Wednesday, March 6, 2013
As crews worked to clear a collapse in the Dormont Pool parking lot, a pipe was found leading into the concrete box buried underground. It is still not clear why the box is there, or what it is.
- THE NEIGHBORHOOD FILES
- Erin Faulk
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Wednesday, March 6
The concrete box buried under the Dormont Pool parking lot was definitely not used for burning Christmas trees, borough manager Jeff Naftal said Monday. The bomb shelter scenario also is unlikely. But Dormont officials are getting closer to discovering what the now-collapsed box might actually have been used for. During Monday’s Dormont Council meeting, Naftal said he was hopeful crews would find pipes leading to or from the container, and on Tuesday, that hope was fulfilled. At least one pipe was found in the wall of the box, but Council President Bill McCartney, who was at the scene on Tuesday, said it’s still not clear where the pipe leads. The pipe could indicate that the box might have been some sort of overflow container, and …
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Input from residents will be increasingly important as the year-long process continues, local officials said.
Dormont Borough officials last week began the process of developing a comprehensive plan for the borough, a project that hasn’t been completed since 1995. “This is day three,” said Scott Page, in an interview with Dormont-Brookline Patch on Thursday. “This is about as early in the process as it gets. This is the fact-finding stage, where we get to know Dormont, collect available data and put together our own.” Page is an urban designer and planner, and founding principal of Philadelphia-based Interface Studio. The company has done work in the Pittsburgh and Chicago areas, and will be leading Dormont’s comprehensive plan process. Page and his team were camped out in Dormont Municipal Center for much of last week, interviewing staff, council…
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The foundation rejected the borough’s counter offer.
Pitcher Park Foundation has requested a $40,000 reimbursement from Dormont Borough for costs the group incurred before the Pitcher Park Skate Park proposal was rejected. At Monday’s Dormont Council meeting, council President Bill McCartney said Pitcher Park Foundation contacted the borough in December requesting the reimbursement. The matter was discussed in executive sessions in January and February. “Many of us on council thought maybe it was the right thing to do to reimburse them for some of the work they had done that benefited the borough, particularly on the tennis courts,” McCartney said. “But that was not unanimous.” After reviewing the request with borough manager Jeff Naftal to determine what could be reimbursed, the borough …
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Dormont Sgt. Michael Bisignani will be sworn in as chief on March 3.
Dormont is saying goodbye to one police chief, but will welcome a familiar face to the position. Dormont Council on Monday hired current Dormont police Sgt. Michael Bisignani to fill the position of chief, at a salary of $90,492.42. The position is currently held by police Chief Phil Ross, who has served in the Dormont police department for 29 years and plans to retire on March 3. Bisignani will be sworn in as chief that day. Bisignani said his experience serving as a Dormont police sergeant will be an advantage to him in his new position. “Dormont is a unique town,” he said. “We’re considered a suburb, but our population makes us almost like a small city. And we share a border with the City of Pittsburgh. That brings a unique challenge …
Friday, January 11, 2013
A final roundup of items discussed at the Jan. 7 Dormont Council meeting.
Dormont Council on Monday voted unanimously to enter into an agreement with Interface Studio, LLC, to update the borough's comprehensive plan. Borough manager Jeff Naftal said the Philadelphia based company, which has partnerships with companies in Pittsburgh and Chicago, was chosen because the comprehensive plan it creates also will serve as a branding and marketing project for Dormont Borough. "The borough will come out with a brand, which is something we can use," Naftal said. "They tie it in to traffic and parking needs, too. Everything we’ve seen about what they do and how they do it tells us our public will be fully engaged in this process, and that’s important to us." Boroughs are supposed to complete comprehensive plans once every …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
On Monday, Jan. 7, council approved a new policy for how residents can apply and be approved for reserved parking spaces on residential streets.
A new policy—based on current practice—will help determine how Dormont residents with physical disabilities qualify for reserved accessible parking spaces in front of their homes. The new policy combines and amends two documents the borough currently uses for these regulations: a policy adopted in 1996, and a section of Borough Code that was amended in 2003. The changes are part of an effort to update and formalize many of the borough’s policies. “There’s a lot of stuff out there where we’ve been laboring under the notion that we had a written policy, but maybe we really had several [policies] that needed to be cleaned up and put together, and this one of them,” said Council President Bill McCartney. Dormont council approved the new …
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Dormont Borough is accepting applications to fill a vacancy on the Planning Commission.
Dormont Borough is accepting applications to fill a vacant seat on on the Planning Commission. Council President Bill McCartney, who also held a seat on the Planning Commission, resigned from his Planning Commission seat on Monday. The Planning Commission is responsible for review of developments, changes in the Borough Code, and the upcoming Comprehensive Planning process. Those interested in applying should submit a letter of interest, including how you would benefit the Planning Commission and why you want to be on the Planning Commission, no later than Dec. 28, 2012. Letters can be dropped off at or mailed to Dormont Municipal Center at 1444 Hillsdale Avenue, Dormont, Pa. 15216. Letters also can be sent by e-mail to Dormont Borough …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Members of Dormont council and the borough’s police department met Wednesday to sign a contract.
For the first time in nine year, Dormont’s police department and council have come to an agreement for the police contract without going to arbitration. Members of both council and the police department met Wednesday afternoon to sign the three-year contract. “When people negotiate in good faith, good things come out of it,” said council President Bill McCartney. “It’s a very fair contract on both sides.” Sgt. James Briglia of the Dormont police said he’s happy the process was carried out smoothly and that all sides were able to work together. “The professionalism we have in the borough manager’s office, and his ability to communicate with all sides is really what got us to this point,” Briglia said. “It also was because of council’s …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Dormont Councilwoman Laurie Malka submitted her resignation Monday.
Dormont Councilwoman Laurie Malka submitted her resignation from the position on Monday, effective immediately. At a workshop meeting held Monday night, council President Bill McCartney said information about the position will be posted on the Dormont Borough website as soon as possible. Applications for the position will be accepted until the end of the business day on Friday, Sept. 21. "We want to begin the process to find a new councilperson immediately," McCartney said. "Hopefully we will appoint a replacement for Ms. Malka at the October meeting." Editor's note: Monday's non-voting meeting was held to discuss the procedure for code enforcement in the borough. A detailed article about that meeting will be published this week. Follow …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Dormont Council voted to move forward with a business plan for West Liberty Avenue, but the plan still is not final.
Dormont Council voted Tuesday to move forward with a business plan for West Liberty Avenue proposed by #1 Cochran representatives in February. Council voted 4-3 to move forward with its third option for working with #1 Cochran's plan, which includes completing a land swap with the automotive company and implementing a TIF district in the borough. Councilmen John Maggio and Eugene Barilla, and councilwoman Laurie Malka voted "no" to moving forward with that option, citing concerns over parking issues that could arise or be made worse while construction at the Cochran Nissan site is in progress. Borough solicitor John Rushford said council's vote is simply a vote to move forward—not a vote on a final plan. The next step is for the borough …
Erin Faulk
12:49 pm on Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Thanks, Jeff. more ›