Lower Burrell Council race features 2 familiar faces and a fresh one

The race for Lower Burrell’s open two seats on city council pits two Democrats, an incumbent and a longtime attorney, against a young Republican.

Residents can cast their ballots during Tuesday’s general election for the two four-year terms.

The three candidates all say they want a lean city budget, but they hold other varied priorities.

Incumbent Chris Fabry, 40, who works in sales for a communications company that sells headsets to football coaches, wants to continue his work to bring in a new business to the Burrell Plaza along Leechburg Road, known by some as U-Haul plaza, to reflect its current tenant.

“It’s the focal part of our city,” Fabry said. “We want to turn an eyesore into a point of pride for the community.”

Fabry and outgoing Mayor Rich Callender have been meeting with the plaza’s owner, Widewaters Group of New York, and county and state officials to work on finding a tenant.

“Legitimate progress has been made,” he said. “People are very motivated.”

Fabry said if all goes well, there could be an announcement of a potential tenant within six months.

Stephen Yakopec Jr., 61, would like to increase efforts generally to attract business to the city.

“Lower Burrell is a pretty good place to be,” he said. “As a council we have to come up with some strategies to try to do something to entice more businesses.”

Yakopec is open to suggestions, including tax incentives and promoting the city to businesses to let them know there’s space. He notes that efforts have been made in the past but he wants to see a greater and more concerted effort.

Yakopec has been a solicitor for 34 years for a number of communities, including Lower Burrell.

Lower Burrell Council didn’t renew Yakopec’s contract as city solicitor this year after 26 years of service. Council declined to provide a reason.

“I have experience from the legal side plus when things come up, I know what other communities have done,” he said.

Attracting young people and reinstilling a “great sense of community,” are among the priorities of Rosina Albanese, 27. Although she is running for office for the first time, Albanese is a constituent relations specialist for state Rep. Bob Brooks. Although running against two seasoned candidates, Albanese wants to bring a fresh message.

Noting that young people are moving to Lower Burrell, Albanese says she is one of them, buying a house in the city on her own about five years ago.

“We have cheaper taxes than Allegheny County and great access to Pittsburgh via Route 28 and Monroeville,” Albanese said.

“We already has some great events in place like Easter egg hunts, Little League events,” she said. “We need to continue to offer events and programs that will appeal to families and hopefully expand on them.”

Albanese is looking for fiscal restraint, as is Yakopec.

“We have to try to keep costs down and not raise taxes,” Albanese said.

As a result, Yakopec wants to scrap plans for a jail cell in the City Hall renovation project.

“We should spend our money on what we need. For example, there’s that sewer interceptor project (Edgecliff Road to Leechburg Road) – we need that,” he said.

As director of finance and accounts for the city, Fabry says he has kept costs down, noting this year’s budget did not include a tax increase.

Besides the usual call for bell-tightening, Fabry proposes more resource sharing among the city, New Kensington, Arnold, Allegheny Township and possibly other communities.

“If we need one piece of equipment, one community should buy it and share it,” he said. “That cuts down on money spent.”