Murrysville developer earns state builder’s association’s Distinguished Achievement Award
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When Jim Rumbaugh of Murrysville agreed to accept an appointment as chair for the Franklin Township Municipal Sanitary Authority board, he quickly recognized the challenges he faced.
“Plum Borough was in the same basic situation 30 years ago, where the (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection) shut down tap allocations and wouldn’t allow new construction,” said Rumbaugh, who also chairs Plum’s authority. “We ended up being the poster child for how to do it properly.”
Rumbaugh brought with him decades of experience in the construction industry, having worked early on as a builder representative for Peoples Gas, ensuring that infrastructure was in place as major land developments got under way, and becoming president of the Toro Development Co. in 1986 in partnership with the sons of Murrysville developer Orin Sampson.
Rumbaugh and Ben Sampson now own the Meritage Group in Plum, and Rumbaugh recently was recognized by the Pennsylvania Builders Association with its highest honor: the Distinguished Achievement Award.
“Mr. Rumbaugh has made significant and long-term contributions to the housing industry through his leadership in the PBA Government Affairs and political action committees,” PBA officials wrote in a news release. “His leadership as chair of the Pennsylvania Committee for Affordable Housing of the Government Affairs Committee has successfully achieved passage of several pieces of legislation benefiting the industry.”
Key among those was legislation setting out a formula to calculate the fee imposed on new homeowners looking to tap into public sewage infrastructure.
“A number of years ago, towns were able to charge whatever they wanted for tap fees on new residential construction,” Rumbaugh said. “Some were charging $20,000 to tap into the sewer line — no justification. They just took the money.”
Rumbaugh worked with PBA and the Municipal Association of Pennsylvania to create an engineering-informed formula.
Rumbaugh also led a successful fight against legislation that would have mandated the installation of a sprinkler system in all new structures.
“I helped convince the legislature that it didn’t make any sense for a single-family home or a duplex to have a sprinkler system that costs thousands and thousands of dollars,” he said. “We crafted legislation stating that buildings with three or more families now have to have the sprinkler system.”
When it came to seeking a new leader for the FTMSA, former Murrysville Chief Administrator Jim Morrison said appointing Rumbaugh was an easy call.
“I couldn’t think of a better person for this prestigious award,” Morrison said. “Mr. Rumbaugh is an astute businessman and a major contributor to the outstanding residential developments in Murrysville. That, along with his long-term participation in the Plum Borough Municipal Authority made him a ‘no-brainer’ selection to correct the years of mismanagement at FTMSA.”
Rumbaugh said he’s honored to have been chosen by fellow members of the building trade for the award.
“I’ve won Pittsburgh Builder of the Year twice, I’ve been named Pennsylvania Builder of the Year, but this is the biggest one you can get, to my mind,” he said. “It’s voted on by your peers, and there’s a panel of people who recognized the body of work I’ve done with the PBA. It makes me feel good to be able to help people, and my understanding of the industry makes that a little easier.”