Glen Osborne officials welcomed resident Jen Coyne as their newest council member.

Council voted 5-0 Feb. 17 to appoint Coyne to fill the seat vacated by Anne Fruehauf. Councilman Gary Schurman was absent.

Fruehauf, former chair of council’s finance committee, moved to nearby Edgeworth and resigned last month.

Coyne’s term expires at the end of 2027 and will have to run in the next municipal election if she wishes to keep the seat.

“It’s an exciting opportunity,” Coyne said Feb. 18. “In my day job, I get to work a lot with government customers, but in my community I haven’t got the chance to work in local government. … It felt exciting to be part of a group that’s giving back.”

Meet Jen Coyne

Coyne works for Pittsburgh-based The Barnes Global Advisors as an engineering consultant for advanced manufacturing. It’s a national company whose founder lives in Sewickley.

Coyne, who has been with the business the past five years, said they help people evaluate and adopt additive manufacturing, evaluate its impact on the region as well as provide training, consulting, facility development and workforce development.

One of her major projects involved the Pittsburgh International Airport’s Neighborhood 91 initiative.

“I’ve learned a lot about how important it is to understand government and the way things work within the government in order to make change in the things that are important to you,” Coyne said.

“If I want to see change, then I need to be willing to be involved myself and within the process and the system to see that change happen.”

Coyne worked in the rail industry for about 15 years before joining Barnes Global Advisors. That service included being a systems engineer at GE Transportation, which merged with Wabtec Corp. in 2019.

Coyne’s love of engineering began to foster in her father’s workshop out in Guys Mills, Crawford County.

Her father, Daniel Plyer, was a toolmaker, and they continue to talk shop on occasion.

Coyne also developed strong math and science skills at Maplewood Jr./Sr. High School and graduated in 2004.

That education helped her get a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Grove City College and a master’s in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech.

Coyne moved to Glen Osborne about five years ago and is raising four children with her husband, Jon.

She hopes her time on council inspires the little ones to give back.

“I’d love to make impacts on making the community safer for families and children that walk and bike,” she said.

Diane Vierling, the borough secretary/treasurer, said Coyne’s professional background was very impressive. Coyne was the lone candidate to fill the vacancy.

Major priority

One of Coyne’s major concerns is the railroad crossing at Ohio River Boulevard and River Road.

Her Beaver Street home overlooks the intersection.

Coyne hopes to establish a quiet zone, a section of a rail line at least a half-mile in length that contains one or more consecutive public highway-rail grade crossings at which locomotive horns are not routinely sounded when trains are approaching the crossings.

Federal regulation requires locomotive horns begin sounding 15 to 20 seconds before entering public highway-rail grade crossings, no more than one-quarter mile in advance, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration.

The governmental entity responsible for traffic control or law enforcement at the crossings is permitted to create quiet zones provided it meet certain criteria, according to the railroad administration.

Federal regulations state at a minimum, each public highway-rail crossing within a quiet zone must be equipped with active warning devices such as flashing lights, gates, power out indicators and constant warning devices, except in rare circumstances.

Coyne said about 26 trains a day roll through per day, and each one blows its horn at least four times at high decibels.

She said she hopes to make the intersection safer so the horns are not necessary and fewer crashes occur.

“I witnessed car accident after car accident, (and) I’ve seen people die there,” Coyne said. “It’s incredibly dangerous.

A nontrain-related crash last year directly impacted her family.

Coyne said her 2-year-old child and a nanny were in an accident about six months ago at the intersection.

Everyone was safe, but the vehicle was totaled.

She said that incident was another driving factor in seeking changes to the area.

More information about quiet zones is available at railroads.dot.gov.

Council President John Orndorff said Coyne’s background in engineering will be a benefit to the public works committee, and he is grateful to see more female representation on council.

“I really think it’s valuable to have women represented by a woman,” he said Feb. 18.

“It’s a relief (to have all council seats filled again). In a small borough where you don’t have a lot of competition for people joining borough council, it’s sometimes a little bit difficult to find the right people. We feel so lucky to have Coyne and her expertise.”

Orndorff also expressed his support for Coyne’s quiet zone proposal.

“I knew ahead of time she had an interest in this item, and she has the expertise to pursue it, which is wonderful,” Orndorff said.

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