Madam President, I think it's fair it say that our guidelines which we have followed for the last years have been essentially that -- I will say we feel fortunate not to have been cut back in this bad climate which the 1083 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget City is part of, so we have not requested an increase from last year, which was 2.5 million, but we have reminded the administration, as we remind the council, what a shortfall this is from the funding the museum received some nine to ten years ago.
At this time the Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I just shake my head because if we are going to be a first-class City and since I have been sitting here we have continuously been really short-changing the museum in terms of general operating fund monies. It began not with this administration but this administration has continued the pattern, and it is something that really we don't understand. I think the museum is more important to us and we should spend as much on it as we do with the football stadium because I don't think the football stadium is as meaningful to this city as the museum is. I don't think the football stadium brings in the income that the Cezanne or VanGogh and the type of individual that comes to see 1084 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget Cezanne and VanGogh and so on and the money that they spend within the City. So I have really no questions of the administration except to say that we will fight to see how we can begin putting in and looking at where we can find some money because we cannot allow this because without the museum the hard times become even harder, so I'd like to get from you sort of a comparison of what the operating contribution has been over the years to the museum and how that contribution has been getting ameliorated throughout the years. Because if we don't take care of the museum, the times that we have will get worse. Then conventions, you can forget about conventions coming into the City because we won't have the museum offering the type of exhibits that the people who look at conventions and coming to cities and so on would want to go to, you know, will have. You know, you can stop talking about enlarging the Convention Center unless we have a very viable Museum of Art and, you know, competing against Washington and New York, which I see as our two main competitions. But the way we have done it has been 1085 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget sort of like a little bit here and a little bit there and somebody -- I read the story about the collection didn't have the right type of situation to make them safe, sprinklers or something, and that's our heritage. That is our endowment over the history and we need to be able to take a look at that in our capital program and see how we can help your capital program to fix that. That is part of us and so I have no 11 questions. I just wanted those figures and how over the years we have cut and nitpicked and taken away so we can really lay a comparison, and before we approve this budget, I can tell you I'm going to argue against my colleagues about putting some extra funds here. Thank you.
Thank you. Right after testimony from the Art Museum we are going to call a 15-minute recess. I do notice that there are a number of employees from the Recreation Department here. I'm sure the stenographer would like to have a little break, so immediately after the Art Museum testifies we will call for a 15-minute break. In the event that you want to go out and stretch your legs, be my guest. 1086 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget The Chair at this time recognizes Councilwoman Reynolds-Brown.
Let me start off by saying that it has been an absolute pleasure for me to serve as the honorary chair of the Degas exhibit and to say thank you for that opportunity. It is one of the few times I get a chance to stay connected to my first love, which is the arts, so I really appreciate that. And, secondly, let me commend you on the magnificent effort you made with regards to reaching out to the dance community so that they could be intimately involved with the fine art of dance and what that has done in terms of just awareness and participation. When I read testimony from our arts and culture and recreation, I always look to see the involvement of the Philadelphia School District, and I can tell that that has been growing for you in a number of ways. You have adopted four Philadelphia 1087 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget public elementary schools. Can you give me just a sense as to how that happened, how they ended up being the lucky four?
I think it is a combination of our interest and their interest, councilwoman. In fact, over the last to years 8 we have had a number of different schools come into 9 that wonderful relationship with us. I might say 10 that also beyond that, as I think you are aware, we 11 have a couple of programs, an after-school session, 12 an arts club in which we reach out in particular to 13 schools in Title 1 areas in which kids have had 14 very, very little chance to interact with museum 15 collections and we are thrilled with the results of that. We have also had a wonderful program called teen dosin in which kids from schools in their junior or senior year have actually come and spent an amazing amount of their time introducing other kids to the museum's collections and one of those teen dosins last year graduated school, went off to the Rhode Island School of Design and she just came back and was in the Degas exhibition, so we have been working with the school district very 1088 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget closely. In this period of their renewal transition and renewal, we are trying to make sure that we do not lose all of our good friends and indeed we have made more friends and are going strong.
That leads exactly to my next question. Given what I believe to be the encouraging reform that we see happening at the school district and having heard for myself personally Mr. Valas' commitment to ensuring that arts and music is at best sustained, because we know it has dropped off dramatically due to lack of dollars, but it is at best sustained, have you had a chance to have a conversation with the leadership at that level on currently what you are doing and looking systemically at how we can move programs that you are doing across the district?
Yes. It's a great question. We started with Mr. Nevilles, who expressed his support for this, and then as Paul Valas came into town, we have begun discussions with him. He is very enthusiastic. He obviously has a great deal on his plate. He has connected us, our senior curator of education, Marla Shoemaker. She knows a number of the people already in place and we 1089 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget are meeting others of his associates and look forward to more of that conversation, but it is certainly taking place I would say at all levels.
Okay. So the expectation then is at the end of the process, for however long it takes, there is conceivably a plan or a strategy to involve the Art Museum systemwide? What is the goal?
Certainly our goal is to be connected with every school in the district in a very meaningful and long-term way and we are doing that in a number of different ways, some of which comes from us, which is to say the provision of teaching posters, teaching materials for kids, ways to prepare the teachers when they do bring the kids for a visit. Other things really do depend on the school district itself. As you know, we had two full-time teachers seconded from the school district to the museum for, oh, I don't know over 50 years, for a long time together with the Franklin Institute and a number of the other museums in town. It was a great program, a leadership program, in which Philadelphia was really outstanding. Through cuts that have happened to the 1090 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget district, those two teachers are no longer with us, so that's another area where we have been making up for something that previously was able to be done by the district, but we are trying to be as ingenious as possible in establishing a relationship of both an umbrella relationship with the district and the district's leaders and also continuing the relationship with the individual schools.
I will look forward to that end product. Knowing that the district's plate is full --
-- ultimately arts and music and arts and culture find its way on the plate as a center piece. There were a number of articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer outlining dangerous conditions in the lower levels of the museum. Share with us the kinds of things you are doing to address that program.
We -- and I may ask my associates here to comment also. This had to do with fire-suppression systems in the B level, which is our art storage level. We are currently -- the 1091 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget fire and safety -- fire prevention and safety board has approved a plan going forward for the next two years to bring those areas up to code. We are actually working hard right now on the plans. It does mean the removal of a fairly substantial number or moving and relocation of works of art in order to make that possible. That obviously has to happen in the safest possible way. I would say we are really grateful to the council and the administration for their support on the capital budget side. As mentioned by Councilman Ortiz, that is a very important part of the support for this really, really crucial project.
Thank you for your testimony and we will look forward to having you back on Thursday.
Could you give us a figure in terms of what the capital monies are, the figures that are needed to really fix that problem? 1092 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget We do not want our Impressionist collection to be somehow damaged because we were a pound foolish.
Bob Morrone, head of building and facilities. Councilman, I would like to say that we have in place funding from the City to deal with the hard costs.
What I want to know is what is the capital figure and then you tell me what the figure portion is going to be, but I just want to know what it is, the capital figure that it will take to fix that problem.
I think the figure is in the neighborhood of $7-1/2 million if you include the cost of installing sprinklers, the cost of relocating art and storing it temporarily while the construction takes place.
You have to maintain a certain air quality for fine art?
That is correct. It has to have state-of-the-art climate control and 1093 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget security systems.
Give us what it is that it would cost. And you said the City's so far projected participation in it would be what, if anything?
I believe the capital program office has committed $2.5 million for the project.
The deficiency at the museum, I believe the controller's report kind of surfaces that. Were we aware of that deficiency before that report, that that needed to get done, that sprinkler system coverage in the building?
We have been working on -- 1094 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget it came across as if this was a new project. This is actually something that the Art Museum has been working on for a number of years. We had already installed fire suppression and detection in our lowest level. We had installed a standpipe system on our two lowest levels. We are currently working on a new detection system in the building as well and what needed to be done was the completion of a project that actually had been started and, needless to say, the area which does need work is our level which stores our collections. Because of the difficulty in moving and storing those collections, it was an activity that needed to be thoroughly planned before it could be implemented.
I thought that was the case because I didn't think that you picked up the paper and said, wow, we need to do this when you read about it in the newspaper. Okay. Are there any other situations like this that exist at the building that violate code? Are there any issues pertaining to safety, access, egress, any other issues that you would consider something that we really need to deal with if the funding is not there to do? 1095 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
I think it's fair to say that right now we are currently working with an outside consultant, fire protection consultant, to develop a comprehensive fire protection plan for the Art Museum's total facilities and we have made the Board of Safety and Fire Prevention aware of this plan, which will take us quite a bit of time to prepare. It will probably take about the next year or so for us to bring that to a completion. And like all buildings, especially the vintage of the Art Museum, it needs to be brought up to current codes, so we would be looking at all aspects of the building, fire suppression, detection, egress, all those types of things.
What distresses me personally, and I will give you an example -- I don't mean to alarm anyone here -- the City seems to be able to march to a different drummer when it comes to code enforcement. I'll give you an example. In this building -- if you go to any other building in this City, there is what is called panic bars, as you know -- you are a facilities guy -- on the doors. Here in City Hall they are dead-bolted and locked shut that God forbid there was an 1096 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget emergency in this building you couldn't get out of the doors because there is no panic bars and they claim that there is a reason for that because people block them open. Well, that's baloney. There are ways to do that. I'm hoping that you at the museum have not taken advantage of any of these loopholes to say we are not going to do that because it's a City building and because it's a City building we don't have to comply with this regulation because we have an exemption. Tell me there is nothing like that going on over there.
I can assure you, Councilman, and all of City Council that from the leadership of the Art Museum in my tenure at the Art Museum -- I have now been there 13 years -- has never looked at any of its responsibilities in that way. We are very concerned about the safety of our collections, the safety of our visitors, the safety of firefighters or anyone that comes into that building and we are doing all that we can working with the City administration, Council, to implement all of what needs to be done in a comprehensive, effective manner and in a way that we recognize that all of the money -- if all of the money were here 1097 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget right now today and you are trying to keep a facility open to the public, you need to be able to put together a plan that makes sense to effectively be implemented in that context and that's what we are working diligently with everyone concerned to do including the Board of Safety and Fire Prevention.
I'm pleased to hear that. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
I just want to get some information on the record with respect to the new facilities in the Pearlman Building. I know there was actually a smaller community meeting with the residents on Meredith Street and a larger community meeting. Frankly, I'm a little concerned about the representation in the press as to the 1098 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget response from the community, so I think it's probably appropriate that I use this forum to get it on the record in terms of what actually transpired during the course of those community meetings. First I would like to congratulate you on being able to expand the Art Museum and putting on some exhibits that heretofore you were not able to do. Can you just kind of walk me through the process in terms of your outreach to the community and to the political leadership in that neighborhood about the new facility?
Thank you, Councilman Clarke, and thank you for all of your help in the past and ongoing in that regard. I didn't mention the Pearlman Building, which is one of the most important parts of the museum's future, but I will turn the question to Gail Harrity, who can give you the detailed answer.
We are, as Anne said, very excited to be able to expand the museum. The Pearlman Building, as you know, will house very important parts of our collection and make it 1099 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget accessible to the public or more accessible to the public for the first time, specifically the costume and textiles collection, prints, drawings and photography, 20th Century Design, and it will also have an education resource center for teachers in Philadelphia that will help teachers better utilize our collections for the school children in Philadelphia. With regard specifically to responding to the community, yes, we have met with community groups in both Logan, the Logan Circle area, and Fairmount Civic Association area over the course of the last year. Over the course of the last month we had our first meeting, as you know, with you as our councilman, with Democratic ward leader, and with also the property owners who own land immediately adjacent to our site.
On Meredith Street and Olive Street. And we were quite encouraged. An article in the Inquirer did raise the question of parking. I think it is fair to say that the Fairmount neighborhood including our immediate neighbors are concerned in general about parking 1100 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget availability, but they were very encouraged and pleased with the design of the building, the sensitivity of its placement, the fact that it does not block light and the open communication to work with them for the construction period. I think what we hope to do is to continue these meetings and address some of the parking issues. Parking for the staff of the new museum facility is all incorporated within our site and does not pose any problem. In fact, it's a reduction of the number of staff who occupied the building when it was previously owned by the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company. I think the concern, and we share the concern with the neighborhood, is when visitors come to the new building. Our plan -- we anticipate that the visitors coming to the museum will visit both the main building and the new Pearlman Building and we have also engaged the -- so that the parking patterns should not change dramatically from what has existed over the last decade, we made the --
Let me make sure I understand. You fully anticipate that an individual wanting to come to the Pearlman will more often than 1101 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget not and probably in an overwhelming majority of the times go to the main library probably first and then go to the Pearlman?
It is hard to calculate or estimate whether it is a majority. We certainly think that a group of visitors, a significant number of visitors will come to the main building and see galleries at the main building and go to the Pearlman Building. We hope when the Pearlman Building opens to the public in 2006 to provide a shuttle for visitors between so that you can continue to park at the Art Museum and still see the small gallery space in the Pearlman Building. I think it's fair to say some people will come directly to the Pearlman Building. In that case we have looked -- we have hired a traffic engineer, Orth Rogers, to estimate how many visitors we should anticipate per hour during the weekdays and during the weekends, and I think that the community would agree with us that weekdays it does not pose a problem. There is excess capacity in the neighborhood and people were satisfied with our study to date. For the weekends there is more concern and we have made the commitment to continue 1102 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget to work with our traffic engineers to better estimate what kind of attendance we would see in the year 2006.
Is there a committee or task force or something set up?
Yes. We have agreed to work with a committee from the Fairmount Civic Association on the parking issues specifically, so we welcome an ongoing dialogue to work with the neighbors to address their concerns and our concerns. Parking has been a problem for the Art Museum as well, so we understand and appreciate this issue, and we welcome the opportunity to work with them to help address it.
Are there any employees from the street department, traffic engineering involved in the process?
We have worked with the planning commission and with the -- yes, I believe with the streets -- Orth Rogers has not yet met with the Streets Department. There is one proposal to add parking spaces on Pennsylvania Avenue between 25th and 26th Street, and the planning commission has sort of verbally supported this proposal. What 1103 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget we would do is add roughly ten spaces by creating angled parking in front of the new museum building. For some reason there is angled parking in front of the Philadelphian and in front of 2601 on Fairmount, but there is a single block where angled parking does not exist, and if we were able to get approval from the Streets Department, we would in fact add additional public parking spaces to help address the issue. I'm not sure it will solve it.
You're welcome. Are there any other questions from members of the committee? Thank you very much.
At this time we will take a 15-minute recess. I'm sure the stenographer's fingers must be quite sore. Thank you. We will return here at 20 after 1:00. (Short break.)
The Committee of the Whole is now back in session. The next 1104 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget department to testify is the Recreation Department. Commissioner, we do have a copy of your testimony. If you would summarize it, we would appreciate it. Your testimony will be given to the stenographer and she will transcribe it in its whole contents. Thank you. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. (See attached testimony of Mr. Richard.)
Good afternoon, Madam President. My name is Vic Richard, the Recreation commissioner, and thank you for having me. To my right is Deputy Commissioner Mary Platt-Coles, to my immediate left Deputy Commissioner Carlton Williams and to my far left is Deputy Commissioner William Carapucci. Once again, thank you for the opportunity to come before you and request the '04 budget. The department is requesting $42.3 million in the general fund. That includes the increase of 2.5 million over '03 due to negotiated wage increases, DROP lump sum payments and an additional hundred thousand for playground safety and building code compliance. We are requesting again 10.1 million in 1105 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget the grants fund for a total of $52.5 million in our '04 operating budget. This budget supports 619 full-time positions, 591 in a general fund, 28 out of the grants fund as well as 153 part-time and 1,954 seasonal general fund positions. I will be available now to accept any questions that you would like to present.
Thank you very much. The administration has indicated that they will be looking to right-size the City's infrastructure. Do you believe that there are too many recreation centers throughout the City?
I believe that we need to continue to look at the amount of facilities that we have, also evaluate the locations of where they are located and amount of money it takes the City to operate them and preliminarily we have looked at other cities across the country to begin that process.
What role will your office have in determining the fate of the various centers in the Recreation Department?
I believe the biggest part of the role that we will have will be fact-finders 1106 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget to make recommendations back to the City Council, back to the administration, along to the fiscal and budget directors for the City based on all of the facilities and what's happening around the rest of the country.
There is a little component that you didn't mention. Will the impact of communities be involved in the process?
How long do you think this review will take and what happens in the interim with your capital repairs in the short term?
The first half of your question, right now I'm not available to give you a time frame on what exactly is going to happen. I'm sure I will take directive from the managing director, the finance department as well. As soon as those directives are definitively given, quite naturally I will come back to each and every 1107 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget Councilperson to let he or she know what we are going to do, why we are doing it, and, quite naturally, you will be at the table helping to make the decision.
We certainly don't want to be putting money in facilities that perhaps may be closing. I'm sure you would agree.
You stated in your testimony that by the end of FY '03 you will have four teen centers. Please name the locations of the four centers and the selection process your department used in their selection.
It's Rivera up at 5th and Allegheny, McVeigh up at Ontario and D, Kingsessing Recreation Center, and the fourth one is Francis Myers. The process taken was a collaboration along with the police commissioner, Philadelphia Safe and Sound, Youth Violence Prevention and the COMSTAT numbers from the police. We determined areas of where we are going in to try to offset the crime, especially in juvenile crime, but not just offset it, to give another outlet for hopefully children not to make the wrong decision. 1108 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
Thank you. Would it be opening any additional centers in the FY '04 or at any time in the out-years of the City's five-year plan?
I would like to say yes, but it will all be based on money -- all of it was done mostly with money from youth violence reduction prevention grant funding, not general funds.
How many full-time general fund positions were you budgeted for in FY '03 and how many in FY '04?
There will be a difference of two, 593 I want to say and 591 for '04.
Your position level is being reduced, as you said, by two and at the same time you are budgeting almost $500,000 in turnover reductions while you are assuming the responsibility of the three additional pools and six recreation centers. How will you be able to do this?
We are working separately -- let me talk about the immediate budget first. We are not taking any cuts relative to the operation and the manpower except for two bodies 1109 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget that are in the DROP program that we didn't decide --
I'm sorry, Commissioner. I was distracted. Do you mind repeating?
Before you repeat that, it is my understanding that Councilman Nutter would like to be recognized very briefly.
Thank you, Madam President. I wanted to put on the record that I'm going to have to leave the chambers for a few minutes. There is a press conference that has just been called with regard to the young girl who was shot senselessly last week in the snowball incident. I'm going to leave the chambers for a few minutes. I do have some questions for Recreation, and my hope is that they will still be here upon my return. If not, Madam President, I would like to reserve the opportunity for a callback so that I can get answers to some questions that I have.
Thank you, Madam President. 1110 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
Commissioner, I'm sorry I had to interrupt you, but would you mind explaining about your budgeting on those $500,000 in turnover reductions?
We're not reducing our work force, Madam President, except by the two that you see. The $500,000 is regular turnover. People are trading out. Our goal is to maintain our same level of service and that manpower. We are not looking to make any reductions in service and just with the two with the staffing.
And how many did you indicate will be leaving under the DROP program?
My records indicate that in this calendar year there's employees by 12/31 18 of '03. 19
And you will 20 be able to hire all 23 without any problems? There 21 are existing lists in each category? 22
Yes, ma'am. We just 23 completed a new district managers listing. I know there will be a program director's test and I want to go on record to say that it has been very 1111 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget refreshing when we have had to replace employees to meet with Mr. Dubow and the rest of the finance team giving us the opportunity to replace people. The only real problem that we have had, and it is really not a problem, is because the budget is not sufficient enough to carry two people at once, but as the employee either transfers out or retires, once they totally clear off the payroll, we are given the opportunity to replace. We don't have the luxury to have the flexibility to put additional employees, but we have been given the responsibility to replace as people retire or transfer out, so we have been able to maintain --
So you are telling us that you will be able to hire the 17 employees? 18
It may not be all 23. 19 Some of those positions we may not rehire and I 20 would have to look at them. If we don't rehire, it 21 will probably be most likely in the management 22 ranks, but on the front line, yes, and we are 23 rehiring now.
Then on the other side of the coin we are hearing testimony that 1112 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget approximately 50 percent of the people going out on DROP in all likelihood will not be replaced. With that being said, how could you ever do the job that you are supposed to do?
It would be virtually impossible. I don't foresee that happening to the Recreation Department unless the level of service and the level of responsibility is changed to meet the amount of funding or staffing. It has to coincide.
Commissioner, on -22 of the detail there are three professional service items. I would like you to explain them to us, if you will. Explain what they are, how much they are and what they do. For instance, you have the Keel Communications for promotion of children's issues. Tell us about that.
Okay. We have been working with Keel for the last I want to say maybe two or two and a half years during developing our quarterly newsletter and also a new logo and tag line. Right now the department is developing and getting ready to go to print a full-scale color directory that will be published to go out citywide. 1113 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
Then I believe we have the Mayor's fun and fitness program for social service initiatives, $50,000. Can you explain that, please?
No, it is in Class 200 so it can't be for the fitness czar and I think she makes more than 50,000.
This is Ellen Steiker from the managing director's office. The 50,000 funds some services that are provided to the fitness czar through PMHCC.
They are primarily accounting and other fiscal-type services.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz for a point of order.
That money comes out of the Recreation Department's budget, that money, $50,000. I would like to find out whether those services are recreation center directed and how do they go to enhance the programmatic aspects of the 1114 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget recreation center and advance the charge that the recreation center has. I would like that in writing.
The Chair recognizes Councilman Rizzo for a point of information.
Thank you, Madam Chair. That also jumps out like a red flag to me. Could you provide to the Chair the various documents that were circulated to promote the promotion of children's issues? So I understand, it was 50,000 in 2002, 48,000 estimated obligation for 2003 fiscal year. That's at least what the budget sheet says. And then in fiscal year 2004 it goes to $10,000. So could you provide to the Chair all of the documents that were developed in the effort and, it says, promotion of children's issues?
Thank you, Madam Chair. 1115 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
You're welcome. Also, there is another item here, Safe and Sound United Way Health Safety Fund, $146,906. Could you please explain that?
This is Ellen Steiker. The health and safety fund was an item that specifically Council asked us to include last year at the end of the budget process to find funds, 300,000, for the health and safety fund. We have endeavored to find grant funding for that rather than general funding and we believe actually that that 146 will not need to come from the Recreation Department's general fund, that we will be able to cover it using some grant funds.
Commissioner, on -68 of your detail you are requesting $1.5 million for contributions to educational and recreational organizations. Who do these funds go to?
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell. 1116 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
I'm honored to have this opportunity to say thank you to this department and you even have the mural arts under your direction. I tell you, between the two of you I think you are one of the, if not the, most exciting departments we have in the city. I only want to say -- and I have said this to the Mayor -- that when we talk about cutting back, let me decide which institutions in my area along with my people, that we need not affect our Recreation Department. We need everything we have and more and we are absolutely overjoyed and grateful at the progress we have made under your leadership, Commissioner Richard, and certainly we love Jane Golden as well. Thank you.
At this time the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Thank you very much. 1117 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget How you doing?
I can see that Finely is nice and clean, no chewing gum on the floor.
I do notice it when I go in. Since we did make that call to you about the condition of the floor, it does look much better and I want to thank you for that. I am also concerned about this transfer, not that this is not something we have discussed before in Council and it has been, I believe, if I'm correct, something that Council thought should happen, an item for discussion to merge Recreation into Recreation and take away the recreation facilities from Fairmount Park. I think it is the process we are concerned about and how that is going to work and how will it impact on the quality of services. I have one. Fisher Park is now Fairmount Park and will go to the Recreation Department. And will there be any impact on the programmatic activities or quality of service 1118 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget provided by that facility in terms of the transition, not that I am questioning the quality or competency of the staff, that is not the issue, but in transferring funds and transferring operations sometimes things can get lost.
And I want to say thank you. Our team is very excited about making the transition. We are very excited about spearheading it. We believe it is something that should have been done and we are pushing it. The only thing, if I have any concerns, is the timing and within the next two weeks I'm trying to get the final document from Fairmount Park that will show me by facility what staff is coming and after that we are running with it. Our goal, if everything goes right, is to take the first facility hopefully by the end of this month, the last Monday of this month. I don't recall the date. And I believe the site we selected -- is it Parkside Evans? Our first site that we are looking to take over is Parkside Evans and after that every other Monday from then on out, if everything goes right, we are looking to roll. Yes, are there some other little 1119 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget particular concerns as far as the amount of funding that needs to be done in order to bring them to the present level or to the levels that we have been striving to bring the rest of the rec facilities to? Yes, but overall we are totally comfortable and confident that we will be able to take them over, not hinder or change any of the preexisting levels of service and continue to go further. I know some of the other issues are especially Hunting Park and I have been in Hunting Park in the middle of the night on two occasions with the pool. We know that is going to be a challenge. We are looking forward to the challenge to make it a safer pool especially in the middle of the night. But we're excited about doing it. It is the right thing to do for the City. It is more our core mission as the rec department and it could take valuable operations or management time away from the Fairmount Park team. So we would like to give it back and we take it and do it and get it done. So we are very confident about doing it.
I have a question here presented to me by a constituent regarding the after-school programs. The after-school funding from the City no longer exists and now the after-school programs are funded by TANF. Can you explain that to me?
Half and half. I will either give it to Mary or Ellen and they can talk about it in better detail than I could. My goal is that none of them close and we don't lose any bodies, so I'm happy with that.
My name is Mary Platt-Coles, deputy commissioner of recreation, and I would like to, first of all, state that the after-school funding is totally intact in our budget, that the TANF initiative that was instituted some months back in the fall of last year was a creative grant endeavor to offset expenditures in the general fund of $1.3 million. We are currently checking TANF data at approximately 29 sites and 1121 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget will continue to do so throughout the rest of the school year and we hope to bring in the 1.3 and it looks very possible at this point, but, again, our budget was not cut in the general fund for that endeavor.
Would the TANF funds be appropriated to all of the recreational facilities?
At this point in time for oversight issues we are only collecting at 29 sites. Probably in the fall we may roll out training to several additional sites.
We had some assistance with Safe and Sound in determining the sites and we did some GIS mapping through Safe and Sound, through the economics of the areas and population.
Thank you, Madam President. 1122 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget Does it have to do with violence reduction or crime or any other criteria that makes a site selected?
The TANF piece was another piece used by the finance department and budget to try to free up City dollars, general fund dollars, so the immediate look was the economic need by particular neighborhoods and that was how the sites were done to try to offset some of the after-school money, but the entire after-school program is fully intact, will stay intact as well. The crime piece that we used statistics on was for the four teen centers. We used the COMSTAT numbers and also the juvenile justice system numbers of where the majority of juvenile crime was taking place.
That's not 14 of the 28, or is that an additional 14?
No, I was just giving the difference of how we use data, yes, ma'am.
So we are talking TANF that has to do with the welfare funding?
Right, the eligibility. The City will be eligible to receive money back to 1123 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget pay for the services that are given in the after school to help take some of the burden off the general fund. So we haven't gotten there yet. We just started -- we have trained the staff. We are doing the download and the input to start sending it back to the state, but there are 29 sites that have been selected to participate in that, to help take the burden off the City's general fund.
So who found that money? That's really good. Somebody went out there and researched and found those funds.
If we look at the TANF funding to supplement the after-school 1124 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget programs -- if you have a center, they are receiving general fund after-school programs, you would look at the TANF dollars to supplement that center and lessen -- take away some of the money from the general fund. Is that correct?
How long are the TANF dollars guaranteed for and, of course, if something happens to those dollars, how do you go back to the level of funding for that recreation facility if you take it -- because we look at -- 2/04 looks okay, but as we look at the out-years, the general fund is going to be in trouble, so what happens to those programs at those facilities if TANF dollars are not available?
That's a very good question, Madam Councilwoman, but I think the budget office in their wisdom, that is probably one of the reasons they did not cut our general fund budget for after school, and it's my understanding that we will do the TANF applications in the '04 school year and after that we are not sure what TANF dollars will be available for us to go after. So it is an issue.
So in the meantime 1125 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget the after-school programs will be at their operating level?
But the question becomes, if you get the TANF money, okay, the money may be in the budget for 2/04 from the general fund, right? You get the TANF funds 2/05. You cut the money out of the general fund budget. 2/06 no TANF dollars. 2/05 is where we have the crunch beginning to hit the general fund budget. How do you bring it back to the level of service if you don't have the funds in the general fund?
That is something that you and your counterparts and I will have a 16 discussion with Mr. Dubow and Miss Davis prior to. One of the things I appreciate is that it's still being funded and my goal is not to let the funding leave unless we know we have permanent funding, but, yeah, that's legitimate.
Certainly it seems to me that the TANF dollars ought to be used not to lessen the burden of the general fund but maybe to create more additional programs at the center so that we are always guaranteed of the dollars for the 1126 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget after-school programs.
This is Ellen Steiker from the managing director's office. I wanted to say for the record that the general fund for the Recreation Department has the 1.3 million in it through each year in the five-year plan and the TANF dollars are also budgeted in the five-year plan in the Department of Human Services. So if those dollars are not available, again, you are still approving a plan that has appropriation that is sufficient to run the Recreation Department programs.
Thank you. As you know, there are some projects -- I think that Councilwoman Verna raised this issue. I am now and have appropriated dollars, sent a request back to the capital funds office giving dollars to recreation facilities for roofs or whatever the facility requires. I hope that we will know soon what centers are going to be closed so we are not putting money in a center that is going to be closed.
I agree. I wish I could 1127 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget give you a time line, but I can't because I'm not in the position to do it as of yet. I can't tell you that rec centers are going to close. Is it something that the City is considering? Yes. Will you all be at the table? Yes. If you ask me is it something that we need to look at? Yes, it is something that we need to look at and part of all of our responsibilities, especially mine as well, is not just to make decisions that are in the best interest of the Recreation Department, but it's in the best interest of the Recreation Department and also to keep the entire City running fiscally responsible and in the black, so I'm all for it. I'm sure if you have had an opportunity to read the testimony that we have submitted, we are very proud of the work that we have done especially in the last 14 months, but all of the work that has been going on prior to me coming and even more so now -- we have totally rehabbed four major facilities in ten months. Right now No. 5 and No. 6 are being done simultaneously, being Vare and Francis Myers, and we have already identified No. 7 and No. 8, being M.L. King, Happy Hollow and I believe Olney may be somewhere in there, but we are 1128 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget taking and using overtime in a different way. We are taking and using capital funds as much as we can, or if we have money left over in a particular project in a Councilperson's district, pushing the contract all the way to the limit to get the entire job done instead of a piece or a half. Where we can make permanent changes, something that is going to stay in the facility, yeah, I don't want to be making that kind of manpower investment or making that kind of investment in materials in a facility that we are not going to continue to open, maintain or be operable, but I think all of the things that we have done, the sites that we have selected right now and any future sites will be great sites. The reason why is we are looking at the age of the facility, is it feasible and does it really make sense to dump $2 million or $5 million into an 80-year-old building, or what can we do on our own to fix it or should we make the recommendations to you all to demolish the building and for the same amount of money you have a brand-new state-of-the-art building instead of trying to fix up one that is 80 years old. So these are the types of decisions and 1129 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget the process we are taking in rendering the decisions. We are looking at the neighborhoods, the volume of usage in the neighborhood of the facilities and the type of usage of the facilities to say this is where we need to go. I intentionally asked the team and I said where is the most deplorable or the next deplorable center that we need to go in there and bum rush or send the SWAT team approach that we have been taking and that's how we have been able to accelerate and revitalize and refurbish some of these major facilities.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Thank you, Madam President. I just want to clarify, going back to the TANF. The TANF money supplement does not replace any of the operating budget?
Yes, Mr. Councilman. 1130 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget
And supplements it during the next couple of years, of which you have protected?
What are we doing in terms of the transition from Recreation Department to Phillies and what our relationship will be in terms of the stadium issue?
Good question. Right now all of that is being handled by the City solicitor's office along with the prospective attorneys for the Philadelphia Phillies. So right now I plan -- in my budget we are planning to have the stadium all the way open, but I know for a fact the Phillies' regular season ends the last week of September and hopefully they are lucky and we can go all the way into the play-offs which will go into October, but I'm not able at this time to give you a definitive answer of when the stadium will be closed, demolition.
The other day we held a request for some boilers in Vet Stadium that the Recreation Department wanted?
I was in there. The 1131 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget Property Department of the City is interested in obtaining -- there are two boilers in there, I believe they are both approximately a half million dollars apiece, to see if they can be retrofitted into preexisting City facilities.
And it was made clear under the new contract we don't -- we own Vet Stadium, don't we?
No. To my understanding and, I'm sorry, I would need someone from the solicitor's office to --
That's a million dollar gift we are handing them it seems.
I agree with that as well. There are some other things we are interested in as well.
Somewhere along the operation of the Vet Stadium the liquidation rights 1132 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget were given or transferred to the Philadelphia Phillies, but I don't know the legality. I would need help from the solicitor's office. Other areas or other things that we are interested in, there's tons of plumbing in there that we could use throughout the 300 facilities, 150 rec centers that I think if we had the ability to access and not all of it, but part of it, it would make sense for us as a city to salvage some of that stuff and warehouse it because we could reuse it.
Yes, sir. Lavatories, I'm interested in toilets, urinals, face bowls. I'm also interested in petitions in the rest rooms as well. So those are some of the immediate things. I'm also trying to retrofit to see the possibility if I can get at least 10,000 seats to possibly upgrade the seating in the Dell East as well. I have not been given an opportunity to get into the detail to do it.
We are going to have to buy those 10,000 seats, aren't we?
I don't know, 1133 3/3/03 - Continuing FY '04 Operating Budget Mr. Councilman. I can't answer that.
I don't know. I'm not at the table so I'm unable to intelligently answer that.