Appointments Made in Whitehall Borough

Borough Appointments

At its meeting on Wednesday night, the Whitehall Borough Council unanimously appointed six people—all incumbents—to serve the borough as municipal volunteers in various capacities:

• Civil Service Commission (term ending Dec. 31, 2018) - Beverly Zern
• Planning Commission (term ending Dec. 31, 2016) - James Colosimo
• Recreation Board (term ending Dec. 31, 2015) - Donna Goedert
• Recreation Board (term ending Dec. 31, 2015) - Melissa Quallich
• Uniform Construction Code Appeals Board (term ending Dec. 31, 2015) - John J. Bruce
• Zoning Hearing Board (term ending Dec. 31, 2015) - Mark J. Christman

The Whitehall Council also unanimously appointed two incumbents (listed first and second below) and one newcomer to serve on the board of the Whitehall Public Library:

• Elizabeth Mahoney (term ending Dec. 31, 2015)
• Debby Recker (term ending Dec. 31, 2015)
• George Findlay (term ending Dec. 31, 2015) *Findlay will also be a trustee of the library.

The library board's newest officers were also revealed on Wednesday night. Cristina Brady will serve as President, Hal Ohm is Vice President, Damien Schorr is Treasurer, and Recker is Secretary.

The board's officers do not have terms, but they typically remain in their positions for one year.

And selected unanimously by his colleagues to represent Whitehall on the Medical Rescue Team South Authority Board was Councilman Philip Lahr.

Vacant Lot Disguised as a Townhouse

Whitehall Borough has benefited from the professional experience of Councilman Robert McKown, a certified public accountant and a firm administrator and manager for Goff, Backa, Alfera & Company, LLC, for some time, and McKown's instincts were on display again during Wednesday's council meeting.

Referring to news that Allegheny County real estate officials have misclassified a Whitehall property for decades, resulting in possibly thousands of dollars in lost tax revenue for the borough, McKown said, "My concern as an auditor is, 'What other properties are we missing?'"

McKown wondered aloud if borough administration could check to see if other Whitehall properties are being misclassified.

"I don't know if there's any mechanism in place to cross-reference anything," fellow Councilman Glenn Nagy said. "You'd almost have to physically look at each one. There's just no manpower to do that."

Should you be aware of any other misclassifications, contact the Whitehall municipal office at 412-884-0505.

Holiday Lights Winners

Councilwoman Kathleen N. DePuy announced the winners of Whitehall's 2012 house decorating contest.

Borough leaders judged area houses and decided on seven winners in six categories:

• Best Overall Display: 4850 Old Boston Rd. (Doreen Valentine)
• Best Colored Lights: 5045 Azalea Dr. (James and Kathleen Peelor)
• Most Fun Display: 50 Windvale Dr. (Susan Gonano)
• Best Nativity Scene: 5345 Orchard Hill Dr. (Donald and Jeanne Kemmler)
• Best Star: 1019 Varner Rd. (Richard and Mary Debski)
• Honorable Mention: 221 Maxwell Dr. (Tracey Ruscitto) and 125 Audbert Dr. (Kenneth and Kristin Figura)

Winners will be honored at a future council meeting.

Click here for more Whitehall Borough news.

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