It's a property that we identified for them that's empty at the moment and you could literally put another building right inside it, I believe.
It's a really good idea. We're real interested in it and we're talking to them.
Okay. And the other thing is just the companies that you mentioned that were the top three to Councilman Jones, can you tell me how long they've been City contractors?
I will certainly look that up for you and I'll be happy to provide that, along with the 186 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. list of other companies.
You just cited them sort of as success stories and I wondered whether they were MBEC success stories or OEO success stories.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Thank you. I'm going to be brief, but I wanted to follow the line of questioning of Councilman Clarke, as it was a conversation that we had. How do we create gateway opportunities for Allegheny and Lehigh, as I've tried to say, for business opportunities that lead up to the casinos? And I guess the ask is going to 187 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. be -- because last week I had a meeting with different developers who called 4 me to the table and said, We're doing a 5 lot of investment in and around the 6 corridor, in and around -- many of them 7 own a lot of the tract of land leading up 8 on Lehigh and Allegheny, and one of the 9 things that they asked me was the ability 10 to get in front of Commerce, RDA and 11 others so that you could see the private 12 stuff that they were doing and how you could build that into a plan. So going back to Councilman Clarke's point, I think we need to be a little bit more proactive on some of these. And obviously I'll set it up, but I think that there is a lot of people that are already investing in those areas, doing a lot of mixed development stuff, and I think we need the Planning Commission in particular, but Commerce as it relates to job creation and commercial opportunities needs to create some forms for some of these folks, because I think 188 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. part of what we'll see is, they're going to do this investment anyway. The issue is how do we get some skin in the game by facilitating some of that and then shaping it so that it meets some of the other plans. So I think there are a lot of great people out there, and I am going to schedule that, and I know you'll be gracious enough to sit through it, but I found some very interesting small guys who have been doing a lot of good stuff really just out of the radar.
We want to know. I mean, Councilmembers are part 17 of the extended business development plan, and so we're very interested in hearing about it.
Absolutely. And I think that if we could be a little bit more proactive and facilitate just like we do with anything, any developments that we feel are going to help us leverage that casino 189 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. development, we should be looking at that. And for me, that I'm on the other side of it, I've tried to encourage folks to look at Allegheny and Lehigh as gateways and what does that look like and what do we need to do to support that. So I'll follow up with that. I wanted to talk a little bit -- unlike the other departments, in your details you provide no distribution for your Hotel Tax and all of the different places where you do purchase of services, and I want to request that that be submitted to the Chair. We have $41 million in Hotel Tax. How does that get distributed? Who does it get distributed to? In your Neighborhood Services Division, 4.1 million. In Commerce there's 17 million and then 10 million, and even our purchase of services to PIDC. I think it's important. I think that helps us capture the type of work that you're doing and with who you're doing it and -- 190 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
I'd be happy to provide that. I should point out that the Hotel Tax is a pure passthrough. We're simply a financial agent to pass money through to other organizations.
In the budget detail it says "entities." So my understanding it was always GPTMC, but on here you put "entities." So that says to me there might be somebody else that I'm unaware of that's getting some of the Hotel Tax number.
And then it would be an interesting exercise of all of those purchase of services that we're doing, who are we contracting and how do they fall into the scope of our MBE, WBE goals, because that's quite a bit of money. In your department alone, it's close to a hundred million dollars in passthrough.
So on 191 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. the one hand, you say you don't have a lot of contracted services. On another you're a fiscal agent, so a hundred million dollars in purchasing powers. So I'd be interested to see how that plays out. And then on the business model perspective, how are we doing -- and I've asked this of other departments. How are we doing on our ability to get contracts out on a timely basis, conform them? I know that last year we were like on from a January 1st to a September. Are we going to be doing better this year? What is our expected --
We are doing better in terms of turning around our number of contracts. We have a much better handle on what we did last year this time. We clearly know where they are in the queue. We know who is accountable for what. And that's Sade's responsibility. She's done a wonderful, wonderful job there, and I can assure you that we're very much 192 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. moving those contracts forward.
So what's going to be our goal this year? Last year we were like on 90, 120 days. Where are we now?
I just think if we're going to set a business model and we're engaging in the business market, that we also practice some good business.
It's an important point and it's one of the kinds of things that deters a lot of firms from wanting to do business with the City.
Right. Absolutely. That's all. Thank you, Madam Chair.
193 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Goode.
Thank you, Madam President. I have one more OEO question, then I have two other Commerce Department questions, and this question is actually the most important. How often will we receive updates on the level of participation?
We are required to provide you with the third quarter year-to-date participation report by, I guess it's, June 1st. And so we will be providing you with that information. And we're working with the Finance Department and the Procurement Department, along with the Department of Technology, to see if we can't put systems in place that will enable us to get information in a more timely fashion that clearly reflects what's happening in terms of participation in contracts that 194 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. we execute for the City.
She said annually and we're going to try to, through the use of technology, make it more than annually, but she did not say quarterly.
I'm sorry, Councilman Goode. I think I need to clarify. What I was talking about was the third quarter report that I wanted to provide to you by June 1st. That does not mean that I'm only going to provide an annual report. We will be reporting on a quarterly basis and more frequently, if possible.
Okay. So we have a commitment for at least quarterly 195 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. reporting?
Through Council -- well, we'll have conversations with individual Councilmembers, but we would typically give that through Council leadership, is how we typically give reporting. We are open to any which way you want us to deliver that information.
Because you also said in previous testimony that you would post it on your website, Mr. Dow.
Absolutely. I mean, that's almost assumed for us in that regard.
Okay. Fine. 196 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Two other Commerce Department questions. Mr. Greenberger, can you provide an update on the market of the Job Creation Tax Credit for 2010, 2011 and how businesses are made aware the credit has increased to $3,000 for those two years?
Yeah. I can't give you the update on how it's gone. I actually don't know. I'd be happy to do the research and get back to you on that. As to the --
Just kindly send that in a written response through the Chair. Also add to that whether it's being marketed in conjunction with the Obama job tax credit, and if not, why. The second question is, can you provide an update on the marketing of the Small Business Loan Guarantee Program, how we're making businesses aware that we actually have a loan guarantee program.
One of the 197 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. ways -- and you tell me if I'm misinterpreting the question. A lot of the loan programs that were to small businesses happened originally through PCDC. That has now been folded into PIDC. They have another name for it. Eventually the PCDC name won't stick to it anymore, but --
Mr. Greenberger, there's a specific program, the Emerging Business Guarantee Program, which is a loan guarantee program that I pushed for. I'm specifically talking about that local loan guarantee program. Are people aware of it, how are we making people aware of it and how is it being marketed?
In all of our -- through the Office of Business Services primarily, but also through all the activities that we do in our Business Attraction Outreach Office, we include what we essentially call Tool Chest. These are the things that are available 198 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. to us. We have new marketing materials that list all -- not specifically, but where they access the financing opportunities, which includes that. New Business Portal, which we've just recently launched over the last few months, that also is a vehicle that we're now utilizing to drive people to the Internet in that regard. When PIDC goes out and does its individual outreach sessions, it's done a number of them particularly around the tax credit programs, tax amnesty.
I guess my question is for businesses that are truly hurting, still recovering from the economic recession, are there particular products that we should be highlighting, like an enhanced job creation tax credit, which only exists for two years, and a loan guarantee program, which in many cases may be the only way they can have access to capital and credit?
And whether there is any specific marketing plan for that loan guarantee program.
I would say not at this time there's no specific one for that marketing program. I would say what we have now is a general marketing direction that we do for all of our initiatives so that we could get everything out there, because we have a number of programs that offer opportunities and assistance for small business and it's inclusive of that.
But for businesses that might specifically require a loan guarantee, how many might be unaware not only because your general business information is not reaching them, but because they assume that there has never been a local loan guarantee program, that a local loan guarantee program would not exist?
And so -- you're absolutely right. So, I mean, what we 200 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. find that we have to do in order to achieve that is to educate a lot more. So working with our chambers, we tell them that we have this product when we sit and meet with them. We tell them that this is out there. Again, at this point, it would be remiss of me to say specifically about that program. We can begin to do that in the areas that we influence, particularly with the Office of Economic Opportunity, where we are now engaged in their world that much more often, in our outreach sessions there, begin to highlight those particular projects.
I could go through the exercise of saying how many people have applied for the loan guarantee, but instead of saying that, I just simply say that anyone who would be looking for a loan guarantee or the number of people who will be looking for a loan guarantee, if they were aware of it, they would jump at it. 201 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. I'll try and be brief, although I got a bunch of questions. Maybe we'll get you on callbacks. In the first -- I guess FY10, there were a number of references in terms of accomplishments, and I believe a significant number of them are overlaps from the prior Administration.
The $70 million in Small Business Support Program, what is that? Where is the 70 million coming from?
That's a combination 202 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. of a number of different programs that we support and we put through the Commerce Department. So you have the Retail Incentive Grant Program, Storefront Improvement Program. These are all -- the Restore Targeted Facade Programs that we have, gap financing, which is something that we created in this Administration, the Greenworks Program.
How much of that 70 million are new dollars and not reoccurring dollars that come from prior programs or prior opportunities?
I think most of that is new. I mean, when you say "reoccurring," we go and through our --
I'm saying reoccurring, I mean, is this new money identified from other sources or is it money that was out there that was given a different name?
No. I hear what you're saying. So the Facade Program, that's a program that's been around for a 203 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. while. The Targeted Neighborhood Corridor Management Technical Assistance, that's been around for a little while. But if you look at the gap financing, that's new.
One of my staff was just doing a quick summary. About 30 million of it is new money, new money.
For example, $13 million is a relatively new program, Recovery Zone Facility bonds. I think that was announced maybe two months ago.
Recovery Zone Facility bonds, that's a federal program. 204 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. It's federal money.
All right. How much of the 30 are stimulus-related dollars?
So this is stuff that came from the Obama Administration?
Somewhat formula driven. Different states and cities got money.
And of the commercial corridor dollars, I'm assuming that's pretty much dollars that were made available as a result of the commercial corridor bond?
A combination. So we have commercial corridor, we have the bond program, yes. We have the Commercial Corridor Managers Program, which is an annual basis where we reallocate --
Let me tell you where I'm going with this. And I understand if you come in the office, you got the money, you spend it, you take credit for it, because you want to take credit -- you want to take the blame for 206 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. stuff that happened from prior Administrations. I understand all of that. My concern is that, particularly as it relates to the commercial corridor bond financing, a number of -- and I can speak for my district, but my assumption is that it could be in other Council districts where there were varying degrees of funding and a lot of it had to do with planning of different stages, and when we were getting into that program, while we were laying out plans -- I take Fairmount Avenue as an example. We went through an extensive process with community participation and laying out a plan, but at the end of that, there's no 18 dollars to implement the plan. And my question is, as it relates to this Administration as we move to FY11 initiatives, I don't really see any money associated with most of the initiatives. Are we looking at -- and I understand we have a financial problem at this point, budget driven, but are we looking at 207 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. possibly coming up with some new initiatives that will actually put more real money, dollars, be it through a bond initiative or be it through some other sort of long-term substantial funding, to continue these programs? Because what happens, if you don't institutionalize a lot of these programs, when the new Administration comes in, that program goes away, but at the end of the day, there were a lot of things in place that people participated in and I got to now, based on what I see, tell the people on Fairmount Avenue and a couple of the other commercial corridors that, Well, we had a nice planning process, but there's really no money to implement what the plan called for. So my question is, from a policy perspective, is the Administration's -- I guess the Administration's proposal or strategy to ultimately look at an aggressive substantial dollars to implement either 208 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. these programs or new programs of a similar nature? And if Councilwoman Blackwell was here, she would ask you are we going to do an NTI 2. I mean, I know that's -- so that's the kind of thing. I mean, we've kind of gotten people used to being aggressive, and people love the new sidewalks and the businesspeople and lighting, but then it just stops. So I guess from a policy perspective, will you be recommending in out years --
Obviously to the extent that money can be made available. Yeah, you're looking over in the right direction as well, but he's not looking up.
I see the man over there. He zoned out of that conversation.
But do we want to do that? Absolutely. Obviously we're limited by our ability to go into the bond market and to get resources. But one of the things we have been fairly 209 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. successful at -- it doesn't answer the specific question about Fairmount Avenue.
Well, let me add to that, because in the Five Year Plan -- this is based on the current budget proposal -- I see that there is an aggressive push to go back to tax reduction programs. So I put that caveat in there also. You do project that you will have money in out years.
Right, and obviously the Five Year Plan, it is a PICA requirement, so we have to show what we're doing, but obviously the Plan every year has to be revisited and reconsidered based on how the economy is doing. What I wanted to say is, there are grants being gotten, and those aren't coming by formula. Some of those are coming by competitive process. I think I can say this, because it should have happened already. Nine o'clock this morning we were awarded -- the City of Philadelphia was awarded a $25 million 210 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Department of Energy grant through both the Mayor's Office of Sustainability and through my office, Deputy Mayor's Office, to really -- and it was a competitive grant offered, I think, to cities to 7 basically do both large- and small-scale 8 energy retrofits of buildings. 9 Now, my only point in saying 10 it, aside that it's good news, is that it 11 was a competitive process. 12
I 13 understand that, and that's the 14 traditional way where we respond to 15 NOFAs. 16
My question 18 is, are we going, "we" the City of 19 Philadelphia, going to aggressively go 20 out with a strategy to get money from 21 whatever source, if it requires borrowing 22 or some other creative financing tool, to 23 continue what you're saying was good 24 things as relates to commercial corridors 25 and other activity? 211 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
To the extent that we can -- and that guy over there needs to look up again, but it's obviously a function of what is the City's capacity to do that, which we don't control obviously. But do we want to do it? Absolutely we want to do it.
May I add, one key way that we could do that right now is through the Consolidated Plan and Community Development Block Grant funding. We allocate additional resources to the economic development side of the ledger there that will allow us to continue those programs like you've mentioned on Fairmount Avenue and Germantown Avenue.
All right. I'm not going to belabor it, because I know we have to go to break. That's -- and I don't mean to be critical, but that's a traditional style of thinking, a little here, a little there, and I guess I'm somewhat spoiled because we decided 212 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. to get aggressive on development in neighborhoods and we went out and as opposed to doing some other things, we said we're going to get real money for these neighborhoods, and that's the approach I would like to see us talk about, at a minimum talk about. If we're going to talk about it in an uptick in the economy, do we talk about continuing to invest in our communities? Because I believe that, one, obviously that's where people live. Two, I believe that's what really grows the City. Because if you look at the demographics associated with the people that are leaving the City, the people that are leaving the City live in these outlying neighborhoods. It's not an aggressive abandonment approach from the Center City areas. The population in Center City is actually increasing. So we're losing people out in these neighborhoods. So that's kind of where I'm going, if we continue the neighborhood 213 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. approach in terms of maintaining and enhancing our population base in the City of Philadelphia.
It's also why those neighborhoods I think need particular attention, because they -- I mean, the move -- you can track the movement patterns, and to the extent that -- for example, if you track the foreclosure patterns, you see it very clearly in the neighborhoods that people from the most inner part moved a little further out, bought bigger houses, got under, and that's where the foreclosures are in the City, by and large.
Exactly. That's the kind of direction. Okay. Thank you. Thanks, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Yes, Madam 214 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. President. Thank you. I was looking for more detailed testimony regarding PIDC and the work that they are doing down at the Naval Shipyard, particularly again around the MBE, WBE. So can we be given a brief update on the work going on down at the Naval Shipyard, please, from the leadership?
Yeah. If I can, let me get back to you on that. I don't have that at my fingertips, but I'll be happy to get you a report on that.
PIDC is here, if you would want them to respond.
I apologize. 215 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. I saw him walk out. I didn't see him walk back in.
That's fine. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. Peter Longstreth, the President of Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. I'm happy to be here. I'll give just a very quick summary of the sort of status of the Navy Yard and then maybe focus on the MBE, WBE experience at PIDC, which is largely at the Navy Yard. As I trust you're all recollecting, with the downsize in the military in the late '90s, the 1,000-acre Navy Yard and a number of other properties in South Philadelphia were conveyed to the City of Philadelphia, really technically to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development on 216 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. behalf of the City, and PIDC was given responsibility for essentially redeveloping those assets. As it related to the Navy Yard, our initial focus was on some of the industrial assets and the infrastructure. We developed a master plan that was rolled out about 2004 that envisions essentially as many as 30,000 new jobs, $2 or $3 billion of investment. And in the first ten years of ownership, in fact a hundred million dollars of investment in infrastructure has leveraged about $400 million of private investment, which includes 70 or 80 companies, about 7,000 employees and three specific areas of investment, one in the industrial side where the Aker Shipyard, the Navy itself, most recently Tastykake, are all very active in growing. On the office side, Liberty Property Trust developing its own corporate center there with, on the other side, renovation of many of the beautiful historic buildings by the likes of Urban 217 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Outfitters, which when they moved down there two years ago had 500 jobs. They now have about 1,100. And then finally a research and development sector development, which is being led in part by the Ben Franklin Technology Partners. So a whole lot of activity at the Navy Yard right now, and I'm pleased that I had the opportunity to comment on that. In terms of PIDC's MBE and WBE activity, I would sort of say that we've had a very useful and productive partnership with OEO and with MBEC before that and have been able to achieve some very satisfactory numbers. More specifically on the MBE side, about 18 percent during 2009 and on the WBE side, 19 about 14 percent. So they're really very 20 satisfactory numbers. Once again, the Navy Yard represents the majority of the contracting activity at PIDC.
Okay. Well, that's what I wanted to hear, the numbers, so that they're on the record, 218 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. and it suggests -- it's evidence that when the leadership pushes the needle, things happen. So I simply needed to have that on the record.
And I just would really emphasize that this is a partnership with OEO and everything we do is with their participation and their guidance, and I think that's been part of the recipe for success.
Lastly, speak to the -- update us on the Smart City, Smart Choice initiative.
It's the brochure that you're talking about? We worked with PIDC, a number of our different partners, through our Business Attraction Unit. We had never had a particular piece of marketing material for our own development, for our own that talked about specifically for Philadelphia. So through the partnership there, we created this brochure. It's very nice, very, very well descriptive of what the City of 219 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Philadelphia has to offer. We developed it initially as a business attraction piece and now use it as a business retention tool. So we have -- if you've seen it, we can put inserts inside of it. So we developed our own inserts that will allow us to talk about the various programs as we want to begin to market and increase the usage of those particular initiatives and products.
That's okay. We will make sure that every Councilmember gets a copy of this thing. It's really a very handsome document.
And I 220 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. don't recall reading this in the testimony. It's not to suggest it's not here. Do we now have a one-stop shop for a business where they can come to one place and from A to Z learn all the fees that are attached to that, et cetera, that move them to becoming a bona fide for-profit?
Absolutely. It's called the Office of Business Services. We have multiple channels for interaction, but definitely have that in place now. Multiple channels of interaction, which is the Portal. They can interact with us through the Internet. They can come through and ask questions that way. We also have a service line, which is directly related to businesses who want to talk to somebody live. We have that. We divide up the geography of the City of Philadelphia into six different areas. If you are in 19131 out in West Philadelphia and you look up there, you 221 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. call up, we would assign somebody who is assigned to that geography there.
Okay, then. Thank you all for your testimony. Thank you, Madam President.
Seeing none, thank you all so very much. You've been extremely patient.
Thank you. The Committee will stand in recess until 2:15, at which time we will then hear from the Office of Arts and Culture. Thank you very much. (Short luncheon recess.)
Good afternoon. The Committee of the Whole is 222 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. now back in session. We will now hear from the Office of Arts and Culture. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon, President Verna. Would you like me to read the testimony or try and summarize it?
I'm just getting a copy of it. I'd like to see how much of a book it is. No. I will give a copy of your testimony to the stenographer. It will be transcribed in full. If you would abbreviate your testimony, we'd appreciate it. Thank you. And I'm sure you were here earlier. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting and I thank you for your patience.
I understand. It's my job. I'm the Chief Cultural Officer, Gary Steuer, and Director of the Office 223 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, and I'm here today to present testimony on the Office and its proposed Operating Budget for Fiscal Year 2011, and I'm joined by Deputy Cultural Officer Moira Baylson. The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy adopted its own budget last year in Fiscal 2010 after consolidating programs and services from multiple departments. The mission of the Office is to improve access to the arts for both residents and visitors, expand arts education, oversee all the City's arts programs, support growth and development of the City's arts, culture and creative economy sector. Our FY10 accomplishments, I'd like to speak a bit to those. After being re-established in October 2008, the Office has successfully consolidated the Public Art Program, Art in City Hall, and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and 224 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. cultural development and creative economy efforts into one office. We're actually very near to completing an office renovation in Room 116 in City Hall, where all seven staff members would relocate, and this space would also house, in addition to our administrative offices, a brand new Art Gallery in City Hall, a public space that will serve both as an exhibition space and a space to highlight arts and culture events in the City, a true extension of what's happening here. Approximately $30,000 of private funding was secured to pay for the renovations of that space. So no 17 City money went to that. And we also look to keep it as green as possible.
I'm sorry. What room number did you say that was?
Room 116. It's where the Mayor's Action Center used to be, right on the first floor, on the same hallway as the Education Office. So 225 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. we're excited about that synergy with our education partners.
You're welcome. 9 million, 87 percent of the funding went out in the form of grants to the cultural sector. The Office's administrative costs, approximately half a million dollars, is essentially spent on personnel. Very few of the programs and initiatives operating out of the Office are funded with General Fund dollars. We are committed to leveraging the City's investment in the arts with other public and private sources. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Philadelphia Cultural Fund will distribute a little over $3 million to 238 Philadelphia cultural organizations, and as part of that, in partnership with the Office, a new grant program has been created in 2010 called the Youth 226 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Enrichment Program that will distribute $350,000 in grants to existing Cultural Fund recipients who have exemplary youth arts programs. This is essentially our attempt to help ensure that this program addresses the City's significant challenges with youth. The Office was involved with two American Recovery and Reinvestment Act initiatives in Fiscal Year 2010. With the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, we jointly applied for and received $250,000 in NEA Recovery funding for the retentions of jobs in the arts, and we distributed grants of $15,000 and $25,000 to ten diverse Philadelphia arts organizations. And through a partnership with the Office of Housing and Community Development and the Department of Commerce, we created a $500,000 grant program for the creative sector from the City's $14 million allocation of CDBG Recovery funds. In March, these Creative 227 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Industry Workforce grants ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 were awarded to eight creative businesses for the construction or renovation of affordable artist workspaces and multi-tenant spaces and performance space. These grants for capital improvements will stimulate temporary construction jobs, but the projects were also selected based on their capacity to create permanent jobs serving low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. And this exciting new program is actually already serving as a model for the use of CDBG funds for looking at the arts and how they can affect neighborhoods. On our Public Art Program, with the collection of over a thousand pieces, we commissioned new works of permanent public art through the City's Percent for Art ordinance, which was established in 1959 by this body and oversees preservation and maintenance of the City's public art collection. 228 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Currently, there are eight Percent for Art projects in various stages of development. These include site-specific paintings for the Philadelphia Youth Study Center in West Philadelphia and hand-carved polished granite seating elements for the Venice Island Recreation Center in Manayunk. And I want to note also that actually just installed today is the newly restored, stabilized and regilded 120-year-old Fairmount Park landmark the Joan of Arc statue at 25th Street and Kelly Drive. That will be actually dedicated tomorrow, and that was funded by City capital dollars and a grant from the French Heritage Society. We also actually in implementing the findings of a study that was recently completed on our Public Art Program and actually the City's entire public art system, we have launched new tours of the public art collection. That's a partnership with the Mural Arts 229 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Program, where we will be having tours that combine both murals and the City's public art collection. Now on to Art in City Hall. Since 1992, this program has presented exhibitions that showcase contemporary artwork by professional and emerging Philadelphia visual artists. These cover a wide array of mediums and techniques, and the program really strives to link visual artists to the larger community to provide the public with greater knowledge and appreciation of artistic achievements.
Emerging artists include art from Philadelphia public schools, community non-profits and other City agencies, and it actually includes an exhibition highlighting art from City of Philadelphia employees and their families. The program does about eight shows a year. It features many partnerships. One example is, last year Fairmount Park and Moore College of Art teamed up to present a juried exhibition 230 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. inspired by the five historic homes in Fairmount Park. And the Art in City Hall Program is supported by an independent Art Advisory Council, and support for the entire exhibition's budget for Art in City Hall is made up of private donations. For our FY11 initiatives, we anticipate the official opening of the Art Gallery in City Hall in late spring to be accompanied by announcement of six planned exhibitions for the new space. This summer the Office will issue a report funded by the William Penn Foundation on the health and vitality of the creative economy with a new tool called the Creative Vitality Index, known as CVI, and this is really a framework for looking at the health of the City's creative economy and will also allow us to track change over time, which is very, very important, so we can measure our results. We also plan to launch an 231 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. annual version of the Creative Industry Workforce Grant Program previously funded through the Recovery CDBG as part of the City's Consolidated Plan and will provide details of this program with our partners, OHCD and Commerce, at the Consolidated Plan hearing. This summer, the Art in City Hall Program with the Mural Arts Program will bring art by self-taught artists from SCI Graterford, the Philadelphia Prison System and ex-offenders to City Hall. This is something we're very excited about. And also planned for 2011 is a School District student exhibition. Also, I wanted to note that a Percent for Art project incorporating artist-designed streetscapes will occur on the Delaware Waterfront between 2nd Street and the new Race Street Pier Park as a way of connecting the City to this new park, which is a really important part of how we will draw people to the park. And also, Engine 38, a new fire 232 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. station planned for the Disston Park, and the Philadelphia Water Department's plan, 61st Street maintenance facility, will both feature green artwork and themes of environmental sustainability and ecological restoration. Some details on our FY11 budget. The budget includes administrative funds for salaries for five of the six full-time staff and one contracted staff, and while the majority of our funding remains static from last fiscal year, there are several changes. Funding in the amount of $80,000 for Avenue of the Arts has actually been redirected to the budget of the Department of Commerce. And it's important to note that mid-year 2010, we moved the $230,688 grant to the African American Museum internally from Class 200 to Class 500 to reflect more accurately the nature of this funding from a Class 200 fee for service to a Class 500 grant. Funding in the amount of 233 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. $28,000 for the administration of the Percent for Art Program was previously funded out of the City's Capital Budget as part of the City's Percent for Art requirements, but was added to Class 200 for Fiscal Year 2011. And to account for the opening of the new Office, some modest sums in Class 200 and 300 were added for services, materials and supplies for the Office. We had previously received supplies and services from the departments where employees were housed, which was Commerce, Public Property and the Mayor's Office. 2 million budget for the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and also level funding for the African American Museum.
On FY11 participation levels, the Office is committed to supporting the Administration's goal of percent 23 minority, women and disabled-owned 24 business participation in City 25 contracting. This is largely done or 234 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. exclusively done through the Percent for Art Program, which is funded from the City's Capital Budget, and we are committed to these goals. For projects currently underway and that occurred in the last three years -- and it's hard to peg them to specific years because the process covers often multiple years -- 75 percent are M/WBE firms, six out of eight projects. Additionally, OEO staff were represented at all stages of the Creative Industry Workforce Grant Program to ensure best and good-faith efforts to give our grantees the tools to achieve these goals. And moreover, in all of the Office's many non-contracting activities, including selecting juries and panels and our many grant-making activities, we are committed to meeting these goals. Should any Councilmember wish to engage in further discussion of any of these matters, my staff and I are happy to meet with Councilmembers and to answer questions now. 235 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
Thank you very much. In your budget I see in Class 200 you have a decrease of $51,000. Can you elaborate on that, please?
Hi, Councilwoman. Moira Baylson. The decrease basically is a decrease of $80,000 from the Avenue of the Arts grant that transferred to Commerce, and then it includes an increase of $28,000 for the Percent for Art funds to equal 51 -- or 29. I'm sorry.
But the appropriation for the Avenue of the Arts has been transferred?
That's correct. It's represented in the Commerce Department's budget.
So it's still in the FY11 budget, but it's in the Commerce Department. After conversations with them and with Commerce, the decision was 236 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. collectively made by all of us that Commerce was a better fit for their funding.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you for the statement of the many accomplishments that have taken place under your leadership. I do have a few questions. On of your testimony, you state your office will release a report on the health and vitality of the creative economy. Please provide details on why you decided to take on the report and how do you expect to inform office activities going forward.
Sure. The reason 237 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. for taking this on was that in looking at the existing research, particularly the Portfolio study that has been done by the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, it is a great tool and also some of the research done in past years by Innovation Philadelphia, it seemed to us that there was a gap. There was a whole array of activity that was really not being looked at. The Innovation Philadelphia study looked at, I think, an 11-county region and looked at things like biotech, and I was really looking at the specific arts-related creative industries, and the Portfolio study didn't really look at that. So there was, from my perspective, a kind of information gap. The Creative Vitality Index is an existing tool, so it gives us the opportunity to benchmark ourselves against other cities and regions around the country. It was developed by the Western States Arts Federation, which is 238 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. one of the NEA regional foundations, and the data is now being used or the process is now being used by many other communities all over the country. So it gives us the opportunity to get some data here. It's very cost effective, because the tool already exists. And we will be -- right now we have the raw data and we will be looking to sort of flesh that out with some additional case studies and additional research. We'll then be producing a report that will be disseminated widely to Council, to the field, and we will be having public meetings as well in order to talk about the implications of the results.
I would invite you to inform us at least of the public meetings so that those of us whose schedule permit might like to be there. Will there be a role for the Mayor's Arts and Cultural Advisory Council in that process?
Absolutely. And 239 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. they've been an active advisor to me and, in fact, we have formed recently a specific creative economy working group within the Mayor's Cultural Advisory Council that is guiding our efforts in this area.
Okay. You also discuss on of your testimony the official Art Gallery in City Hall, and you state that there will be branding and marketing initiatives. Talk about that more, and will you be working with the City Rep's Office on that branding and marketing initiative or no? And if not, then who?
Absolutely. We will be working with the City Rep's Office in terms of making sure that whatever work we do fits within the City's overall branding effort. We will be working with our Department of Technology on the website. A large part of that, frankly, is technology. The Office really doesn't have an appropriate 240 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. website at this point and we have been waiting for the branding effort to be completed and a lot of the infrastructure put in place for DOT to have the capacity to do our website. And so that infrastructure is in place now and we're working with their staff on the design of a new website. In this day and age, that's really a primary vehicle for how we get messages out about what we're doing. We also need the capacity, for example, to be able to have an e-newsletter and get information out that way.
So that's going to be part of that as well. So whatever look and feel we come up with for the website in keeping with the City's new brand, that will carry through into all other communications as well.
So one should assume by your testimony that that effort will all be happening in-house? 241 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
Correct. We might make use of some donated services. We've had, because of all our work in the creative economy, we've had offers of donated services from web design companies, for example, and one of the things that we're looking at is could one of those firms work with the City staff at Department of Technology to make sure that it's in keeping with all the systems that are now in place, but will allow us perhaps to do something with a little extra flare, thanks to donated services.
Sure. Creatively, of course. What is the connection, relationship with the Philadelphia School District Art Department as it stands today and/or the Archdiocese and/or the charter schools?
Well, a lot of our work has been focused on obviously working with the Chief Education Officer, Lori Shorr, and her staff and partnering 242 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. with them. I've been on the advisory committee for this new effort called Arts Rising that is an attempt to work very closely with the School District to create a systemic solution to how we make the arts a part of the life of every young person, every child in this City. It's going to be a long-term process, but I'm very excited about that initiative and I'm putting my full support behind it. That involves the School District. It involves many members of the cultural sector, many leaders in the arts education sector, working with schools. Five middle schools have been chosen for the pilot phase. And so there will be five middle schools that will begin this program, and the idea is really to use those schools as a hub to work with the principals, the teachers in those schools, the School District, but then also the arts providers, the neighborhood-based arts organizations, 243 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. our large citywide arts education organizations, like the Art Museum, the Orchestra that have programs that can be brought into those communities, and then to begin to, in effect, roll that out both geographically to other communities as well as downward into lower grades and upward into upper grades. So it's a process that's actually based on a very successful model from Dallas called Big Thought, and we're basically looking to replicate that here. Some of the other things that we're looking at are using this new gallery space and through Art in City Hall as a way of -- you may be very familiar with the School District's Big Show, the exhibit that they do, and what I'd love to see is to have a process whereby we can select the best work from that show and then exhibit it in City Hall to really highlight the extraordinary work that's being done by the School District. 244 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. I'm also involved in an effort with PAFFA to work with the Convention Center to ensure that there is a program for the Convention Center that highlights the work of our great School District artists actually in the Convention Center in an ongoing way, so that it would be rotating exhibits, perhaps more semi-permanent exhibits as well. Those are just a few examples.
Excuse me. Are the parochial schools also included?
The idea with the Arts Rising Program is to -- it was starting with the School District, but the idea is to eventually expand it to include all children in those schools as well and actually eventually to expand the program to become regional and go out into the counties.
To eventually -- 245 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. and this probably won't happen for many years, but the vision is to eventually take this model and ensure that it's adopted in the surrounding counties as well. So it's not just the City of Philadelphia, but also out into the surrounding counties.
I don't know off the top of my head, but we can get you that information.
I am very familiar with Arts Rising and have read about the model and look forward to that being replicated citywide, recognizing it is a process, and I was actually headed 246 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. towards exactly where you ended up, and, that is, using the works of young people in our schools, with the Art Gallery being another showcase opportunity. And to hear that you're now looking at the Convention Center is huge, because they have a huge inventory of art that we know doesn't get the long exhibit life we would like it to have. So keep us posted on the Convention Center opportunity.
your testimony, for the record, further explain the reason for moving the African American Museum from Class 200 to Class 500. And by way of full disclosure, I am on that Board.
Sure. Class 500 actually facilitates getting their funds a bit faster. We had some challenges with them this year because they had some serious cash flow issues and partly as a result of the budget challenges and the delay from Harrisburg and having the 247 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. resources that we needed. There was a freeze, and it was considered a contract fee for service. So the payment to them was frozen as part of that process and we couldn't get them their money, which was a real challenge for them. And, in effect, what we are doing is giving them a grant. So we felt, after discussion with Budget, that it made more sense to have them in Class 500 rather than Class 200 so that they will be -- their funds would be provided to them as a grant as opposed to a fee for service, which is a more complex process that requires approval of the contract and identifying what services the City is getting for the fee that we're paying. And since historically, from looking at it, what we're doing is really giving them a grant as a City-owned institution for the good work that they do in total, that seemed to be a more appropriate way, which also helps us get the money to them faster, which helps them as well. 248 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
Thank you. Are there any further questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
And I look forward to your sending me that information, please.
We will now hear from Community College. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. We thank you for your courtesy and your patience. I would ask 249 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. at this time for you to identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. We have a copy of your written testimony. If you would like to abbreviate it, we will give a copy of the testimony to the stenographer and it will be transcribed in full. Thank you.
Thank you. I'm Steve Curtis, President of the Community College of Philadelphia. I'm not going to read the testimony, but we'd like to have a few remarks from our Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees, Varsovia Fernandez. I'll make a few summary remarks about the testimony, and then we brought two students with us to make very brief comments today as well.
Good afternoon, President Verna and members of City Council. It is truly a pleasure to be here in front of you. My name is 250 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Varsovia Fernandez and I am Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees for Community College of Philadelphia. With me today are Board members Lydia Hernandez and Sallie Glickman. We are all members of a 15-member Board and we're all appointed by the Mayor of the City. My Board colleagues and I are civic and business leaders who represent a cross section of Philadelphia. Each of us gives our time because we recognize the importance of Community College of Philadelphia, which provides affordable access and quality education for many residents who might otherwise be unable to earn a college degree or even consider continuing their education. The Board of Trustees thanks Mayor Nutter and City Council for their continued support of our students, faculty members, administrators and staff. During these turbulent economic times, the City's support is especially important if we are to continue to help 251 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. the growing number of workers who need new skills to remain employable and the many students who seek to transfer from the college to many other universities and colleges. Despite our budget challenges, we have made quality education and student-centered services our top priority, but much of our future hinges on what is done during this critical budgetary period. We ask that you consider the growing demand for our programs and the City's critical need for a more educated workforce. The City's financial support is vital if we are to continue successfully meeting our students' educational needs and the demands of the City for education. Thank you again for your support.
Again, Steve 252 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Curtis, President of Community College. Thank you, President Verna and City Council, for this opportunity. I will not read the submitted remarks, but I will summarize and say there are basically three points in our written testimony. The first, we are supporting the Mayor's recommendation for the 2010-2011 budget. He has recommended a flat allocation, the same allocation in the coming year as in the present budget year. We are supporting that. We understand the situation in which the City finds itself. We have appreciated the consistent support of City Council, of the Mayor in these and previous times. We are certainly asking you to keep that amount whole in the coming budget for reasons that are the second thing in my written testimony, which is that in these particularly tough economic times, when we believe the residents of our City need the programs and services that we offer the very most, we have 253 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. tried to maintain and in fact expand what we do for the residents of the City, and we've given a number of examples in the written testimony. There are many more beyond that. One example is that while in ordinary tough economic times we expect our enrollments to increase, in these times, the enrollments are going through the roof, as you probably know or expect. The number we quote in the written testimony both this past fall and in the current spring semester are credit students, which is the bulk of our students, degree-seeking students. The enrollments rose by 12 percent over a year ago. That's a little less than 2,000 more students right now than we had a year ago. And we're absorbing them. There was no new money from the State this year, no new money from the City. So we're absorbing that into our infrastructure. Unlike some states, particularly on the West Coast or 254 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Florida, some in the South, we are not turning students away. There are states where the public support is so dire that in fact the public university and community college systems are basically closing the doors. We've made sure that we're not doing that now. That's one thing I think needs telling. We do believe that we must help the residents of this City in these tough times. A second example we give is around retention and movement toward the Mayor's goal of doubling the number of residents in the City who hold a college degree. We undertake many retention efforts. I won't take the time now to go through them all, but we have benchmarks that we've set for ourselves over five years where our goal is to increase the number of graduates by at least a third. And, again, I think we quote in the written testimony that in year one of that five-year period -- that's last summer when we hit our graduation 255 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. point -- we were up percent. I don't know that we'll do 12 percent every year, but over that five-year period, if we can get up by a full third and keep it up, we believe we're moving toward the goal that the Mayor has set. We've tried to take full advantage of programs that are particularly relevant to the current state of unemployment, lost jobs, et cetera, that exist in the City. An example that we have spoken to you about over time is our program for displaced workers. We call it Opportunity Now. For almost a decade now, we have offered any Philadelphia resident who is laid off from full-time employment and can document that with a letter from the company, we offer one tuition-free semester. The student still has to buy books, pay some fees, but there is no 23 tuition charge. We have no pot of money for this. We think it's the right thing to do. 256 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
I point that out because in, I think, as recently as a year ago, the number of people per semester that were taking advantage of that was in the two digits, but by this year, we were up to over 250. So, again, we're trying to make sure that things that we offer, programs and services, particularly as they relate to this economic environment, we're getting the word out and helping individuals in the City to take advantage of that. A word or two about some of the training opportunities as they relate to stimulus funding. Those are opportunities that we wanted to take advantage of, again, for Philadelphia and Philadelphians, and the two instances cited in the written document, one is a relatively small program affecting about 75 Philadelphians in three different areas - medical coding and billing, human services assistant, and network -- computer network specialist or 257 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. administrator, I guess it is. In each case, Philadelphians will be able to 4 get the training for free, get employment 5 in entry-level positions, but in every 6 case, that training comes with college 7 credit. So they can then use that 8 college credit and apply it toward a full 9 Associate Degree. 10 The other example we give, the 11 so-called Job Ready Training Program, 12 which is not yet kicked off. It's in the 13 planning stage now, now that we have 14 approval of the funding. 18 15 million program that focuses on 16 particular neighborhoods within the City 17 where the unemployment rate is among the 18 highest anywhere in the City, and the 19 goal there is to get 250 residents from 20 these neighborhoods into entry-level 21 positions in green manufacturing, 22 construction, weatherization. The 23 difference here, it's not meant to be a 24 citywide so that you're helping 25 individuals. It's also meant to help 258 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. communities, because it's focused on particular communities. There are many more examples, but I think we're just trying to suggest to you that in addition to what we ordinarily do, we're trying to be sensitive to what we believe the priorities are for the City right now and, in whatever way we can, help assist in addressing those priorities. The third and last point of the written testimony is a reminder, not so much for the coming year but for the years following, that 2010-2011 will be the second year in a row where there will be no additional dollars coming from the City, also the State. The Governor has recommended no increase as well. There is a limit to how many years we can do that. At this point, the City's support in terms of percentage of our operating budget is 17 percent. With no 24 increase -- and, again, we're supporting that for next year, but that means the 259 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. percentage will go even lower, or percent. So as the City stabilizes -- I have faith it will -- we will be looking for help from the City and the State, to be candid. It's not just the City's issue. But there will be a limit to how much enrollment we can continue to absorb. We're used to tightening our belt. We're going to be tightening again next year, but if we're going to maintain the kinds of services and programs with the results -- I mean, we don't want to just take students in. We want them to graduate. We want to increase those graduation numbers, et cetera -- then as we get past next year, it will be important to look at the level of support the City is providing. Those, I think, are the three main points of our document. And now to finish, I'd like you to hear briefly from two students, both of whom are balancing the challenges of raising children, 260 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc.
trying to improve their scholarship, achieve their academic, personal and career, goals, being very active in their communities, and we were very fortunate to have them as two of our stellar representatives in Harrisburg a week or two ago, because they received significant recognition, which they'll talk about, that has resulted in scholarships and other opportunities as well. So we'll begin. I guess we'll start to my left. I should mention both their names. I'll just let them go in order. Fraidel Phelps and Shameka Sawyer, and I'll ask them each to say just a brief word.
Before I begin describing my admiration for Community College of Philadelphia and the impact it has had on my life, I would like to 261 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. briefly introduce myself. My name is Fraidel Phelps. I am 34 years old and live with my husband and six young children in the Rhawnhurst section of Northeast Philadelphia. Two years ago, after my husband was laid off from his job, I made the difficult decision to return to college to pursue a degree in elementary education. Due to the difficult economic times we are facing, I felt that it was the right time to take this important step. However, it was not an easy decision to come to, specifically because of the difficulty today in making ends meet. What enabled me to return to school was the relatively low cost and convenient location of Community College of Philadelphia's Northeast Regional Center. Although location and cost were my original motivators in choosing the College, now that I have attended Community College, there are other aspects of the school that I've come to 262 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. admire. Specifically, I greatly appreciate the small class sizes and the many support services that CCP offers. Community College of Philadelphia faculty members really go out of their way to help their students succeed. In addition, there are many student activities and clubs available for students to participate in. I am grateful that I was invited into Community College of Philadelphia's Rho Upsilon Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society. It is through my involvement in Phi Theta Kappa that I became aware of the All-Pennsylvania, All-USA Scholarship and was fortunate enough to be nominated for the All Pennsylvania Academic Team, as well as to be awarded a $1,000 scholarship for being recognized as a Coca-Cola national finalist. Thanks to my placement to the All-Pennsylvania Team, I will be able to continue my studies at West Chester University of Pennsylvania on a 263 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. full-tuition scholarship. Because I grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Cornell Elementary School, Woodrow Wilson Junior High and Northeast High School, I wish to devote myself to the youth in this community. I aim to receive my Master's in Education and do my best to provide an excellent education to Philadelphia public school children.
Good afternoon. My name is Shameka Sawyer. I am 32 years old, a single mom of three children and I live in Mount Airy. I chose to attend Community College of Philadelphia because it is affordable, diverse and accessible. The teachers at the College are experts in their field of study, so I am able to receive a quality education at a fraction of the cost I would pay to attend a four-year university. As a single mom, I 264 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. would not have been able to afford to attend a university. Once I became a student at the College, I decided to get involved with student clubs and organizations on campus. I began my involvement by joining the Rho Upsilon Chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society as Vice-President of Service. I am now the Co-President of the Chapter. Being involved with Phi Theta Kappa enabled me to gain invaluable volunteer and leadership experience, which ultimately helped me to win several scholarships. As an All-USA Academic Team nominee, I received a full-tuition transfer scholarship to West Chester University of Pennsylvania. I also won the Coca-Cola Gold National Scholarship, which will help to pay for books and other college fees at West Chester University. The opportunities that I was able to take advantage of at Community College of Philadelphia will help me to 265 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. achieve my future goal of becoming a public relations professional and eventually opening my own public relations firm in Philadelphia. I feel that attending Community College of Philadelphia was the best decision I could have made for me and my family. This experience is leading me on the path to possibilities.
Thank you, Madam President. Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, young ladies, for your testimony. It's encouraging to know the next generation of leadership is in the pipeline. I wish you well. 266 4/21/10 - WHOLE - BILL 100115, etc. Mr. President, let me thank you also for a number of the programs I see that are new in the pipeline there at Community. One of which I'm particularly excited about and want to hear more about is the program focused on African American men, the Center for Male Engagement. Is this the first year for that initiative?