May 13, 2014 3 min read

WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg Borough Council voted Monday to hire two part-time patrolmen and a certified crime scene investigator who also teaches criminal justice at Waynesburg University.

Council voted to hire as part-time patrolmen, Nicholas Rennie and George Lewis. It also agreed to hire Adam Jack as a crime scene investigator.

Jack, who will be employed as an independent contractor, is a certified crime scene analyst, police Chief Rob Toth told council.

He is currently chairman of the criminal justice and social science department and an assistant professor in criminal justice at Waynesburg University.

Toth said he was very happy to have Jack assist the department. He will be used when needed on cases requiring his expertise.

Toth also announced the police department received a donation from residents Robert and Sharon Belesky. He thanked them for the donation. The money will be used for training and equipment, he said.

Borough manager Mike Simms reported the annual cleanup days, which this year included acceptance of electronic items, was held for three days, including a Saturday, and was a big success.

The cleanup, held May 8 through 10, seemed to be very well received by residents who filled seven large trash receptacles with items, Simms said.

Councilman Mark Fischer said he also thought the cleanup went well especially with the collection of electronics. A real need exists for residents to have an opportunity to dispose of such items, he said.

Council discussed possibly holding another cleanup in the fall, but first asked Simms to prepare a report on the costs of the recent collection.

Simms also reported engineers from Gannett Fleming inspected the borough’s sewage treatment plant.

The engineering firm will provide council with a report on ways the treatment plant and Franklin Township Sewer Authority’s treatment plant might be able to work together to treat sewage in the two communities.

Gannett Fleming is the Franklin sewer authority’s engineer. Council discussed sharing services between the borough and authority.

The borough’s engineers, Fayette Engineers, was developing a project for the borough to eliminate surface water infiltration into its sewage system to prevent overflows at the plant, an issue the state required the borough to address by December 2015.

That engineering work was put on hold two months ago after it was determined additional tests should be done to better identify where surface water is entering the system.

Robbie Matesic, director of the county’s Department of Economic Development, gave council an update on plans for the Jackson Run projects.

The project will involve the replacement of the bridge on High Street over Jackson Run and the culverts on both sides of the bridge.

The state Department of Transportation will replace the bridge, while the borough, with grants it and the county received several years ago, will install the new culverts.

Matesic said she talked to all five property owners the borough will need easements from and all are in favor of the project. She suggested a meeting between the property owners and the engineer to answer any remaining questions regarding the plans. She said she expected only a few minor tweaks in the plans before the documents are signed.

The project will be conducted in several phases and at times will require traffic on High Street to be restricted to one lane. The project is expected to be let in August, according to PennDOT’s online letting schedule.

Council also agreed to have the old borough building behind the existing borough building inspected by an engineer after learning it may be for sale through the estate of the former owner.