And that's who we'll work with on this project. I only meant as past history as to what has happened to date.
And if we keep going back, I can go back further I think than you're prepared to go. So I think we need to move forward. We have another bill that needs to be heard. We're trying to work in a cooperative manner with the Administration, but you've got to work with me if you want to get this out. Let's not bring up problems. Let's try to get it done, deal 79 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 with the EOP, deal with the issues. We have one amendment. You've agreed on the record that you will write up something. Before we pass it out, we wanted something written about an agreement that we talked about that Councilman DiCicco referenced about the kind of advisory board we could set up, and we're fine, but if you go into specifics about past history, you have your version of it and I certainly have mine.
Okay. I don't know whether Council has a copy of what I've already prepared, but I'm prepared now to amend that based on the discussion we've just had.
So let's be clear on what that means. That means that any reference of the West Philadelphia Business Coalition in this document will be deleted?
It will be. I won't reference it at all going forward for this project at all. We will be 80 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 working strictly with Councilwoman Blackwell as head of any committee.
So I will skip over some of my testimony and get to EOP, which I think is an important issue for the Council. The item we want to address is the EOP plan for the contractors. At this time, without any detailed analysis of the available workforce, we have an aspiration goal of 40 percent for minority and five percent for women participation. In addition, MBEC has established the goals of to percent 18 minority and 10 to 15 percent for women 19 for general contracting/subcontracting 20 opportunities. So they are business 21 opportunities as opposed to EOP, which is 22 workforce opportunities. 23 Using the template already 24 established by NTI and New River City 25 project, we will require the contractor 81 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 to work with the construction manager, who I should say our construction manager on the job is the Temple Group. They are a 100 percent minority women-owned firm who have done a lot of work in West Philadelphia in particular, and they will act as our construction management firm on the project. We will work with the Council headed up by Councilwoman Blackwell, and we would also expect to work with private organizations like DAP, which is Diversified Apprentice Programs, to sponsor local residents in pre-apprentice training programs. In addition, the contractor will be required to work with our construction manager again and the construction trade unions to identify existing minority and women members in all categories, apprentices, journeymen, masters, for employment on this project. In addition, the contractor will also be required to work with our construction manager to assist local residents with 82 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 construction experience, but who may not be a member of the local union, to obtain temporary membership or waivers to work on this particular project. So this will be a joint venture between our construction manager, our trade unions, local trade unions who will participate on the project, as well as the committee headed up by Councilwoman Blackwell. We wanted to talk a little bit about how we are going to monitor participation, because without monitoring, how are we going to know how we're performing? We have worked together with the Managing Director's Labor Standards Division, MBEC, Law and MOIS in developing a new certified payroll form that we will give to our contractors. As you may know, Labor Standards already receives certified payroll from all contractors working on jobs, which identifies by name the people 83 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 that work on the job, what their trade classification is, what their payroll is and other information as well. We've modified that form to now include also race and gender. So we'll be able to capture in race the five classifications: African-American, Asian, Hispanic, Native American and Caucasian.
We are going to capture all that information on the form. That form then we'll be able to use -- we'll be able to use that form and that information gathered to run reports, monthly reports, on how well the contractor is complying with our requirement for EOP. Again, based on these reports, we will be able to monitor the contractors' participation on performance and assist the contractor in moving forward if anticipated goals are not being reached. 84 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 Lastly, if the contractor should fail with his best and good-faith efforts, the City will have the right to withhold funds from their monthly invoice for labor costs proportionate to the participation goals until the oversight committee, which will be chaired by Councilwoman Blackwell and the City and our construction manager, will have an opportunity to resolve any of these issues that the contractor is facing in his ability to achieve our percentages that we're shooting for. And then, finally, the CPO or the City will have the authority under the contract to withhold all payments to contractors until all EOP compliances have been met, declare the contractor in default of the contract as a last resort and also declare the contractor ineligible to receive any award on future contracts affiliated with any EOP plan. Basically, that summarizes my testimony. It's not word for word. I've 85 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 modified it as per our previous conversations.
Your third paragraph on the bottom up on this page, the procedure you just referenced here, that is a new procedure, is it not, in the Capital Program Office wherein you now have modified the form to reflect both race and gender?
Yes. We've met with Law, MOIS, MBEC and Labor Standards to try to determine which is the best way of capturing this information, because unless we monitor it on a regular basis, it's easy for the contractor to slip and us not be aware of it.
Right. So we feel this is a very good way of making sure the contractor stays on track. Without certified payroll, the contractor doesn't get paid. So this certified payroll form will also capture this additional 86 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 information. And we'll be getting that on every invoice the contractors submit and their subcontractors. All the subcontractors are also required to submit certified payroll identifying by name everybody that's working on that job site. So we feel this is a good way of capturing that information. It is new.
Any other questions for this witness? Chairwoman Jannie Blackwell.
Thank you. Mr. Tustin, in terms of this plan, we certainly want the language changed, as we said. We want where it said community organization/community organizations, we want any reference to specific organizations deleted so that we can work with the organizations. We don't want more confusion and people co-opted in this manner. So we want this language changed. We're trying to deal with 87 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 passing this out today, but as you know, if it is to pass next, we need all of this -- we need the language changed and we will modify and monitor this language.
I will change this today and have it submitted to your office, have it resubmitted to your office.
Thank you. And also with regard to the amendment for two additional acres, how much parking would that provide?
Councilwoman, I can't tell you off the top of my head, but we want to make sure -- based on information I've just received, that will be adequate to provide on-site parking for all of our parking, both staff parking, visitors parking and -- well, we already have accommodated the parking for the --
Is it possible to leave the number of acres out 88 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 of the amendment and just amend it to say that you will lease additional acres, and then you can work out the number of acres you need later based on what we're looking for? Could we do that, Mr. Jannetti?
Yes, Councilwoman. We could say "lease additional land to accommodate parking."
Yes. I will leave the number out in case it's not adequate.
You might need four acres. You don't know how much you're going to need. I mean, you just did this this morning. We appreciate the accommodation.
That makes sense. I agree with that. 89 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082
Or sufficient acres. We don't want you to think space means one parking space. You know, you folks have not been very fair today in reviewing our concerns. And, as I said, we agree we would try to work with this Administration. I don't know how many years it's been. Maybe four. I don't know. But one would think that these questions would have been answered and we wouldn't have to take the Council time on a Thursday morning to deal with these important issues, but obviously they have not been. So we will entertain this amendment "or lease additional acres" and then you can work with my office and with my staff, John Christmas and Jeff Felder, to make sure that we have this in the EOP 90 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 stuff correctly written so that it works for everyone concerned and that we won't have these problems as we see moving forward. Are there further questions here? (No response.)
Okay. Thank you very much. We look forward to that. As I said, we're going to try to pass this out for first reading, but we still have second reading and final passage next week. So we really -- if we want to get it done, then everybody has got to work in good faith. And we are doing that. We're doing the same.
Thank you, Councilwoman. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER RANDOLPH: Thank you.
We 91 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 will now call other people here to testify while we deal with some of the language here. Theresa Sims, CPA. (No response.)
DeBorah Giles, Giles and Associates? These are individuals who likewise had questions about parking. I know I've spoken with them. Tracy Gordon, community activist. Tracy, thank you. You're next. And afterwards, is Shirley Kelly here? (No response.)
Okay. Thank you, Tracy. Tracy, you're next. Thank you. Is there anyone else after Ms. Gordon who would like to testify on 92 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 this? (No response.)
Thank you. Good morning, Councilmembers. I became interested in this project for several reasons. I grew up in the area. My great-grandmother purchased a home two blocks from the area. My sister now lives in the Lucien Blackwell homes in the area. I do a lot of work, social service work, in the area. I seen a massive transformation of a neighborhood that when they had the old Lex Street homes or the projects they used to call, it was just like a nightmare, and I have to pinch myself every time I drive around the area, because it's like totally transformed. I did get interested in this 93 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 particular project primarily because of the attack that was launched at Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell for I believe her justifiable holdout of the building of this facility without having any respect for her constituents in the neighborhood. For as long as I've known it, a Councilperson has the right and should have the right to demand certain amenities in their councilmanic district. I never see any problems with it when it's other Councilpeople, and I think that this attack from the media was unfounded, which prompted me to write an editorial in response of the attack. And I say this to Councilwoman Blackwell, don't worry about the attacks from the media. Most of them don't live in your district. Continue to worry about your constituents, those who unanimously vote for you every term. Having said that and having listened to the previous testimonial, I 94 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 hope to give you a little bit of facts. I want to focus on five issues, but I'm not going go in that order, because I don't want to lose track. But I would like to see that traffic and the parking study, because the way the City just presented it is as if it's just a big area that is industrial and it's just -- no mention of residents. In this particular two- to three-block radius -- it is probably more of a one-block radius, Councilmembers. You have an elementary school, you have a nursing home, you have a senior citizens complex, you have a medical health center, you have a mental institution, you have a charter school. Not the one that was there. The one that you were previously asking about, Councilwoman Tasco, was Renaissance Charter School, which my children attended. That's where they're planning to put that particular facility at.
What's the 95 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 location of Renaissance Charter School?
It's Haverford and then there's Market. It's real tricky. I'm going to give you some streets, too. You have a supermarket, you have a new total residential area, homeowners, slash, you have the rentals too, but there's a lot of homeowners in that district. This is within a three-block radius of where this facility is intended to go. You have a recreation center, you have the Community College there, where Haverford Avenue is a highway now.
Now, it was a highway before the Market-Frankford El or hell disaster, Market Street, because that's closed off. That 46th Street is 96 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 closed off. It was always a highway. It was a highway for people from the suburbs coming up Haverford Avenue to come through the City. Now it's really a highway. I mean, really literally from 46th to 52nd Street, it takes you at least minutes during rush hour to get 9 from a five-block radius. That's how 10 encroached it is. So if you decide to 11 put parking there and people that are 12 stopped to park, imagine the traffic 13 disruption that's going to happen there. 14 It's going to be a nightmare. I don't 15 know when the study was done. 16 If that's going to take a 17 three-year project, Lord knows when 18 they're going to finish that 46th Street 19 Market-Frankford El. There is no parking 20 there. And it's not two lane. It's one. And it used to be one big lane, but now they put the bicycle, which makes it even narrower. So I just wanted that for the record to say that I believe the studies 97 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 are probably outdated for the traffic and the parking, and I believe that -- I wanted to include for the record that the City should not just state that this is not -- this is a residential area. We have little kids that are crossing the street there. We have a daycare center that's been there for years. So the parents are going to have to leave them there. I mean, everything around that area is, you know -- this is going to be quite different for me, because I know most of the City and this is going to be something like, to me, a pilot program if they're going to put a municipal functioning building in the middle of a community that was once probably vacant, but now it's no longer vacant. Another thing that I wanted to note, inside this municipal building -- I know the Councilwoman had already negotiated some things that she wanted as far as the center for her husband and the school, but I will propose that I would 98 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 like to see, based on a lot of constituent service that I do outside of my job, is just like they have in Northeast, they had that mini City Hall. I will propose that they put a mini City Hall there for that community there, because then you have 46th Street. My grandmother goes to that medical center, and that would be nice that she would be able to not necessarily have to go all the way down City Hall, that they could have a little mini City Hall, a constituent service center there for the people in there. That would be a nice addition, to me, that could go a long way, like they did in the Northeast. I think Northeast is the only one that has a mini City Hall, whereas their constituents don't have to come all the way to City Hall to deal with some of the constituent services.
The medical center 99 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 is on 46th and Haverford. Well, the school is right there on the corner and then the medical center is right there. And then you have that large project. I forgot to even mention that. I think Drexel bought that. But I was saying that my grandmother and a lot of people I know frequent that area a lot, and they have SEPTA there. It's going to be a nightmare, because you have SEPTA -- I forget the bus that comes down there. So if they're going to park anywhere there, that's going to disrupt traffic. So, like I said, I would like to see that study. And I know for a fact that all these public City properties is going to make it a nightmare if they park on the street. Another concern that I have about this particular project and mainly all the projects that I see, I guess the new thing they do now is they block -- you used to see inside a construction 100 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 site, but now the new thing, they put up tarp so you can't see in, but I usually go peek behind the tarp. And I'm really concerned about the amount of qualified African-American contractors, and I would like to see in the language "minority" like blackened out. I think that's a trick word. It's been tricked on us for a long time. I want to see in that language -- I would like to see African-American, qualified African-American, contractors building this building that's going to be primarily housed of African-American in an African-American district. You can put the tarp up there, but when I look behind the tarp, I would like to see African-American men and women working. That "minority" needs to be scratched off all City capital projects, because it's a trick word. It's a trick word to get women, white women, in there, and then next thing you know, it's none of our people working. 101 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 We have qualified people down there trying to say that they're not journeymen and apprentice and they not getting -- and it's just too much tricks, and I'm sure that Councilman Goode would do good with looking into that language.
Allow me to put a fact on the record. You should be encouraged to know that the Temple Group is a qualified, experienced African-American, female-owned general contracting company with a huge track record, and I think it's great, remarkable that finally they're able to do business in Philadelphia, because most of their work has been done in Washington, DC. So with that as the first door of this enormous project, be encouraged to know that they get it when it comes to ensuring that people of color and women get fair opportunity.
People of color, but black people. Thank you. Black people. 102 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 And, finally, there's a safety issue that really needs to be seriously addressed, because you have the elementary school that's not going anywhere that's there, then you have a nursing home, you have a daycare. This is all within a half a block radius of where this proposed facility is going. So you have a lot of strangers coming in that area to visit their children in the evening, et cetera, et cetera, and the safety shouldn't just be confined to that building. It needs to be a study or it needs to be safety confined within a two- to three-block radius, because you have your senior citizens, you have the medical center where senior citizens frequent there every day. So that area is -- this is going to be a tricky type of development, because, like I said, you're having people from all over the City and sometimes out of the City coming to visit this particular neighborhood and you have 103 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 the charter school that's directly across the street. I did want to note that the Urban Center, they don't have parking space.
Ms. Gordon, if you could proceed in your testimony and try to avoid the repeat of facts you've put on the record already.
Okay. Thank you. Again, the Urban Center -- so he can scratch that out. They don't have enough parking spaces over there. But I just wanted to conclude with this, that this is a neighborhood. It's not like it's downtown or anything like that. We putting a jail, so to speak, in the middle of a neighborhood and we need to really, really consider the people that are living in that community and the disruption that's going to happen, because if I quote Councilwoman Blackwell previously, I didn't see too many people volunteering 104 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 in their councilmanic district to have that particular facility in their neighborhood.
We thank you for your important testimony, your perspective, on why the parking issue has to be resolved.
Is there anyone else here to testify on the bills? (No response.)
We thank you all, and I hope that as we are working on these amendments, we need a moment to do that to see if we need one or two amendments. (Pause.)
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else here to testify? (No response.) 105 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082
Thank you, Ms. Gordon, for coming. And I hope that all of you have heard everything she mentioned about schools, Catholic schools, charter schools, health facilities, housing, all of that in the immediate area. And, again, we say before we conclude this and go into our stated meeting that we will look forward to working, Mr. Tustin and Mr. Jannetti, in terms of your testimony to dealing with the issues mentioned. Certainly we would also like to receive an updated traffic/parking study that we will make available too to Ms. Gordon. And certainly we agree with all that you said about a mini City Hall. There's been so much talk, and I've had people over the years call and request that, and we've tried to get that as well. That would be a perfect location. We agree with all that you have stated. Thank you very much. Any other 106 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 questions or comments? (No response.)
That means we will end our hearing section of this meeting and go into formally our stated meeting. We have two amendments to Bill 9 No. 071083. Therefore, we will go immediately to request a motion for Bill 11 No. 071082, and we will call on Councilman Greenlee and ask him to report this out with a favorable recommendation. That is for Bill No. 071082. No 15 amendments on this bill.
Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that Bill No. 18 071082 be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended to allow for first reading at our next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Bill No. 107 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 071082 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation and, furthermore, that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and so the bill is reported out. The next bill to be considered is Bill No. 071083. We have two amendments. We will call the detailed document Amendment No. 1, which is the lease. The lease agreement is Amendment No. 1. Maybe we'll read both amendments and then do a motion on both. So Amendment No. 1 is the lease agreement. Amendment No. 2 I will read into the record. Amendment No. 2 amends Section 13 to include, one, "authorize 108 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 the Commissioner of Public Property or PMA to acquire or lease additional land in the vicinity of the property to provide for on-site parking for the project. Upon lease or purchase, the additional parking area shall be included in the project." And No. 2, Section 13 will now be called Section 14. "This ordinance shall take effect immediately." Are there questions? Is that acceptable to everyone?
Having said that, the Chair calls on Councilman DiCicco for an adoption of Amendments and for Bill No. 071083. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam Chair. I move for the adoption of the amendments to Bill No. 071083. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that the amendments to Bill No. 071083 be adopted. All in favor will say aye. 109 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 (Aye.)
The ayes have it and so the amendments are adopted. The Chair now calls on Councilman DiCicco to report out the bill 11 as amended, 071038. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam Chair. I move for the adoption of Bill No. 071083 as amended and be reported out of this Committee with a favorable recommendation and a further recommendation that the rules of Council be suspended. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that Bill No. 22 071083 as amended be reported out of Committee and, furthermore, that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session 110 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 of Council. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and so both bills are reported out of Committee. Let me thank all of you for all your work on this, and I especially want to thank my colleagues for their important questions and for working with us to get this done, and certainly we thank all of you who have come to deal with these Youth Study bills. Our hearing is recessed and we will turn this mike over to Councilman DiCicco.
It's Councilwoman Brown. Parks and Recreation is next.
Oh, dear. We have so many hearings today. 111 12/6/07 - FINANCE - BILL 071082 All right. Parks and Recreation is next, I take it. So we will turn it over to Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown. Thank you all for coming. We look forward to working with the City. We want to get it done next week. We have a lot of work to do during this next week. Thank you all. (Committee on Finance adjourned at 10:50 a.m.) - - - 112 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on December 6, 2007, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)