Let me bring up the project director for that team, and hopefully he can give us more detail on that.
Could you say 74 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 that again? I couldn't hear you. Say it again. I couldn't hear you.
I want to bring up the project director of that team, that can give you the details.
Good morning. Please identify yourself for the record.
Good morning. My name is Eric Evrig, with the Capital Program Office and the Project Director. The water tower, the roof project, is in design right now. We should be receiving the preliminary documents later this week, according to the schedule I had received from the architect. Documentation for the Mallory roof renovation had been done. That is an alternate. Funds weren't available at the time for that, so that job is designed but not awarded.
So, you said 75 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 that... What is the last comment you made? The design what?
The design for the Mallory Recreation Center roof renovation is done, but at the time of the bid the funds weren't available, so that job is not awarded.
Okay. All right. So neither one of those jobs have started, except with the design stage.
Okay. The other questions I have right now relate to Health, the Health Center in Germantown.
Okay. On 44. I was over at the Germantown Health Center, you know, on a variety of occasions. And one of their biggest issues is the need to expand the pharmacy -- the pharmacy cubicle, I'll call. And in looking at the renovations that's described here on , it says 76 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 that you intend to upgrade the building envelope. Can you tell me what that means, upgrading the building envelope? And then the exterior improvements will include a new window and storefront systems, with appropriate insulation. Can you tell me what that means? Because actually, what they have been wanting for the last several years is to have the outside wall that's near the -- near the... that's actually the exterior of the pharmacy, to demolish that wall and expand the pharmacy out, because there's sort of like a little deck. There's a small deck on the front of the building that they thought they could utilize as space. As I'm sure you know, that they really, really are in desperate need for space to service the clients that come in there.
Councilwoman... My name is Mariette Buckland. I'm Deputy Director for the Capital Program Office. 77 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 We do have continued conversations with the Health Department about the needs specifically for Health Center 9, which is the one you're referring to. There are a number of issues at that Health Center. And I know discussions continue about the best way to spend the existing capital dollars for that facility. But we'll certainly take your comments into advisement as we continue.
Right. Well, I'm sure that they've told you... I'm almost positive, because we've had meetings, too, to talk about expansion of the pharmacy there. When you go in there in the pharmacy, the actual drugs are all over the place because there's just no space for them to store in an organized fashion the drugs. So one of the things I'd really like you to consider -- and maybe we can set up a meeting to talk about -- if we're going to do some renovations there at the Health 78 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 Center, I think you might as well do what they need. What does upgrade the building envelope? What does that mean?
Well, to go back in time a little bit, we did a significant public area renovation to the facility three years ago. And a lot of interior renovations were done at that time. So the next step in the process was to do HVAC and electrical improvements, which were also done, completed about two years ago. And then the exterior envelope of the building, we want to make sure that that's sound and watertight so that this building can carry forward through the next 10 or 15 years. So that's what the discussions have been centered on. I know they have a few little HVAC issues, but I'm not intimately aware of the pharmacy issues. But we'll certainly have another meeting and discuss those.
Okay. Thank you. 79 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Let me go back to what... I think you were responding to some of my colleagues questions. And I wanted to better understand developing the criteria or the standards that I heard you talk about, with regard to the proposed enclosure of recreation centers. Can you be a little more descriptive about that? What do you plan to do? How will that process work? What's the role of the Planning Commission in that?
Sure. And I will also invite Commissioner Richards to come back up to augment anything I have to say. There are a number of inputs into this decision about what recreation centers 80 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 or what programs get consolidated into nearby facilities, for instance. One of those is the age of the --
Well, for instance, there are, as I understand it, recreation centers that can be no more than two blocks or three blocks away from each other. And the expert has come to the --
We can get you that information, unless Commissioner Richards knows it off the top of his head.
Good morning. Vic Richard again, Recreation Commissioner. There's approximately facilities 20 that we've identified that have at least 21 one and up to and including three or four 22 facilities within one mile radius.
So that wouldn't be two or three blocks. I mean, in Philly that's... 81 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
But there are some facilities that we've identified that are within three blocks, six blocks, and eight-block increments as well.
Through the Chair. So let's talk about how Recreation and Planning, and Secretary Griffith, you mentioned that there are a number of inputs. What are the others?
Well, first let me say the Managing Director's Office... Can you hear me?
Can you hear me now? The Managing Director's Office is taking the lead. It's a team approach. The... Obviously, the Recreation Department, City Planning, and the Secretary for Education, and probably others in terms of getting resources or 82 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 information, are on this team. We have contributed demographic information in map form that shows where there is a decrease in population and where that relates to other location of existing recreation centers. As I mentioned, we have also given information related to NTI and other development projects, so that we don't make the error of closing a facility now, where we are promoting development and where we hope to bring back population in the very near future. So we have been supporting the process in that way. We've also been asked to gather and to try to digest in that criteria either best practices criteria that other cities have used, but also association criteria, the American Planning Association, Association of Parks, and others have developed urban criteria about how close you should be to or a household should be to a recreation facility and what kind of recreation facility that should be for 83 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 different age groups, et cetera. And that will also be another input. And also, as I understand it, though we have not been a part of these meetings, the Managing Director and Recreation Commissioner have begun to talk to Council members about issues which may not be apparent, just from a cold objective look, at mapped data. And I don't know whether -- I think Commissioner Richard mentioned earlier that there had been at least six meetings. Vic, I don't know whether you want to add anything to that.
So... I mean, who ultimately, I guess, makes the decision and what's the Planning Commission's role in all of this?
In the process that's taking place now, Mr. Councilman, we're asking the City Councilperson within their prospective Districts to look at what's being recommended, and to jointly make the final decisions. 84 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
Well, I understand that. But Secretary Griffith talked about these criteria being developed, and standards and best practices. Where are we in that process, and how does that match up with the decision-making process for proposed closures? Have the criteria been developed? Have we done all the analysis that we need to do or is that ongoing as well?
We have just about completed the analysis. Some time ago, probably about two-and-a-half years ago, as part of the NTI process, we issued a document called, I believe, Criteria for a Healthy Neighborhood. That gave very broad parameters which are now being used as part of this vetting process. The Managing Director has asked to us look a little more deeply, and we're doing that. 85 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
And so you have that information which you're presently working on. You're talking to Recreation, Managing Director's Office, possibly some others. And all of this is to come together in the course of the next couple months?
Yes, sir. And I should say that Commissioner Richard has been doing work on this, I guess, for the last couple of years, and looking at the situation on the ground. So we're very much anchored by the work of the Recreation Department in their ongoing deliberations with Council.
I will be able to also give you -- I believe our meeting is scheduled -- I don't know if it's today or tomorrow; I'm not sure. But at that time or if you'd like it today, I can have delivered to your office the analysis that was done on the other cities across the 11 country that was comparable as well. 12
Okay. Well, my 13 time is up. But I mean, don't -- I mean, I 14 strongly encourage you to send it to the 15 Chair, and then it will -- 16
It always shows 18 up in our offices. 19 Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd like to 20 come back soon.
The next Council member to be recognized is Councilwoman Blackwell. Is she in the room? I don't think so. (No response.) 87 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
If I may, I am never comfortable doing points of information, but I feel compelled to do a quick point of information for Councilman Nutter, as it relates to the work that's been done on rec centers. And that is that the about two -- Well, I guess that was --
I yield to Councilwoman Reynolds Brown, even though I have no time.
Fall of 2001 we had hearings. We called for hearings around the park system. And one of the findings or... One of the findings out of the park hearings was that we needed to look closely at whether or not it made sense to begin to think about rec centers and closings and combining them with parks, and the like. So the initial discussions, ideas to look at that carefully was sparked by the hearings around the look at the parks. And I say that so that Councilman Nutter 88 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 understands the work that Commissioner Richard has been doing goes all the way back to those hearings that started in the fall of 2001. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Blackwell.
Thank you, Madam President. Sorry. I had to get some caffeine. This is my only question -- Well, it's not. It's a specific question. On of this year's budget where they talk about a project, this one says Lancaster Avenue, 49 to 59. Last year on they talked about Lancaster Avenue, 52nd to 63rd. My question is, can we expect that, since we've finally gotten the 205 and we have a federal grant here, as well as a City loan, that this project will be acted on this year? 89 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
Oh, one more question. Would you ask your folks to look into it to see if maybe we could go down to 40th, as opposed to 49th? And you can let me know if that's possible.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman DiCicco. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you, Madam President, and good morning.
Good morning. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: If we could pick up on the conversation that took place between you and my colleague, Councilman Ramos, concerning a vision and a plan, particularly for the riverfront, Delaware 90 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 River, which is mostly my District. The lower end is Council President's District. You and I and Mr. Lombardo had a number of conversations about our vision and all of our visions for the waterfront. I think it would be helpful to all of us if there is in fact a document, an artist's rendition, something that we can actually look to and say, this is the concept of what we're all talking about. Because for years... I can remember when this Mayor was first elected in his first term. Probably within 30 days after his swearing in, he convened a meeting down at Dave and Buster's, of all the communities that were adjacent to the Penn's Landing sites. And he talked about we shouldn't just be talking about developing that 13-acre site which we've all become accustomed to thinking of Penn's Landing because Penn's Landing, as we all know, is much greater than that 13-acre site. And he talked about his vision for a master 91 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 plan. I'm not being critical of the Mayor or this Administration. It's been several years, five, six years almost, five years at least, since that time. And there really has not been a plan that anyone could -- at least any of us could look to and say, well, this is something unique; this is something that, you know, we should be putting out there for prospective developers to look at. We are still, in my opinion -- and again, I'm not trying to be critical. We are still development driven, as far as I can see, at least as it relates to the river. Peter dePaul's project. Piers 9 and 11. Discussions are going on there. And it's not because someone from the Administration is reaching out for those folks. They're generally coming to us. About not quite a year ago when this whole discussion about the 13-acre site was pretty prominent in all of our minds, there 92 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 were developers that RFQs were being issued for were talking about, as the community groups that I represent along the Penn's Landing area came together and commissioned a well-known local urban waterfront planner, Wallace, Roberts & Todd, to do a study of what they perceived as some of the development and infrastructure issues relating to Delaware Avenue. Recently I sent a copy of that to the Mayor, I think within the last two, maybe three weeks. But what it does is, it may not be the plan. There may be some parts of it that going forward we would use. There may be none of the parts that we would use going forward. But what it is is something that people can visually look to and get a sense of what the river could be, should be, and some day may be; and that developers look at that and say, you know, my residential tower might fit in here. The retail developer may come and say, well, you know, I could fit one or two 93 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 different things along the river to create the neighborhood, as we all like to see along the river. So, I think that would be very helpful. And when the community groups really anteed up $50,000, of which Senator Fumo has recently reimbursed them by way of a grant, and I've recently asked the Senator for an extra $50,000, which I think he's going to approve, if we're able to go out there and retain an architectural firm to come up with a vision, why shouldn't we or why are we not doing the same thing? And if we are, I think that would answer some of these questions Councilman Ramos and some of the others have about what the vision is. There has to be a master plan. The developers who looked at that 13-acre site, the number of them had plans that went beyond the 13 acres. There was one, the Atlantis Group, which came across I-95 to the west side of I-95.
I mean, they basically were creating 94 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 a city, 600 million square feet of retail, residential space. It was humongous.
And for free. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: And for free, yeah, until -- until we started getting interested in it; then the free stuff went away. But I think that would be very helpful. And if you don't have a complete one is one thing. We understand that. But you need -- I think that it would go a long way in getting everyone to understand that the Planning Commission's role is not just reacting to developers. And again, I don't mean that to be critical, but I think that's what most people think is going on.
Well, first, I don't take your comments to be critical. You've always been very supportive of the Commission. And our dialogue, even when we disagreed, has always been very civil.
Miss 95 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 Griffith, I'm sorry. We're having difficulty hearing you. Can you speak -- Hold the mike closer to you, please.
Okay? I was just saying that I don't take your comments to be critical at all. I think you've been supportive of the planning process. And in this case, I think we're all thinking in the same way. The New River City initiative is really an initiative to put a lot of the disparate plans and projects that might seem as if their isolated... Penn's Landing, the very large North Delaware Riverfront Project, PIDC's Navy Yard project, the work that we were doing with the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, to put them in the context of an urban river initiative. As a matter of fact, one of the things that I've asked our GIS Department to do is to develop a map of the riverfronts, of all of our riverfronts, highlighting the planning that's being done, the zoning sort of construct that's 96 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 being moving forward, especially in the North Delaware River, and to show how those are connected. Because that's the way we think of them in the Planning Commission. And I think perhaps we haven't done a good enough job in communicating that holistic aspect. With regards to Penn's Landing, as you know -- and you were kind enough to host a meeting with the Planning Commission in some of those groups, I think, was somewhat productive. There we're looking to meld a vision. And we're happy to take the criteria that our urban design staff has developed, in part in response to some of the hearings that were had, both by University of Pennsylvania and Penn's Landing, to take those criteria and sort of make them manifest. Right now they are in written form. And I think it's difficult to see that that in itself is a plan, connecting this area to the City, making sure that the view 97 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 corridors are maintained, making sure that there's a plaza, et cetera. So I think you're correct. And I also agree with Councilman Ramos, that we need to do a better job in promulgating this vision. And I think the New River City Initiative is one mechanism to do that. And it's not just doing the substantive work. It's also doing the communications and marketing work, to the development community, to residents who might -- who are making the decision should I stay in Philadelphia, should I move, and to others who finally realize what a great place Philadelphia is to live. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. And just finally, I just want to mention that I don't have an extra copy, but I could get you a copy. I know the Mayor's Office has one because he and I had a conversation about this, the Wallace, Roberts & Todd. And it's quite elaborate. I mean, they have visuals on 98 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 everything, including those infrastructure issues that we talk, how to bridge the gap across 95. Their recommendation which was rather unique -- and again, not suggesting that we'd have to do that -- would be to put a deck on Delaware Avenue, as opposed to just putting a lid completely over I-95 which is less expensive than the lid, accommodates some of the issues that we have with the two highways, that make it very difficult to get from Front Street over to Delaware Avenue.
More bridges in between. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: More bridges in between, connecting... Very similar to what they do in Europe, only they have pedestrian bridges going across canals and stuff. We would do it across I-95. So if you want, I could probably get you a copy, but I think it would probably be helpful.
I would appreciate 99 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 it. We did have a staff that were involved. I think Warren Howfar, Director of Urban Design, is familiar with the plan. But it would be useful to get a copy so I can share it with the entire staff. COUNCILMAN DiCICCO: Thank you. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. Councilman Clarke, do you mind if I get a question in?
Miss Griffith, you state in your testimony that $260.6 million is allocated for neighborhood development. How much of that is CN funded and how will these funds be used?
That's another instance, Councilwoman, unless the Budget Director -- and he's shaking his head no -- that we will have to get something to you, hopefully by the end of the session. Again, it is spread out amongst a number of 100 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 agencies.
All right. And we would like to know how you arrived at that amount.
Thank you, Madam President. I want to follow up on the last question I had, with respects to the schools, slash, City consolidation of facilities. Who specifically is responsible, from the City's side, for working on that project?
Well, as you know, Councilman, this Administration works a lot in teams. And this is --
I need a person. Miss Griffith... 101 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
I need a person. I been hearing about this for a year.
Who is the person responsible for the team in this Administration?
I gotcha. With regard to recreation facilities, it is the Managing Director. And he is very hands on.
We've had, I believe, three meetings of that team, and Phil has been there at each meeting, actually, with 102 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 his sleeves rolled up.
So with all the other things in the City of Philadelphia that the Managing Director's responsible for, he's taken this on himself as the person who attends all the meetings, does all the follow ups.
Could that be alluding to the fact that this is not --
I apologize for interrupting you. He has volunteered that role. I expect and assume that Vic Richards, the Commissioner, is going to have a very responsible role in making those choices as well and moving that ball forward. But I think, for an issue of this importance, the Mayor has determined that 103 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 it would be useful to have a cabinet level appointee actually in the trenches.
He could certainly be here. I spoke to him at the beginning of the hearing, and he said to contact him if we needed him. I don't know whether there's someone else from the Managing Director's Office.
Councilman, would you want the Managing Director here?
You said he was the point person. I wanted somebody else. You said Phil Goldsmith is the point person; there's nobody else responsible.
Because this has been going on for a while, and I really need to understand what the process is. When I meet with the school people, they said they developed their strategy, and 104 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 they said they have yet to hear from you guys.
We will call him, and I'm sure he'll be happy to come and speak to that issue.
All right. Thank you. On Airport expansion, I had heard, I guess, on the radio within the last week there was a report done on airports across the nation. And Philadelphia was in a category of airports that was getting dangerously close to not being able to accommodate the flights.
Operating at capacity. Is the gentleman who spoke before still with us in the room? I'm sure he's still with us, but...
Thank you. Mr. McPherson, can you put the clock on pause until he gets up to the table?
Next you will have 105 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 roller skates.
Ed Anastasi, Deputy Director of Aviation for Finance and Administration. I would like to introduce Mark Gail, who is the Deputy Director for Operations and Facilities. Since it is a matter of airfield capacity, he can address your question, Councilman.
I had heard earlier, I guess on a radio show, that they have done an analysis on all of the airports in the country. And it was this category of airports that were reaching the critical stage in terms of their flight capacity. And Philadelphia fell within that category. And I'm wondering what do we plan to do? And based on the story, I got the assumption that it had more to do with 106 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 runways and air traffic controllers, as opposed to terminal expansion.
Yes. The FAA is constantly looking at the overall national air space architecture and how airports are operating. Philadelphia, unfortunately, has had the distinction of being an airport that is rapidly approaching its limits of capacity the way that the airfield is currently configured. In addition to that, we also have gained an airport with a distinction of having delay problems, again, associated with the way that the airfield is currently configured. As you may know, Councilman, the airport has embarked on a master plan effort, specifically designed to address those issues dealing with airfield capacity and expansion, to be able to deal with not only reducing the amount of delay that we incur today, but also to address the needs of the City and the region 20 to 25 years 107 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 into the future. Those --
Excuse me. Excuse me. On the airfield expansion, was that -- the potential for that impacted by the Kverner crane? I had heard that the crane being placed at the specific location limited our ability to expand a couple of runways in that flight path.
The placement of the Kverner crane came into play back in 1999 when we added runway A26 which was our newest, our most recent runway. We did modify the runway in terms of changing its elevation at the end, in order to clear the crane, so we are able to operate that runway without any major safety issues associated with that. In terms of future expansion of the airport, how the Kverner crane plays, is the more that we expand the airfield to the east, towards the Kverner crane and to the shipyard, we will then have to compensate by continuing to rise the -- actually the elevation or the height at the end of the 108 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 runway, in order to make sure that planes arriving or departing --
We are looking... There are two airfield development alternatives on the table right now that are being evaluated. The FAA has embarked on an environmental impact statement for the two airfield development alternatives. One is essentially what we refer to as the parallel concept which is a takeoff of what we have in place today, by adding a fourth parallel runway, basically where the United Parcel Service facility is, located adjacent to the river. And the second airfield development actually changes the orientation of the 109 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 existing runway configuration and spaces the runways further apart, to the distances that are required to run simultaneous operations, in order for the airport to achieve the number of operations that it's being -- you know, the demand is being placed upon it right now. The FAA, as I stated, has hired their own consultant to do the EIS process. And as a matter of fact, we actually have some public information hearings that are coming up next week in New Jersey, Delaware and in Pennsylvania so that the residents and surrounding communities can voice their concerns, as well as an opportunity for the FAA and the airport to basically brief everybody on the status of where we are and the plans for that development.
What level are the airlines involved in, in terms of airfield expansion? US Air and hopefully Southwest and this expanded plan, are they involved in the process?
Yes. In the master 110 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 planning effort, there were a number of committees that were developed early on. Community advisory committees, technical committees. And a number of the airlines have members that have served and continue to serve on technical advisory committees, in terms of taking a look at the alternatives that are being presented, and to be able to add in how they operate and how their individual respective airlines operate, in terms of numbers and runway lengths and requirements, and whatnot. That's just on the preparation side. The other side of it I would let my colleague respond to, Mr. Anastasi, with respect to it would require and will require their approving any type of financial plan to be able to fund those developments.
Point of information. 111 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
Thank you, Madam Chair. You got my attention when you were talking about -- You had my attention but you got more of it...
...when you mentioned the fact that the Kverner crane, the way we compensated for that obstacle is that we elevated the runway. During ideal flight conditions, how far does the average aircraft clear the crane?
Oh, it's several hundred feet, Councilman, depending upon the positioning of the crane. The crane itself, actually, is on a set of tracks and it rolls back and forth. Some days you'll look out and it will appear as through it's right on the center line of the runway. And then the next day you look at it, you'll see that it's 112 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 shifted all the way to the north, and it doesn't look like it interferes at all.
Well, let's talk about a day that it's interfering, and the jet clears it by a couple hundred feet. What happens if the conditions aren't ideal, where there would be an aborted takeoff? What happens then?
There is an instrument landing system that's associated with that runway. So pilots that are on approach to that runway are following -- typically are following an instrument landing or guided landing which will ensure their clearing the crane. If they're not following the instrument landing system, they can approach the runway on a visual basis, whereby the pilot has the responsibility to see and avoid the crane. And that's all the function of the visibility of the time of day.
I'm not talking about arrivals. I'm taking about -- 113 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
-- to give the aircraft additional lift to clear the crane.
We have a jet that's taking off. Something isn't right. The plane doesn't lift at the lift rate that it's supposed to.
Well, the pilot would -- You know, depending upon what is happening with the failure, the pilot would be required to take --
I understand the FAA has approved all this. 114 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
Boy, a couple hundred feet is kind of... Next time I do that, I'm going to look down and make sure that you're right. But it sounds to me it's quite tight.
When the runway was taken into consideration being built, any pilot that chooses to use that runway for departure, knowing that that obstacle is out there, has to take a look at the performance criteria for the aircraft, that should he or she lose an engine, let's say, for example --
...that the aircraft is required to maintain a certain amount of lift and climb rate that would enable it to clear that obstacle.
And a pilot can... Am I hearing that a pilot can 115 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 refuse departure on that runway if he or she chooses?
He's probably doing it for your safety if he feels he's too heavy to take that runway.
Great. Thank you. Thanks for that point of information, Madam Chair.
Do you have another question? And then I'll call on Councilwoman Tasco.
If I may just point out that the Managing Director -- 116 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04
I just wanted to point out, the Managing Director is here, if it's appropriate for him to respond to the Councilman's question.
Mr. Managing Director, did you hear the question?
In earlier testimony, and actually in one of the other days of testimony, the question about consolidation of facilities with the School District and the City had come up, and had 117 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 actually talked to Paul Vallas about three weeks ago in his office and asked that question about what the status of the Consolidation Plan is. We're now talking about the potential closure of several rec facilities. Knowing that the Mayor made reference to this particular program, I guess more than a year ago, I continue to be concerned that I don't see any substantive -- at least I don't -- any substantive discussions or recommendations. When I met with Mr. Vallas, he indicated that the School District had done its work, had came up with its recommendations -- had come up with its recommendations on this issue, but he did not get any feedback from the City. I asked Miss Griffith, you know, repeatedly who was the point person on this issue. And she said you were. No staff, no 25 deputies, no assistant deputies. You, Mr. 118 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 Goldsmith, were the point person. So as the point person of the team -- you actually said of the team -- can you tell me where we are with this process, what's happened over the last year, a time line on when you think this program will be in place. Will we be able to access the recommendations of the City before we have to make decisions on any closures of any facilities in our Districts?
Okay. Let me try to answer the best I can. Phil Goldsmith, Managing Director, City of Philadelphia. We have, as you know, a process going on that we would, I guess, have called right-sizing which includes really looking at our rec centers and swimming pools, and so forth. I think there's a number of different contexts to that. Part of that would be partnering with other organizations, whether they be non-profit, in some cases businesses, as well as also 119 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 the School District being another organization that we would be looking at. We have put together, through the Recreation Department and others, what we consider an analysis of all our rec centers and pools, as to utilization, proximity to other recreation centers, proximity to other available possibilities, such as schools, and so forth. And we have been engaging members of City Council in our analysis. We plan to talk to each and every member of City Council that wants to, you know, talk to us about it because we think it's got to be an iterative and collaborative partnership. We have also had -- And I would say Debra Kahn has been the person as Secretary of Education who has had more contact with the School District and engaging the School District as to their sites, what their potential school facility construction program is like. And that is part of the overall process.
Excuse me. 120 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 Excuse me, Mr. Goldsmith. So is Debra Kahn is the point person and not you?
I would say, in terms of -- If the specific question was in terms of the relationship, that part of the programming or planning the School District in the City, Debra Kahn would be the lead person, I would say, in the overall scheme of what we plan to do with rec centers and how we plan to work with Council and try to make some decisions here. I would be responsible, obviously, as serving the Mayor --
She has been the person point with the schools, you know. But as -- You know, there's a number of people that have been dealing with it. And I think she as recently as last week had a conversation, another conversation with their folks. They may be further ahead than we are. But there have been discussions and conversations about 121 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 these issue.
So are you suggesting that Debra Kahn would be the best person to answer whatever line of questioning that I may have on the status of this particular --
She would be -- She would be more up to speed than I would be, yes.
I would assume that she's not here. I'm just simply trying to find out who's been working on this for the last year. And if you're not the person, I'm sorry you had to come over here.
Well, I'm ultimately responsible, but, you know, we try to divvy up the responsibilities. And there have been conversations. So, she can give you a better idea of her most recent conversation with the School District because I think that took place last week.
All right. I 122 Whole - Bills 040257, 040258 - 4/5/04 mean, I'm not necessarily -- I just need to know who's the responsible person. And for some reason I've been unable to get like a straight answer.
And I mean, I understand that you're the Managing Director. But as Darrell Clarke, Councilperson, going to a community meeting, they don't want to hear about a staff member --
-- didn't get something done. I'm the person. It's all on me.