As part of a busy agenda Thursday, Homestead council voted unanimously to appeal to state Supreme Court a Commonwealth Court ruling in a complicated case. It involves the borough, GAI Consultants Inc. and parties to the Waterfront tax increment financing agreement. The 1998 TIF agreement involved Homestead, Munhall and West Homestead boroughs, Steel Valley School District and Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County as well as Waterfront Partners LLC. Under the agreement, the county, the school district and the three boroughs agreed to deposit positive tax increments from the Waterfront in a bank account established by the redevelopment authority. Commonwealth Court was dealing with two separate 2012 cases combined into one in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. In one, GAI sued for a $34,535 property tax refund from Homestead based on an Allegheny County reassessment of its Waterfront offices from $10.137 million to $6.684 million. In the other, Steel Valley filed a declaratory action seeking a county court ruling that the redevelopment authority had the contractual duty to pay any assessment appeal refunds on Waterfront area properties out of the TIF fund. Munhall and Allegheny County joined the school district in asserting that the authority was required to make reimbursements on Waterfront property appeals dating to 2001. In a series of 2014 decisions, Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Alan D. Hertzberg ruled in GAI's favor, then ruled for Munhall, Steel Valley and the county in the matter of refunds from the TIF fund dating to 2001. Homestead appealed, saying refunds of pre-2010 assessment appeals were barred by the statute of limitations. Commonwealth Court upheld Hertzberg's rulings. The borough has learned that there's been a delay in a development on the other side of the railroad tracks from the Waterfront. Council president Lloyd Cunningham said Aldi is revamping its corporate model, meaning that the store it is taking over from Bottom Dollar Food won't open until December or January. Nonetheless, council voted 6-0 to approve a certificate of appropriateness for the new Aldi along Seventh Avenue, contingent upon installation of faux windows to cover air conditioning fixtures as recommended by the Historic Architectural Review Board. Council vice president Barbara Broadwater was absent. Councilors Drew Borcik, Wanda Burwell, Lynette Mariner, Susan Titmus and Donald Turner joined Cunningham in a string of unanimous votes Thursday. That included council's reaction to better economic news from the South Hills Area Council of Governments purchasing alliance. Council approved the COG's deal with Cargill to buy salt for $69.29 per ton in the winter of 2015-16, a $10 per ton reduction from 2014-15. “Our negotiating people this year have done us well,� Cunningham said. Council renewed borough insurance policies as brokered by Allegheny Professional Insurance Agency for $301,217. It adopted the newest version of the International Property Maintenance Code with revised penalties and fines for violations. It granted Clark Memorial Baptist Church permission to close off East Thirteenth Avenue between Glenn and Ann streets next week for a Vacation Bible School being conducted from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. And it approved closure of West Street between Sixth and Seventh avenues — that is, the area under the Homestead Grays Bridge — from noon until midnight Oct. 10 for an annual Pumpkin Festival. Patrick Cloonan is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-664-9161, ext. 1967, or pcloonan@tribweb.com. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.