Dormont Borough Council Supercommittee Meeting - October 26, 2026

The Dormont Borough Council Supercommittee met at 6:00 p.m. on October 26, 2026, with all council members present. The meeting advanced several personnel hires, a Small Business Saturday proclamation, the Next Generation Playground bid award, a firefighter work-schedule memorandum of understanding, and the advertisement of the 2027 budget to the November 2, 2026 voting meeting agenda. Council also heard public comment objecting to a proposed residential development in the Dormont Junction area.

Executive Committee / Personnel

• The council voted to add three personnel items to the November 2 voting meeting agenda:
  • Hire a not-yet-named Community and Recreation Manager; the candidate has accepted and given notice to their current employer, and would start the day after council approval.
  • Hire Christian Schulz as Parking Enforcement Officer with a start date of October 13, 2026.
  • Hire Steven Christy as Crossing Guard with a start date of October 19, 2026. The agenda lists these as two different roles, although the presiding officer's remarks referred to the latter item as another parking-enforcement hire.
• The borough manager reported that the finance director candidate selected at the September voting meeting declined the position after a counteroffer; a new formal offer is out, with discussion expected in November and appointment possible in December.

Business District Relations & Development

• Council moved to add Resolution 19, 2026 to the November 2 agenda. The resolution proclaims Saturday, November 28, 2026, as Small Business Saturday and encourages residents to support local businesses during the holiday season. A council member noted the Small Business Saturday program has existed since 2010.

Recreation and Community Affairs

• The borough engineer reported that bids for the Next Generation Playground were opened on October 22, 2026. There were three bidders for general construction, and Allegheny City Electric's electrical bid came in within the estimated budget. Bids must be awarded within 60 days, and staff expect to present a recommendation by Friday at noon so council can act at the November 2 meeting. Council voted to add the playground bid award to that agenda.
• Councilperson Ventresca offered to split the cost of Christmas tree lighting with Councilperson Downs using public good funds. The council amended its agenda and approved the split request for the November 2 agenda.

Finance & Legal Committee

• Council discussed the MOU with IAFF Local #3584 adjusting career firefighters' work schedules. The fire chief described the change to a 24-on/72-off schedule from the current eight-hour-day schedule, with daylight employees moving to four 10-hour days. He said the conversion was designed to be as cost-neutral as possible, with some minor time-off increments due to rounding to 12- and 10-hour days. He cited 2027 salary figures of $77,286 current base and $81,157 new annual salary, explaining the difference from the existing 42-hour work week not being reflected in the old number.
  • Several council members raised concerns: the MOU had not been fully discussed in open committee, the cost-neutrality math was not clearly documented for residents, the bunk-room and kitchen improvements were not previously reviewed, the police department had given up its break room, and spending was occurring while taxes had been raised for a second year.
  • Staff said the money for the space improvements is in the existing budget and that a fire feasibility study is being pursued with DCED, possibly without an identified partner.
  • Council voted to add the MOU to the November 2 voting agenda and asked for a memo explaining the cost-neutrality and salary figures.
• The 2027 budget advertisement and display item was already on the November 2 agenda. Discussion noted carryover items, the road program increasing 30 percent, and a roughly quarter-million-dollar contribution toward replenishing the rainy-day fund. A council member asked for an updated final budget number from the new finance director; no number was available yet.
• A council member requested $1,350 from public good funds for Just Harvest for a laptop, locked storage case, and office supplies for tax-site administration. Another council member offered to split the cost, and the item was added to the November 2 agenda.

Property, Supplies & Public Works

• The paving contractor, Felino's, plans to mill streets during the week of October 26 and place base and final wearing courses the following week, with the program expected to be finished within two weeks.
• The borough met with Columbia Gas about sidewalks on Kelton and Edge Hill; the utility understood the issue and is expected to place the repair on a work order for early spring 2027 rather than this year.

Voting Meeting Agenda & Amendments

• Seven items were added to the November 2, 2026 voting meeting agenda during this meeting.
• The draft agenda was corrected so that action item 10D shows the fire truck sale figure as $120,000, and action item 10E, the Potomac Avenue streetlights purchase, was removed.
• Council later amended item 10D to replace the motion to approve the sale of the 2008 fire truck with a resolution ratifying the sale at $120,000, so the buyer can pick up the truck before the next meeting. That amended item was added to the November 2 agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

• No registered comments were submitted at the start of the meeting.
• Alan O'Connor, 32 Mississippi Avenue, urged council to take residents' concerns seriously and said an out-of-state developer has a terrible reputation; he argued taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize a corporate monopoly.
• Jim Kineski, address given as 1462, opposed the proposed low-income housing project, saying he saw many downsides and no pluses for the community. He also asked about sidewalk work and thanked borough workers.
• Gary Crummer, 1728 Hillsdale Avenue, speaking on behalf of Joy Smith, described a Right-to-Know request to PennDOT. The request asks whether PennDOT District 11 has performed or reviewed traffic-capacity calculations for how the Route 369 lane-restricted road diet would interact with a projected vehicle surge from a proposed 183-unit residential development at the Dormont Junction Transit site, and what permits, studies, or safety review logs PennDOT maintains for that site. He said PennDOT has until November 22, 2026, to respond. He also noted he did not have a surface-mining document to present.
• After council suspended its rules to allow non-residents to speak, Caitlin Needham, 790 Shady Drive, said she opposed the proposed large residential tower. She cited limited street and business parking in Dormont and Mount Lebanon, potential harm to local businesses, pedestrian-safety risks, and accessibility problems; cars parking on sidewalks sometimes force her, as a wheelchair user, into the street or prevent her from going out.
• An online participant, Mr. Bennett, was unable to unmute; council invited him to email comments.

Key Outcomes

• All motions to place items on the November 2, 2026 voting meeting agenda passed by voice vote; no roll-call tallies were recorded.
• Next steps: the borough manager asked for playground award materials by noon on Friday, October 30; the MOU cost-neutrality memo was requested earlier in the week; the November 2 voting meeting will be held at 7:00 p.m.; and council announced it would immediately enter executive session for legal advice after adjournment.