Beloved Dormont carnival to be revived

The Dormont Carnival is coming to the borough this spring -- for the first time in more than two decades.

"I grew up here, and we had one of the best carnivals anywhere," said Councilwoman Heather Schmidt.

It was the idea of the Recreation Board to revive the carnival, which will be held in the pool parking lot May 16-21.

Council on Monday gave the board permission to allow organizations to set up booths for the event and enter into a contract with Reinhart Amusements to provide "kid friendly" rides.

"The first thing you would see was the Ferris wheel, and the town felt alive," Schmidt said. "Your parents would drop you off, and you would see all your friends, and you'd spend all your days there and all your allowance money for that month and months to come."

In other business

Council approved raising the parking permit fee from $50 to $55 for the business district for next year. The fee affects business district residents and the managers, owners and employees that use the borough's metered lots there.

Council originally planned to raise the fee to $60.

Councilman John Maggio noted this would come after an increase from $45 to $50 at the end of 2009.

He read a letter from Cher Murphy of Dormont Fresh Market that said, "A further increase will put a great burden on me right now. ... My store brings shoppers back to the borough's main street."

Council compromised and voted 5-2 to increase the new permit fee to $55 with Maggio and Eugene Barilla casting the opposing votes.

Council agreed to buy the Dormont Junction's metered lot from the Port Authority for $620,000, contingent on favorable financing.

Council Vice President Laurie Malka said later that the property could be important to the state's and the Pittsburgh's Transportation Revitalization Investment District's efforts to spur growth in areas near public transit.