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W.O. Council Gets Updates on Borough Projects

By Christy Walters
The Tube City Almanac
September 17, 2019
Posted in: White Oak News

White Oak Council has rejected all of the quotes it received to upgrade the gym lights at White Oak Athletic Association, and will seek new ones.

At September's council meeting, officials reported that over the past month, the borough used the request for quote process to solicit bids to convert to LED lighting. All of the bids exceeded the state's limits.

Council carried a motion to formally reject the bids received and rebid the project.

In other business, Councilman Lou Bender reported that the swimming season at Heritage Hill Pool ended early when the motor that operates the pool pump suffered a "catastrophic failure." A backup motor also failed, he said.

Council authorized the borough engineer to begin the process of procuring a new motor and pump, as well as performing other necessary tasks to make the pool operational by next season. Before any work begins, bids will be brought before council, officials said.

In preparation for the holiday season, council applied to Duquesne Light on Sept. 6 to get approval to hang banners and Christmas lights from utility poles along Lincoln Way this winter.

A wait of four to six weeks is anticipated for the review and approval of the application.

Council also approved a contract to continue work on Center Street Extension, which reopened to vehicular traffic in August after a six-year closure.

The contract with GeoMechanics Inc. for $24,000 will allow the company to do core drillings, create recommendations for a long-term fix to landslides on the road, and provide an estimated cost for the repairs.

A report from GeoMechanics could potentially allow the borough to apply for Allegheny County Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund money for the project in February 2020, officials said.

Meanwhile, work continues to progress towards the borough's compliance with the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, or MS4, permit program.

Under state law, since 2003, all municipalities that operate storm sewer systems must obtain an MS4 permit and demonstrate that they are in compliance with the terms of the federal Clean Water Act.

In White Oak, crews have been numbering approximately 1,300 structures to prepare for GPS mapping of the entire storm sewer system.

A factsheet about the MS4 process is available for download on the borough's website.

In addition, borough officials said that crews from Insight Pipe will be working on the storm drains on Cypress Drive this week.

Police Report: White Oak police made 15 arrests in August, including one drug offense, four DUIs, one for indirect criminal contempt, one for public drunkenness, one for terroristic threats and six thefts. Police issued 63 traffic violations and responded to 805 total incidents.


Christy Walters is a freelance writer from White Oak. She may be reached at cmw119@pitt.edu.

Originally published September 17, 2019.

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