Plum Borough Athletic Association Ballfield Lease Terminated

Plum Borough Council has terminated a baseball field lease agreement with the Plum Borough Athletic Association.

Officers for the PBAA were notified in a letter dated Sept. 15 that they no longer would have rights to eight ballfields along Ross Hollow Road. The athletic association has until Oct. 15 to remove all of its property from the ballfields.

The association leased the fields for $1 a year from the borough.

PBAA officers are holding a public meeting tomorrow, Sept. 22, at 7 p.m. at the ballfields' main concession stand to look for support from residents and to discuss the matter. The fields are located across the street from the .

According to the termination letter sent by borough solicitor Bruce Dice, the lease agreement—originally implemented in 1995—no longer is effective because of several permit violations. These violations include:

• The construction of two sheds on two separate occasions, a batter's cage and a paved walking trail without borough permission or proper permits.

• The reconstruction of one of the baseball field dugouts without permission from the borough or obtaining the proper permits.

• Operation of vending machines for private gains.

• Plans to pave personal parking spaces in the road right-of-way. Work ultimately ceased.

According to the letter, PBAA officials were notified of the need for permits and any other requirements. However, the association's officers said they weren't aware permits were needed for several of these projects, and that borough officials knew when a lot of the projects were occurring.

PBAA secretary Jim McGrath said borough officials had met with the association some time last year to discuss implementing a new lease. He said the proposed lease was more favorable for council and it didn't make sense for the association to go along with it when its current lease would be in effect until 2094.

McGrath said he thinks the action taken by borough council is a form of retaliation because the association currently is being investigated by the Allegheny County District Attorney's office for the misuse of funds.

"Council wants to take over our ballfields," he said. "They're trying to terminate our lease based on something that happened years ago. It's all politically motivated because they'll come off looking like they got rid of the bad guys."

McGrath said PBAA officers have been cooperative during the investigation, and nothing questionable is going on with the finances.

He said the association has tried to meet with borough officials about the matter, but they keep getting the cold shoulder.

"They don't want to talk to us," McGrath said. "They're using the kids as bargaining chips."

Plum Borough Council President Mike Doyle said the decision to terminate the lease has nothing to do with the DA's investigation. He said the borough has had issues with association officers "thumbing their noses" at council for years.

"The only reason we're terminating the lease is because of the violations," he said. "They are habitual violators. We've brought it to their attention numerous times before, but they continue to do things their own way."

Doyle said the PBAA rarely includes council on matters. For example, he said the association hosted a tournament last weekend and officials had already agreed to close off Ross Hollow Road for another event in the borough.

"It's just little things like that," he said. "The idea that council wants to take over the association is an outright lie. We don't have the resources to do that. We want to work together.

"There are other people willing and ready to volunteer. Council can guarantee that the kids will not miss a pitch during all of this."

Check back on Plum-Oakmont Patch for more developments regarding this issue.