Council will hold its July 15, 2020 meeting in council chambers at 4400 Greensburg Pike due to their need to hold an executive session to consult with counsel on legal/personnel matters following the business meeting.  Because of Covid-19 pandemic limits,  public attendance in council chambers at the municipal building is by reservation only (call 412-351-7330 x 200 – first come, first served up to prescribed limits – you may leave a voicemail message on extension 200 with your name, phone number and address if staff are unavailable to take your call and we will call back to confirm reservation if space allows).  If registering a spouse or another family member that must be stated at the time of the call (with their full name) or they will not be admitted to the meeting.  DEADLINE to register for the meeting is Noon on July 15.

Numbers are limited to those established by the state and county (at this time 25 total including council, staff, etc.).   Only those with reservations will be admitted and all admitted must adhere to social distance requirements, must have appropriately affixed face covering as per our direction and shall not enter the building if they are ill or have been in contact with anyone who is or has been ill in the past 14 days (temperatures will be taken at the door and all must use the library entrance to enter and leave the building).

You may submit a concern or question to council in advance by clicking here and completing the form in full.  While it is not certain, council will likely return to Zoom meetings following the July 15 meeting.

CDC/Forest Hills Guidelines for the
Forest Hills Pool  – 2020

The Forest Hills Pool will re-open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. effective Saturday, July 11th.  Please remember to register every day for a time-slot before you arrive at the pool. Call the pool office, 412-241-2525 between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. to get a time-slot. No calls will be accepted for registration after 10:00 a.m.  Thank you for your patience during this time, enjoy your summer!

All members of the Forest Hills Pool Staff wear masks when working at the pool or speaking with patrons.  Additionally, the bathrooms, railings and surfaces are routinely disinfected with a solution of bleach and water during the swim session as well as in between scheduled swimming sessions. 

Please follow the social distancing that we will have in place. If you have already purchased a pool pass, those will still be honored. As in the past, your tags will be at the pool on the opening day and thereafter.

If you would like to purchase a pool pass, a revised pool application is now on the website here. Please follow the instructions and submit your application and payment to the borough office.
A pre-registration system has been implemented.  You will call the pool office, 412-241-2525  between the hours of 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. and speak with the pool manager or the assistant pool manager to get a time slot.

Complete guidelines and instructions are at this link.

This week, we are anticipating high temperatures to hit the Duquesne Light service territory, and as such, we will be increasing our staffing similarly to how we would during a storm. Even in the absence of a storm, high heat in the summer can lead to increased stress on our electrical system. This stress may lead to outages in our service territory. To deal with anticipated weather and outages, we will be increasing staffing and adding extra shifts in all of our Field Operations work groups.

Duquesne Light only knows of outages that are reported. Customers who experience an outage should call 412-393-7100 to report their outage, or click on the “Report Outage” link on our website. In addition, be sure to follow our Facebook and Twitter pages, as we will post up-to-date alerts regarding outages in our service territory.

The COVID-19 Relief Statewide Small Business Assistance Program is now open. Pennsylvania small businesses with 25 or fewer full-time employees, have annual revenues of $1 million or less, and were economically impacted by COVID-19 are encouraged to apply for relief. Grant awards will range from $5,000 to $50,000. It is not a first-come, first-served program. There will be multiple rounds of application windows, and applications will be prioritized and selected for funding based on the program criteria.

The first application window will open on June 30th and will remain open for ten business days. All eligible businesses must apply through a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in the county that their business is located.

Questions? For any questions, contact DCED’s Customer Service at 1.866.466.3972 or by email

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, UPMC Children’s Community Pediatrics, and Ronald McDonald House Charities of Pittsburgh and  Morgantown are partnering to bring needed vaccines, safely, to western Pennsylvania communities. Read more in the flyer.

DATE: July 22nd
TIME: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
LOCATION:Braddock Civic Plaza – 451 Braddock Ave, Braddock, PA 15104

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to federal and state emergency management restrictions and recommendations, notice is given that all regularly scheduled and advertised meetings of the Council of the Borough of Forest Hills will be modified as follows until further notice. All Council Committee and Business meetings will take place as scheduled at 7:00 p.m. prevailing time. The meetings will remain open to the public but will no longer be conducted at the Forest Hills Borough Building, which is temporarily closed to the public.  Instead, the meetings will be conducted by remote audio and video conference services (Zoom).  Registration information for the audio and video conference registration will be posted on the website and also be posted on the front door of the Borough Building, 4400 Greensburg Pike, Pittsburgh, PA 15221.

If you have an issue that you would like council or the Mayor to address but cannot attend a meeting, please submit your concern or idea to council by calling the borough office at 412-351-7330 and speak to staff or leave a detailed message. All messages submitted will be presented to council for review either in committee or at a business meeting or both. You may also submit your concern or idea to council by completing the form found here.

The crisis also means that council’s meeting schedule may change and that an advertised meeting by council or one of its appointed boards may be cancelled. We will try to keep you updated on that via the website but you should also feel free to call the office at the above number. And please call the office if you have any questions.

For public health and safety concerns due to the Corona Virus the Borough of Forest Hills will now accept credit card payments over the phone.  You may pay your sewage, refuse & fire fee payments by dialing the Borough office at 412.351.7330, ext. 200, 201 or 202.   Please have your account number and credit card information available when you call. You may also pay by credit card by using our website and following these steps: 1. click on Electronic bill paying 2. click on the link to make an electronic payment 3. click on local payments and then follow the prompts.

As a proactive measure due to the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis, the Forest Hills Borough office will close indefinitely to the public and non-essential personnel. The borough does this reluctantly but feels it is necessary to contribute to the self-distancing effort stressed by the CDC and state and local health department officials. The borough’s recreation lodges are also closed.

Staff will continue to work as long as they remain in good health and the borough encourages the public to continue to contact the office during business hours at 412-351-7330 with issues or questions that may arise. The borough continues to provide its usual full services including public safety services and the public works crew will continue its normal duties.

Permits and inspections have been curtailed in compliance with the Governor’s order.  Residents may call the Borough Office to get information however, with limited staff we will do our best to fulfill requests but implore your understanding that it may take time to to answer those requests. Citizens may continue to contact the police department for both emergency and non-emergency matters by calling 911.  At this time the borough council meeting remains scheduled for 7 PM on March 25^th.

A drop box is located at the main entrance to the borough building for payments by check or money order and the borough encourages citizens to continue to use it. Other documents for the borough may be placed there as well. An online payment option is also available through the website.

Forest Hills appreciates your understanding during this difficult time and reminds all to safely check on neighbors and friends.

Council approved an extension on the deadline to pay real estate taxes at 2% discount until 8/31/20. It also waived fees/penalties on late real estate tax payment if paid in full by 12/31/20. The resolution authorizing the extension is available here.

The Census Bureau is still in need of many people to staff their Field and some other positions. They will make job offers and delay training until it is safe and people return back to work. Please watch this video for additional details.

Keystone Tax Helpline: 1-866-539-1100
Online Inquires: https://KeystoneCollects.com/contactus/contactus
eFile: https://efile.KeystoneCollects.com

The following is a link to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) with the latest information on the Coronavirus.

Coronavirus Disease

If you feel ill and are concerned about your health the CDC has provided a tool to help you make decisions about seeking appropriate medical care. The following link will take you to “What To Do If You Are Sick”. Once there click the “Self-Checker” yellow box on the right of the screen. You will answer several questions which will help you to evaluate your situation.

What To Do If You Are Sick

The following is a link to the Allegheny County Health Department with the latest information on the Coronavirus.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus)

ATTENTION!

Mayor Frank Porco has declared a disaster emergency in Forest Hills.  Read the Public Service Announcement from Mayor Porco regarding  the Covid-19 Virus.  This Declaration of Emergency is effective immediately and shall remain in effect until the Declaration is terminated in writing by the Mayor of Forest Hills. The Declaration may be viewed at this link.

During this time of crisis many of our elderly neighbors are unable to leave their homes to shop for food or get their medications.  Please check on your elderly neighbors and see if they need help.

This link contains organizations and programs that deliver resources to those who contact them or enroll in their program.

The Allegheny County Area Agengy on Aging,  offers home support services such as shopping and light housekeeping.  Seniors (60 & older) should call  the DHS Senior Line at 412.350.5460 to register.

A local resource for referral is Eastern Area Adult Services which offers services to seniors.  Their contact information is:

Eastern Area Adult Services
Keystone Commons
607 Braddock Avenue
Turtle Creek, PA 15145

Website: https://eaas.net/

Phone: (412) 829-9250
Email: eaas@eaas.net

The Paycheck Protection Program opened Friday, April 3rd. Applications will be accepted by participating local banks. $347 billion is available nationally, but the expectation is that demand will exceed that amount, and this is a first come first served program. Complete detail including other Small Business Recovery Programs are available at this link.

This map link displays locations of free food resource distribution sites in the region if your family or someone you know is experiencing food insecurity.

This link contains organizations and programs that do not have a “pick up” location, but rather delivers resources to those who contact them or enroll in their program.

Rumors and misinformation can be destructive and can even cause harmful behaviors that increase personal and public health risks. The following links address rumors and any misinformation.

Link to FEMA  https://www.fema.gov/coronavirus-rumor-control

Link to Allegheny County  https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Health-Department/Resources/COVID-19/Rumor-Control.aspx

Please note that all Forest Hills Borough Parks are now CLOSED. The health, safety and welfare of our residents is our top priority. Forest Hills Borough has taken these steps to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community. Forest Hills Borough Council is monitoring this situation – we hope to reopen our parks as soon as possible.
In the meantime, please follow all governmental orders to stay at home and practice social distancing. If we all do our part and work together, we can all get back to some semblance of “normal” sooner than later.
The decision to close our parks was not an easy one, however residents can still get out and walk their dog and go for a walk or a run in our neighborhoods – just please practice appropriate social distancing.
Thanks in advance for your understanding and cooperation during these unprecedented times.
Be sure to check out my page on the Forest Hills Website for additional information and resources related to COVID-19.
Please call or email if you have any questions or concerns at 412-351-7330 ext. 240 or porco@foresthillspa.com

Pick up one of our Centennial mugs while supplies last!

Centennial Mugs are available at the borough office during business hours for only $10 (proceeds used to support the Centennial celebration).  You can purchase by check payable to Borough of Forest Hills or, with cash (exact amount) for the mug only.

Start your day off right! Sip from this great looking mug and support this once in a lifetime event. Get it while it’s hot!