Thursday, February 14, 2013
And other notes from Tuesday night's borough council meeting.
McAnulty Park Ever been to McAnulty Park? Ever even heard of it? You're probably not alone. But Brian Urban sure has, and he sees room for improvement. Urban, a lifelong Baldwin Borough resident, is seeking no reimbursement for his time and effort but asked the Baldwin Council during its meeting on Tuesday night to allow him to seek funds for borough officials to use in revitalizing the park. The park is made up of a hilly green space, a walking trail, a gazebo and basketball/tennis courts and is found between Meadowcrest Road and Carmen Drive in south Baldwin (behind McAnnulty Elementary School). Borough Manager John Barrett called the park on Tuesday, "admittedly, very underutilized." "Trash, graffiti, drug use, underage alcohol abuse, …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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40.346163
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300-400 Carmen Dr, Pittsburgh, PA
One end of McAnulty Park
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40.3446
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5200-5300 Meadowcrest Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
One end of McAnulty Park
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Wednesday, January 16, 2013
A developer of north Baldwin homes wants an exception to be made.
Should some future properties in north Baldwin Borough be treated differently than developments in the rest of the borough are? That is the question facing the Baldwin Council, and according to borough solicitor Stanley B. Lederman, the council has 45 days to answer it. Representatives from Ryan Homes, a developer of residences in north Baldwin's Breckenridge Highlands complex, appeared in front of the council at a special meeting on Tuesday night to ask council members to make an exception to the amount of space required in the borough between a structure and the street that it sits along (known as "setback"). The impetus for the request is that Ryan Homes wishes to build "morning rooms" onto five future Breckenridge homes. The morning …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, January 9, 2013
And the council has advertised its 2013 budget again.
Baldwin Borough's council members agreed on Tuesday night to a timeline and process that will eventually set the borough's real estate tax rate for 2013 at 5.41 mills, or $541 per year for anyone with a property valued at $100,000 (land and building value combined). That represents a reduction of 1.2 mills from Baldwin's 2012 rate of 6.61, but due to a recent countywide real estate reassessment that raised the value of most Baldwin properties, many property owners in the borough will still see an increase in the amount of tax dollars that they'll be responsible for this year. (Click here to calculate your individual taxes based on 2012's millage rate.) Because of the increase in average property value—though some assessments are still …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Scott's replacement was an ineligible appointment. Also, more borough appointments and other notes to report.
Ann Scott Returns Former longtime Baldwin Borough municipal employee Ann Scott's replacement on the borough's all-volunteer Civil Service Commission in April should never have been appointed. The Baldwin Council officially recognized that mistake in October when it accepted the resignation of her replacement—James Behers. As a state constable, Behers was ineligible for a spot on the Civil Service Commission, something that no council member was aware of when he was appointed. At a meeting on Tuesday night, the council brought Scott back to the commission with a narrow, 4-3 vote, and she will serve there again until at least the end of April 2018. Behers' appointment in April was also met with a 4-3 controversy. Voting for Behers over Scott…
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Action taken after borough solicitor recommends waiting for results of property value appeals.
The Baldwin Borough Council has pulled its municipality's 2013 budget off of the shelves. After having made the budget available for public review over the past seven days, the borough council acted on the advice of its solicitor on Tuesday night and rescinded public review until the budget's final millage rate (local real estate taxes) can be set. The council's vote was 7-0. Solicitor Stanley B. Lederman made the recommendation in light of a recent decision by Allegheny County Judge R. Stanton Wettick to allow municipal leaders until Jan. 31 to set their communities' 2013 millage rates. Wettick is also giving county officials until Dec. 21 to finish making decisions on property value appeals—including ones from Baldwin Borough property …
40.383751
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Action at Tuesday night's borough meeting could mark the end for Becks Run.
While its chief and deputy chief await a formal Allegheny County arraignment for embezzlement charges, the Becks Run Volunteer Fire Department was officially decertified by the Baldwin Borough Council on Tuesday night. The council voted, 6-0, to approve the decertification, which terminates all authority previously granted to the department to perform duties associated with a volunteer fire department and revokes its official status as a volunteer fire department serving the borough. (Councilman Ed Moeller was absent for the vote but arrived later at Tuesday's meeting.) In light of the embezzlement charges, brought because Chief Leonard "Len" Novak and Deputy Chief Stephen Bonetti allegedly misused approximately $25,000 in public funds, …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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40.409588
-79.962642
Becks Run Volunteer Fire Department
801 Becks Run Rd, Pittsburgh, PA
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1842152
/locations/8370131
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
John Ferris calls the council 'despicable' shortly after a borough employee is fired, and other notes from Tuesday night's council meeting.
Ferris Quite Upset with Fellow Council Members Although Councilmen David Depretis and John Conley were absent from Tuesday night's Baldwin Borough meeting, there were still enough of their fellow council members present to approve of the firing of an unnamed borough employee. The Baldwin Council voted, 4-1—Councilman John Ferris had the only "no" vote—to approve of the termination, but Councilman Ed Moeller explained after the meeting that his "yes" vote was merely to authorize borough Manager John Barrett to act on the termination if Barrett believed that there was just cause to do so. Shortly after that vote was taken, Ferris got out of his seat and headed for the exit door—but not before uttering a few parting words. Ferris called the …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tracey LaPaglia says that she was assigned work that male officers weren't.
Tracey LaPaglia, a Baldwin Borough police officer who was injured while working for the borough in 2010, is claiming discrimination by borough leaders in a civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, LaPaglia says that she was assigned secretarial duties after her injury—work that was never assigned to Baldwin's injured policemen. LaPaglia says that this is just one way that she was treated differently than injured male officers, the Tribune-Review reports. Baldwin Borough Manager John Barrett declined to comment on Wednesday night, saying that he needed to talk with borough solicitor Stanley B. Lederman before making any kind of a statement. The Baldwin-Whitehall Patch has …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Notes from Tuesday night’s council meeting.
Vernon Landslide Costs Borough $462K When it’s all said and done, Baldwin Borough will pay Plavchak Construction, of Jefferson Hills Borough, $462,000 to repair a landslide that occurred on Vernon Avenue in the spring of 2011, according to Baldwin's engineer Larry Souleret. Due to difficulty handling utility lines in the area, workers have had to push back their completion date on Vernon to the end of September 2012. "We're finally wrapping it up," Souleret said during Tuesday night's Baldwin Council meeting. New Labor Contract A switch in health care providers from Highmark to UPMC for Baldwin Borough's construction, general labor and material handlers workers should save Baldwin "six figures," according to borough Manager John Barrett. …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
/articles/vernon-landslide-repairs-labor-contract-savings-and-more-baldwin-boro-news
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Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Leftovers from an April 17 council meeting.
Baldwin Formally Enters Shade Tree Commission Despite saying that the Whitehall Borough Council's urging of the Baldwin Borough Council to support a multi-municipal Shade Tree Commission was "in bad form," Baldwin Councilman Michael Stelmasczyk joined five of his colleagues in supporting the commission, 6-1, on Tuesday night. But Stelmasczyk made some demands before agreeing to join the commission, demands that Baldwin solicitor Stanley B. Lederman said will still allow Baldwin Borough to be an effective partner in the commission with nearby Whitehall and Brentwood boroughs. (Whitehall has already agreed to join, and Brentwood is expected to join later this month.) Essentially, Stelmasczyk made changes to the language of a Baldwin bill …
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Baldwin Borough Municipal Complex
3344 Churchview Ave, Pittsburgh, PA
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1253439
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Tyrion Lannister
2:04 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013
Colewood Park is another goofy little South Baldwin park that you wouldn't know was there unless you had kids that played soccer there. more ›