Content about David Heflin

11.13.10

A Courtney Street resident will take over the seat on Emsworth Council left vacant by last month’s resignation of David Heflin.

Thomas J. Madey was chosen from among three people who applied for the position, according to council member Alex Nalevanko.

Madey is a cement mason who has served on the Avonworth Community Park board and been very active in park projects, according to council member Paul Getz. He was sworn in by Mayor Dee Quinn at Wednesday’s council meeting after members voted 5-1 in favor of his appointment. Council member Dan Lenz cast the dissenting vote.

10.16.10

Official resigns

A vacancy now exists on Emsworth Council.

Council voted at its regular meeting Wednesday to accept the resignation of member David Heflin. Heflin did not give colleagues a reason for his resignation, and declined to comment when contacted later.

Council member Dan Lenz voted against accepting Heflin’s resignation. Council member Paul Getz was absent.

Emsworth also is looking for a new member of the vacancy board, which sometimes is used to fill council seats, after Andrew Potoski resigned his seat on the board.

06.11.10

More erosion

Emsworth Council member David Heflin warned borough officials at their meeting Wednesday that they are facing another erosion problem along the Lowries Run Creek bank.

Several years ago the borough stabilized a large portion of the bank with large chunks of concrete. Now, however, erosion on an adjacent section of the bank has nearly exposed the end of a guardrail, Heflin said.

"That last post is almost hanging free," he reported.

06.11.10

Sewer line progress

Emsworth residents along Ohio River Boulevard may soon get some relief from nighttime sewer line construction.

The borough was forced to work on the new gravity-fed line during the night because of traffic restrictions on adjacent areas of Route 65 that caused the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to nix daytime work.

Council member David Heflin reported at Wednesday's regular council meeting that construction is close to moving onto Huntingdon Avenue which

05.14.10

Emsworth to rejoin QVCOG

With a garbage collection contract nearing its end, Emsworth Council has voted to have the borough rejoin the Quaker Valley Council of Governments (QVCOG)

The QVCOG, comprised of municipalities along the Ohio River in this area, performs a number of functions, primary among them the negotiation of joint contracts for municipal services and administration of federal grants. Emsworth opted not to join the COG last year, saying that the borough did not utilize its services.

Emsworth's dues for a year total $1,600, according to borough secretary Cathy Jones.

05.14.10

Work to resume

Work to install a gravity-fed sewer line to Emsworth's new sewage pump station was expected to resume this week after a delay caused by PennDOT objections to the work schedule.

Emsworth Council member David Heflin said that PennDOT stopped the project, which spans about 400 feet of Route 65 before turning onto Huntingdon Avenue. The state agency refused to allow work during daylight hours because the project abuts another repair project that involves traffic controls and limitations.

04.16.10

Better behavior asked

Emsworth Council president Maria West called on the borough's elected officials to check their behavior and try to get along after receiving an e-mail that she called "vile" and "disgusting" from a member of council.

Following a series of e-mails among council members on Feb. 11 and 12 regarding snow removal, council member David Heflin apparently took exception to a statement by West and responded with the statements "F_ _ _ YOU Maria" and "go to hell."

The e-mails were circulated among council members and through the borough's e-mail as well.

03.12.10

Emsworth gets answers to park bonus questions

Emsworth Council now will fund the borough’s portion of the 2010 Avonworth Community Park bud-get after a park official explained bonuses given to two employees.

Emsworth is just one of five municipalities that help fund the park with tax dollars. The others are Ben Avon, Ben Avon Heights, Kilbuck and Ohio Township.

03.12.10

Main passes

The cost of construction at the Emsworth pump station will not increase as much as feared, one borough official said this week.

Council member David Heflin reported at the regular meeting on March 10 that the force main passed its test last month.

Heflin said at January's meeting that should the force main fail, the borough would have to replace it at a cost of about $73,000.

The project is expected to be completed by the end of May.

01.22.10

Costs go up for Emsworth project

The cost of the construction of a new sewer pump station in Emsworth has increased by $35,000, with the potential for another $73,000 price jump on the horizon.

Meeting on Jan. 13, Emsworth Council approved the project's first change order, made necessary by the discovery that gas lines were not where they were supposed to be.

01.22.10

Officials disagree over payments to councilman member

An Emsworth Council member is threatening to take action unless more than $5,000 is repaid to the borough by a fellow member of council.

Council member Paul Getz was paid $5,260 between April and August of 2009, representing salary for working on various projects in the borough. The number excludes his monthly $100 stipend for serving on council. None of the payments were preauthorized by council, according to council member David Heflin.

01.15.10

Sewage rates to increase for most in Emsworth

Emsworth Council members have changed their minds yet again, and most property owners and residents will be paying the price.

After voting not to increase sewer surcharge rates in November, council authorized a change in the surcharge rate structure at its regular meeting on Wednesday. That change will result in rate increases for most property owners that range from about $10 to more than $600 per quarter.

01.08.10

Officials take seats in Emsworth

By JOHN DOANE A few new faces were present at Emsworth Council's 2010 reorganization meeting Jan. 4 to take the oath as newly elected government officials. Former longtime borough solicitor Mike Marmo, now a judge on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, swore in newly-elected mayor Dee Quinn, incumbent council members Amy Adams and Paul Getz, and new members Dan Lenz and Kenneth Kroen.

The new council’s first act was to keep the status quo for the president of council.

11.27.09

Emsworth proposes 2010 budget

Emsworth expects to spend about $200,000 more next year than in 2009, with reserve monies and a new tax on workers providing the extra funds.

Council will vote next month on whether to accept a $1.4 million budget for 2010. The increased expenditures, according to council member David Heflin, are primarily due to sewer repairs that need to be done to comply with the federal consent order.

11.13.09

Emsworth officials tangle over unapproved expenses

Tempers flared at Emsworth Council's regular meeting on Wednesday during a normally routine item on council's agenda.

When it came time to approve the boroughs bill’s for the month, finance committee chairman David Heflin questioned two of the expenditures on the bill list, neither of which had received pre-approval from council.

The first was $321 for an appreciation dinner held for former borough solicitor Mike Marmo. The second was the painting of two of the borough's trucks at a cost of $1,500.

10.30.09

News Briefs

Emsworth quits COG

Emsworth officials have decided to cancel the borough's membership in the Quaker Valley Council of Governments as a cost-cutting measure, but the savings may not last long.

Borough council member David Heflin said that 2010 dues would run $1,600-$1,900, a sum council member Amy Adams said could be better put toward balancing next year's budget because the borough does not use any of the services that come from being a QVCOG member.

10.16.09

Emsworth to hike tax, surcharge

In an effort to spread the cost of covering a projected budget deficit and the cost of mandated sewer repairs, Emsworth residents urged officials Wednesday to increase a tax levied on people who work in the borough.

Facing an increase in sewage fees next year, residents who attended the Oct. 14 council meeting called for an increase in a $26 Local Services Tax (LST) approved by council at a special meeting on Sept. 23.

10.02.09

Emsworth okays new tax on workers

Those working within the borough of Emsworth could be paying a little more in local taxes beginning next year.

Emsworth Borough Council voted, at a special meeting on Sept. 23, to implement a local service tax, which will cost anyone working in the borough $26 per year.

The tax will replace the $10 occupational privilege tax that the borough currently has in place, according to council member Paul Getz.

Getz said that the tax will go into effect at the beginning of 2010.

08.14.09

News Briefs

Budget cuts?

Avonworth administrators may look to budget cuts for Avonworth Elementary School in order to provide additional consulting services at the school.

Board treasurer Frank Mucha said at the board's regular meeting on Monday that the district is looking at entering into an agreement with John Esaias for consulting services for the first semester of this school year.

The agreement would pay Esaias $50 per hour, to work two days a week, at a cost not to exceed $12,500.