Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.
The Dormont Borough Council Supercommittee met on September 1, 2026, to review agenda items for the upcoming voting meeting and discuss several infrastructure, community, and administrative matters. Key topics included the establishment of a pension advisory committee, updates on the Street and Music Festival, approval of an Audubon grant, road program adjustments, and a major lead line replacement project by PA American Water. No public comments were made.
Pension Advisory Committee (Executive Committee): Council reviewed a resolution to create a pension advisory committee. Concerns were raised about the use of "oversight" in the title, as an advisory committee should not have oversight authority. Members suggested requiring quarterly meetings, an annual report to council before the budget process, and a mechanism for council to request meetings. The committee composition was debated: to avoid an even number of union and management representatives, a ninth resident member was proposed, to be nominated jointly by the unions from a list of three qualified residents. The resolution was postponed to the October meeting for further refinement.
Street and Music Festival (Recreation & Community Affairs): Kristen Turner, event manager, reported that vendor applications (108 received) must be reduced to approximately 60. Sponsorships have surpassed the $15,000 goal, currently at $16,500 with 24 sponsors (up from 13 last year). A safety meeting is scheduled for September 15, and a pre-festival vendor call will be held in late September. New additions include a Kid Zone expansion with dance groups (Element Dance and PMT) and potential appearances by Grimace from McDonald's. Council members were asked to volunteer as MCs for musical acts.
Audubon Society Grant (Recreation & Community Affairs): Council moved to accept a $2,000 grant from the Western PA Audubon Society for the Dormont Bird Town program. The funds will be spent by the end of June 2027, and the Bird Town committee will return with a specific spending list for approval.
Home for the Holidays (Recreation & Community Affairs): Plans were discussed to add a light-up night the evening before the parade, including tree lighting at Hillsdale Park. The Dormont Fire Department will assist with hanging lights. Cost estimates for lights will be presented at the October meeting. Council considered light colors and noted potential issues with twinkle lights for medical reasons. A planning committee is forming; volunteers were requested.
Road Program (Property, Supplies & Public Works): Engineer Dan Draft reported that work on Crosby Avenue halted due to sidewalk non-compliance issues. The plan is to complete the section between Beverly and the dead end this year, with sidewalk repairs at no cost to the borough, and defer remaining blocks to 2027. The resulting savings (~$200,000) will fund all alternate streets listed in the bid (~$90,000), with about $105,000 remaining. Options for using the surplus include additional alley paving, which is a priority based on pavement management data. A decision on additional work will be made at the September supercommittee meeting, with a change order to follow.
PA American Water Lead Line Replacement (Property, Supplies & Public Works): The company plans to replace lead service lines in 575 homes across three census tracts (4722, 4721, 4723) from February 2027 to May 2028, at no cost to residents. The work will be on both customer and company sides, disturbing streets and sidewalks. Council emphasized proactive public education to ensure resident participation, as failure to sign agreements could result in service disconnection. Coordination with the borough's road program and police department was discussed to minimize traffic disruptions. An informational evening for residents is planned.
Engineer’s Report – Other Items: The sanitary sewer O&M contracts are proceeding with CCTV and manhole rehabilitation. The Dormont Junction land development project (station redesign) has been submitted for planning commission review. The park project received final DCNR approval; bidding is expected within 30–45 days, with a potential award at the November voting meeting.
Energy Efficient Fixtures (Finance & Legal): Council discussed a motion to approve $7,040.01 for purchasing energy-efficient fixtures and equipment through the PA Act 129 rebate program, covering the recreation center, borough administration building, and public works garage. This is a first-come, first-served rebate, and council expressed strong support.
Bond Counsel and Investment Banker (Finance & Legal): A resolution was discussed to appoint Dinsmore & Shohl LLP as bond counsel and PNC Capital Markets LLC as investment banker through December 31, 2027, to advise on potential bond issuance for capital projects. The resolution does not commit to issuing bonds but establishes the professional relationship. It will be placed on the voting agenda.
Rec Center Rental (Planning, Sustainability & Inclusion): A motion to approve the rental of the rec center for the Dormont Public Library’s fundraising event on October 24, 2026, for $185, using councilmember Fabus’s public funds, was moved to the voting agenda.
I'd like to call this meeting of the August 31st, 2026 super committee meeting and agenda review meeting to order. If you would please rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with the receipt and justice for all. Thank you. If you would, Mr. Stone, please take the roll. Mayor Walsh. Here. Council President Downs. Here. Councilwoman Fabus. Councilman Kip. I'm here. Okay. Councilman Melvin. Here. Councilman Munson. Here. Councilman Rieger. Councilwoman Ventreska. Here. All but one approach account for. But the record reflect that we have four. We have a full quorum in actually in attendance in the meeting, which would allow us to meet the requirements of the borough code for quorum and one online currently. Sorry, just wanted to know that there's a difference. First item, there are no registered comments. Is my understanding? Is that correct from the public? That's correct. Okay. First item on the agenda is uh item under executive committee, and it is the motion to approve a resolution that would establish a borough pension advisory committee that would uh for this definition, and I'm gonna tell you already that I I want to talk through this to oversee the boroughs employee pension and retirement plans and appointing members there too. Um it was included in a raised packet, so hopefully we've had an opportunity to look at it. But as a starting point, I wanted to indicate that I think that this is contradictory both in its title and its it's what its contents are. An advisory committee would not have the ability to provide would be an oversight is a much more robust um responsibility. And advisory says something totally different. So I feel that a lot of this is sort of contradictory, and I wanted to highlight that particularly. Um the oversight of the system is the responsibility of the council and uniters' language in here that talks about it's not a serpenting council's authority. I think anything, any place that this talks about oversight versus providing advice and counsel would be inappropriate and should probably be removed. Do you like the oversight language or not? I do not. Okay. So if it's an advisory committee, it is advisory committee, and we can't give away our responsibilities under law, regardless. So that includes some of the powers and responsibilities under theirs um to oversee general operations that oversee again is oversight, should not be something that's delegated to an advisory board. Um, monitoring the financial condition again, concerns there too. Um the other thing I wanted to note uh a couple things is that meetings and records don't require that there is a meeting. It says that meetings can be set, but I think at a minimum we should be requiring that they meet maybe at a quarterly basis, depending upon when the reports are coming in from the pension systems or the advisors.