Upper St. Clair commissioners deadlocked on perimeter trail contract
After much discussion at their regular meeting Monday, Upper St. Clair commissioners were split on whether to approve a $1.4 million contract for perimeter trail installation at Boyce Mayview Park.
In a 3-3 vote, Mark Christie, board president, joined vice president Rex Waller and Nicholas Seitanakis in voting for the project. Commissioners Robert Orchowski, Ronald Pardini and Daniel Paoly opposed, and Russell Del Re was absent.
At the board’s July 25 agenda meeting, assistant township manager Mark Mansfield reviewed a contract for the installation of hard-surface trails along the perimeter of Boyce Mayview Park.
Three prequalified vendors submitted bids for the project, with R&B Contracting and Excavating Inc. of West Mifflin submitting the lowest, at $1.4 million.
That amount includes a base bid of $606,050 for the southern extension of the perimeter trail, which runs from Ardolino’s restaurant to the Upper St. Clair Community Gardens. A bid for the project’s Alternate 1 component, the reforestation of the southern perimeter trail area, is $26,000, and Alternate 3, sign installation, is $3,000.
The base bid for installing the perimeter trail along the southern portion of Morton Road, which runs from the Community Gardens to Rostron Drive and Morton Road, is $794,250. Also taken into consideration is a 2 percent reduction of $28,586 for total award to a single bidder.
The township received a $250,000 Department of Conservation & Natural Resources grant for the southern extension and a $200,000 DCED Greenways, Trails & Recreation grant for the Morton Trail, along with $30,000 in Allegheny Regional Asset District capital funds. The balance of the project, $920,714, would be paid for by township contributions.
In voting against awarding the contract, Orchowski explained that while he approves of the southern extension trail, he could not support the Morton stub. He also questioned the cost of the final segment of the trail, which would connect Rostron Drive to the Morton Complex.
Paoly and Pardini expressed similar concerns. Pardini asked how many residents were using the perimeter trail, suggesting that the money could be better spent for sidewalks in the township.
Commissioners expect to revisit the issue at their Sept. 6 meeting.
In other business Monday, the board approved outdoor dining in three locations at Siena at St. Clair, on Route 19 across the street from South Hills Village.
The applicant, 1800 Washington Road Associates LP, requested conditional use in two phases. Phase I was a request for approximately 950 square feet of outdoor dining at Whole Foods Grocery, while Phase II asked for approximately 1,000 square feet of outdoor dining at a restaurant to be called The Porch. Phase II requested 1,500 square feet of outdoor dining at 100 Siena Drive, which is zoned for mixed use of office, retail and restaurant.
A public hearing regarding rezoning for 1320 Mayview Road from C-1 Neighborhood Commercial District and R-LI Low Intensity Residential to R-3 Medium Density Residential District was tabled and rescheduled for Sept. 6.