Jun 28, 2016 By Luke Campbell 4 min read

Residents that live near Rockwood Park filled the Mt. Lebanon Commission meeting room June 27 regarding certain activities in the upper parking lot section of the property.

Despite the commissioners’ unanimous rejection of the bids for greening projects at both Rockwood Park and the lower area of Robb Hollow Park, officials said they will continue to monitor the issues and repeatedly reminded residents that those areas are not being neglected.

A heightened police presence continues at the property of Rockwood Park because of reported illicit activity.

“Even prior to tonight’s meeting, our police department has been paying a little bit more extra attention to that area of Rockwood Park,” said municipal manager Keith McGill. “The idea was to eliminate that upper parking area and green it over to address some of the issues. However, the lone bid we received came over twice the estimated cost established by our engineer. We only had one bidder that responded, so it’s more prudent for us to take a step back.”

McGill acknowledged that the reason for the low interest in bidding was possibly attributable to the timing of when bids were sent out, during which many contractors already have scheduled their upcoming workload, along with other factors.

The reason for rejecting the bid for work on the lower half of Robb Hollow Park was two current obstructions in a storm sewer pipe that runs underneath the proposed greening area.

“There is no sense in spending money to green over an area when we have to fix what’s wrong underneath of it first,” said McGill.

Plans are in place to work with both the contractor and municipal public works to fix the issue within the coming months. The municipality also recently applied for a grant through the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority, which also relates to requirements for storm-water management. Word on the grant is expected in September.

The commissioners also unanimously rejected bids for the first phase of renovation work at the Mt. Lebanon Historical Society’s History Center, 794 Washington Road.

The budgeted amount for the entire project is $680,000, which was exceeded in the bids for just general construction work, meaning additional costs for other facets of the project.

The municipality plans to rebid the project after it is reviewed and revised.

Also during the June 27 meeting, several residents complimented commissioners for deferring a project that would have replaced bricks on Morrison Drive with asphalt.

Residents expressed concern about how a smoother street might encourage speeding. They also are worried about the decrease in property values and overall allure that brick streets provide.

The commissioners are focusing on replacing other streets in the municipality while attempting to formulate a policy regarding brick streets.

“When we come up with our policy, those concerns brought up will be the main part of it,” Commissioner John Bendel said. “The reasons to keep the brick are the charm, the aesthetic value and the value it provides to their properties. It also slows down traffic because it’s an uneven surface.

“The other side of the story is cost,” he continued. “It’s expensive up front to put brick in vs. asphalt, where it can be two to four times more expensive. The question is, do you get that back over the long term.”

As a temporary measure, patches of asphalt will be used so that the street remains drivable.

“We want our residents to always feel that they have input into a project, especially projects that they feel directly affect them,” said McGill. “We try to make decisions for the best interest of residents in the municipality.”