Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building. Present at the meeting were Council members Eli Diacopoulos, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna, Matthew Olszewski, Carl Stepanovich, and Mayor Synan. Also, present were Chief Administrator, Michael Nestico, Director of Public Works, Bill Paiano, and Solicitor, Adam Long. Council President, Dayne Dice and Council member Jason Lemak were absent. REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Carl Stepanovich, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna, Eli Diacopoulos, Dayne Dice- absent, Matthew Olszewski, Jason Lemak-absent, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council Vice President, Mac McKenna led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of April 3, 2024 Council Meeting Minutes B. Accounts Payable C. Cash Investments and Transfers Mr. Stepanovich made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Olszewski seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan presented the following slide announcements. Get Ready! The Murrysville Recreation Department is excited for summer. Lots of programs have been scheduled for this summer and registration is open. Visit www.murrysvilleparecreation.com to find out more information on what programs are scheduled and to register. Murrysville Clean-Up Week is April 15 through April 20 at Pleasant Valley Landfill. Murrysville residents may take items to the Valley Landfill on Pleasant Valley Road from April 15-19 during the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 20 from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Permit passes are available at the Reception Desk, 4100 Sardis Road, Murrysville. The 26th Annual Blessing of the Bikes will be Sunday, April 21st at the Murrysville Alliance Church, 4130 Old William Penn Highway. There will be free coffee and donuts. All bikers are welcome. Curbside Leaf Collection Program will be Saturday, April 27th. To schedule a pick-up, please fill out the Curbside Leaf Collection Program Form on the website. There is a 20-bag limit. The deadline is the Thursday before the collection date. https://www.murrysville.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=529. The Murrysville Police Department will be participating in National Drug Take Back Day and will be doing another illegible registration plate event on Saturday, April 27th from 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Officers will be at vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 the police station to fill out a MV-46(7-23) form for you. This form will get you a new registration plate for free once you mail it to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Boy Scout Troops 208, 205 and Cub Scout Troop 213 and 205 did a great job of cleaning up Scouting Knob over the weekend. Thank you. CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Nestico stated that Public Works is still looking for summer help. Public Works is doing work at Duff Park parking lot. They did run into some issues with the subsurface which slowed down the project a bit. We ask the community to have some patience as they work through that project. COMMUNITY INPUT: Brandon McCullough, 6001 Kingdon Court: He is here on behalf of the Lyons Run Estate Homeowners Association. He is the Vice President of the Homeowners Association which is a neighborhood off Trafford Road, consisting of 51 homes and 55 condominiums located within the municipality. Mr. McCullough is here to discuss and bring to Council’s attention a June 2022 incident regarding sediment that was discharged down a slope onto their property during cleanout of a retention pond that is owned and serviced by the municipality. He has talked to Mr. Nestico and has written to the municipality a number of times. During the cleaning out of the project, hundreds of yards of sediment and mud were taken out of the retention pond and instead of being trucked off as contracted by the municipality thru Pugliano Construction and overseen by KU Resources, it was dumped onto their property without their consent, without their permission, and without their knowledge. They have demanded that the municipality, Pugliano, and KU remediate this situation, come to them with a long-term remediation plan, relieve them of liability, give them some reassurance that the slope is not going to slip. There was a slide on Trafford Road which closed the road. The Jersey barriers are still there – 23 months later. They since have been forced to hire their own engineering firm at a significant cost ($275,000) to go down and remove the sediment that never should have been there. It wasn’t their fault for this incident. The responsibility is on the municipality and its contractors. There are many options the municipality can take: Meetings, contractor’s insurance, do the remediation yourselves, or take legal action against KU Resources or Pugliano Construction. Something needs to be done about this. The Statute of Limitations to file a lawsuit against the municipality, KU Resources, and Pugliano runs out on June 1st. If this doesn’t get resolved by then, they are going to be forced to sue everyone. Renee Shipley, Republic Services: She is our representative through Republic Services and wanted to introduce herself and give a brief update on changes in the industry. They are exploring new ways to partner with customers to create a more sustainable world. From their network of state-of-the-art recycling centers, to converting as generated by their landfills into renewable energy, to helping companies set and meet their ESG goals. Republic provides the most complete set of recycling, waste and environmental solutions from a single source provided. They offer advanced recycling, solid waste, special waste and hazardous waste treatment and disposal. They also offer 24/7 emergency response and equipment rental and cleaning. They are also going to be introducing electric vehicles into their fleet. Mr. Stepanovich asked about recycling TVs and computer equipment. Ms. Shipley stated that they do recycle TVs and computers. Just phone them in advance and they will give a date to have it out at the curb. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 LIASONS COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Stepanovich: Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation met on April 8th. Their ending balance was $98,848.93. A corporate sponsorship program was mentioned with platinum, gold, silver and bronze levels. Another thought was having event sponsorships. They are looking to expand the number of board members from seven to nine. The next meeting is May 6th. Mrs. Lingg: The next meeting of the Planning Commission is April 30th. Mr. Olszewski: The Environmental Advisory Council was last Thursday. He was not able to attend but has some notes in regard to the Castiglione development. The EAC is concerned that these buffers may not prevent encroachment by future lot owners and subsequent segregation of the stream and suggests that deed restrictions be in place and recorded to draw homeowner’s attention to the buffer areas. Considering the steep slopes within the plan, the presence of landslide soils, EAC recommends that earth moving be supervised on site by a qualified engineer. The developer proposes plantings to provide visual screening and detention basins. EAC requests that plants be identified, and that invasive species be avoided. The meetings are the last Tuesday of each month. Mr. Diacopoulos: The Pension Committee isn’t meeting until Thursday, May 9th. Mr. McKenna: Parks and Recreation had a meeting tonight. Bill Paiano reported from Public Works. They used 12 yards of concrete at Sardis to pave the area. They are re-doing the inside of the pavilion with new structure posts and concrete. At Duff Park, they completed building the pavilion. The Community Park restrooms are open and clean. Shane Shoemaker, who is a boy scout, completed the Scouting Knob flagpole project for his Eagle Scout project. The Kellman project has been pushed back because of it being so wet. Keep an eye out for the new Parks and Recreation tent. There is a health fare scheduled for April 29th from 4 – 7 p.m. at the Middle School. There is a new member to the Foundation, Nicholas Stubich who has a wealth management company in the area. He is putting literature together regarding corporate sponsorships and amenities. Scott Kelsey has resigned from the Parks and Recreation Commission. He will still be involved in volunteering. Thank you, Scott, for the time you have put in for Parks and Recreation. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 9.A. Discussion and consideration to approve the acquisition of a new fire attack pumper for White Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Nestico stated that White Valley has been conducting a search for a vehicle for several years, but COVID kind of slowed that down. The Municipality did budget for this purchase. The budget amount was $800,000. The cost is now coming in higher than that. There are some ways to off-set that cost and the Municipality is prepared to overcome the cost increase through some of the interest rates and earnings within the Emergency Equipment Fund. vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 John Bohinc stated that he has been the Fire Chief at White Valley since 1999. Mr. Bohinc gave a power point slide presentation explaining the fire company’s background, pictures of the firetruck they will be replacing and the specs and reasoning for the new truck. The current vehicle being considered is a 2024 attack engine replacement. White Valley started to spec the vehicle in late 2019. The cost at that time was approximately $715,000. The purchase was put on hold for various reasons. The 2019 vehicle specs would hold a current approximate price of $1.15M in 2024. White Valley has modified the specs to control the costs of the purchase. The vehicle up for consideration is coming in at a cost of $978,833. By committing to the purchase now, the vehicle will arrive in 2025. It will also lock in the price so that no further cost increases are incurred. Murrysville will not have to make any payments toward the purchase until 2025. The cost of the vehicle will be shifted to the 2025 equipment fund budget. The $800,000 currently budgeted in the equipment fund will continue to accrue interest until 2025. The sale of the Murrysville VFC ladder truck will also aid in covering the increase in costs. It will also modify the schedule of purchases to shift future purchases to further budget years. Mr. McKenna noted that we are lucky as a community that the fire departments are so well run and that they really take a lot of pride in the equipment that is purchased. ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 12.A. Discussion regarding expansion of the current Parks and Recreation Foundation board from seven members to nine members. Mr. Nestico stated that the Parks and Recreation Foundation has a defined set of bylaws for the board to include seven members, with permanent seats held by the Recreation Director as Secretary, the Finance Director as Treasurer, a Parks and Recreation Commission liaison, a Council liaison, the Mayor, and (2) two residents at large. After five years of operating, the board wishes to increase the board size to 9 to allow for additional residents at large to be involved. Also, the Mayor and Council liaison have agreed to move into advisory roles, allowing their seats to be filled by residents at large. Recently, community residents have approached the Foundation with interest in joining the board without enough resident seats available. The Foundation is gaining momentum and needs additional volunteers to accomplish its short and long-term goals. Proposed bylaw revisions are provided for review. They have the ability to amend their own bylaws, but just wanted Council to be aware that they are anticipating making this change. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13.A. Approve 2024 Cost of Living adjustment for the Uniform Pension Plan Retirees Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve the 2024 Cost of Living adjustment for the Uniform Pension Plan Retirees. Mr. Diacopoulos seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that there is a 3.1% increase for eligible retired members of the Uniform Pension Plan. This item is dictated by the Collective Bargaining Agreement each year. The value of the COLA is determined by Mockenhaupt Benefits Group and is based on the national urban cost of living index. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.B. Approve the purchase of a Precision Spartan 4x4 Pumper Truck for White Valley Volunteer Fire Department in the amount of $978,833. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve the purchase of a Precision Spartan 4x4 Pumper Truck for White Valley Volunteer Fire Department. Mr. Olszewski seconded. Mr. McKenna stated that Council is going to do the motion without the amount just in case the other engine doesn’t come in at the noted price. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: 14.A. Approve Resolution #788-24, a resolution amending the Municipality’s Official Sewer Management Plan, Whispering Pines Subdivision, a six-lot subdivision, Logan Ferry Road, R-2 zoning. Mr. Stepanovich made a motion to approve Resolution #788-24, a resolution amending the Municipality’s Official Sewer Management Plan, Whispering Pines Subdivision, a six-lot subdivision, Logan Ferry Road, R-2 zoning. Mrs. Lingg seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that the Act 537 Plan is a state plan that each municipality has to adopt in order to facilitate and manage their sewer system and water quality within the municipality. Anytime a new development is put forth, the Act 537 Plan must be amended through a planning module. This resolution is for Greenspace Realty, LLC proposing to develop a six-lot single family subdivision. The sewage module was reviewed and approved by staff. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. ENGINEERING: None vmp -5- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, April 16, 2024 PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 16.A. Award contracts for various road materials and line painting for the Department of Public Works for the contract year of June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to award contracts for various road materials and line painting for the Department of Public Works for the contract year of June 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025. Mr. Olszewski seconded. Mr. Paiano stated that the stone price is up this year. He will try to stock up on stone from the old contract. Prices are in the support documents. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: Mr. Nestico stated that based on public comment, there will be a brief Executive Session to give Council an update on the legal aspect on the matter that was presented. Mrs. Lingg made a motion to adjourn to an Executive Session. Mr. Olszewski 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 8:10 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 -6-