Concerned Leetsdale Residents Plan to Address School Board

A group of Leetsdale homeowners plans to attend an upcoming meeting to discuss district plans to purchase residential properties.

The district at 704 Beaver St., but Council President Joseph McGurk told residents at Thursday night’s meeting that there were further plans to acquire two more properties between Village Drive and the high school.

Residents resolved to attend the 7 p.m. workshop meeting Tuesday at . 

McGurk said plans to install a turning lane and parking space would take up two properties, while the third would be used to provide a buffer from a fourth home.

Superintendent Joseph Clapper, who earlier this week, told Patch that Quaker Valley was thinking long term and taking proactive steps to alleviate growing traffic flow concerns.

McGurk lives on the block and said he recently was surprised to learn of the plans. He said a neighbor was approached by a realtor asking if he would consider selling his home. He said he believed school officials were throwing money at a problem rather than looking at inexpensive solutions.

“As a result the borough of Leetsdale is getting penalized … they want to destroy one-third of a neighborhood that is actually my neighborhood,” he said.

Police said parents often stop in the middle of Beaver Street to drop off and pick up kids, which is considered a traffic violation.

McGurk said an alternative solution would be to allow parents to use the bus drive and redirect buses to drop off students by the football field and have them walk uphill. He said the district could also get a curb cut and use the high school's front lawn to construct a pull-off lane for buses.

Clapper has said the district made a commitment to meet with Leetsdale residents as plans progress. 

In other business, council:

• Approved a $9,310.50 payment to R&B Contracting for the Ohio River Boulevard storm sewer project, and a $5,400 payment to A.W. McNabb Inc. for demolition work.

• Approved the $2,340 purchase for a new refrigerator and chest freezer in the community room, and the disposal of the commercial refrigerator and freezer units. McGurk said that two weeks ago someone came in to rent the community room and discovered that the appliances were badly damaged by rust and stained. Councilman Jeff Weatherby voted against the purchase.

• Announced the annual will take place at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 1, in Henle Park.

• Announced that April 21 will be the Earth Day Cleanup. The borough's annual Spring Cleanup runs that week.