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Minutes of a Regular Meeting of the

Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority Board

September 6, 2007

Mt. Lebanon Parking Authority Office

788 Washington Road

Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228          

 

 

Present at the meeting were Board Members Bill Friedman, Bill Baldwin, Al Frioni, Richard Ballon, Executive Director Sahar, Facilities Manager Quealy, and Solicitor DeLuca.

 

1)  Chairman Friedman called the meeting to order at 6:00 PM.  

 

2)      Roll call was taken and the above listed Board Members were present.

 

 

3)      Consideration of Minutes of the June 7, 2007 meeting and the July 5, 2007.

 

After review Mr. Frioni requested that several changes be made to the minutes that would further detail the discussions.

The minutes as modified were unanimously approved.

 

4)      Citizen Comments:

 

Joe Ravita, President of the Washington Road Business and Professional Association (BPA), was present to discuss the status of the BPA proposal to implement a subscription validation system by the Authority.  Mr. Friedman indicated the validation system was included under a discussion item for the evening but that it could be discussed at this point. Mr. Friedman indicated the Board had reviewed the BPA proposal. He indicated that the staff had been instructed to work on some additional items in regards to the validation system and the Board would be reviewing that work during this meeting.

 

Mr. Frioni stated that the current validation system already steeply discounts the cost of the parking over the regular hourly rate.  He also stated he could not support a further discount that would increase rates to the detriment of other parkers. 

 

Mr. Baldwin indicated he needed to see additional information before he could act on any proposal.

 

Mr. Ravita stated that he believed the subscription system would be a success and he would actively promote to the businesses on Washington Road.

 

Mr. Sahar indicated he had met with the Steve Feller, Municipal Manager, and Commissioner Humphreys on September 4, 2007 in regards to this issue. 

 

 

 

 

5)      Consideration of Agreement of Sale

 

The authorization by the Board and the execution of The Agreement of Sale with Mt. Lebanon Hospitality Group would transfer the Authority property located at 611 Washington Road (known as the “North Lot”) to the Kratsa development group.  The intent would be to develop the property for a hotel.  The Municipality had reviewed this proposal and has given its approval to the Authority to proceed.

 

Mr. Frioni moved to: Approve the Agreement of Sale with the Mt. Lebanon Hospitality Group and to authorize the Executive Director to execute the Agreement of behalf of the Authority, and to send the Agreement to Municipality for their consent.

Mr. Baldwin seconded the motion.

 

The motion carried unanimously.

 

 

6)      Discussion Items

 

 

The staff reported on memo that was sent to the Board on July 19, 2007 regarding the validation system.  Mr. Sahar highlighted the main points of the memo; keeping the current system in place, offering additional sticker options where the cost would be shared by the validating business and their customer, no increase in rates, no increase in overhead costs.  Mr. Sahar indicated that the BPA subscription system could also be added on a one year trial basis.  The Board and staff discussed various issues regarding all the systems.  As a result of the discussions the Board instructed Mr. Sahar and Mr. Deluca to look at a possible subscription contract and the Board would look at the proposals again next month.   The Board also indicated it would appear that the most equitable answer would be to eliminate the validation system entirely and reduce all hourly rates. 

 

Work is continuing on the Policies and Procedures Manual.

 

The Authority’s auditors had completed their field work. 

 

Mr. Sahar indicated the installation of the screening in the North Garage lower level would begin this month.  The screening was being put in place to help prevent pigeons from entering this area.

 

The Board unanimously approved the expense and payroll voucher lists for July and August 2007.

 

The Board moved into Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. to discuss litigation matters.

 

The Board returned from Executive Session at 8:19 p.m.

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Richard D. Sahar

Executive Director