Sharpsburg to launch new community police program with pizza

Sharpsburg Mayor Kayla Portis and the borough police department hope to foster friendly relationships with residents one slice at a time.

They have partnered to present the inaugural Pizza with the Police & Mayor Portis on March 4 at Ketchup City Creative.

Food and drink will be provided by Gino Bros Pizzeria, which is located across the street from the venue.

Portis said community policing was among her priorities when she became mayor last year.

She and police Chief Thomas Stelitano were brainstorming meet-and-greet ideas when they thought of building bonds over pizza.

“It was a collective effort,” Portis. “Gino’s always supports us and we would like to support them back. It’s all about community here in Sharpsburg.

”I don’t know (the possible turnout) since this is our first time doing something of this caliber with food instead of drinks and just coffee and things of that nature. Hopefully, we’ll be surprised and it will be a great turnout.”

The borough had a Coffee with a Cop program years ago when Matthew Rudzki was mayor.

Portis said she expects people to talk about safety, parking and other pressing topics. Several officers and borough social worker Mary Bauer are also expected to attend.

Stelitano sees the new pizza program as an opportunity for officers to interact with the public out of uniform and in a non-emergency setting.

“It lets everybody know that we’re human beings, too,” Stelitano said. “We have families and friends in the borough, and we have hearts and compassion for everybody that lives here.”

Ketchup City Creative, owned by Nanci Goldberg, has hosted a variety of Sharpsburg events through the years.

Portis said Goldberg was her art teacher and has been an outstanding community supporter.

No registration is required. More information is available on the event’s Facebook page.