Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members, Jamie Lee Korns, Jason Lemak, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna, Tony Spadaro, Carl Stepanovich, and Mayor Synan. Also present were Chief Administrator, Michael Nestico, Community Development Director, James Morrison, and Solicitor, Adam Long. Council President, Dayne Dice was absent. RECOGNITION BY MAYOR SYNAN GIRL SCOUT TROOP #16380 Mayor Synan stated that Girl Scout Troup #16380 was awarded the Girl Scout Bronze Award which encourages the participants to find a project that can make a difference in their community. The group, based out of Emmanuel Lutheran Church on Old William Penn Highway, connected with the non-profit PA Connecting Communities on a program for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities demonstrating how to plant flowers. It also included the creation and donation of a sensory board for the Murrysville Community Library, which the troop presented to the Library on June 6th. The Board was created entirely through donated materials. They also made flyers and bookmarkers for the library on how to interact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The troop, which includes 21 members, was split into two Bronze Award groups. A second group is working on an animal sustainability project that will be presented later this year. The Mayor then read the Meritorious Citations to Girl Scout Troop #16380. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA Mr. Spadaro, on behalf of Council, wanted to let the people of Rustic Ridge in Plum Borough know that we are thinking of them and our prayers are with them. ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Jason Lemak, Tony Spadaro, Dayne Dice-absent, Jamie Lee Korns, Carl Stepanovich, Mac McKenna, Jamie Lingg, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council Vice President, Tony Spadaro led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: None CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of August 2, 2023 Council Meeting Minutes B. Accounts Payable C. Cash Investments and Transfers Mr. Lemak made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, August 16, 2023 MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan stated that on behalf of the Municipality of Murrysville, he wanted to express our heartfelt condolences to the families who lost their lives in the tragic explosion and fires that occurred in Plum Boro this past Saturday morning. We stand ready to help our neighbors in Plum Boro any way we can. The Mayor wanted to thank our fire departments that assisted Plum Fire Department, Sardis, Murrysville, and White Valley and also Medic One for the support they gave to Plum at this tragic incident. The Mayor also wanted to thank the following volunteer fire departments who came to Murrysville to provide fire protection to our citizens during that time: Irwin had a truck at Sardis and Murrysville stations, South Buffalo had a truck at Sardis, Bradenville had a truck at White Valley along with Hannastown, and Forbes Road Rescue was standing by for vehicle accidents. Tuesdays at Townsend: The next and last one will be August 22nd with live entertainment by Derrick Beattie from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. Food and beverages will be available from PGH Smokehouse and Sobel’s Obscure Brewery. Townsend Park is located at 130 Townsend Park Court. Any cancellations will be posted on Facebook and our website www.murrysvilleparecreation.com. Star Party with the Amateur Astronomers’ Association on Friday, August 18th at Murrysville Community Park, Field 6. Contact www.murrysvilleparecreation.com or call 724-327-2100 ext. 131 for more information. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Nestico stated that staff was contacted by Comcast that they submitted an application to the state for ARPA funding to complete broadband infrastructure upgrades within the Municipality of Murrysville. Next months’ meeting will have the Short-Term Rental Ordinance discussion as well as the MMO calculation for the pension plans. COMMUNITY INPUT: Ryan Miller, 3573 Meadowgate Drive: Mr. Miller talked on the Short-Term Rental Ordinance. He resides at his Meadowgate residence during the summer months with his children and comes up in the winter to go skiing. He does rent out his home about 33% out of the year to short-term rental guests. In regards to parties, there were two family gatherings which were both approved by the property manager. This took place during Easter and Thanksgiving. He does have ring cameras on the front and rear of his property. He does take great pride in his home. Mr. Miller wanted to give a landlord’s perspective of the rental. It is not a party house, and he is not a real estate investor from Florida. In regard to the ordinance, he would humbly ask that Council be reasonable with the acreage. He is all for permitting. Dr. Lee Korns asked Mr. Miller how long he has rented his house out. Mr. Miller answered, for about a year. Mrs. Lingg asked if he uses a service like AirB&B or VRBO to rent his house out. Mr. Miller said he does use those services. They are able to vent everyone that uses the house. Most of the people came to visit family. Mrs. Lingg asked if there was a rating system in place through these apps. Mr. Miller stated that both the landlord and tenant are rated every stay. They have had no instances at the house. Mr. Stepanovich asked what the zoning is of his property. Mrs. Lingg answered that Meadowgate is probably an R-2. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Mr. McKenna asked Mr. Nestico if the complaints received by the Municipality were about this property or were there multiple complaints from different people. Mr. Nestico stated that the feedback he received was not relative to this property. Tom Pike, 3806 Greensburg Pike: Mr. Pike was here to speak on behalf of the 35 members of Protect PT that do live in Murrysville on the proposed Ordinance No. 1075-23. This is a strong ordinance and will do a lot to protect the air and water and prevent backyards from becoming toxic underground landfills. He encourages Council to pass this ordinance. He is a little disappointed that provisions were not added to require operators to carry liability insurance. There will be opportunities to add this kind of thing in the future. He urges Council to vote yes on behalf of the 35 members in Murrysville, their families, and their neighbors to this Ordinance No. 1075-23. Laura Vincenti, 127 Ridge Lane: Ms. Vincenti stated that she is a new resident to Murrysville from the South Hills. She is here to address the injection well ordinance. Having spent so much time in Washington County, she is familiar with the effects and dangers when the fracking industry goes wrong. She does appreciate that Council is being proactive in putting an ordinance in place around injection wells in our community. She has seen recent meetings and knows that there were some recommended changes to the ordinance. She is a bit disappointed not amending the ordinance to include bonds being set aside to ensure wells are plugged when they reach the end of their useful life or are abandoned. Unplugged wells is something she hopes to see addressed in future versions of this ordinance. Unplugged wells can leak contaminates into the air or into our ground water. Ms. Vincenti asks that Council consider these issues and appreciates the work being done around this. She is happy to be a part of this community. LIASONS COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. McKenna: A big thanks to the Parks and Recreation Department for the Concert in the Park on Saturday. The fireworks had to be postponed due to weather, but there were some good times earlier in the day. The last Tuesdays at Townsend will be Tuesday, August 22nd. Mrs. Lingg: The School Board Meeting was this past Monday. There was nothing of mutual concern brought up. The next combined School Board Meeting and Committee-of-the-Whole will be next month. Dr. Lee Korns: Nothing to report for Pension. Mr. Stepanovich: The Parks and Recreation Foundation met on Monday, August 7th. We do need more members on the board. All people present at the meeting will do a through review of the Hill Group Report, review the by-law, and review the survey results that were conducted with respect to all of the neighborhood parks. The objective was to come up with three major projects for the future, with one being pickleball. They will meet again next month. Mr. Lemak: The Library meets tomorrow evening. Mr. Spadaro: Medic One meets tomorrow night. vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, August 16, 2023 WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: None ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14.A. Adopt Ordinance No. 1075-23, an ordinance of the Municipality of Murrysville amending Chapter 220-31 – Standards for Specific Uses, adding subsection EE Injection Well to the Code of the Municipality of Murrysville. Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to adopt Ordinance No. 1075-23, an ordinance of the Municipality of Murrysville amending Chapter 220-31 – Standards for Specific Uses, adding subsection EE Injection Well to the Code of the Municipality of Murrysville. Mrs. Lingg seconded. Mrs. Lingg asked if, in order to get their license, are they required to be bonded through the State? Mr. Nestico stated that he would anticipate that, based on the nature of the operation, these companies are already required to have certain levels of bonding and insurance. He is not certain what the state requirements are for that. Mr. McKenna added that he would assume that they would also carry liability insurance for their state license. We are just saying that we don’t have a local bond here under this ordinance. Mr. Nestico noted that it is certainly something that can be added in the future. There are other safeguards that protect the municipality. Mr. Morrison stated that permitting is through Federal, not the State. Mr. Stepanovich stated that since it costs so much to cap a well, should there be some kind of a bond put in place or not? He likes the way the ordinance is, but we should look at a few items in addition to the current ordinance. Mr. Nestico stated that we certainly have the ability to do that, whether we would amend this ordinance or took those revisions and added them to the existing version we have tonight. It would then have to be readvertised. Getting the ordinance in place was the most important priority. Dr. Lee Korns stated that we all share the same concerns to protect the safety and well-being of our community, but she is in favor of getting an ordinance in place much sooner rather than later and then revisiting with new information. Mrs. Lingg, Mr. McKenna, and Mr. Lemak all concurred that the ordinance needs to be put in place and any amendments can come later. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, August 16, 2023 ENGINEERING: 15.A. Authorize advertisement of the draft MS4 Pollution Reduction Plan for public comment. Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to authorize advertisement of the draft MS4 Pollution Reduction Plan for public comment. Mrs. Lingg seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 15.B. Authorize advertisement of Ordinance No. 1078-23, an ordinance accepting streets located in the Barrington Heights plan situated in the Municipality of Murrysville, County of Westmoreland and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as part of the public highway system of the Municipality of Murrysville, County of Westmoreland and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. McKenna made a motion to authorize advertisement of Ordinance No. 1078-23, an ordinance accepting streets located in the Barrington Heights plan situated in the Municipality of Murrysville, County of Westmoreland and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as part of the public highway system of the Municipality of Murrysville, County of Westmoreland and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Dr. Lee Korns seconded. Mr. Lemak noted that one of those roads experienced a significant slide at one point. Is that road now acceptable to our Civil Engineer? Mr. Nestico answered yes that the developer did rectify the issues. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: 19.A. Property Related Matters Dr. Lee Korns made a motion to adjourn to an Executive Session. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. There was no action anticipated coming out of the meeting. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. ACTION ITEMS: None ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting and Public Hearing were broadcast on local government Channel 21. 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 -5-