WH EST. 1901 Borough ofWest Homestead Council Meeting Tuesday, March 11, 2025 Minutes Council President Ashley Cain called the meeting to order at 6:19 p.m. Pledge of Allegiance. Roll Call: Present: Ms. Cain, Ms. Ferson, Mr. Harhai, Mr. Karafa, Mr. McLaughlin, Ms. Nikolas. Absent: Mr. Fonos. Also in attendance: Mayor Joe Baran, Solicitor Stanley Lederman, Engineer Mark Brashear, Secretary Donna McMichael. President Cain: Council met earlier for an executive meeting on legal and personnel issues. Public Comment on Agenda Items President Cain asked anyone in the audience if they had any questions on agenda items. Mike Zagnacky: Is the "Right to Know" part of the job for the interim? Ashley: Iti is part of the job to be the "Right to Know" officer. Mike: What is the salary for the job? Ashley: She will work twenty (20) hours a week at a rate of $60.00 per hour. The "Right to Know" will be part of her job. REPORTS Engineer: Mark Brashear Spoke with Jay Caruso about repairing Basic Avenue. There are too many potholes to skim coat. 1. Permanent patches on small repairs and mill out certain sections. Cost $25K. 2. Mill top surface from 8th Avenue to Basic. Two (2) new inches to wearing surface with a 10-year warranty with the proper maintenance. Cost: $75K. Joe Baran asked about the wall on Basic Avenue. Mark stated it would cost about $150-$200K. Ashley Cain said we could use Liquid Fuels monies to do Basic Avenue and crack sealing. John Karafa asked if Jay Caruso could look at the wall. Dave Harhai: Can we use railroad ties? Mark: Not sure we can use Liquid Fuels for the wall. He will look at the wall again. The entire wall needs to be done. The street can be done this year and the wall next year. Advertise for bids in April. Solicitor: Stanley Lederman There was a public hearing at 5:45 pm. on Ordinance 739, Transitional Housing. There were no comments given. The final passage of Ordinance #739 will be passed this evening. Mayor Joseph Baran The GPS tracking is in effect and all the cars are running. Officer Shomo is the Ordinance Officer. We have an updated list. One of our residents is cleaning up Basic Avenue. Public Works will pick up the trash bags. Police Chief Charles Rozzo The police report was given for the month of February. There were 126 calls for the month. Traffic stops are up in the borough. Motorola is giving us 14 new body cameras free of charge. The project next week will be the ALPR cameras on lower State Route 837 at the train trestle area, West 7th and West 8th Avenue, Forest at Laurel Hill Drive, West Run Road at Laurel Hill Drive. GPS tracking devices have been installed in all cars. Next week, there will be training for the sergeants on the GPS system. The cap will be put on the pick-up truck and will now be fully equipped as an SRT unit (Special Response Team). We will be scheduling the Lexipol Accreditation for Phase II. Officers have been assigned to the races in April and May. Policy procedures have been written for RJ. Policy procedures have been written for the School Crossing Guards. We will target the Top 10 Ordinances. Fire Chief John Dindak The report was given for February: 58 calls, 12 structure fires. It has been a busy winter. We are still working on the Knox Boxes with Donna. Baldwin EMS: Chief Todd Plunkett The February report was given: 50 calls for West Homestead. The Health Department is giving free Narcan. The Steel Center has training for EMT students. The program helps. Ifa class is needed (CPR, etc.) call Baldwin EMS. The new vehicle has arrived. A monthly meeting was held yesterday, Bill McLaughlin and Dan Churma attended. Emergency Management Coordinator: Dan Churma On April 13th the 5K race will occur. It is a Homestead event, and West Homestead will be assisting. There will be another meeting prior to the race. Eight police officers will be needed; roads need blocked off. On May 18th, "Girls on the Run" event will occur. This is the third year; West Homestead is taking the lead. There are 150 applicants that applied for "Savvy Citizen". There was quarterly training today with 100% attendance. State monies for the new vehicle are in the Borough account. The vehicle is in transit. It then will go out to "Outfitters". Steel Rivers Council of Governments: Barb Ferson The Firing range that COG owns and operates, if it gets scheduled and not used, a charge will be issued. We are scheduled for street sweeping. There are four new grants opening in DCNR. Steel Valley Enterprise Zone: Dave Harhai The mission is to obtain low interest loans for façade improvements. There are many events coming up: 5K race on April 13th, Scavenger Hunt, Summer Solstice, Silent Disco under the Bridge, Blues Brews, Wing Fest, October Pumpkin COMMITTEE REPORTS Capital Improvement: Ray Fonos, Chair - Absent Communications: Lynn Nikolas, Chair We are updating the dumpster permit. Ashley asked Lynn to work on the rental list and add the vehicle along with the license plate. Add an internal list for Code Enforcement. List the Borough owned properties. Community Affairs: John Karafa, Chair The next meeting will be next Tuesday at 4 p.m. We will discuss Memorial Day, and the summer program. We would like new ideas to be brought forward. Ashley asked John to work on an application for renting out Calhoun Field, fees. Dave: The Steel Valley Baseball little league is starting earlier, and Pony League will start in May. Abby Novak, Junior Council Person The musical "All Shook Up" is coming up. Properties: Dave Harhai, Chair reported by Barb Ferson The next meeting is on May 13th at 4 pm. Ashey asked Dave for the Top 10 Ordinances. High grass and trash put out too early are a few of the issues. Police should inform residents that this is a problem. They could knock on doors. Council would like Dave to bring in Real Estate agents to come to a meeting to update or simplify our procedures for the sale of houses. Public Safety: Bill McLaughlin, Chair I have received good comments from residents about Baldwin EMS. Dan Churma and I attended the Directors meeting for Baldwin EMS. Construction is going on in Pleasant Hills, and the Glenwood Bridge. There will be an increase in traffic. Need an inventory on the stop signs in the borough. Ashley: Public Works will be working on the inventory. Sewer Management: Barb Ferson The waste load report has been completed. Hays and 7th Avenue are being worked on. Three Rivers Wet Weather reports need updated. Grease trap letters have been sent to Bravo's, Panera Bread, Shorty's, and Jimmy John's. Stanley will work on a grease trap fee. Ashley: Asked Barb to create an onboarding process for the Sewer Technician applicants. Personnel: Ashley Cain, Chair Sewer Tech applications are coming in. We have been approached by Lowe's. Do we need a shed? They have three different sizes. An e-mail was received by Tri Cog Land Bank. They have acquired 473 New gth Avenue, 219 West 9th Avenue, and 225 West 10th Avenue. Crack sealing will be done when the weather breaks. Mark will work on sidewalks with Planning Commission. Dave Harhai: Are there any properties that the fire department can use for "live burn" training? Legislation 1. Accepting minutes from the Council meetings, as written, for February 4, 2025, and February 11, 2025. Motion: Mr. Harhai Second: Mr. Karafa All voted in favor of the motion. 2. Approve and ratify all bills paid and to be paid for the month of March 2025. Motion: Mr. Harhai Second: Mr. Karafa All voted in favor of the motion. 3. Approve the agreement with John D Caruso, Inc. to perform crack sealing in West Homestead Borough for $3,800 a day, which includes equipment and manpower, and the Borough to provide materials. Motion: Mr. Harhai Second: Mr. Karafa All voted in favor of the motion. 4. Approve Ordinance 739, amending Ordinance 560, adding a definition for Transitional Housing, in its final form, proposed at a Council meeting on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, and advertised in the Valley Mirror on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Motion: Mr. Harhai Second: Mr. Karafa Stanley summarized the Ordinance. Vote by roll: Ms. Ferson, Yes; Mr. Harhai, Yes; Mr. Karafa, Yes; Mr. McLaughlin, Yes; Ms. Nikolas, Yes. 5. Appoint Cindy Bahn as Interim Right-to-Know Officer. Motion: Mr. Harhai Second: Mr. Karafa All voted in favor of the motion. Public Comment on Non-Agenda Items President Cain asked anyone in the audience if they had any questions on non- agenda items. Joe Deasy, 145 E 8th Avenue: Update on barge. Stanley received material from Attorneys. Stanley stated that some modifications are needed. Joe asked about meeting with Cindy and Ashley told him to go through Ray and Mark. Adjournment at 7:15 pm.