COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wednesday, November 28, 2007 3:35 p.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE, CHAIR COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN JUAN RAMOS BILLS 060111, 070931, 070932, 070933, 070938 and 071001 - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good afternoon. This is the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. We'll now come to order. We have established a quorum: Councilman Kenney, Councilman Greenlee, Councilwoman Miller, Councilman Ramos. The Bill No. 060111 is being held to the call of the Chair. Bill No. 11 070938 is being asked to be held by the sponsor of the bill.
Bill No. 070931, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into an agreement with the United States of America for the grant of a right-of-way for railroad purposes by the City through property, located on the north side of the Army Corps of Engineers Fort Mifflin Center from Fort Mifflin Road to the 60th Street Branch of the former Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, CSX Transportation, Incorporated, under 3 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. certain terms and conditions.
Thank you. I see we have two witnesses for this bill. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Yes. Should I proceed or wait for the Chair?
Yes, please proceed. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Good afternoon, Councilmembers and Chairman Clarke. My name is Joan Schlotterbeck. I'm the Commissioner of Public Property. I'm here today to testify in support of Bill No. 070873 (sic) authorizing me as Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to enter into an agreement with the United States of America for the grant of a right-of-way for railroad purposes by the City --
Excuse me. What bill number did you say? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: 4 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. I'm sorry. You know what, I have a typo on my testimony. Forgive me. 070931.
Okay. Thank you. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Forgive me. -- (continued) purposes by the City through property, located on the north side of the Army Corps of Engineers Fort Mifflin Center from Fort Mifflin Road to 60th Street Branch of the former Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington Railroad, CSX Transportation, Inc., under certain terms and conditions. This ordinance authorizes me as Commissioner to grant a railroad easement to the Army Corps of Engineers over the City-owned property adjacent to the property of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps of Engineers property is used for the Delaware River dredging project. The railroad easement ensures that the rail transport of the dredge soils will not be interrupted. 5 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. The Department supports this measure and, accordingly, I respectfully ask that Council support and approve Bill 5 No. 070931. I respectfully request that the Committee vote 070931 out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules be suspended to permit the first reading at the next Council session. Thank you. We're available to answer any questions you may have. But this is a companion bill to two others, which may clear up any questions at that point.
This is a companion bill to the two other bills listed for today? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Yes.
Okay. Does any Committee members have any questions of this witness? (No response.) 6 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC.
Are there any other witnesses for this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you. Will the Clerk please read the title of the next bill.
Bill No. 070932, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to lease to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for nominal consideration, and with an option to purchase, a certain parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon located between Hog Island Rod, not legally opened, and Fort Mifflin Road, not legally opened, to the north of I-95, for further sublease, with 7 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. an option or requirement to purchase at fair market value, all under certain terms and conditions. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Good morning, members of the Public Property and Public Works Committee -- I mean good afternoon. I'm just screwing everything up today. My name is Joan Schlotterbeck. I'm the Commissioner of Public Property. I'm here today to testify in support of Bill No. 070932 authorizing me as the Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to lease to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for nominal consideration, and with an option to purchase a certain parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon located between Hog Island Road, not legally opened, Fort Mifflin Road, not legally opened, to the north of I-95, for further sublease, with an option or requirement to purchase at fair market value, all under certain terms and conditions. 8 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. This ordinance will lease the 12.9 acre parcel to PAID for further sublease -- for future sublease of the property with an option to purchase at fair market value. This parcel will be used by FMRA, Inc. as part of its contract with the Army Corps of Engineers to assist with the Delaware River Channel deepening project. The Department supports this measure and, accordingly, I respectfully ask that Council approve Bill No. 070932. I respectfully request that the Committee vote Bill No. 070932 out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules be suspended to permit first reading at the next Council session. Thank you.
Now, who will the City be leasing this to? Who will PAID be leasing this to? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: FMRA, which is Fort Mifflin Reclamation 9 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. Authority -- Association. Sorry.
And that's the group that's actually going to do the -- responsible for the dredging? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Yes.
And the dredging will help us do? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Deepen the --
Deepen the river so we can use the port or we can get more activity going on at the port? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Exactly. The owner is here today if you'd like him to come up and testify.
Good afternoon. My name is William Rinaldi. I'm the President of FMRA, Inc. We are currently working on the Army Corps disposal, so as now we're 10 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. moving dredge material, which we have a long-term lease with the Army Corps. We are looking for this property next door, which is adjacent to the rail, to actually make the deepening project more effective and cost effective for both the state and the city. This river deepening probably will create over 10,000 jobs within the City of Philadelphia.
Well, here I have the President of the Longshoremen, Mr. Boise Butler. He could really give you an exact number of about how many jobs just by his local will be created. There'll be also jobs with the deepening itself, there'll be a lot of jobs.
Okay. That's what I was going to ask. I'm sure that they're in phases. 11 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC.
Like the deepening and then more permanent type jobs.
Yes. It would be nice if the President would come up and give us some information. Hi. Please state your name for the record and pull the mike up.
Boise Butler, President of International Longshoremen Association, Local 1291. This deepening project is essential to our survival on the river, period. With the ships that's being born today needing so much more water than what they did years ago, without this dredging project, we're done. The river is done as far as moving commercial traffic up and down the river. Okay? It would be a travesty to lose these type of jobs, family-sustaining jobs, that this river now it has and the new jobs that it 12 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. will create. Family-sustaining jobs, which we all know we so desperately need. So it is very important. I do expect with this dredging of the river, there's going to be port expansion already planned. Okay? I would expect for us to grow from -- we currently do right now approximately half a million containers a year. With this port expansion -- again, and that's based on the dredging, because if the dredging doesn't happen, the port expansion doesn't happen -- we can go from anywhere from a half a million containers to two and a half to three million containers a year. That turns into a lot of direct and indirect jobs and, again, family-sustaining jobs.
That's great. That's really great. So how long does the dredging take? I mean, we're excited. We want to get this started.
Well, we want to get it done, but I think if everything is -- and I'm approximating. If everything is signed off on in a timely manner, I think it will actually take about approximately four years to complete the dredging, but as they're doing the dredging, we'll start building the new port facility. They're going to go hand in hand. They'll go hand in hand. They'll start the dredging. We'll 14 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. start using that material to do what we need to expand the port. So hopefully within the next five to six years, we are up and running, with tens of thousands of new jobs down there on the river. I can tell you that someone right now with maybe eight to ten years of experience -- seniority, not experience, seniority with us, if they're not making currently $80,000 to $100,000 a year, they're not trying to work. That's the kind of jobs we need.
You got that right. Now, are those types of jobs available to ex-offenders?
Always have been. We currently have and always have had an open-door policy, but I must say, now things are changing now. Under the 15 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. federal guidelines -- and TWICs is coming. I don't want to mislead anyone, because everyone coming down applying for jobs on the river, even truckers, no 6 matter who you are, if you're going to enter into the port facility, you're going to have to pass this TWICs program, this port security program.
Transportation Workers Credentials, you know. There's going to be a bimetric --
Yes, screening. So, again, I don't want to mislead anyone. This is something new that's coming and it's starting, I'll be honest with you, the 13th of December, registration. So I have concerns even 16 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. about some of the people that's already there. But we always had an open-door policy.
So that program will actually eliminate people or it could potentially do that?
It potentially could. It potentially could, but we don't really foresee that. I don't think the program is designed to do away with people that may have misdemeanors or something in their record that happened years ago. Yes, if you've been caught 15 and pleaded guilty with espionage or 16 something of that nature, absolutely 17 you're done. 18
Any other 17 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. Committee members have questions?
Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Sir, maybe you could answer this. Just so I'm clear for the record -- and I agree, this sounds like a great project. What's on this land now? And I guess the second question is, where you're going to be building where the permanent jobs are going to be is going to be on this land?
Okay. I got you. So what's going on -- well, what's there now?
Just so 18 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. I'm clear.
Right now it's a vacant 12.9 acre parcel. There's some old structures on it currently. We were going to be building a building to process dredge material with other beneficial-use materials on this site. The reason why this site is so key is because of its proximity to the Army Corps' 300 acres. So in order to move the material and process and do beneficial-use projects, which will be using material -- one of the objectives right now we're working on is Valley Forge. They need to cap for a museum, I think it's, 15 acres and they need about 300,000 cubic yards of material. Naturally, the material coming out of the river or in Fort Mifflin right now is too wet. We'll have to process it with other materials, make it another component and then deliver it. So the closer we are to where this is is --
Better 19 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. facilitation.
Better facilitation, and it ends up costing the state a lot less money. And the other thing too is, besides just the -- once the dredging happens, we also have to remember we're going to have ten to 9 years of maintenance, because once that 10 earth is disturbed, you're still going to 11 have maintenance every year. 12
Okay. 13 Good luck. Thank you. 14 Thank you, Madam Chair. 15
Well, it's a combination. The bulk of the money will be coming through federal channels and so much of the state and that's it. But the bulk of the money, I think maybe -- don't quote me, but maybe 80 percent of it is federally funded.
All right. Thank you. 20 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. Any other questions? (No response.)
All right. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Are there any other witnesses for this bill? (No response.)
Seeing none, let's move on to the next bill. Clerk, please read the title.
Bill No. 070933, an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to lease or convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for nominal consideration, all or part of a certain parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon situate in an area generally bounded by Penrose Avenue to the north, the southerly section of Penrose Ferry Road to the south, River Bank Road to the east, and a certain railroad right-of-way 21 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. to the west, under certain terms and conditions. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Good afternoon, members of the Public Property and Public Works Committee. My name is Joan Schlotterbeck. I'm the Commissioner of Public Property. I'm here today to testify in support of Bill 10 No. 070933 authorizing me as Commissioner, on behalf of the City, to lease or convey to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, for nominal consideration, all or part of a certain parcel of land with the buildings and improvements thereon situated in an area generally bounded by Penrose Avenue to the north, the southerly section of Penrose Ferry Road to the south, River Bank Road to the east and a certain railroad right-of-way to the west, under certain terms and conditions. This ordinance will authorize the City to lease or convey the parcel to Philadelphia Authority for Industrial 22 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. Development, for further conveyance or subleasing at fair market value. This rail siding parcel is adjacent to the Victory Gardens/Emerson landfill sites and may be of value to the purchaser of those sites. The City may reserve from such conveyance any land that may be necessary or desirable for road purposes, and to reserve, create and grant such easements for access and utilities and such other easements as may be necessary or desirable. The Department of Public Property supports this measure and, accordingly, I respectfully ask that Council approve Bill No. 070933. I also respectfully request that the Committee vote this bill, 070933, out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules be suspended to permit the first reading at the next Council session. Thank you.
Thank 23 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. you. Any questions from the Committee members?
Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner, I know you had said earlier that these were all companion bills. So just so I get my geography right, this is connected in some way with the others? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: This is actually different from the FMRA deal, but it's in the Emerson landfill. It's all down in the same area of ownership for the City, and at some future point, this particular parcel may be of benefit for the overall disposition of those other two parcels.
So as we speak, there's no direct plans for this. It's sort of being held in reserve; is 24 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. that the right phrase?
My name is John Herzins. Actually, this would provide an improved access to the site to the purchaser of the Victory Gardens and Emerson landfill.
But they're not actually going to own it. You're not leasing to them?
There was an ordinance recently passed. We are in the process of selling the property to the Regional Port Authority.
So this will be part of that parcel. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: And for clarity, the original ordinance, we frankly overlooked this piece, and it will be of benefit to the overall disposition down there for the future purchaser. 25 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC.
Any other questions from Committee members? (No response.)
Okay. Well, this Committee is going to take about a five-minute recess. This ends -- but before we do that -- COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: I think there's one more bill.
Oh, there's one more bill? I thought this was the one that was being held. Someone said this was being held. We have one more bill, the 01. Is that the one you have? This is the 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. amendment. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: It's the amendment to --
Bill No. 071001, an ordinance amending Chapter 6-300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Public Property Maintenance and Supervision," by creating a new Section 16-305, under certain terms and conditions.
Okay. You're going to testify on this bill, Public Property? COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: Actually, I do not have any testimony for this bill.
Is there anyone here to testify on Bill No. 24 071001?
Didn't you 27 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. offer the amendment?
We didn't offer the amendment yet. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: We did work through the language on the amendment with staff persons from Councilwoman Campbell's office. So we did -- there was an ordinance, then there was an amendment, and then we worked on changing the language so that it will be workable for all parties. Do we need to read the amendment into the record?
The amendment has been circulated. We all have the amendment. We'll make sure the stenographer receives a copy. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: All right.
Is there anyone here to testify, anyone here want to give remarks on the amendment? I mean, if you want to do that, please feel free. 28 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. COMMISSIONER SCHLOTTERBECK: No. 4
No? Okay. Well, are there any other witnesses for this bill? (No response.)
Does any Committee member have any questions regarding this bill, or comments? (No response.)
Okay. Thank you. Seeing that there are no other witnesses to testify on these bills, this will be the close of the public hearing, and we will now move into the public meeting.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Councilman Ramos, can you please make a motion on Bill No. 070931.
I move that Bill No. 070931 be reported out of 29 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. Committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at our next Council meeting. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. Bill 070931 is reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation with rules suspension as to allow reading at the next session of Council. Councilman Greenlee, can we get a motion on Bill No. 070932.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I move that Bill No. 23 070932 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and, further, that the rules of Council be 30 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. suspended to allow for first reading at our next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. Bill 070932 is reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation with rules suspension as to allow reading at the next session of Council. Councilwoman Miller, can I get a motion on Bill 070933.
I move that Bill No. 070933 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and further move that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session. (Duly seconded.) 31 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC.
The ayes have it. Bill 070933 is reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. Councilman Ramos, can you get a motion on the amendment to Bill No. 14 071001.
I move that the amendment as previously described regarding Bill No. 071001 be adopted. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. The amendment to Bill 071001 is approved. Councilman Ramos. 32 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC.
I move that Bill No. 071001 as amended be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and further more that the rules of Council be suspended to permit first reading of this bill at our next Council meeting. (Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. Bill 071001 as amended is reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation with rules suspension as to allow reading at the next session of Council. Thank you all very much. This concludes the Committee on Public Property and Public Works. 33 11/28/07 - PUBLIC PROPERTY - BILL 070931, ETC. (Committee on Public Property and Public Works adjourned at 4:00 p.m.) - - - 34 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on November 28, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)