For the first time in anyone’s memory, holiday lights are decorating the windows of the People’s Bank Building, Downtown. Building owner Jonathan Stark and volunteers decorated the building in time for McKeesport’s Light-Up Night on Wednesday. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Scaffolding will be going up soon on part of the People’s Bank Building as workers replace a tile that fell into Lysle Boulevard on Nov. 27, and make other repairs to the facade.
Owner Jonathan Stark said an engineer visited the site on Monday and determined that each of the tiles was supposed to be secured with four metal anchors. On the tile that fell, two of the anchors were missing or never installed in the first place, Stark said.
The tile fell from the facade on the “annex” of the building that overlooks the corner of Lysle Boulevard and Walnut Street. The annex was reportedly built in the 1940s, after Lysle was widened.
Members of LaRosa Boys & Girls Club joined McKeesport city officials Downtown on Wednesday night for a Light-Up Night celebration.
For the first time, the city's holiday tree is located not in Kennedy Park, but in the nearby lobby of the Tube City Center for Business and Innovation, the former Daily News Building.
Participants in the Boys & Girls Club’s Career Works Teen Workforce Development Program, which meets in the Tube City Center on weeknights, served hot chocolate and refreshments to guests, while Paul Anselmo of New Century Careers, which is offering machinist training in the building, provided tours of his group’s classroom space.
McKeesport city council has approved a 2-mill increase in property taxes for 2020.
The increase comes despite a nearly $2 million decrease in projected spending for next year.
Mayor Michael Cherepko told council the city must continue to address annual budget deficits that in the past were paid for through asset sales and other one-time fixes.
Selling the sewerage authority in 2017 “bought us time to try to fix things,” and spending cuts have helped, but expenses are still outpacing revenues by about $1 million per year, Cherepko said.
The city has only increased property taxes once since 2001, when council actually lowered the tax rate on vacant land. In retrospect, that may have been a mistake, Cherepko said.
Citing a lack of funding, Duquesne will suspend any additional hearings on demolishing abandoned buildings until the beginning of 2020.
But normal bills will be paid as usual, a city official said.
“We don't have the funds in order to take out the advertisements and the things that need (to be) done,” City Solicitor Myron Sainovich told council.
“The city will not hold any hearings on property demolitions until the beginning of next year, due to lack of funding,” he said. “We are running on a bare minimum budget until the end of the year. So some of these things are going to be put off.”
McKeesport, Duquesne, South Allegheny and other local school districts will participate in a statewide rally on Thursday demanding more oversight of Pennsylvania’s charter schools.
A group called Pennsylvania League of Urban Schools, or PLUS, is planning simultaneous press conferences at 12 noon at nearly 20 different school districts, calling on Gov. Tom Wolf and the state General Assembly to address what its leaders call “unfair and inequitable” funding.
“We are coming together in solidarity to stand up for fair funding,” said Stephen Rodriguez, president of PLUS and superintendent of the Pottstown Area School District, located about an hour northwest of Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania.
Other local districts planning to participate in Thursday's rally include Clairton, Penn Hills, Steel Valley, Wilkinsburg and Woodland Hills.
Duquesne will seek $1 million in state funding to upgrade the city's sewer and water infrastructure.
City council voted to pursue the grants from the state Department of Community and Economic Development's Commonwealth Financing Authority.
The city is requesting the maximum grant amount of $500,000 through the Pennsylvania Small Water and Sewer Grant Program and $500,000 request from the H20 PA program.
The Small Water and Sewer grant is designed to assist with the construction, improvement, expansion or rehabilitation or repair of a water supply system, sanitary sewer system, storm sewer system, or flood control projects.
North Versailles Twp. will hold a community Christmas party at 6 p.m. Dec. 20 the community center, 1401 Greensburg Ave., said township Commissioner Tracy Yusko on behalf of the parks and recreation department, the North Versailles Twp.
The township also will hold a contest to choose the "best decorated house," with judging on Dec. 13. To nominate your own house or someone else's, please register with the parks and recreation department. The township office phone number is (412) 823-6602.
Duquesne police Chief Thomas Dunlevy said during the month of October, police responded to 961 incidents and handled 85 criminal investigations resulting in the arrest of 53 adults and three juveniles. A total of 471 citations and warnings were issued. Police Officer Andy Carter submitted his resignation, effective Dec. 1, to accept a position with the Allegheny County Housing Authority Police.
Dunlevy said Duquesne police will hold a full active shooter drill at Duquesne Elementary Center in January 2020.
A stone panel fell from the People's Building on Wednesday afternoon, causing one lane of Lysle Boulevard to be closed Downtown.
No one was injured when the block fell at around 1 p.m. from the third-story corner of the so-called annex of the building, at the corner of Lysle Boulevard and Walnut Street.
McKeesport police, firefighters and ambulance rescue services responded to the scene.
The sidewalk near the building and part of one lane of Lysle Boulevard remained closed on Thursday.
