Turtle Creek Valley COG

Turtle Creek Valley COG Director’s Report TCVCOG Board Meeting March 27, 2014

Important Dates: 4/15 – Police Chief Meeting 4/16 – Manager’s Meeting 4/24 – TCVCOG Board Meeting 4/28 – Blight Busters

Land Banking: Our Tri-COG initiative on blight has been working at full steam to disseminate material on blight and get the word out about land banking in our region. In fact, since our last Board Meeting in January there have been three Trib Publications on our efforts including the Letter to the Editor given to you today. We have engaged Ceislar Media to sharpen our land bank messaging and assist with media outreach. Feedback about municipalities’ experiences with blight and thoughts on the creation of a land bank are crucial in this work. That is why we are continually working with our municipal managers and council members so that we can incorporate information obtained through them into our Land Bank Business Plan.

The Blight Busters meeting held this past Monday had a good turnout and discussion centered on Multi-Municipal Code Enforcement programs. The room was filled with Code Enforcement Officers who were able to share their needs and thoughts on multi-municipal approaches to code enforcement. I presented on experiences and concerns our member municipalities have shared with me including code enforcement capacity, lack of follow up, and the judicial process. The TCVCOG is working on establishing a code enforcement program that would facilitate municipalities working cooperatively to effectively mitigate blight at an obtainable cost. Extending code enforcement services is not only a request by some of our municipalities, but would also allow for the centralization of administration and data collection.

Other News:

We will once again be hosting our hospitality room at the ALOM Conference next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. New this year – we will have a DJ on Friday evening from 8pm until midnight to play your favorite music.

The Alcosan Governance Structure committee hosted by the Institute of Politics continues to make progress toward its charge of making recommendations that result in the board having better representation, and more transparency. Although initial plans were to have been wrapped up at this point, a few more meetings have been scheduled through April.

We have hired a new Vactor Operator who will start on April 9th. Raymond Winowich brings 15 years of Vactor experience, and has excellent references. Please consider opting into the Vactor program if you have not already done so.

Jack Exler has indicated that a 2.03% decrease in CDBG funding is expected. He is scheduled to meet with all of the COG Directors on April 8th to give us more details of what we can expect. The Public Works Department is in need of hiring an additional person. Applications have been received and the Public Works Advisory Board is in the process of reviewing. In other public works news, an Act 47 grant has allowed us to purchase a new backhoe on behalf of the department. This piece of equipment will have a unique attachment that will allow it to cut through brush. This should be a welcome addition as summer approaches.

Mayors and Presidents Meeting (March 12, 2014) Attendance: Louis Payne, Sylvia Martinelli, Marty O'Malley, Edward Cook, Gregory Erosenko, John Thompson, Thomas Whyel, Dominic Parisi, James Perry, Anthony DeLuca, Jr.

The purpose of this inaugural meeting was to have an open forum with member municipality Mayors and Presidents in order to lay a foundation for future discussions and partnerships. The meeting began discussing the Cost of Blight study along with other relevant topics related to blight. It was agreed that blight is present in each municipality and that a multi-municipal approach along with fostering greater relationships with code enforcement offices and magisterial district judges was needed. There is also a desire to learn from each other’s best practices in order to fight blight.

The mayors agreed that inter-municipal mayor partnerships and stronger avenues for dialogue with the COG would be beneficial and therefore regular monthly meetings should be arranged. There will be a Mayors and Presidents Caucus at the ALOM Conference in our Seven Springs Hospitality Room on Friday April 4th from 1 pm- 2 pm.

Manager’s Advisory Committee Meeting (February 16, 2014):

In Attendance: Annett Dietz, Rebecca Bradley, Connie Rosenbayger, Patty Logo, Julie Pantalone, Steve Morus, Craig Robinson, Greg Bachy, Mike Thomas

Amanda reminded those in attendance of the Tri-COG Blight Initiative monthly Blight Busters meeting. This one will be held on Monday February 24th. Chris Brown and Bill Fontana will be presenting on the PA Keystone CORE services, which is a consolidation of programs including the former PA Main Streets program.

There was a question to the managers from Amanda about municipality water shut off policies and procedures. She was inquiring about the process of water shut off and if municipalities conduct appeals hearings. There was agreement that if a resident is dissatisfied with the water shut up process and notices they can appeal to council. None of the municipalities in attendance experienced any legal problems with their current shut off procedures.

The COG is currently evaluating a potential code enforcement program, either in-house or third party, in order to increase code enforcement and data collection capacities of its members. The managers were asked about current code enforcement needs and if they would be interested in an opt-in code enforcement program. There was a discussion about current needs for municipalities including property maintenance, UCC permits, follow-up, and data collection. Experiences of current practices and ordinances were shared and the managers agreed that having some formal way of sharing success stories or current ordinances would be beneficial. Potential obstacles for a COG code enforcement program were discussed including small variances in municipal codes, splitting the code enforcement officer’s time between participating communities, and a uniform format for reporting, expectations and accountability. Suggestions were made about a future COG code enforcement program including starting with a property maintenance function and then moving towards UCC certification. The COG will continue investigating the costs and benefits of a program and will present the information to the managers at a later date.

Amanda from Swissvale opened a new discussion pertaining to current practices and contracts with recycling companies. She was wondering if any communities had reimbursable programs and asked if it made sense for some COG communities to come together as a group and ask for one. Discussions were had surrounding which companies each municipality used and how their contracts were laid out. Examples of other COGs and previous attempts at joint bidding were given, none of which seemed to yield a better rate for participating municipalities.

Rebecca was wondering if any municipality was conducting an E-Waste disposal program that she could advertise to her community members. Steve said Forest Hills was having one but he would double check on the date. Amanda F. also reported that Swissvale will have an E-Waste disposal at their Clean-Up Day in May.

Manager’s Advisory Committee Meeting (March 2014):

Meeting cancelled due to the PELRAS Conference.

The next meeting is scheduled for 16th at 10:00am in the COG office.

Police Chief Advisory Committee Meeting (March 25, 2014): Attendance: Chief B. Payne, Chief Geppart, Asst. Chief Watson, Chief Williams, Chief Farally, Chief DiCenzo

In response to last month’s meeting, Amanda has scheduled a meeting with DA Zappala. The goal of today’s meeting was to get ourselves organized and create some agenda items. The chiefs want to discuss the following:

1. Is there a possibility of creating more capacity for drug enforcement in the East through DANET, or another program? 2. Are there plans to increase the size of the Forensic Unit? 3. Are there resources available to purchase equipment that can assist us with drug enforcement (ie: monitoring cameras)

DA Zappala has agreed to meet with us on Tuesday, April 15th. I will be working with Art Keenan from his staff to put together a more comprehensive agenda that includes issues important to the DA.

Respectfully submitted by Amanda Settelmaier.