Whitehall Council Argues Over Street Islands

A heated debate on Wednesday night regarding Whitehill Circle. Also, several other discussions over environmental issues.

As the Whitehall police headquarters gears up to go green with a new, environmentally friendly roof, residents of Whitehill Circle plead for the Whitehall Borough Council to return to green by restoring an island in the middle of their cul-de-sac. A Circular Discussion Whitehill Circle residents Regina and Anthony Frankenfield and Lucy Buzzeo made impassioned speeches to the Whitehall Council on Wednesday to restore the Whitehill island and to put back up a red dogwood tree that was the showpiece of their neighborhood. Councilman Philip Lahr was the first to apologize to the residents; though, Lahr believed that the residents were duly notified about the change in the way that their cul-de-sac would look. The residents, however, claimed …

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MRTSA Moving to Old Whitehall Fire Station

Also, the borough's code is heading online, a junkyard update and other notes from a May 16 council meeting.

Route 51 'Safety Center' The Whitehall Borough base of Medical Rescue Team South Authority (MRTSA), now found on Borough Park Drive, is in the process of moving to the old Whitehall Fire Company station across from Baldwin High School along Route 51. The old fire station sits directly next to the newest Whitehall fire station, which opened this spring. MRTSA's soon-to-be-former Whitehall base will be used by the borough's public works department. "The road crew will finally have more space," Councilman Philip Lahr, a former firefighter, said after a Whitehall Council meeting on Wednesday night, "which they need very badly. Now, they have two garages to store equipment in. "The (new) firehouse (project) was a win-win thing. If you built the…

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Whitehall Boro Bldg. Also an Art Gallery

Beautiful works line the halls of the borough's municipal complex.

Completion of Route 51 Fire Station, Shade Tree Update

Notes from a May 2 Whitehall Council meeting.

Final Phase for Fire Station Mark Edelmann, the architect of the new Whitehall Fire Company station along Route 51, gave the Whitehall Borough Council an update on Wednesday night about the station's construction. "We're at 95-percent payment on all contracts," Edelmann said of the firehouse, which was put into use by the borough's firefighters about a week ago. "Everything is in the building. Everything is installed." Edelmann went on to say that there is only one outstanding issue with the new station concerning "unsuitable soil." Edelmann and his colleagues at Gateway Engineers are in the process of reviewing that issue and will provide a recommendation to the Whitehall Council soon. Councilman and ex-firefighter Philip Lahr praised …

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Robert Edward Healy, III

11:00 am on Friday, May 4, 2012

"No use," the borough manager said that the construction was done under prevailing wage, but he does not know if it was union work.   more ›

Whitehall Supports (But Doesn't Join) Lawsuit Against State Drilling Regulation

The Whitehall Council decided on Wednesday to issue a letter backing opposition to Act 13.

The Whitehall Borough Council voted on Wednesday night to issue a letter in support of a local lawsuit challenging Act 13, the recently inked Pennsylvania law that bars local governments from regulating Marcellus Shale drilling and that goes into effect on April 14. The letter of support, which came on the heels of a similar gesture by the Pittsburgh City Council, has no legal implications for Whitehall, where zoning regulations limit Marcellus Shale drilling to four locations in the borough. Whitehall's South Hills Country Club has leased part of its land for drilling to Chesapeake Energy, but country club officials have said that no such drilling has occurred. Seven area municipalities, including Cecil and Peters townships, have signed …

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PatchCast: Boy Hit by Car, Gas Drilling Concerns & World Record Rowing

A week's worth of the region's top articles.

Here are this week's top stories from Patch sites in your area: Young Boy Struck by Car in Bridgeville Marcellus Shale/South Hills C.C. Talk Dominates Crowded Whitehall Boro Meeting 'Piehead: (A Kinda True Story)' Hits Destinta Thursday Rowing Duo Hopes to Set World Record Sarris Candies, Pittsburgh Artist Team Up on Delicious Depiction  --- Follow the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up for the daily Baldwin-Whitehall newsletter.

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Marcellus Shale/South Hills C.C. Talk Dominates Crowded Whitehall Boro Meeting

'We're all on the same side, folks.' - Councilman Glenn Nagy

Ever since the South Hills Country Club leased part of its land to Chesapeake Energy to allow high-volume slickwater hydraulic fracturing in Whitehall Borough, Whitehall's elected officials have taken some heat. But in front of a large crowd at Wednesday night's Whitehall Council meeting, those officials stood up for themselves during often-heated exchanges with borough residents. In a room not meant to fit more than 50 or 60 people, those residents overflowed out of the meeting space and used public comments time to question whether or not their council members were doing enough to protect them from hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking"—a controversial component of Marcellus Shale natural-gas drilling that has been linked to dangerous …

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Shade Tree Motion Passes at Whitehall Council Meeting

Also, two sewage items, SHAADD members continue to ask for a community rights ban on drilling, and other notes.

Shade Tree Commission The Whitehall Borough Council unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday night to enter into a multi-municipal Shade Tree Commission with nearby Baldwin and Brentwood boroughs. Brentwood, Baldwin and Whitehall—along with the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Carrick and Overbrook—are already part of multi-municipal planning group for the Route 51 corridor, and the Shade Tree Commission would be an extension of that cooperation. The commission will be made up of nine non-compensated members appointed for five-year terms, with the possible addition of three other members. "This is a good thing," said Whitehall Mayor James F. Nowalk, who has been championing the commission idea. "It's purely advisory and will result in …

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Robert Edward Healy, III

5:14 pm on Thursday, March 8, 2012

Updated to include information on the borough's 2012 road program.   more ›

$25K Lobby Improvements Coming to Whitehall Library

Also, an Economic Development South update and other notes from a Feb. 15 Whitehall Borough meeting.

Has Gas-Drilling Company Been at South Hills C.C.? Read here. Whitehall Library Upgrades The Whitehall Public Library is known for its top-notch appearance, among other features, but the library will nevertheless receive more upgrades soon in the form of changes to its lobby area. Paula Kelly, the director of the library, spoke at a Whitehall Borough Council meeting on Wednesday night and introduced Virginia Weida, of Virginia Weida Designs, who has been contracted to alter the entranceway of the library (with the permission of the council). Weida said that she intends to replace the tiles in the entranceway which currently bear names of library donors. "Unfortunately, time and age has really made the names illegible," Weida said, "and the…

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