Sewickley Herald

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Suburban Pittsburgh's largest Audited
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condo plans
Following their review of plans for the proposed new Sewickley Post Office, the Sewickley Planning Commission voted 4-0 at its Dec. 12 meeting to reject the plans as being in violation of the borough zoning ordinance,
The commission also v voted to return plans for a proposed condominium on the 300 block of Beaver Street back to the architect until a more accurate and complete set of plans, are available.
v... Commissioner; Jack Squires voiced objection to the post office plans, claiming the proposal violates - the •	35-foot '
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„.,jDf5aximum . restriction on - tot al parking coverage, and the size of the individual parking spaces do not conform to the-borough standard.
Borough manager Martin C. McDaniel said the plans show the building’s front elevation on Thorn Street to be setback 30 feet. Total, parking coverage for the lot was estimated to be 48 - percent, and some of the individual parking spaces measure nine feet wide instead of the required ten
feet.
■ Gary Cirrincione, - representing the Pittsburgh architectural firm Prack and Prack, said each of the three areas of contention were drawn up according to U.S. Postal Service specifications.
. “A number of these, requirements made by the Postal Department are negotiable*?V Squires responded. “There are •several communities that have gotten pew post offices-that,don’t have four parking, spaces.
“J‘ hate to see this (project) stopped,” Squires continued. ’ ‘ ‘This community is very interested in
. “In a sense, your firm is to be commended for working with CBS,” commission chairman H. Alan Speak said. “You can’t legislate aesthetics. We may question aesthetics, but our concerns are-primarily with meeting the! requirements-of the zoning ordinance, ” Speak said.
Making an amendment to the present, -zoning ordnance to have the plans comply was a suggestion made by Speak. The planning chairman noted that the Commercial-Office zoning amendment for the post office lot (part of the former Sewickley Elementary School site)
this project. We might be 1 .was originally drafted with ■differentvhecause>we are^ sa^commerciai*«yeiiture in
interested. I’m sorry you -didn’t realize people in Sewickley are very aware of what’s happening,’’ Squires said.
Cirrincione responded that his firm and the Postal Service have gone out of their way to design a post office that would satisfy community standards. The architect has been working with an interested civic group, the Committee for a Better Sewickley (CBS), in an effort to satisfy the community.
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, “Is it realistic to consider an amendment to the zoning ordinance for a post office for that-area,” Speak asked', “I disagree,’’' Squires countered. “The Postal Department, • in many communities has changed its standards to conform to the-standards of the community. They take great pride in their willingness to conform. Here, we’re trying to preserve our green areas, ’ ’Squires said. Continued on page 17B
AWAITING THE ARRIVAL OF dHRlSTMAS are three shepards in the Presbyterian Church of Sewickley’s
Sewickley opts for wiater authority
Holiday Pageant, Melissa Beuc, Robbie Churchill, and Autumn Farolei
By Joseph F. Smith
By a 4-3 vote at a special meeting on Dec. 10, Sewickley Council moved to-replace the 100-year-old Sewickley Water Commission with a water authority.
The action came after a recent ruling from Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court that decreed the state Public Utilities Commission has jurisdiction over water rates the commission sets for its customers outside the borough.
The decision applies only toraf.esfor Sewickley Water Works customers in Osborne, Haysville, Sewickley Heights, and a portion of Edgeworth. Under the ruling sought by the PUC, the Sewickley Water Commission must have PUC approval before it. can raise water rates for any consumers outside the borough.
Because the water cdmriiission is reluctant to seek «PUC approval for a fate hike, the effect, at present, is that rates for mstomers outside Sewickley are frozen at heir present levels.
The main reason the majority of the commissioners are opposed to seeking PUC approval for rate increases is one of economics: the cost to present one rate hike request to the PUC has been estimated at between $5,000 and $10,000, with the request taking six months to be decided.
The motion council approved to begin the necessary paper work to create a water authority was one of several options presented at the meetihg.
The others included continuation of the present commission system, which would be subject to PUC jurisdiction; having Sewickley Borough take over and operate the water works, which would also be subject to partial PUC control; and discontinuing water supply outside the borough.
The discontinuation of service outside of Sewickley would also require an appeal to the PUC. Sewickley solicitor Gary McQuone said the water service termination would probably not receive approval since
there would be no other; way to supply the present consumers outside of Sewickley withwater.
Sewickley councilwoman Marie Guy, who, along woth councilmen James Maloney and James Yankello opposed the motion to advertise that council is considering creating a water authority, said, “I think we will be giving tod much away to an authority.”
But councilman Louis Tarasi, Jr., ^ one of those supporting the motion, countered by saying, “I do not like Harrisburg controlling the rates here.’’
Mrs. Guy said she felt authorities become too independent because they are able to borrow money without seeking approval from any governmental body.
She noted that when the present water commission had needed to borrow money to make major capital improvements in the last several years the commissioners had to seek approval from borough council. Because of this, she said she felt the commission
and the council had “a good working relationship. ’ ’ Sewickley Water Commission chairman Seth French, however, disagreed With Mrs, Guy’s assessment Of the situation. “The commission has been around for over 100-years, and the ‘working relationship’ you spoke of never existed,” he said.
French stated that the commission had only had to approach council to borrow money the one time because it was under orders from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Resources to make immediate improvements, such as the covering of its fesevoirs.
Before that, French said, the water works had traditionally been operated on a break-even basis, with the rates only being high enough to cover necessary expenses.
While councilman Robert B. Wood Was questioning French, Gibson Brock, and Anthony Cicco (two other water commissioners) aboift the work the commissioners must do to oversee the operation of tile
water works, French said the volunteer job takes up “two to three weeks”,, of each man’s time per year.
The three commissioners At the meeting favored the creation of the water authority to eliminate PUC control over the rates, but the two other commissioners-—Chandler Lewis and Hugh McMaster—are reported to be opposed to it.
French said he favors a water authority because it will result in lower costs to area residents. “Frankly, I think PUC jurisdiction will result in more expenses for the people of Sewickley,” he said,
According to French, if the water commission has to plan rate increases six months in advance, it will Have to resort to the tactics he believes the major electric and natural gas utilities use: plan for im creased costs six months ahead, add a percentage to cover unforseen expenses, and add an inflated mark-up to the rate through which the PUG can look good by cutting out.
French said these in-
flationary pressures would ultimately mean higher water rates in Sewickley and the surrounding boroughs.
The projected operating budget for the water works in 1980, French reported, is $337,000. Of this, Sewickley residents will pay $234,000, with Sewickley Heights customers paying $75,000, and those in Haysville and Osborne paying $27,000, Although 20 percent of Sewickley’s water is sold outside the borough, these customers pay approximately a third of the plant’s operating cost, French pointed out.
One reason for this, he said, is that it costs more to pump the water up to Sewickley Heights, which is why those residents pay more.
It was also disclosed at the meeting’that the water commission will probably ‘ soon approve a rate increase. Because of the Commonwealth Court ruling, only Sewickley Borough water customers will have their rates increased.
Continued on page 2
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