Council of the Municipality of Murrysville

THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Council of the Municipality of Murrysville held a Regular Voting Meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 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, and Solicitor Wes Long. Council member Mac McKenna was absent. PRESENTATION FROM FTMSA – BOB MITAL Bob Mital, Vice Chairman of the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority, gave a PowerPoint presentation on the DEP mandated Consent Order Agreement. When he got on the Board in 2019, they had to negotiate a Consent Order with the DEP because of a lot of hydraulic overloads through the system. This included overflowing manholes, overflowing pumpstations, and sewage flow into streets, yards and streams. DEP made everyone that was connected to the FTMSA, Murrysville, Monroeville, Delmont, Penn Township, sign the Consent Order. The Consent Order required them to complete a flow monitoring study of the entire system. They had to go out to inspect and survey all the manholes (4,584) in the system. They had to create a GIS mapping of the system and video inspect all lines internally. This took more than a year and cost over $1M. They had to smoke and dye test all mainlines and customer laterals. All 4 and 5 defects had to be corrected. They also had to enforce their lateral resale ordinance. Every time someone refinances or sells their home, they must have their lateral inspected. FTMSA’s progress in relation to the Consent Order is that they have completed inspection and surveyed all manholes. They completed smoke testing and completed video inspection of the system. Status of 4 and 5 defects was that over 1,000 were found with 23 remaining. An outside contractor is needed to do the last 23. All 4 and 5 defects on the interceptor were lined. The flow model was completed and tested several times. An amendment to the Consent Order was passed recently to give them time to go back and do additional flow monitoring. Additional problems outside the Consent Order were found at the Treatment Plant while doing all this. They had to hire an electrical contractor to help fix all the electrical problems. Instead of replacing fuses, makeshift fuses were used. A leaking valve was not replaced or fixed. Instead, concrete was poured around it. A ratchet strap was used to hold the pipe together. There is no backup generator at the plant. There were some small individual ones but not one in place that could support high voltage pumps. FTMSA is going through an anaerobic to aerobic conversion. The current anaerobic system is 22 years old and experiencing numerous problems which require a significant number of repairs. Leaks on valves and piping with insufficient repairs have resulted in dangerous conditions for employees. Many parts throughout the anaerobic system are obsolete. Maintenance and operational costs will be significantly lower with an aerobic system. FTMSA has implemented a new SCADA System. Equipment was purchased to complete repairs in-house instead of outside contractors. A new billing system was implemented along with a new work order tracking system. Pumps were replaced at the main pump station. They have intermunicipal agreements with surrounding communities in relation to their consent order work. There is still a lot of work to do. vmp -1- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 REGULAR VOTING MEETING AGENDA ROLL CALL/VOTING ORDER: Jason Lemak, Jamie Lingg, Mac McKenna-absent, Matthew Olszewski, Carl Stepanovich, Dayne Dice, Eli Diacopoulos, and Mayor Synan. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council President, Dayne Dice led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. UNISTED AMENDMENTS: Mr. Nestico stated that there would be an amendment to add 16.A. Award the bid for surplus equipment. There are five pieces of equipment/vehicles sold on Municibid. The sales total was around $18,000. CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS: A. Approval of November 6, 2024 Council Meeting Minutes B. Accounts Payable C. Cash Investments and Transfers Mr. Stepanovich made a motion to approve the Consent Calendar Items. Mr. Lemak seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. MAYOR’S COMMENTS: Mayor Synan presented the following announcements. Curbside Leaf Collection Program has one date left - Saturday, December 14th. You must schedule a pick-up by completing the Curbside Leaf Collection Program Form on the website. There is a 20-bag limit. The deadline to sign up is Thursday before the pick-up date. There were so many leaves on Saturday, the 16th, that some of the areas didn’t get picked up till Monday because the trucks were overloaded. Murrysville Community Library is having Putts for Pages. It’s an indoor mini golf event and fundraiser at Murrysville Community Library on Saturday, November 23rd from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The cost is $5 per player. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. Register today at https://givebutter.com/mclputts. Glass Recycling “Pop-Up” Collection Event will be Saturday, December 7th from 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at Veterans Field parking lot. Residents are also encouraged to support the Loaves and Fishes Emergency Food Pantry by donating non-perishable food items. Sponsored by the Municipality of Murrysville and Republic Services Santa at Sardis will be Saturday, December 7th from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Sardis Park. Get there early. Murrysville Recreation Hot Chocolate Hike will be Saturday, December 14th at McGinnis Reserve at 10 a.m. Join the Recreation Department for some fun 2-3 mile hikes over the winter. These are wooded hikes with some slopes and may require stepping over fallen trees. Please dress for the weather and plan for the terrain. Finish the hike with a cup of hot chocolate. For more information call 724-327-2100 x131 or go to www.murrysvilleparecreation.com. vmp -2- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR’S COMMENTS: Mr. Nestico reported that the bridge on Old William Penn should be open next week. We are expecting it to be open on Wednesday, November 27th. Some residents in the community have stated that they haven’t seen any work being done at this time. That is because the concrete is in the curing process. COMMUNITY INPUT: None LIAISON COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS: Mr. Lemak: The Library meets on Thursday and will have a report next meeting. Mr. Stepanovich: Murrysville Parks and Recreation Foundation did meet. The gifting policy is still being worked on. A project being looked at is to have Disc Golf (frisbee golf) in the community parks. Medic One meets Thursday, this week. Mrs. Lingg: The Planning Commission met on Tuesday, November 12 th. There was only one item on their agenda which was a Public Hearing for CU-4-24. This would be taking the old Meier Hardware Store and converting it to a karate studio plus a few other things. Mr. Olszewski: The Environmental Action Committee had no new agenda items for November, so the meeting was cancelled. Mr. Diacopoulos: The Pension Committee met for its quarterly meeting last Thursday. There is an action item on the agenda to approve Salem Trust as the new pension custodian. Some very good planning has been done to transition from the exiting custodian through the end of the year. We’ll make sure there is no interruption with beneficiary payments through December. Salem Trust does provide additional visibility to the beneficiary that the current system does not. That is a positive. The overall fund performance year-to- date is around 10%. There are no planned fund changes. Mr. Dice: FTMSA received a $850k grant. WORKSHOP ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: None ENGINEERING: None COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: None COUNCIL ACTION ITEMS ADMINISTRATION: 13.A. Approve Resolution No. 794-24, a Resolution naming Salem Trust Company as the pension custodian and administrator of retiree benefit services for the police and non-uniform pension plans vmp -3- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 Mrs. Lingg made a motion to approve Resolution No. 794-24, a Resolution naming Salem Trust Company as the pension custodian and administrator of retiree benefit services for the police and non-uniform pension plans. Mr. Olszewski seconded. Mr. Nestico noted that Council did approve Salem Trust at our last meeting. To formalize everything, they need a signed resolution from the municipality naming Salem Trust as their custodian. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.B. Approve Resolution No. 795-24, the Amended Operating Budget for the 2024 calendar year Mr. Lemak made a motion to approve Resolution No. 795-24, the Amended Operating Budget for the 2024 calendar year. Mrs. Lingg seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.C. Advertise Ordinance No. 1094-24, the 2025 Salary Ordinance Mr. Olszewski made a motion to advertise Ordinance No. 1094-24, the 2025 Salary Ordinance. Mr. Diacopoulos seconded. Mr. Nestico stated that this would be advertised so it can be adopted at the December council meeting. Mr. Stepanovich stated that we are looking at five new positions, which he can clearly see the justification for two positions. Mr. Stepanovich asked why another police officer and a Public Works driver was being hired. Mr. Nestico explained that staff in the police department has not been increased in 20 years. The dynamics in the department have changed – the types of calls they are responding to and the types of calls coming in. Usually, two officers need to respond to a call. It is going to help with overtime costs and will lead to a safer environment for those officers responding to calls. Traffic on the highway is quite different than what it was 20 years ago and the size of the community has grown. They are understaffed compared to other same size departments. An additional truck driver in needed in Public Works due to the number of road miles that we now have. New plans and subdivisions come in and we adopt new roads which are more to maintain, more to plow, and more upkeep in general. An engineering technician is being hired because our current engineering technician is getting closer to certification and taking on a higher level of responsibility. The tech would do more general routine administrative work with mapping out our stormwater system and being responsive to our One Calls All those present voted aye. Motion approved. 13.D. Advertise Ordinance No. 1095-24, the 2025 Tax Ordinance Mrs. Lingg made a motion to advertise Ordinance No. 1095-24, the 2025 Tax Ordinance. Mr. Stepanovich seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. vmp -4- THE MUNICIPALITY OF MURRYSVILLE Regular Voting Meeting – Tuesday, November 19, 2024 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT: None ENGINEERING: 15.A. Authorize release of the bond being held to ensure completion of the CoalTech Petrographic Associates Inc. parking lot improvements Mr. Lemak made a motion to authorize release of the bond being held to ensure completion of the CoalTech Petrographic Associates Inc. parking lot improvements in the amount of $13,321.90. Mr. Diacopoulos seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. PUBLIC WORKS AND PARKS: 16.A. Approve the sale of three municipal owned vehicles, one utility and a snowblower through a competitive online bidding auction known as Municibid. Mr. Lemak made a motion to approve the sale of three municipal owned vehicles, one utility and a snowblower through a competitive online bidding auction known as Municibid. Mrs. Lingg seconded. All those present voted aye. Motion approved. OLD BUSINESS: None NEW BUSINESS: None EXECUTIVE SESSION: 19.A. Property Lease/Legal Matters Mrs. Lingg made a motion to adjourn to 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 8:00 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-