Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, January 16, 2024 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Tuesday, January 16, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Dayne Dice, Eli Diacopoulos, Jason Lemak, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna, Matthew Olszewski, Carl Stepanovich, and Mayor Synan. Also present were Chief Administrator, Michael Nestico, Community Development Director, James Morrison, and Solicitor, Adam Long. PRESENTATION BY STATE REPRESENTATIVE JILL COOPER JUDGE CHARLIE R. CONWAY, III State Representative Jill Cooper stated that she has known Judge Conway for several years. He is a caring judge, a fair judge and served with passion and compassion for the people that had come before him. Representative Cooper read the citation from the House of Representatives which is recorded in the State Capital. The House of Representatives of Pennsylvania is always proud to acknowledge those individuals who, through professional excellence, bring great credit to themselves in this Commonwealth; and whereas, the Honorable Charlie R. Conway, III Magisterial District Judge for District 10-3-02 in the tenth Judicial District, Westmoreland County, is being honored upon his January 2, 2024, retirement after 24 years of distinguished service. He has served the communities of Murrysville, Export and Delmont. Active in his community, he is a member of the Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County Bar Associations, the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, the Westmoreland County Judge’s Association, and the Special Court Judge's Association of Pennsylvania. A founding member of the Murrysville Kiwanis’s Club, Judge Conway has been the Franklin Regional public address announcer, and the secretary of Communities, Inc. for many years. The House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania congratulates the Honorable Charles R. Conway, III upon his well-deserved retirement, heartedly recognizes his exemplary record of service in keeping with the highest ideals and traditions of this Commonwealth, offers best wishes for a happy and fulfilling future. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Carl Stepanovich, Dayne Dice, Eli Diacopoulos, Jamie Lingg, Matthew Olszewski, Mac McKenna, Jason Lemak, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council President, Dayne Dice led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: Mr. Nestico asked Council to have a brief Executive Session following the meeting. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of January 2, 2024 Council Meeting Minutes B. Accounts Payable C. Cash Investments and Transfers Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve Consent Calendar Items A, B, and C. Mr. McKenna seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, January 16, 2024 MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan made the following announcements: Rocks Talks! Two special presentations with Erik Selinger. Register at www.murrysvillelibrary.org. “Have a Drink on Me: The Science & Songs of Alcohol” will be held Thursday, January 18 at 6:30 p.m. at Devout Brewing. This event is free. Call 724-327-2100 x131 or 724-327-1102 with any questions. AARP Tax Prep Services will be held at the Murrysville Community Center on February 9 and 23, March 15 and 22, and April 5. Appointments are required in advance at 724-374-8176. If no answer, leave a message. No walk-up service will be accepted. Winter Wonderlab Stem Winter Program will be held Monday, January 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the Murrysville Community Center. Registration is now open for grades K-5. Fee is $45.00 (10% discount for multi-family registrations). Remember that it is wintertime! If you don’t have to go out, stay in till the roads are better or wait for a nicer day. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Nestico stated that the Duff Park pavilion was damaged by a fallen tree. We are working to get the repair done, probably in the early spring. The insurance company is assessing the damage. Staff will be having interviews for the Public Works Administrative Assistant position that was advertised. The Police Accreditation process was just completed. Everything went very well. Murrysville Police Department will once again be an Accredited Department. COMMUNITY INPUT: Ronald Wolfe, 3644 Forbes Trail Drive: Mr. Wolfe stated that when he came to Murrysville, he had problems with sewage. He complained to FTMSA forever and finally talked to Mr. Morrison about the Board. The Board was replaced. He is concerned about Haymaker Run sewer line which, in the 90s, was declared unfit for use. The new Board fired the engineering firm that said that and brought in their own engineering firm. They promised him that they were going to replace that line. Now they said they aren’t doing anything with that except maybe line it. How can you line a sewer line that has been caving in and broken for almost 40 years now. He had to sue them over the sewer pump that is in his yard that is large enough to service 10 homes. Why does he need a pump that large. There has got to be something major wrong with that sewer line. What happened to the #1 priority of the engineering study in the 90s that they said they were going to replace it? Will it ever be replaced? How many other lawsuits are against FTMSA? Mr. Dice said that Council had talked about having FTMSA come to a meeting and talk about what they have been doing, the status of Haymaker Run, and answering Mr. Wolfe’s concerns. Mr. Dice stated that he would reach out to FTMSA and get that on one of the upcoming agendas. LIASONS COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Lemak: The Library meets this Thursday evening. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, January 16, 2024 Mr. Stepanovich: There was a meeting two Mondays ago of the Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation. There was a discussion about drafting a marketing handout on what they do. The signage for Kellman Reserve has been completed. A natural playground was discussed for Murrysville Community Park. The Foundation will have a tent at community events to make aware to the community the difference between the things that the municipality is responsible for, what the Parks and Recreation is about, and what the Parks and Recreation Foundation is about. The Committee decides what is to be done and the Foundation’s goal is to get the funds to have it done. Mr. McKenna: The Parks and Recreation Committee met last Tuesday. Public Works is in the process of painting all the picnic tables and the trim work at the parks. There were four programs this week. The Mad Science Winter Wonderlab and the Hot Chocolate Hikes already took place. The Native Plants class is January 16th at the Library and Rocks Talk on January 18th at Devout Brewing. There is no update on the amphitheater. They are looking at putting a natural playground at MCP and putting more amenities in the parks. They are looking at clearing some of the trails at Townsend Park and the Kellman and Skena Reserves. Elections were held: Dave Metzgar will remain President, Grandmaster Michael Caruso will remain as Vice President, and Celina Kandala will remain as secretary. The scouts are working on putting posts and signs in the parks. Mrs. Lingg: The next School Board meeting is January 22nd. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: None ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 11.A. Discussion of SP-4-23 and S-8-23, a major land development application, Caliber Collision 6037 William Penn Highway, a proposed 12,476 SF auto repair center and the subdivision of 8.83 acres into two lots, tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037, B-Business zoning. Mr. Morrison stated that Caliber Collision is proposing construction of an auto body repair garage on approximately 6.8 acres of B-Zoned property on Route 22. There are two applications. One is for the land development and the other is for subdivision of the property. The Planning Commission recommends approval of both applications. Melanie Bagley spoke on behalf of Victory Development Company out of Dallas, Texas, who is working with Caliber Collision to develop sites across the country. She presented to Council a slide presentation of the development proposed at 6037 William Penn Highway. The project met the intent of the ordinances and high standards of the municipality. Presented tonight is the result of conversations with Mr. Morrison, multiple Planning Commission meetings, and listening to what the community wanted and took to heart what the neighbors who would be impacted by this development wanted. Caliber Collision has over 1,700 locations across the United States. They will meet all of the environmental standards. The operational hours are Monday through Friday till 5:30 p.m. There is no service on the vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, January 16, 2024 weekends. Drop off and pick up is by appointment only. It is a very low impact business model. The site plan meets the ordinance requirements for parking, setbacks from residential property lines, setbacks from the right-of-way, the storm water pond is at the rear of the property, and the access from William Penn Highway is right-in and right-out. Using the ordinance as a guide, they presented landscaping that met that standard. Residents wanted them to extend the landscaping and change the type of planting. They will use more plants, taller plants that are deer resistant and extend the screening visibility. The sewer line was also moved from along the property line and, with working with FTMSA, they will use an 8” main extension, a new manhole, and will run a 6” lateral to straddle the businesses instead. One condition was to have signage on just one side of the building, which they will comply with. They will also do a more subtle freestanding sign. Mr. Stepanovich stated that he is a Planning Commission Liaison and noted that no one from Manordale Farms came this evening and feels that there has been some cooperation with Caliber and the residents. One question is why did Caliber select the lot right next to the residences instead of the lot further east? Ms. Bagley answered that the grade differential to make the storm water pond work was more optimal on this portion of land and with less earth work for putting in the utilities. Mr. McKenna asked if Caliber purchased all of that property? Ms. Bagley answered no, just that particular portion is owned by Caliber. Mrs. Lingg asked if any of the residents were concerned about noise? Ms. Bagley stated that a noise study was done, and the decimals were below the standard for business use in this area. Mr. Lemak asked, that from a developer’s point of view, why Murrysville? Ms. Bagley answered demographics, households, where we are pulling our future employees from, local businesses that will complement the Caliber operation by being able to shop locally, and Murrysville has very high standards for development. Mr. Olszewski asked from the beginning of the project to the end how long it would it take? Ms. Bagley answered 210 days. Mr. McKenna asked if they hire local contractors or subcontractors? Ms. Bagley answered yes that they do use local contractors and subcontractors. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13.A. Authorize staff to advertise Ordinance 1084-24, specifying the rate of pension contributions, with respect to the Police Pension Plan, for the 2024 calendar year. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to authorize staff to advertise Ordinance 1084-24, specifying the rate of pension contributions, with respect to the Police Pension Plan, for the 2024 calendar year. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, January 16, 2024 13.B. Authorize staff to advertise the rescheduling of a regular public meeting of Murrysville Council from May 14, 2024 to May 21, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to authorize staff to advertise the rescheduling of a regular public meeting of Murrysville Council from May 14, 2024 to May 21, 2024 at 7:00 PM. Mr. Lemak seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that there was a schedule conflict with the Planning Commission in May. This would be scheduled for the third Tuesday of the month. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None ENGINEERING: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mr. McKenna made a motion to adjourn to an Executive Session. Mrs. Lingg 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 7:55 p.m. The Regular Voting Meeting was 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-