[3:33] Good evening everybody. The time is now 7:03 p.m. I'd like to call this regular

[3:37] voting meeting to order. Today's date, Tuesday, September 8th, 2026. I'll rise

[3:41] for the pledge of allegiance, please.

[3:45] To the flag of the United States of America and to the stand

[3:53] indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[3:59] » Thank you. Roll call, please. Michelle >> Mr.

[4:03] » President, >> present.

[4:06] » Mr. Lynch, >> Mrs. Harris,

[4:09] » here. >> Mr.

[4:11] » President, Mrs. >> here.

[4:15] here. >> Here.

[4:18] » Okay. Agenda item number four. We have a presentation from Mark D'Angelo, West

[4:22] Jefferson Hills Historical Society regarding Lo's Cemetery.

[4:32] I'm just going to read this if that's okay since you had the packet uh ahead

[4:35] of time and then you could kind of follow along and then if there's any

[4:39] questions or comments or anything you want to ask me at the end I'll be more

[4:43] than happy to answer them or if you want to set up a meeting afterwards whatever.

[4:48] Okay. My name is Mark D'Angelo with the West Jefferson Hills Historical Society.

[4:53] Thank you for allowing me to speak to you this evening. For those of you not

[4:57] aware of West Jefferson Hills Historical Society, we operate out of a small room

[5:01] actually where that door is open. Uh located behind Council Chambers, it is

[5:06] our mission to discover, chronicle, and preserve the history of West Elizabeth,

[5:10] Pleasant Hills, and Jefferson Hills. We are a nonprofit organization and rely on

[5:15] funds from member dues, individual and corporate donations, and grant money

[5:20] that may be available. We are actively pursuing all these revenue sources

[5:24] currently to support the our most ambitious project to date, the

[5:28] preservation and rehabilitation of Lo Cemetery located off of Walton Road.

[5:34] The main focus of our Lob Cemetery project is locating and identifying

[5:38] unmarked grave sites on and off the cemetery grounds. There are over 929

[5:44] graves at Lobes with only about 50 or so that have headstones, many of which are

[5:49] unreadable or damaged. Included in these 929 graves are 31 military veteran

[5:55] graves that date back to the Revolutionary War. Of these 31 veterans,

[6:00] 18 have headstones, seven of which are unreadable, and there are 13 veterans

[6:05] that are buried somewhere on the grounds in the cemetery, but not identified. We

[6:10] have already applied through the Veterans Administration

[6:13] for four new veteran headstones. We have received approval for three and the

[6:18] fourth is still pending and we will continue to ask for replacements as we

[6:23] research and obtain the required data for the VA applications.

[6:28] We began our project in December of 2026 when we met with the Pleasant Hills

[6:32] American Legion Post 712 and they helped us with the funding to complete the

[6:37] lobes cemetery survey which is shown on page five of your packet. The survey was

[6:42] completed on June June 12th of this year. What we found and suspected for

[6:47] quite some time was that there are graves and headstones that are not on

[6:51] cemetery property. For example, the Maple family plot is not on cemetery

[6:56] grounds, but on the property of Ruth Hirs, along with the graves of veterans

[7:00] Murphy Caldwell and William Foster. Mr. Caldwell is the first headstone you see

[7:05] when you're walking up the cement path in front of the cement pavilion. Veteran

[7:10] William Foster is the headstone in the photo on page six of the packet. and the

[7:15] Maple family is to your right once you go up the walkway on the back side of

[7:19] the pavilion, also pictured on page six. In fact, the cement pavilion, the

[7:24] basketball pickle ball courts, according to county records, are not on Burrow

[7:28] property, but on the properties of Ruth Hirs and Edward Beetle. The cemetery

[7:32] property was deed to Jefferson Hills Burrow in 1932 by Edward Beetle and

[7:36] Bernett Bernay Samuels, and the burrow has maintained the grounds ever since.

[7:42] So we have established that there are graves off cemetery property and on

[7:46] private property property most notably the property owned by Ruth which is

[7:51] partial 1274-m300.

[7:55] However, we suspect that there are also graves on the property of Edward Beetle

[7:59] which is parcel 1274-m as well. Both of these properties are in

[8:05] taxers and both have been put up for sheriff sale twice with no buyers. We

[8:11] would like to propose that the burrow make an effort to obtain these

[8:13] properties so that any identifiable headstones like Mr. Caldwell, Mr.

[8:17] Foster, and the Maple family are protected and any nonidentified graves

[8:23] can be located and also protected. We currently have Len Stros Stroir from

[8:28] Omega Mapping Services interested in doing ground penetrating radar to help

[8:33] us identify all the grave sites with the burrow's permission.

[8:37] I have included in your packet three maps showing the Hurst property, page

[8:41] two of the packet, the Beetle property, page three, and the combined footprint

[8:46] of these properties combined with Lope Cemetery, which is page four. I have

[8:50] also identified two parcels that the burrow currently owns, parcel 1273-J-149

[8:58] and 1273-J-161

[9:02] along the abandoned section of State Street. In between the parcels is the

[9:06] Gats Dozi property which is 1273-J-151

[9:12] which is also in taxers. The historical society has applied for

[9:16] help through the vacant land recovery program of which the burrow participates

[9:21] to purchase the hir and beetle properties but the parcels are too large

[9:25] to meet the criteria of the program. So we do not qualify for assistance in

[9:29] obtaining these parcels. To date, we have not been able to reach anyone from

[9:33] the Hirs, Beetle, or Gastic families or their legal representatives to discuss

[9:38] options for obtaining their properties. So, we are asking for the burrow's help

[9:43] in securing these properties. as mentioned previously to protect any

[9:47] graves off the cemetery grounds as identified by the recent survey. By

[9:51] securing the Hers and Beetle properties, you will have an extension of Lobe

[9:55] Cemetery combined with the two Jefferson Hills parcels and possibly the Gadget

[10:01] Dosic property to create the potential for a large park, maybe a historic park

[10:06] adjacent to the cemetery. In 179, I'm sorry, um, the Lobe Cemetery and

[10:13] surrounding areas rich in historical events as early as 1777 when the

[10:18] Yohagenia County Courthouse was established on land overlooking the

[10:21] cemetery. In 1794, General Morgan took up quarters

[10:26] in the courthouse and his soldiers were camped at the Old

[10:31] Mississippi Glass Company site during the Whiskey insurrection in 1794.

[10:36] There is even a mass grave of Whiskey Rebellion soldiers that died of illness

[10:39] somewhere in Loes. We think we know where it is that we hope to uh put a X

[10:45] on the mark on the map for that location. This mass grave secured Loes,

[10:50] a spot on the national list of historic places because it is the only known

[10:54] cemetery in the country where federal troops from the Whiskey Rebellion are

[10:58] buried. Historical tourism is on the rise and we have a plethora of history

[11:04] right around the Lobbe Cemetery area that could be marketed. The influx of

[11:08] folks interested in our local history could also help local businesses around

[11:12] Flor and West Elizabeth. If you really wanted to dream big,

[11:17] you could create a replica of the Yohageni County Courthouse on land above

[11:21] the cemetery. The courthouse has two stories, was 24 feet x 16, and from

[11:26] there with some landscaping, you would have a great view of lock 3 in the

[11:29] Managa River Valley, the same vantage point that they would have had back in

[11:34] 1777. All we need now is your assistance to

[11:38] help us preserve and rehabilitate Lo Cemetery and to protect all the grave

[11:42] sites around the cemetery. Edward Beetle and Bnee Samuels Samuels entrusted you

[11:47] with this task and with a little more a little more help, some planning and

[11:51] effort, we could also create a park around the cemetery that everybody can

[11:55] share and enjoy. The West Jefferson Hills Historical Society thanks you in

[11:59] advance for your consideration of our request. Thank you.

[12:02] » Thank you, Mr. D'Angelo, and thank you all for attending from the Historical

[12:06] Society as well. Um, we I I certainly like like your outlook and everything

[12:12] that you're proposing. Um, I I've been well aware I think some members on

[12:17] council have been well aware that we don't own some of the property that is

[12:22] already at Lobes and that came about whenever um I would say about five or

[12:27] six years ago, people wanted to do some pretty big things with the basketball

[12:32] courts and the pickleball courts. And as far as us just maintaining, it's not

[12:37] even our property. I think everything was done with a smoke and a handshake

[12:41] back in the day. And that's kind of how it's it's maintained that um that

[12:46] persona down there. So um we've actually had the solicitor and um Mr. Glister is

[12:52] going to give you guys a little bit of background on how you know we're kind of

[12:56] in the same boat as you. We have reached out to those land owners before and to

[13:01] no avail. there has not been any kind of communication and that was just simply

[13:06] to make sure that we were not trespassing on anybody's land when we

[13:09] were trying to maintain it and take care of it. Um so Mr. Glister is going to

[13:14] tell you um get you up to speed on what we've done in the past so far.

[13:18] » Well, I think you and I already talked about this. We had bet a little bit, but

[13:21] just for the public to know, as [clears throat] uh Councilwoman Stephie

[13:25] mentioned, the the ownership down there came to light a couple years ago when we

[13:31] were looking to do some improvements. And uh you know, I was surprised that,

[13:36] you know, we were able to get in touch with Evan Beetle. That's where I gave

[13:39] you the the contact for the attorney for the estate and that was just, you know,

[13:42] three or four years ago. So, it's it was disappointing. I thought that for sure

[13:45] was at least be one we could be get in touch with. But outside of that, the

[13:50] there's the the only thing we could really find in writing was the um for

[13:56] the gas company. There was a a letter basically saying we can use it if we we

[14:01] maintain the land, but it doesn't really address the ownership issue. And the

[14:04] letter was from like 1967. So, um, so we we spent some effort, uh, trying to to

[14:10] find some stuff, but it's been a couple years since we we, you know,

[14:13] » really dug deep >> dug deep into it and but this is still

[14:16] something that's on their list. It's on my dry erase board down there, uh, for

[14:20] for a while now to try and get this this resolved. So, um, I think we'll talk and

[14:24] and we'll we're going to try to pick this back up again and see if we can't,

[14:27] you know, get to the bottom of this and get some success there because it is it

[14:31] does make sense. I mean, when you look at all that, it it would make sense for

[14:34] for us to have it. It would also benefit the historical society as well. So,

[14:37] » yeah, it would take basically a 2 acre, two plus acre cemetery into almost a

[14:42] 12acre park. >> Yeah.

[14:43] » And I know when I was on the comprehensive committee a couple years

[14:46] back, that was a big push to get more parks more, you know, and I've been down

[14:51] there, I've spent many, many hours down lobes, and there's not many people that

[14:55] participate >> in in that park.

[14:58] » No, I know. We go down, my family goes down there, play pickle ball, and you

[15:01] can always get right on the courts. And just to give you an idea, um,

[15:06] the camper property, which was Charles Withers before it was campered, is up

[15:10] for sheriff's sale as well. And I mean, just to give you an idea of what the

[15:13] cost of that, $1,800. >> So, I mean, I think if we went to

[15:17] sheriff's sale or if you even did back taxes, I think you can get these

[15:22] properties relatively cheap >> at a minimum. Yeah.

[15:25] » Yeah. So yeah, but I thank you for your time and I'm more than willing to meet

[15:28] with any or all of you uh whenever you would like to discuss further and uh we

[15:33] appreciate everything you do for us. Thank you.

[15:35] » I do have a question for you. Would you be open to presenting this to all to the

[15:38] EAC the environmental advisory council? >> Yeah, I could do that. Sure.

[15:43] » We have we'll reach out to you on that because I think from this and the

[15:46] acreage and all uh there'd be very interest in that.

[15:49] » Okay, great. Thank you for your time. Thanks.

[15:52] » And Mr. Mr. Havvertock on the different lots shown on the map. Do we Is that

[15:57] something we uh page four?

[16:06] » Is that something we can maybe look at seeing how many of these lots are uh

[16:10] taxes in the rears >> and seeing how what all on just how much

[16:15] [clears throat] is actually you know being paid how much been sitting idle

[16:18] for a long time. That may help with analysis also.

[16:27] I'll be talking to that gentleman on which specific lots.

[16:33] » Thank you. >> Okay.

[16:37] » Okay. Um number five, reports from burough boards and commissions.

[16:43] Number six, reports fire chief.

[16:49] » Good evening.

[16:54] I'll be doing the report tonight for uh Chief Bendig while he's uh away. I am uh

[17:00] Dan Castavni, a captain for Jefferson Hills Fire Rescue. I'm currently the on

[17:04] shift supervisor. Uh Chase wanted me to provide a quick

[17:09] update on the uh Arnon Drive incident a few nights ago.

[17:14] uh Alageney County Emergency Services report uh received a 911 call for a

[17:18] house on fire at 10:35 p.m. Uh it was then dispatched to us at 10:37 p.m. Um

[17:26] both of our engines were in route along with mutual aid at 10:38 p.m. a minute

[17:31] later and then on scene at 10:46 uh an 8minute travel time. Uh crews arrived to

[17:38] a two-story uh residential structure with fire showing from a attached garage

[17:43] and also a car on fire in the driveway. Uh 180 chief established the command and

[17:50] firefighters uh used two hand lines, one in the garage and one in the front door

[17:55] to uh knock the bulk of the fire back in about 5 minutes from arrival time. Um

[18:01] the fire was marked under control approximately 35 minutes later after um

[18:06] the extension was found throughout the house. Um Alageney County Fire Marshall

[18:11] is investigating the fire and Chief Bendic will have a further update next

[18:16] month uh for that fire. Uh he just wanted me to go over a few uh quick

[18:21] notes. Um, our in incident summary report for last month was uh 69 total

[18:26] incidents, 17 of which were overlapping, meaning we got multiple calls during an

[18:31] incident. Uh, we gave mutual aid 13 times and we received mutual aid three

[18:38] times. Two of those were lightning strikes during uh the storms throughout

[18:42] last month that uh were called in as possible house fires.

[18:47] Um, our average turnout time is a minute 5 seconds. Our average response time is

[18:53] 6 minutes 22 seconds. And then a quick note on the uh

[18:57] certifications earned. Uh Jefferson Hills Fire and Rescue was uh certified

[19:02] by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania uh state fire commissioner as a 100%

[19:07] participating department. This designation signifies our com uh

[19:11] department's commitment to a higher standard of service through nationally

[19:15] recognized and sanctioned uh professional qualification standards.

[19:19] Out of approximately 2400 fire departments in Pennsylvania, only 49

[19:24] carry that designation. And that is all I got for you if there's

[19:28] any questions. >> Okay.

[19:29] » Thank you. >> Thanks.

[19:31] » Thank you.

[19:36] » Okay. EMS is not present. Uh consulting engineer, finance officer, Mr.

[19:40] Habertock. >> I have nothing to add tonight.

[19:48] public works director. Yes. Go. >> I have a question. Mr. Habertock, when

[19:52] are we going to start working on the 2027 budget? Just so we know. Or did you

[19:56] already start? >> Okay. All right. And um I thought maybe

[20:02] you should give a little update about the fact that in your budget we already

[20:06] got 69% of the taxes turned in. that I think that

[20:13] » that warrants something. >> Of the current of the current year's tax

[20:16] collection, we have um outsourced to Jordan Tax Service and as of today,

[20:21] they've they've already collected 69% of our anticipated tax revenue. So, it's

[20:26] going well for the bureau. >> Yeah.

[20:31] » Okay. Thank you. Uh police chief, >> I have nothing to add to my report

[20:35] unless there's questions. >> Madame Mayor.

[20:40] » Yeah. First of all, I just like to congratulate the fire department on that

[20:43] achievement. It's amazing. And also, thank you very much for all the hard

[20:47] work you guys did on the Arnoni fire. Um, I was away this past weekend, but it

[20:52] was right behind my house and my neighbors. Couldn't have been more

[20:55] pleased on how everything went. So, kudos and thank you to you guys. That's

[21:00] all. >> Thank you, Manager Glister.

[21:03] » I have nothing further tonight unless there's any questions.

[21:08] And madam solicitor, uh, I have nothing to add to my written report. Okay.

[21:13] » All right. We'll move into burough resident taxpayer comments on agenda

[21:17] items. [clears throat] First one I have is Amy Pritchard.

[21:31] Hello. Good evening. My name is Amy Pritchard and I live in T Plan. Um, I've

[21:35] been chosen on behalf of our neighbors to who have previously spoken about the

[21:41] adoption of the comprehensive plan. I appreciate the opportunity to speak

[21:46] with you once again about the motion to adopt the resolution 20-2026

[21:51] adopting the burrow of pleasant Jefferson Hills comprehensive plan as

[21:55] the official comprehensive plan of the bureau. At the June 8th meeting, the

[21:59] vote was tabled to develop, adopt, and implement the Burough of Jefferson Hills

[22:03] comprehensive plan so that revisions could be considered after meeting with T

[22:06] plan residents. Due to unforeseen scheduling conflicts, that meeting was

[22:11] postponed for two months. We did not hold anyone personally responsible for

[22:15] those delays and completely understand that when trying to coordinate meetings

[22:18] with multiple people, the stars don't always align. When the meeting took

[22:22] place in August, it was very productive. And Mark Ryenbach, the burough uh

[22:29] um the engineer for um >> Gateway,

[22:34] » thank you. >> The gateway engineer was very

[22:38] productive. He incorporated the agreed upon changes into the comprehensive

[22:42] plan. And when we received that revision on September 1st, we were really pleased

[22:46] with the end result of our collaboration. It was really

[22:50] wellreceived. Everyone really liked how it turned out. Um the only question that

[22:54] we had had that day was on the comprehensive plan date which says March

[22:59] 2025. We question whether the date would change to reflect the revisions that we

[23:04] had made. Um the reply was that we received that the date is simply

[23:11] identified as the latest version of the written comprehensive plan document

[23:15] itself. So, it really didn't mean that we were attempting to move forward with

[23:18] an earlier version of the TA part concept or without incorporating the

[23:23] changes that we had discussed. Um, I don't know if it was verified with the

[23:28] planner or not, but I wanted to um just see if that was uh something that had

[23:33] been verified with the planner to see if we can get the dates up to date or if

[23:38] that was just the date on the plan. Um, but we were told that to be clear there

[23:44] is no intent to circumvent or disregard the discussed revisions that the updated

[23:48] T park exhibit is the version intended to accompany the plan moving forward.

[23:53] Um, unfortunately I was unable to attend the meeting on September 2nd um that

[23:59] public hearing and burough meeting due to flying from a business trip. However,

[24:03] I was able to watch the meeting and um Mr. Glister stated the updated te park

[24:08] plan needed revisions to the previously prepared cost estimate and then those

[24:13] costs needed to be incorporated in the comprehensive plan. That would require

[24:17] some additional work for the burough engineer coordination with the planner

[24:20] at pashik um which would not be completed in time for the September

[24:24] voting meeting which is tonight and that's why it was suggested to be

[24:28] removed from the agenda. Now, I did see on item number 27 that there were um

[24:35] $8,500 in T park plan modifications. Is that something that will include

[24:44] everything that was discussed at that meeting or is

[24:48] it just the um finance aspect of that on the agenda 27?

[24:56] » That's just for the revising. That's for Gateway to revise the plan and update a

[25:00] cost estimate. >> Okay. Thank you.

[25:04] And while we can appreciate some council members pushing to adopt the earlier

[25:08] version rather than formally documenting these revisions and ensuring the

[25:12] appearance of the final draft, doing so would disregard the collaborative work

[25:16] completed by Gateway Engineering, Mark Ryenbach, Burough Manager, Mr.

[25:20] Blistister, President Stephie Pashik, and the

[25:24] residents, as well as the commitments made by council members. If important

[25:28] cost estimate revisions aren't included in the comprehensive plan, what will

[25:32] that do for future grants? Council, burough officials, and the community

[25:36] residents have come together to create a better plan for everyone involved, and

[25:39] everyone knows this process takes time. If the current revision is adopted

[25:43] without the agreed upon changes, and some or all of council members do not

[25:47] return for the next term, the incoming council may not receive the revised

[25:51] plans or have a clear record of the changes discussed, agreed upon, and

[25:54] promised to the residents. Prematurely adopting the comprehensive plan without

[25:58] the revisions is irresponsible and would undermine transparency and trust in Bur

[26:03] decision-making. It signals to the residents that commitments made during

[26:06] public meetings are not reliable. The responsible course is to hopefully

[26:10] postpone adoption until October. So the plan contains a clear, precise, correct

[26:15] proposal that makes all changes very clear to future council members. Sorry I

[26:19] went over. >> That's okay.

[26:20] » Can I address something really quick? >> I appreciate it.

[26:23] » Do you know the plans for T park aren't in the comprehensive plan? That's not

[26:26] what the comprehensive plan means. >> The comprehensive plan would just say

[26:31] we're focusing on bettering our parks. The comprehensive plan it in and of

[26:36] itself doesn't say how >> those are all done outside of the

[26:41] comprehensive plan with the guidance from the comprehensive plan. Doing those

[26:45] things at T park or those revisions have nothing to do with the comprehensive

[26:49] plan other than the con excuse me the comprehensive plan saying that we're

[26:54] going to focus on those things. So why so inclusive drawing of the park with

[26:59] multiple fields showing that in that >> because that's part of the process but

[27:03] that's not that has nothing to do with the comprehensive plan in of itself. The

[27:07] comprehensive plan doesn't say, "Hey, we're moving in on T on T Park. We're

[27:11] going to do this. We're going to do this. Vote on this." And that's what

[27:13] we're doing with T Park. Correct. Even if we adopt the comprehensive plan,

[27:17] everything is still up for debate, change, modification, input.

[27:23] » Um, nothing nothing that's happening from Team Park directly

[27:29] comes from that plan or your your Te plan isn't incorporated in the

[27:33] comprehensive plan. That's not how that works. So all those drawings that are of

[27:38] T park that are in that comprehensive plan on I can't remember

[27:42] » that's not part of that's not the comprehensive plan. That's not those are

[27:46] just those are those mandates are directed by the comprehensive plan that

[27:50] just says we are going to focus a lot of our resources

[27:55] » on recreation >> on recreation. It doesn't say we're

[27:59] putting that in the comprehensive plan and then it's going to be done.

[28:02] [clears throat] If we vote on the comprehensive plan, that's just a

[28:04] guideline for us to focus on the things that our constituents said in the survey

[28:09] needed to be focused on. So, a lot of the people wanted more recreation. So,

[28:14] that's what we're focusing on. Whether or not we passed that comprehensive plan

[28:20] has nothing no bearing on what we're going to do to T Park. That is all

[28:24] subject to planning the way we've been doing it. If we put off the

[28:28] comprehensive plan any longer, we don't have that as a guide to move on with the

[28:33] other things that we want to do. >> We're only waiting a couple weeks to

[28:37] have everything. >> This has already been this has been

[28:39] months and months and months in planning.

[28:42] » But T park shouldn't wouldn't hold up the comprehensive man. It shouldn't hold

[28:46] up the comprehensive plan. >> That is correct. It shouldn't hold it up

[28:48] and it in my opinion it hasn't held it up because it's moving forward. Whether

[28:52] you see steps that it has moved forward or not,

[28:55] » it really truly has. and the collaboration between

[28:58] » that's f but that won't stop once we adopt a comprehensive plan

[29:02] » the the [clears throat] pictures in there were very very preliminary hey

[29:06] here's a potential we can do it has nothing for implementation

[29:11] » the value that you know have everyone's embraced the with the t plan process

[29:15] going on that's the value that that's the implementation

[29:20] comprehensive plan is basically the start of a conversation but pictures

[29:25] there's diagrams and all that. >> So that won't be included in the

[29:29] comprehensive plan if you adopt it. Those pictures and all the ballparks,

[29:33] » those pictures, that's a guideline and that it was it was um

[29:37] » we don't want to have this over and over again.

[29:39] » I understand. But with the help of our engineer, they were showing us the

[29:43] potential of what could possibly go into property that the bur already owns.

[29:48] Nothing is like set in stone. Those are all just possibilities. And then as you

[29:54] have already been a part of, they've taken in your consideration. They've

[29:58] changed that. >> So nothing is set in stone. That's just

[30:02] laying out a goal for us to be able to kind of like frame things around

[30:07] » and for us to be able to apply for grants down the road. We have to have a

[30:11] plan in place or they won't even acknowledge us for potential grants that

[30:15] are available. >> Right. So that's why I was hoping that

[30:17] all of that could be incorporated because the from what I was

[30:20] » but one major >> hearing that it wouldn't be like the

[30:23] cost estimates and things wouldn't all be

[30:26] » complete by tonight's meeting. >> But even the the costs that are in there

[30:30] that's even changing with inflation like that.

[30:33] » It's all exclusive. We're doing a T park. It's exclusive of the

[30:36] comprehension plan. has technically nothing to do with it other than the

[30:40] comprehension comprehensive plan is saying we're going to focus on areas of

[30:45] recreation. I mean they we they put up a last year

[30:49] when they came and showed us the you know a community center was $35 million.

[30:56] That's thanks for showing us but we're not doing that even though it was in

[31:00] there. We're not doing a $35 million community center.

[31:05] The major concern I heard in your um in your comment is that you are concerned

[31:12] for change of council in the future. What if this isn't in the comprehensive

[31:16] plan? Um there's no guarantees in local government at all. And the next council

[31:23] that comes in can take that comprehensive plan and shove it down the

[31:26] toilet if they want. Unfortunately, um the next council that comes in can

[31:31] say we're not going to utilize that grant that they already secured because

[31:34] we think that money is better spent elsewhere and we spent a long time

[31:38] securing those grants, paying our grant writer to secure those grants,

[31:42] » right? >> We can't guarantee anything in the

[31:45] future, but that's why this is a guide. And I think that's one of your main

[31:50] concerns is that there is no guarantee in that comprehensive plan. and you want

[31:55] a guarantee, but we're taking the T park plan piece by piece. And I think since

[32:01] there is no overturn on council anytime soon, I like the fact that we're taking

[32:05] that plan piece by piece and we're >> absolutely

[32:09] » working with you guys and we're utilizing what we discuss and

[32:14] implementing it in a phaseonphase basis instead of having that big outlook on

[32:19] things because the cost estimates we have already, they're five months old

[32:23] and they've already changed, >> right? You know, the the comprehensive

[32:26] plan we started five years ago and so much has changed in it already and by

[32:31] law we're required to have a new comprehensive plan every 10 years. So

[32:34] now we have five years to take what we've paid for, you know, what we are

[32:39] going to vote on and and use that as a guideline. I completely understand your

[32:45] concern, Amy. I really do. >> Um it's just like I always say, I don't

[32:50] know how staff can work in local government because there's no

[32:52] guarantees, >> right?

[32:54] [laughter] I I wouldn't be able to do it, you know. Um, so I I I had listen I

[33:01] voiced my concern in the last meeting about moving forward and I didn't I

[33:05] certainly didn't want Mr. Glister to lose your trust or the resident's trust

[33:09] and t >> I think we're going to you know I know

[33:12] we're going to hold up our end of the bargain because it was a great plan that

[33:15] we all came to. It was your idea about moving the parking and everything. Um, I

[33:20] think we just have to have I hate to say it, but there has to be trust there.

[33:24] » Absolutely. >> Yeah. I can't speak for my fellow

[33:27] councilman, but again, as you and I had a wonderful conversation,

[33:32] I billion% uh support what all has been developed and gone through with deep

[33:37] plan. That's where I'm saying those two different swim lanes.

[33:40] » Right >> here is it blueprint. When I look at

[33:43] that is not a living document. It's a photograph. So it's a photograph

[33:49] comprehensive plan of four years of work. Is this good or bad? You know, do

[33:53] we as a burrow from the residents want to invest in our recreational and the

[33:58] other items in that? >> Right?

[33:59] » That's over here. That started the dialogue saying, hey, we appreciate

[34:05] what's going on with T plan. We have concerns and now we've been doing a

[34:10] wonderful uh uh process of the interaction together to find even a

[34:15] better plan for T park. That is what we vote on. We're voting we're not voting

[34:19] on a comprehend plan saying that's the picture that we're voting on and the

[34:23] only thing we're voting on. We're going to be voting on a future all the work

[34:27] between yourselves, our engineers and Mr. glister and all that saying here's

[34:33] how together we want T park to become >> and that's what I'm supporting 100%.

[34:39] » But that's you know we got to get this thing out and because that's got to sit

[34:42] with Alane County so long before it'll come back.

[34:45] » That's our main concern is the time that it takes at the county. It's not that

[34:49] we're trying to rush it through because of anything on the burrow side. It's the

[34:54] it is the county, >> right? you know, and then you if it's

[34:58] not there there may be some things that in there that we need to move forward on

[35:02] grant-wise and if it's not implemented or approved by the county that we don't

[35:07] have that as a guide to go off of e either I I can't speak for the grant

[35:10] writer but I know that there are a lot of things that have to be in place in

[35:14] order to secure the the grants and sometimes an implemented comprehensive

[35:19] plan is one of them. >> Right. Thank you for explaining

[35:22] everything. Appreciate it. >> Yeah.

[35:24] » Thank you. Thank you. >> Okay, next is Lisa.

[35:35] » Thank you. I wanted to do two quick things tonight. First of all, I wanted

[35:39] to thank council um the solicitor and the bureau manager for listening to the

[35:45] citizens and holding the public hearing about the lease and also for hiring John

[35:50] Smith to put some extra eyes on the lease based on his years of experience

[35:55] and I really appreciate that. I I think that that you know just helped better

[35:59] the process. Now me personally, do I want to see the bureau sign a lease? No,

[36:03] absolutely not. However, I ask you to trust John Smith and you did and so now

[36:08] I have to trust John Smith gave you good advice and if you adopted the changes

[36:14] and the revisions if any that he offered then I will trust the process. So I just

[36:19] wanted to say thank you for doing that. Um, the second thing is I'm going to be

[36:24] emailing tomorrow to the bureau manager and president of council a link to a

[36:29] report that our organization the environmental integrity project released

[36:33] and it's data centers. And two weeks ago, Governor Shapiro, you heard him

[36:38] say, "We're going to allow data centers, but they can't use the grid. They can't

[36:44] impact rateayers, but they have to bring their own power source." Problem. big

[36:50] problem. Those power sources, this report will

[36:54] show you are what are be are called behind the meter gas power plants.

[36:59] They're completely powered by fracked gas.

[37:03] And I have shared with several of you that I have it from a very reliable

[37:07] source that the data center companies have drawn a circle around Jefferson

[37:12] Hills and they want Jefferson Hills as one of their primary locations in

[37:16] Alageney County. So, I'm also going I did share with uh president of council

[37:22] and burough manager an ordinance that John Smith wrote. Um it is when you see

[37:28] it, it says Twilight Burrow, but it is was written by John. Um and it is

[37:32] specific to the energy sources for data centers. And I know thank you again for

[37:37] being proactive about talking about getting a data center ordinance, but I

[37:41] would also encourage you to look at that if you do have questions. Of course,

[37:45] John is the author of that. he can help you. But I just always want to be

[37:49] protective of people's health. You know, we don't want to stop technology, but we

[37:54] also don't want to become ground zero for something that is going to alter.

[37:59] You know, you have a vision with your comprehensive plan, which is awesome. I

[38:03] know a lot of hard work went into that. I want to make sure that that vision

[38:06] stays true to what you want. But I just again very reliable source ask me if I

[38:11] had the year of Jefferson Hills Council and to please alert you that they are

[38:16] looking at Jefferson Hills quietly. They're hiding, you know, below the

[38:19] radar right now. Now, our organization has a list and we I've put Jefferson

[38:24] Hills on it. Um we are grant driven. We help um with the state side of things,

[38:30] the permitting side of things. I can also help locally. Um, it's no cost to

[38:34] the burrow, but I did add Jefferson Hills to our watch list and I will keep

[38:38] you informed if I do hear anything else. But again, just asking as you always

[38:43] seem to do is be proactive and take a look at that energy power sector part of

[38:48] it because when I heard the governor say that, that's exactly what he meant. So,

[38:53] thank you again for anything that you can do on the the plus side to move

[38:57] things forward on that. And if you have any questions or if I can be of help in

[39:00] any way, just let me know. >> Thank you, Lisa. Thank you.

[39:03] » Yeah, I'm gonna have um Mike and I looked over the information that you had

[39:07] sent us. I'll have him send that out to the rest of council and mayor just

[39:10] because I don't think we we didn't do that. We were involved in the in getting

[39:15] Mr. Smith on board and being at the meeting and everything um so that

[39:18] council can look over everything that you sent. And um appreciate your

[39:22] comments about Mr. Smith as well because there were people in the group that

[39:26] stood up and verbally said we're really happy he was here and we were happy that

[39:31] Mr. Moore did his presentation and believe it or not, they they actually

[39:36] felt more confident about the process. So, um, appreciate you saying that.

[39:43] » Thank you. >> And also, I want to apologize. I was not

[39:45] here last week. My my elderly mom had surgery that day

[39:49] » and I was not able to be here, but did want to take a minute to say thank you.

[39:53] » Sure. Hope she's doing well. >> Thank you.

[39:56] » Okay. Um, next is Ra, I believe. Do you want to speak or do you want me to read

[40:01] it? >> Okay,

[40:03] » you pretty much answered everything. >> Okay,

[40:05] » I'll read it. Um, Ra Patton 6045 Willm. I am submitting this statement regarding

[40:11] TE Park. An agreement on the plan for TE Park has already been established.

[40:15] However, for those agreed upon changes to be binding, permanent, and

[40:18] enforceable, they must formally incorporated be formally incorporated

[40:22] into the town's comprehensive plan. Bypassing the comprehensive plan leaves

[40:27] critical details vulnerable to future misinterpretation or alteration.

[40:31] Updating the comprehensive plan first ensues ensures that the community is

[40:36] agreed upon vision is legally protected, fully transparent, and aligned with our

[40:40] long-term goals. For those reasons, I respectfully request that the council

[40:44] table any final action on this matter until the October vote voting meeting.

[40:48] Taking until October allows the necessary time to properly in integrate

[40:52] these updates into the comprehensive plan. So everyone is moving forward with

[40:56] a complete, accurate and official record. Thank you for reading this into

[40:59] the record and for your consideration. Sure you don't have any questions?

[41:03] » Okay.

[41:06] Okay. Um next the last agenda item is Jeffrey

[41:12] Melville Steltzer um 733 Waterman Road. Dear council members, I'm writing to

[41:18] express my strong support for the proposed EQT Energy Development Proposal

[41:23] 17. I encourage you to approve this project for the benefit of our

[41:27] community.

[41:31] Okay. All right. We'll move on to agenda item

[41:34] number eight. Motion to approve the monthly bills.

[41:37] » Motion. >> Motion by Councilman Bence.

[41:40] » Second. >> Second by Councilwoman Buccy. All those

[41:42] in favor say I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Number nine. Motion to

[41:48] approve the monthly payroll. >> Motion.

[41:50] » Motion by Councilman Bence. >> Second.

[41:53] » Second by Councilwoman Rido. All those in favor say I. I.

[41:57] » Any opposed? >> Motion carries.

[42:00] » Number 10. Motion to approve minutes of agenda meeting August 5th, 2026.

[42:06] » Motion. >> Motion by Councilman Ben.

[42:09] » Second. >> Second by Councilwoman Mirez. All those

[42:11] in favor say I. >> Any opposed? Motion carries.

[42:16] Number 11. Motion to approve minutes of regular meeting August 10th, 2026.

[42:21] » Motion. >> Motion by Councilman Bence.

[42:24] » Second. >> Second by Councilwoman Rido. All those

[42:26] in favor say I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries.

[42:31] Number 12. Motion to hire Blank to the position of in-house burough engineer.

[42:36] » I'd like to motion to hire Leonard White.

[42:38] » I'll second. >> Motion by Councilman Ben to hire Leonard

[42:41] White. Second by Councilwoman Maris. All those in favor say I. I.

[42:46] » Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Congratulations to Mr.

[42:49] White. >> Number 13. Motion to adopt the blank

[42:54] flag design as the official flag of the Burrow of Jefferson Hills.

[42:58] » I'll make a motion to adopt option number two.

[43:00] » I'll second. >> Motion to adopt option number two by

[43:04] Vice President Pollock. Second by Councilwoman Merz. All those in favor

[43:08] say I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries.

[43:13] Number 14, motion to ratify the retainage of Smith's Butts LLC regarding

[43:19] the EQT lease review. >> A motion.

[43:22] » Motion by Councilwoman May. Second by Councilwoman Rido. All those in favor

[43:26] say I. I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries.

[43:34] Number 15. Motion to authorize the proposed leasing of burough owned oil

[43:38] and gas mineral rights for parcel number 883-R250

[43:44] and parcel number 10005-R1000

[43:48] to EQT. >> A motion.

[43:50] » Motion by Councilman Bence. >> I'll second.

[43:53] » Second by Councilwoman Mirez. All those in favor say I. I. [clears throat] Any

[43:57] opposed? >> Opposed. Oppos.

[43:59] » Roll call, please. Michelle. >> Mr. B.

[44:03] » Yes. Mrs.

[44:06] » No. >> Mr. Lynch.

[44:09] » Mrs. >> Yes.

[44:12] » Mr. >> Yes.

[44:14] » Mrs. >> No.

[44:16] » Mrs. Steph. >> Yes.

[44:19] » M. Madam President, can I make a comment, please? Um, while I am thankful

[44:22] that we did employ John Smith to um, ensure those safeguards for this lease,

[44:28] um, what I am a little displeased with is the time that we got all of this

[44:33] information given to us. Um, it would seem just very rushed to me. Um, but

[44:39] otherwise, I feel confident in the decisions that John Smith has made for

[44:44] our burrow. But with that, I would like to make a motion

[44:48] um on the floor to

[44:54] reserve or earmark 35% of whatever funds should come in from EQT in order to

[45:00] protect us in the future from any sort of incidents that may occur um

[45:07] problems, uh resident um mishaps because, you know, we were given a

[45:13] presentation And yes, accidents can happen. And I would just feel more uh

[45:20] secure in knowing that we earmarked a a substantial amount of that money

[45:26] towards any incidentals that should arise in the future.

[45:30] » Can I just comment on the procedure? >> Sure.

[45:32] » I think if you're going to amend the agenda with an additional motion, you'd

[45:35] have to make it a motion to amend the agenda and then have a second and have a

[45:38] majority vote. And if so, then you could make your motion.

[45:41] » Okay. So a motion to amend the agenda would be

[45:44] » I would like to make a motion to a amend the agenda

[45:50] » and [snorts] add that we could earmark 35% of revenue that we receive from EQT

[45:55] into a special fund in case of incidentals or future implications that

[45:59] could arise. >> Motion by Councilwoman Rido.

[46:04] » I'll second it. >> Second by Councilwoman Buussy. Um before

[46:07] we vote, I would just like to >> You're just voting on amending the

[46:09] agenda to allow the motion. That's what you're voting on.

[46:12] » Okay. >> Okay.

[46:13] » Then she would make if that's okay, then she'd make the specific motion just like

[46:17] we're doing down here in 19 and 20. You make the specific motion to amend and

[46:20] then you can do the new motion. >> Okay. Um all those in favor to amend the

[46:24] emotion the amend the agenda. >> Say I.

[46:29] » I. >> I. I'm fine with it.

[46:34] » Any opposed? Sorry. >> No. No.

[46:37] » Roll call, please. Michelle. >> Mr. B. No

[46:44] » Mr. Lynch. [laughter]

[46:49] » Yes, >> Mr. Pen.

[46:52] » No, >> Mrs.

[46:54] » Yes, >> Mrs.

[46:57] » Yes.

[47:00] » Is Is there discussion after she puts the motion on the floor? No.

[47:05] » Yes. >> Yes.

[47:07] » So, madam. Okay. >> Yeah. If may I make [clears throat]

[47:10] comment? I mean how when can I make motion the

[47:15] agenda or on the on the actual motion? >> On the actual motion.

[47:18] » Okay. After >> Yeah. So go ahead.

[47:21] » I can understand and then adding the additional motion to go through. I think

[47:27] the next step will be something that I don't think will be worthwhile to do

[47:31] that in a quick motion of what percentage and all that. Uh that's my

[47:36] only concern. I have no problem having that discussion. I think having that and

[47:41] having that number right here in a very cool situation uh is not beneficial.

[47:46] » I agree. >> Would you uh say that you want a sl a

[47:53] sliding scale? I don't I would say I think this is

[47:58] something that we should be on next month's agenda

[48:01] uh for the inferact type of conversation to have in a normal in front of

[48:05] everybody. >> How'd you get to 30%.

[48:09] » It's just a small fraction of what we're getting in case you know I mean

[48:14] » 30% is a small fraction. It's 30%. >> I mean just Mr. Smith alone his charges

[48:21] if something should happen or an accident should happen and that's burrow

[48:25] property that we're leasing. >> Did you read the lease?

[48:28] » I did read the lease very thoroughly. >> And then what do we do with the money

[48:31] besides that? We just leave it there. >> I mean that's things I guess that need

[48:36] to be >> right. That's that's my whole point.

[48:38] Like what why did you want to motion that today?

[48:40] » Because I feel it's important that we have that in reserves because it's

[48:43] burrow property that we're leasing. >> I get that. But why did you want the 30%

[48:47] motioned and voted on today without having that discussion?

[48:54] » I just >> I'm you want us to vote on 30%

[48:58] of the money, but you didn't want to you don't have like tell us why.

[49:02] » I want to safeguard our residents. We have a fiduciary duty to do so.

[49:06] » I get that. But why 30%? Where did you where's all the

[49:09] » It seems like a fair amount to put away to to ensure that something if something

[49:12] should arise but you don't have any evidence. by 30%.

[49:16] » It's almost like insurance. We also have the insurance liability behind that.

[49:21] » There's no research. There's no conversation. There's no It hasn't been

[49:25] brought up to anybody. You empowered yourself to come up with

[49:29] 30%. For no reason.

[49:33] Why can't we do all that with 10%. Who's to say?

[49:36] » And that's why I'm saying that >> that's why I voted no. I prefer to have

[49:40] that as a regular agenda item with time to be be able to investigate that.

[49:45] That's that's my viewpoint. >> I'm not denying the thought of that.

[49:50] » But the number just a reminder that we

[49:53] currently have a 40% reserve policy for unforeseen events.

[49:57] » Can you speak into your microphone? >> We currently already have a reserve

[50:01] policy in effect that we maintain in cash 40% of unreserved funds across the

[50:06] entire size of our budget. So just throwing that out there. We do have that

[50:10] now. >> And that 40%

[50:14] equate that in dollars for the public so they know.

[50:18] » Well, it's 40% of the the total budgeted expenditures for a year. So if we spend

[50:26] » $8 million, >> it's not.

[50:29] » So the actual budget, let's say the general funds 13 million spent in a

[50:33] year, >> 13 plus sewer

[50:34] » times 30%. >> We keep cash of 5.2 2 million and we are

[50:39] within compliance. We have more than that currently.

[50:44] » I would suggest just for procedure since the motion to amend the agenda was

[50:48] successful. I think that Mr. Rito should make her motion and then see if there is

[50:51] a second and then you vote on it one way or another and if it's it's voted down

[50:55] you could certainly put it on next month's agenda or whatever you choose.

[50:59] » Well, maybe in the meantime we can talk about a fair amount or a percentage that

[51:03] we think would be adequate. um >> or why we even need it.

[51:09] » I just feel it's necessary. >> I think a vote should be put on the

[51:12] floor to see if council wants to pursue needing it, whether it's 10%, 35%,

[51:20] whatever the case may be. So, I think the next step would be to make your

[51:25] motion.

[51:31] » I just did make a motion. >> But now you have to say, I'd like to

[51:34] make a motion. We only amended the agenda. Now we have to do now we have to

[51:39] do the the actual what you want. >> Well, while we're discussing here in a

[51:42] public meeting, is there an amount that we think would be reasonable

[51:47] or fair? >> We have $5.2 million.

[51:50] » I understand that. But we have a lot of projects, all right, that we want to

[51:55] complete. And it seems like, you know, uh, we have that money because

[52:04] people save that money. And that's taxpayer money. That's all taxpayer

[52:09] money. So if we want to put a little bit aside

[52:15] to ensure as a insurance policy, I I understand

[52:20] that you might want to have that number adjusted, but I also agree that we could

[52:26] have that number adjusted, but I do believe that we should earmark some

[52:29] money in case of some incidentals that are on the burrow in which we would have

[52:36] to retain Smith butts again or any other situation arises.

[52:47] I personally saw his I read his amounts and they're they're

[52:55] pretty hefty amounts that he is charging because he isn't a specialist.

[53:02] Brian, do we have insurance when if it comes to this? Is there an insurance

[53:07] policy we have that would pay for litigation if something were to go

[53:11] wrong? >> The lease provides that anything that

[53:15] goes wrong that is not our fault, we are not responsible for and Mr. Smith stated

[53:20] that in his presentation >> reiterated that.

[53:22] » But what if something happens? >> But then then why would we retain him

[53:25] again? >> It is our fault.

[53:27] » But what then why would we retain him again?

[53:29] » Well, then we would find someone else. But my point is what if something

[53:31] happens and it is our fault? My only concern is this is burrow property that

[53:35] we are leasing and I would feel I would feel better for the residents if

[53:42] we put away some money just in case there was an issue

[53:48] » in case we did something wrong like what >> we leased burrow property

[53:53] » right underneath burough property >> I understand that.

[53:59] Yeah, I >> Yeah, the liability provisions are very

[54:02] very advantageous to the bureau. >> Yeah, I mean I read the contract.

[54:06] » I also did read the contract, too. >> Doesn't look like you understood it.

[54:12] » Really? >> I mean, 30% is a lot of money.

[54:17] » You want to sit up here and tell us we're going to spend 30% of that or just

[54:20] put that nowhere? It won't be worth anything in 10 years.

[54:25] We got stuff to do with this stuff, with this money. We can't just sit on it.

[54:28] » I didn't say >> Mr. Benz. I'm not gonna

[54:32] » You want it earmarked for a specific purpose so it'll just sit there

[54:37] » and you want us all just to rush to it at 30%. The initial payment's over

[54:42] $100,000.

[54:45] » So you just want >> you think that we could come to a

[54:48] rational decision amongst council and decide on some sort of number and a

[54:52] timeline. Well, dropping it right now, that's not any kind of rational decision

[54:58] at all. It's very rational.

[55:06] » So, the motion made >> racking my brain% Is there a motion on

[55:10] the floor? >> Motion has not been submitted yet.

[55:13] » Yeah.

[55:19] I just have to say like like Karen mentioned, we have a lot of projects

[55:23] that need to be done. Yes, Mr. Habertock said, we do have a healthy reserve fund.

[55:27] We have a lot of projects that need to be done. And in the same breath,

[55:32] you voted down some revenue as well.

[55:38] » True.

[55:42] It was a very difficult and personal decision, but it's still my decision as

[55:46] a council member nonetheless. >> Bring the motion

[55:49] » to each their own, of course. But I'm stating

[55:52] the obvious that, you know, it is revenue that's also going

[55:56] » someone like to recommend an amount for us to possibly earmark that could be

[56:02] acceptable to all of council. I'd like to recommend a discussion about what

[56:06] would be appropriate if >> the avenue you want to go

[56:11] » the appropriate where do we discuss this we can discuss this at a later date

[56:15] » I'm not sure of the protocol but I would be glad to have that discussion but I

[56:20] feel that it is important >> should be if it's an item and it should

[56:24] be an item for October's agenda for proper discussion going on

[56:31] uh particularly that procons to the whole And that's we're dropping it right

[56:35] here in a second. I can't support that. >> Yeah. If you drop that now, it kind of

[56:39] dies. >> But [snorts] I'm saying

[56:41] » if we vote against it, it dies. If you want to bring this up at a later date

[56:45] and discuss an appropriate amount or something that we could look into, maybe

[56:50] that's something we >> That's fine. If I can have the assurance

[56:53] of council that we can have that discussion, we

[56:55] » we can always have that discussion. But dropping 30% on everybody, that's just

[57:00] not >> solicitor. Is that something in the

[57:02] future public meeting that needs to be discussed in public?

[57:05] » You could Yeah. Right. In an agenda meeting and when you have your

[57:08] discussion, it could certainly be a topic for discussion. And I I obviously

[57:12] can't provide any advice. I don't know if there are any rules or guidance on

[57:16] this. I don't know. I think you might want to just ask around to see if there

[57:20] are any suggestions, restrictions because without having advanced notice,

[57:24] I don't know. >> But if you kill it now, then it's done.

[57:28] Like [snorts] if you propose it now, motion it now, and it gets and it gets

[57:32] voted down, you're not going to have another option. Well, why can't she

[57:37] adjust her motion to say, "I would like to have a motion to at the next month's

[57:45] agenda meeting to have a discussion on the possibility of earmarking a a

[57:52] percentage of the revenue for insurance purposes." You

[57:58] can do that. I don't >> That would be way more appropriate that

[58:00] on the >> agenda. That's be way more appropriate.

[58:02] » Have to be a motion. No, I mean it was just stuff any month.

[58:06] » I I go to the pre-aggenda meetings. >> Um any month council knows that they can

[58:11] have anything put on the agenda. So since we're having this conversation

[58:14] now, obviously Mike would, you know, mark that as a note and put it on the

[58:18] agenda. I don't think she needs to make a motion now just to have a discussion.

[58:22] Correct me if I'm wrong. right >> for the October meeting.

[58:28] » Yes, please. >> Okay.

[58:30] » So, we have a motion acted right now for item [clears throat]

[58:36] » to discuss. >> So, do how do we withdraw that now

[58:41] » or how do we let it? >> I wouldn't worry about it. The motion

[58:44] the agenda was not amended and it's fine.

[58:48] » Okay. Until later 19 and 20 then it's amended.

[58:51] » Okay. >> Later on the agenda.

[58:53] » Yeah. And I don't know if I'm at the right spot, so you can tell me if I'm

[58:58] allowed to speak right now, but I voted no. And I'd like to state my reasons for

[59:03] voting no. Do I do that right now? Is this over now?

[59:07] » I believe so. >> Okay. Uh

[59:11] my reasons for noting uh voting no on agenda item 15 are as follows. Gilhal

[59:18] Park acreage and Peters Creek acreage together are a combined 31 acres of

[59:23] public land owned by Jefferson Hillsboro.

[59:27] These parcels of land, this parcel of land that is identified as Gilh Hall

[59:31] Park was donated to Jefferson Hillsboro by the GBU for $1.

[59:38] The deed specifically states that the only use of the land will be for

[59:43] recreational purposes. Jefferson Hills Burough Councils, past

[59:48] and present, have abided by those stipulations and have recently committed

[59:53] to upgrades to the park. They have agreed to leave the historical building

[59:58] intact while adding a new dimension to its appearance and functions.

[1:00:04] An updated playground and plans to add field usage are moving forward along

[1:00:09] with the redesign and renovation of the building. The building would be able to

[1:00:14] host parties and meetings with more accessibility to the structure and

[1:00:19] improved parking accommodations. The cost of this project was originally

[1:00:24] at 1.2, then went to 1.5, and in time it might be $2 million.

[1:00:31] Gil Hall Park will serve residents of all ages with this new structure and the

[1:00:35] basketball court, pickle ball courts, fields, and playground.

[1:00:40] on the EQT website for philanthropic gestures and giving back to the

[1:00:45] community. One of the first pictures I located was of children playing on a

[1:00:51] playground. However, it was never discussed and no

[1:00:56] monetary donations have ever been suggested or allocated for this project.

[1:01:01] EQT has become the number one domestic oil and gas company. It certainly could

[1:01:07] have made a sizable and can still in the present time make a sizable charitable

[1:01:12] donation to this project to benefit the JH community and the 500 JH residents

[1:01:19] who have signed leases and the burrow's JH community

[1:01:24] recreational development of the Gil Hall Park site. Thus far, no offer of any

[1:01:30] donations have ever been made. The second parcel of land is located on

[1:01:36] Peters Creek Road. This road has been awarded a grant of $550,000

[1:01:42] to clean and add storm drains and repave the road since it is identified as a

[1:01:48] potential flood area. This area is used for walking, enjoying nature, bicycling,

[1:01:54] and fishing. Peter's Creek and the Montour Trail have

[1:01:58] maintained is maintained by volunteers from both the Montour Trail Association

[1:02:03] and the Triangular Association Triang Tri-State Angular Association.

[1:02:09] Recently, JH Burrow purchased the land at the intersection of Gil Hall Road and

[1:02:14] Peters Creek for additional parking. This [snorts] area is another site that

[1:02:18] would have benefited from some sort of charitable consideration of a donation

[1:02:23] from EQT. Dr. Judith Kaufman expressed her

[1:02:29] concerns at the hearing regarding possible negative health issues on

[1:02:33] children and adults visiting the property. No baseline data for

[1:02:37] longitudinal health studies regarding negative effects on fracking on the

[1:02:42] public have occurred. Currently, JH Burrow operates a summer recreation

[1:02:47] program at the Gil Hall Park site for many children. Teenagers and adults

[1:02:53] frequently play pickup basketball games and pickle ball games on that property.

[1:02:58] Additional fields are being added. This site is currently used for graduations,

[1:03:03] baptisms, communions, and birthday parties. with the renovations of this

[1:03:08] building and the acreage and increase in the J Jefferson Hills public usage of

[1:03:13] this land increases. I do agree with the protections that

[1:03:19] were added to the EQT lease by John Smith and I certainly appreciate him

[1:03:24] working in conjunction with our solicitor.

[1:03:28] All right. on the many sections such as the spring or well damage, the hold harm

[1:03:34] clause, the no storage right clause, the unit size leg uh limitations. His

[1:03:40] deletions and additions have made and allowed the JH burrow greater and more

[1:03:45] stringent protections. But however, due to the numerous

[1:03:49] concerns that I have regarding fracking under burrow public property, I have

[1:03:54] voted no on agenda item the 15. Thank you.

[1:03:58] » Thank you. And Councilwoman Buuci, I I understand and agree with 90% of what

[1:04:04] you just said. What I don't understand is when when you're discussing donations

[1:04:09] and monetizations being given, we've had a month. Why didn't you bring this up?

[1:04:14] just thought because this has been very fast and I would the first to say I

[1:04:19] thought well I'm going to go on EQT site and see what they're do if they are

[1:04:25] philanthropic because I have been thinking about this that even

[1:04:32] steel barons made significant philanthropic donations such as the

[1:04:38] Carnegi Libraries and the Frick Museum and the Fipps Conservatory All right.

[1:04:44] This is a num this is the number one gas company. I didn't realize that. All

[1:04:48] right. So, I think that they could make some donations here. when I see on their

[1:04:54] website that they have made donations and this is a play this is a

[1:05:00] recreational uh playground just like I saw on the screen and that's the reason

[1:05:06] why

[1:05:12] » if I may make a comment. >> Sure.

[1:05:16] » Council uh Councilwoman Pusy I 100% agree with you on those items.

[1:05:22] What I've seen in my brief time here and as a lifelong resident of this burrow,

[1:05:28] Jefferson Hills has a negative uh reputation with businesses.

[1:05:35] You know, here's EQT, which is, you know, they do maintain stuff on there.

[1:05:41] Uh I've reached out myself personally with US Steel and other companies to

[1:05:44] help in different areas. But that's part of like with EAC

[1:05:51] and how do we reach out to our resident or businesses of this bureau

[1:05:57] you know do we how do we ever contact when do we actually embrace them when do

[1:06:02] we say hey how you been doing across the board I mean it's not just one item of

[1:06:06] EQ it's across the board with all these companies of participation that was one

[1:06:10] of the conversation I had with the the AAC excuse me the EDC excuse

[1:06:16] is large corporations always have monies for

[1:06:23] communities

[1:06:28] and you again with your guys' time four years ago and other councils and all

[1:06:32] that we don't have a really a way or we have had a practice of being like hey

[1:06:38] can you guys help us look at the existing industrial stuff

[1:06:42] along the M River right Look at some of the other large

[1:06:47] companies we have in the burrow. Do we ever embrace them, talk to them, or even

[1:06:51] say anything except for sending them a tax bill?

[1:06:55] » Fasci among a few others, I guess.

[1:06:59] » But meaning very much about meaning it's it's a small scale. You know, we do not

[1:07:04] make a good relationship with folks out there.

[1:07:07] » We got change at >> I 100% agree.

[1:07:11] » Right. And that's back to I've been struggling is again with the

[1:07:14] conversation with ED EDC. How do we start embracing that? How do we change

[1:07:18] our reputation? How do we say again Jefferson Hills is open to move forward?

[1:07:24] We're still stuck in the past and you know these good parts and that's even as

[1:07:28] we looking with the hockey we had some small folks out there but we got to find

[1:07:32] a way to get out there and publicize is saying hey we got 13,000 great residents

[1:07:36] here. We got 13,000 residents who have money in their wallet. We have 13,000

[1:07:42] residents that spend their dollars everywhere except for Jefferson Hills.

[1:07:47] We have all these businesses and all that and we don't have that relationship

[1:07:51] built. >> That's what we're trying to work on.

[1:07:54] » I will make a note though, this is quite a nefarious company to welcome as they

[1:07:59] have been in and out of court over the past decade over a lot of

[1:08:05] situations that have gone ary in communities.

[1:08:09] » 100% agreed. but they're here. And that's, you know, I just I

[1:08:16] appreciate the thoughts and all that, but again, I think of stuff differently.

[1:08:20] It's like, yeah, we want to protect these two small lots of the burrow,

[1:08:25] but if there's an accident, it's not just going to be refined in

[1:08:30] just the dotted lines on a paper map. It may be 20 lots around that the section

[1:08:36] where >> and those residents may have already

[1:08:37] signed leases, right, as well. and they are not going to have that level

[1:08:41] granularity that we've had. We started off with good

[1:08:45] level of granularity beforehand and we got it even better, but I'll bet a very

[1:08:50] strong dollar that a lot of the residents do not have anything close

[1:08:55] to what we have. So, if there's a problem, it's not just going to be our

[1:08:59] little our little parcel of ground. It's going to impact a lot of other folks.

[1:09:04] » Could I just add to that, too? Um, in regards to my yes vote, um, the fact

[1:09:09] that Solicitor Smith had made who everybody recommended, I didn't know him

[1:09:14] before the public hearing. I'm so grateful that you all did recommend him

[1:09:18] coming because I felt thoroughly educated by the information he had to

[1:09:21] share. Um, he had said our solicitor did such a fantastic job um, with the lease

[1:09:27] agreement and the fact that it was a non-surface

[1:09:31] drilling. he said covered and he said it covered any environmental concerns that

[1:09:36] he had. So the fact that he said that um along with the other remarks that were

[1:09:41] made that that eased my any concerns that I had were eased at that point um

[1:09:48] and you know the issues that you know people were concerned with uh Peters

[1:09:52] Creek. There's already uh what is it? Five pipes.

[1:09:55] » Mhm. >> Five pipes already drilled beneath

[1:09:57] Peters Creek. Um one and a half miles from it below. Right.

[1:10:04] » Yeah. Below. >> Yeah.

[1:10:08] Um and they also said any spills I'm sorry, Rick Moore's um presentation, any

[1:10:14] spills will not affect Peters Creek. Um I don't know. All three presentations

[1:10:20] that we had I thought were very well done, very well educated and um I feel

[1:10:26] comfortable with my vote in that. So >> same. I certainly had a number of

[1:10:31] reservations um going into this right >> and with

[1:10:37] ascertaining Mr. Smith's help and um and the presentation by the EAC. Um it

[1:10:42] certainly relieved. Listen, I go through life with a lot of

[1:10:46] whatifs as well and it c anything can happen, but you narrow down the the

[1:10:53] educational value that we got from those presentations. Mr. Smith basically

[1:10:57] looked at us and said we would be silly not to sign a lease in a nutshell. Um

[1:11:02] because of the fact that our parcels are surrounded by so many residents who

[1:11:06] probably I mean EQT gave the number already of how many leases they've

[1:11:10] already had signed by residents. 500 >> that that are going to that are going to

[1:11:14] be impacting around these parcels. >> So for me it was a matter of the money

[1:11:20] or not. >> Right? This wasn't a vote whether we

[1:11:23] were allowing them in our burrow. It was whether or

[1:11:27] not we are going to take revenue for them to do what they're already going to

[1:11:31] do regardless. And I think that we have that

[1:11:35] responsibility too to take any possible revenue that we can for the bureau.

[1:11:44] » Um, thank you all for the conversation. So, we will make sure to put that agenda

[1:11:49] item on next month's agenda for discussion.

[1:11:53] Um, okay. Number 16, [clears throat] motion to authorize the preparation and

[1:11:57] advertisement of an ordinance amending the Burough Code to update noise and

[1:12:00] vibration regulations. >> Motion. Motion by Councilman Ben, second

[1:12:04] by Counciloman Rece. All those in favor say I. I.

[1:12:07] » Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 17. Motion to

[1:12:11] approve quote number 8162026 from Graham River Production in the

[1:12:15] amount of $5,800 for the purchase and installation of a

[1:12:19] projector for the community room. >> Motion.

[1:12:22] » Motion by Councilwoman Buccy. Second, second by Vice President Pollock. All

[1:12:26] those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed?

[1:12:29] » Motion carries. >> Number 18. Motion to distribute $280,000

[1:12:34] to the Jefferson Hills Public Library for the 2026 contribution form

[1:12:39] or contribution from the Burrow of Jefferson Hills.

[1:12:41] » Motion. >> Motion by Councilwoman.

[1:12:44] » Second. >> Second by Vice President Pollock. All

[1:12:46] those in favor say I. I. >> Any opposed?

[1:12:49] » Motion carries. >> Number 19. Motion to amend the agenda to

[1:12:53] address the purchase of a 10-tonon truck from Elizabeth Township.

[1:12:57] » Motion. >> Second.

[1:12:58] » Motion by Councilwoman Buy. Second by Vice President Pollock. All those in

[1:13:02] favor say I. I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 20. Motion to

[1:13:07] authorize the purchase of Before we go into that, Mr. Haverstock, would you

[1:13:11] mind um explaining what this 10-tonon truck was going to replace?

[1:13:17] » Yes. So, Elizabeth Township reached out. They're selling three 10 ton trucks. Um

[1:13:23] I called the public works director and he and the mechanic went over and looked

[1:13:26] at them. um said it would be great fit. They're in great shape. There's to

[1:13:31] purchase one of them and then we will get rid of two of the current old

[1:13:35] one-tonon trucks. One immediately and one at the end of this winter.

[1:13:40] » Thank you. >> Okay. Number 20. Motion to authorize the

[1:13:44] purchase of a 10-tonon truck from Elizabeth Township in the amount of

[1:13:47] $52,500 plus two weeks of vac truck service.

[1:13:51] » A motion. >> Motion by Councilwoman Buucy, second by

[1:13:54] Councilman Bence. All those fa in favor say I. I any opposed?

[1:13:59] » And I'd just like to make a comment. Um I would I appreciate the fact that our

[1:14:04] uh finance director uh took advantage of that and because we have money in

[1:14:10] reserve. All right. Cash is king and we're able to make some of these things

[1:14:17] happen.

[1:14:21] Number 21. Motion to accept the quote obtained on behalf of the bureau by its

[1:14:25] broker of record, Duncan Insurance Group from Selective Insurance for the Bureau

[1:14:29] of Jefferson Hills 2026 insurance policy renewal in the amount of $32,824.

[1:14:36] » A motion. >> Motion by Councilman Bence.

[1:14:38] » Second. >> Second by Vice President Pollock. All

[1:14:40] those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 22. Motion to

[1:14:46] renew the contract from Ford Office Technologies for the rental and service

[1:14:50] of copy machines for 36 months in the amount of $993 per month or $11,916

[1:14:57] per year. >> A motion.

[1:14:59] » Motion by Councilwoman, second by Councilman Bence. All those in favor say

[1:15:03] I. I. >> Any opposed?

[1:15:05] » Motion carries. Number 23. Motion to approve application for payment number

[1:15:10] one and final from Minfield Demolition Services LLC in the amount of $32,500

[1:15:16] for work completed on the year 50 CDBG demolitions subject to the receipt of an

[1:15:21] invoice from Shayog. >> A motion

[1:15:24] » motion by Vice President Pollock. >> Second

[1:15:27] » second by uh Councilwoman Buucy. All those in favor say I.

[1:15:31] » Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 24. Motion to

[1:15:36] approve application for payment number one contract A from Tresco Paving

[1:15:39] Corporation in the amount of $476,7714

[1:15:45] work completed on the 2026 road program. >> Motion

[1:15:49] » motion by Council Councilman Bence, second Vice President Pollock. All those

[1:15:53] in favor say I. I. >> I.

[1:15:55] » Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 25. Motion to

[1:16:00] approve application for payment number one contract B from Tresco Paving

[1:16:03] Corporation in the amount of $513,62.84

[1:16:08] work completed on the 2026 road program. >> A motion second.

[1:16:14] » Motion by Vice President Pollock, second by Councilman Bence. All those in favor

[1:16:17] say I. I. [clears throat] Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 26. Motion to

[1:16:22] authorize the preparation and advertisement of the Caster Farms

[1:16:25] acceptance ordinance. >> Motion. Motion by Councilman Bence,

[1:16:29] second by Vice President Pollock. All those in favor say I.

[1:16:32] » I. >> Any opposed?

[1:16:34] » Motion carries. >> Number 27. Motion to approve work

[1:16:38] authorization dated August 26, 2026 from Gateway Engineers Incorporated for

[1:16:43] redesign and bidding services for Te Park improvements phase one project in

[1:16:47] the amount not to exceed $8,500. >> A motion.

[1:16:51] » Motion by Vice President Pollock. >> Second.

[1:16:53] » Second by Councilwoman Bucci. All those in favor say I.

[1:16:56] » Any opposed? Motion carries.

[1:17:00] Number 28. Motion to adopt resolution 20-2026 adopting the Burough Jefferson

[1:17:05] Hills comprehensive plan as the official comprehensive plan of the burrow.

[1:17:09] » Motion. >> Motion by sorry, Councilman Bence.

[1:17:12] » Second. >> Second by Vice President Pollock. All

[1:17:15] those in favor say I. I. Any opposed? >> Motion carries. Number 29. Motion to

[1:17:21] approve work authorization dated August 27th, 2026 from Gateway Engineers

[1:17:26] Incorporated for the civil engineering services for the evaluation of the

[1:17:29] intersection of Waterman West and Cochran Mill Road in the amount not to

[1:17:33] exceed $6,000. >> I'll motion.

[1:17:37] » Motion by Councilwoman Buucy, second by Vice President Pollock. All those in

[1:17:41] favor say I. I. >> Any opposed?

[1:17:44] » Motion carries. Number 30, motion to approve the

[1:17:48] developers agreement regarding the Oilio plan. Number one, sanitary sewer

[1:17:52] extension. >> A motion.

[1:17:55] » Motion by Councilman Bence. >> Second.

[1:17:58] » Second by Vice President Pollock. All those in favor say I. I. Any opposed?

[1:18:03] » Motion carries. Number 31. Motion to advertise the public hearing for

[1:18:07] conditional use application number CU-1-2026

[1:18:11] for 1450, Route 51, parcel number 766-J-80

[1:18:17] on October 7th, 2026 at blank time. >> A motion.

[1:18:23] » Do we want to put a time in there? >> Did we already think?

[1:18:26] » So, I took a look at the the application and I took a look at our zoning

[1:18:30] ordinance and talked to Mark Reese a little bit about it earlier today. So,

[1:18:34] this is categorized as an indoor recreational facility and there are 10

[1:18:38] conditions associated with that. So, at face it doesn't seem like uh

[1:18:45] like we need a whole hour, but you just sometimes you never know how those go.

[1:18:48] So, yeah, I'd almost rather still do six just to be safe. Okay, that's just my

[1:18:52] recommendation. >> We can do six.

[1:18:54] » I second. >> Okay. Motion by Councilwoman MZ for 6

[1:18:57] PM. Second by Councilman Bence. All those in favor say I.

[1:19:01] » Any opposed? Motion carries. Number 32, Burr Resident Taxpayer

[1:19:07] comments on non-aggenda items. I do have one here.

[1:19:12] This is from Meg Dippled and Jeremy Chabers, 801 Sha Court. Jeremy

[1:19:17] [clears throat] and I are new residents of the Jefferson Hillsboro 801 Shan

[1:19:20] Court 15025 and are excited to be in the neighborhood. Traveling in the area has

[1:19:25] brought up some concerns for us, our family, and our friends coming to and

[1:19:28] from. Many of us are deaf or heart of hearing. As licensed drivers, we're

[1:19:33] unable to hear honks and horns to safely navigate the tunnels. Some of us are

[1:19:37] bicyclists, so that is concerning to us as well. Title two of the ADA, equal

[1:19:43] access to public services. Title two mandates that local governments ensure

[1:19:47] their services, programs, and activities are accessible to individuals with

[1:19:50] disabilities. Requiring a driver to rely on auditory cues listing for a horn to

[1:19:55] safely navigate a public roadway excludes deaf and heart of hearing

[1:19:59] drivers from safe passage. While ADA guidelines focus heavily on a

[1:20:04] pedestrian pathways like accessible pedestrian signals, forcing drivers to

[1:20:08] use hearing as a primary safety mechanism directly conflicts with equal

[1:20:14] access principles. We saw that the waterman and co um Cochran Mill were

[1:20:18] going to be dis considered for evaluation. And while we do not yet

[1:20:21] understand what that entails, we wanted to bring the following to your attention

[1:20:25] for the betterment of our community. Waterman tunnel at Cochran Mill

[1:20:29] intersection. This tunnel expects you to use your horn and listen for others

[1:20:32] prior to entering. There is no stop or yield sign approaching the intersection

[1:20:36] on either side. There is no convex mirror or visual signaling system to

[1:20:40] allow deaf and heart of hearing drivers to navigate through this tunnel safely.

[1:20:44] For comparison, the Stilly Tunnel at Cochran Mill intersection has a convex

[1:20:48] mirror that allows drivers to see the other side of the tunnel. The Piney Fork

[1:20:53] tunnel near the Greenman Tunnel, Montour Trail. The tunnel here expects you to

[1:20:57] use your horn and listen for others prior to entering with your vehicle. As

[1:21:01] a deaf bicyclist, I am unable to hear vehicles enter from the other side of

[1:21:05] the tunnel and enter this tunnel blindly. There can be a mirror or light

[1:21:10] signaling system for both vehicles and bicyclists to benefit from for their

[1:21:15] safety. Snowden Road was closed at the time of our move. So, if there is a

[1:21:20] tunnel there, we'd like to we'd like that to be evaluated for ADA compliance

[1:21:24] and accessibility as well. We will appreciate guidance on next steps we can

[1:21:29] take to continue to voice our concerns until they are addressed.

[1:21:34] » I'd like to talk a little bit about this. So, [clears throat]

[1:21:37] more specifically, I'd like to address the uh agenda item number 29 uh the work

[1:21:42] authorization for Gateway because that's sort of I think helped prompt this uh

[1:21:46] from the resident and I didn't get an opportunity or or I missed it last last

[1:21:50] week to give a uh give an update on on what that was for. So when we were doing

[1:21:54] the vehicle size restriction studies with Gateway um a year or so ago, uh one

[1:22:00] of the some of the feedback we were getting was was similar to the geometry

[1:22:05] and this uh single lane tunnel which is owned by the railroad

[1:22:10] and what we could do to to make that better. And uh that's something I talked

[1:22:15] with the traffic engineer from Gateway Kyle Brown about you know what are our

[1:22:19] options here because uh and it sort of went hand inand with the Stilly tunnel

[1:22:23] uh you know trying to get you Still is a little wider but um but you know there's

[1:22:29] really you're sort of limited what you can do there. Uh we we had discussions

[1:22:32] on you making Stillia one way down and Waterman West one way up. While that

[1:22:37] would solve the problem that would not be very popular for you know residents

[1:22:41] that have lived in that area for a while. And one of the other ideas that

[1:22:44] uh Kyle threw out there for the Wireman West tunnel specifically uh we don't

[1:22:47] think this will work for Philly tunnel is uh turning it into a uh signalized

[1:22:54] intersection. So you'd queue up traffic on Cochenville Road and uh up Waterman

[1:22:58] West as well. And it gets a little bit of into a little bit of a gray area

[1:23:02] because even though Waterman West is a you know burrow road and Cocker Mill is

[1:23:07] a county road, it still requires Pendot approval. So Pendleot still has

[1:23:12] ultimate, you know, authority or jurisdiction over any new proposed

[1:23:17] traffic signals, uh, even if it's not on one of their roads. So Kyle had some

[1:23:21] discussions with, uh, Pendot about this and, uh, they weren't necessarily

[1:23:26] opposed to this concept and, uh, but they we need to get some more

[1:23:30] information for them to make that decision. So you this work authorization

[1:23:34] is to uh, do some additional traffic analysis down here. Uh we'll probably do

[1:23:39] some um some traffic counts as well uh to get a better idea of what we're

[1:23:44] seeing come in there, some collaboration with the county also. And uh the idea is

[1:23:49] to to sort of square up what this would look like with PennDOT and then also

[1:23:54] develop a cost estimate because intersections are not cheap as one can

[1:23:59] imagine. They're definitely a couple hundred thousand. So, we're doing this

[1:24:03] in uh well in advance of a multimmoal grant that we'll pursue again uh you

[1:24:08] know next year. Uh this year the multimmoal grants we were we have two

[1:24:11] years ago we went for uh Peters Creek Road which we got the $550,000 for to

[1:24:17] pave Peters Creek Road and then this year we applied to do some paving on

[1:24:22] West Brew. Uh presumably next year though uh we'll we'll be uh looking for

[1:24:27] another project then this is something that you know I've been down there I've

[1:24:30] I've turned into that tunnel many of times and you know it's uh I think

[1:24:34] that's something that we could improve as well. So that's what that specific

[1:24:37] work authorization is for. Uh just regarding the overall uh comment we got

[1:24:42] um for clarification purposes, the Piny Fork tunnel is in South Park

[1:24:47] » and uh the Snowden tunnel, I don't think it's even open, but that's I think when

[1:24:52] they did the turnpike that that was that was abandoned. I think right now it's a

[1:24:55] fishing pier uh down in South Park. So you can they question though.

[1:24:59] » Wouldn't wouldn't ADA compliance only strengthen our position on that?

[1:25:05] » I mean we could bring them into the fold >> for with PENDOT.

[1:25:08] » Yeah. I mean, yeah, for any of that, >> um, a lot of the expense we could

[1:25:12] probably push off on them, too. >> Mhm.

[1:25:14] » I mean, I don't know about threatening litigation or anything, but I mean, they

[1:25:17] have a valid >> and the railroad. We've had this

[1:25:19] conversation about the railroad. >> The sign is just there. I mean, [snorts]

[1:25:22] » yeah, >> it's actually just telling us there's an

[1:25:24] issue there. That's sometimes like we talked about the concave mirrors that

[1:25:29] just is showing everyone there's an issue here that

[1:25:32] » we're trying to solve with a mirror which

[1:25:35] » doesn't really solve anything because once that mirror breaks or damaged

[1:25:38] » liability >> things go crazy then they're like why

[1:25:40] don't you fix the mirror? Well >> fix

[1:25:44] » yeah it just the liability is there. we're trying to do it the right thing by

[1:25:48] advising our, you know, the residents and stuff, but in the end, you're just

[1:25:53] pointing out that there's an issue there >> a lot with a lot of that.

[1:25:56] » And I hate to say that, I mean, every every single issue that she pointed out

[1:25:59] here is not going to have a very quick >> turn for especially if it has to deal

[1:26:04] with PENDOT and grants and things. But I mean, with the ADA thing though, I mean,

[1:26:08] if they they're on board and they want to push that, I mean, through litigation

[1:26:12] or whatever, I'm sure there's some,

[1:26:16] you know, people out there that do that for, you know, a living that, you know,

[1:26:22] fight. Burough manager Glister and uh President Stephy, I think that it would

[1:26:26] be beneficial if you would contact Representative Kuzma

[1:26:31] » and he had they have a direct link with PennDOT and say that we have a resident

[1:26:38] who is deaf. They cannot hear that horn going through there. And at least they

[1:26:44] could, it might be temporary, but at least they could put the mirrors up

[1:26:48] » and they could do something while these people are traveling there. But if you

[1:26:53] would contact them, I know they have had much faster results.

[1:26:57] » Okay. >> With PENDOT.

[1:26:59] » Okay. >> Well, that was one of the other things I

[1:27:01] was going to add is that we'll definitely um you know, we appreciate

[1:27:03] this being brought attention uh to our attention and uh you I do plan on

[1:27:07] reaching out to Kyle Brown from Gateway to see what his thoughts are, see if

[1:27:10] he's run into this because he's familiar with some odd intersections. So, we can

[1:27:14] add uh you know, Kusma's office to that list as well. But we'll see what the um

[1:27:18] you know there's what our options are and um and then also to the point of the

[1:27:23] mirrors you know we we do follow Pendot's guidance on that as well and

[1:27:27] that we do not um you know install any new mirrors anymore just because of the

[1:27:31] liability associated with them. And it's also you know this tunnel creates an

[1:27:35] interesting scenario as well because the the road below the tunnel belongs to us.

[1:27:39] The tunnel itself belongs to the railroad and then the road we tie into

[1:27:43] on the opposite side of the tunnel is a county road. So, there's going to have

[1:27:45] to be some uh some coordination as well between those entities. Maybe not so

[1:27:49] much the railroad, but definitely the uh the county and the burrow. Um which is

[1:27:53] all which is uh you know, good timing because I do have a county or a meeting

[1:27:58] with the uh um Jean Statler from the county. She's head of roads in Alageney

[1:28:03] County. I have uh a meeting with her later this week. So, I can add this to

[1:28:06] our agenda to discuss. But um >> yeah, I just want to touch on that that

[1:28:10] we'll we'll take a look into it, see what uh you know what the implications

[1:28:13] are, what how this is handled elsewhere. And um

[1:28:16] » and in the meantime, let's see if there is something temporary that we can

[1:28:19] provide. >> Yep. Don't ride your bikes in Waterman

[1:28:22] Tunnel. That's >> Yes.

[1:28:24] » I did see a biker come out of there and it was startling.

[1:28:30] » Council Ben doesn't like bikes. >> No, I like bikes [laughter] fine, but

[1:28:33] seeing a bike rider come out of the tunnel the other day, I was like, whoa.

[1:28:37] That's something I wouldn't >> recommend.

[1:28:40] » I wouldn't recommend for anybody to be honest.

[1:28:42] » I was going to add that with see if the chief had any additional guidance on

[1:28:45] that. >> Yeah, chief.

[1:28:46] » I agree with that. >> Yeah, I mean the other way.

[1:28:49] » Go down Gil Hall all the way to Pont 24. >> You know that that would be my

[1:28:53] recommendation. Y >> it's dangerous for cars going through

[1:28:55] there, let alone bikes. >> Yeah,

[1:28:58] » no doubt. >> Okay, general business. We're going to

[1:29:00] start with Vice President Pollock.

[1:29:05] » That's catching me off guard. Good. Very good. [laughter]

[1:29:08] Um, again, great interaction with our residents. You know, this is what it's

[1:29:13] all about. Lisa, appreciate again your help and guidance with everything. Um, I

[1:29:18] [clears throat] would like to pass on some sad news

[1:29:21] uh with the passing of Michael Doc Kohish. Doc was a lifelong resident of

[1:29:26] the burrow in 1964, graduate of TJ. Dark served on council for 12 years. Mayor of

[1:29:33] the Burough also knew him as a TJ boy soccer coach for 34 years and he's

[1:29:39] ending with a record of 465 wins, 192 losses, and 41 ties. My condolences to

[1:29:46] his wife Helen and to his son Michael. That's all.

[1:29:49] » Thank you. >> Um, Councilwoman Marz,

[1:29:53] » also Lisa, thank you for all of your continued information. Um, we really

[1:29:59] appreciate it. Um, and just a comment. I'm sorry.

[1:30:02] » It's a good team. >> I'm sure. Yes, we we're grateful. Thank

[1:30:05] you. Um, and just a comment about the presentation um on lobes. I know Mr.

[1:30:10] D'Angelo already left, but um a thank you to him and all the members of the

[1:30:15] historical society and their dedication to um preserving our veterans grave

[1:30:21] sites. I commend them for that. >> Certainly, Council Marc.

[1:30:26] » Thank you. Um, just for the record, I want you to know that I did thoroughly

[1:30:31] read this lease uh over the weekend and spent a lot of time evaluating every

[1:30:37] step of this. And I've also read many other leases in collaboration with Lisa

[1:30:42] and I. We've worked together for many years now. Um, I did not take this

[1:30:48] decision lightly and put in a lot of homework. And also my yes vote for the

[1:30:53] comprehensive plan is hopeful that you will continue to work with our residents

[1:30:56] in T park which I'm assured that we will do so. And um a thank you to Mr.

[1:31:04] D'Angelo and the historical society for the information and their efforts to

[1:31:09] help uh with the cemetery and the property moving forward.

[1:31:14] And lastly, um, my sympathies to Helen and Michael as my

[1:31:20] dad was a very good friend of Docs and our family and it is very sad news and

[1:31:27] my heart goes out to the entire family. That's all I have. Thank you.

[1:31:31] » Thank you, Councilman Benz. >> Nothing for me. Thank you,

[1:31:34] » Counciloman Rto. I'm sorry, Buy. >> Uh, thank you. I'd also like to thank uh

[1:31:41] both Lisa and Mr. D'Angelo for their presentations.

[1:31:46] Uh, I would also like to thank all of the members of council for being

[1:31:52] respectful and allowing people to have diverse opinions. This is how we

[1:31:58] continue to grow and how we continue to move forward.

[1:32:02] And I would like to consider having this and that it was one of the reasons why I

[1:32:07] asked uh Mr. Haberstock about the budget. [clears throat] I think when

[1:32:11] people came to answer about the comprehensive plan, they may not have

[1:32:17] been aware that this building was built in 1990

[1:32:21] and as a result of that, it needs some overhaul.

[1:32:26] And you know, they didn't write, well, let's get a new roof. Let's get a new

[1:32:30] air he air and heating con uh cooling system. Let's fix the front windows that

[1:32:36] fog up, etc. So since that's not even a consideration in the plan and the budget

[1:32:45] is coming up, I would like to maybe put on next month's agenda that we have a

[1:32:51] motion to start a capital improvement plan because this is more structural.

[1:32:58] All right? And many employees in this building have

[1:33:03] told me that both the roof and the air and heating cooling system are held

[1:33:08] together with three things. Band-aids, bubble gum, and duct tape. And I think

[1:33:14] we need to address that, you know, to have a plan for years out. And it's it's

[1:33:22] also going to have us have to s uh apply for RAD grants because they start that

[1:33:28] you have to spend a minimum of $1 million and you might have to match

[1:33:33] that. So, I think we need to start thinking too about our capital uh plan

[1:33:39] projects in addition to recreation because a roof doesn't last 36 years and

[1:33:47] not need some maintenance on it or something to happen. So, I'd like to

[1:33:52] publicly say that and if that could be put on the agenda to form a committee

[1:33:56] and to start working on that. And my condolences to Doc's family,

[1:34:03] Helen and Michael. They are also friends of mine and we will miss him terribly.

[1:34:08] Thank you. >> Thank you. Yeah, we talked extensively

[1:34:11] about the um the actual burrow building today in our finance committee with

[1:34:16] Councilwoman Merz and Vice President Pollock as well with Mr. Haverstock and

[1:34:19] Mr. Glister. Um we certainly see what is potentially happening around the

[1:34:26] staff and around us. Um I I don't necessarily know if we need do we need

[1:34:31] another committee for the capital improvements?

[1:34:33] » Well, it could even be on council. You know, you know, because the the average

[1:34:38] citizen isn't going to know about this structure. All right. [snorts] But, you

[1:34:43] know, we could maybe some people might want to. I I I'm not sure, but I know I

[1:34:48] think that we need to have some kind of plan for this because it's costly.

[1:34:52] » I certainly think grow up one though, right? Not a capital one.

[1:34:58] » Yeah, we had a renovation plan um done by MLAN.

[1:35:02] » That was a red. >> Yeah, the um

[1:35:04] » we're talking maintenance. >> I don't I think

[1:35:08] uh that's a lot of um irons in the fire with doing another

[1:35:14] commit. I'd certainly go on the um on the advice of staff, you know. So,

[1:35:20] you're talking about a committee that you want to either have counsel.

[1:35:24] » Yes. Identify things that need to be done in the I we already do that

[1:35:28] » and prioritize and prioritize what are we going to do first, second, third. We

[1:35:33] need to have I asked for that. I wanted to know what what is our priorities

[1:35:37] here. >> Okay. I think council we should decide

[1:35:40] that. I think that should be decided >> as [snorts] a whole. Um and we can

[1:35:44] certainly do whatever we need to do to spell that on out on the agenda and have

[1:35:49] those conversations for sure. The only thing is if you have a capital

[1:35:53] improvement plan, you get a lot more grant money,

[1:35:57] » you know. So that's why if we just put it in a plan,

[1:36:00] » Yeah. >> then it's more beneficial for us.

[1:36:03] » That's fine. Yeah. I think that would be great for us to um contribute as a whole

[1:36:08] um with staff's guidance. Were you going to say

[1:36:14] something? You're grabbing. No, I was just going to say the direction

[1:36:17] [clears throat] from today is that, you know, Brian and I are going to work with

[1:36:19] Kevin Turkel, the architect that's working with us in the GBU uh regarding

[1:36:24] um the roof just with all the rain we've had in August, the you know, 11 plus

[1:36:28] inches and we've had to expose some issues here that we know we've had, but

[1:36:32] it's they've it's really exposed some and uh we're going to talk to them about

[1:36:37] getting a start putting together a scope and cost for that. I think that would be

[1:36:40] priority number one. HBAC number two. But um we're going to start actually uh

[1:36:44] rather than hypothesizing or discussing it, start actually putting in numbers

[1:36:47] and scope to it so we can start pursuing grants for that purpose.

[1:36:51] » Yeah. >> That way we know where we are

[1:36:53] financially too. >> Okay. All right. I don't have anything

[1:36:57] for discussion. So with that, I'll take a motion to adjurnn. Motion.

[1:37:00] » Second. >> Motion by Councilman Bence, second by

[1:37:03] Vice President Pollock. All those in favor say I. I. Meeting adjourned at

[1:37:06] 8:37 p.m.

Council Voting Meeting 9-8-26

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