Uniontown city council hires police officer, promotes three others
Uniontown City Council hired a full-time police officer and promoted three patrolmen to the rank of corporal at its monthly meeting Wednesday.
City council hired Nicolas Zucco as a full-time officer at a starting salary of $19.21 per hour effective Oct. 19, pending successful completion of a medical and psychological evaluation. Zucco, who according to Uniontown Police Chief Jason Cox spent six years in the U.S. Marine Corps and is a Frazier High School graduate, will remain in a probationary status for 16 months.
City council subsequently promoted police patrolmen Jason Fidazzo, Michael Bittner and D.J. DeWitt to corporal effective Thursday at a salary of $23.46 per hour.
Cox said DeWitt did not attend the meeting like Zucco, Fidazzo and Bittner because DeWitt’s wife was in labor.
“I insisted he skip this meeting,” Cox said.
“Aggressively go after the heroin, and thank you guys,” councilman Jared Billy said to the newly introduced patrolmen.
Council later accepted the minutes of last month’s Sept. 2 regular council meeting and Sept. 28 special council meeting, the latter of which Billy said he did not know about in advance.
“I was not aware of a special meeting (and) didn’t get an invitation to a meeting. Anybody else get notice, a phone call?” Billy said, looking around council chambers.
Councilmen Phil Michael and Blair Jones said they both received text messages, while solicitor J.W. Eddy said he was aware of the meeting but could not attend. No non-council members in attendance, which included the police chief, fire chief and public works director, responded to Billy that they had been aware of the meeting, during which council extended a current contract with Advanced Disposal through June 2016 and adjourned after just eight minutes.
According to the minutes for the Sept. 28 special council meeting, Michael said Advanced Disposal is paid $96,000 a year by the city and added that by June 2016, the rate will have to increase to help pay for the cost of road maintenance. The extension with Advanced Disposal was approved because the city received no garbage contract bids, according to the minutes.
After the meeting, city clerk Kim Marshall said Billy received notice of the Sept. 28 special council meeting in his mailbox.
Council also heard from Uniontown Redevelopment Authority executive director Mark Rafail regarding the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.
Earlier in the afternoon, Rafail held a public meeting in council chambers in which he explained how the city will spend its 2015 CDBG funding. Rafail said the 2015 grant totaled $274,500, of which $75,090 will be requested for street reconstruction and $75,000 will comprise an annual payment for a city fire truck that will be paid off by 2017. The grant will also be used to rehabilitate several homes in areas of the city that are designated “low to moderate” income areas by the U.S. Census Bureau, Rafail said.
During Wednesday’s city council meeting, council approved the city’s 2015 Community Development Block Grant application.
Council also heard Rafail explain options for the Fayette County Local Share Account (LSA) program, which was established by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and is administered by the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority on behalf of the Fayette County Board of Commissioners.
The LSA program is funded through gaming revenues.
Rafail said the Uniontown Public Library requested $17,950 of financial assistance under the LSA program to provide an air conditioning unit for one of its floors, while $199,000 of assistance was requested on behalf of Bailey Park for the completion of a building on the park site with electrical, plumbing and a walking trail.
Both requests passed, with only Jones opposing the motion, saying he disapproved of the library component of the two-tiered LSA application but supported the Bailey Park funding. Michael abstained, citing his seat on the Fayette County Redevelopment Authority since the authority administers the LSA program.
But Rafail stressed that this vote was only for an application and that he explained to Uniontown Public Library president Larry Bush that the library is not likely to be awarded the LSA funding because the air conditioning request is not directly tied toward tourism, community or economic development.
The meeting opened with U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant John Cellurale of the 911th Air Lift Wing, Squadron 758, presenting a commemorative plaque to council. Cellurale said he and his unit had just returned from Iraq.
“It’s our honor,” mayor Ed Fike said. “God bless you.”
Council subsequently heard from Marlene Kolosky of Fayette County Human Service Council, who asked council for a parking lot along the Halloween parade route where the human service council could hold its first ever “Trunk or Treat” event from 4:30 to 6 p.m. on Wed., Oct. 28. The event will consist of local agencies decorating out of the trunk of a car and passing out brochures and flyers to parents.
Fike suggested that the human service council meet with the city’s fire and police chiefs to determine a lot location since Cox reported the parade route is still being determined based on the progress of the Coal Lick Run Bridge, which he said is expected to be completed by Oct. 28 but could be delayed depending on the weather until then.
Toward the end of the meeting, Cox said city police are fighting a “large spike” of overdoses within the city, including 17 overdoses in the last month.
“There’s an opiate epidemic in our area,” Cox said, adding that the police are working with the district attorney’s office, state police and the Fayette County Drug Task Force to combat that epidemic.
Public works director Phil Mahoney said his department has lost the services of three men due to serious health issues, and council responded by approving a motion to advertise for public works employees with a commercial driver’s license.