COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY, PUBLIC WORKS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, 6/13/00, 1:35 p.m. - - - BILL 000109 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to PAID a deed to certain tract of land at 313-325 Race Street. BILL 000147 - Re skateboarding on public property. BILL 000178 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to PAID a deed to land on northwest corner of 7th and Pattison Ave. BILL 000315 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to lease certain parcels of land owned by School District of Philadelphia. BILL 000341 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to PAID a deed to land in vicinity of 47th and Market Streets. BILL 000352 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to PAID a deed to a land at northwest corner of 5TH and Huntington. BILL 000353 - Approving lease amendment agreement between PGW and Phila. Regional Port Authority. BILL 000370 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to enter into sublease agreement with PAID for use of office space at 1401 Arch Street. BILL 000414 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to convey to PAID portion of real estate in vicinity of Red Lion Rd. Roosevelt Blvd.. (Full title of all bills attached hereto.) PRESENT: COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL, V. Chair COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILWOMAN BLONDELL REYNOLDS BROWN COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 6/13/00 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS I N D E X Bill 000109 Paul Deegan, PIDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don Clendenon, CEO, ISUN Networks . . . . . . Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 6 Bill 000178 7 Edward Duffy, PIDC and PAID . . . . . . . . . Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 8 Bill 000315 9 Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 19 Gerald Ashley, North Penn Civic Association 20 10 Ralph Wynder, 38th Ward Democratic Leader 20 and Chairman of Residents Coalition 11 Bill 000341 12 Paul Deegan, PIDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 29 13 Thomas Chapman, City Planning Commission. . . 29 14 Bill 000352 Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 31 15 Jesse Bermudez, Executive Director. . . . . . 31 Asociacion de Musicos Latino Americanos Thomas Chapman, City Planning . . . . . . . . 32 Bill 000353 Rajan Ramanujan, Director . . . . . . . . . . 35 Engineering and Facilities, PGW Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 37 Bill 000414 Craig Schelter, Executive V. President, PIDC 39 Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 45 Bill 000370 Commissioner Andres Perez, Public Property. . 50 Bill 000147 Joe Martz, Managing Director. . . . . . . . . 52 William Mifflin, Fairmount Park Commission 55 Inspector James Tiano . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Central Police Division Commander Officer Shaunagher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 3 6/13/00 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS (Index, cont'd.) Page Bill 000147, cont'd. Barry Scott, Risk Management. . . . . . . . . 76 Grace Redden, President, BOMA . . . . . . . . 91 R. Martin, Bell Atlantic Tower, 1717 Arch St. 94 Josh Nims, Skaters Defense Lobby. . . . . . . 124 Josh Kalis, Professional Skateboarder . . . . 134 Bernard McDonald, Skateboarder. . . . . . . . 145 B. Lathrop, Friends of FDR Skateboard Park 155 4 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The Council Committee on Public Property and Public Works is now in session to hear testimony on a number of bills. The first is Bill No. 000109, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development ("PAID"), without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land with the buildings and improvements thereon situate at 313, 315, 317, 319, 321, 323, and 325 Race Street under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development agreement between the City, PAID, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Paul Deegan, and I represent PIDC. The bill authorizes the City to convey A 17,000 square foot property at 313-25 Race 5 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 Street to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development. After conveyance to PIDC, the property will be sold to ISUN Networks, Incorporated -- that's I-S-U-N -- a Philadelphia- based Internet company that develops communications technologies for the higher education market. This property was formerly used by the City's police and fire departments. The site is improved with a three-story historically certified police office building and a two-story fire station. There is also a 42-car parking lot on the eastern end of the parcel. ISUN Networks intends to renovate these buildings and occupy them as a corporate headquarters facility. This will enable the company to consolidate their operations and will result in the moving of over 50 employees from Research Triangle Park, in North Carolina. The company's business plan projects the creation of 125 new jobs in the next three years. Although the final cost estimates are not available, the company expects to spend approximately $4.5 million for the acquisition and 6 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 renovation of these buildings. The property has been appraised at approximately a million dollars as is, but that value does not take into account the cost of removing asbestos and other hazardous materials which known to be present in the building, and those studies are being -- that cost is being evaluated now. The buyer will be responsible for this expense, and the estimated cost for the site cleanup is now being prepared. The net proceeds of the sale will be deposited in the City's General Fund. ISUN Networks is the type of company the City is trying to attract -- high technology and high growth. The property's location in Old City is in a mixed residential and commercial area and is attractive to the typically young highly educated new economy worker, which makes it ideal for high-tech company headquarters. In fact, the owner of the company, Mr. Don Clendenon, is also a young, highly educated and an Old City resident. His company is now located on Third Street. He's present in the chambers today and is available to answer any questions you may have. Mr. Clendenon, if you could just. . . 7 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2
Sir, if you could come forward in case there are any questions. (Witness comes forward.).
Thank you. If you would like to identify yourself for the record and if you have anything you'd like to offer beyond Mr. Deegan's testimony, we'd be happy to hear it. And we have a very old system here, so you have to pull the microphone right up to your mouth. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Don Clendenon. I am the CEO of ISUN Networks. We develop network platforms for universities, basically turning each individual university into like its own virtual AOL. We've been expanding quite rapidly. Our offices are in Old City right now, at 309 North Third Street. We've been -- we've got offices in Research Triangle Park -- that's where our primary development's been going. We've been trying to think about relocating the entire business operation into the Philadelphia area, the 8 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 downtown area, but it's been very difficult to attract talent and try to find space. We identified the building in question here as being a building that's adequate in size to accommodate -- an infrastructure to accommodate the operation that we need. Right now, the venture capitalists are expecting us to expand at a rate that's far greater than what we had originally anticipated. We should have more than a hundred, high-tech jobs, with median salaries between 60 and $70,000, coming into the area. Roughly 100 people we will be hiring before the year end, with a cap between now and next September of around 230 employees.
Terrific. Thank you very much. Does anyone else at the table have anything else to offer in this regard?
I would just like to say that although Councilman DiCicco isn't here on this committee, he was very instrumental in pushing this legislation forward and pushing the project forward and assuring the company that they're welcome in Philadelphia. 9 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2
It is my understanding that there's no request for any City support financially, as far as TIFs or public financing of any kind?
No, there isn't. We have offered the traditional State programs that are based on job creation and total project cost, such PIDA (Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority) assistance, which is available to every company in the City if they meet certain criteria.
I would ask the committee to consider the bill favorably and the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading at the next session of Council.
You can assume that all bills coming out of committee today will be suspended for next week.
Thank you. Mr. Perez? 10 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Good afternoon, Chairman Kenny. My name is Andres Perez, Commissioner of the Department of Public Property. And I'll summarize my prepared testimony simply by stating that the Department is in support of this transfer of the parcel, and we ask for your favorable consideration. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Mr. Clendenon, thank you. What you're doing in the City and the of jobs you're creating and your willingness to invest in the City and to have faith in where we're going is a tremendous thing for us, and we're just very happy you're here, very happy you're staying here and expanding. It's a terrific thing and we thank you for coming in today.
Right across the street, you probably know you have great hard-shell crabs at DiNardo's, so it's always a nice plus for your location too. Thanks again. 11 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 Are there any questions from anybody on the committee? Councilman Rizzo?
Thank you. My question is for Commissioner Perez. Commissioner, before the decision was made to transfer this property, with all the space that the City's renting, and this is already a building that's owned by the City of Philadelphia, was there any consideration that this building be utilized by the City workforce? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: We did. The conclusion on our part was that under the City's standard capital program approach, based on the methods that we do our bidding and the kind of cost that we tend to get on those bids against the private sector -- and in this case, one of buildings also requiring historical treatment considerations, it was deemed to be too expensive to rehab and bring departments back in. The complication, of course, is it was already occupied by Fire Department units, police units. The building was deteriorating rapidly, sections of it were falling off. So we opted to 12 /00 PUB. PROP. PUB. WORKS - BILL 2 relocate the entire operation to a completely rehabbed location.
A rental facility? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: No. We acquired -- this is -- the elements that were in this building were relocated to the property we acquired for the Internal Affairs Division, Duncan Road.
Any further questions for this group? (No further questions.)
The next bill is Bill No. 000178, which is an ordinance amending an ordinance approved November 13, 1997, authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development without consideration a deed conveying fee simple tile to a certain tract of City-owned land with the buildings and improvements thereon erected, situate on the 13 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000178 northwest corner of Seventh Street and Pattison Avenue in the 39th Ward of the City of Philadelphia, under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development agreement between the City, the Philadelphia Industrial for Industrial Development, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation by authorizing the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, notwithstanding any contrary requirements of the agreement, to convey the property for a nominal consideration. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. My name is Edward Duffy, and I represent the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development. And I'm here to testify in support of this bill. This ordinance amends a previous ordinance, Bill 970720, which authorized the City to convey the 11-acre property at the northeast 14 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000178 corner of Seventh Street and Pattison Avenue to PAID. This new ordinance will permit PAID to reconvey this property for less than market value to Sysco Food Services -- that's S-Y-S-C-O -- the owner of the adjacent property in Philadelphia's Food Distribution Center. This will be an added incentive to the City's over financial incentive package to keep Sysco here in the City and to assist with their expansion. This property currently is used by the Philadelphia Streets Department for vehicle maintenance and is partly occupied by an abandoned incinerator. Sysco currently owns and occupies a 206,000 square foot facility at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Packer Avenue, and this is adjacent to and north of this City-owned property, which is the subject of this ordinance. Their goal is to double the size of the existing building and add 400 to 500 new jobs to Philadelphia. To meet that goal, they need to acquire and expand on the City-owned site. Sysco is the largest marketer and distributor of food service products in the world, 15 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000178 employing 33,000 people at more than 70 locations in the United States and Canada, including their current employment of 550 workers in Philadelphia. This property right now is a liability to the City. We plan to demolish the existing incinerator and remediate the environmental problems on the site, using State economic development grants, thereby minimizing the cost to the City and putting this property back onto the City's tax rolls. I ask that the committee consider this bill favorably and that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading. Thank you for this opportunity to testify, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
Thank you very much. Commissioner Perez, do you have anything to add? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Again, my name is Commissioner Andres Perez, Department of Public Property. And, again, I'll summarize my prepared testimony simply by asking for Council's favorable 16 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000178 consideration of this ordinance. We have worked for years with various organizations to get to this point and we look for your favorable action. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Mr. Duffy, is there a planned expansion of the employment complement at Sysco as a result of the expansion to the old incinerator trash transfer site.
They right now have a 17-acre property, which is a mix of various uses. They are gradually converting areas to be used for truck maintenance and dry warehousing to office space and refrigerated warehousing so that they are actually expanding on their own property, but they are pushing their existing operations onto this new site basically for parking and also for the reuse of the Sanitation Division garage building there. So most of the site will be used for parking and an added incentive is, we will be able to get the incinerator demolished.
Plus, I mean, it would also, I guess, further deepen the roots of 17 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000178 this company in the City. I know there was some discussion not too long ago as to some reorganization or realignment of various operations throughout the country, and this may have been on the bubble at the time, and now it seems to be off the bubble because the expansion is happening, and I think some of the labor problems have been resolved there, and things are moving forward. Is that a correct characterization?
Yes, that's right. They've also expanded their area of operations to include Atlantic City.
And could you describe the company and what -- they're a food distribution company basically?
Yes, that's right. Prepared foods, two institutions, and restaurants.
Okay, thank you. Are there any questions for this panel?
Good afternoon, gentlemen. This is a matter of background and for my own information. When opportunities like this come before the City -- and I agree that it's a great thing, as the Chairman of the committee has already outlined. In terms of practice or protocol or procedure, what happens? Companies come to PAID and then PAID reaches out to Andres Perez? Procedurally, what happens?
Yes. I would say that the company came to us. In this specific instance, they wanted to acquire City property, so we worked very closely with the Department of Public Property.
Now, does that tend to be the norm, or is that an exception?
Yeah, every deal is really 19 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 different. For example, we recently were here to discuss acquisition of property from the private sector in order to facilitate the expansion of a company.
Thank you very much. Any other questions? (No further questions.)
Seeing none, we will now move to Bill No. 000315, which is an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to lease for nominal consideration certain parcels of land owned by the School District of Philadelphia located at 29th and Chalmers and Roxborough High School's athletic field and track, under certain terms and conditions. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Again, my name is Andres Perez, Commissioner of the Department of Public Property, and I'm here today to testify in 20 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 support of Bill No. 315. In summary, you've actually recited the elements of the transaction, and we ask the committee again to favorably consider this action at the earliest opportunity. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any questions for this witness? Councilmember Nutter?
I'm sorry. We have one -- Mr. Gerald Ashley, could you please come forward and Mr. Wynder? (Witnesses come forward.)
Good afternoon, sir. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon. My name is Gerald Ashley, and I'm with the North Penn Civic Association and a member of the Residents Coalition.
Mr. Wynder, would you please identify yourself for the record?
Ralph Wynder, 38th Ward Democratic Leader, and Chairman of the Residents Coalition. 21 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315
I'm just here to speak in favor of this particular ordinance, the transfer of the land at 29th and Chalmers Avenue from the Board of Education to the Public Property at this time. I'm in favor of that because our community has a very long history on that land, a history that began about 30 years ago, when the City attempted to take that land from the people of that community and turn it into a commercial site. Since that time, we have struggled to preserve the land, we have been successful in saving it for the members of our neighborhood. The land, of course, has recreational facilities there -- football fields, soccer fields, baseball fields, track, and so forth, that the Board has also used over the years. And we've shared it in a coexistence that has been very mutually beneficial to both the community and to the other entities. At this time, though, we think that if this transfer were to go through, it would meet the wishes of Judge Stanley Greenberg, who, back 22 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 in 19, I believe, 77, issued a desire to see the land transferred to recreation so that the members of our community could in fact utilize it in a social and recreational and educational environment for the members of our community and for people throughout the City. We have been, you know, building on that land since then. Thanks to our councilman, Michael Nutter, he has transformed many aspects of that land that had been unkempt and weedy into picnic areas and into fields that have really, really upgraded the community in that area, and we thank him and we thank all of the other members of Council who have worked with him and members of the Recreation Department and Board of Education who have been helpful in that area. So we're 100 percent, you know, behind the leasing of this land by Public Property from the Board of Education.
Thank you for your testimony. I would appreciate it if Councilman Nutter could enlighten the record as to the specific intricacies of this lease arrangement.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 23 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 This bill, 315, represents a unique opportunity, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, at two different locations, but for the same reason, at 29th and Chalmers, of which there is another bill pending before the Council with regard to the naming of the field -- that's not this particular bill, but the City of Philadelphia has already invested over $150,000 at this site already to create the ball fields that Mr. Wynder and Mr. Ashley discussed as well as the picnic areas. This will ensure the use at that site for a long period of time. I appreciate Commissioner Perez's support for this as well. We are proceeding with a Phase II at this particular site. The Recreation Department has been very supportive. There is a building on this property. The Residents Coalition and RAH and North Penn, under the leadership of the late Van Thomas, had already started renovations to that building. They've developed a relationship with the Recreation Department to maintain the building and go forward. We also expect to have site improvements to the exterior of this property underway, at least the conceptual plan underway, 24 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 very shortly. With regard to the Roxborough High portion of this, this is also a unique relationship between the City of Philadelphia, the School District, and a private person who has stepped forward to have a complete renovation of the track at Roxborough High. The total cost of that project is $1.2 million. The City of Philadelphia is supporting it at the total sum of $400,000, the School District has $400,000, and the private party has put up $400,000. This lease arrangement allows the City to officially contribute its funding to this project because we now have, or will have, a relationship with the School District at that particular site. That's the history behind both of these, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you very much. Are any there questions of these witnesses from members of the committee?.
Good afternoon once again. 25 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315
And to God be the honor and the glory. There were just a couple of concerns that we did have with respect to the transfer. As you know, Ralph has stated our history up there and our commitment to that land and to the improvement of that land. At present, as Councilman Nutter acknowledged, we are preparing for July 1 a day of memorial services on behalf of our former -- our president Van R. Thomas. There were certain maintenance requests that were placed in existence with respect to that building, specifically being the roof, the outside restroom areas, there was some weeding that needed to be cut along the Chalmers Avenue and Lehigh Avenue side. Our concern was, once this transfer is initiated, at that point in time, who then would have the jurisdiction to remedy these requests?
It will be the Recreation Department's responsibility. And I, based on our conversation the other day, have started that process. This will be the Recreation 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000315 Department's responsibility?
Okay, great. And we should fall within that July 1 timeframe that we were pushing for?
We will do our best. There's a fair amount of work to be done.
Lastly, Mr. Chairman, at the request of the community with regard to 29th and Chalmers, I will ask the City Solicitor's Office -- in Section 2, where it talks about certain documents and instruments to be filed and prepared under certain terms and conditions, the community requests that some language be incorporated in the larger document that reflects the history and the involvement by the community, and I will ask the City Solicitor's Office to amend those documents appropriately with the particular groups and organizations that we're talking about here today.
Is there anyone 27 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000341 else to testify on that bill? (No response.)
We will now move to Bill No. 000341, which is an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land, with the buildings and improvements thereon situated in the vicinity of 47th and Market Streets, under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development agreement between the City, PAID, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman. My name is Paul Deegan, and I represent PIDC and PAID. This bill authorizes the City to convey a 25,000 square foot parcel of land at 47th and Market to PAID. After conveying it to PAID, the property will be sold to Community Care and 28 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000341 Development Corporation, a developer of health care facilities. CCDC also owns the adjacent vacant lot to the east, which was purchased from the City on May 13, 1991, and has an agreement of sale with PAID for the lot immediately to the west, at 4700 to 4704 Market Street. That sale was authorized by City Council in December of 1999. Basically, this parcel was the bed of a street, and the street was stricken, but the parcel did not revert to the adjacent ownership, so it has to be dealt with separately in a separate bill. And that's basically the situation. He owns one side, he has an agreement for the other side of the street, the street's been stricken, so we just want to include the street in the total property, so it's really a little bit of housekeeping, just real estate housekeeping out there. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
Okay, thank you very much. Commissioner Perez? 29 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000341 COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Again, Commissioner Perez for the Department of Public Property expressing my support for this transaction and requesting that you give favorable action on this at your earliest opportunity. Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. For the City Planning Commission, my name is Thomas Chapman. My prepared testimony would only repeat what was already stated by Mr. Deegan, so just let me add for the record that the Planning Commission, at its meeting of June 1, 2000, recommended that Bill No. 341 be approved.
Thank you very much. Any questions for these witnesses? (No questions.)
Anyone else to testify on this bill? (No response.) 30 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000352
Seeing none, we will now move to Bill 000352, which is an ordinance amending Bill No. 970833, approved June 25, 1998, entitled "An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land, with the buildings and improvements thereon situate at the northwest corner of Fifth and Huntington Streets, and authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to enter into or to execute such other agreements, as may be necessary or desirable to effectuate the provisions of this ordinance, all under certain terms and conditions," by authorizing conveyance to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia or the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and by extending the term for compliance with the conditions to June 30, 2001. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Good afternoon, 31 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000352 Chairman Kenney. My name is an Andres Perez, the Commissioner of the Department of Public Property, and I'm here today in support of this bill. Council had previously approved this transaction. There was a performance timeline on that transaction which ran out before funding was complete, so we're here today asking for the amendment to extend the time on behalf of the organization. The organization is also represented here today for Council's interest. And, again, I ask for your favorable consideration at your earliest opportunity.
Thank you very much. Could you please identify yourself for the record.
Yes. My name is Jesse Bermudez, and I am the Executive Director and cofounder of the Asociacion de Musicos Latino Americanos. I want to thank everyone here for making it possible that I'm here to make this request to City Council. I do have some information on the organization that would talk a little bit about 32 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000352 the project, where it's at. There's some architectural drawings in there and also some information about our consultant which is helping us to revitalize that area where our project is going to be developed. One of the requests that I would like from City Council is that we -- you permit us to get an extension on this ordinance so that then we can take that and transfer the land to AMLA, and we would like that process to take place through PIDC, because we are constantly working with them already with the issue of State funding go we had received from the Governor.
Okay. Mr. Chapman, do you have anything to add to this?
Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, once again, Thomas Chapman for the City Planning Commission. I would just add for the record that the Planning Commission, at its meeting of June 1, 2000, recommended that Bill 22 No. 352 be approved.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions from members of 33 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000352 the committee? Let me recognize Councilmember Ortiz. Do you have a question or comment or a statement?
Just a comment, Mr. Chairman. L'Asociacion de Musicos Latino Americanos and I and other folks in the community have had a real dream of taking the association, together with the Puerto Rican Workshop, and making it an anchor of a cultural and arts business district type of situation. The governor, Governor Ridge, allotted a grant of $2 million, the City has put forward $1 million, which I think we have to look at how we can supplement that later on, because it will become not only a cultural center but also a school, a business to develop that whole area and really make it a real cultural center, together with (unintelligible) Puertoriqueno, and it's been in the makings now for over 20 years, and I hope that this is perhaps the last steps before we can begin construction.
Thank you very much. I wonder if we have an appropriate name 34 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000353 that we could dedicate this operation to, I guess, in the recent days since we've lost Mr. Puente.
Sure would. Anyone else have any questions? (No further questions.)
Thank you very much. Thank you for coming in. Is there anyone else to testify on this bill? (No response.)
The next bill for consideration is Bill No. 000353, an ordinance 16 approving a third lease amendment agreement between Philadelphia Gas Works by Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation soley in its capacity as operator and manager of the City-owned Philadelphia Gas Works and the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority for premises known as PGW Lot #1, located near the intersection of Delaware Avenue and Tioga streets. (Witness comes forward.)
Good afternoon. 35 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000353 Please identify yourself for the record.
Good afternoon, Councilman Kenney and members of Council My name is Rajan Ramanujan, R-A-J-A-N, R-A-M-A-N-U-J-A-M.
I am the Director of Engineering and Facilities at the Philadelphia Gas Works. I'm here today in support of Bill No. 10 000353, which permits the third lease amendment to an existing lease between PGW and the Philadelphia Port Authority. The lease agreement pertains to a lease of 0.424 acres of land located at the intersection of Tioga Streets and Delaware Avenue. This is land that was a part of the old Richmond plant. Pursuant to it current lease with PGW, the Port Authority used this land for parking across the street from its office building located at the intersection of Delaware Avenue and Tioga Street. This lease amendment will extend the lease for an additional 40-year term, beginning as of July 1, 1999. However, the lease provides that PGW can terminate the lease at any time on 12 months' notice. 36 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000353 The lease amendment calls for the rental of $235 per month increased at on rate of $213.29 per month. We believe this to be a reasonable rental for the property in this area and have obtained an estimate of value from Robert Hess confirming this belief. In addition to rent, the Port Authority will continue to pay all utilities, maintenance, and taxes associated with the leasehold. PGW believes that this lease, as amended, is favorable to both PGW and the Port Authority for a number of reasons: PGW receives the benefit of income from an asset not currently being used for its operations; it enjoys the ability to recapture the use of the property on a year's notice, whenever the property's needed for operations; the Port Authority receives the benefit of a parking area for its employees. For these reasons, PGW desires to enter into the lease agreement and has received PFMC Board approval for the lease amendment. The Philadelphia Gas Commission has also recommended the approval of the lease amendment to Council. We also ask for a suspension of the 37 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000353 rules, as the chairman stated earlier. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I'll be happy to answer any questions that you might have. I also have with me today a PGW legal department representative who can assist in answering any questions.
Thank you very much. Mr. Perez? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Again, Commissioner Perez for the Department of Public Property, and I'm here in support of Bill No. 353 and again ask the committee's favorable recommendation. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions? Councilmember Rizzo?
Commissioner Perez and also the representative of PGW, is there any interest in just selling this lot away rather than continuing with this lease arrangement? Why can't 38 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000353 there just be a permanent transaction occur where every so often you don't have to come back here? Is there any plan to use this in the future?
There is a good possibility that we might need this for future operations. That is why we don't want to give up the property.
Thank you very much. Any further questions? (No further questions.)
Thank you very much for your attendance. Is there anyone else to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none -- by the way, we're also going to -- on Bill 353, we're going do submit for the record a letter from James 39 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 T. McDermott, Jr., Executive Director of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority also supporting this particular transaction and requesting its passage. Thank you very much. The next bill for consideration is Bill 7 No. 000414, which is an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property and the Director of Commerce, on behalf of the City of the City of Philadelphia to convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development from time to time all or any portion of certain City-owned real estate in the vicinity of Red Lion Road, the Roosevelt Boulevard, under certain terms and conditions, subject to the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development agreement among the City, PAID, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. Please identify yourself for the record.
Mr. Chairman, my name is Craig Schelter. I'm Executive Vice President of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and I'm here to testify in support of Bill No. 414. 40 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 This bill authorizes the City to convey portions of a 98-acre site of vacant land on the southwest side of Red Lion Road approximately 1100 east of Roosevelt Boulevard to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development. This is part of the Northeast Philadelphia Airport property, which is owned by the City and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce Division of Aviation. This authorization is the first step in an extremely complex transaction, which I will describe in more detail later in my testimony. The goal line, however, is a July 2001 opening of a 1,015,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility on a 67-acre site for a Fortune 200 company, creating 1100 new jobs in the City of Philadelphia and the creation of an additional 31-acre fully improved and marketable development site. This Fortune 200 company is the TJX Corporation, which is the parent corporation of TJMaxx, Marshall's, and Wright's. I'll add parenthetically to my written testimony, this is the largest number of new jobs created by a moving corporation in this city since 41 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 UPS came in the 1980s. So this is a very significant transaction. Initially, PAID will lease the 98-acre parcel from the City and sublease it to the developer Liberty Property Trust. During this initial lease term, an existing solid waste landfill on the property will be cleaned up and relocated to an adjacent area of the airport, in accordance with a plan approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. I'll add parenthetically, if you want me to go over any of this at the board, Paul Deegan has a site plan there, and he can point that out, but I'll go through my testimony, unless you've questions as I go along. The City's Water Department, in the late 1970s, created this permitted landfill and the Water Department is contributing $6 million to a total $12 million cleanup and relocation cost. 5 million. When the site cleanup is completed, PAID is authorized to sell or lease 67 acres of the site to Liberty Property Trust. They will construct a 1,015,000 square foot warehouse and distribution facility at a cost of 55 million. TJX Companies Incorporated, the owners of the TJMaxx and Marshall's, will occupy the facility, and they'll do this under a 20-year lease with two 7-year options. As I said earlier, this facility is projected to create 1500 new jobs, 1100 of which, the company is willing to guarantee, will be in place at the end of four years from the opening of the building. The sale of this land requires approval of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and the City's Director of Commerce -- and the City's Commissioner of Public Property as well, I should add. The FAA process is lengthy. So the development will begin under a lease from the City to PAID and a sublease between PAID and Liberty Property Trust. 43 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 With these approvals in place, PAID will be able to sell the property to the developer and continue the lease-sublease arrangement. The sales price will be $72,000 per acre, or a total of $4,824,000 for the 67 acres. This price is based on our current land sales for Northeast Industrial Parks for fully improved land. The City's Commerce and Law Departments have worked closely with PIDC, the Commonwealth, and Liberty Property Trust to bring this project to Philadelphia. TJX Companies has considered a number of East Coast sites for a major expansion for this operation. This would be their fifth such distribution facility nationally. They retained a real estate site selection firm based in Princeton, New Jersey, to conduct the search anonymously.
And so for several months, neither we, nor the City knew the identity of the company. We believe Philadelphia was selected for a number of reasons: Number one, location. This is a large, flat rectilinear site on Route 1, a major artery with easy access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-95, and the Boston- Washington corridor. 44 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 Number two, the incentives. This site has been designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone by the Commonwealth, providing major tax incentives for the qualifying companies until January 1, 2011. Next, the labor market. This site is in the middle of a densely populated residential area of Northeast Philadelphia, providing a good labor supply of capable workers within easy commuting distance. Next, development expertise. Liberty Property Trust, selected by the client as the developer of the facility, has an impressive track record and portfolio of major industrial parks and office building development. And, finally, the City provided additional incentives to create a day care facility adjacent to the site and job training funds from the Workforce Development Corporation, formerly the Private Industry Council. Everyone involved in this negotiation -- the City, PIDC, the State, Liberty Property Trust -- is excited about bringing a development of this magnitude and economic impact to 45 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 Philadelphia. To take the next step, I ask that the committee consider the bill favorably, with a suspension of the rules to permit first reading at the next regularly scheduled meeting of Council. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have.
Thank you very much. Commissioner Perez, would you like to give your testimony and go from there. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Again, Commissioner Perez from the Department of Public Property, I'm here the to testify in support of Bill 414 and ask your favorable consideration.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions from members of the committee? Councilman Rizzo?
Mr. Schelter, is it the norm in development around the airport that the process proceed before the Department of Transportation? In your testimony, you indicate 46 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 that the FAA process is lengthy. What would be the possibility that there would be a complication with this particular site? And the next part of that question is, is this facility in the -- will aircraft be flying directly and departing directly over this location?
Okay, the answer to the second question is no. That's an easy one. The first one takes a little bit longer. In this particular case, this is an unusual process for the City to dispose of airport property. And for that reason, what we did in this situation is, we structured this both as a lease and as a sale transaction. We're already in a position where we have signed the City, PAID, and PAID Liberty, and Liberty TJX, have signed leases that allow this project to go forward. And we could do that without FAA approval. However, Liberty prefers to have fee ownership of the parcel, and we would prefer to be able to offer fee ownership for the 31-acre parcel that remains after we do the TJX parcel. So that's why we're here today. 47 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 What we need to have before we can go to the FAA is the acknowledgment and approval of the local governing body that you're willing to sell this property. We have a number of steps that we're going through. I think we are confident that we will ultimately get that approval, but if we don't, we can always fall back on the 75-year lease.
And even though it's a great idea of position, is the positioning of a day care center desirable -- is this a desirable location to do that? You indicated that there's no departures and arrivals right over the site, but is still an exposure?
Right. Everything on this site, Councilman -- one we had to be very respectful of -- there's a cone of space that goes out away from the end of the runway, and all that had to be avoided, and that was done from the very beginning. The day care facility was a requirement of TJMaxx that there would be a facility that could accommodate a place for 200 children for the workers at TJX. So what we had to do was identify a 48 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 site -- and Mr. Deegan's pointing to that site. It's directly off of Red Lion Road -- to be reserved in case that was the site where Liberty chose to build. They may find existing facilities in the Northeast and choose to use those, but we have reserved this parcel just in case so that we have a fall-back, in which case, Liberty would build the day care facility in that location. But there's no airport danger to children. Also on that particular site, we made sure, when we laid out the site, we separated out car traffic from truck traffic so that they use separate entrances, so that both the Swenson Skills Center, which is immediately to the west, and the day care facility and the employee traffic would use one driveway, and the truck traffic would be further to the east, off of Red Lion and a separate access point.
My assumption is that the day care is primarily for the use of the employees' needs along with people from the 49 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 outside so I would I suspect it's an enhancement to the facility to have day care on site for its employees?
Fine thank you. Any more questions for these witnesses from members of the committee? (No further questions.)
Are there any representatives from the company here today?
They're not, okay. Is there anyone else to testify on this bill? (No response.)
Thank you very much. Great job. The next bill is Bill No. 000370, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a sublease agreement with the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development for use by the City and affiliated agencies of office space located at 1401 Arch Street 50 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000414 Philadelphia, PA, under certain terms and conditions. Please identify yourself for the record. COMMISSIONER PEREZ: Good afternoon, Chairman Kenney. I'm Commissioner Perez from the Department of Public Property and I'm here to testify today in support of Bill No. 370. This bill essentially permits us to amend a lease which Council earlier approved for the addition of another floor to the existing space for the D.A.'s office in the 1401 Arch building, amending it to incorporate two floors instead of one at the same rates and at the same terms and conditions. And I ask for your favorable consideration.
Thank you very much. Any questions for Commissioner Perez? (No questions.)
Seeing none, we 51 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 will now move to Bill No. 000147, which is an ordinance amending Title X of the Philadelphia Code relating to regulation of individual conduct and activity by amending Section 10-610, entitled "Skateboarding on Public Property," prohibiting skateboarding on all public property, unless otherwise authorized, and by creating additional penalties all under certain terms and conditions. Could I ask the panel Managing Director Martz, Inspector Tiano, Mr. Mifflin, Commissioner Perez Scott, Mr. Scott, and if Judge Cermele's here, I don't see him, but if there's someone representing Judge Cermele. . . He won't be hear today, okay. I would assume the Managing Director is going to be the lead?
Okay, great. Will there be other individuals on your panel testifying specifically?
Okay. Will each one be testifying, or you will be speaking for --
Well, I'll make a general 52 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 statement, and we're here to answer questions.
Fine, thank you. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed.
Good afternoon, Chairman Kenney and members of the Public Property Committee. I'm Joseph Martz, Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia. I've been asked here today to provide City Council with an overview of the impact that skateboarders who use the City Hall apron and JFK Plaza have on the City and its residents. Joining me this afternoon are: Police Inspector James Tiano of the Central Police Division; Mr. William Mifflin, Executive Director of the Fairmount Park Commission; Commissioner Andres Perez, Department of Public Property; Mr. Barry Scott, Director of Safety for the Office of Risk Management. As you're all well aware, teenagers regularly use JFK Plaza and the City Hall apron for skateboarding, which has caused some significant damage to both areas. In addition to the normal wear and tear on the pavement caused by skateboarding wheels, the maneuvers that are often 53 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 attempted have loosened railings and damaged stone steps in both areas. Damage was mainly caused by the undercarriages of skateboards scraping and chipping off stone edges and corners of the custom granite facades. Skateboarders also routinely move objects, such as benches and trash receptacles, to create obstacle courses, damaging both the pavement and the objects. Specifically, skateboarders in JFK Plaza have damaged the stone fountain rim, the stone steps, terrace areas, portions of the retaining walls, and pavements, as well as the park benches and trash receptacles. In City Hall's perimeter area, similar damage has been done to railings on steps and the granite pavers that make up the City Hall apron. According to the Capital Program Office, the cost estimate for replacement and repair work in JFK Plaza and the City Hall apron total $900,000: approximately 700,000 for JFK Plaza and 200,000 for City Hall. And I would just like to add parenthetically that they are hard costs; there are, obviously, soft costs such as design fees and things like that that go along 54 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 with it that, I believe, would take that number well over a million dollars. Included in my written testimony is a chart detailing theses costs. In addition to the financial impact of skateboarding in JFK Plaza and City Hall, the aggressive present tactics used by skateboarders at these venues unnecessarily startle pedestrians and have caused some collisions. Despite an ordinance that prohibits skateboarding in these areas, skateboards create a nuisance to passersby on a daily basis that I believe negatively impacts the quality of life on people who live and work in Center City. The City also recognizes the need to provide teenagers with a place to skateboard. Through its Redevelopment Authority, the City is currently investing $20,000 to upgrade the Fairmount Commission's skateboarding area in Roosevelt Park. This concludes my testimony, and thank you very much. We're available to answer questions.
Thank you, Mr. 55 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 Martz. Mr. Mifflin, do you have anything to add to the testimony today? And Commissioner Perez?
I think basically, Councilman, I will answer questions, but I will just add to my bit of testimony to Director Martz in that we fully support legislation that would give us the opportunity to maintain public property with the Park Commission. We understand and support actually skateboarding as an approved recreational activity; however, we do not believe it is an appropriate activity in the public areas in Center City or in any public area but in designated areas for skateboarding.
All right. So your testimony is -- and I would certainly add to the record that I don't think the City has taken a particular posture that we are against skateboarding.
It's a recognized sport, it has certainly a high level of talent and ability that are required to do it. 56 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 The issue here today is one more of where is the appropriate place to engage in this activity. There are some appropriate places, there are some inappropriate places, and in many of our public places that were not built for skateboarding, we are experiencing significant damage. Is that a fair assessment?
Okay. Inspector, would you give us police experience on this. INSPECTOR TIANO: I've been in the division for about ten years now. I was the captain of the Ninth District.
Inspector, please identify yourself for the record. INSPECTOR TIANO: Inspector James Tiano, Central Police Division Commander. In my ten years in Central, I received numerous calls from citizens. Senior citizens made up a majority of the calls. They were very fearful when they walked through to pay their real estate water bills, young men are flying in the air and they don't react like they did when they 57 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 were younger, so sometimes they're very startled by the people on skateboards. To be honest with you, the enforcement has been very limited because it's intensive. I have Captain Giadetti (ph.) to my left, in the Concourse Unit. When we do enforce it -- and it's not on and everyday basis -- normally, it would take about four police officers to seal off the area, 'cause if one police officer goes into the park, they're gone.
Continue, Inspector, please. INSPECTOR TIANO: We wrote up about a thousand code violation notices in 1999 and I would say the majority of the people that we wrote up do not live in the City. About 70 percent don't live in the City.
Could say that again please? I'm sorry, inspector. What were those statistics again? INSPECTOR TIANO: About 1,000 code violation notices.
Right. And what was the breakdown? 58 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 INSPECTOR TIANO: About 65 percent live outside the City. What we found from the youngsters we talked to, this spot, the John F. Kennedy Plaza, is a renowned skateboarder spot. It's listed in their magazines and videos. And, in fact, the officer to my right, Ed, will tell you that he's talked to people from foreign countries that when they're close by, like New York or so, they come here because it's just a renowned spot.
Is it true that the plaza is also listed on the Internet? INSPECTOR TIANO: Yes, it is.
Okay. Officer, can you share with us your -- you have a direct assignment over there? OFFICER SHAUNAGHER: My name is Shaunagher (ph.), and I'm assigned to the concourse unit. And what we do, like the inspector said, about four of us, we go up to JFK Plaza and we attempt to stop skateboarders from skateboarding. When we do stop them, they're issued violations, they're told of the damage 59 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 that's occurring, and they're requested to leave the area. And most times, they do. And, like the inspector said, most of them are from out of town. We've stopped people as far as from England that pick it up off the Internet and want to come to Love Park to skate. It's world-renowned and everybody states that it is the best spot to skate.
Now, Commissioner Mifflin, can tell us a little bit about the history of JFK Plaza, also commonly known as "Love Park." When was it built and why was it built?
It was -- construction was begun in 1965 and it was completed in approximately 1967. Unfortunately, I don't know the cost of that construction. It was handled actually at that point by the Department of Public Property. But upon completion of the park, which was to cover a garage below grade, it became the responsibility of the Fairmount Park Commission for maintenance and management, and it has had that responsibility since 1967. Today, it is prohibited to skateboard 60 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 in JFK Plaza by vert of the Fairmount Park rules and regulations, as it is in any area of Fairmount Park, unless it is so permitted by the Fairmount Park Commission, and it is not -- a permit has not been issued for skateboarding in JFK Plaza. We are responsible for the floral decorations and the maintenance of the fountain in the plaza. Both its capital improvements and its operating budget needs are the responsibility of the Fairmount Park Commission. Most recently, we have assigned park rangers to the plaza, specifically to assist the Philadelphia Police Department in the prohibition of skateboarding in the plaza. And within the last six months, we have also issued 200 code violation notices as well.
Mr. Martz, can you tell us a little bit about the park built at FDR Park, when that was done, if you have any estimate of what the present facility costs. I notice your testimony indicated an additional $20,000 upgrade.
I actually will ask Bill to answer that because it is a Fairmount Park property. 61 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147
The skateboard park in FDR Park it was constructed in FY '98 for a total cost at that time of $40,000. Much of the work was done in-house, and the public dollars were actually used for the purchase of materials and supplies. And it's quite actually remarkable, and it's something that I am proud to point to, that it's quite frankly the way parks are supposed to work. The City, through the Park Commission, put in the initial improvements, and the users have expanded the facility probably three times the original size of the park. We believe it is actively used. We do not staff the park daily. We have staff that work in the park and they, with their other responsibilities in the park, will pay some level of attention to it. It works well. The youth use it. They have recently organized a friends group of the skateboard park, which we have encouraged and as a sister organization to the Friends of FDR Park. We've begun to recognize and we're working together not only for the operation of the park, but the capital improvements so that the City 62 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 funds, through the RDA, will be a wonderful assist, I think, in improving that park.
But it's not a -- excuse me. It's not a panacea, unfortunately, to solve all of the skateboard issues on other public properties in the park. The rangers, as well as the Philadelphia Police Department, have brochures which explain the park. In FDR Park, when we come upon skateboarders in JFK or here at the City Hall apron, explain how to get there, it is accessible through public transportation.
And the construction of that facility -- and, you know, whether people think it is low-level, medium-level, I mean, I'm not an expert in this particular area but, I mean, I certainly would not say that it's the most beautiful facility around, but it was an attempt by the City to respond to this issue when it arose, I believe, in the '93-'94 time period. Mayor Rendell, I think, asked for a hold or a suspension on enforcement at JFK Plaza until there was a facility constructed. It also may not be at a premiere 63 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 location and whether we could find another site that is either more accessible, larger, better built, those certainly remain options that the City can take. But, again, I would say the issue here today is whether or not you have inappropriate activity going on in certain space that was not built for that particular reason. Can you tell us a little bit about -- there was a story in the Inquirer dated April 30th, a Sunday story, about plans for JFK Plaza and Love Park and other public space in terms of upgrade to facilities as well as any problems that you've experienced in finding products or cleaners to deal with the markings that are left, I believe, from the wax on the skateboard wheels and other parts of the skateboard.
Mm-hmm. Well, the plans for JFK Plaza include both short-term and long-term plans. I'm not familiar this morning with the April 30th article. I recall reading it, but I couldn't recite it this morning. The short-term efforts are basically to reclaim the park, and the prohibition of skateboarding in JFK Plaza, I think, goes along 64 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 the lines of reclaiming the park on a short-term basis. Long-term, there's the issue of the Convention Visitors Bureau building and the future of that building. It's the use of the park by local residents. As you can see, we have development occurring now in the old former Cigna in a building. This will be there front yard basically. So we have interest in developers in ensuring that the park is well-maintained and protected and enhanced. It's always been a center for visitors, regardless of what happens to the visitor center building. Our park trolleys start there and take people on tours of the park and to the Art Museum and such, so it has a very important role in the way the City is perceived by our residents as well as visitors. And I'm sorry, Councilman, your second question with regard to the April 30th --
Solutions and cleaners dealing with the granite and the markings.
Thank you. 65 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 Actually, the Historic Preservation Trust, along with support from the University of Pennsylvania, has just recently found what we think is the best cleaning concoction, and it's just that. It's a mix of simple green and some other more abrasive detergents. We've worked with the Art Commission and the Public Art Office to ensure that the use of this material is not toxic and would not damage the granite pavers. And on a limited basis, it does seem to be working. It's going to take some elbow grease. It's not the type of thing go that you can just in and spray like a power wash. The first application, you really have to scrub. So we're in the process of doing just. We think once we clean, it the wax buildup from the undercarriage of the skateboard has basically sealed in the black mark from the skateboard itself. So we're first removing the wax and then getting to the grime. And we're optimistic that we'll see improvements there from a cleanliness standpoint. But there is, nevertheless, some damaged material there that should be replaced. 66 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147
Councilman, if I could, I just -- we have to do the same type of removal on both the apron of City Hall and the Municipal Services Building. As you all know, we did a $43 million renovation to the Museum Municipal Services Building back in fiscal '95 that included about $135,000 of art work on the plaza of City Hall. We had to take that art work down and send it all out there. It's essentially $73,000 worth of damage to that art work that has been removed and is being repaired right now as a result of skateboarding on the MSB Plaza.
Mr. Martz, could you, in addition to Love Park, Dilworth Plaza, Municipal Services Building Plaza, are there other areas throughout the City that are publicly owned that have experienced the same -- or maybe not the same level of attention but attention from skateboarding and skateboarding enthusiasts?
Recently, Councilman, as you well know, we completed paving improvements to Washington Square, and my staff has reported that they have witnessed skateboarding activity. We do 67 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 have skateboarding activity on what we refer to as the I-95 park. This would be near Front and Spruce, the old abandoned fountain that was placed there for the Bicentennial, and next to that is the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial. We had an incident of skateboarding there, but I believe that has not been repeated, but we're fairly vigilant about checking that memorial.
And although it's not in your direct control or purview, Penn's Landing, is --
Okay. Any other areas aware that you're aware of, Commissioner Perez? COMMISSIONER PEREZ: No. 19
Part of the problem in the City's effort, I think, a couple years ago to find alternative sites for this activity I think has met with some resistance. I do believe, although I'm not an expert in this area, but part of what is the attraction is the natural urban landscape and facilities that are there now as 68 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 opposed to the construction of a faux urban landscape, I think is as best I can put it, that always, there will be an attraction for public plazas, public buildings, granite, and those type of materials, despite what we may put into skateboard park underneath I-95 at Roosevelt Park or anywhere else, even though it may get used, and I'm not saying that it doesn't, but it probably doesn't get used, obviously, anywhere near the level that we'd like it because we still have problems on public property. I mean, I'm wondering whether or not you think that no matter what we create in an artificial way would keep people from wanting to use the natural urbanscape that's in public parks.
That's a real possibility. My understanding, it seems lately, is that the real interest is in being in Center City. And, you know, it's just very difficult for us to keep up on those public spaces. I mean, you know, we have limited resources with which to go back and try to fight the grime that comes along with all of this. 69 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147
What is it about the granite pavers that seem to -- I mean, granite, in my experience, seems to be a pretty sturdy commodity. Is it the way pavers are laid, is it the way they're put together that the creates the cracks?
The pavers are set on small corners, pins. There are four pins in each of the pavers. So when you come down on it, you're distributing the weight in a single force against the way, you know, those four corners that hold it all in place. So there's not a lot of support there to handle a person's weight, and when it comes down with that kind of force, it absolutely decimates the paver.
Councilwoman Blackwell had indicated she had a question.
Thank you very much. I have just two questions. One is, what is the cost of the amount of cleanup that this requires; do you know, do you have any figures to that amount?
We've just started the cleanup effort, Councilwoman, and I'm certain when 70 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 I'm finished the initial scrubbing so to speak, just in direct labor costs -- and I'm doing this with seasonal employees -- will probably come close to $10,000.
And you can add to that, Councilwoman, probably similar costs at both the Municipal Services Building and City Hall.
All righty. Well -- so at this point, it hasn't cost us a lot in dollars. Why can't we, Mr. Chairman, meet with some of these young people? Apparently, a lot of young people want to do it 'cause they're all here. Can't we find -- have a discussion with them to work out some place that is amenable to all sides? Can we try to do that?
Well, I just want to add, if you don't mind, Councilwoman, that the cost that we're talking about are actual cleanup costs. There are considerable costs that come with the 71 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 damage to the pavers and the furniture in all of these public plazas. So we've identified $900,000 in costs that is as a result of the skateboarders using it.
I just wanted to add to both Councilman Kenney's comment and yours now, Councilwoman, that the Park Commission, quite frankly, would be delighted to work with the leadership of the skateboarders community as we move to improvements to the FDR Park. We believe that it's building in momentum and it's building in interest. It's something new that just -- it just took us a couple of years, and there are a few young people in the audience this afternoon who were with us four year and five years ago, when we opened the park and are still there and have actually brought a number of the improvements to it. So it would be foolish for the City to 72 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 go ahead and design something or build something without the input of the users and of the community. I just have to tell you, there's not a lot of communities in the City that would be pleased to have a skateboard park -- for whatever reasons -- in their community. And I think FDR Park really works well. There are some in the audience and others who think we should build an indoor skateboard facility for them and, you know, certainly to the extent that I can participate in discussions like that, I will do that.
Do you communicate at all with any of the similar people in your position throughout the region, as far as Montgomery, Delaware County, Bucks, Chester, New Jersey?
They don't have the extent that -- the counties that you've just mentioned really don't have the skateboard -- the level of skateboard issues that we have. However, other cities -- and I've traveled and when I met 73 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 with my peers around the country, they are all facing similar issues, and most have enacted legislation which prohibits skateboarding in public spaces, particularly in downtown areas.
Do you know if there is similar prohibitive legislation in the surrounding five-county area?
I know that there has been interest from other counties who are looking to what Philadelphia's doing. I believe there are similar but I -- and I could certainly -- I'd be pleased, through the Pennsylvania Parks and Recreation Society, to find out specifically what immediate or adjacent counties have similar issues. This is a big park and recreation issue, it really is. Skateboarding is not something that's been ignored.
Mr. Chairman, while they're coming forward, let me thank the 74 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 director for that. I tell you, you learn about so many sports. I met yesterday and learned that he had met with people regarding disk golf, which I had never heard of, that they want to do in the park. But it seems to me that Philadelphia, being "the city that loves you back," that if we work hard, we can come up with something. You know, we don't want it to be like the age of liquor being -- and repealing a law. We don't want to enact legislation that's not abided by or not agreed to by all parties and then we just deal with the enforcement. I think it gives a negative attitude. Since the Fairmount Park director said he's willing to work with some of the young people who are interested in doing that, to come up with something that's amenable. I don't know if the sponsor of the legislation and the chairman would be amenable to us having that and trying to come up with something that everybody can live with, as opposed to immediately passing legislation. That would be my recommendation but, certainly, I'll abide by the majority of the wishes of the committee. 75 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147
I don't think that that necessarily would be a bad idea, as long as there would be an agreement to a moratorium on skateboarding on public surfaces until we come up with some appropriate agreement or conciliation. I think to stop this process, while at the same time having the other side not contain their activity on public property, I think would be somewhat a one-sided agreement or arrangement.
Well, if we know who the leaders would be, maybe we can ask the question before the hearing's over, then that would be okay.
The question regarding -- and I think Councilman Nutter has some additional questions about risk management. Has the City received any lawsuits as a result of injuries occurred, for example, in Love Plaza by someone who has lost a skateboard and has cracked 76 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 an ankle or knocked someone over? I mean, are we being sued because of the activity that people may incur injury on public property because of this activity?
Mr. Chairman, my name is Barry Scott, I'm the Director of Safety and Loss Prevention of the City's Risk Management Division. To date, we have not received any substantial claims or litigation as a result of injury relating to skateboarding in the Love Park area or on other City properties right here in downtown. We've been very fortunate in terms of not having any significant claims experience in this area.
Mr. Scott, as the Director of Public Safety for Risk Management, can you give us either your official position or your professional perspective on your concern as a risk management person on this particular activity and the prospect of potential liability for the City?
Certainly. We are very concerned about the situation in Love Park. It does get a lot of use, there are many, many 77 6/13/00 Public Property - Bill 000147 pedestrians who pass through the park each day. The activity of skateboarding at various times is intense and the potential for injuries to pedestrians during the course of passing through the park is something that we believe is significant at many times during the day, and the potential for injury could be severe. We're also not able to identify some, what could be possible damage -- or claims against the City related to damage to the structures in the park, which also could be significant. So the fact that we've got a lot of people going very fast as others are trying to use the park and sightsee, and as you all knows, it's a beautiful vista there. People are not always paying attention necessarily to those going around them very fast as they're trying to enjoy the vista. So the potential for injury and loss is significant at this location.