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Duquesne to Create Outdoor Fitness Court

By Cami DiBattista
The Tube City Almanac
February 05, 2019
Posted in: Duquesne News

A $30,000 grant from the National Fitness Campaign will be used to create and implement an outdoor fitness court in Duquesne.

The facility, which is expected to be constructed by the end of the 2019 calendar year, will be free to use for community residents and visitors, Mayor Nickole Nesby announced.

At January's regular meeting, council approved a motion to hold a workshop and planning session on the second Tuesday of each month, with a voting meeting on a fourth Tuesday of each month. Both meetings will continue to be open to the public.

In other business:

Council has repealed a previous ordinance that would have increased the mayor's salary to $65,000 per year following the next mayoral election.

Council also voted to restrict the use of city-owned vehicles by Duquesne officials for city business only. Vehicles must be signed in and out for each trip to record mileage, and be returned to city hall daily and nightly when not in use for city business, council unanimously decided.

An exception was made for emergency vehicles driven by Police Chief Tom Dunlevy and Fire Chief Frank Cobb, as their vehicles are often required to leave a location quickly and unexpectedly.

Police Report: Police Chief Tom Dunlevy said activity for December included 587 calls for service, resulting in 44 arrests.  Calls to service included 34 domestics, 12 disturbances, seven criminal mischief charges, 11 suspicious activity arrests, two assaults, four burglaries, eight thefts and one missing person.  Additionally, a total of 184 traffic stops resulted in 92 traffic citations.

The 2018 annual police activity reported included 7,091 calls for service, resulting in a total of 630 arrests (a 31 percent increase from 2017) and 1,923 traffic stops, resulting in 1,107 citations being issued (an increase of 140 percent).

City Treasurer David Bires reported $32,347.72 in taxes collected for the month of December.

During the January meetings, council also passed the following motions:

  • A motion finalizing the second and third readings of the 2019 budget for Duquesne.
  • A motion authorizing Act 47 coordinator and city solicitor to make any necessary arrangement seeking an increase for the Earned Income Tax Rate for the city.
  • A motion for the mayor, city manager and council to meet with union representatives to discuss personnel matters.
  • A motion to hire a bookkeeper by direct hire.

A motion to partner with the Conscience Group Coordination and develop a Citizen Emergency Planning Agency for the city was tabled.

Cami DiBattista is a freelance writer who covers municipal news from Duquesne, White Oak and other subjects for Tube City Almanac. She may be reached at cad316@gmail.com.

Originally published February 05, 2019.

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