COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA PUBLIC HEARING AND PUBLIC MEETING BEFORE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC PROPERTY AND PUBLIC WORKS - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Tuesday, April 13, 1999 1:30 p.m. - - - BILL 970350 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to certain tract of City-opened land, with buildings and improvements thereon, situate at 4700, 4702, 4704, and 4706 Market Street, under and subject to terms and conditions. . . Bill 980966 - Authorizing Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to certain tract of City-owned land, with buildings and improvements thereon, situate in area generally bounded by Casper, Carbon, Ontario, and Tioga Streets. . . (Full text of bills within transcript.) PRESENT: COUNCILWOMAN AUGUSTA A. CLARK, Chair COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN MICHAEL A. NUTTER - - - VINCENT VARALLO ASSOCIATES, INC. Registered Professional Reporters Eleven Penn Center, Suite 600 Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 561-2220 2 /99 PUBLIC PROPERTY & PUBLIC WORKS I N D E X Bill 980966 Duane Bumb, Deputy Director of Commerce. . . . 3 8 Edward Duffy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation Ken Sipos, Department of Public Property . . . 8 3 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 970350 P R O C E E D I N G S
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. The Committee on Public Property and Public Works is now in session. A quorum is present. Present at the table is Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, Councilwoman Donna Reed Miller. In the room is Councilman Michael Nutter. And I am the Chair, Augusta Clark. Would the acting Clerk will please read the bill.
Bill No. 970350, authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-opened land, with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate at 4700, 4702, 4704 and 4706 Market Street, under and subject to the terms and conditions of the Philadelphia Industrial and Commercial Development Agreement between the City, the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. 4 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Bill No. 970350 will be held at the request of the sponsor. The clerk will read the next bill 10 before the committee.
Bill No. 980966, authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, without consideration, a deed conveying fee simple title to a certain tract of City-owned land, with the buildings and improvements thereon, situate in an area generally bounded by Casper, Carbon, Ontario, and Tioga Streets; and further authorizing PAID, notwithstanding any contrary requirements of the Philadelphia Industrial Development and Commercial Agreement between the City, the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, and the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, to reconvey this property for a nominal 5 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 consideration upon written approval of the Director of Commerce.
Thank you. Are there persons present to be heard in favor of the bill?
Please introduce to the record, spell your last name for benefit of the stenographer, and proceed.
Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson. My name is Duane Bumb, D-U-A-N-E, B-U-M-B. I am the Deputy Director of Commerce, and I am here to testify in support of Bill No. 15 980966. This bill authorizes the Commissioner of Public Property to convey a nine-acre parcel of land at Casper and Ontario Streets in Port Richmond to the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development, or PAID. After conveyance to PAID, this property will be sold be Isbre Holding Corporation, which will develop a 135,000 square foot bottling and distribution facility on the site. Isbre is a Norwegian company that 6 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 produces and bottles pure glacier water. They're a new facility at Casper and Ontario Streets, and are projected to employe 150 people on-site, with an additional 100 to 150 jobs created off-site in the trucking industry. This location, close to the Delaware River and existing port facilities, is critical to Isbre. They intend to import their water in bulk in tanker ships and then pump it to their facility for bottling and distribution. The site is also attractive because it is rail-served. The City's Commerce Department and PIDC have been working closely with Isbre to make this new development a reality. This project will not only create a state-of-the-art new facility in Port Richmond but it will also replace an existing junkyard which has occupied the site since the 1960s. The site was originally acquired by the City in 1967 for port purposes, and Isbre's proposed use of the site is consistent with that purpose and with the site's lease restricted zoning. I ask that the committee consider this bill favorably, and I thank you for the 7 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 opportunity to testify today. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Thank you very much. Are there others who wish to be heard to speak in favor or against this bill? (Edward Duffy comes forward.)
Good afternoon. Please introduce yourself to the record.
Yes. Good afternoon, Madam Chairperson and members of the committee. My name is Edward Duffy, E-D-W-A-R-D, D-U-F-F-Y. And I represent the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation. I am here to testify in support of Bill No. 980966. As Mr. Bumb stated, PIDC has been working with the Commerce Department to bring this new company into the City of Philadelphia. We are also working with the City's Law Department to terminate the lease of the existing tenant to operate the scrap metal facility on the site; and with the Streets Department to strike and vacate a paper street, which runs through the site. This ordinance is now being drafted by 8 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 the Streets Department, and we hope to have it enacted before the summer recess. PIDC and PAID (Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development) fully support the passage of this ordinance. Thank you for this opportunity to testify. I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have regarding this ordinance.
Thank you. Are there other persons who wish to be heard?
Madam Chairperson and members of the committee, my name is Ken Sipos, from the Department of Public Property. Public Property is in favor of the passage of this ordinance, and I request that the rules be suspended so that this could be reported out of the committee and acted on at the next Council meeting.
Thank you. Mr. Bumb, I understood your testimony that there would be 150 jobs created in the bottling plant.
That's correct, Madam Chairperson. The facility itself will employ approximately 150 persons. But because of the nature of the product, which is bottled water, it will generate several -- many trucking jobs, between 100 and 150 trucking jobs, in addition to those on site. So we would have a net impact of between 250 and 300 jobs because of this development.
The site has historically been an industrial site, and we have just completed a Phase I environmental assessment of the site; we will undertake a Phase II assessment, under which we will actually do some soil sampling and water sampling to determine if there's any sort of cleanup or remediation needed on the site before development. And that is in process right now.
Have you negotiated documents that hold the City harmless? 10 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966
What we most likely in that case will want to do -- because the City has owned the property for some period of time but was not the responsible party for any contaminants that may be on the site historically -- is to get some release from the State, which would pass with the property to the new property owner.
Right. We are always interested that the City be held harmless should there been any contamination in that chain of command.
So if you will protect our interest by making sure that that will be done.
Thank you. Are there any questions from other members of the committee? (No questions.)
Thank you. Are there any other persons in the room 24 who wish to speak in favor of or against this bill? 11 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 (No response.)
The committee now goes into its public session. Councilwoman Blackwell?
Madam Chairwoman, I move that Bill No. 980966 be reported out of committee with a favorable recommendation and a recommendation for a suspension of the rules so as it can be heard at the next session of Council. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 19 980966 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next stated meeting of Council. All in favor? Opposes? The ayes have it. 12 4/13/99 PUB. PROPT. & PUB. WORKS - 980966 Thank you. (Adjourned at 1:38 p.m.) - - - 13 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Tuesday, April 13, 1999, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND PUBLIC PROPERTY BILL NO.'s 970350, 980966 __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter