COMMISSION CHOOSES NEW TRASH HAULER Effective January 1, 2024, Mt. Lebanon’s waste collection contractor will be Westmoreland Sanitary Landfill. The Rostraver-based company was one of only two companies that bid on the contract. Waste Management, the current municipal waste disposal company, was the other bidder. The contract runs through December 31, 2028, with a total cost of $18,278,495.

Final details of the contract are still under discussion, but some provisions remain the same as with the current contract. Westmoreland will collect unlimited recycling, and up to 15 bags of trash per week. Residents will not be required to purchase new containers for trash or recycling. Recycling will continue to be bi-weekly, but Westmoreland will collect all of Mt. Lebanon’s recycling on the same weeks, which is expected to cut down on confusion. The public works department is working with Westmoreland to complete a pickup schedule, which will be inserted into an upcoming issue of Mt. Lebanon Magazine.

One change is the addition of glass to the list of recyclable items. The bids allowed for clear, blue, green and brown glass food and beverage containers. Window glass and Pyrex are not acceptable. Mt. Lebanon will continue to operate the glass dropoff bin at Village Square Mall, and we encourage residents to drop their glass off there, or at the Michael Brothers facility in Baldwin, as glass recycled into that stream results in a higher yield of uncontaminated glass for recycling, since the glass is not mixed with other materials.

Another change from the current contract is the number of bulk items permitted to be set out for collection will be reduced from two to one per week.

Christmas tree pickup will change, as it will be done in-house, not by the contractor.

The public information office has a page on the municipal website that will update the details of the trash contract as they are finalized. Check in at mtlebanon.org/2024trash.

UPDATED SIDEWALK POLICY In 2013, Mt. Lebanon commissioners enacted a policy that made it easier for residents who live on municipally maintained streets that do not have sidewalks to request financial assistance to install them.

In the 10 years since its adoption, the policy has resulted in a slight increase in Mt. Lebanon sidewalks: In 2013, 65 percent of municipally maintained streets had sidewalks. That number has increased to 68 percent.

This year, the Commission has amended the policy to make it easier for residents to request support from Mt. Lebanon in installing sidewalks, in connection with the municipality’s 2023 comprehensive plan, which emphasizes walkability and the safety of residents as critical objectives.

Property owners can petition the municipality for financial support to install new sidewalks. Priority for new sidewalk installation will go to streets close to schools, parks, business districts, places of worship, public transportation stops, hospitals, post offices or other government facilities. All of the property owners in the affected areas must agree to accept the new sidewalks, construction cost sharing, maintenance and replacement.

Sidewalk requests are now handled by the traffic board, but beginning in April, 2024, Mt. Lebanon’s board realignment will consolidate several boards’ responsibilities, and the requests will be the province of the mobility board. The mobility board will provide a prioritized list, in conjunction with the production of the capital improvement plan—the plan for large-scale or multiyear projects.

Residents on streets that are not listed in the capital improvement plan prioritization list can still request a cost estimate for sidewalk installation, provided at least 25 percent of the affected property owners are in agreement. The board will review the request and determine if an engineering study is needed on the street segment.

Project costs will be determined and divided between the municipality and the property owners. Residents will pay either 10 percent of the sidewalk construction cost, or half the total project cost over $9.50 per square foot, whichever is greater. Total project cost will include additional costs associated with sidewalk installation such as traffic controls. The municipality will pay for all ADA (Americans with Disability Act) improvements to the area.

Property owners are responsible for the cost of relocating any existing private structures, such as retaining walls or private landscaping, that are located in the right of way that conflicts with the path of the new sidewalk.

Based on anticipated project costs, property owners will decide whether they want to participate in the installation of the new sidewalk, and take responsibility for ongoing maintenance and replacement. Residents can elect to spread their payments out over three years.

A WELCOMING PLACE “Yesterday we received the new Mt. Lebanon Magazine.

I couldn’t believe it when I saw our photo featured from last year’s Mt. Lebanon Artists’ Market.

It was this festival that first made me want to move to Mt. Lebanon. I fell in love with this little oasis in Pittsburgh—the walkability, diversity, and adorable streets. It felt like a place our mixed-race family could call home.

But the housing market was crazy. I was also seven months pregnant in this photo, and we had just moved back to the U.S. after eight years living in East Africa.

Somehow the universe worked its magic. Yesterday, when I received this magazine, living in our newly purchased home in Mt. Lebanon, I remember to be grateful for the little dreams that once seemed so out of reach have now become our new normal.”

Valerie Bowden posted this message on her Instagram feed. Her husband, Alula Kibrom, is originally from Ethiopia. He got a job in Pittsburgh that led the family to move back to the U.S. Valerie is originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana. They were renting in Bridgeville, trying to decide if they should stay in Pittsburgh or move out of the state. “Mt. Lebanon really won us over! We are so happy to now officially call it home!”

The couple lives on Piper Drive with 3-year-old Zion (pictured) and Faven, who turns 1 in Novem