Dormont Receives Legal Opinion Regarding Pitcher Park

Dormont officials have received a legal opinion regarding the borough’s motion to approve a multi-use park and how Pitcher Park could be affected.

Earlier this month, discussion at a council meeting turned to Pitcher Park after .

The contract included a signed in May 2011, which was publically released in January.

To determine what the borough was legally allowed to do regarding the contract, council asked borough solicitor Deron Gabriel to research the matter.

Attached to this article as a PDF is the document detailing the questions posed by , and the answers Gabriel provided.

In his response, Gabriel says the Motion made by borough council to approve a multi-use park and the MOU regarding Pitcher Park are not be legally binding to the borough because they are not part of an ordinance.

His response also states that because the MOU was not approved by an ordinance, the borough “may not be held liable for any expenses incurred by the Pitcher Park Foundation … because the contract was not ratified by ordinance.”

McCartney said he couldn’t speak for certain, but that council likely will take action regarding the park based on Gabriel’s legal opinion. He did not say what that action would be.

, Gabriel will continue to act as borough solicitor until another solicitor is hired.

The opinion is not Gabriel’s personal opinion, McCartney said, and is based on legal research, as cited in his answers.

The matter will be discussed at the borough’s upcoming meetings on Feb. 27 and March 5. Both meetings will be held at 7 p.m., and both will be held in the recreation center above Dormont Pool.