Concerns about hunting close to Leet neighborhoods have officials looking into adding safety measures and new regulations to the township books.
Current Leet laws do not address hunting on any township property other than Plum Street Park.
That ordinance prohibits any unlawful hunting in that area.
Hunting in the state is regulated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
Its regulations include no hunting, trapping, taking or disturbing wildlife within 150 yards of any occupied structure without permission of the occupants. The safety zone is reduced to 50 yards for licensed bow hunters.
Township residents in the Quaker Heights housing plan say they have heard gunshots in the woods behind the plan, and one said they saw a hunter dragging a deer nearby last year.
Paul Magee, who lives in the plan, brought his neighbors’ concerns to township officials in early December.
Township commissioners, including Magee, who was sworn in this month, discussed having “no hunting” areas Jan. 12.
“I’m not against hunting at all,” Magee said Jan. 13. “Certainly, we have a deer problem. I’d like to make sure they are hunting within the rules.”
The woods residents spoke about is a 47-acre parcel that was sold to the township for $1 in August 2005 by R&S Land Co., according to online Allegheny County real estate records.
The land stretches into the township’s Fair Oaks neighborhood, part of the Leet Acres housing plan and into Leetsdale.
Commissioners President Martin McDaniel said signage will likely be installed to alert hunters to safety zones as the first step to addressing residents’ public safety concerns.
He was also open to creating a new ordinance and having a public hearing on the matter.
“Some of the people are getting nervous about danger,” McDaniel said Jan. 13.
No specific rules were discussed by township officials this month.
Magee said he plans to contact the state Game Commission for more information.
“If the township puts in ordinances that are too restrictive and go against the Game Commission regulations, then the Game Commission regulations take precedent,” Magee said. “You do have to be careful about that.”
Leet police Chief Brian Jameson said it has been at least a year since his department received any hunting complaints.
Should one be filed, officers would work to identify the hunters and call the Game Commission to investigate.
“We’re not trained in hunting regulations,” Jameson said. “It’s not regulated by municipal police. It’s regulated by the Game Commission.”
A call to the Game Commission seeking comment Jan. 13 was not returned.
In other business
• The township commissioners unanimously voted to extend an agreement with Solicitor Stephen Chesney, who is relaunching his own practice this month after working for the firm James D. Amato & Associates the past few years.
The vote was taken following an executive session to discuss legal representation Jan. 12.
McDaniel said the hope is to work out a long-term deal with Chesney provided he can come up with malpractice insurance and a legal partner to handle meetings and other township business should the solicitor become ill or unable to work.
Chesney has served Leet since 2020. He has worked as an attorney since 2013.
Current legal services costs are a $200 monthly legal retainer and $150 per hour.
Chesney, who was not at the January meeting, talked via phone about what it is like working with Leet leaders.
“Everyone works together,” he said Jan. 12. “They’ve done a lot to bring everything up to speed. … When you have a good board that wants to do the right thing, my job’s easy.
“If they expect to hear what they want to hear all the time, then they’ve got the wrong person. I’m just going to tell them what the law is and that’s it. The minute I don’t do that, then my opinion isn’t trustworthy.”
• The commissioners also approved the purchase of a new Ford SUV for the police department.
Jameson said they are buying the new vehicle from Laurel Auto Group for $44,765. It will be paid for though a three-year loan through First National Bank.
The purchase is through COSTARS, the state’s cooperative purchasing program that helps municipalities get the best price on goods and services.
The SUV replaces a 2020 Dodge Durango that the department plans to sell to help offset costs.
Jameson said he expects the new vehicle to be received in 12 weeks. Its fittings and decals are still being finalized.
Leet Township Police Department has three vehicles in its fleet, including the Durango.