Municipal News
- Last Updated on Thursday, 29 December 2016 20:32
By Charlotte Hopkins
On December 7, West Elizabeth Council started their monthly meeting with a moment of silence to remember the servicemen killed 75 years ago in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Council appointed Paul Gilbert to the position of mayor of West Elizabeth. He is the husband of Councilwoman Jenna Gilbert.
Council members decided to fix the playgrounds on First and Seventh Streets. They are in discussion with John Stivala of JS Construction in Jefferson Hills regarding the project. Those changes are to include:
• Resealing the basketball court
• Adding new basketball hoops
• Painting & Repairing swings
• Repairing fences
• Replacing benches
• Replacing rubberized mulch
• Wrapping vinyl around the columns in the shelter
• Replacing benches and equipment that cannot be repaired
Additionally, at the Seventh Street playground, they want to cut back the hillside and add a ramp to make the swings more handicap-accessible. At the First Street playground, they want to lower the ramp to lessen the slope. Stivala was given a week to submit a budget to his project.
Council is also seeking someone to remove the trees from the First Street playground.
Tom Barry, the sewage plant facilitator of the West Elizabeth Sanitary Authority, provided information for the construction of a new sanitary facility. The cost of the project is 10 million dollars. They received a grant for 5 million dollars. The remaining cost will be paid for in a loan taken out at 1% interest rate. They are considering the old lumber yard for the location of the new facility.
After reassessing three buildings owned by McKee Stewart, it was determined that they overpaid on their taxes for the past four years. Council was advised to submit a letter to McKee Stewart to acknowledge the debt until they are able to pay. Councilman Ray Armstrong acknowledged that they are good people at McKee Stewart and he wished to make things right with them.