McKeesport promotes Angert to captain of patrol

The city has been promoting and hiring new officers for the police force.

During Wednesday’s council meeting, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko announced the hiring of a new captain of patrol, continuing a recent trend of new hires for the McKeesport Police Department.

Officer Fran Angert was promoted as the new captain of patrol. Cherepko told the Mon Valley Independent that Angert’s yearly salary would be $93,772.05.

“He’s someone who has always done his job and held his position with the utmost respect and dignity,” Cherepko said about Angert. “And with this move, it really put us in a good position for Chief (Josh) Alfer, Assistant Chief (Sidney) Summers, and, of course, Capt. Nick Matthews. And with this final piece, it will really give the stability that we need with the leadership of this department.”

Alfer was promoted to chief in July, and Summers and Matthews were promoted to their positions in September.

Along with Alfer’s promotion in July, the city also hired two new police officers, Robert Roche and John McFadden. The city has also been making promotions within its fire department.

Cherepko said the city has experienced significant turnover in its police leadership in recent years, but he hopes that Angert and other leadership can bring some stability to the department. Cherepko added that the captain of patrol position had been vacant for some time.

According to Cherepko, the captain of patrol is in charge of overseeing patrol units within the police department. Cherepko said that Angert will also be working on community outreach for the department.

“Obviously, our patrol is our front line; that’s our front line of our police protection,” he said. “And to have his expertise and experience there in that position will be an incredible asset for all the patrol, but especially the leadership on that patrol.

“Fran is someone that’s well known in the community. He attends lots of the events that go on now, and this will be an opportunity for us to kind of schedule him accordingly, where he can make sure that he’s at these events representing the city.”

LSA grants

In other business, council approved applying for three statewide Local Share Account grants from gaming revenue to go towards three city projects. All of the motions for the grants were unanimously approved.

The first LSA application was for $400,000, which will go towards the Spring Street connection project. The second was for another $400,000 grant to go towards the McKeesport Neighborhood Preservation project that aims to combat blight within the city.

The third application is for $250,000 that will be used for the Renziehausen Park Tennis Court and Trails project. According to Cherepko, the tennis court project could cost around $750,000, but they’ve already received a $500,000 grant from the Allegheny Regional Asset District, and the city plans to also apply for another grant through the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.