Vandergrift Council to hold special meeting on emergency declaration

Vandergrift Council has scheduled a special meeting Thursday to discuss modifying an emergency declaration it imposed as the covid-19 pandemic started to reach the region.

The meeting, according to a Facebook post on the borough’s emergency management page will be held via Zoom at 5 p.m.

The Declaration of Emergency Managment, put in place in late March, was extended at last week’s meeting to Aug. 31.

Since then, however, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that Westmoreland County would move into the “yellow” phase of his reopening Pennsylvania plan.

“As we go into the yellow phase this Friday, the Governor’s directives are less strict than ours,” the Facebook post reads.

Under Vandergrift’s emergency measures, nonessential gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited, and all events requiring a permit from the borough have been canceled. The borough’s municipal office has been closed to the public and in-person meetings of council have been suspended, among other restrictions.

At last week’s meeting, two of seven council members voted not to extend the town’s emergency declaration, arguing that it serves no purpose while the state has issued its own restrictions.

Attorney Alaine Generelli said the declaration was necessary at the time of its implementation to allow borough leaders to make quick decisions and purchase supplies. She also said the declaration could be reversed at any time.

“Initially it was so the borough could buy emergency items and make emergency decisions without having to go through the drawn-out process of taking votes and things like that,” Generelli said last week. “At this point, I don’t know that we really need it in place.”

Councilwoman Karen McClarnon posted on Facebook ahead of Thursday’s meeting, cluing constituents in on how she was planning to vote. She hopes the council will decide to adjust restrictions rather than lift them altogether, to ensure the borough still has access to insurance protection and emergency funds.

“As a small business owner myself, I have experienced a loss of over 90% of my clientele due to the pandemic, I understand the passion to reopen our state,” she wrote. “With this being said, we must as a borough carefully consider our options moving forward in relation to liability and future funding available from our state.”