Verona Council Notebook: June Voting Meeting

Here's a roundup of items discussed at the Verona Council June 12 voting meeting:

Ambulance Service

Verona officials continue to discuss the in the borough.

Last week, Council members Sandra Drabicki-Bell and Rhoda Gemellas-Worf supported a motion to to Lower Valley Emergency Medical Services, which has one station in nearby Oakmont and another in Harmar.

Officials have been debating about the efficiency of the current service provider, Guardian Angel Ambulance, after complaints of slow response time.

The motion was tabled after Council President Dom Conte suggested officials wait until they hear from Guardian Angel representatives. Lower Valley made a presentation to council last month, and Conte said it would only be fair to give Guardian Angel the same opportunity—representatives from the ambulance service are expected to speak to officials at the June 26 council meeting.

Traffic Signals

The traffic signals on two Verona intersections are more pedestrian-friendly now.

Mayor Dave Ricupero said the signals on Allegheny River Boulevard at Center and South avenues have been revised by PennDOT. During each light change, traffic in both directions will stop for six seconds to allow pedestrians to cross the street.

Doughboy

Work to repair the Verona Doughboy statue is coming along, said Drabicki-Bell.

Doughboy, or Spirit of The American Doughboy, statues are life-sized replicas of sculptor Ernest Moore Viquesney’s original commemorating World War I soldiers, according to the Viquesney Doughboy Database website.

The statue in Verona, which was dedicated in 1952, used to sit between the two large plaques at the corner of Allegheny River Boulevard and Lamagna Drive; however, it was replaced by a monument topped with an eagle after the beloved statue fell in 2007. The Doughboy currently is being repaired by the Verona maintenance department.

Drabicki-Bell requested that when the time comes, Russell Frazier of the maintenance department needs to be instrumental in picking the statue's base/platform.

Conte agreed.

"He's been rebuilding it, so he knows what will work," he said.

Bike Share

The borough has received a $4,000 from the Allegheny County Department of Health to put toward a bike share program.

Kier Ewing of Allegheny Together and the Verona Chamber of Commerce, said the money will be used to buy about 10 bicycles from Dirty Harry's. Those bikes then can be rented for free for up to three days.

"It's the first bike share program in the state," he said.

Check Plum-Oakmont Patch for a more detailed article about the program soon.

Fall Festival

The Verona Fall festival will be held Sept. 6, 7 and 8 at the parklet near the Verona Borough Building.

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