcoming gala, and the City’s thorough response to a fire on their property. Keith Giles, 336 Penny Street, also representing First Step Recovery Homes, read a thank-you letter into the record: “I Keith Giles, president and CEO of First Step Recovery Homes, would like to express my gratitude. Within a few minutes, the fire department arrived and stopped the fire from spreading to our garage and the building next door. Chief Jeff Tomovcsik and the McKeesport Fire Department, the firefighters from Allegheny County Airport, Duquesne Annex, Glassport Citizens Hose Co., Liberty Boro, Port Vue Vigilant Hose Co., and White Oak No. 1 are to be commended for a job well done. We sincerely appreciate the first responders who put their lives in danger every day to support our community. Please send our prayers out to the injured firefighter who was transported to the hospital with non-life- threatening injuries. Mayor Cherepko was also at the scene, assisting in any way possible to assure First Step had all the support necessary. Also, the Salvation Army arrived, providing coffee, snacks, and blankets for the men who were affected. We are grateful that we had just enough vacant space at our bridge housing facility next door to accommodate the participants who were displaced.” NEW BUSINESS: BILL # 21 – RESOLUTION 2023-016 – PROCLAIMING THE MONTH OF APRIL 2023 AS “FAIR HOUSING MONTH” IN THE CITY OF MCKEESPORT. MOTION: Mr. Evans moved, seconded by Mr. Barry “to approve Bill #21.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-3 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) BILL # 22 - RESOLUTION 2023-017 – APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST FROM W & E INVESTMENT TO OPERATE A WAREHOUSE AT 200 CENTER STREET, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132 (LOT & BLOCK 307-D-60). THE PROPERTY EXISTS IN AN I-U ZONING DISTRICT. MOTION: Mr. Evans moved, seconded by Ms. Lape “to approve Bill #22.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments. Mr. Barry asked about the exact location, and it was confirmed that it is the old roundhouse on RIDC property. RC-4 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) BILL # 23 - ORDINANCE 23-006 – APPROVING THE EDITING AND INCLUSION OF CERTAIN ORDINANCES AS PARTS OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENT CODES OF THE CODIFIED ORDINANCES OF MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Evans “to approve Bill #23.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-5 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) BILL # 24 – RESOLUTION 2023-018 - AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICERS TO ENTER INTO AN AGILITY AGREEMENT WITH THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. MOTION: Ms. Lape moved, seconded by Mr. Barry “to approve Bill #24.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-6 - YEAS: Five (5)  NAYS: None (0) BILL # 25 – RESOLUTION 2023-019 - PROVIDING FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE MCKEESPORT CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION. MOTION: Mr. Evans moved, seconded by Mr. Soles “to approve Bill #24.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-7 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) BILL # 26 – RESOLUTION 2023-020 - AWARDING THE BID FOR THE MCKEESPORT RISING DEMOLITION PROJECT PHASE 9 TO LUTTERMAN EXCAVATING, LLC, AND AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO EXECUTE ALL DOCUMENTS NECESSARY TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH LUTTERMAN EXCAVATING, LLC FOR AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED SIX HUNDRED SIXTY-ONE THOUSAND AND ONE HUNDRED ($661,100.00) DOLLARS FOR PHASE 9, CONTINGENT UPON HUD APPROVAL. MOTION: Ms. Lape moved, seconded by Mr. Evans “to approve Bill #24.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments. Mayor Cherepko stated that this contract will take the current number of homes to nearly 300, in addition to the 400 that have been taken down in recent years. RC #8 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) BILL # 27 – ORDINANCE 23-007 - AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICERS TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH THE MCKEESPORT FIREFIGHTERS INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS LOCAL #10, SETTING FORTH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING COMPENSATION, HOURS, WORKING CONDITIONS AND OTHER BENEFITS. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Mr. Soles “to approve Bill #24.” Vice President Nesbit asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC #9 - YEAS: Five (5) NAYS: None (0) ADJOURNMENT: Vice President Nesbit said that concludes the Council meeting for Wednesday, May 3rd. Thank you all for attending. The meeting then adjourned at 7:51 PM. Respectfully submitted, Annette James City Clerk and Clerk of Council APPROVED: Richard Dellapenna President of Council