"That's circumventing the system, taking advantage of his position -- something that shouldn't be happening," John Luenberger said. "I'm very proud to have had the opportunity to utilize resources available to us to help make this dream a reality," Cherepko said.Lawson does not regret losing her old house and property. Also, the McKeesport sign was donated by McKeesport Hospital (its their old sign) and didnt cost anyone anything, as far as I know. When the call came to share, Aaron Bunting leapt to the podium. "Well, yeah. With the help of those federal community development funds, garbage collection was privatized and its employees segued into community development jobs, police officers who were faced with layoffs started walking beats (a precursor to the later concept of community policing), and resources were redirected to update fire and police facilities and equipment to modern standards. "I thought they could at least have given me a dollar, or the mayor could have come and thanked me because he grew up there. If you are using Chrome and keep getting redirected to this page, then turn sync off. Contractors might, however, be able to remove the south wing and then retrofit the north wing, removing the asbestos and repairing the roof and steel framing, said Anselmo. Two abandoned houses on East Street in McKeesport were torched. As a city tries to demolish its way to rebirth, a veteran team of addiction recovery workers struggles to avoid fiscal collapse. Instead, he said, McKeesport must continue seeking new revenue streams, which will include attempting to market the drilling rights for natural gas trapped in Marcellus shale under city-owned property, and continuing to offer services such as police protection to neighboring communities who request it. Jun 2015, Dec 01 - Dec 31, 2014 Do you feel more informed? This house on Fifth Avenue in McKeesport, once owned by Keenon Mikell, is now deeded to the McKeesport City Redevelopment Authority. Despite the clashes at council, Giles held out hope for detente with the mayor. One exception may have been McKeesport National Bank courtesy of Jim Taylor. Hed like to create a resident-run car wash and detailing business, or a landscaping firm. In the coming weeks and years, I hope everyone who knew Lou will share their stories. Or even a big Market District. But even if demolition cant be avoided, he told the authority board, I want to be able to say we tried everything.. Now that land is mostly vacant and has been used twice by businesses not on the up and up. Since the partnership launched in July 2021, agents and officers have seized 46 . They have been in office an average of two terms or more. In fact, the owner said she paid to have the old house demolished. But its a bad thing if we dont have property. I am not attacking anyone personally, but, over $40,000 for an IT guy? Individual salaries will, of course, vary depending on the job, department, location, as well as the individual skills and education of each employee. The south wing of the building cant be saved. The competition will also be fiercer where wages are high. He can be reached at rich@publicsource.org or on Twitter @richelord. Click the city name to learn more about the City Mayor pay level in these cities. Nip it! Lous vision would have forever changed the whole valley, just as the Meadowlands and Southpointe have changed the face of Washington County with a business park, outlet stores and more. If you ever played the Daily Number (I didnt) you know how funny that is, and when the young lady running the lottery machine said you cant do that, everyone got a good laugh but not at my expense. The mayor hopes to move into his new home in the next month. Youre probably looking at $20 million to save the Penn McKee Hotel and bring it into something else, said Matthew Craig, executive director of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh. Lou Washowich only his beloved bride of 58 years, Jean, was allowed to call him Louis! "That's a $22,000 savings for you as the home builder, right?" But you do have to be competitive, no? All that's left are fragments of the foundation. Murphy Co.s lunch counter for coffee. Is More Than a Website Its a Community Instigation. Municipal mergers sounds like a good idea, kind of like revenue sharing in MLB. Once we are able to educate them on drug and alcohol addiction, and how it affects not only them, it affects the community, it affects the whole neighborhood, they can make a change in their lives, where they want to be productive.. $80,035 - $106,409 7% of jobs $106,410 - $132,784 4% of jobs $132,785 - $159,159 4% of jobs $162,798 is the 90th percentile. One day, while enjoying coffee with Police Chief Jim Lundie and Lou, the boss sent me to buy a daily lottery ticket. The only ones I can relate to are police/fire. Those who worked with Mayor Lou will never forget him. I would not have bought the property with all the liens.". She could have kept her property, but only if she paid off the delinquent taxes. Graduating in Pennsylvania is about to get more complicated. So, not only do our kids get the shaft now, theyll get it later as well. All of us will remember the positive impact he had on the lives of his city and his close friends there are too many to name, but I would be remiss for not remembering Bill Lickert Sr. in particular. And remember, the city previously paid $12,000 in grant money to demolish the buildings. If you decided it could work, and that was what you were going to do, you could do it, Craig told the authority board. In fact, the owner said she paid to have the old house demolished.People at a McKeesport shopping complex who spoke with Action News Investigates were unaware of the city program and skeptical of the mayor's motives. Mar 2023 At Pitt, CMU, We're workers when they want us to be, but then we're graduate students when they don't want to pay us, UPreps resets: A school meant to bring Pitts resources to Hill students goes back to the drawing board, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. Lebanon. Wounded McKeesport police Officer Charles Thomas is hugged by Mayor Michael Cherepko during a candlelight for fallen McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023 at . That will be Lous real legacy. It is like comparing my house to a house in Monroeville for property taxes. There is more to retail than Wal-Mart, Brewster. "Who would have thought that we would be hit with one the worst financial crises in the country's history in 2008? In my high school/college days I worked at Gilbert Lumber on Walnut, when they were going under in 1996, a group of employees went to the city and asked for help to save the business( which was going under for poor business decisions and a flood, not a lack of customers), the city said, no way. And I cant pay my bills online? Aug 2015 I had my stint of just being caught up in nonsense, said Mikell. Moreover, there were to be no layoffs. (Tube City Almanac illustration). The authority previously had a daily treatment capacity of 21 million gallons at its plant in the Tenth Ward. Honestly, I dont know where these figures come from. Matthew Craig, executive director of the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh, stands in front of the north wing of the Penn McKee Hotel building in McKeesport. Whole Foods would be good. But, please for the love of God, dont raise my taxes. Meanwhile state subsidies to our state universities have fallen, forcing schools like UVA, William & Mary, and Virginia Tech to take more out of state students to make up the difference in their budgets. Category: News || By Keenon Mikell, who leads the health and wellness program at First Step Recovery Homes, approaches the nonprofits gym on Market Street in McKeesport. Mayor Michael Cherepko estimated that 99% of the people that know anything about McKeesport can relate to the Penn McKee. For that reason, the fate of the old hotel, empty for 30 years, will resonate well beyond the borders of the city of 17,727. On this November morning, he was back at First Step Recovery Homes in McKeesport, where he spent most of the prior two months. Try maybe fixing Grandview Avenue so people dont have to drive on the wrong side of the street, or fixing sidewalks so the handicapped in wheelchairs dont need to drive on the street.Adam - December 08, 2009, Um, I believe switchboard operators name is Sarah. The students that are learning at our world class universities in nearby Oakland take what theyve learned here and start new industries and expand the US economy (some place else). The department levied another $5,000 in penalties but did not collect those, instead filing judgments against the owner entities, which are controlled by PNC Bank. She could have kept her property, but only if she paid off the delinquent taxes.The mayor hopes to move into his new home in the next month. Rich is the managing editor of PublicSource. document.write('Jason Togyer<\/a>'); Population 40,000 to 50,000. McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko posted the following statement on Facebook: "As mayor of the city of McKeesport, I feel compelled to publicly address an issue that has come to my attention via . I would however, like to see more efforts being made to market, or attract small businesses to the industrial sites in the City. Reviews may also highlight any negative aspects of a company that will help in evaluating it as a prospective employer. These people legit are like my family.. It sits near the Great Allegheny Passage trail, the McKeesport Palisades event center and the McKees Point Marina, making the site a potential cornerstone of the citys recovery bid. They occurred in prison. And our police officers hand write time slips? Dec 2016 And both have huge business/retail dollars coming in. No content from Tube City Online may be reproduced in whole or part in any digital or print publication without express permission, except that short excerpts may be used with attribution in commentary or for critical purposes. As things got worse, the boss, as I was privileged to call him, partnered with the newly created Allegheny Regional Asset District. The following job titles have similar responsibilities as a City Mayor. Action News Investigates has learned that the mayor of McKeesport got the property for his house on the cheap, using a city program.Mayor Michael Cherepko says he was given no special favors, but the mayor is the first and only person in McKeesport who has used this program to build a house.WATCH: Paul Van Osdol's investigationThe story of the mayor's home starts with a fire in May 2012. It just seems what matters most to us changes daily. The latter was not a problem, because Lous ability to judge people which he developed back when he coached the Little Tigers helped him find, trust and obtain the folks he needed to initiate and implement his goals and objectives. That the way it works in business, and that is why Walmart and Costco are so huge, and the small mom and pops where the owner spends the profits on a new car, a new boat, and a cabin in the woods are not. Reducing salaries would be a penny wise and a pound foolish. Pittsburgh's Action News 4 at 11pm Saturday, Old restaurant eyed as strip club burns in McKeesport, Action News Investigates: City ignores elderly woman's pleas to tear down neighboring dilapidated house. It was just an example that we could always laugh together without embarrassing one another. Hopefully, this will conjure up some memories for them to enjoy. To search for jobs in other locations, fill in the title and locations to begin your search. North Huntingdon pays about the same to its road superintendent alone as the city pays for a public works director and North Huntingdon also has an assistant road superintendent to boot. Hed like to counter that. He explained that companies have been calling him asking for developable sites ranging from 2 to 10 acres. I will miss you, Boss, and hope to see you again someday up there. Of course, the History section is done, since that is all anyone can focus on around here.Adam - December 08, 2009, John, next time I need to call 911, I will just call Sarah and ask her to connect me to to Sherriff Taylor, unless he is at Floyds getting a shaveAdam - December 08, 2009, All right, simmer down, or Barney will have to nip this in the bud. Honey, I was in the house about 60 years," Lawson said. The measure of a persons life is often determined by his or her time and place. Only three new homes, including the mayor's, were built in the past decade. Everything changed when Lou defeated five opponents in the Democratic primary in 1979, and then upset incumbent Mayor Thomas J. Fullard. Unlike the mayor, a woman who owns one of the few recently built homes in McKeesport said she didn't get a dime's worth of help from the city. Public works projects like removing blighted houses are small steps towards making the City more livable. "Not another community can keep up with your city for the projects we're doing, pound for pound," he said. Welcome to the TribLIVE.com California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) landing page. Unless it is council who concerned, which makes sense since they only get $4000/yr. Just to feed his residents, he relies on generosity from restaurants and charity. Salaries above this are outliers. Poor people who live here arent going to abandon the Dollar General to go shop there, and itll be a cold day in hell before anyone else decides to drive past their already-local 3 or 4 other Wal-Mart locations to get to one in McKeesport. The Mayor is the official head of the City for all ceremonial purposes, by the Courts for the purpose of serving civil process and by the Governor of the State for military purposes. East Liberty did it, and they have NO PARKING. document.write('
'); Washowich, a four-term mayor, passed away Friday in the comfort of his home with his family by his side. Businesses dont want to go into towns where theres a bunch of infighting.