Nov 10, 2017 3 min read

MONONGAHELA -Monongahela is facing a $53,489 budget deficit in the preliminary budget, but officials anticipate it will be balanced before a final budget is adopted.

Expenditures in the preliminary budget, which was approved Wednesday by city council, are $3,001,918 and revenue is $2,948,429. The current millage rate is 6.50 mills.

“I anticipate no increase in taxes like we have had in my three terms of service on city council,” said Councilman Tom Caudill. Council will have a budget meeting before final adoption, but a date has not been set for the meeting.

Council once again heard complaints about young people riding bicycles, skateboards and scooters on sidewalks and into traffic in the downtown area. Mel O’Bryon said a tragedy is going to happen either to him or one of the youths darting in and out of traffic. He said more than once he has almost been hit while walking on the sidewalk, and he has almost hit someone with a vehicle while driving.

“I have seen these kids out at 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. Where are their parents?” he said. “They are darting in and out of traffic, riding down the sidewalk. Something bad is going to happen. Is there a curfew?”

Monongahela Police Chief Brian Tempest said the city has a curfew and also has a garage full of bicycles, scooters and skateboards that have been confiscated.

“Under our ordinance, there are no bicycles, skateboards or scooters permitted on the sidewalks of Main Street between First and Fifth streets,” Tempest said.

Part of the problem is that when police pick up minors for violating curfew, their parents are nowhere to be found, he added.

“We have kids running around with no parental supervision,” said Mayor Bob Kepics.

In other news, resident Mike Petrosky addressed council for the second time about speeding on Fifth Avenue. “A lot of young kids live and play on that street. I have six grandchildren. There was talk about making the street one way, but can’t you put speed bumps on the street to slow down speeders?” he said.

Tempest said speed humps are allowed, which are three inches lower speed bumps. There are more than 30 pages of restrictions on the use of speed humps, and the cost is $3,500 each. Restrictions state the city street department would have to attend a special school for snow removal and the city would lose state liquid fuels money for maintenance and snow removal on that street.

In other news, two structures that have been the topic of numerous complaints are finally slated to be razed. The city received funds from the federal Community Development Block Grant program to remove a building at the corner of Main Street and Nelson Avenue and a house located at 1135 Lawton Street. Councilman Alan Veliky said that once the bids are accepted, demolition is slated to begin in December or January.

Veliky added four houses are slated for demolition from the original six the city had proposed.

Two structures have been declared to have historical significance.