Dormont Human Relations Commission Meeting: August 19, 2026

The Dormont Human Relations Commission met on August 19, 2026, to schedule a goal-setting retreat, discuss the Reserved Accessible Parking policy presentation, review a budget request for the PorchSmart event, debrief the event, and plan survey distribution and incentive programs. The meeting included committee updates and finalization of thank-you notes and gift cards.

Goal-Setting Meeting for 2026

• The commission selected Sunday, November 2, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at the borough building conference room for a visioning and strategic planning session.

Reserved Accessible Parking Policy

• Megan Hammond from Housing Pittsburgh will present on the Reserved Accessible Parking (RAP) policy at the next full meeting. A preliminary Zoom conversation with Melinda, Megan, and interested members will be scheduled first.

Budget Presentation and Request for PorchSmart

• A budget request of $2,500 was submitted for the PorchSmart event, up from the current year’s $1,200 allocation. The request was considered reasonable given the event’s low cost and high community engagement. Discussion included adding a survey question to assess whether financial support would help future hosts.

PorchSmart Event Debrief

• Members reported strong community turnout, with one host receiving 40 visitors and several people visiting 7–10 porches. Positive highlights included intergenerational participation, good food, music, pet interactions, and effective guerrilla marketing through yard signs.
• Challenges noted: difficulty visiting porches across both sides of Liberty Avenue, confusion on one street where a block party coincided, and data‑tracking headaches caused by unstandardized spreadsheet entries (e.g., street name and house number not separated).
• Suggestions for next year: consider splitting the event by neighborhood, holding a spring and a fall edition, and recruiting volunteers for tasks like sign delivery to reduce organizer stress.

Survey Distribution and Incentives

• The post‑PorchSmart survey will be distributed via the borough website, Facebook event page, weekly e‑newsletter, host email list, and the Pride list. The survey will include an open‑ended question on event improvements and an optional entry for gift‑card raffles.
• Incentives: 5 gift cards for photo submissions and 5 gift cards for survey completion (reduced from a earlier proposal of 20). Raffle winners will choose from a list of Dormont businesses.
• One commission member will coordinate with Jen to finalize and release the survey promptly.

Thank‑You Notes and Gift Cards

• Personalized thank‑you notes will be written for all hosts, using notes from the planning spreadsheet. Deadline: within two weeks (by end of August 2026). Notes will be hand‑delivered.
• Gift cards for hosts and for the survey/photo raffle will be purchased from Dormont businesses. Options include Giovanni’s Doorstop, Fredo’s, Potomac Station Coffee, Mike & Tony’s Moonlit Burgers, Giant Eagle, and potentially Bedtime Books and Forage. A member will handle purchasing and communication with winners.

Key Outcomes

• Goal‑setting retreat scheduled for November 2, 2026, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
• Budget request of $2,500 for PorchSmart forwarded to council.
• RAP presentation by Megan Hammond confirmed; preliminary Zoom call to be arranged.
• Post‑event survey to be launched immediately with gift‑card incentives.
• Thank‑you notes to be completed within two weeks; gift cards will be distributed by a designated member.
• For future PorchSmart events, the commission will improve data management (separate street/lot columns), communication with block parties, and task delegation to reduce organizer burden.