Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Saint Mary's council approves snowmobile-trail resolution, appoints chief code enforcement officer and reviews CDBG projects
Summary
Council passed a resolution supporting a PennDOT study for a snowmobile-trail crossing, confirmed Ted Polinski as chief code enforcement officer, formed a three-member police chief search committee and reviewed $311,686 in proposed CDBG projects, with staff flagging a Little League turf request as likely ineligible.
Saint Mary's City Council took several formal actions and reviewed federal grant applications during its meeting.
Resolution: The council approved Resolution 2059 at the request of the Snowmobile Association to request PennDOT consider a trail crossing study on West Creek Road and to indicate municipal support for pursuing a crossing study. Staff noted the association carries liability insurance and recommended referring legal-liability questions to the city solicitor.
Appointment: Council approved the appointment of Ted Polinski as Chief Code Enforcement Officer after the administration recommended him based on nearly 18 years enforcing city codes and more than 20 years with the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code. The motion carried; one speaker at the meeting expressed concern about qualifications during the discussion.
Personnel committee: Council voted to create a three-member committee to review candidates for the chief of police; Steve, Tony and Joe were appointed to that committee.
CDBG allocation and projects: City staff reported the city's 2025 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) allocation is $311,686 (an increase of $508 from 2024) and reviewed proposed projects: South Michael Street sidewalk rehabilitation (targeted as housing-rehab-eligible where owners meet low/moderate-income rules), park restroom accessibility renovations (upper bathrooms near Wolf Law Avenue), a demolition project addressing blight on a property with unclear ownership, and administrative funds proposed at 17% of the award. Staff also reported having received an application from St. Mary's Little League to install turf in an infield at Memorial Park but said the state administering agency (DCED/DCD) expressed doubts that it would meet a federal "national objective" for CDBG; staff recommended gathering additional data and consulting DCED before including the project in the final application.
Next steps: Staff asked to gather data required by DCED (for example historical participation and residency rolls for Little League) before finalizing the city's application; the CDBG application deadline was noted as late October, and staff recommended caution about adding a project that might jeopardize the overall application.
