[0:16] It's all here.
[0:17] Kevin Haynes is not here. Dr. Jeffrey
[0:21] Present.
[0:22] I'm here. Angela Sterling Present.
[0:26] Solicitor Garvin is not here. Solicitor
[0:28] Kieran is not here.
[0:31] Um before we get into our business for
[0:33] the evening,
[0:35] this is a special occasion.
[0:38] Um this is the last meeting with Chief
[0:42] Watson. So we have a few things we'd
[0:46] like to do to celebrate that.
[0:48] Um
[0:49] Aaron from Representative Salisbury's
[0:52] office, you are up first.
[1:01] Whereas Chief Ellis Watson has dedicated
[1:03] more than 25 years to municipal law
[1:05] enforcement including over 15 years in
[1:07] executive leadership and 7 years as
[1:09] Chief of Police earning the respect of
[1:11] colleagues, elected officials, and the
[1:13] communities he serves. And whereas
[1:15] throughout Chief Ellis Watson's career
[1:17] he has served as patrol officer, patrol
[1:19] sergeant, assistant chief, and chief of
[1:21] police demonstrating a leadership
[1:23] philosophy grounded in accountability,
[1:25] professionalism, and modern
[1:27] community-focused policing principles
[1:29] that balance enforcement with compassion
[1:31] and engagement. And whereas as Chief of
[1:33] Police Swissvale Police Department Chief
[1:35] Ellis Watson led department operations,
[1:37] achieved accreditation, secured more
[1:39] than $400,000
[1:41] in grant funding, oversaw the
[1:43] construction of a new police facility,
[1:44] and promoted community initiatives that
[1:46] strengthened public trust.
[1:48] And now therefore be it resolved that on
[1:51] behalf of Representative Abigail
[1:52] Salisbury, State Representative of the
[1:54] 34th District, joined with members of
[1:56] the community to commend and honor Chief
[1:59] Ellis Watson for a lifetime of
[2:01] distinguished civic leadership and to
[2:02] extend our profound appreciation for his
[2:05] invaluable contributions to the public
[2:07] good and the lasting positive impact he
[2:09] has made on the safety and well-being of
[2:11] the communities he serves. And directed
[2:13] a copy of the citation sponsored by
[2:16] Representative Abigail Salisbury be
[2:17] transmitted transmitted to Chief Watson
[2:20] in recognition of his lifetime of
[2:23] accomplishments and eager anticipation
[2:25] of his future endeavors.
[2:59] I think the council is Well well you are
[3:00] up next.
[3:04] Whereas
[3:06] Chief Ellis Watson has dedicated more
[3:07] than 25 years to municipal law
[3:09] enforcement including more than 15 years
[3:11] in executive leadership and 7 years as
[3:13] Chief of Police earning the respect of
[3:15] fellow officers, elected officials, and
[3:18] the communities he has faithfully
[3:20] served. His leadership philosophy is
[3:22] grounded in accountability,
[3:23] professionalism, and a firm belief in
[3:25] 21st century policing principles that
[3:28] balance enforcement with compassion and
[3:30] engagement. And whereas after serving as
[3:33] patrol officer, patrol sergeant, and
[3:34] assistant chief of police, Chief Watson
[3:37] was appointed Chief of Police of the
[3:38] Swissvale Department in 2018 where he
[3:41] led all aspects of department operations
[3:43] including field services and
[3:45] administrative oversight. He
[3:47] successfully guided the department
[3:48] through PLEAC accreditation, secured
[3:52] more than $400,000 in grant funding, and
[3:54] oversaw the construction of a new police
[3:56] facility investments that have
[3:58] strengthened both the infrastructure and
[4:00] public confidence. And whereas Chief
[4:02] Watson has demonstrated leadership
[4:04] beyond his department by serving as
[4:05] assistant commander for 202024
[4:08] presidential campaign visit representing
[4:11] the department on a
[4:12] District Attorney Stephen Scholl's ALPR
[4:16] committee and serving as the third vice
[4:17] president of the Allegheny County Chiefs
[4:19] of Police Association. And whereas his
[4:22] commitment to community policing is
[4:23] reflected in initiatives such as the
[4:26] department's annual toy drive which has
[4:28] just distributed more than 4,000 gifts
[4:30] to local families reinforcing the belief
[4:33] that effective policing is built on
[4:34] trust, service, and compassion. And
[4:37] whereas in 2026 Chief Watson was
[4:40] appointed Chief of Police of the
[4:41] Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional Police
[4:44] Department where he then served as Chief
[4:47] Executive Officer overseeing a $3.3
[4:49] million
[4:50] budget and more than 20 sworn sworn and
[4:53] civilian personnel across two
[4:54] municipalities.
[4:56] In this role
[4:58] he focused on strategic planning, fiscal
[5:00] responsibility, officer development, and
[5:02] strengthening community partnerships.
[5:05] And whereas throughout his career Chief
[5:07] Watson has worked collaboratively with
[5:09] federal, state, and county law
[5:11] enforcement agencies on major
[5:12] investigations and regional task forces.
[5:15] And as an Act 120 certified officer with
[5:18] both advanced executive leadership
[5:20] training, he brings both operational
[5:22] expertise and forward-thinking
[5:24] leadership to his profession. And
[5:26] whereas for Chief Watson policing has
[5:28] always been about people first. His
[5:30] decades of service reflect a deep
[5:32] commitment to ensuring that the
[5:33] communities he serves remain safe,
[5:36] supported, and proud of the police
[5:38] department. Now therefore be it resolved
[5:40] that we Allegheny County Council members
[5:43] Michelle McMurray Chaplin and William
[5:45] Watson do hereby uh congratulate,
[5:48] recognize, and commend Chief Ellis
[5:49] Watson for his distinguished career with
[5:52] Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional Police
[5:54] Department, his leadership within the
[5:56] Swissvale Braddock Hills,
[5:58] and its surrounding communities, and his
[6:00] ongoing dedication to public safety and
[6:01] community partnership throughout
[6:03] Allegheny County. And witness thereof we
[6:05] have we have hereunto caused the seal of
[6:08] the county county of Allegheny to be affixed this 9th day of March
[6:13] 2026. Congratulations on your
[6:16] retirement.
[6:23] Yeah, I'm a little taller.
[6:27] Thank you, sir. Thank you.
[6:30] And one more, we are going to need
[6:32] sports better.
[6:35] So I'm not getting mushy this time.
[6:39] Here's a plaque for you from with our
[6:43] appreciation for your dedicated service
[6:45] to the Swissvale Police Department and
[6:47] the Swissvale Braddock Hills Regional
[6:48] Police Department.
[6:51] Thank you.
[7:04] very much.
[7:07] And
[7:08] uh as one of your final acts, can I get
[7:10] a packet? Absolutely.
[7:14] I'll give you a couple cuz I'll give you
[7:15] the old ones, too. Thank you.
[7:17] Nice.
[7:19] All right. On to the regular business.
[7:23] Uh we have a motion to approve minutes
[7:24] from the February 9th, 2026 meeting.
[7:27] Second. Second.
[7:30] All eyes? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[7:34] All right, motion passes.
[7:36] Uh motion to appoint Sergeant Dave
[7:39] Zacchia as interim police chief for the
[7:41] police department.
[7:43] Second.
[7:44] >> Second.
[7:45] I'll move that.
[7:47] Thank you.
[7:49] And then somebody can second. All right,
[7:51] any discussion?
[7:53] No.
[7:54] All eyes?
[7:55] Aye. Aye. Aye.
[7:57] Any opposed?
[7:59] No. Motion carries.
[8:03] Motion to approve agreement with
[8:05] Sergeant Zacchia for wage while interim
[8:08] police chief.
[8:09] So a motion on that? I'll make that
[8:11] motion. Thank you. Second?
[8:13] >> Second.
[8:14] All right.
[8:15] All eyes? Aye. Aye. Any opposed?
[8:19] Great, motion carries.
[8:22] Uh
[8:23] a motion to approve separation agreement
[8:25] for Chief Watson. I'll make that motion.
[8:28] Second.
[8:29] All right, any discussion? Yeah, have we
[8:32] seen this?
[8:34] There
[8:35] we do need to discuss this. We had in
[8:37] our executive session we did have some
[8:40] discussion about this. From what I
[8:41] understand, there is an edit. I talked
[8:44] to Kevin. It's no worries. No, okay. Um
[8:49] Do we have a copy of it? I actually
[8:52] don't know.
[8:54] I mean I have you, Angela, Maureen, or
[8:57] Shay seen this document at all?
[8:59] The actual agreement?
[9:01] >> Yeah. No. Yeah. I mean we can pass it
[9:03] around, but I I mean I
[9:05] don't know that it's
[9:07] wise to vote on this if this is the
[9:08] first time they're seeing this. I know
[9:09] we had some conversation in in executive
[9:11] session. Um actually it wasn't executive
[9:14] cuz there were just a few of us to talk
[9:16] about the Swissvale side of things as
[9:17] well as the Braddock Hills or the the um
[9:20] the regional police department side, but
[9:22] I mean I'd like to have
[9:25] we proposed some edits on that that was
[9:27] supposed to go back between I don't know
[9:29] if it was
[9:30] Mr. Haynes or Mr. Bachi and
[9:32] Chief Watson.
[9:35] Yes. Yeah, but again I haven't I haven't
[9:36] seen any of that.
[9:40] So
[9:43] how would we like to proceed with this?
[9:47] Maybe table? Yeah, let's table. Yeah.
[9:51] I'll get a motion to table it.
[9:53] I'll motion. Okay, second? Second. All
[9:55] right, any further discussion?
[9:59] I mean, I would suggest that
[10:01] um in the meantime because this I mean,
[10:04] in some sense the difficulty in tabbing
[10:06] this is it is
[10:08] time-bound. It is time-bound. Um but I I
[10:10] think that that's the the wise decision.
[10:12] I think in the meantime until the next
[10:14] meeting um
[10:15] I mean, there is clearly plenty of
[10:17] benefits that are offered to
[10:19] Chief Watson that can can can begin to
[10:21] be processed as as such. Um
[10:25] But yeah, I mean, again, I I I I think
[10:27] that we needed to have this form this in
[10:30] our hands like the final copy prior to
[10:32] the meeting in January.
[10:33] >> Um what I will probably suggest is that
[10:37] we schedule ourselves another executive
[10:39] session um sometime between now and our
[10:41] next regular meeting
[10:42] >> That's fine. to handle this, but we can
[10:44] table it for now.
[10:44] >> Yeah, maybe we can we can approve that
[10:46] in executive session cuz I think that
[10:47] would fall under personnel and then we
[10:49] can ratify it
[10:50] uh at our next meeting. That way we're not delayed by a whole month to to
[10:54] you know, leave Chief waiting on
[10:56] confirmation of that. Okay.
[10:59] Um
[11:00] in the next motion, speaking of things
[11:02] >> voted on tabbing it.
[11:03] >> You are correct. I'm sorry. Sorry, I
[11:05] didn't mean to interrupt your side of
[11:06] the agenda.
[11:08] We did have a second on that, correct?
[11:10] >> Yes. Okay. Uh all eyes?
[11:13] >> Any opposed?
[11:15] No? Okay. Motion is tabled. Um this came
[11:20] into my email late today. I will email
[11:22] it out to everyone, but I have copies if
[11:25] you would like to pass them around. This
[11:26] is the contract for the uh police chief
[11:31] search that we discussed in our
[11:32] executive session as well as a timeline.
[11:35] Um I think everyone's going to look at
[11:37] it now, but that is our next motion.
[11:42] So, we have a motion to approve the
[11:43] contract for the chief search.
[11:46] Would anyone care to make that motion?
[11:49] Um
[11:50] were there any edits at all? Um
[11:53] there were not. There were
[11:55] >> There were a few questions. and I sent
[11:57] those answers out. Yeah. But nothing to
[11:58] the document.
[11:59] >> No, that didn't actually change any of
[12:00] the document at all.
[12:07] Do we have a motion?
[12:09] I'll make it.
[12:11] I'll motion it. Okay.
[12:15] Second?
[12:18] I'll second it. Okay. Thank you.
[12:20] Any further discussion on this?
[12:24] Okay.
[12:25] I mean, that's the first thing our mayor
[12:27] did was
[12:28] new police chief. I don't want to do
[12:29] anything but it's kind of important to
[12:31] get the ball rolling. Oh yeah,
[12:32] absolutely. Yeah, we need to Yeah,
[12:34] absolutely. Yeah. I mean, we did have
[12:35] this document prior. Right.
[12:38] >> Um Right.
[12:39] It's it's just simply the official
[12:40] contract
[12:41] and a time proposed timeline.
[12:45] Have we had um
[12:48] a solicitor look over it? We have not.
[12:51] So, I would Can I I would like to amend
[12:55] the motion? I'd like I make a motion to
[12:56] amend the motion to
[12:58] uh approve contract for chief search
[13:01] pending approval by
[13:04] one of the solicitors. one of the
[13:05] solicitors.
[13:14] I'll second that amendment. Okay. I just
[13:17] think again, we we all had a chance to
[13:19] look at this um
[13:21] but I'm also not a legal expert and I
[13:22] think it might be beneficial to just
[13:25] make sure that there's
[13:27] someone has their eyes on it. Okay.
[13:31] So, I believe that's the current motion
[13:33] to amend the motion to approve
[13:35] >> I don't want to Yeah, sorry. approve the
[13:37] contract
[13:39] provided that it is approved by one of
[13:41] our solicitors.
[13:43] We have a second.
[13:44] All in favor?
[13:46] All right. All right. Any opposed?
[13:48] No? Okay.
[13:50] Amended motion passes. Well, hold hold
[13:53] on.
[13:54] Is no one here a solicitor, right? I
[13:55] think we just voted to amend the
[13:58] motion. We haven't actually approved the
[13:59] motion yet.
[14:02] I'm pretty sure that by
[14:03] >> Not being Not being an expert on how
[14:05] this works.
[14:05] >> I know. This is
[14:07] We need a solicitor. Do we need to do it
[14:08] Get Thank you. Yes.
[14:10] >> Um
[14:12] he's correct.
[14:13] >> Okay.
[14:13] >> Um you amend you vote to amend the
[14:16] motion and then pending the approval of
[14:18] the amended motion then We need then you
[14:20] vote to We need a solicitor.
[14:22] The amended motion is what's now on the
[14:23] table.
[14:23] >> Okay.
[14:24] Thank you for
[14:28] This is why I'm sad that Kevin's not
[14:30] here
[14:31] >> I'm so sorry. It's all right. Um so,
[14:34] would we like to approve the motion?
[14:36] >> take the course in Robert's Rules? I You
[14:38] know what? I didn't.
[14:39] Yeah.
[14:40] Not yet. I've been a little busy.
[14:43] Um all right. So, the motion
[14:46] is that we are approving the contract
[14:49] provided that a solicitor approves it. I
[14:52] don't know if others have thoughts on I
[14:54] mean, I want to make sure everyone has a
[14:55] chance to vote.
[14:56] >> That's fine.
[14:57] Okay. Quick question.
[14:59] >> Yeah. Um have we gotten a contract like
[15:02] this before? Is that the normal practice
[15:05] to have it reviewed?
[15:07] Yes.
[15:08] That is Whenever we get a contract that
[15:11] we Yes, always reviewed by a solicitor.
[15:13] Okay.
[15:14] Like even when I get memorandums or
[15:16] understanding of the school districts,
[15:18] they're reviewed by a solicitor prior to
[15:20] that.
[15:20] >> Okay.
[15:21] Thank you for that. Any further
[15:23] discussion on this?
[15:25] Yeah. All right. Did we have a second on
[15:28] the motion?
[15:30] I think I think it's on the table. It
[15:32] just It just replaces. So, it's already
[15:34] >> Okay. Yeah. We're we're good.
[15:35] >> So, then we're good. All right. So, all
[15:38] in favor? All right. All right. Yay.
[15:41] Any opposed?
[15:43] No? All right. The amended motion
[15:45] passes.
[15:48] Uh
[15:49] motion to pay bills in the amount of
[15:59] $101,700.75
[16:08] for the month of February 2026.
[16:14] Have a motion for that? I'll make that
[16:16] motion. Thank you. Second? Second.
[16:19] Can we just have one question of
[16:21] discussion? Sure. Um so, I I don't know
[16:23] if Mr. Shaw, you know, I mean, on this
[16:25] bill list that we see, it goes through
[16:27] March uh 9th. Yeah, it goes up to today
[16:30] cuz we did bills today. So, Okay. I
[16:33] don't I don't know if you're okay with
[16:34] it, but what I do is from
[16:37] the day after the last meeting to this
[16:41] meeting cuz I'm always usually doing
[16:43] bills this meeting. So, it's actually
[16:46] for meeting to meeting. Okay.
[16:49] My suggestion would just be that in the
[16:51] minutes we reference that that we're approving bills from, you know,
[16:54] February 13th to March 9th. Just because
[16:57] I mean, the way the motion reads, it
[16:59] says February 2026 and we're approving
[17:01] bills that are outside of that purview.
[17:03] Again, I don't know if I'm being overly
[17:05] No, well, no, cuz it Yeah, I I only do
[17:07] that because if we do
[17:10] bills after the last meeting or before,
[17:14] but it doesn't reflect that.
[17:15] >> Yeah. So, we can Yeah, we'll update the
[17:17] agenda to reflect that. Yeah, that would
[17:19] be helpful.
[17:20] >> you want to amend the motion?
[17:20] >> Yeah, that's what I was going to do
[17:22] next. Oh yeah, we're learning. We're
[17:23] learning.
[17:25] Do you do you want to make that
[17:26] amendment?
[17:28] Amend the motion to bills paid
[17:31] from February
[17:35] 13th to um March 3rd No, sorry, March
[17:38] 9th.
[17:40] in the amount of $101,775.
[17:46] I second that. All right.
[17:49] Any further discussion on that?
[17:51] A question. The police consulting
[17:53] services,
[17:55] was this
[17:58] in relation to the contract or something
[18:00] separate? No, that was just something
[18:01] else.
[18:03] What was that? It's $1,000.
[18:09] Chief, can you speak to what that was?
[18:15] a background check on Chief Watson.
[18:17] Okay. That's that's for that service.
[18:20] Okay.
[18:22] That's correct. So, in the future
[18:25] this will look different. That's Yeah,
[18:27] that's my handwriting. That's why.
[18:30] Any additional questions discussion?
[18:34] Okay.
[18:35] So, we are voting to accept the amended
[18:38] to amend the motion
[18:41] uh to read motion to pay bills in the
[18:44] amount of $101,700.75
[18:47] for the time from February 13th, 2026 to
[18:52] March 9th, 2026.
[18:56] Okay. Make that motion. Okay.
[19:01] All in favor? All right. Yes. Any
[19:03] opposed?
[19:05] No? Great.
[19:07] All right. So, then we have the motion.
[19:10] So, you would like to make that motion?
[19:15] I'll make it. Okay.
[19:18] I'll second it. All right. Uh any uh All
[19:22] of All in favor?
[19:23] All right.
[19:24] Any opposed?
[19:26] Fantastic. Motion carried.
[19:29] What is this is done?
[19:31] Is there any new business?
[19:35] All right. Announcements.
[19:37] Um we did hold two executive sessions in
[19:40] between these meetings, one on February
[19:43] 19th, one on February 23rd, I believe.
[19:47] Um
[19:48] those meetings were to discuss
[19:50] uh Chief's departure.
[19:53] Um we talked about the uh contract
[19:56] negotiations a bit.
[20:02] Uh reports. President's report, not much
[20:05] to report since I'm not the president. I
[20:07] do want to uh
[20:09] say that we are making some progress in
[20:11] the contract negotiations. Um we have
[20:14] recognized the union
[20:16] um and that's a very positive
[20:17] development. Um and there are more
[20:20] meetings on that to come.
[20:22] So, but we're moving in the right in the
[20:23] right direction. Um and I believe that's
[20:26] all for now. Chief's report.
[20:28] Uh I have attached a report for the
[20:30] month for your information and also be
[20:32] put up on the uh
[20:35] Facebook page or our website this month.
[20:39] Okay.
[20:40] Uh last meeting, that's Do you have Do
[20:41] you have like parting words or
[20:43] something?
[20:45] Uh no.
[20:46] I think it's been a
[20:49] an eventual working here.
[20:52] Uh I hope I made a difference and uh
[20:55] I hope it
[20:56] carries on in the direction it's going.
[20:58] I I think a lot of things have been
[20:59] accomplished in a very short amount of
[21:01] time with the police department.
[21:03] And I really believe it's in the best
[21:06] interest of both communities that this
[21:08] succeed. And I hope I
[21:12] did something to get it started.
[21:14] It's okay.
[21:15] Head that way.
[21:17] Thank you, Chief. You're very welcome.
[21:19] Thank you. Is today your official last
[21:21] day? Yeah, Friday. Friday.
[21:23] Just last day.
[21:24] Friday, May 13th. Yeah.
[21:27] I didn't plan that far ahead.
[21:31] All right, if nothing else, will
[21:33] somebody please motion to adjourn?
[21:36] at 6:28 p.m. Second.
[21:40] All right.