Mt. Lebanon commissioners advances bond issue for civic upgrades
Mt. Lebanon public works facility
Mt. Lebanon Recreation Center
After listening to a market update and possible bond structures to fund the public works facility upgrades, rec center ice rink renovations and purchase a new pumper fire truck, the Mt. Lebanon commissioners agreed to remain with the $8.8 million, 15-year bond issue at their Jan. 10 discussion session.
The commission also introduced the ordinance at a subsequent meeting with the intention of receiving final prices from Nicholas Falgione of PNC Capital Markets and to conduct a public hearing at the municipal building Jan. 23. The commissioners hope to close on the bond Feb. 21.
“When you have something that drags and drags but finally makes it through, it’s great,” Commissioner David Brumfield said about the long-discussed improvements to the public works site. “I’m especially happy for that project, which benefits employees that have done a great job in a subpar facility for quite a while.”
For Rudy Sukal, the township’s public works director, the ability to have a better salt-storing facility, along with creating more garage space to park and protect equipment from the elements, is vital to improving production.
“What we have to do now is dump all the salt out of the dome, and our operators have to scoop it up, fill the bottom and build a ramp,” Sukal said at a previous discussion session. “It’s not the safest way to do it and it’s time consuming. I don’t like eliminating or tearing something down, but because we are about efficiencies, improvements and needing the ability to do things faster, having open-front barn storage would make the process easier.”
Currently, the public works crew handles the salt twice to just get it into the domed storage unit, which holds 5,500 tons. Unlike other dome units, there is no conveyer loading system.
The expected cost of the public works renovations – the only municipal facility that has not seen a significant reinvestment over the last 30 years – was estimated to approximately $6.75 million. That price is also expected to include a firing range, which municipal officials hope the school district will assist with the funding.
If the 2017 projects eclipse the bond amount, one direction the commission could choose to go would be funding the range through a note. While notes have no closing costs, interest rates are higher.
“Whether it’s a capital project or implementing a policy change, anything that we’ve discussed for literally years that finally is going to come to fruition is gratifying to see happen,” Brumfield said. “The ice rink was an emergency that cropped up that we needed to deal with. I look at some of the things throughout the years and take pride of what we’ve gotten done.”