Manager Meeting Notes

TCVCOG Office

February 19, 2014

10:00 am

In Attendance: Annette Dietz, Rebecca Bradley, Connie Rosenbayger, Patty Logo, Julie Pantalone, Steve Morus, Craig Robinson, Greg Bachy, Mike Thomas

Amanda reminded those in attendance of the Tri-COG Blight Initiative monthly Blight Busters meeting. This one will be held on Monday February 24th. Chris Brown and Bill Fontana will be presenting on the PA Keystone CORE services, which is a consolidation of programs including the former PA Main Streets program.

There was a question to the managers from Amanda about municipality water shut off policies and procedures. She was inquiring about the process of water shut off andif municipalities conduct appeals hearings. There was agreement that if a resident is dissatisfied with the water shut off process and notices they can appeal to council. None of the municipalities in attendance experienced any legal problems with their current shut off procedures.

The COG is currently evaluating a potential code enforcement program, either in-house or third party, in order to increase code enforcement and data collection capacitiesof its members. The managers were asked about current code enforcement needs and if they would be interested in an opt-in code enforcement program. There was a discussion about current needs for municipalities including property maintenance, UCC permits, follow-up, and data collection. Experiences of current practices and ordinances were shared and the managers agreed that having some formal way of sharing success stories or current ordinances would be beneficial. Potential obstacles for a COG code enforcement program were discussed including small variances in municipal codes,splitting the code enforcement officer’s time between participating communities, and a uniform format for reporting, expectations and accountability. Suggestions were made about a future COG code enforcement program including starting with a property maintenance function and then moving towards UCC certification. The COG will continue investigating the costs and benefits of a program and will present the information to the managersat a later date.

Amanda from Swissvale opened a new discussion pertaining to current practices and contracts with recycling companies. She was wondering if any communities had reimbursable programs and asked if it made sense for some COG communities to come together as a group and ask for one. Discussions were had surrounding which companies each municipality used and how their contracts were laid out. Examples of other COGs and previous attempts at joint bidding were given, none of which seemed toyield a better rate for participating municipalities.

Rebecca was wondering if any municipality was conducting an E-Waste disposal program that she could advertise to her community members. Steve said Forest Hills was having one but he would double check on the date. Amanda F. also reported that Swissvale will have an E-Waste disposal at their Clean-Up Day in May.