Hi, Neighbors. We had a Workshop Meeting last night and I wanted to let you know what happened.
Before I get into the digest, there is one topic of discussion that we agreed deserved special attention. Commissioner Lisanti informed us that the township’s water system is in financial trouble. He told us that we should be prepared for a water rate increase of approximately 30% over the next 3 years. If there is no other discussion that every Aleppo resident should watch, it’s this one because it explains an expected increase in your water bill and why. Click here for last night’s discussion. As mentioned in the video, there is little discretion in this regard. However, to the extent that anybody has anything to add, I would be interested in hearing your thoughts and I will be sure to share them with the other commissioners at the legislative meeting next week.
Alright … on to the meeting digest. If you want to watch the meeting from the beginning, click here. Otherwise, feel free to click one of the links below to jump to that specific portion of last night’s meeting. Where a topic has been discussed in the past, I’ve also included a link to the archive of the prior recordings.
- We discussed the 2015 Budget Ordinance, which we will vote on at next week’s Legislative meeting. (Click here for last night’s discussion or click here for the archive of this topic.)
- We heard that there are no plans to increase the millage next year (hooray!), so it will stay at 3.5 mills. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- We tossed around the idea of hiring an expert to help us analyze the township’s bond debt and agreed to contact a few individuals with specialty in this area. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- Commissioner Lisanti suggested that we could do the necessary updates to the Road Study in-house and save the township the costs of contracting with an engineering firm for that project. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- We discussed our progress towards identifying additional engineering firms to serve the township, including mentioning specific names. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- We heard that our Workers’ Compensation premium will be increasing. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- We were updated about efforts to move the township’s water supply line in response to the landslide that threatens to break it. Preliminary costs of moving this line are about $300,000. (Click here for last night’s discussion or click here for the archive of this topic.)
- Concern was expressed that since the meters measuring our sewage flowing to Sewickley have been recalibrated, the amount we will be paying to Sewickley for treatment may be significantly less than they were expecting. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- We agreed to have a joint meeting of the township board of commissioners and the authority board of directors where we map out all of the issues confronting the municipality and identify which tasks are dependant on others. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- Commissioner Lisanti told us that the sewer system is in good shape. (Click here for last night’s discussion.)
- I recapped what happened at a meeting between township commissioners, authority members, representatives from Masonic Village, and Michael Minnock to address a unified response to Sewickley’s proposed tap in fee. (Click here for last night’s discussion or click here for the archive of this topic.)
- Our solicitor informed us that he has sent a letter to the contractor who worked on the 2014 road paving project permitting them to complete the project in the spring. (Click here for last night’s discussion or click here for the archive of this topic.)
Our next meeting will be Monday, December 15, 2014 at 7:00 P.M. in the Township Building. If any of these issues are of interest to you, we invite you to join us. If you cannot attend the meeting, but want to share a thought, please feel free to send me an email and I will be sure to pass your message along to the other commissioners.
Thanks, everybody!
Best wishes,
Matthew Doebler
Aleppo Township Commissioner