Westmoreland County communities see growth in 2015
A sign on one of two entrances to the park describes all of the renovations being done
New lines of electric are currently being installed in the Community Bank Park in North Belle Vernon
Belle Vernon Municipal Building
R.J. Sokal of the North Belle Vernon Council, Larry Rusnak, a Lions member from Washington Twp, Mark Frederick of the North Belle Vernon Council, Joe Walko, a Lion from Washington Twp and Geoff DeWitt from the North Belle Vernon Council stand in front of a playgroud they helped install at the Community Bank Park along Graham Street in North Belle Vernon
A train makes its way across East Main Street in West Newton.
The Great Allegheny Passage trail passes throug West Newton on the west side of the Youghiogheny River
East Main Street. West Newton.
Monessen Municipal Building
Holly Tonini
The view of West Newton from the west bank of the Youghiogheny River.
Westmoreland County made some great strides last year, and officials are excited about the completion of several projects this year that got underway in 2015.
The top three that came to mind for Commissioner Ted Kopas was the demolition of the former Monsour Medical Center, changes at Westmoreland Manor and the formation of a new specialized drug court.
In regard to the Monsour Medical Center, Kopas said the county awarded a demolition contract to take care of the long-standing public safety eyesore.
“It all came down in March 2016, and we’re working on plans now to determine the best reuse and redevelopment of this prime opportunity on Route 30 in the heart of Westmoreland County,” he added.
A new private management team, including a new administrator, has been put in place this year to solve challenges of historic lows in 2015 at the Westmoreland Manor with state inspections and the census.
The county owns the geriatric nursing home.
Kopas said the specialized drug court is part of a new comprehensive approach to the county’s drug addiction and overdose epidemic that will help divert offenders into treatment and intensive supervision instead of the costly and ineffective spiral into the criminal justice system.
Commissioner Chuck Anderson said the county has been working on putting in a new industrial park along Route 70. He added that there are currently almost 10,000 people working in industrial parks all over the county.
He also felt the $500 million construction project of the Tenaska Power Plant south of Route 70 by Smithton is a great addition to the county.
The gas power plant will be fired by natural shale gas. It will take three years to build and will create 350 jobs during that time.
A highlight in the county each year, said Anderson, is the air show held in May at the Arnold Palmer Regional Airport that attracts approximately 100,000 visitors.
“It’s really great for the economic development of the county,” Anderson said.
West Newton
West Newton borough council started updating its ordinances to get property owners to maintain their properties last year and is continuing to work on the ordinances this year.
“We’re trying to get property owners to clean up their properties,” said Council President George Molovich.
He said council started updating the ordinances last year and continues to work on the measures this year.
Another ongoing project is upgrading the borough’s sewage system.
The borough obtained a grant and loan totaling $2.5 million to replaced interceptor lines two years ago and a new pipe to the treatment plant is being installed this year. The project includes replacing a regulator, pump and the pipe, Molovich said.
He said council received permission to use $250,000 left over from the sewer project to buy a truck used to clean out sewage lines.
The sewer project did not require the borough to raise sewage service rates, he said.
In addition, council approved a contract with its two employee unions last year.
Two full-time sewage plant workers, two full-time street crew employees, a full-time secretary and a part-time sectary are covered under one contract and the borough’s two full-time and five part-time police officers are covered under another contract, Molovish said.
A new patrol car was purchased for the police department, he said.
Also, a Subway restaurant opened in an old building on South Water Street that was renovated with a loan from the Progress Fund, a non-profit community development organization based in Greensburg.
North Belle Vernon
A major renovation of Community Bank Park in the the borough started in July.
“They’re revamping the whole park,” Mayor Craig Ambrose said.
Councilmen R.J. Sokol and Mark Frederick are spearheading the project.
The old tennis courts area is being converted into a lighted youth soccer field, basketball courts are being renovated, new playground equipment was installed, a small deck hockey rink is being added, the pavilion is being renovated and new lighting, perimeter fencing and restrooms, called comfort stations, are being installed. All the facilities will be handicapped accessible.
The park also has a walking path measuring a little less than a quarter mile.
The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources provided a $159,000 grant, that required an equal match, but bids from contractors to do the work came in at $585,000, Sokol said.
Having the street department crew do as much of the work as possible, securing help from volunteers and buying materials through the state COSTARS cooperative purchasing system brought the cost of the project in line with the grant. The borough sold the naming rights to the park to raise money for the project, he said. Fundraising generated about $110,000 for materials.
The road crew did all the digging for the project including the trenches for the power lines for the lights, Frederick said.
The work is expected to cost about $325,000, but, when it’s done, the park will be open to residents throughout the Mon Valley.
“It’s being built as a park for the entire Mon Valley,” Sokol said.
He said a 24-hour surveillance system will be installed and borough police will patrol the park.
Activities will be planned for all children as well as adults and senior citizens.
“This hasn’t just been a youth thing,” Sokol said.
Frederick said he wants the park to host movie nights, instructional classes and fundraising events for needy children.
“I’m anxious to get it open,” Frederick said.
Belle Vernon
Last year was a pretty quiet year in the borough, but a few projects are planned for this year.
The borough didn’t get involved any any major undertakings except for routine maintenance work last year, said Joe Minniti, council president.
The state resurfaced Main Street (Route 906) after doing repair work in the Interstate 70 bridge, which connects to Main Street, he said.
The section of Main Street off of the bridge exit was in bad condition, Minniti said.
It had been at least 10 years since the last time Main Street had been paved, he added.
This year, borough council is working on demolishing some homes that have been condemned using Community Development Block Grant money, Minniti said.
Street paving and the purchase of a new dump truck for the street department are in the works, he said.
The street department has two employees and two trucks, but one old truck has to be replaced, Minniti said.
Market Street is in the worst condition of the seven streets that council wants to resurface, he said.
Monessen
The city purchased vehicles for its public works and police departments and continued its efforts to eliminate blight by demolishing unsafe buildings last year.
“We were able to replace our fleet for the street department. We got four new trucks,” said Councilwoman Lucille D’Alfonso.
The trucks arrived in time for winter snow removal over the winter and are being put to use for street and sewer maintenance work this year, D’Alfonso said.
The old trucks, which were no longer reliable, were traded in, she said.
The public works department has eight employees – six in the street department and two in the parks department, she said.
A new police vehicle was purchased last year, said Mayor Lou Mavrakis.
The police department has 10 full-time police officers, he said.
“We have a lot of elderly in Monessen. You have to protect them,” Mavrakis said.
Monessen also has a lot of blighted buildings and homes, city officials said.
“We’ve begun a process of demolition of some blighted properties through a (Westmoreland) county program. We acquired a number of properties in repository. Now we can demolish some of our eyesores and get some of that blight cleaned up,” D’Alfonso said.
The city started acquiring properties from the county repository in 2012 with the understanding that the state and county would provide money to rehabilitate properties that could be repaired and demolish the blighted ones, she said.
The rehabilitation money is no longer available, but money from the county for demolition is available. The county reimburses the city for part of the demolition cost and the city uses Community Development Block Grant money to cover the balance of the cost, she said.
“We’re taking little steps to clean up some of the issues we have,” D’Alfonso said.
The city also made some improvements to the Monessen Civic Center on Donner Avenue and grant money has been obtained for painting, she said.
This year, the state is paving Route 906 in the city at a cost of $5.5 million this summer, city officials said.
Not all the news in Monessen was good last year. The city has debt and has contacted the state Department of Community and Economic Development about it’s early intervention program, which provides access to programs and expertise to help resolve financial problems, she said.
Mount Pleasant Township
The township has seen several different projects started or completed in 2015.
Duane Hutter, chairman of the board of supervisors, said the biggest project that was approved in 2015 and getting finished up currently is rebuilding Misty Meadow Road.
“It was a dirt road, and when it rained you couldn’t even cross it,” Hutter said.
They put down a new base and topped it with gravel and dust.
The township also saw the purchase of a new highlift in 2015 and the installation of a new playground at the walking track in Norvelt from a grant totaling more than $70,000.
The paving projects last year totaled about $275,000 and the supervisors always look forward to giving $20,000 to the local fire department each year.
Scottdale
The borough took advantage of Westmoreland County’s new land bank program in a big way in 2015 to see the demolition of a major blighted property next to the Geyer Performing Arts Center at 115 Pittsburgh Street.
The paving project in the borough equaled about $100,000 to improve borough streets and cameras were installed at the Gazebo Parklet and the Scottdale Public Library.
A new police car was purchased and council approved the move of the Jacob’s Creek Watershed Association’s office from upstairs to a more accessible office where the former district justice offices were in the municipal building.
Borough Manager Angelo Pallone said a police contract was negotiated and approved and new rain gardens were installed along some downtown streets to help with storm water runoff.
A committee was created in 2015 to build a veterans memorial in the Marilyn Kiefer walkway in the downtown business district and council has been working on plans for the last several months to move council chambers to the first floor of the municipal building to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Mount Pleasant
Borough officials are continuing to make the borough a great place for its residents.
Manager Jeff Landy summed up 2015 as a year to get a foothold and plan for several projects in 2016.
Members of council worked out several kinks to make the construction of Penn Park at the lower end of town a reality.
Along with the creation of the new park, officials also agreed to a project that would safely bring bike riders on the Coal and Coke Trail up through the business district of town.
Also last year, borough officials met with representatives from the state Department of Transportation regarding plans for an $8.6 million construction project on Main Street that will begin in 2017. In addition to the PennDOT construction there will be an $860,000 storm water project on Main Street covered by grant money.
Other projects approved by council were the upgrading of the Waste Water Treatment Plant with a new screen system and beginning the reclamation of a Bridgeport Street property.
Upgrades to playgrounds and the basketball court in the borough also got underway in 2015.
Doug Sam was hired as the new police chief of the borough police department and in October of 2015, the G13 Conference founded by Landy in Mount Pleasant was recognized on the floor of the Pennsylvania Senate for their inter-municipal cooperation and for the efforts put forth at the Conference.