The compost pile in Robb Hollow Park is Mt. Lebanon's "dirty little secret," Pinewood Drive resident Mary D'Angelo said.

At Monday night's Mt. Lebanon municipal meeting, Mrs. D'Angelo, her husband, Bob, and a handful of other residents, including urged commissioners to remove the mulch pile, which they said smells and is adversely affecting their health.

The compost pile is in a cleared space in the park about 230 feet behind the D'Angelos' house. Last week, the couple gathered about 40 of their neighbors, as well as Commission President John Daley, Allegheny County council member Vince Gastgeb and a staffer from state Rep. Matt Smith's office to talk about a solution.

Mrs. D'Angelo, 63, suffers from lupus, an auto-immune disease, and said the machinery noise adds to her fatigue. Mr. D'Angelo, 74, said he never had allergies until he moved to their Mt. Lebanon house three years ago. But now he does, and at night, he has difficulty breathing.

Using strong language, they voiced their grievances Monday during the resident comments portion of the meeting.

"Anyone with a nose, eyes and ears can immediately recognize that you are destroying our green belt as well as polluting our air, the earth and our water," Mrs. D'Angelo said. "Shouldn't your first concern be providing a safe and clean environment for all people in Mt. Lebanon? How dare you disregard our health and persist in destroying a park."

Other neighbors had similar complaints, but the D'Angelos have been the driving force behind the creation of the informal group Friends of Robb Hollow Park, which they aim to establish as a nonprofit organization.

Residents of Mt. Lebanon receive the municipality's leaf-removal service. But the D'Angelos have been displaying green ribbons around Mt. Lebanon to tell residents, most of whom do not live close enough to smell the pile, that their Cedarhurst neighborhood is negatively impacted by the compost pile.

They've brought the issue to the commission's attention before, and the commission has explored leaf-composting options that have higher financial costs for the municipality. Mr. Daley said Monday there was no overnight fix to the problem, but he promised to continue working with the residents to resolve the issue.

"I'm determined to see that we get a solution to the problem," Mr. Daley said.

On Monday, the D'Angelos said the Robb Hollow Park operation is in violation of Allegheny County Health Department regulations as well as the Pennsylvania code.

"I respectfully remind you that as elected commissioners your first responsibility is not to the budget but to provide a healthy and safe community," Mr. D'Angelo said. "Is living in Mt. Lebanon like living in Mayberry? No. Living in Cedarhurst is more like living in Skunk Hollow. We would have never expected something like this in Mt. Lebanon."

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