- - - COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, March 21, 2005, 10:22 a.m. - - - 050065 - An Ordinance amending Chapter 9-300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Communication," and amending Title of 9 The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Streets," and adding a new Chapter 10 11-700 to The Philadelphia Code, entitled "right-of-Way Management," all to provide 11 for comprehensive management of the right-of-way, including the placement and maintenance of cables, pipes, conduit, poles, wires and associated equipment in or on the right-of-way, and including the establishment of requirements for the issuance and renewal of right-of-way use authorizations, standards and fees for the regulation of the use and occupancy of the right-of-way, and provision for enforcement of such provisions, all under certain terms and conditions. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN FRANK DI CICCO, Chair COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 - - - P R O C E E D I N G S - - - COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Good morning. Apologize for the delay. We now have a quorum. This is the Committee on Streets and Services. In attendance are myself, Councilman DiCicco, the Chair of the Committee, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller, Councilman Michael Nutter and Councilman Frank Rizzo. If anyone wishes to testify and has not yet made that known to my legislative assistant, Mr. Abernathy, please do so. The clerk will read the title of the bill.
Bill Number 050065, an ordinance amending Chapter 9-300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Communication," and amending Title 11 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Streets," and adding a new Chapter 11-700 to The Philadelphia Code, entitled "right-of-Way Management," all to provide for comprehensive management of the 3 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 right-of-way, including the placement and maintenance of cables, pipes, conduit, poles, wires and associated equipment in or on the right-of-way, and including the establishment of requirements for the issuance and renewal of right-of-way use authorizations, standards and fees for the regulation of the use and occupancy of the right-of-way, and provision for enforcement of such provisions, all under certain terms and conditions. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Mr. Goldsmith, I believe. Mr. Goldsmith. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Good morning.
Good morning. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: This may be your last hearing.
One never knows. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: One never knows, right. Thank you. Please identify yourself.
I'm Phil Goldsmith, Managing Director of the City of Philadelphia. 4 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 I want to thank you, Mr. Chairman, for giving me the opportunity to start this hearing off; and secondly, for having this -- having this hearing, and doing so in an expeditious manner. This is a very important piece of legislation for the City of Philadelphia, for a number of reasons. But I think most importantly, what I think makes this legislation significant is the way that we went about in crafting this legislation to submit to City Council. What this ordinance will do is to improve the quality of life in Philadelphia by giving the Streets Department the means to reduce the disruption caused by repeated construction in our right-of-ways. I don't think there's anyone around that doesn't get frustrated with seeing the street ripped up because one utility's in there working on it, and then a couple weeks later another utility comes in, and another utility comes in. And by "utility," I do not mean to exempt or absolve the City of 5 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Philadelphia through its Water Department or PGW. What this bill will do is really find a balance between the regulatory and fiscal interests of the City and the interests of the industries that use the right-of-way to deliver utility and telecommunication services to the public. In the past we've had a lack of compensation for right-of-way management. We've had a loss of street life due to utility evacuation, and we really have had inefficient utility coordination. From last June to December of 2004, we had weekly discussions between the City and the right-of-way users, to seek an ordinance that would accommodate the needs of the City and the right-of-way users. It was a collaborative process. And the result of that collaborative process is now before this committee. We have people from both the utilities here, the right-of-way users, as well as from the City to answer your 6 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 questions and speak in far more detail and expertise that I can. We also have with us John Good. John was retained by the City and by the utilities as a facilitator because there were times during this process where we came, you know, to a bump in the road. And we really thought that rather than letting this thing come to a stalemate or one side trying to impose a tool on the other side, we thought it would be a good opportunity to get a facilitator to help us get through that. And Mr. Good, with the good will of both sides, was able to do that. So I'm very pleased that what we present to you is a process, while not perfect, is a number of steps forward, a collaborative process, that will provide some fiscal relief to the City, which will provide some regulatory relief to the right-of-way users, and will provide some disruptive relief to our motorists and people who use our rights-of-way. So I just wanted to come here and 7 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 say that and tell you that I think that this is significant legislation for a problem that's been around for a long time. And I think the methodology in which we have attacked this is a good example of the way we can be doing things here in the City of Philadelphia. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Mr. Goldsmith for your testimony. Any questions for Mr. Goldsmith from this committee, including Councilman Nutter and Rizzo? Do you have any questions for Mr. Goldsmith? No. 16 Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Goldsmith. The next witness is Mr. John Good. Good morning, sir. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is John Good. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Proceed with your testimony. Do you have testimony?
Yes. 8 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Good.
I'm here to talk about the process by which the parties came to an agreement. I am a senior consultant with Search for Common Ground, an organization which is the largest peacemaking organization in the world. In the past couple of years, Search has taken an interest in a public policy in the United States which is frequently decided on very acrimonious terms and wanted to -- We have been working to focus on the areas of mutuality in public policy. And this was an example, and we hope will serve as an example to other projects. The City of Philadelphia faces many challenges, when it comes to public policy, or even commercial disputes, the Meridian building, for example, a building which was burned down or burned years ago, and was for a very long time and continues to be a source of conflict and lost opportunities. I was asked in October to begin 9 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 working as a facilitator with this process. We used the Search for Common Ground approach which is to work on the commonalities and understand the differences. The parties made very good faith and very courageous effort, I thought, to identify broad areas of concern and start working on them. They also worked to understand areas where they disagreed, and in that process of working things out, built up enough of a relationship so that when they hit those bumps in the road that the Managing Director described, they had enough good will built up and of trust in each other built up that they could overcome those problems. There are going to be -- There continue to be problems, areas of disagreement, areas of dispute, but I think that they have established enough of a relationship and enough of a track record now that they're going to be able to work out those areas. There are two areas that any 10 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 agreement like this focuses on. One is the content about which I know nothing, and I was... So I cared not at all about what the parties decided to do. The other is the process by which they do it which is the only thing I cared about, the only thing I paid attention to. And in doing that, I became an advocate for an agreement, and in many cases the only advocate who cared just for an agreement between the parties. I want to commend the parties themselves. They did a phenomenal job of coming together, of talking through, working through these issues, of building the relationship, and of finally coming up with some creative solutions that they would not have come up with if that had been an adversarial or acrimonious kind of process. At the end of the day, they are going to be depending upon those relationships and that good will they have built up, in order to continue to do this work and to make progress. 11 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Accompanying me today are Marie Williams and Kimberly Higgins from Search for Common Ground. You may recall that last month Councilman Rizzo was there. There was a hearing on ex-offender reentry. Search for Common Ground also facilitated that. I'm putting this in as a plug because I think that there are many more issues that can be addressed using this kind of process, taking it out of the adversarial method, finding areas of common ground, working on them, and coming up with better public policy. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. When I asked if you had testimony, I was wondering if you had written testimony.
Oh, no. 19 COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Okay. We'll get copies of the transcripts. Any questions from the committee for this witness? ) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, sir. Seeing none, the next witnesses are 12 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Clarena Tolson, Kevin Koch, and Frank Punzo. Good morning, Commissioner. We do have copies of your testimony, I believe, as do we have testimony on the other two gentlemen. And if you want to summarize it... It's up to you, whatever you prefer. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: I'll abbreviate it somewhat, with some minor modifications. Good morning to Committee of Streets and Services, Councilman DiCicco. My name is Clarena Tolson. I'm the commissioner of the Department of Streets. I'm here to present testimony with regard to the proposed right-of-way management ordinance, Bill Number 050065. As you are aware, in the wake of the 1996 Telecommunications Act, the City of Philadelphia has been challenged with the balancing the needs of the various telecommunications companies for space in the public right-of-way, and the needs of the public for well-maintained streets and safe and effective delivery of the services. 13 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 We believe that the most effective way to meet this challenge is to enact a comprehensive and non-discriminatory right-of-way management ordinance. The legislation that we are submitting for your consideration today was drafted through a combined effort from the Law Department, the Department of Public Property, and the Department of Streets. With the support of the Managing Director's Office over the past several months, the City engaged in vigorous discussions with a multiplicity of public and private users of the City's rights-of-way to enhance this ordinance. We believe that this legislation is an historic collaboration between the City and the numerous rights-of-way users, in achieving a common ground that will accommodate the needs of all parties, particularly in the following three critical areas. First, this ordinance proposes to replace the need for route specific 14 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 ordinances required under Title 9-303 and Title 11-202 of The Philadelphia Code, by granting 10-year rights-of-way use licenses to all service providers. With this provision, the City will provide even-handed treatment to all users of the rights-of-way, both the incumbents now relying upon authorizations granted in the late 1800s or early 1900s and the new entrants, seeking authorization to install underground fiber optic cables or radio devices on City street lights. This is consistent with the Telecommunications Act, which seeks to establish a competitive environment for the rapid development and diffusion of new technologies, and bars localities from creating barriers to entry in the telecommunications field. Second, the City needs to recover the costs incurred from managing the rights-of-way, and from street-life degradation caused by street excavations. 2 million. This cost was incurred by drafting ordinances and agreements, providing plan reviews, authorizing and issuing street openings and traffic control permits, and providing construction inspection. Between 2000 and 2004, public and private service providers installed or repaired underground facilities along the approximately 340 miles of City streets. Even with hearing to City requirements for street restoration following excavation, such utility trenches weaken the structural integrity of the payment, and lower the remaining useful life of the street. Street life degradation places an additional unfunded burden on the City's street maintenance program by increasing the number of streets requiring repair.
Therefore, in calendar year 2003, the Department of Streets engaged a 16 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 nationally recognized engineering firm to conduct an analysis involving several hundred randomly selected streets that statistically demonstrated that street excavations degraded the design service life of streets. Historically, the City has had to absorb these costs. However, with this ordinance, the City will recover both the management and street life degradation costs through fair and reasonable user fees, as well as provide for a moderate increase in inspection personnel. The Department of Streets estimates that over the first three years of the proposed rights-of-way management program, the anticipated revenue from the City -- that is, the Water Department and PGW users -- the City users and the non City rights-of-way users will be approximately $7 million. Third, with current capital funding, the Department of Streets plans to resurface 100 hundred miles of streets in calendar year 2005. Based on historical data, the 17 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Department of Streets expects the City and the non City rights-of-way users to excavate approximately 70 miles of streets during that same period of time. Obviously, there is a compelling need to coordinate this construction in order to prevent the unnecessary excavation of newly-paved streets and prevents traffic congestion. The centerpiece of this proposed legislation is a program for the coordination of construction activities. With this provision, the City and the non-City rights-of-way users are eagerly agreeing to actively participate with the Streets Department in improving construction coordination. This will be accomplished by performing the following critical steps: First, the existing Advisory Committee of Highway Supervisors will be revitalized by the appointment of representatives from all stakeholders, with appropriate operational knowledge and decision-making authority. 18 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Second, this coordination committee will provide a forum at which proposed construction plans will be exchanged at regularly scheduled meetings. Opportunities for joint construction will be pursued, existing regulations will be reexamined and updated, and potential construction conflicts will be identified and quickly resolved. Lastly, as-built facility maps will be submitted to the Department of Streets by the City and non-City users, upon completion of construction, in a timely manner. We strongly believe that this combined effort between the Department of Streets and the City and the non-City users will ensure that construction in the rights-of-way is properly coordinated, that any... streets will be restored safely and efficiently, according to the City's standard guideline procedures and specifications. 5 billion infrastructure investment in the public rights-of-way. Moreover, in line with the City's role as trustee of the rights-of-way for the public, this proposed rights-of-way ordinance 8 will better preserve the quality and serviceability of the City streets, provide safer and more accessible roadways that will spur economic development, reduce street disruption, streamline work processes that will provide accelerated and competitively neutral access to the rights of way, increase adequate right-of-way inspection, and provide a comprehensive and updated right-of-way management program. I'd like to end by saying, at Council's indulgence, that I'd like to take a moment to recognize the professionalism of the many row users who met once a week and at times twice a week to address our mutual concerns about the rights of way and right-of-way management. , Kathleen Sullivan of Comcast, and Steven Chang of Verizon. All parties involved have proven the power of cooperation.
In conclusion, I'd like to say that I respectfully request that the committee suspend the rules of Council so that this ordinance may be reported out of committee and have its first reading at the next session of Council. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Councilman Rizzo has a question for Commissioner Tolson.
Good morning. I'm sorry. I've scanned the testimony. I listened carefully. I understand that during the development of the conversations about 21 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 this, that there were some hesitancy, resistance, from S.E.P.T.A. to get on board. Could you bring us up to speed on exactly where S.E.P.T.A. is. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Councilman, if I could interrupt, we do have some written testimony. Miss Jones is here. They were not prepared to testify. But, however, they are submitting letters in opposition to S.E.P.T.A. being charged for what we're hearing talk about today. I mean, I can supply you. Miss Tolson maybe able to expound on that.
Thank you. Thanks for letting me know about that, but I would like to hear exactly what is going on with S.E.P.T.A., the resistance. And have you agreed not to charge? Just bring us up to speed in a few minutes, if you could, please. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Surely. Surely. 22 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Although I would certainly expect S.E.P.T.A. to present their positions, I will not try to expound on that. I would just say that --
Just what you know. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Oh, I understand. S.E.P.T.A. has been involved in our discussion with regard to process, fees, rights-of-way management issues. And to date they have not signed an agreement in support of that program.
Well, would this -- Would this -- Would this right-of-way agreement also affect or have the Streets Department under any circumstances -- You know that we have a big problem with rails that have been left abandoned, pretty much, in place where there's no service, and the deterioration of the roadway. And I know that you have to be a civil engineer to figure out how many inches from the track S.E.P.T.A.'s responsible. 23 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Would this affect that at all, the repair of the right-of-way? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: This ordinance 5 is not intended to address the underground track issues. S.E.P.T.A. does on occasion -- on frequent occasion have to access the track in order to do repairs. But responsibilities for the track are not addressed through this ordinance.
I'm not talking about the track. I'm talking about... Example: Germantown Avenue. Trolley used to run 16 there, and there hasn't been a trolley there 17 for a long, long time. The roadway is in 18 deplorable condition. 19 You call the Streets Department, the 20 Streets Department says its S.E.P.T.A. 21 You call S.E.P.T.A. S.E.P.T.A. 22 says, okay, but very little happens. 23
Yes. Then S.E.P.T.A. says it's PennDOT. PennDOT says it's S.E.P.T.A. And there we have 50 hubcaps, wheel covers, on Germantown Avenue because a pothole doesn't get repaired for weeks and weeks and weeks. This is not about that at all, right? COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: No. This is not -- That has more to do with obvious street resurfacing and repairs. This is strictly for the purpose of excavation and who will be paying for a permit to open up the streets, and ongoing maintenance, stuff like that. It doesn't have anything to do --
But ongoing maintenance. If they wanted to go out and do maintenance -- That's my question. The point is, if they wanted to go out and do maintenance, they don't need to -- If they 25 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 need to go fill the big pothole that I have an interest in, they don't need to come get a permit to do that. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: No. And that's not addressed in this ordinance.
Right. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: The ongoing maintenance is for... They may have underground that supports that system.
Okay. I didn't want to deter them any further... COMMISSIONER TOLSON: No. 14
...from filling potholes. Thank you. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Councilwoman Miller.
Yes. Thank you. I have a question. In the last paragraph of your testimony you said that this right-of-way ordinance will reduce street disruption. How will it do that? I don't quite understand. 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Part of the functioning and purpose of the Committee of Highway Supervisors will be to provide dialogue between the various users. Through that dialogue, we expect to have some coordination of work, meaning that if Verizon wants to do some work in a certain block, and the Water Department also has worked planned on that block, and the Streets Department wants to pave that block, the goal of the committee would be to have all that work coordinated, such that we're all in at the same time, and then resurfacing or work by the Streets Department would come in last versus sometimes first and then having to come back again. So, it's avoiding repeated work in the community and avoiding disruption.
Okay. Because that's exactly, I think, what has happened in some cases, where, if the Streets Department was doing resurfacing or whomever is contracted with, if the Water Department or somebody wanted to lay down pipes, and you 27 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 didn't do a particular block, and after the pipe work was done, then you came back. So you're saying that was not happening between... with the other non-City users. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We had not reached a level of coordination that we think works very well. It is to the benefit of all of us because at the end of the day, the right-of-way users will also find some economies from not having -- by coordinating their work. So, we're expecting that we will have improved service and less disruption on the street as a result of the effort of this group.
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, commissioner. 28 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Good morning.
What will the bill do with regard to... And this happens in many instances from our own City departments, whether it's sometimes the Water Department, but certainly some of the other utilities from time to time, where we get these -- a long run. Could be as much as a half a block to a block, where, in essence, about a... I don't know. Maybe it's about two and a half feet, maybe three foot wide trench the length of the block. The work is done, backfill made, possibly hopefully even the cement base. But more, oftentimes than not, the integrity of that job and the seal that's provided normally deteriorates relatively quickly. And so, you have not only the obvious visual aspect that clearly some work was done, that asphalt, of course, is darker or lighter, depending on, I guess, weather conditions, than the rest of the street. But often the edges start to disrupt because of traffic. What will this bill do 29 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 with regard to that? Will those still be allowed? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: If I think -- If I understand properly, you're asking will the right-of-way users still be able to go into a street and create trenches for their work.
Right. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: They will still be able to do that. But as part of the committee work and that ongoing dialogue, one of our major concerns will be how to maintain the integrity of the streets. So we will be looking at issues such as restoration of trenches, how is that done so that it is done appropriately, in a manner that is done that does not cause future problems for the street.
Okay. And what are some of those ways? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Some of those?
And what are some of those ways? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: As an example, 30 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 just purely as an example, right now we have to have so many inches of concrete that is put into the hole on top of dirt. Well, we may have a system where instead of -- We may have a system where we include greater mass of concrete. We may use a system where we have flowable fill which is a fill that would go to a greater depth than, say, four or six inches of concrete. We may have a different type of cut. Right now we have basically straight cuts from the top straight down. It may be a more conical or a pyramid shape cut which would provide better structural integrity to the street after the cuts. So all those types of things will be investigated and kind of reviewed by Streets Department staff, but then will have a Committee of Highway Supervisors that will serve as a sounding board and a party of professionals to provide feedback on feasibility and real outcomes.
Okay. Well, it's obvious that a tremendous amount of work 31 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 was done on this, and this is critically important. I mean, I would, unfortunately, only point out the obvious which is... I mean, I have this right around the corner from me on Overbrook Avenue not... I guess a couple years ago now, the Water Department finally replaced, after trying for many years to repair, a main in the street. They ultimately did make the repair, long trench, the whole block. The integrity was not good. And until the Streets Department or I guess a private contractor, from my hassling first highway -- I mean, the only thing that seems to really work is when you resurface the whole block, and then you have curb to curb integrity. I'm sure that that involves a tremendous amount of expense. But, I mean, so far it is a rare situation that a trench of any significant length survives, as compared to the rest of the roadway. And there is a separation, after a relatively short period of time, between 32 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 where the trench is and the rest of the roadway. And then that just starts the disruption. I'm sure, you know, rain, snow, salt, you know, the whole, you know, that whole expansion and contraction process doesn't help. But the only way it really seems to work is when you have the whole street done. My other question is, with regard to the additional fees that will be paid -- And I, quite frankly, never thought that we were probably getting back what the true cost was. Should users of the various utilities here... I mean, is there any expectation that these new fees or costs are going to be automatically passed on? And that whether it's phone or cable or other services, that people will start to see an additional charge to cover these costs? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: I think the utilities would be best to address how they would handle that. But I also believe that through part of this process, we're looking 33 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 for some economies, some systems that will support maintaining low cost as possible, with regard to the fees. With regard to street degradation, there's actually incentive for the utilities to plan their work, coordinate their work. And it reduces their cost. So, there's opportunity for all of us to gain through this.
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Councilman.
Commissioner Tolson, you know for many years that this has been an interest of mine, on how we leave the right-of-way, and especially when it's not companies of the quality of Comcast or P.E.C.O. Our own municipal departments are sometimes the biggest violators of restoration. I call some of the work that's done our man-made potholes, where shortcuts are taken, where a Water Department job, the dig-up. The backfill consists of the dirt 34 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 and the stone that were broken up from the roadway and just compacted. It rains. And you know the damage that these holes create for motor vehicles. Coming from the utility industry, I know when subcontractors are involved, if they have a job, and they're doing a work for a utility, in some cases. Where they make their money in some cases is taking all the shortcuts they can on backfill. The Councilman described a minute ago the lack of covering plates. They don't do it right because to make temporary restoration isn't cheap. And if they can get away with it, they get away with it. And I drive through the City. Now I know why all-terrain vehicles are so popular. You come up Walnut Street, you come up Chestnut Street, you go through some of the neighborhoods, the rear view mirror falls off the car sometimes, the conditions of the streets are so bad, because people made them that way, because they've excavated and have not repaired them properly. 35 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 And I've been talking to you publicly and privately about this for a lot of years. I think we really need to do a better job in enforcing the fact, with inspectors or whatever we may have, to make sure that these contractors or even our own people -- You don't know how often I have to call the Water Department... Right here, City Hall, a hole in the street for months. I mean the center of our City. We should be... It should be manicured for our visitors and our citizens to see. I mean, how a hole could be left... As a matter of fact, I think even Councilman DiCicco noticed a big hole. We were talking about a hole that was across the street outside the Dunkin Donuts. I mean, how do we allow something like that to happen in the center of our City where Council people are the only ones that can get something -- Because I spoke to one of the merchants over there. He said, oh, I've been calling about 36 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 this for weeks. Not a good situation. And it was probably... and I don't know; I'm just speculating... that a contractor left it that way. We need someone to make sure they do it right, to see a plumber dig up across the street maybe with a permit or without one, and they consider backfill just shoveling the dirt back in. And you have a hump. And the first time it rains you've got a hole that's four, five, six inches deep. Not many cars can survive that today. So I'm appealing to you. This is great, and all of the other things that we talked about today are good. But until you put some teeth in it, and make sure that people do what they're supposed to do, it's another effort that's never going to be fully appreciated. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Thank you Councilman.
How do we -- How do we -- How do we -- I hate to use the word 37 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 police. How do we -- What's our oversight on some of this that I described? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: One of the things that I -- that was reinforced for me through this process... As you heard my testimony, we met from June through December, One of the things that was reinforced for me that was very good to hear was the concern and diligence of our right-of-way users. There are many who take great pride in how they restore their streets, the services they provide to the communities and to their customers. But what they also had a desire for... COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Don't let me interrupt you. Could you pull the mike a little closer. Thank you. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: What the right-of-way users also had a desire for was to see the conditions of the streets improve. And they have encouraged us, with regard toe 38 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 improving our inspection ability. So, part of what we will get out of this right-of-way management ordinance, and then the work that will follow it through, a memorandum of understanding, and the work with the Committee of Highway Supervisors, is improved and enhanced services, with regard to inspection, as you were discussing. I think it's in the interests of all the parties to have that improved and work in a much better way.
Well, I certainly would appreciate that because, again, I don't think it's the companies that I mentioned earlier. I don't think necessarily they're the culprit. In many cases it's the subcontractors that work for them or the private contractor, the plumber that digs up the street and figures, man, I'm going to pick up an extra six, seven hundred bucks and do it the fast way and hope I get away with it. We really need to make sure that 39 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 they understand they're not going to get away with that in the City of Philadelphia. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: That's particularly important for some of our users, given that if you have a renegade on the street that is accessing someone else's facilities, they want to know about it. So, through our inspection process, we'll allow or improve the integrity of access to our streets for not only the City and citizens, but also for our various users.
I know that in some municipalities -- And I'll end it. And I don't know if it would even be something that we could ever even do here. There are some municipalities, before they do a total resurfacing of the street, they have a five-year moratorium on any scheduled dig-up, that... I'm sure you're familiar with that. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Yes.
There's some very big cities that do that, where they inform all of the businesses, residents on that 40 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 street, if you're planning to do a lateral for your sewer line or whatever, get it done now because an emergency dig is going to cost you a lot of money. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Right.
And it's nice to see... And again, it must affect you like it does me to see the Streets Department or a subcontractor do a total resurfacing, and there's a Water Department crew digging it up a month later. So, I hope some coordination -- And I know when I worked for the utility, that I was involved in setting up this committee where all the utilities get together and talk about the work that they planned. So, this will also include that continued coordination, so we don't have a street resurfaced and then the Water Department digging it up six months later, for a scheduled job. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: That's correct. All of the planned work will now be coordinated in a much better way. 41 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05
Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Councilwoman Miller.
Yes. I support this ordinance, but I just want to understand something regarding the 10-year license. Will the 10-year license take the place of the ordinances and the permit approval processes; is that correct? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: That's correct.
So that means that if some work is going to happen, and the company won't have to apply or we won't have to run an ordinance each time. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: That's right. Council will not have to do an ordinance for each event when someone wants to access the right-of-way.
And that can happen for a full 10 years. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: For ten years.
How are 42 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 District Council people going to be informed about what's going on over the period of time? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Thank you for raising that issue. That's an important one for us. It is very important to the Department of Streets that we have Council well informed of both the process and also the events that will be occurring. And we're more than willing to develop any process that's appropriate for Council, whether it be inclusion on the Committee of Highway Supervisors, whether it is notice in advance, so if there's any concerns Council can raise that. We do that with other issues that we have in the department. We'd be more than glad to do that in this as well.
Okay. I think that that's absolutely necessary that it's a part of whatever ongoing discussions and processes that you develop because, you know, District Council people have to know what's 43 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 going on. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Absolutely.
In advance of it happening. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We agree.
We can't just get up in the morning and ride down Germantown Avenue, and all the street's all torn up, and we don't know anything about it. Okay? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Yes.
Mr. Chairman, just as an ad on to that, because sometimes more important than us knowing about it is our constituents. Is there any particular process or protocol for notification when these kinds of events will take place, either in a residential neighborhood, a business corridor, and sometimes you have both. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: For some of our major work, we have our type use forms 44 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 such as a telephone calling system to notify people of major disruptions. We've tried to have community meetings on occasion. I think that where appropriate we can look at additional notification systems, postings to the community papers, any of those forums. As Council will be aware of the events first, if you have suggestions on how to communicate, how to best communicate for the individual events, we'll be more than glad to follow them. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. On that same subject, I think that the department has made significant progress in notifying. We're doing a better job in notifying people now than we were several years ago, but I noticed I -- my office will get oftentimes a notice about a particular street opening, closing for construction purposes, but it's generally within a few days of the event, as opposed to maybe two or three weeks, which would give people enough time to prepare and make those adjustments. 45 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 So you're getting -- we're much better than we were, but I think we can do a little bit better, in the terms of the timing of the notification. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We'll try to improve that. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Generally, with the emergencies we have some limitations but -- COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Well, emergencies I understand. These are -- COMMISSIONER TOLSON: -- we will try to improve our -- COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: These are notifications of street resurfacing or reconstruction that I assume the department has had a year or two planning going into it. So, we'll literally get them almost on the week that it's going to commence. And that does pose a problem.
I have a question, one more question along those lines. How much time or is there a time line 46 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 required for the company to inform you? I mean, who's actually going to coordinate this ten-year license? That will be a part of the coordination, in terms of all the work and whatnot that will be going on. Will it all come through the Streets Department? COMMISSIONER TOLSON: We have a unit within the Streets Department that will be responsible for right-of-way management
Mm-hmm. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: And the various users will be encouraged and required to plan their work for not just months, but on occasion maybe years in advance.
Okay. Because it just worries me a little bit that it's ten years. I mean, if you think that's going to work. You know a lot more about this than I do. However, I don't -- I don't want people to be lax and think they have a ten-year license and there's no notification requirement. 47 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 COMMISSIONER TOLSON: Oh, no, absolutely not. The ten years is simply replacing that ordinance, having to come back to Council for an ordinance --
Okay. COMMISSIONER TOLSON: -- and approvals to have access to the rights-of-way. In fact, over the next ten years, I would dare say that the users and the City will be challenged to improve how we're doing all of our business, whether it be the joint construction, notice to the communities, and how we're doing the work, so that we can show that the -- that this process has been successful, and that additional oversights may not be required.
Okay. All right. Thank you. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. You two gentlemen decide who wants to go next. Mr. Koch, Mr. Punzo. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Please identify yourself for the record. 48 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05
Good morning, members of the committee. I'm Frank Punzo, Communications Superintendent for the Department of Public Property in the Communications Division. It's a pleasure to appear before the committee today to express the department's support for this bill. Based upon the negotiations pursuant to this bill, the department recommends that City Council gives its approval for the bill. The department has been one of the original departments responsible for the creation of this legislation, and has also actively participated in months of collaborative efforts with the users of the right-of-way in the final drafting of the ordinance. Since the passage of the Federal Telecommunication Act of 1996, the department targeted this issue as a critical area of concern for the City. The bill is designed to update the City's administration, inspection and 49 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 enforcement efforts to recover true costs reflected in present-day costs. When Congress enacted the federal legislation, it hoped to enable technological innovation with advanced telecommunication services built upon the use of the public right-of-way. Depending on which consumer perspective you solicit, this federal goal has seen relative success. However, we do know City streets and air space have been impacted with some unanticipated negative results. This bill is a comprehensive strategy to mitigate the negative impacts, recover costs from the appropriate users of the right-of-way, and streamline the City's administrative processes for the users of the public right-of-way. While the demand has declined since the technological boom of the 1990s, it is imperative that the City put in place responsible legislation that recover costs and is responsive to the present-day needs of 50 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 utility and telecommunications companies needing to access the right-of-way. In conclusion, the terms to which the City and right-of-way users have reached consensus through this bill, we find that such terms acceptable to the Department of Public Property. And I respectfully ask the committee that the rules of Council be waived to allow this bill to be reported out of committee and have its first reading at the next Council session. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Any questions for this witness? (No response.) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Mr. Koch.
Good morning, Councilman. I'm simply here in a support role for the Streets Commissioner. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Any other questions for these witnesses from the committee? (No response.) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Seeing none, 51 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 the next panel will be Ms. Kathleen Sullivan, Mr. McBride from P.E.C.O., and Mr. Parrish from Verizon. Miss Sullivan is from Comcast Corporation. Before this panel begins, I want to inform the committee that there are two letters that were received this morning from S.E.P.T.A. -- S.E.P.T.A. legal division. Again, S.E.P.T.A. will not be testifying. So, we will enter these letters into the record. Basically, what S.E.P.T.A. is saying is that the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, as an interested party, is in -- states its position that the right-of-way ordinance as proposed cannot be applicable to S.E.P.T.A. as a matter of law, for reasons which are set forth in the letter. Thank you. Mr. McBride, good morning again. MR. McBRIDE: Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I have prepared written testimony 52 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 that was distributed to the committee. And I'd ask that you accept that as part of the record. I'm going to forego reading it, as most of what I've said or what I would have said has been said more eloquently than I could have done it. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: I don't know about that. MR. McBRIDE: For the record, I am Ed McBride, and I'm with P.E.C.O. Energy Company. Let me first say that what you have before you, the ordinance, allows the right-of-way users to serve their customers as mandated by our regulators and as has been said prior. It allows the City to recover costs of management and fees for resurfacing, and also it allows the City to develop a better coordination system via the Committee of Highway Supervisors. I would just ask that, along with my testimony, that I am formally requesting that the committee accept the ordinance and vote it out with a favorable recommendation. 53 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 I do have some comments, after my peers testify, on things that have been said earlier that I'd like to comment on. Thank you. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Mr. McBride. Any questions for Mr. McBride from the committee? (No response.) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Miss Sullivan.
Good morning, Councilman DiCicco and members of the Committee. My name is Kathleen Sullivan. I'm with Comcast Cable, and my remarks will also represent the feelings of Urban Time Warner. They are not here today, as far as I know, but they agreed to this ordinance. I don't have formal testimony. I just have a few comments to make for the record. First of all, I would like to thank Commissioner Tolson and her staff, Commissioner Joe James and Frank Punzo, as well as Michael Athay and all my colleagues. This was a very long process. And 54 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 you know, we worked... As everyone said here, we worked one or two times a week on this since last May, and lots of donuts were eaten at those meetings. And not only did we exhibit a great spirit of cooperation on the part of the City and the right-of-way users, but during that year the three of us and many of our colleagues here with us today just got so much work done in the spirit of cooperation and things outside of the right-of-way. So, I would like to thank everyone for that. We do support the ordinance for a number of reasons. First, under the franchise with the City, our use of the right-of-ways' already regulated and subject to the obligations that now appear in the current ordinance. For example, our franchise includes bonding requirements, mapping and notice obligations. We believe the ordinance helps bring everyone up to a comparable level of responsibility and obligation. We are also excited about the 55 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 opportunity the ordinance presents for increased coordination and communication between the right-of-way users. We all have a substantial investment in our facilities. Therefore, we are pleased with any effort that might help prevent damage or other conflicts that not only cost money but interfere with our ability to serve our customers. And most importantly, the public will directly benefit from the ordinance, due to the improved coordination of street work and the enhanced ability of the City to monitor, to respond, and to resolve problems. Thank you. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Miss Sullivan. Any questions for this witness from the committee? (No response.) Mr. Parrish.
Thank you. My name is Norm Parrish. I'm manager with Verizon. 56 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Verizon also -- Excuse me. I'm just getting over a cold. So... COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: I had one for ten weeks. Just finishing up.
Cold, bronchitis, you name it. Verizon also supports this ordinance. We believe that this ordinance 10 really is going to be a significant benefit for the City. It creates a new -- As we stated earlier, it gives the City a new fee structure and right-of-way licenses that are designed really for the City to recover its actual costs for effective management of the right-of-way within the City. You'll hear me talk, and if we get questions, I think it was very key on establishing the CHS again. So, this is going to be a very key item in making this ordinance work. What you see before you today is, you see industry and the City administration really coming together to really ensure that 57 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 we make the streets of Philadelphia much better. And we spent all summer working on that. I think you've heard testimony to that fact, that we've been working hard. What we're trying -- This ordinance also will give the City or give, actually, all the users nondiscriminatory access to the right-of-way. And I state that -- I deal with a lot of things on a state and Federal level, and try to adhere to all the FCC mandates. And what we have here not only allows the incumbent to get into the streets a lot easier, but any new entrants. And when you have new entrants trying to get into the streets of Philadelphia, and you've made it easier, that's going to promote economic growth. So, this ordinance also provides that. I think it's also unique right now that you have City agencies and major competitors agreeing to work together on a CHS, to promote -- to at least ensure that we're working together -- we're working 58 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 together to minimize cuts in the streets. And basically, that's what we're here to do, work together, minimize cuts in the streets, and provide -- to provide some type of ordinance that businesses can support, and the City gets to recoup this cost. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Mr. Parrish. Any questions from the committee? (No response.) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Seeing none, the next. Oh, Mr. McBride. Sorry. MR. McBRIDE: Just a comment in response to a concern that Councilwoman Miller brought up. And that is that the... On all of our construction jobs, we are required to have a permit for each job, not just the ten-year permit. But we are looked at on every job for a permit. So, there is constant scrutiny, which may give you a little more relief. And the other thing, just to further expand on something Councilman Rizzo brought 59 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 up. The fee structure in this ordinance is such that it really discourages cutting a new street. You pay the highest resurfacing fee or degradation fee for cutting in a new street. And the idea is our goal on the Committee of Highway Supervisors is going to be to see no one paying that fee because if everything worked right, you wouldn't be opening a new street. So... But if you do, you're going to pay a significantly higher rate.
Mr. Chairman, how do you deal with emergencies? Let's say that you have a cable failure or the Water Department has a -- MR. McBRIDE: You're still going to pay the degradation fee.
That fee will not be waved. And emergencies... In a planning type phase, we should not be cutting the streets. All right. Part of the CHS is that you're going to get information from best practices, best 60 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 practices that Verizon does, P.E.C.O. does, Comcast. You're bringing all that together. And one of the unique things that you're going to do up front is, if you have a new street, we have a program that you put in conduit before paving. So that coordination is going to happen, that you're going to get that -- all that conduit in the road for -- to meet the needs of all the right-of-way users before you surface. Now, are there going to be emergencies? Yes, there's going to be emergencies. But hopefully that gets minimized from proper planning up front.
How does the Streets Department track an emergency? If you have a cable failure, and you have to do an emergency dig on a Saturday. And you do the repair, you backfill. How does the -- How does the process catch up.
Well, you're still going to have to get permits. So they're going to know who did this work. 61 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05
Well, yes, through the ordinance. And I think, Councilman, your concern is that, okay, are these individuals who did this emergency work, has the road been resurfaced or have they just done a crappy job.
And that's part of the problem, that you get an emergency. Dig, you see the temporary backfill for weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks. And I guess that's why this is good because there wasn't a paper trail, and sometimes the Streets Department never knew that they had to go back and make a permanent repair or a subcontractor that works for you comes back and makes a temporary, temporary repair until the permanent repair is done. Could we ever get to the point where the permanent repair is done by the utility? In other words, why do we have to do a high-quality temporary repair, then have the 62 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 Streets Department come, dig it out and do another repair? Why can't there be a point where you're responsible to restore the street to the City's spec and have the Streets Department pretty much out of it? MR. McBRIDE: Councilman, we absolutely have to resurface or restore to the City's spec. Furthermore, our contractors that are under agreement with us, what we call contractors of choice, they absolutely follow the same guidelines. Now, what we're hoping is going to come out of this, both through the Highway Supervisors and the management of the right-of-way organization -- or the right-of-way organization, we hope that tracking the excavations will be done, you know, better, to a higher standard. And we have the a selfish reason for saying that. We believe in most cases the user group that's represented at this table and behind us, we believe they do -- they do 63 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 their restorations according to City and state standards. That's not always the case with every person opening the right-of-way. So we think that by better tracking, it's going to I.D. the people that are making these excavations that fail.
Are you telling me that you open up the street, you do a... Your crew has the ability to do a make-safe repair, you then have a contractor that comes and makes a permanent repair within a reasonable amount of time... MR. McBRIDE: Right.
Are you telling me... Because this is the part that's a little confused. I have talked to people in the Streets Department that told me that they have gone out and actually dug up a perfectly repaired ditch because the Streets Department wanted to fix it. I mean, I witnessed one that I asked about. Are you telling me that after your contractor makes that repair, it's done; it's 64 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 not going to go back to the Streets Department -- Maybe for an inspection. But is it going to get dug up again? MR. McBRIDE: The Streets Department should never be filling or repairing P.E.C.O. jobs or any other utility, for that matter. But I'll speak specifically for P.E.C.O. They shouldn't be repairing our jobs. Now, I will say to you that if we are doing an emergency repair, there are times when they'll fill the excavation, not usually in the cartway but on the sidewalk they'll use soft patch because they're going to come back, dig it up, and put new cables in. And then when they finish it, there should be -- When the contractor comes out to finish that excavation, there should be nothing different than when we went in there the first time.
Good. That's good to hear because I know that that doesn't happen with our Water Department. I believe the Streets Department is the repair agency 65 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 for the Water Department; is that correct, Streets Department? COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Let the record note that Commissioner Tolson --
Is shaking her head. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: -- is shaking her head in the affirmative.
Because that's one of the things that bothered me, to see a contractor come out, make a repair for the Water Department, and then they dig it back up and do it all over again. It doesn't make sense. MR. McBRIDE: We're hoping that better tracking of these excavations will improve the City streets.
And I have to agree with Mr. McBride. I mean, we adhere to a very high strict code, actually PennDOT code and state law. And a lot of times it isn't us that has caused that problems. But if a contractor of ours doesn't do what they are 66 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 supposed to do, then they're going to go back out there and do it.
That's where you want to get to. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Councilwoman Miller.
Yes. Who would be a new user? I mean, you guys are incumbents, like, I'm assuming.
Right. A new user would be a Seelack (phonetic), a different telecom company that wants to do business in the -- in the City. And I think we may have some testimony today from a new user on this ordinance. I'm not sure if that's on the record or not.
Okay. And what are you doing in other cities? For example, do you have these kind of agreements in other cities or is Philadelphia the -- I'm hoping it's not the first, where you come together in this collaboration. 67 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05
If I may speak to that, there are other ordinances in other cities, but this is kind of historic in the sense that the right-of-way users and the City have reached an agreement and a compromise.
Okay. All right. MR. McBRIDE: Instead of coming before you as adversaries, and letting you reconcile our differences, we're coming together as partners.
And Councilman Rizzo, if I may speak to one thing, having to do not with the emergency repairs, but going forward in the future -- And I think that Commissioner Tolson will ensure this -- is that on the CHS, we will have somebody from one of the economic engines in the City, either PIDC or Commerce, sit on the Highway Safety Committee, to let everyone know how far out they're going to be planning projects, which will even make coordination even better. 68 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. MR. McBRIDE: Thank you. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: The next two witnesses are Mr.Christopher, representing AboveNet, Inc. and Mr. Thomas Robinson from CBG Communications, Inc. Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
My name is Chris Ricciuti. I'm with AboveNet, Incorporated. I don't have written testimony. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Do you have any comments?
Yes, I do. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: You need to pull that microphone a little bit closer. Speak directly into it.
Let me turn it down a little bit. Yeah. I'd like to thank the City for the inclusion in this process. We're one of the small users in the right of way. We were invited in early on in May, as all 69 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 right-of-way users were, and was actively involved in the project for getting this ordinance before Council. I'd like to make a couple of points about the original ordinances that, as a small company, that we had to do. It was very time-consuming and costly. It could take upwards of six months or greater, and it was not beneficial to our customers. We could not take the time to spend in order to get a customer connected. With the ordinance that's in front of us now, we'll have the ability to be able to be competitive with the incumbents. So, that gives us a good advantage. And I'd like to just give AboveNet's support for the ordinance. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Is there anyone else here who wishes to testify? I know Mr. Robinson is here only to answer questions if need be, right?
Yes. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: No one else 70 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 here? Just give us a few minutes. Councilwoman Miller stepped out. She'll be back momentarily. While we're waiting, on behalf of the Streets and Services Committee, I'd like to also express my appreciation, as did Miss Sullivan earlier, for all of the folks who are involved in this, all the public departments, public agencies, the private sector, and my staff, and all the members of the other Council members' staff, for the tireless work, the hours that were put in. And I know there were a lot of Dunkin Donuts. But more importantly, Miss Sullivan, how many rounds of golf did you miss? She's a 12 handicap. Maybe better. Are you better than 12?
No. 14. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Oh. Yeah. All right. She's hustling us right now. Okay. Let the record be noted that Councilman Cohen, who's also a member of this committee, is here as well. And this concludes the public 71 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 hearing on the Committee of Streets and Services. (Public hearing concluded at 11:31 a.m.) 72 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 - - - COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC MEETING - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Monday, March 21, 2005, 11:21 a.m. - - - 050065 - An Ordinance amending Chapter 9-300 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Communication," and amending Title of 9 The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Streets," and adding a new Chapter 10 11-700 to The Philadelphia Code, entitled "right-of-Way Management," all to provide 11 for comprehensive management of the right-of-way, including the placement and maintenance of cables, pipes, conduit, poles, wires and associated equipment in or on the right-of-way, and including the establishment of requirements for the issuance and renewal of right-of-way use authorizations, standards and fees for the regulation of the use and occupancy of the right-of-way, and provision for enforcement of such provisions, all under certain terms and conditions. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN FRANK DI CICCO, Chair COUNCILMAN DAVID COHEN COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 73 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 - - - P R O C E E D I N G S - - - COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: We will now go into the public meeting. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Miller for a motion on Bill Number 050065.
Mr. Chair, I move that Bill Number 050065 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 hearing. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Do I hear a second.
Second. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill Number 050065 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation, and a further recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended. All those in favor signify by saying aye. 74 050065 - Streets & Services - 3/21/05 (Chorus of "ayes.") COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Those opposed? (No response.) COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: The bill is approved. Thank you all, again, for all the work that went into this legislation. Appreciate it. Thank you. (Public meeting concluded at 11:32 a.m.) 75 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings and evidence are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the public meeting of The Philadelphia City Council, taken on March 21, 2005, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. _____________________________ DAVID A. DEIK, RPR and Commissioner of Deeds (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.)