OpenPublica

Accountability starts with access.

© 2026 · Filed for the public record

Use casesAboutAPIPrivacyTermsLinkedIn
Home/Dormont, Pennsylvania/Borough Council & Boards
OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Borough of Dormont Voting Session – November 3, 2026

Borough Council & Boards — Tuesday, November 3, 2026
BodyDormont, Pennsylvania
SessionBorough Council & Boards
DateTuesday, November 3, 2026
StatusNEW · FILED
Video Record
0:00 / 30:55

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:01

I'd like to call this meeting of the Donald Council voting session on November 2nd to order all uh here.

0:10

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:12

Join me.

Unassigned speaker

0:14

I

Speaker 1

0:14

applied the leader to apply of the United States of America.

0:19

And to the public over to stand, one nation, under God, indivisible, with everybody and just crawl.

0:29

Thank you.

Unassigned speaker

0:30

Mr.

Speaker 1

0:30

Sonar, would you please call the role?

Speaker 2

0:32

Yes.

0:34

Here.

0:35

Councilperson Downs.

0:37

Here.

0:37

Councilperson Fabus.

Speaker 3

0:39

Here.

Speaker 2

0:39

Councilperson Kip.

0:40

Here.

0:40

Councilperson Melvin.

0:42

Here.

0:42

Councilperson Munson.

0:43

Here.

0:44

Councilperson Rieger.

0:45

Yep.

0:45

Councilperson Ventreska.

0:47

Here.

0:47

All are present and accounted for.

Speaker 1

0:49

Thank you very much.

0:50

First item on our agenda, I register comments from the public.

0:53

And we have members of the KO cross-country team here who'd like to address council.

0:58

So I'm going to ask you guys to do is come up to the microphone now.

1:01

When you get to the microphone, there is a little uh person speaking, looks like an image that's press that button, you know, lights red, that means it's on.

1:09

And you can make your remarks from there.

1:11

And if you wouldn't mind, please just identify each of your cells who are speaking if one or more of you are speaking and give us your addresses before you make remarks.

1:19

But please,

Unassigned speaker

1:20

for

Speaker 1

1:20

yours.

1:21

You have three, not that it matters.

1:23

I mean, it does matter, but there's you could pass it down.

1:26

Each of you has three minutes, is what I'm saying.

1:28

So okay.

1:29

I doubt any of you want to take time through this.

1:35

You've passed three minutes to speak.

Speaker 4

1:36

Awesome.

1:37

Well, good evening, everyone.

1:38

My name is Anthony Semana.

1:39

I'm one of the captains for Keys and Oaks Cross Country.

1:42

And we just wanted to thank you for your very generous donation.

1:45

Um we use this to buy a war-ups, which is super nice because it helps us, you know, appear more professional.

1:51

Everyone feels good, learning the same thing going into a meet.

1:53

So we really wanted to thank you for that.

1:54

Our team has seen a ton of growth over the past four years on the scene of this year.

1:58

So we've you know gone from I think it was three, and now we're around the 15.

2:03

So we've seen some really great growth on both guys and girls team, and we want to thank you guys for making that possible, making us show up as a team.

Unassigned speaker

2:10

And we

Speaker 4

2:10

have this movie's card for you, just a nice thank you signed by all of us.

2:13

Thank you.

Speaker 1

2:14

Would the rest of you mind telling us who you

Unassigned speaker

2:17

are?

Speaker 1

2:18

It doesn't bite.

2:22

Thank you, Alison.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████67%
Parks and Recreation█████████13%
Affordable Housing███████10%
Youth Programs███5%
Public Engagement███5%
Summary of Proceedings

Borough of Dormont Voting Session – November 3, 2026

Note: The agenda and raw transcription indicate this meeting occurred on November 2, 2026, but the provided source states the meeting took place on November 3, 2026. This summary uses the provided date.

The Borough of Dormont Council held a voting session on November 3, 2026, at 7:00 PM. The meeting included public comments, committee reports, and action on numerous agenda items including the approval of multiple resolutions, contracts, and personnel hires. Key highlights included the awarding of contracts for the Next Generation Playground project, the adoption of the 2027 budget advertisement, and public opposition to an unrelated development project (the "Penrose project").

Consent Calendar

  • Approved minutes from October 5, 19, and 26, 2026.
  • Approved September 2026 reports from the Fire Department, Building and Code Enforcement, and Animal Control.
  • Approved hiring Christian Schulz as Parking Enforcement Officer (start date October 13, 2026).
  • Approved hiring Steven Christy as a Crossing Guard (start date October 19, 2026).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • KO Cross Country Team: Anthony Semana (captain) and other team members thanked the council for a donation used to purchase warm-ups. The team grew from 3 to approximately 15 members over four years. They presented a thank-you card.
  • Unidentified Speaker (Penrose Project): A speaker urged the council to vote no on the "Penrose project," asking for a pause until an independent study of infrastructure, safety, subsidies, and school impacts is conducted. The speaker claimed to represent "1,000 of your constituents."
  • Robert Dahl (Park Boulevard, resident for 37.5 years): Opposed converting prime business property on Liberty Avenue into subsidized housing, citing lack of on-site parking, tax exemptions for new residents, and failure to address parking for approximately 400 cars.

Discussion Items

  • Committee Reports:
    • Finance (Councilperson Rieger): Focused on budget discussions; action items for advertising the 2027 budget and approving an MOU with IAFF Local #3584. Met with Just Harvest regarding the tax preparation site.
    • Public Safety (Councilperson Melvin): Noted no new updates due to military service; discussed parking enforcement with Manager Stinner.
    • Recreation & Community Affairs (Councilperson Munson): Excited to award playground construction contracts. Announced upcoming events: Christmas Tree Lighting (Dec 4), Home for the Holidays (Dec 5), Hanukkah Festival (Dec 6).
    • Property & Public Works: Working on transition to LED lighting with Nate Tornick.
    • Planning & Sustainability: No agenda items; will update car plan after budget.
    • Business District: Resolution for Small Business Saturday; continuing work on parking contract overhaul and potential rate adjustments.
  • Mayor Walsh: Thanked police/fire for trick-or-treat presence; announced 113 pounds of unused prescription drugs collected on National Drug Take Back Day (Oct 24); reminded of year-round drop box.
  • Council President Downs: Thanked participants in Halloween. Announced reactivation of Next Generation Playground fundraising committee (raised $24,000 so far); seeking public members; former council member Brian Whitford will co-chair. Requested volunteers via email.
  • Borough Manager Stinner: Thanked participants in Dormont Street Music Festival; worked on 2027 budget and hiring managers. Convened first pension board meeting. Thanked Nate Tornick for Act 129 rebate program that saved on lighting costs.

Key Outcomes

  • Resolution 19, 2026 (Small Business Saturday): Approved unanimously – designating November 28, 2026 as Small Business Saturday.
  • Resolution 20, 2026 (Fire Truck Sale): Approved unanimously – ratifying sale of a 2008 Sutphen Shield Pumper Truck to Powhatan County, Virginia for $120,000.
  • 2027 Budget Advertisement: Authorized unanimously to advertise and display the budget.
  • Public Goods Funds for Christmas Lights: Approved $1,350 from Councilperson Downs and $1,350 from Councilperson Ventresca (total $2,700) for Christmas lights in Hillsdale Park.
  • MOU with IAFF Local #3584: Approved unanimously – adjusting working schedules of career firefighters.
  • Recreation Plan Award: Approved awarding the Borough of Dormont Recreation Plan to Pashek MTR pursuant to DCNR waiver.
  • Hire Seth Portenlanger: Approved hiring Seth Portenlanger as Community and Recreation Manager.
  • Playground Site Construction Contract: Approved awarding to low bidder Plavchak Construction in the amount of $1,382,970.
  • Playground Electrical Construction Contract: Approved awarding to low bidder Allegheny City Electric in the amount of $109,000.
  • Playground Safety Surface Purchase: Approved purchase through PA COSTARS Contract from Yocca Playgrounds & Outdoor Fitness, not to exceed $250,000.
  • Public Goods Funds for Just Harvest: Approved $675 from Councilperson Rieger and $675 from Councilperson Melvin (total $1,350) for Just Harvest Income Tax Preparation Service, with an amendment to correct the spelling of Councilperson Rieger's name to "RIEGER."
  • Executive Session: Council entered executive session for legal advice; no further votes or deliberation.

Meeting Transcript

I'd like to call this meeting of the Donald Council voting session on November 2nd to order all uh here. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Join me. I applied the leader to apply of the United States of America. And to the public over to stand, one nation, under God, indivisible, with everybody and just crawl. Thank you. Mr. Sonar, would you please call the role? Yes. Here. Councilperson Downs. Here. Councilperson Fabus. Here. Councilperson Kip. Here. Councilperson Melvin. Here. Councilperson Munson. Here. Councilperson Rieger. Yep. Councilperson Ventreska. Here. All are present and accounted for. Thank you very much. First item on our agenda, I register comments from the public. And we have members of the KO cross-country team here who'd like to address council. So I'm going to ask you guys to do is come up to the microphone now. When you get to the microphone, there is a little uh person speaking, looks like an image that's press that button, you know, lights red, that means it's on. And you can make your remarks from there. And if you wouldn't mind, please just identify each of your cells who are speaking if one or more of you are speaking and give us your addresses before you make remarks. But please, for yours. You have three, not that it matters. I mean, it does matter, but there's you could pass it down. Each of you has three minutes, is what I'm saying. So okay. I doubt any of you want to take time through this. You've passed three minutes to speak. Awesome. Well, good evening, everyone. My name is Anthony Semana. I'm one of the captains for Keys and Oaks Cross Country. And we just wanted to thank you for your very generous donation. Um we use this to buy a war-ups, which is super nice because it helps us, you know, appear more professional. Everyone feels good, learning the same thing going into a meet. So we really wanted to thank you for that.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com