2012 Meeting Minutes

February 9th, 2012 Minutes.

Those in attendance: B. Bean, C. McGinty, S. McGinty, D. Sandstrom, G. Ashcraft, J. Feldman, D.Gilman and Commander Degler
Guests and visitors: Aftyn Giles, Sarah McKean, Jeff Babich, Doug Graham, Javier Lerch, Jean Lamana, Carmelita Portugal, Chris Kouklis, Luke Klein, Cindy Tilson, Mary Ann Reynolds, Frank and Jane Micale, Kevin Kunak, Ben Weaver, Abir Chatterjee, Mary Turyan, Andy Zins, Frank Russ, Margery Capone, Janet Hagan, Barbara Campsie, Susan Manning, Richard Andracki, Nate Phillips, Sara Patterson, Janet Scullion, Patty Ladasky
Betsy called the meeting to order at 6:30
Review and approval of minutes from last month were approved. Gloria motioned. Carol made a second motion.
Introduction of guests and visitors
Betsy Bean said that we are beginning the process for the new board and officers for 2012/2013. Carol and her committee, will talk to existing board members and officers about expectations of being on the board and will speak to other people who have expressed an interest in being on our board. The elections will take place at our Annual Meeting in May.
Betsy also stated Giant Eagle postponed coming to this month’s meeting again because they do not have their additional parking study back or their exterior lighting study in. They are on our schedule for our March meeting.
Councilman’s Updates: Dan Gilman
Dan reported that Duquesne Light is replacing telephone poles in the Shadyside area due to the number of power outages reported over the last year and a half.
The lights that have been strung in the business district need to be replaced with LED lights. It was Councilman Peduto and UPMC that both gave $10,000 to purchase and have these lights installed.
The S. Aiken Bar and Grill applied for an additional liquor license for their second level. After testimony from the neighbors about the ongoing issues with this bar, their license was denied. The bar is appealing that decision.
The Ellsworth Pedestrian Bridge is open. It will need to be closed again in the Spring after the weather breaks to address a concrete issue.
Work on the new Aldi’s has begun at the corner of Negley and Baum.
A CVS has been proposed on the corner of Craig and Center
A Homewood Suites Hotel has been proposed on the corner of Baum and Liberty
CMU’s Master Plan has been approved.
Councilman Peduto introduced legislation called the Responsible Banking Bill where local banks would be required to reinvest in the neighborhood. Council passed the legislation. The Mayor vetoed it.
There will also be help available for seniors over 65 who have questions about their assessments. These times and dates will be sent out when they become available.
There are two streets by Reizenstein that are extensions of Aurelia Street that need to be named. SAC has been asked to help come up with some names for these streets.
The Highland Avenue Bridge is scheduled to come down in 2013.
Public Safety: Commander Degler
The Commander stated that the Police are working very hard to arrest the people responsible for all of the robberies that have occurred the past month. She reiterated to be aware of your surroundings at all times. She suggested that you not walk alone at night unless you absolutely have to, to be aware of your surroundings when you are plugged into your ipods or on your phones and to report anything that seems suspicious at all.
Several people from Bloomfield and Friendship that are also part of the Baum Center Initiative (BCI) came to our meeting to discuss their concerns with the UPMC Master Plan. The biggest concerns seem to be wanting to change the zoning from LNC which it currently is to EMI. The second major are of concern is the proposal of adding 1,700 additional parking spaces at the Ford Motor building, the former Luna site and behind Boston Market. They currently have 3,100 spaces. UPMC held several community meetings for input from the neighbor and those directly affected by these plans. They are ready to go before the Planning Commission for approval but neighbors want additional meetings to continue dialogue and reach a compromise.

Meeting adjourned at 7:55
Respectfully submitted by Susan McGinty

January 12th, 2012 Minutes.
Those in attendance: B. Bean, C. McGinty, S. McGinty, G. Ashcraft, E.Fisher, K. Lederman, K. Degler, and D.Gilman,
Guests and visitors: B. Campsie, V & R DiDomenico, R. Ernsberger, G. Fisher, M. Fisher, J. Freedman, B. Gillespie, H. Hannah, M. Kohanbush, P. Kohanbush, K, Kunak, L. Mekovsky, C. Metz, J. Musgrave, S. Patterson, N. Phillips, C. Portugal, MA. Reynolds, E. Soose, S. Spatter, L. Stone, and G. Zak
Betsy Bean called the meeting to order at 6:30
Review and approval of minutes from last month’s meetings were approved
Introduction of guests and visitors
Ms. Bean stated that UPMC is filing their Master Plan this Friday. The last community meeting with UPMC was on January 5th. There are still several issues that the neighborhood groups and UPMC cannot agree on. UPMC plans on adding a sister building next to the Ford Motor Building which they own. This building is proposed to be 150,000 sq feet. On the other side, they are proposing another building which will have space for 1,000 parking spaces. The Friendship Neighborhood group passed a resolution concerning this new construction of UPMC. Ms. Bean said she would email their letter out to our Board and recommended we do something similar as should the other neighborhoods that abut this corridor.
The first and foremost concern of the delegates from Baum Centre Corridor Initiative (BCI) is the sheer massing on Centre Avenue. UPMC would like to change the zoning that was issued in 2004/2005. It is currently zoned LNC (Limited Neighborhood commercial) and UNC (Urban Neighborhood Commercial). UPMC would like to change it to EMI (Educational Medical Institution). BCI would like to see retail in a lot of these first floor buildings along the Baum Center Corridor. A change in zoning would limit retail coming in. There are a series of hearings (a minimum of 4) with the Planning Commission and Council that UPMC still has to go through before anything is said and done. You can log on to UPMC’s website for more information. http://www.upmc.com/HospitalsFacilities/Hospitals/Shadyside/Pages/default.aspx.
Eric Fisher, Board member and architect recommended UPMC send us specifics, building materials etc of their proposed projects which would be instrumental in showing the massing of Center Avenue.
Carol McGinty gave an update of the proposed expansion project of the Centre Avenue Market District. A community meeting was held at the Market District store two weeks ago. This meeting was led by Mr. Todd Waldo, Sr. Project manager for Giant Eagle.
There are two proposed expansions. The first is an expansion of the café on the Centre Avenue side. This will be a two story extension. Their café currently seats 34 people. Their proposed extension is for a two story café which would extend into their current parking lot. The employees currently have to eat their lunches in the parking garage. The second story would be for the employees. This expansion will be for both indoor and outdoor seating on both levels. This expansion project will also allow them to sell beer.
The second expansion is on the western side facing the neighboring Claybourne Street. It is this expansion that most of the neighbors are unhappy with. Giant Eagle did not uphold many of the promises they made to the neighbors in 2005 when it was first being built which has caused there to be distrust today. There were many community meetings that took place between the neighbors and Giant Eagle initially and we expect there to be many community meetings between the neighbors and Giant Eagle with the new proposed expansions. Giant Eagle will be presenting their plan at our February 9th SAC meeting at Winchester Thurston lower school.
Councilman’s Updates: Dan Gilman, Chief of Staff to Councilman Bill Peduto
•Mr. Gilman said that LA Fitness scheduled to go in at Baum and Liberty was approved by Council and City Planning. LA Fitness is now being held up by someone who has made an appeal to prevent them from opening there..
•Aldi’s is still scheduled to open along that same corridor. (Negley and Baum) All approvals have been given for them to continue going forth.
•The South Aiken Bar and Grille was not granted an additional liquor license. Neighbors got together, wrote letters, got petitions circulated and went downtown to their hearing to speak in opposition of them being granted an additional liquor license. The bar is now appealing that decision.
•There was an issue with the concrete that was poured for the Pedestrian Bridge (connecting Spahr Street to East Side where Whole Foods is). It will not open until Spring after the concrete has been re-poured.
•Walnut Street received money from UPMC, Councilman Peduto and First National Bank in Shadyside to buy the lights that are strung along the Walnut Street corridor. The lights unfortunately do not meet proper standards, and have to be taken down but will be put back up permanently.
•Mr. Gilman spoke briefly about the tax assessments issue. As of January 12th, the taxes will be based on last years’ taxes and next years will be based on this year’s
Tax Assessments: Gordon Fisher, Esquire
Gordon Fisher came at our request to help answer some questions about the tax assessments. Mr. Fisher has had experience in helping clients with these issues before. Mr. Fisher stated the assessment should be statewide and it is not, and added, the city does the millage and the county sets the assessments. As of January 9th, Judge Wettig had declared last years numbers to be used for this years taxes. Mr. Fisher explained the appeal process in general and said that the comparables are often not right down the street but are usually within a 3 mile radius. A question was raised if there were incentives for having “green” or “smart” homes like there are for commercial buildings. To date there is not but there should be ways to incentivize being “green”.
Public Safety: Commander Degler
The Commander explained the differences between, robberies, thefts and burglaries.
•A Robbery is to take property from a person illegally using force or intimidation. A robbery is committed in the presence of the victim. Purse snatchings, and muggings, are considered robberies.
•A Theft is when someone takes something that does not belong to them.
•A Burglary deals with a structure. The unlawful entry of a “structure” (not cars) to commit a felony or theft. Often referred to as “break in-s”
New Business: Chris Metz from Evolution E-Cycling proposed doing a recycling event with The Shadyside neighborhood. Evolution E- Cycling provides an environmentally sound and legal outlet for the disposal of the region’s electronic scrap. There are many environmental risks to dumping electronics in our landfills. Anyone that stores data on electronic devices is at risk for identity theft. Evolution E-Cycling provides data security to individuals and businesses who would like to safely and responsibly dispose of private information. Check our website for a date for this future event.

Meeting adjourned at 7:55
Respectfully submitted by
Susan McGinty
Administrative Assistant