Politics & Government

Council to Seek Further Legal Advice Regarding Pitcher Park

Before making any decisions regarding the park, President Bill McCartney said council will seek further legal advice.

Conversation at Monday’s Dormont Council meeting turned to Pitcher Park, after Pitcher Park President Mary Pitcher addressed her concerns that council might revoke plans for the project.

Pitcher told council her organization “materially relied upon the promises made by Dormont Borough Council,” through a vote in April of 2010, and the subsequent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2011.

The MOU was a topic of conversation at the Jan. 31 meeting, after the document was publically released and several council members said they were unaware of its existence.

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 “If the borough of Dormont attempts to terminate the contract, Pitcher Park Memorial Skatepark, in accordance with the law, will seek damages due and seek an injunction against Dormont Borough for their mishandling of the contract,” Pitcher said.

Pitcher told council that when the MOU was signed, she asked solicitor Deron Gabriel if it should go before council for ratification. She said Gabriel told her no, because the MOU was part of a motion that already had been passed by council.

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In January, Maggio said he had suggested council revoke plans for Pitcher Park because he thought there still were too many unanswered questions about the project. However, there was a question as to whether this would be possible because an item in the MOU prevents council from revoking the project within a specified five-year time frame.

On Monday, Pitcher said she believed Maggio’s attempts to thwart progress of the project had caused the organization to lose time and money. She also accused Maggio of using his political position to attack the organization. Maggio did not respond to her comments at the meeting.

“My suggestion to council is that I strongly urge all council members seek further legal advice before following direction either from Mr. Maggio or solicitor Deron Gabriel,” she said.

Councilman Eugene Barilla said he does not agree with the skate park, because he thinks there are others in the borough who also should be honored.

Two Dormont residents who spoke during public comment voiced concerns about the project as well. Amy Keaney asked what the process was for creating an MOU. Dormont resident Daniele Ventresca, who asked council at the Jan. 31 meeting to place a motion on the Feb. 6 agenda to either ratify or reject the MOU, asked why the motion had not been added.

“It’s a thorny legal issue, and we don’t want to wade into yet another legal battle until we get clear direction for council,” McCartney said. “Simple as that.”

Council President Bill McCartney said council intends to seek further legal advice. He said council planned to request that both Gabriel and the borough’s new solicitor, when appointed, offer well-researched opinions on the matter to council as to how to proceed appropriately.

Gabriel resigned his position with the borough as of Feb. 3, but agreed to continue serving council until a new solicitor was appointed.

McCartney said he met privately with Pitcher on Jan. 28 to discuss various aspects of the skate park, including the process the Pitcher Park organization would have to go through to have the park constructed. Those details, he said, had apparently never been explained to her before.

Even if Pitcher Park could raise all the money needed for the project in one night, he said, construction couldn’t begin until the organization gets a conditional use approval, as required by zoning codes. The project would then have to go before the planning commission for a public hearing.

The decision would then have to go back to council. McCartney said there are so many steps in the process that there’s no need to rush into decisions about it. And, he said, he had even expressed his own opinion about the park in his private conversation with Pitcher.

“I suggested that I’m not a particular fan of the skate park,” McCartney said. “However, I’m a fan of treating people fairly and going through the appropriate process. I’ll talk to anybody.”


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