Fox Chapel residents who are impacted by the impending name change of Squaw Run Road and Squaw Run East will get $250 from borough tax dollars to offset costs and compensate them for inconveniences.

Council on Jan. 18 approved the stipend, saying anyone who can prove financial hardship will be eligible for an extra $250. Councilperson Thomas Karet abstained.

Councilperson Mandy Steele opposed because she said Squaw is a slur that is being removed for the good of the community.

“If I lived on a street with a racial slur and my municipality decided to remove it, never in my wildest dreams would I think I would get a cash gift for the inconvenience,” Steele said.

“Most changes to utility bills and other things can be made online. At most, it will cost about $12 to order new checks.”

Financial reimbursement was among several items council discussed related to the name changes, which is expected to be voted on later this spring.

In all, about 40 properties will be impacted, including Christ Church Fox Chapel and Shady Side Academy Country Day School.

Suggestions so far for new road names include Seneca Run, Fox Run and Chapel Run, among others.

Council is working with staff at Cooper-Siegel Community Library to establish a help desk related to necessary paperwork.

Council member Betsy Monroe said the borough has no obligation to offset costs incurred by residents for the name change but that council wants to do the right thing and help where they can.

She said many will have little cost other than buying new address numbers while others might have to change legal documents and business stationery.

She suggested residents request the reimbursement but Karet said the flat rate should be sent to all 40 properties.

Karet said the $250 could never compensate homeowners for the time it will take to arrange the name changes.

It is a small token of recognition, he said, adding that it would be adding insult to injury to ask them to submit receipts.

Council agreed that there are likely some residents who would decline the $250 payment.

For those cases, a letter accompanying the checks will request the money be donated back to the borough’s parks or fire department.

In extreme cases where people have experienced income loss due to the covid-19 pandemic, council said residents can request up to an additional $250 reimbursement with proof of costs.

Steele said that spending $10,000 to $20,000 of taxpayer money is unnecessary considering the roads are being renamed for the good of the community.

“It’s a lot of money and I think it’s a stretch to ask our taxpayers to pay some of our wealthiest residents an arbitrary amount of money for our borough removing an established slur,” she said.

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