City Council

CITY OF MCKEESPORT REGULAR MEETING WEDNESDAY 7:00 PM October 4, 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 President Richard J. Dellapenna and a Moment of Silence in memory of Coach Garey Christian. President Dellapenna introduced the Rev. Dr. Moni McIntyre from St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church to offer a prayer on behalf of the McKeesport Area Ministerium. “Let us pray. God of justice and God of peace, we come before you this evening with great excitement, great hope, and great expectation. On this night, we celebrate the life and work of Mark Steele as we look forward to him being sworn in as our Chief of Police. We are grateful for his will to work on behalf of the people of McKeesport as he succeeds Adam Alfer, who did such a fine job in this role. We are grateful for Mark Steele’s expertise and accomplishments to date. You know, loving God, what lies ahead of him. We ask you to keep him and all of his officers safe. We are only too aware of the fragility of an officer’s life in our times. May we all support him the best way we can. May Chief Steele exercise wisdom and justice in all he does. We also ask your blessing on our City Council members and the work they do for McKeesport. Amen.” The following members of Council were present: RC-1 Present: Mr. Barry Mr. Brown Mr. Soles President Dellapenna Mr. Evans Vice President Nesbit Ms. Lape Absent: NONE APPROVAL OF MINUTES: President Dellapenna asked for a Motion to Approve the Minutes of the regular meeting of September 6, 2023. MOTION: Ms. Nesbit moved, seconded by Mr. Barry, “to approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 6, 2023.” RC-2 YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) COMMUNICATIONS: Annette James reported that we received both the Police and Fire reports for the month of September 2023. President Dellapenna said thank you. MAYORS REPORT: Mayor Cherepko thanked President Dellapenna and announced that Saturday, October 28, is the annual Halloween Parade in Renziehausen Park – 10 a.m. at the Blue Top Pavilion. He thanked the McKeesport Recreation Board and other volunteers for putting forth a great effort for the success of our public events. “October is known as National Fire Safety Month. Our fire department takes that to a whole other level. They really do everything they can in regard to the safety side of things in terms of smoke detectors, including free detectors and installation for homeowners. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our firefighters, who would be glad to schedule a visit. It’s amazing how many people live in today’s world without smoke detectors or carbon monoxide (detectors). These types of safety devices can be the difference between life and death in many cases. In addition to that, when you talk about what the firefighters are doing, it’s also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Each and every year, they design and sell pink T-shirts, which are available through (IAFF Local 10). Tomorrow, October 5, our fire department will be taking part in a Coats for Kids distribution at Twin Rivers, which they have been doing for several years now at Twin Rivers. They will be visiting Francis McClure later in the week. Through all of their efforts, I want to say, there’s now been given more than 10,000 coats throughout the years. Many take for granted what our firefighters do. What I mean is they don’t need to do all of these extra things. They choose to do them because they are involved in our community and committed to the community. They go above and beyond their job – even in a situation where there is a tragedy or they are coming to save us. I appreciate all they do – not just as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, but also as a resident. Next year, we need to look at making October, officially, Firefighter’s Month in McKeesport. I do commend Chief Tomovcsik and all of the men in our department for all of their efforts and going above and beyond the call of duty. Mayor Cherpko introduced McKeesport Firefighter and IAFF Local 10 President Kevin Kovach, who thanked City Council and the Administration for their commitment to the safety of McKeesport’s residents. He thanked Mayor Cherepko for taking time to recognize firefighters, first-responders, and others who participated in a rescue at the McKeesport Towers senior apartment building: “This wasn’t an ordinary fire. It’s important for the citizens of this town to know that your mayor, your council, your fire department, your police department, your medics ... we are coming to get you if you need us.” Kovach turned the department’s remarks over to Firefighter Brandon Schmidt, who handles fire safety education. “I just took over fire prevention education in the schools, and we are going to get to all the schools. We were able to make contact with a lot of local daycares that we hadn’t visited in a while. The biggest thing is getting to the kids. We’ve got to protect our kids. One of the best ways to teach them about fire safety is getting in front of them and talking about it. It’s going to take us the whole month, and we are going to invest a lot of time. If there is a daycare or school that we have not contacted, we ask them to call the fire station (412-675-5021).” Mayor Cherepko thanked Kovach and Schmidt for their remarks and noted the City’s commitment to public safety, which will continue for the rest of the year and moving forward. MAYOR CHEREPKO ANNOUNCED COUNCIL PARTICIPATED IN AN EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING PERSONNEL MATTERS PRIOR TO THE VOTING MEETING. “When you talk about the kind of men we have in our (fire) department, we have a gentleman here, who our personnel committee just unanimously approved to hire. This is a young man who is respected by everyone in our fire department. He’s already been an incredible asset as a part-time firefighter, and he will be the same as he moves forward to become a career firefighter. I would be remiss if I didn’t say that he and his fiancé just moved into the Fawcett Plan neighborhood, which I’m a little biased to ... but I guess they are my new neighbors, so to say. I do want to introduce, at this time, Bob Cannon.” Firefighter Bob Cannon stepped forward to meet Council and be photographed. Mayor Cherepko continued: “When you are talking about public safety, Kevin mentioned that we had a fire in our high- rise, the McKeesport Towers, on the seventh floor. The unit was fully engulfed, with flames coming out of the building. It’s amazing, once again, how many people take for granted what our first-responders do. In my mind, I believe whole- heartedly that our police, fire, and EMS are second to none. When everyone else is running out of harm’s way, these men and women are running right at it to rescue others and save lives. In this particular fire, this is exactly what they did. Police were on the scene, got to the seventh floor and could not enter because of the smoke. Our firefighters unbelievably made their way through the seventh floor and were able to knock down the fire and contain it to one room. They did this quickly while getting people out of the building – it was fire, police, EMS. Carrying people down steps for seven or eight floors, it’s nothing less than miraculous that they did this without any fatalities. This is a building that houses many seniors who already have health problems. On that particular day, we had a fundraiser for our police department’s K-9 unit, and I left immediately and went straight down to the Towers. When I arrived on the scene, knowing it took me about 15 or 20 minutes to get there, to see the look of intensity, the look of exhaustion, and the look of determination on our firemen, our police officers, EMS, the Housing Authority employees as well. You had maintenance employees doing everything they could. From the top all the way down, it was absolutely admirable. As intimidating as the situation was, it was also one of the proudest moments in my 12 years as mayor to see these men and women putting it all on the line. The end result, as I said, is nothing less than miraculous. With that being said, I have commendations that we would like to present today. I understand that, to them, they feel that they were just doing their jobs. But I can tell you as Mayor, along with Chief (Jeffrey) Tomovcsik, Assistant Chief (Mark) Steele and others, we realize that they went above and beyond and were very heroic on this particular day. For that reason, we are going to present commendations. What I will do is I will read one, and then we will introduce each and every recipient.” COMMENDATION WHEREAS, On the date of September 8, 2023, McKeesport’s public safety departments were dispatched to 601 Sixth Street for a fire at the McKeesport Housing Authority’s McKeesport Towers high-rise apartment complex; and WHEREAS, Upon arrival, first-responders observed fire and heavy smoke venting from a seventh-story window, and the call escalated to a second alarm with some firefighters making their way to the seventh floor with high rise packs and others making water connections; and WHEREAS, Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and fire while extinguishing the blaze and removing residents from the building, often carrying individuals down several flights of stairs to safety; and WHEREAS, A combined crew of firefighters, police, emergency medical personnel, housing authority staff, and animal control officers worked together to evacuate residents and pets; and WHEREAS, As the result of quick action and hard work by these public safety professionals, everyone was removed safely and no residents suffered prolonged injuries relating to the blaze. NOW, THEREFORE, as Mayor of the City of McKeesport, I do hereby deem it an honor and privilege to recognize (RECIPIENT) for (THEIR) heroic actions and life-saving skills displayed on every day of service, and especially on September 8, 2023. IN WITNESS HEREOF, I extend my sincerest congratulations and hereunto set my hand and cause the Seal of the City to be affixed this Fourth Day of October in the Year of our Lord 2023. SIGNED AND SEALED Michael E. Cherepko, Mayor RECIPIENTS: McKeesport Fire Department Deputy Chief Gene Esken Deputy Chief Jeff List Captain Bob Boord Captain Mark St. Clair Matt Holtzman Tom Hartin Brandon Schmidt Tyler Cuadrado Josh Carlini RECIPIENTS: McKeesport Police Department Sergeant Floyd Gault Officer Patricia Summers Officer James Foster Officer Bryan Morris RECIPIENTS: McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service Shawnee Smith Bridget Murray Dann Bechdel Dan Barnhart Damian Trusty-Ketchum RECIPIENTS: Additional McKeesport Housing Authority Sable Kennel “I would be remiss, before the last thing I have, if I didn’t acknowledge Dr. Frank McLaughlin in the audience. He had a long time of service with our school district, including Superintendent. I must say he made at least one good decision, because he’s the one who hired me as a teacher (friendly laughter). Thank you, Dr. McLaughlin, for all you’ve done for this community over the years. In the next order of business, and it’s the last thing I have for you this evening, it’s no secret what our police department has been through in this last year. February 6 was without question the worst day of each individual in our department’s lives. It is, by far, the worse experience of my life, and I hope I never have to experience anything like it again. The men and women we have – their perseverance, their commitment to work through their pain and sorrow – to get them back on the streets working each and every day to make McKeesport a better, safer place to live is absolutely admirable. It’s something I’m extremely grateful for. To see them go through this hurt me so much that I can’t even imagine how it felt for them. They’re the ones on the front line each and every day. They go out hoping to complete their tour and return home safely to their family and their loved ones. Their family members are at home while they’re at work hoping they never have to receive the call that officer (Sean) Sluganski’s family received. When you go through a time like that, it’s extremely important to have good leadership. We were fortunate here in the City of McKeesport to have an incredible police chief in Adam Alfer and unbelievable assistant chief in Mark Steele – two individuals who I’ve had the privilege of knowing for basically my entire life, or at least since elementary school. Their integrity, their passion, and their outright leadership is what helped us make it through ... Each and every one of these men and women’s lives are changed forever. It will never be the same for them. I can’t thank them enough for serving this police department and this community, and I can’t thank Adam Alfer and Mark Steele enough for their leadership. With that ... Adam had the opportunity to take over a chief’s job at a local school district, South Allegheny, and we wish him well in his future and all other endeavors. He is here this evening, I believe. I’ll tell you this ... Mark worked so closely with the chief, and I worked a lot with Mark as well. I’ve seen Mark grow so much just from the time when he came out of the narcotics division as lieutenant to the administration side of the department. Even though our assistant chiefs are still in the union, they are working with the administration on a daily basis trying to run the department to the best of their abilities. One thing I will tell you about Mark Steele is that he’s truly going to have the best interest of this police department and the best interest of this community at heart. I can tell you, from someone in my situation, the one thing that allows you to lay your head down at night to maybe get some sleep, because you don’t get much in these jobs ... and I can tell you Mark is already getting his 2 or 3 a.m. phone calls that Chief Alfer had for so long ... I will say there’s no question we are in good hands with Mark’s leadership. I look forward to working with Chief Steele. I couldn’t be any prouder to say that, not only did we grow up as friends, but you have such wonderful professionalism as well. I can’t thank you enough, Mark, and I want you to know that you already are an incredible asset to this department. You will continue to do so, and with all of my heart and soul, I know you will continue to move us in the right direction. With that being said, I’m going to ask at this time, because when a department head comes in, it requires the approval of Council, for a motion to approve Mark Steele as the next police chief for the City of McKeesport. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Ms. Lape “to appoint Mark Steele as Police Chief.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-3 - YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) Mayor Cherepko called Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi forward to administer Chief Steele’s oath of office. “It’s an honor to be a part of this official proceeding. I’m honored to be here to take part in this swearing-in ceremony. Through the years, Mark and I have engaged in hundreds of professional interactions ... a couple of social interactions in there, too (friendly laughter). There were three gentlemen hired in 1996 – Adam Alfer, Mark Steele, and Chip Olinsky. When the program was initiated, they were 18 years old, hired after graduation from high school. To my knowledge, that was never done before – definitely not in McKeesport. These were three young men who went to the Allegheny County Police Academy to be hired here in McKeesport. Question now ... Did you ever envision becoming the chief of police on that date you were hired?” Steele answered, “No, I did not.” (friendly laughter) Riazzi administered the oath, recited and accepted by Chief Steele. Applause. Former Chief Alfer places the chief’s pin on Steele’s uniform. Applause. Pause for Photographs. Mayor Cherepko introduces Officer Richard Dell and Officer Henry Giles, whom the personnel committee unanimously approved for promotion from part-time to full-time positions. Applause. Pause for Photographs. CITIZENS IN THE AUDIENCE: President Dellapenna called for Citizens in the Audience and said that when you hear your name called please come up to the podium, state your name and address, then proceed on with your concerns. Keenon Mikell, 2508 Riverview Street, spoke about violence prevention efforts in the community. He is the director of First Step Recovery Homes and program/outreach coordinator at Steel Rivers Council of Governments, working directly with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services grant-funded program that follows the CURE Violence model in McKeesport, Clairton, Duquesne, and Homestead. He explained the roles of violence interrupters, who attempt to stop issues from escalating to gun violence. He requested the Mayor and Council’s support for an “adopt-a-block” program for safe zones to be designated in areas of blight removal. NEW BUSINESS: BILL #54 – INTRODUCED BY MR. BARRY – RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF McKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH PLAVCHAK CONSTRUCTION CO., INC., FOR THE STEPHEN BARRY FIELD IMPROVEMENTS & LIGHTING PROJECT. MOTION: Mr. Evans moved, seconded by Ms. Nesbit “to approve Bill #54.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-4 - YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) BILL #55 – INTRODUCED BY MS. LAPE – RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF McKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - APPROVING A REVERSE SUBDIVISION REQUEST FROM IVAN, LLC, 2305 O’NEIL BOULEVARD, TO COMBINE LOT & BLOCKS 461-E-094, 461-E-194 & 461-E-186. THE PROPERTY EXISTS IN A C-3 ZONING DISTRICT. MOTION: Ms. Nesbit moved, seconded by Mr. Soles “to approve Bill #55.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments. There were none. RC-5 - YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) BILL #56 – INTRODUCED BY MS. NESBIT - RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF McKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO APPLY FOR A PA- GEDTF GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND ($500,000.00) DOLLARS FOR THE TUBE CITY CENTER REHABILITATION PROJECT. MOTION: Mr. Barry moved, seconded by Ms. Lape “to approve Bill #56.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments. There were none. RC-6 - YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) BILL #57 – INTRODUCED BY MR. BROWN – RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF McKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - APPROVING A CONDITIONAL USE REQUEST FROM UPMC MCKEESPORT 1305 FIFTH AVENUE, MCKEESPORT, PA 15132 (LOT & BLOCK 307-H-182). THE PROPERTY EXISTS IN A C-2 ZONING DISTRICT. MOTION: Mr. Soles moved, seconded by Mr. Evans “to approve Bill #57.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-7 - YEAS: Mr. Brown, Mr. Soles, President Dellapenna, Mr. Evans, Vice President Nesbit, Ms. Lape (6) NAYS: Mr. Barry (1) BILL #58 – INTRODUCED BY MR. EVANS – RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF McKEESPORT, ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA - AUTHORIZING THE PROPER CITY OFFICIALS TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY TO APPLY FOR A PA- GEDTF GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND ($150,000.00) DOLLARS FOR EQUIPMENT FOR POLICE DATA MANAGEMENT. MOTION: Mr. Brown moved, seconded by Ms. Lape “to approve Bill #58.” President Dellapenna asked for questions or comments and there were none. RC-8 - YEAS: Seven (7) NAYS: None (0) ADJOURNMENT: President Dellapenna closed the Council meeting for Wednesday, October 4, 2023, and thanked the audience for attending. The meeting then adjourned at 7:54 PM. Respectfully submitted, Annette James City Clerk and Clerk of Council APPROVED: Richard Dellapenna President of Council