Coleen Vuono appointed to fill commission vacancy in Ward 3
A former Mt. Lebanon commissioner has returned to fill a vacancy.
Coleen Vuono was appointed Monday to fill the seat of Kristen Linfante, who resigned as Ward 3 commissioner in February for health reasons. Ms. Vuono was on the commission from 1988 to 1991 and was president in 1990.
She will serve through Jan. 4, when Ms. Linfante’s term would have expired.
Ms. Vuono was among seven Ward 3 residents whom commissioners interviewed during their discussion session prior to the regular meeting. Two of the applicants, Steve McLean and Andrew Reinhart, were not considered further after the interviews because they are seeking election to the seat.
John Bendel, commission president, said the decision was made to allow voters to choose who serves the full term, which is for four years.
Commissioner David Brumfield said a similar procedure was set in 2011, when the commission appointed Bonnie VanKirk to fill the Ward 1 seat after D. Raja resigned. Applicants to replace him included Mr. Bendel, who subsequently was elected to the post.
Ms. Vuono’s prior experience as commissioner was cited as a factor in her selection, as is her service on the municipal planning board, to which she was appointed in September to fill a vacancy.
The interviews were conducted at a public meeting because the vacancy to be filled is an elected position.
“Basically, I feel the role of a commissioner is, to a great part, to educate people,” Ms. Vuono said during her interview, explaining that she strove to keep residents informed during her first tenure.
“When I was a commissioner then, I started a newsletter and, at my own expense, I would send it out twice a year to the people in my ward,” she said. “I felt it was important for me to directly communicate with them. I was their first level of government, as their local commissioner.” In other business: • Consultant Sandy Baker, who presented a seminar earlier in the day about protecting gardens against deer, gave a report to commissioners in which she recommended a comprehensive study of local issues involving the prevalence of the animals.
“You’ve been trying to make decisions, and no one is giving you the information you really need,” she said.
Commissioners have the stated goal of reducing deervehicle collisions by 50 percent in the next five years, and they have attempted to implement measures to decrease the local deer population, including an unsuccessful trap-and-euthanize program last month.
Ms. Baker, author of the guidebook “How to DeerProof Your Garden in Five Easy Steps,” said that measures such as reducing speed limits, enforcing the limits and providing sufficient signage in deer-heavy areas can reduce the number of collisions significantly.
She also recommended enforcement of the municipal feeding ban.
“Population management would be the last step,” she told commissioners. “The first step is, stop feeding them.”
• Commissioners approved a program to replace deteriorating sidewalks on numerous streets, ordering property owners to take care of the matter. Alternatively, the municipality would order the work and bill the owners.
Affected are Circle, Crestvue Manor, Lebanon Hills, Lynn Haven, Main Entrance, Outlook, Park Entrance and St. Clair drives; Connecting and Washington roads; Mt. Lebanon Boulevard; Rock Haven Lane; and Rocklynn Place.