Content about Jim Viscusi

01.14.12

Second attempt to oust solicitor falls short

For the second time in as many weeks, an attempt to oust Bellevue’s solicitor has failed.

A week after a motion to seek proposals from attorneys failed in a tie vote at the borough council’s reorganization meeting, a second motion made at the first regular council meeting on Tuesday met the same end.

01.07.12

Reorganization problems in Bellevue

The post-election reorganization of Bellevue Council Monday night was not without incident -- several of them in fact. The meeting began with one council member-elect omitted from the swearing-in, and ended with questions about the legitimacy of the entire process. In between, a new regime took charge of council, and perhaps set the tone for the coming year.

10.22.11

Excavation collapses

What started as a 6-feet wide excavation to install a new sewer line on Orchard Avenue in Bellevue became a major sinkhole encompassing most of the width of the street earlier this week. Pictured above, Bellevue Council public works committee chairman Jim Viscusi and Bellevue DPW’s Tony Fiorenzo survey the damage.

09.30.11

No shows

The Sept. 27 regular meeting of Bellevue Council had to be canceled due to the lack of a quorum.

Only three members of council -- Linda Woshner, Jane Braunlich and Susan Viscusi -- appeared for the 7 p.m. meeting.

The six members of council who were absent were Lisa Blaney-Stewart, David Gillingham Jr., Mark Helbling, Kathy Coder, Mark Panichella and Jim Viscusi.

Woshner said that the business scheduled for Tuesday’s meeting likely would be placed on the agenda for the council work session to be held the second Tuesday in October.

07.15.11

Beer in Bayne becomes liquor on Lincoln

With support from a number of people who attended Bellevue Council's work session Tuesday evening, council approved a fund-raising art festival that will include the sale of alcohol.

02.25.11

Bellevue surcharge lowered

Bellevue property owners may pay a bit more this year in sewer surcharges, but it won't be as much as it could have been. With two members absent, a hotly divided Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to set a usage based surcharge at $2.25 per 1,000 gallons of water used at a property.

An ordinance adopted in December had set the fee at $3 per 1,000 gallons of water used, but that ordinance was vetoed by Mayor George Doscher shortly after it was approved. Doscher argued that it would be more "compassionate" to increase the fee in stages over a two-year period.

01.14.11

Veto vote delayed

Bellevue Council will have to wait until Jan. 25 to see if it can muster enough votes to override Mayor George Doscher’s veto of several key budget-related ordinances.

Council’s work session scheduled for this past Tuesday was canceled due to inclement weather.

That cancellation concerned some members of council, because at least two members -- Jim and Susan Viscusi -- will not be present at the Jan. 25 meeting. The concern arose from a mistaken belief that the override vote could be affected by the number of council members present.

12.03.10

One step forward, two steps back

Despite an early start to this year’s budget process and every intention of actually getting a bud-get adopted before the end of the year, Bellevue officials hit a snag when it came time to vote on the first reading of the budget ordinance at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

Lingering concerns over a hefty increase in the sewer surcharge and salary increases were complicated by a change in adoption procedure introduced by the borough’s solicitor to send officials back to the drawing board before a substantive vote on the bud-get is taken, probably on Dec. 14.

11.05.10

Arthur gets around

Not even the presence of a scary witch (Bellevue Council member Susan Viscusi) or AGH's Kathi Ferri could distract Arthur from the smell of hotdogs and hamburgers that filled the air at the Fall Festival held in Bayne Park last Saturday. Arthur had a wonderful time, meeting several small dogs (his favorite) and lots of kids who were enjoying the festivities. He would like to thank Bellevue Council member Jim Viscusi and the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Comapny for the excellent grilled treats.

10.31.10

COPS approval

Bellevue Council voted Tuesday to accept the grant that will put another police officer on borough streets for three years, but not without questions over why information on fourth-year funding was not provided.

10.31.10

Maryland paving

Bellevue Borough has reached an agreement with the contractor for Columbia Gas regarding paving an extra portion of Maryland Avenue.

Council member Jim Viscusi reported at Tuesday’s meeting that the contractor would pave an additional 280 feet of the street at a cost to the borough of $9,500. The contractor already was paving much of the roadway from curb-to-curb after excavation for new gas lines.

“That’s pretty much a steal,” Viscusi said of the price.

Council voted unanimously to do the work.

07.30.10

Tie vote

With Bellevue Council member Mark Panichella absent, Mayor George Doscher had to break a tie vote to authorize the borough to pay its bills.

Four members of council -- Linda Woshner, Jane Braunlich, and Jim and Susan Viscusi -- have been voting against payment of the bills since January because the bill list includes payment to solicitor Tom McDermott.

A lame duck council appointed McDermott last December, something prior solicitor Michael Georgalas warned was illegal and could result in individual council members being assessed for any borough funds spent to pay the new solicitor.

11.06.09

Incumbents re-elected in Bellevue

All three incumbents seeking election to Bellevue Council will return to their seats in January, where they will be joined by two newcomers.

Bellevue voters decided council races in each of the borough's three wards, including a close race in the first ward that ultimately ended with both Kathleen Coder and Jane Braunlich returned to council.

The two incumbents each led the ballot in one of the ward's two districts, with Republican Coder getting the most votes overall.