Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, April 20, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Dayne Dice, Jason Lemak, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna, Tony Spadaro, Carl Stepanovich, and Mayor Synan. Also, present were Chief Administrator, James Morrison, Director of Finance, Jacie Milchak, Director of Recreation, Carly Greene, and Director of Public Works, Bill Paiano. Council member Jamie Lee Korns was absent. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Dayne Dice, Jamie Lingg, Carl Stepanovich, Mac McKenna, Tony Spadaro, Jason Lemak, Jamie Lee Korns-absent, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mr. Dice led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: None CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of April 6, 2022, Council Meeting Minutes. B. Accounts Payable C. Cash Investments and Transfers Mr. Dice noted that he will abstain from any accounts payable matters or any cash investments related to KU Resources. Mr. Spadaro made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar Items A, B & C. Mrs. Lingg seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan stated that there are going to be Park Survey and Park Improvement Discussions at the neighborhood parks at 6:00 pm on the following dates: May 3 – Kovalczik Park, May 10 – Heritage Park, May 17 – Bear Hollow Park, May 24 – Chambers Park, May 31 – Pedora Park. If you have any questions, call the Recreation Department at 724-327-2100 x115. True Crime Stories with retired US Department of Justice Senior Special Agent Dave Grace on Thursday, April 28th at 7:00 pm at the Murrysville Community Center. Please register for this free program at www.murrysvilleparecreation.com or call 724-327-2100 x131 for additional information. Sponsored by the Lions Club. Beyond Spring Cleaning will be Tuesday, April 26th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm at the Murrysville Community Center. Get organized with Jody Adams, Certified Professional Organizer. Register at www.murrysvilleparecreation.com or call 724-327-2100 x131 with any questions. Fee is $15.00. Cooking Series #1 – Let’s get Saucy will be held Wednesday, April 27th at 5:30 pm at the Murrysville Community Center. Fee is $20.00. The instructor is Erica Etzler. Register for this program at www.murrysvilleparecreation.com. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 Eat Your Weeds presented by Penn State Extension will be Saturday, May 7th at 10:00 am at the Wetlands Pavilion at Murrysville Community Park. This program is free and instructed by Barb McMillan. Next week is Pleasant Valley Landfill week, April 25th through the 29th from 6:00 am to 3:00 pm and Saturday, April 30th from 7:00 am to 11:00 am. Permit passes are still available at the Municipal Reception Desk. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Morrison stated that Open House at the Clubhouse has been postponed due to the weather. The Municipality received dividend checks from the Workers’ Compensation Program, Municipal Risk Management, in the amount of $87,529.00 which represents 35% of our premium; also under the MRM Program, Property Casualty and Liability Insurance, a dividend of $12,006.00, which represents 26% of our premium. COMMUNITY INPUT: None LIAISON COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. McKenna: Parks and Recreation met on April 12th. The 2022 officers were elected: David Metzger, President, Master Caruso, Vice President, and Ben Sampson, Secretary. A donation of $150 was received from a resident for Duff Park. Public Works and the Parks Department opened all the park restrooms and are working on Pedora Park playground area. Baseball fields are being prepped anytime it’s not raining. The Easter events went very well. There were 85 homes for Egg My Yard, 23 dogs for the Easter Pet Photos, and 350 treat bags were distributed for the Easter Drive-Through. Commission members are reviewing the Neighborhood Parks Survey. A huge thank you to Carly Greene, Parks and Recreation Department, and Bill Paiano, Public Works for their efforts during all this rain to get things done. Mrs. Lingg: Was unable to attend the last School Board meeting. The next School Board meeting is May 2nd and on May 26th is a finance meeting. Mr. Spadaro: Medic One meets tomorrow night. Mr. Stepanovich: The Planning Commission met on Tuesday, April 12th. A major point of discussion was Tommy’s Car Wash. This is a franchise. Chuck Hergenroeder is the attorney, and they also had an engineering representative in attendance. There will be two lanes leading into a 90-foot-long tunnel. There will be 13 vacuum positions, each being 14 feet wide. There will be two or three full-time employees. The 20% glazing requirement was met. The traffic report is in process and a noise study will be done. Planning did not approve at this time. The second discussion was the Battaglia-Sico lot revision, which was approved by Planning. There was an advisory meeting from some gentlemen looking to possibly develop on a 19.3 acre site along Sardis Road, Logan Ferry Road, and the high rise structure in that location. They were advised to check with their engineer to make sure it is possible to go forward with their plan Mr. Lemak: The Library meets tomorrow evening. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 9.A. A presentation by KU Resources on the status of the Logan Ferry and Heather Highlands bridge projects Ron Carrola, KU Resources and Lou Ruzzi, WSP gave a presentation on the status of the Logan Ferry and Heather Highlands bridge projects. They both worked together years ago in the PennDOT District 12 Bridge Unit. Mr. Carrola stated that they looked at three things: 1) The new alignment just north of the Franklintowne Court Bridge on Sardis Road. It was an alignment first studied by the Markoski Group several years ago. 2) They looked at Superstructures for both bridges at Franklintowne Court and Heather Drive bridge. 3) They looked at the costs and schedules involved with full replacement for both of those bridges. Their recommendation is to do a Superstructure replacement on the two bridges. Superstructure would be replacement of the beams and the concrete deck. There are cost and construction schedule advantages over full replacement. After looking over the inspection report, they feel the substructure is in good enough shape that the new superstructure would give a good remaining service life to the bridge – about 40-50 years. Cost estimates are: $3.3 million for new alignment, $1 million for superstructure replacement, and $1.4 million for complete replacement which would be per bridge. There is a remaining 5-10 years of life left on these bridges. Funding options are self-funded, partially with design, self-fund the entire project, or go through the TIP process with PennDOT. If the municipality went through the TIP process with PennDOT for the Logan Ferry bridge, it would be a $50,000 cost to Murrysville. The Heather Drive bridge would be $47,000. That would be a total of around $97,000 for both bridges. Some municipalities like to take the whole process on themselves and think they can get it done faster. Taking to PennDOT District 12, they like to do bundle projects, and could do the design and the project. KU could prepare a letter for Murrysville to go to PennDOT and layout these superstructure replacements. PennDOT is nearing the end of its TIP process and it will be going to the State Transportation Committee to get voted on in September. They would recommend doing Logans Ferry first and Heather Drive bridge second. Mr. Morrison stated that both bridges are on a 6-month review, estimating life from 5-10 years. As these inspections continue on a 6-month bases, the weight limit requirements may change as these bridges continue to deteriorate. If new construction is looked at for Logan Ferry, there will be some significant challenges with alignments and curvature of Logan Ferry Road and with Haymaker Run being a high-quality stream and the ability to encroach on that. That’s why the conclusion was made that we are better off replacing the superstructure on the bridge. Mrs. Lingg ask if there was the possibility of us not getting on the TIP schedule for the next cycle. Mr. Ruzzi answer yes, there is always that possibility, but suggest that we try to get it on the current TIP. Mr. Morrison noted that Logan Ferry is a pretty critical road here in Murrysville. We can make the case for a need and it will be up to us to try to encourage our elected officials to take a look at this project and do what they can. We have been planning to replace these bridges through our capital budgeting process. Just a reminder that there is a third bridge which will be up for repairs soon – the Kal Can bridge. Mr. Morrison stated that we have recognized the problem and we’ve begun planning for it financially. The most vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 cost-effective way for the Municipality is through the TIP plan and we’ll work the political side as much as we can to try to bring it to the attention of PennDOT and the Southwest Regional Planning Commission. Mr. McKenna asked that, when you work through PennDOT, is it more for funding or does PennDOT design for us and utilize their resources? Mr. Ruzzi answered that when you go through the bundling process, you basically sign over the ownership of the bridge to PennDOT during the time it’s being designed and constructed and then it will come back to the Municipality after it is built. ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 12.A. A presentation of the results of the citizens survey of the Municipality’s neighborhood parks Ms. Greene provided an update on the neighborhood parks survey. There were 291 responses received. The survey addressed the neighborhood parks: Bear Hollow, Chambers, Heritage, Pedora, and Kovalczik parks to identify what is needed, what’s getting used, and what amenities the residents would like to see. People were very involved in this and wanted their voices to be heard. The most requested amenities for these parks were restrooms instead of port-a-johns. Also requested were trails, pickleball, and improvements to all the existing court facilities. Ms. Greene stated that she is working with Mr. Paiano on researching costs and options on what can be replaced without investing a lot of money. They are also working with the Parks and Recreation Commission to identify ideas, needs, and prioritize the different parks and facilities. As the Mayor mentioned, she is going to host a meeting in each of the parks during the month of May to speak to the residents and explain our process for funding and how much some of these amenities actually cost. We do work on a 5-year Capital Improvement Plan and will try to implement as many of these ideas as possible, but it can’t be all done at once. COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION 13.A. Consider authorization to advertise Ordinance #1058-22, an ordinance to amend the code of the Municipality of Murrysville, Chapter 210, thereof, entitled Vehicles and Traffic as follows: To add to schedule XIII: Parking Prohibited at all times on Surrey Farms Drive from Carousel Drive to Manor Road. Mr. Lemak made a motion to approve authorization to advertise Ordinance #1058-22, an ordinance to amend the code of the Municipality of Murrysville, Chapter 210, thereof, entitled Vehicles and Traffic as follows: To add to schedule XIII: Parking Prohibited at all times on Surrey Farms Drive from Carousel Drive to Manor Road. Mrs. Lingg seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that this was discussed at the last meeting. There are on-going violations there, issues with snow removal, and site distance for buses and emergency vehicles. This drastic act is necessary. The Ordinance will permit the Municipality to post “no parking” signs and to enforce it. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 13.B. Consider the Mayor’s recommendation for the appointment of Michael Nestico as Chief Administrator effective June 6, 2022. Mayor Synan wanted to thank the people who helped him reach this conclusion and to make this recommendation. In-house, that would be Jim Morrison, Diane Heming, and Chief Seefeld. There was also an outside committee appointed with Mr. Mitall, Mr. Rumbaugh, Mr. Dice, Dr. Lee Korns, and Mr. Hergenroeder. We all came to a unanimous decision on Mr. Nestico. Mayor Synan then read a short bio on Mr. Nestico. Mr. Nestico grew up in Jeannette and is a graduate of Penn State University and has a law degree from Western New England University School of Law. He began his career in the City of Jeannette as Treasurer and then became the Manager in 2015. In 2018 he became Borough Manager in Tarentum. Mr. Nestico is a member of the Westmoreland County and Pennsylvania Bar Association and is a member of the Public Employer Labor Relations Advisory Service of the Pennsylvania Municipal League. Mr. Nestico and his wife Nicole have three children. Mayor Synan recommends the appointment of Michael Nestico as Chief Administrator for approval by Council. Mr. McKenna made a motion to approve the Mayor’s recommendation for the appointment of Michael Nestico as Chief Administrator effective June 6, 2022. Mr. Spadaro seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.C. Consider authorization to enter into agreement with Michael Nestico to perform the duties of Chief Administrator effective June 6, 2022 Mr. Spadaro made a motion to approve authorization to enter into agreement with Michael Nestico to perform the duties of Chief Administrator effective June 6, 2022. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.D. Consider approval of Resolution #753-22, authorizing, empowering, and directing the proper officers of the governing board to appoint a liaison between it and Berkheimer, the duly appointed collector of Earned Income Tax for the district, for the express purpose of sharing confidential tax information with the district for official purposes. Mr. Stepanovich made a motion to approve Resolution #753-22, authorizing, empowering, and directing the proper officers of the governing board to appoint a liaison between it and Berkheimer, the duly appointed collector of Earned Income Tax for the district, for the express purpose of sharing confidential tax information with the district for official purposes. Mr. Lemak seconded. Ms. Milchak stated that this is the same as the current policy. It is amending the required listed representative between the Municipality and Berkheimer with dealing with anything in regard to the Earned Income Tax. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -5- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 13.E. Consider approval of Resolution #754-22, a resolution accepting a grant in the amount of $13,212.00 from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Investigative Fund #2 for the purchase of license plate reader cameras for the intersection of Trafford Road and Rt. 22. Mr. McKenna made a motion to approve Resolution #754-22, a resolution accepting a grant in the amount of $13,212.00 from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Investigative Fund #2 for the purchase of license plate reader cameras for the intersection of Trafford Road and Rt.22. Mr. Spadaro seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that this is a follow-up from the last meeting. District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli was here to present a check for the license plant readers. The intent is to place one at the Trafford Road intersection with Route 22 and the other at the Manor/Mellon Road intersection with Route 22. The license plate reader at the Manor Road intersection will be funded as a result of the sale of the two police motorcycles. The purpose of the license plate readers is to aid the police department in crime prevention and investigation. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14.A. Consider approval of Resolution #755-22, a resolution amending the Municipality’s Act 537 Sewers Facility Plan for the construction of a force main system to serve six homes on General Forbes Road. Mr. Spadaro made a motion to approve Resolution #755-22, a resolution amending the Municipality’s Act 537 Sewers Facility Plan for the construction of a force main system to serve six homes on General Forbes Road. Mr. Lemak seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that six residents on General Forbes Road have failing septic systems. They propose to replace the systems with individual pumps to a two-inch force main system which will connect to the public sewer system on School Road South. The system has been reviewed by the FTMSA and approved. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 14.B. Consider approval of S-2-22, a lot line revision and consolidation of parcels 49-16-00-0-034, 49-16-00- 0-037, 49-16-00-0-078, and 49-16-00-0-088 to create only two parcels and convey 0.70 acres from the Sico property to the new Battaglia property, 3030 and 3060, Ketchy Court, R-R zoning. Mr. McKenna made a motion to approve S-2-22, a lot line revision and consolidation of parcels 49-16-00-0- 034, 49-16-00-0-037, 49-16-00-0-078, and 49-16-00-0-088 to create only two parcels and convey 0.70 acres from the Sico property to the new Battaglia property, 3030 and 3060, Ketchy Court, R-R zoning. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that Mr. Sico wanted to put a shed on his property and couldn’t meet the side yard requirements for the shed. This revision would accomplish that. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -6- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 ENGINEERING: 15.A. Consider reducing the sequestered funds being held to insure completion of the required improvements at the Hillstone Village Development in the amount of $140,649.80 Mrs. Lingg made a motion to reduce the sequestered funds being held to insure completion of the required improvements at the Hillstone Village Development in the amount of $140,649.80. Mr. Spadaro seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that the work for the request of the reduction in sequestered funds has been inspected by the Engineering Department and recommends reduction of the bond. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 15.B. Consider award of a contract for the DPW-2-21 Basin Retrofit Project in the amount of $76,694.00. Mr. Lemak made a motion to award the contract for the DPW-2-21 Basin Retrofit Project in the amount of $76,694.00. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that originally the contract for the Basin Retrofit was for five basins. The bids came in very high. We are recommending that the number of basins be reduced to three for the amount of $76,694. The original budget amount for that project was $40,000. The lowest bid was $113,000. Staff is recommending that Council award the bid for 3 basins (including the one in Summervale on Holiday Park Drive) for $76,694. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 16.A. Consider the awarding of contracts for various road materials and line painting for the Department of Public Works for the contract year of June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023 Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve the contract for various road materials and line painting for the Department of Public Works for the contract year of June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. Mr. Lemak seconded. Mr. Morrison stated that these are material bids for various supplies for the Public Works Department. He requests Council reject the bids for asphalt. As requested as part of the specifications was for Superpave. Superpave is not the correct material for us to use for patching on our roads. We would prefer to use the ID-2 Top. Mr. Morrison stated that he would recommend to Council to consider approval of all the various materials, reject the bids for asphalt, and direct staff to readvertise for the ID-2 Top asphalt material. Mr. McKenna made a motion to amend the original motion and include, reject bids received for the asphalt material. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved to amend the original motion. All those present voted aye to approve the amended motion. Motion approved. vmp -7- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, April 20, 2022 16.B. Consider authorization to bid DPW-6-22 for the coating of the metal roof on the Public Services facility and salt building Mr. Lemak made a motion to approve authorization to bid DPW-6-22 for the coating of the metal roof on the public services facility and salt building. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. Mr. Paiano stated that they had a contractor come in 2020 to see what was necessary to refurbish the two roofs. In the meantime, a few repairs had to be done. In 2020 all spending was shut off and last year’s prices were inflated so the project was put on hold again. This year, there is money budgeted for this refurbishment which will probably be a coating put on top of the metal roof. The intention is to bid this out and have someone coat the roof this year with hopes of a 20-year warranty. Mr. Morrison noted that those are the original roofs from 1995. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: Mr. Stepanovich asked the new Chief Administrator to say a few words. Mr. Nestico thanked the Mayor, Council, and Mr. Morrison for the consideration and opportunity to be a part of the Municipality. He is excited to get started and looks forward to meeting everyone. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None ACTION ITEMS: None ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Spadaro made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mrs. Lingg seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:08 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting was broadcast on local government Channel 19. A true copy of the Council meeting DVD is available for the public to purchase from the Municipality of Murrysville and is in the Murrysville Public Library for review. vmp -8-