Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Wednesday, February 7, 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, Matthew Olszewski, Carl Stepanovich, and Mayor Synan. Also present were Chief Administrator, Michael Nestico, Community Development Director, James Morrison, and Solicitor, Wes Long. Council member Mac McKenna was absent. ANDCO PENSION UPDATE PRESENTATION Mr. Chris Brokaw, representing AndCo gave a summary of the pension plan. This past year, 2023, was a good year. The portfolio is up 14.34%. It is exceeding its actuarial goal of 7.5%. All of the investments are consistent with the investment policy statement and the asset allocation is in line with the same statement. When you look at the portfolio over the past 5 years, which includes both 2023 which was a good year and 2022 not so good, the portfolio returned 9.98%. Ten percent is ranked in the top ten of its pier groups. Last year the portfolio ended the year at 30.2million, a 2.4million increase over the value at the end of the prior year. The plan paid out about 2.1million in distributions. The plans are well funded on an actuarial basis close to or over 100% for the two plans: the police plan and the non-uniform plan. The Municipality contributed $475,000 to the police plan and $144,000 into the non-uniform plan. He met with the Advisory Board and all signs point to continued, ongoing positive movement in the market. Mr. Brokaw noted that his firm, AndCo, is going to become the institutional arm of a wealth management firm called Mariner Wealth Management. Nothing will change for their clients except for the logo. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna-absent, Dayne Dice, Eli Diacopoulos, Carl Stepanovich, Jason Lemak, Matthew Olszewski, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council President, Dayne Dice led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: None CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of January 16, 2024 Council Meeting Minutes Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Olszewski seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan made the following announcements: Murrysville Recreation’s Hot Chocolate Sweetheart Hike will be Wednesday, February 14th, at MCP, Field #3 parking lot starting at 10:00 a.m. Sponsored by the Westmoreland Conservancy and the Recreation Department. Finish the hike with a cup of hot chocolate. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 Egg My Yard! Egging will be Monday, March 25th. Register to have your yard egged with candy-filled plastic eggs for your own at home egg hunt. Registration closes on Wednesday, March 20th. For more information go the Murrysville Recreation website at https://murrysvilleparecreation.com/195/egg-my-yard. 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. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Nestico stated that as the finance advisor mentioned, AndCo will be transitioning to Mariner Wealth Management. At the next meeting there will be an agenda item relative to the acceptance of that transition. The Duff Park pavilion is open again. A tree had fallen down last month on the pavilion, which has now been restored. The Sardis pavilion will be torn down and rebuilt by the Public Works Department. This will take place in the early spring. The Parks Department has ordered signs to be placed at the various parks and facilities with the emergency after hours number that has been established. This will be a benefit to the folks who rent out the various facilities that might have an issue at one of the parks after business hours. Our new officer, Randy Burger, will be sworn in on Monday, February 19th at 10 a.m. Council and Mayor are invited to attend. We did receive notification from People Gas that they will be replacing around 5,000-6,000 feet of pipe on Old William Penn from Sardis to North Hills Road, which will be done later in the year. COMMUNITY INPUT: Mr. Dice stated that residents can speak about whatever they like as long as it is three minutes or less. Joseph Kiray, 6995 Berkshire Drive: Mr. Kiray stated that no one wants this albatross in their backyards. This is an environmental hazard and should not be built. They were told at the last Planning Commission meeting that all ordinances, regulations, and zoning requirements have been met by Caliber and nothing can be altered or changed. Who gave the Planning Commission permission to change the zoning and permit a pipeline to be built through a green wildlife reserve? If one zoning law can be altered or changed, then they all can be changed or don’t allow a pipeline to go through a green wildlife reserve. Mr. Kiray showed a video of traffic from the entrance of Berkshire Drive and in two seconds would be the entrance to Caliber’s entrance. Cars go 70-80 mph generally and there is no time to react. Mr. Kiray also handed out a brochure explaining some of the auto repair pollutions that they use routinely. They are non-biodegradable and, in some cases, never dissolve. This company does not have a good reputation. Also, Mr. Kiray noted that there was a house buried on that property which was built in the 1950s. Did they get the right permits to do this from Murrysville and the DEP? There would be asbestos flying in the air or washed into the soil when they start to dig their foundation. There was a barn on that property that had horse manure piled to the ceiling which was also buried. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 Troy Smith & Cynthia Smith, 6999 Berkshire Drive: Mr. Smith noted that this would be directly behind their deck. They are upset. They live in a beautiful community in Manordale Farms and this is not the place to build a body shop. Caliber is trying to appease them by putting a big fence there and adding trees and vegetation, but they are very concerned about what is going in their backyard. They didn’t move to Murrysville to stare at a body shop 100 feet off their porch. He is unclear about what vegetation is going to be cut down to see the building from the road and for the entrance. He doesn’t want the lights or the smells and noise in his backyard. Murrysville is a big community and there are a lot of places to put a body shop other than in the back of a residential area. Forest Phillips, 6991 Berkshire Drive: Mr. Phillips stated that they have specific concerns. One is the environmental concern. We have to worry about the fluids from the vehicles, which will have a smell and many of which are toxic. Some are very enticing to wildlife – like antifreeze, which is very toxic. They are worried about not just the pollutant itself and the smell of that, but of the animals that will be killed by toxins and rotting near their homes. They are also concerned about the lights. The cars there will have to be illuminated. The down lights they are showing are elevated enough that they will illuminate the whole parking lot. It is going to be noisy when trucks are pulling into there. They also have traffic concerns, and the location does not make a lot of sense. It is immediately adjacent to a residential neighborhood. There are better locations for this in Murrysville. Chris Stevens, 2401 Willow Drive: He is concerned, like everyone else, about this massive building that is going in right next to their homes. It was already brought up about sewage running through the green space. He didn’t see any information about an Environmental Impact Study for the additional run-off that is going to bring through that area. There is going to be a commercial dumpster right next to residential property. There is only one side on that plan that has an 8-foot privacy fence. The rest of the perimeter, right behind their homes, is a 6-foot-tall chain link fence with privacy slats. They say that they have normal operating hours up to 5:00 pm, but everybody has slow and busy times and there will be overtime if they have more business than they can handle. He shares the same concerns as everyone else. There are plenty of already developed properties in Murrysville. Why tear down that beautiful area next to their homes. Billy Geiselhart, 2404 Willow Drive: He agrees with everyone. You are adding a lot of hard scapings to this area right in the green space. How are you going to manage that water run-off? You have pamphlets in the lobby about managing water and sewage better and not putting all this hard scaping in. You are going to do the complete opposite of this. Is there any information on what the sewage exemption in 14.C. is getting approval of in the resolution? He doesn’t see the benefit of bringing this company in. Ken Bererger, 2411 Willow Drive: Mr. Bererger stated that a lot of the points he was going to make were already made very elegantly and passionately. He is a businessman and understands that Caliber wants to make an investment. It turns into a bad investment if everybody around you is going to give Council and Mayor a hard time and the business a hard time. There are miles of property where if you built, no one would ever know. There are 100+ homes in that community. If these homes are affected by even 10% you are talking about damages that run 4-5million dollars. If Caliber were offered alternative locations, it would provide much less hassle. There are areas that would probably embrace this. We want business in the area, but proximity counts, and this location just makes no sense. There are going to be real damages done to the residents. There is no damage done to Caliber to move to another location and they will have much less hassle. If it’s the job of the Council and Mayor to try to listen; you are going to have 100 angry people and 1 vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 happy person. They will not be unhappy moving elsewhere. We want Caliber, we want their tax revenue, but we want you to move across the street. Emily Liao, 2209 Manordale Drive: She fully agrees with her neighbors. She is concerned about the possible lawsuit for future long term residents’ health issues from the decision made today. Raymond Setaro, 6984 Berkshire Drive: Mr. Setaro stated that he recently moved in, under 3 years ago. He has two young boys. They enjoy the neighborhood and feel the same way as his neighbors. One point he is concerned about is the potential nuisance caused by construction to young children and animals. How can you construct this close to residential neighborhoods, such a facility as this which is approximately 2 acres, without creating complete nuisance to residential individuals by preventing them from fully enjoying their property. Are there certain steps that have been taken to ensure that any nuisance on property owners is mitigated? He understands that there is a lot of tax revenue to be made with this. However, is there a study showing what the potential diminishment of the property values and assessment values of the houses currently in Manordale Farms would be offset by tax generated by this collision site? There could be legal ramifications for individuals because this will affect property values. It doesn’t seem like a great idea for promoting peace and tranquility among the people of the town. LIASONS COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Lemak: The Library meets later this month. Mr. Stepanovich: Medic One met on January 18th. They had 1,184 ambulance details, 269 wheelchair details for a total of 1,453 for the month of December. They are going to have a mailing this February soliciting subscriptions. Any insurance co-pays would be waived when you are a subscriber. They made two offers to the paramedics, which have been accepted. They are looking for a mechanic’s position to fill. Medic One is just about complete with the by-laws update. Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation met on Tuesday. They had guests, Nick Subich and Gabby Viragova from YTS Wealth Management. There could be a lot of benefit by having that company and those individuals joining the Foundation. An event tent has been ordered, which will be used at various events in the community promoting the Recreation Department Foundation. Mrs. Lingg: The School Board met on January 22nd. There was nothing of joint concern. She will be attending her first Planning Commission meeting on February 13th. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: None ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13.A. Appoint Tony Spadaro to the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority board to fill the vacant, unexpired term ending December 31, 2026. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to appoint Tony Spadaro to the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority board to fill the vacant, unexpired term ending December 31, 2026. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.B. Appoint Nicholas Subich to the Murrysville Library Board, said term to expire December 31, 2026. Mr. Lemak made a motion to appoint Nicholas Subich to the Murrysville Library Board, said term to expire December 31, 2026. Mrs. Lingg seconded. Mr. Dice noted that there were three amazing candidates that were interviewed for this and hope that they want to keep volunteering and doing something in the community. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.C. Adopt Ordinance No. 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 adopt Ordinance No. 1084-24, specifying the rate of pension contributions, with respect to the Police Pension Plan, for the 2024 calendar year. Mr. Lemak seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that this Ordinance has to be adopted annually to establish the 5% contribution to the pension plan. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.D. Adopt Resolution No. 785-24, adopting the Murrysville-Export Emergency Operations Plan. Mr. Lemak made a motion to adopt Resolution No. 785-24, adopting the Murrysville-Export Emergency Operations Plan. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that this is the Emergency Operations Plan that the Municipality has had for a number of years. The plan has updated some contact information. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.E. Appoint Herb Yingling to the Parks and Recreation Commission, said term to expire December 31, 2024. Mr. Olszewski made a motion to appoint Herb Yingling to the Parks and Recreation Commission, said term to expire December 31, 2024. Mr. Lemak seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -5- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14.A. Approve S-8-23, a subdivision application, Caliber Collision 6037 William Penn Highway, 9.4 acres into two lots, tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037, B-Business zoning. Mr. Dice made a motion to approve S-8-23, a subdivision application, Caliber Collision 6037 William Penn Highway, 9.4 acres into two lots, tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037, B-Business zoning. This is inclusive of all staff recommendations and stipulations. Mrs. Lingg seconded. Mr. Morrison noted that this is just a subdivision of the land. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 14.B. Approve SP-4-23, a major land development application, Caliber Collision 6037 William Penn Highway, for a proposed 12,476 SF auto repair center, tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037, B Business zoning. Mr. Dice made a motion to approve SP-4-23, a major land development application, Caliber Collision 6037 William Penn Highway, for a proposed 12,476 SF auto repair center, tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037, B Business zoning. Inclusive of all staff recommendations, conditions, and stipulations as contained in the briefing. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. There was no vote taken on this motion. Melanie Bagley, representing Victory Development Company out of Dallas, Texas, stated that she has been working with Caliber Collision on the proposed subject site for about 9-10 months. They have worked with the Planning Commission on several of the requests that came through that they felt were important to the positive development of this property. Caliber works with a lot of the big insurance companies, and they are the ones that look at the data for need in a certain community. This is where claims are coming in from – in this zip code. In regard to traffic comments, speed, and entrance into the property, some cars are driven in and some are dropped off by a truck, but they are dropped off by appointment only. Other vehicles on the property will be the 10-12 employees. The design of the entrance is based on a recommendation based on the listed “45mph” speed limit posted. That’s why it is restricted to right-in and right-out only. They are waiting for PennDOT approval. After reviewing the noise study of a 72-hour period, the peak noise level reaches about 80 decibels. OSHA standard is 85 decibels. To address environmental concerns, all of the work at Caliber is paint and body repair. It is not oil change, not carburetor repair, not engine repair – none of that. All work is done inside of the building. There is an oil-water separator that will be part of the construction. Any pollutants that leak inside the building will go through that oil-water separator. All plans and documents will be permitted through the state, through DEP. There were concerns about the lighting levels. Foot candles will be at the property line. There are three lights above the garages on the west side which can be put on timers, dimmers, or sensors. There will be increase landscaping down the west side of the property. Water runoff will drain into a retention pond, as per the requirements. Mr. Lemak asked if water was being collected in the parking lot and processed through the oil-water separator in case there was a damaged vehicle leaking oil or antifreeze. Ms. Bagley answered that by the vmp -6- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 time vehicles get to Caliber, any of that type of work would already be done. It would be for the body repair itself. Mr. Olszewski stated that the application was received in October 2023. Prior to the application, what assessment was used to evaluate the location and what alternatives were considered? Ms. Bagley stated that the analysis starts with the codes and the ordinances of the Municipality. Then they assess the property in regard to environmental and Geotech of the conditions of the property. She will look into the issue of a house and barn being buried on the property. Mrs. Lingg asked about the mine subsidence 200 feet down and how that would be affected if you have to dig where that house is. Ms. Bagley stated that according to DEP, there is no chance of impact during construction. They will not be digging that deep. If a house buried is identified, they would do an asbestos study. Ms. Bagley stated that this was the only property and location that was identified by their internal real estate team. Mr. Stepanovich asked if her firm was involved with the New Kensington location. Ms. Bagley answered no. Mr. Stepanovich stated that he is the Liaison to the Planning Commission, and they did a very vigorous dialogue with Victory Development, and they did a lot to satisfy what they were looking for. The Planning Commission did approve the application with the stipulations that were indicated in the briefing. After googling Caliber Collision, he questioned if they were a stand-up organization and was disappointed that Caliber didn’t have a representative at the meeting. Ms. Bagley stated that she can’t speak to the circumstances of the locations mention in the article, but Victory is small, and they would work with any complaint or concern and will be a good neighbor. Mrs. Lingg stated that one of her concerns is that Victory being the developer and building. This will be turned over to someone that they have not met or heard from. You can’t really make promises that they would be held to. Mr. Dice noted that if it is included in the stipulations in the approval, then we can hold them to that. If there is a complaint, we can enforce it. Mrs. Lingg stated that it would be nice to meet the person that is going to operate the facility once they have been hired or actually meet a representative from Caliber. Mrs. Lingg asked about the trees and vegetation that was going to be removed. Ms. Bagley answered that there will be a watermain extension in a public utility easement along the right-of-way on William Penn Highway. Trees will be cleared for that purpose along the frontage. Mr. Olszewski asked what the minimum amount of square footage or space Caliber needs to operate. Ms. Bagley stated that it would be around 2 acres. Mr. Diacopoulos stated that just to be clear, there would be no power train kind of repair that would occur onsite. Would automobiles come there already repaired? Ms. Bagley answered that they would come ready for the auto body repair and/or paint and then returned to the customer. vmp -7- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 Mr. Dice stated that this is in a business zoning district and asked the Solicitor to concur that this is a permitted use. Mr. Long answered yes. Mr. Dice asked what the Council’s powers are in terms of approving or denying this development. Mr. Long answered that since the property is zoned B, this use fits into that zoning district as a permitted use. The goal of Council should be to work, as much as possible, with the applicant to establish conditions and stipulations to make the development as less burdensome as possible to the surrounding residential areas. One of the things that hasn’t been discussed yet is that there is no sewage currently available to serve this property. That is something that needs to be worked out between FTMSA, the Municipality, and the applicant. This could be tabled until the sewage issue is resolved. On the utility plan that was presented, the sewage right-of-way goes across property that the applicant does not own - which is Murrysville’s property. Mr. Dice noted that this is zoned Business. This is private property. We don’t have the right to tell this property owner what they are allowed to build absent enforcing our ordinances. We are enforcing our ordinance to a “T” and not giving any waivers or slack. The applicant agreed to all the stipulations and conditions in the briefing. This is where the shift from the government’s role (to make sure this project is safe) and the property owner’s role, which is his property. It’s not about whether the community needs this, it’s not about whether or not Council even wants this, it’s about whether or not this private property owner has the right to build this on their property. Mr. Long noted that Murrysville does have a stormwater management ordinance, a noise ordinance, etc. that the applicant is always going to have to be in compliance with. We don’t want to set the applicant up to fail. Land Development can’t be approved, in his mind, until the sewage issue is resolved. Council needs to take action within 90 days from when it was first submitted, or the applicant will automatically get approved by law. Mr. Nestico added that there is a timing issue, and this may need to be resolved by the next meeting. By March, the window may close. Any outstanding items need to be addressed and resolved by the February 20th meeting so it can be voted on. The right-of-way needs to be acquired for the easement. The applicant is willing to waive any time running until at least the next meeting in February. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to table Agenda Items 14.B and 14.C until the next February meeting. Mr. Olczewski seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 14.C. Approve Resolution No. 784-24, a resolution amending the Municipalities Act 537 Sewers Facility Plan for the construction of a proposed 12,476 SF auto repair center tax parcel 49-20-00-0-037. TABLED ENGINEERING: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None vmp -8- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Wednesday, February 7, 2024 OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: None ACTION ITEMS: None ADJOURNMENT: Mrs. Lingg made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Olszewski seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 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 -9-