-- that we look at, in addition to providing who we're contracting with, how departments are doing as it relates to staff diversity, especially departments who are going to be hiring at this rate. 216 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. In terms of our contracts with the non-profits, can you tell me what types of services? I notice that we got $1.4 million, Philadelphia Youth Network, Afro-American Museum. How many kids are we servicing through those contracts and how do we evaluate those? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I'll have to get you that information. I don't have it right here.
If you could submit that to the Chair, that would be very important, because I wanted to echo what my colleague, Blondell Reynolds, said around as we look at being smarter in our contracting of services, I definitely look at Class A facilities as potential beacons for kids and really trying to figure out if we can to not only expanded hours but 24-hour services in some of these poorer areas. So I think that that's a conversation that we should have accelerated with DHS and others as we look at that. And I say 217 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. that because I have a district where we have certain rec centers; for instance, Hissy Playground, that has been closed for three years and it's been okay. It's C and Indiana, one of the most drug-infested areas. And what I appreciate about Commissioner Carapucci is that he is not giving me excuses for it. He accepts the fact that that stuff cannot happen and should never happen regardless of who is in leadership in the Council level, that we can allow rec centers to go closed for so many years in underserved communities. I notice that in your professional services you still put in the money for the Dell East. Is that because -- for the professional services I notice it was still here. There's $350,000 still allocated in professional services to the Dell East. So I was wondering... COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: It should not be in there. It's not in 218 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. there for this year.
Okay. In Section 41, , it's still outlined there, or did I read that wrong? Or that was for this year? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: That was for this -- that's what we spent last summer.
That's what you spent last summer. So this number was for money spent last year, not for anything for this year? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Right.
Okay. All right. One more thing. As it relates to your maintenance schedule, you talked about you have an added maintenance crew. Who is going to be doing the deployment of that special crew seasonal? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Frank Fabey is our Maintenance Deputy. His assistant is Michael Mecchella, and we have underneath there -- that's 219 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. citywide -- Tyrone Foster. Then after that, we have three basic District Caretaker Supervisors for a division supervisor. They have three districts -- we have nine districts. They're broken up into three districts per supervisor. And then what happens is this: When something is needed, like a special event, chairs, whatever it may be, those guys of those divisions, the supervisors, they have to then pull men out of the rec centers, out of the playgrounds, and then they form what is known as a crew, and they're the guys that do that extra work. Obviously something is going to be missing, and that's where all the overtime comes in, because you still have to maintain the facilities. So you can't give that function up. So now starting in another couple weeks, we're going to be hiring seasonal maintenance aides, and what we do with them, we put for the first -- up until you get into the summer, we put 220 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. some of those guys in that crew to help, and that's more -- that kind of saves us some money. But we need to do that, because now this is our time of the year. April 1st to Labor Day is when we have to earn our money. Not just the maintenance, the program, everybody. So whatever we have, we have to spend now. So I know there's a little bit of money in our budget. By June 30th we're going to use it.
Point of information. Madam Chair, point of information.
Commissioner, how does a person apply for those seasonal jobs? Give us a heads-up on that, please. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Okay. What happens is this: The supervisors at the rec centers reach out into the local communities, the parks people. They 221 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. reach out to the people that live in there. It's very neighborhood oriented. We delegate that out to where the site supervisor and the parks people, like Barbara, they have some control and they have a good feel for the community. So I'm very confident that all the people that we hire under the SMA program are neighborhood people, are people that represent Philadelphia, and I think we've done a pretty good job of that.
So if someone would be interested in a summer job, who do they approach at the Rec? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Their neighborhood rec leader.
So they need to go look -- COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: They could go to our rec center.
And see someone and say, I want to work there? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: They 222 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. will see the site supervisor.
The other area that I think is important moving forward is if there is a catalogue of work orders and how they're taken care of, I think that would be important. And I know, again, you took care of this, but I had a toilet for six years that was not functioning in one of my Class A facilities. And I'm glad that you fixed it, but I would think that moving forward we would do a better job of cataloguing those work orders and how they get resolved. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: That's one of our initiatives, and we've had a work order system, but what we're trying to do is become a lot more accountable. One of the things that we do now with the new Administration is a thing called PhillyStat, and we have to go before the Managing Director and a lot of other 223 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. people, and we're held accountable for what we're counting and not counting. And one of the things we are counting is work orders that are called in and how many are completed. So we're on the same page with you with that.
The Chair recognizes Councilwoman -- (Councilwoman speaking without microphone.)
-- on the grounds at Lincoln. Have you been getting any requests from our office? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I just got today, somebody e-mailed me and Frank about -- I just got it today.
Well, there's a lot of safety issues here as well. I have pictures of children that got hurt there. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I 224 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. think it's School District property. In fact, I know it's School District property. We'll clean the park, and we've done that over the years, but that all has to be redone by the School District.
The City can't help us? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: We could help you, but I don't know if we can fix the whole entire area. I think the whole thing has to be ripped out. But Frank will take a look at it.
Well, I'd be glad to take a tour with you there just to look at it. Would you call my office so we can take a tour?
We always address the clean problems on a regular basis. However, it's not our play equipment, and many times I've actually done repairs there. Numerous times we've cleaned the facility. It's not even ours. We've addressed the maintenance issues. We've 225 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. done repairs. However, it's School District property and we're very limited to our ability to work there. We need permission from them. It would have to be a capital project that should be addressed through the Capital Office.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Finally, the 226 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. level of repair of our rec centers, you do a great job. We need to increase the budget of our annual rec centers, Madam President. We have infrastructure that is aging, and we just need to bite the bullet and increase the Recreation Department's maintenance portion, because what good is it if we invite young people into after-school programs if they're in dingy and in some cases even unsafe conditions? We just need to prioritize it. It is not just recreation. It's violence intervention in some areas of the City, and we need to readjust our priorities and give them what they need to operate.
From your mouth to God's ears. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Thank you. I appreciate it.
Thank you. 227 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Commissioner, the last question I had I couldn't get to in my last round was, we come here and we talk about sometimes the same thing budget after budget after budget and we bring it up again and again. One of the things that we've talked about for years and now that you're leading Recreation is to see if there's anything we can do to improve upon the swimming pool issue. The School District has pools. Sometimes it's confusing who maintains them. I know that the one on Germantown Avenue, the heater was out for months and months and months. It seems as though this is one thing that could be done better, and with your team, I'm thinking -- do we have to ask the School District to -- what exactly do you perceive to be the problem? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I understand what you're saying about the indoor pools. We've had this problem 228 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. many times. The indoor pools that we operate are inside of the School District's buildings. They are responsible for the renovation and repair of these pools. I'd have no problem at all if City Council wanted to have some type of meeting where it could be aired out, some of the issues, similar to what's happened now up at Lincoln, because we do operate the pools, but when they have to get fixed, they have to be fixed by the School District. And we have a number of the pools -- I think there's seven of them -- across the City.
The one that championship swim team practices, what's the name of the rec center down off of Hunting Park Avenue? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Foster.
And those kids were preparing for a meet and the water was so cold, the coach couldn't 229 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. even let them practice in it because it was just unbearable. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: And we've had pools --
And it took months and months to get a heater fixed. Is there a way you think if we did get together with the School District that you could be budgeted for the maintenance of the facilities, they could just be your tenant? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: If there's a way that you could work that out -- and it has to be worked out from a higher level than myself -- we are more than willing to take on the responsibility. Obviously there would be some resources to go with that, because it hurts us, too. We had a facility at 57th and Walnut, Sayre-Morris Recreation Center. That pool was shut down for 18 months, and it's because -- it's similar to what Councilman DiCicco is talking about, you 230 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. don't have control. So if I can't control what I'm using, so we do -- I'm willing to work with whoever the Administration appoints to take care of this.
The School District will be here, and not to belabor the point at another hearing, I think it's important that we really fix this problem, because it's a shame. You take a bad rap for it unnecessarily, and on occasions your people even went and fixed the problem even though it wasn't your responsibility to fix it, just to get it back operational. But I think that we really need to sit down, and I think that a tenant relationship could develop with the required -- letting you do the maintenance of the facilities. I'll facilitate that meeting. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Thank you.
Since they're citywide and it's a good issue. 231 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc.
How about the liability? Who would pay for the liability?
The liability with the swimming pools with the schools.
Do we take care of the liability of the swimming pools in the schools? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: No, we don't. We just operate the program. So there would have to be some type of structure set up to where that this would change. But it's in the school. They're in schools. Like the pool at Lincoln is within the school of Lincoln.
What's the problem there, Commissioner? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: No, there's no problem there. I'm just 232 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. saying that all of those indoor pools are inside of schools. So it's a complicated issue, but I would think something like a maintenance -- without getting into everything else, it was just a little bit quicker response to repairing what's needed to be repaired.
And the point that you made, you had a swimming pool in West Philly? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: We had a pool out there for --
For 15 months down because it needed some 16 maintenance. 17 COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: They 18 had to redo the whole pool. So that's not an unusual situation, but that affects -- we don't have any control of that. If it took three years, you have to live with it, because we are a guest basically.
Right. So what I'm hearing is if you had control of 233 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. that process, that pool could have been back faster? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: We would do everything we can to get it back faster.
Okay. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Many times, as you well know and I think a lot of people in here realize, that when a pool goes down, we do what we can to get it open for that season. It's always been our goal to have all the pools operating.
Well, maybe this is the time to straighten this out with the School District and with the new leadership there, that we'll see that maybe you taking that responsibility would be to the City's advantage. So we'll see. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Thank you.
234 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. They're also City employees that work there, right? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: The City employees operate the program. The water safety instructors operate the pool. They do the swim lessons. They do all that. As far as the maintenance and repairing of the pools, that's done by the School Board.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
While we're on repairs, I just got a call from my staff. The refrigerator freezer is down at Finley and we're having an event there on Saturday. We need to have it 235 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. fixed. Thank you. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Frank will take care of that. Thank you.
Any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Seeing none, thank you, gentlemen. Commissioner, I'd suggest you stay where you are. MR. McPHERSON: Camp William Penn. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: We're going to do this as a team. I'm going to start it off, then I'm going to turn it over to Leo Dignam, who did a lot of research on alternatives for the camp. Good afternoon, Council President Mrs. Verna and Honorable City Council members. I am William Carapucci, 236 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Acting Recreation Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia. I would like to introduce my executive managing staff. To my right is Leo Dignam, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Programs, and to my left, Deputy Commissioner for Maintenance, Frank Fabey. Now I would like to have Leo Dignam handle the rest of it. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: Thank you, Commissioner. The City of Philadelphia Department of Recreation has managed Camp William Penn since 1951. Most of the 100 structures on the property pre-date ownership by the City of Philadelphia. The kitchen and dining hall in particular were built in the 1920s and now require substantial renovations and modernization. A recent inspection indicated that kitchen equipment was outdated and poses a safety hazard. Additionally, a local site safety evaluation, as recommended by the 237 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. American Camp Association, noted electrical hazards and the need for emergency generators. Total capital costs for a new kitchen, including new appliances, have been estimated to be over $100,000. Also, generators to support water generation, infirmary and access lighting will cost an additional $120,000. In order for the camp to operate safely this year, these capital improvements must be completed. In addition, despite best efforts by Department of Recreation staff, the camp attendance and interest for the camp has diminished. In FY08, there were a total of 313 campers. Other agencies were asked to help with enrollment, but few materialized. With a camp staff of 65 employees and a total budget over $400,000, the price per camper exceeds $1,000. These costs coupled with the liability of taking children to an outdated facility 80 miles 238 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. from Philadelphia is an unnecessary risk for the Department and the City. President Verna and members of City Council, I will be glad to answer any questions you may have about this testimony or the operation of Camp William Penn.
So it's safe to say that there will be no encampment this year, correct? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: (Witness nods head in the affirmative.)
My input is the disposal of the property. I looked up the leadership in East Stroudsburg, who the various State Senators, State Representatives, et cetera, et cetera. I would appreciate it if someone would reach out to all of those -- and I have the names -- of those elected officials that represent where the camp is, A, to see if they would first have an interest 239 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. in acquiring that land. I think politically after being there all these years that it would be a good idea to let those folks know of our intention, because you never know. They could have a need for that facility before we actually have a sale sign on it. Because that's what you plan to do, right, put a sale sign on it? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: I met with the Public Property, and they're evaluating the facility itself for its worth. There's 677 acres, and they will either dispose of it through a lease or a sale. But if you have that information, I'll pass it along to Public Property.
Here's the State Rep and Senators. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Thanks.
You're welcome. 240 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Good afternoon, gentlemen. I want to go on the record of commending the staff that worked there. I did visit Camp William Penn, and much is to be said about the commitment of the leadership there and the staff that were there to try to make that as best an experience as possible for Philadelphia's young people. What is happening with those staff persons? What's their next step? Are they still in the system? Are they laid off? What? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: There are three full-time exempt staff at the camp, and they are not in the budget effective July 1st of this year.
And even with the -- did you say 57 vacancies that the Department has? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: We have 57 vacancies. 241 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc.
There's no -- and I am crossing the line, but someone has to look out for somebody who looked out for kids. Any opportunities to match the skill set of those professionals with the existing needs in the Department? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: The two fellows that live at the camp, they -- well, they're from that area. So there's a possibility we could offer them employment because we have many vacancies, but I doubt whether they would come here.
And the 65 employees probably live outside of the City and certainly would not be --
Do they? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: A lot of our counselors were from Europe.
That's exactly right. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: And they were only seasonal employees anyway, 242 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. just hired for the weeks that the camp was open.
Okay. Thank you for your testimony. Thank you, Madam President.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Sanchez.
Yeah. My question was along the lines of the staffing. How many staff people are at Camp William Penn? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: There's a camp director and there's two maintenance employees that stay at the camp. That's it.
And they're going to be redeployed -- who are the civil service positions that are there? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: No, they're not civil service. They're exempt employees. 243 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc.
So only three people ran that camp? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: And then we would hire in the summer an additional 65 various staff.
So are you reallocating those seasonal jobs to other parts in the Department for the summer? You're just wiping it out altogether? COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Part of that money reverts back to the City, and some of it has come to us to send kids to other camping experiences.
So how do the kids who normally would have access to Camp William Penn access the other summer camp experiences that you're going to offer? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: We will do an outreach through our website and through all of our recreation centers, which is normally how we do outreach for Camp William Penn. We'll do 244 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. that outreach and provide the alternatives. We have a phone line still set up for Camp William Penn where those people will be directed to come to us and sign up for the alternatives, and that's how we plan on taking care of the need.
How many slots do you think you'll be able to offer through that this year? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: Approximately 400.
Can you make sure that Councilmembers are aware of when the outreach effort starts towards the recruitment of young people? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: (Witness nods head in the affirmative.)
Thank you. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: We hope Council will be part of that recruitment. We'll send you applications and ask you to send us anybody that is 245 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. interested in the camp.
Doesn't it make sense -- you might have said this -- that we write a letter to the parents of the children that have gone last season? DEPUTY COMMISSIONER DIGNAM: We plan on doing that, but we had to wait until we did testimony today.
Thank you. Any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Seeing no one, gentlemen, thank you very much. COMMISSIONER CARAPUCCI: Thank you. 246 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. MR. McPHERSON: The next department is Atwater Kent Museum. (Witness approached witness table.)
Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony.
Thank you, Madam President. I'm Viki Sand, Executive Director of the Atwater Kent Museum of Philadelphia, and I am here to speak on behalf of the Museum's budget recommendation of $320,000. In Class 100, the amount is $264,000 to support five key staff positions. In Class 200, it's $6,000, which provides funding for fine arts insurance, and the new addition for our budget is in Class 500, which allocates $50,000 as a portion of the City's rent support for a new collections storage facility. You have the testimony and it's been presented to you. 247 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. This was an extraordinary year for the Museum because in fact our public programs, our school programs, our summer programs have shown significant increase in support, and we also had the opportunity to work with the Free Library, the House of Umoja and WXPN on a wonderful project addressing issues of violence in Philadelphia. This was an effort supported by a federal agency that also gave us the opportunity to really demonstrate what we mean when we say that the City's official history museums provides context, historical context, for issues that are important. At this point, the two key issues for the Museum -- and I think will go a long way to supporting the Administration's focus on its six priorities -- is to secure stable, professional, long-term storage for the 100,000 Philadelphia items, Philadelphia City history collection, and that we also prepared a Capital Projects Master Plan 248 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. that will allow us to raise funds to renovate the Museum's historic 1826 Museum Building. I want to say something just briefly about the collections storage facility and then I'm happy to respond to any questions. Over the past six years, the Atwater Kent Museum, which has had a collection of 90,000 items, has recently added about 12,500 objects to the collection. Without question, the most important of that was from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. That was a major collection of about 11,000 items, major in the sense of their importance to Philadelphia. Also material from the Balch Institute, the objects of Philadelphia, and the Insurance Company of North America. This is transforming for us and it's why the support from Public Property to identify a site that we could use that would store the facility and have an 249 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. appropriate professional environment for this collection. It provides us with the opportunity for long-term care. It provides us with the opportunity -- access for research and space to prepare exhibitions. It also allows us to add two small galleries to the Museum facility for exhibitions and a new Collection Learning Center on the third floor. We are very appreciative to the Council over the past several years for the support that it's given of this systemic work of the Museum and also to Commissioner Joan Schlotterbeck and her colleagues at the Department of Public Property, who have been instrumental in providing this long-term care. And to conclude my remarks, I wanted to -- I thought of something that would be appropriate for everyone who came to this hearing, and I promised that I would put on gloves just as every good curator recommends. And then in the 250 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. spirit of just how wonderful this collection is and how it is what Philadelphians share, I brought along Mike Schmidt's jersey, and it is now deteriorating because of his sweat that's still on it, but this is an actual jersey that he used. And when we talk about what Philadelphians share, it seemed like this was one that was appropriate for the season. Thank you, Madam President.
Thank you. At this time, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you very much for that visual. That's another style of learning. So we thank you for that. And let me also acknowledge and thank you for your participation in the work group process around the tour guide bill wherein we've been meeting now for soon a year. So your participation and input has been 251 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. extremely helpful. One of the Mayor's priorities for his term is for the City to do better with regards to holding on to college talent, and we know that the Museum often has a need for teachers. So can you speak to any relationships you have with local universities and how you can hold on to their graduating talent, which then allows us to hold on to that talent for the City of Philadelphia?
Thank you for your question. We have an ongoing program. Actually, a doctoral fellow from Temple University works with us hours a year 17 and has been part of our research team. 18 Along with the Museum of Art and the 19 African-American Museum, the Atwater Kent 20 Museum has been selected as one of the sites in Philadelphia for the very prestigious diversity internship program, a paid internship for people to learn the profession. I think that we always -- we 252 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. work with Penn and Drexel and a variety of different programs, the University of the Arts in terms of their museum studies program. So I think we've tried to do that.
So currently you're doing it in a very independent fashion, separate from what the Mayor's plan of action or Strategic Plan might be around that effort?
We have been doing it, but are delighted to work with the Mayor's Office in terms of coordinating these efforts so we can have a greater impact.
I would encourage you, and we can find out sidebar who is the point person in the Administration charged with that priority.
Okay. I'm also quite impressed with How Philly 253 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Works. Is there any inclination to partner with, again, surrounding universities, not only for funding but also for the use of interns or volunteers?
Well, that's how we do it, and I think we're always interested in working to expand that program. I think I'd like to talk with your office and others about potentially a high school program that could acquaint even younger people with the idea of working in cultural institutions. So I think that there's a lot of room here and I think the excitement of all of these colleges and universities in the area and then using the rich cultural resources that are here, I think we've just begun to look at. I mean, not that others haven't done a lot and the Museum independently, but it may be time to really form a stronger collaborative effort.
Sure. 254 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Marketing is always a real hurdle. Well, let me say this: Dollars for marketing can be a hurdle for arts and cultural institutions when there's so much you want to get done with the limited resources that you have. Do you know if there currently exists a collaborative effort around the joint marketing of a host of cultural institutions? Any discussions or arrangement with GPTMC along those lines?
Well, we've been one of the founding collaborators in the Philadelphia-based GPTMC Quest for Freedom Program, and that we offer every Friday afternoons a program drawn from the collection that talks about the history of the Abolitionist Movement, the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia. So we're part of that. We're part of a smaller collaborative having to do with seven or eight or ten institutions around William Penn in the fall. So I think that we've worked to 255 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. do that, and we're aligned with all of the major efforts, but I think candidly there's a focus on big institutions. We love big institutions, because they get people here, but I think we really need to work at the second and third tier of organizations that really add richness and texture to the Philadelphia experience, and I think we can all work better to promote these middle range and smaller organizations.
Sure. So that's a sidebar we should probably have with GPTMC.
Are you a member of the Multi-Cultural Affairs Congress? Is Atwater Kent a member -- that is a division of the Philadelphia Visitors and Convention Bureau.
I don't know that we're a formal member, but now I'm embarrassed. I know that we've worked with them on a number of efforts, Tanya 256 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Hall and with others. So I know that we've been involved, but I'm not sure that we formally pay dues. I know that we're a part of the --
You might want to consider that, only because they serve well your medium-sized, smaller, for whatever that definition is, arts and cultural organizations that are looking for additional marketing opportunities where they can feed off of the bigger marketing activities.
Finally, discuss your storage arrangements with the African-American Museum.
We came to a situation with -- that is still very much a part of the discussion. Because our needs were immediate, meaning that two of our major storage facilities were being closed -- I mean, they were going out of business. One of them already has -- and we had immediate need, it was the thought 257 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. of the people at Public Property that we work to get our needs taken care of, because they are literally closing the doors and we have to be out by the end of -- by the beginning of May. So that's happening. And once we're in place and we're in a space that we can expand, that we can add an amount of space, and it's our intention, absolute intention, to then open this to other City-supported organizations, which was the original idea, and the African-American Museum. They also needed from us a specific price, a specific cost, before they could do their planning.
Well, I think it's 258 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. real once we're able to get moved in and create the space. It's always been central to the concept.
Okay. Finally, how do you market the Experience Philadelphia effort currently underway?
We do it through our website. We've just -- and our website includes a video, a movie. We send out two or three times a year information about the program. Candidly, this is, for those who don't know, we've done this -- Experience Philadelphia is an opportunity for high school kids to negotiate solutions to City problems. And so we've tried to market it, but it is expensive, and then school buses are a piece of it. We now have had nearly a thousand kids participate. That's not 259 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. very many, but at $200 for 20, it's more expensive than a usual program.
I see. So is there a relationship then with Dennis Creedon at the School District?
That I don't know specifically whom we've spoken to, but we have a very close relationship with Constitution High School, and they come frequently. We also market to a variety of other schools, like we just had the third year of the Friends School there participating in the program. So I think I can get you the name of who our contact is with the School District, but we've really -- and also a list of which high schools have participated.
Sure. My only interest is in seeking to maximize usage from Philadelphia area schools and charter schools.
Okay, 260 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. then. Thank you very much for your testimony.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilman Greenlee.
Thank you very much, Madam President. Along the same line, Council President, I'm on the Board of the Atwater Kent Museum, and at the risk of embarrassing Viki here, working with her these number of years, I doubt if you'll find anybody, along with her staff, more dedicated to make sure what may be not a large museum, but is something that is a real treasure in Philadelphia, and to make it work. And the diversity of the programs you have there are great, and I'm glad we finally worked out that storage facility. That's just a walk down memory lane, just to go through that, to walk up there and walk through 261 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. there and see what you have. So, again, I think that the budget, while it's certainly not one of the largest allocations in the City, I think is certainly money well spent, and congratulations on all you do, Viki.
Thank you. Any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Thank you. MR. McPHERSON: Philadelphia Art Museum. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank 262 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. you very much. You've been extremely patient. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for your patience. Please identify yourself for the record and proceed with your testimony. MS. McCLENNEY-BROOKER: My name is Cheryl McClenney-Brooker. I'm Director of External Affairs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and I have with me William Valerio, who is the Assistant Director for Administration at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We are to be joined shortly by our colleagues, the Director and the Chief Executive Officer, Anne d'Harnoncourt, and the Chief Operating Officer, Gail Harrity. But in the meantime and in respect to you and to everyone here, we want to go ahead and read the testimony.
Please do, because we've been sitting here all day, and I know a phone call was made some time ago, and we will not wait. 263 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. MS. McCLENNEY-BROOKER: We appreciate that.
If it would have to be continued to another date, so be it. MS. McCLENNEY-BROOKER: We appreciate that. No. We are going to go ahead.
Please proceed. MS. McCLENNEY-BROOKER: And just pretend that we are Anne and Gail.
That's right. MS. McCLENNEY-BROOKER: Greetings to Council President Verna and members of City Council. My name is Anne d'Harnoncourt, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I am joined by Gail Harrity, Chief Operating Officer; Robert J. Marrone, Director of Facilities and 264 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Operations; and then myself. As you know, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has one of the finest collections of art in the United States, encompassing a great diversity of cultures and historical periods. Housed in a City-owned building and with responsibility to care for City-owned collections, the Museum has depended on annual City operating support to pay security and maintenance costs since it opened the doors of its magnificent main building in 1928. When the core expenses of security and maintenance are funded through a stable annual stream of public support, museums can successfully leverage this support to solicit additional funding from individuals, foundations and corporations for the collection care, special exhibitions and education programs, which have such a deep and positive impact on the City's quality of life, educational opportunities and economic prosperity. 265 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Education is the business of the Museum every day, and an investment in the Museum is an investment in education. The Museum's award-winning education staff collaborates with schools in every councilmanic district in Philadelphia, serving 75,000 to 85,000 school children annually. Programs for teachers, after-school art clubs for middle schools, and the Museum's artist-in-residence program multiply the Museum's educational impact. The Museum is proud to be launching Art Speaks in the fall of 2008, which, in collaboration with Philadelphia's other great museums and art organizations, will provide each of the 13,500 fourth grade students in the City's public schools with the opportunity to visit a museum, learn about art, and practice literacy skills. With the opening of the Ruth and Raymond G. Perelman Building in September 2007, the Museum achieved a major milestone, expanding its footprint 266 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. for the first time in 80 years. The Perelman Building includes new education resources and the Museum's enlarged library and archives, as well as new galleries and conservation laboratories. Since September, over 71,000 visitors have come to the Perelman Building and 1,200 teachers have used the new facility -- I'm smiling because the real Anne d'Harnoncourt and Gail Harrity have arrived -- Wachovia Education Resource Center to interact with Museum educators and discover new tools and technologies that help energize their curriculum with art. Every day the Museum's Distance Learning Program makes an interactive connection with classrooms and students across the country. (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Thank you, and my apologies, Madam President and members of City Council. I'm Anne d'Harnoncourt, Director of the 267 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Philadelphia Museum of Art. You have just been hearing from my colleague, Cheryl McClenney-Brooker, our Director of External Affairs. To my right is Gail Harrity, our Chief Operating Officer at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We are sorry to be late on a very important occasion for us, which is this first budget testimony in a new Administration. And we see many friends in the room and Councilpeople we have been privileged to know for a long time. I would like to continue my colleague's wonderful testimony where she leapt in so gracefully. And to the Museum's mission, the Art Museum's mission, I think you're all very aware of and where we view it as a partnership with the City, the region and art museums around the globe, and we seek to preserve, enhance, interpret and extend the reach, which is very important, of our great collections in particular and the visual arts in general to an 268 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. increasing and increasingly diverse audience as a source of delight, of illumination and life-long learning. And I will move directly into -- I think Ms. McClenney-Brooker has covered our education mission, and we're then going to plunge ahead into jobs and economic development, and Gail Harrity, my colleague, will make the presentation.
Good afternoon. I would just like to pick up, as Anne d'Harnoncourt said, on jobs and economic development, and I think the Museum is aware that studies from both the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development as well as the Cultural Alliance have reported that the tourism industry is Philadelphia's second largest industry, and the Art Museum, as one of the City's premiere cultural attractions, has a unique ability to draw large numbers of out-of-town visitors to our City. The Museum in fact directly generates up to ten percent of the annual 269 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. leisure travel visitors to the City, which in turn generate economic activity, jobs and tax revenues for the City. For every $1 spent by the Museum, it generates $4 in economic activity in the City and region. So we have testified before this distinguished group in the past, and as you know, the Museum's annual economic impact ranges from 210 million to 235 million annually, resulting in a cumulative economic impact of more than $1 billion over the last five years. Special exhibitions generate substantial economic activity as well, from a van Gogh exhibition in 2000 generating $39 million over a three-month period to the Salvadore Dali exhibition in 2005 generating 55 million, and to our current Frida Kahlo exhibition, which just this past weekend on Saturday and Sunday drew over 10,000 visitors to the Museum. In Fiscal '07, the Museum generated $16 million of tax revenues for 270 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. the City and the Commonwealth and created approximately 3,200 full-time equivalent jobs. Over the last five years, the Museum's construction projects have also produced over $65.5 million in expenditures in the region, supporting 375 construction-related full-time equivalent positions. So we feel that not only does the Museum have a very strong economic and educational impact on the City, but it helps to sustain healthy neighborhoods throughout the City. So most of all the Museum's collections and programs contribute to an excellent quality of life for all Philadelphians, and as we know from past experience, businesses and their employees choose to locate in this City because of world-class amenities like the Museum. The Museum collaborates with neighborhoods and organizations across the City and in our immediate 271 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. neighborhood of Fairmount. Collaborations, for example, with the Fairmount Civic Association and the Fairmount Community Development Corporation in the Museum's immediate neighborhood have been very productive, and in the spring of 2009 when the Museum's new Sculpture Garden and parking facility opens, it will provide 440 new parking spaces to better serve not only Museum visitors and Fairmount Park users, but it will also serve the neighborhood by helping to alleviate severe parking pressure on the neighborhood streets.
On the Museum's mission to provide excellent service and accessibility to all, we have, as you know, between the collections, the programs and exhibitions -- and I'm repeating some of what my colleague said -- we attract between 100,000 and one million visitors every year, and approximately 40 percent of the visitors are tourists or visitors 272 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. from outside the region and around the world. We have in place a pay-what-you-wish admission policy, which does make it possible for anyone who wishes to come to the Museum all day Sunday from 10:00 to 5:00 to do so without the admission price to the collections being a barrier for their -- to their interest. We've had free admission for children 12 and younger and discounts for students and seniors every day of the week. We take our mission to reach out to all audiences, to diverse audiences and particularly to kids and students to the very best of our ability year in and year out, and we're always expanding that. Our membership program stands at an all-time high of 60,000 households, a wonderful community of friends to the Museum and of friends of the arts in Philadelphia who help make the Museum through their memberships more accessible 273 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. and more affordable for others. We also have a wonderful program with free passes to the Museum, which have been distributed now for many years through the Free Library Summer Reading Program, because you might say that literacy and art and literacy and reading and writing go hand together -- hand in hand and that people who are eager to improve their skills in all these areas get a great deal out of their visits to the Art Museum. We're constantly raising the bar on ourselves in terms of measuring progress and raising the standards of our service to all of our visitors. We are proud to be a world-class institution, but also a Philadelphia icon. We believe the Museum is a destination definer, and in that regard, attracting everyone from around the corner to around the world. And we should say that our neoclassical building, which you all know 274 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. so well, which is 80 years old this spring, she's quite a gallant lady on the Parkway. She ranked among -- and I call her she. Pardon the gentlemen in the room. But it's like a ship somehow. The building was ranked among America's, all of the United States's, top favorite buildings in a -- top favorite 10 buildings in a recent Harris interactive 11 poll. So that's thrilling for us and 12 thrilling for Philadelphia. S. Department of State to represent 17 the United States in the American 18 Pavilion in the Venice Biennale of 2009. 19 It's an international cultural event of 20 the highest visibility, and it will 21 bring, as it were, Philadelphia to a 22 world stage and we hope a world stage to 23 Philadelphia. So we are thrilled about 24 that. 25 Moving to the all-important 275 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. 8 million in security and maintenance costs. And I think you all know that the Museum has flourished as a public-private partnership. I think that we know that the City's support for those crucial costs is a great deal of our ability -- gives a great deal of leverage to our ability to raise other funds for the programs and exhibitions and education that brings so many children and adults into our midst and reaches them in so many ways. There is no increase or decrease in that budget from Fiscal '08. 5 million in Fiscal '08, and I think -- I hope it will not come as a surprise that we respectfully request an increase to three million in Fiscal '09, which will still 276 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. only be less than half of the costs to protect the buildings, the collections and the public, which we strive to serve all of Philadelphia and the world beyond.
The Budget Director has asked us to highlight the efficiencies and service improvements of the Museum, and the most significant highlight for the Museum's expanded services over this past year is the transformation of the Perelman Building, which, as you know, opened last September, mid September, with new galleries, an expanded art library, education resources and other amenities, and it has attracted over 71,000 visitors thus far. As you've heard from my colleagues, Cheryl McClenney-Brooker and Anne d'Harnoncourt, this also includes over 1,200 teachers who have attended the Wachovia Education Resource Center. I should also note that the extensive building renovations, repairs and system upgrades to the main building 277 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. are underway, and we will need to continue over the next five to ten years to improve the Museum's main building in order for the Philadelphia Museum of Art to not only sustain its world-class facility, but also to sustain and grow our internationally acclaimed exhibitions and programs. And looking forward to the spring, we do anticipate a wonderful opening for the Sculpture Garden and the landscaped parking facility, which we think will not only serve the community as I spoke to earlier, but will also improve the park by weaving and rehabilitating an area of the park that was underutilized. On issues and concerns, I would just reiterate Anne's comment that the Museum does request an increase of $500,000 to a full $3 million of operating support in Fiscal '09 and that we hope to see in the future incremental increases to fully restore operating 278 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. support from the City for the Museum's full security and maintenance expenses. We know that this is a significant investment on the part of the City, and yet as we have heard from the economic impact that the Museum generates, we feel it's an important investment for the City to make, and we hope to see that City support reflected in the City's Five-Year Plan. Lastly, I would like to say that our department has contracted with two non-governmental entities in Fiscal '08. These contracts were signed in Fiscal '07 for both projects that are ongoing, the exterior envelope project and the parking garage project, and the total contracts for these non-governmental entities was $38.7 million. As you can see in the materials which we've presented in advance, the contracting participation rate is over 36 percent for disadvantaged firms following the following breakdown: With over 29 279 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. percent, almost 30 percent, African-American, 0.6 percent Asian, 2.87 percent Hispanic, zero percent Native American, zero percent disabled, 3.39 percent women. It's a record that we are proud of. We are as an institution firmly committed to the City's goal to have an inclusive contracting system, and we have worked well with the GPUAC and the MBEC in developing our plans for our contracts. I think if there are any further questions, Anne and I would be happy to attempt to answer them.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Well, first and foremost, on behalf of the -- and I know it's going to get reiterated -- the freshman class represented by myself, Councilwoman Quinones and Councilman 280 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Green, we had an opportunity to tour the facilities of the Art Museum and in fact were enlightened. My colleague, Blondell Reynolds Brown, Councilwoman, always tries to enlighten me about arts and culture. I must admit she has not done a great job of that, but she has not given up on me yet. But when we had an opportunity to tour the facility, not just your traditional art venues, but modern art, when we started looking at the collections of fashions and to begin to understand that your planning and futuristic look at art treasure, the Art Museum is to me right on point and you get it. And I want to commend the Mayor for his commitment early on in his campaign to the Art Museum and his commitment to art and culture in this town. I think it was a statement that he was beaten over the head by Councilwoman Reynolds Brown, and he got it and carried it on to be Mayor. 281 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. So with that said, a couple of things. I'm really encouraged about your visual arts program online and wanted to know how that is going, how that is proceeding and what schools are participating in that in Philadelphia.
Well, we should maybe answer this together, but we have a very active distance learning program which reaches not only schools in Philadelphia but, of course, deep into Pennsylvania and across the country, and we have -- we work with schools in every councilmanic district. We would be very pleased to forward to you a list of all the schools with which we have partnerships, with which we do major programs. And we are thrilled, I will say -- I'm going away, I guess, from online. I'll get back to that. We're thrilled that next year we will be working with all fourth graders across the Philadelphia public school system in partnership with other 282 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. visual arts institutions in the City, where this is a first for Philadelphia. It's a first for us. So we are thrilled to be involved. I would go back to the online and to say I think we feel that there's virtually no end to what can be offered online to teachers and through teachers to students and also directly to students. And we should say that the 1,200 or so teachers who have made use of the Wachovia Education Resource Center in the Perelman Building, which has only been open since September -- and there are 1,200, but you have to multiply every teacher by at least one, two, three classes of children to get the total effect. They use our collections online. They use teacher plans and curricula online, and they have access to really the whole array of resources that we can make available. And through them we work very closely, our Education Department works very closely to provide -- because 283 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. not every school has as much online access as every other one, so we try to do this programming with the schools in each -- sort of tailor made to each school, making it as appropriate for the school and the age of the child as we can.
I just can't say enough words of encouragement for you to continue that. As we look at making serious decisions about infrastructure, repairs and things like that, all too often things like art and other what are sometimes miscast as soft skill sets are jettison, and with you stepping up to the plate like this, it allows poor kids who may not get to go to museums on a regular basis to, in a classroom setting, appreciate art, and so I'm so very thankful to you for that. Your marketing of your exhibits has been incredible. The new exhibit -- and help me, Maria, with the name.
Frida 284 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Kahlo.
Right. And she's from Mexico, correct? I found out some of these facts because of one of my children actually looked into it, went online and then came back to me and talked about her origins and some of the difficulties she experienced in life. And so the way you put out the artist, it makes it exciting, vibrant and creates a spark of interest in young people. So I want to encourage how you're doing that. And I don't know how many of them you have planned a year. What can we look forward to?
Well, we have a very full schedule of exhibitions. Frida Kahlo, I think -- I thank you for those kind words -- has been wonderfully successful. It is reaching a particularly diverse audience in terms of background, in terms of age, in terms of gender. It's really -- it's remarkable. And I can report a quick walk through the 285 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Philadelphia Airport carrying a Frida Kahlo bag, it's the first time that three people sort of accosted me and said, Have you seen the exhibition, or How can I see the exhibition. And I was thrilled at that, and at the same time, I'm thrilled that 10,000 school kids will see the exhibition. We have completely filled up the number of classes that are able to attend the exhibition, and many more are able, as it were, to almost attend online. So we do have coming up next in the summer Gee's Bend quilt exhibition from an extraordinary southern rural community.
Very beautiful quilts and extraordinary almost abstract works of art in themselves.
I found out how much those things go for. They are art.
They are 286 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. art. They are definitely art, and the women who made them know they're art. They are very precious to them. The great quilt-making tradition in the United States is deep, it's broad. It relates both back to African culture, it relates back to European culture, and it is a strong force in the country today. And we should say thank you for your mention of our marketing efforts to get the word out for our exhibitions, because we've had wonderful City support over the years specifically for exhibition marketing. Sometimes it's come from the Productivity Bank, which I know is no longer functioning the way it used to, but we hope that there could be opportunities for support in the future, because it makes an enormous difference to -- sometimes we're very fortunate and have a big corporate sponsor that will take that on, in the case of Frida Kahlo, Televisa, one of the great international Latin American-based communications 287 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. companies, as well as two other corporate supporters from Philadelphia. But it's an ongoing concern of the Museum to let everybody know what's going on at the institution.
Two quick questions. Our competitors are Washington, DC and New York?
How do we compare by way of marketing efforts? Are we unique?
We like to think we're unique. I would say that what is unique about Philadelphia is the assembled gathering of partnerships that work together to make exhibitions that we do, exhibitions also that the Franklin Institute and others do more visible in the region. And, Gail, you might say a word to our partnerships, because they include Amtrak, but they also include many 288 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. entities in Philadelphia.
We have had partnerships with the hotels, because we do attract on average 30 percent of our visitors to these exhibitions are coming in from out of town. So hotels have been very generous in helping to support our marketing efforts. As Anne mentioned, Amtrak, often the airlines, but we also have had partnerships with our fellow arts and cultural institutions across the City. So, for example, with the Degas Dance exhibition, there were some 80 organizations in every neighborhood of the City, large and small, that collaborated with the Museum in marketing the Degas and the Dance exhibition. So we make an effort to collaborate as broadly as possible, and I would just reinforce Anne's statement that that has been seen and written up as a national model in both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. So I think we distinguish ourselves from 289 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Washington and New York in that collaborative nature and making relatively small resources stretch to maximum effect. I would just say that the importance of an investment in our Museum is critical from the Museum's perspective because we do compete with both the National Gallery and with the Metropolitan Museum of Art for exhibitions such as Frida Kahlo, and without a world-class facility and without a clean and safe environment for both the works of art and for the visiting public, we will have a difficult time continuing to compete in that national arena.
Thank you. Last question and point. Other than in the 4th Councilmanic District, the Art Museum has the best vista backdrop of any area in the City. It is the most recognizable view, other than maybe City Hall, around. We tend to take advantage 290 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. of that on concerts and events, and it was brought to my attention that almost 30 weekends a year we kind of block that through activities because of that great view. Are you a part of discussions that looks at other parts of the City of Philadelphia and how that traffic congestion blocking affects you guys?
Thank you very much for raising that topic, because it's an excellent question, and as in many things in life, there's always an important balance to strike. It is indeed a spectacular setting and it's an appropriate setting for so many of the City's celebrations, for annual celebrations such as Thanksgiving Day Parade, sort of the 4th of July and for exceptional non-recurring events such as the year in which the City hosted the Republican National Convention or the year in which we hosted Live 8. They are citywide celebrations that enable the 291 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. City to create a national and international visibility and it's important for the City, and we embrace those events. There are, however, as you say, more than 30 events on the Parkway that can partially obstruct access to the Museum, and we have seen year in and year out weekends where an event can cause visitors not to come to a special exhibition. I mentioned earlier in the testimony that we had over 10,000 visitors to the Museum this past Saturday and Sunday. However, had there been a major event on the Parkway, that would likely drop to 2,000 visitors, and that has a very negative impact on our ability to raise private funds to sustain the Museum's operations. So we are working very closely with the Parkway Council, with our fellow institutions along the Parkway and with Fairmount Park, and I'm very pleased to 292 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. say with Mayor Nutter's Administration, there's a meeting in fact on Monday established to begin to review this policy to ascertain how we can strike the appropriate balance of having great events that make sense to have on the Parkway and at the same time shift events elsewhere where there may be better retail opportunities for those attending events that would also help generate revenues for the City and would enable visitors to have full access to the institutions along the Parkway.
Well, I'm glad the Mayor pays attention to the details of Council's testimonies and questioning, Madam President. I'm done. Thank you very much.
You're welcome. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brown.
Thank you, Madam President. 293 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. Good afternoon, everyone.
We should be excited and encouraged that the new Vice-Chair of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs is the Honorable Curtis Jones.
So we endeavor to never ever give up on helping our colleagues become extremely cultured in all that you do. You do wonderful, wonderful work, and all of my years you've been here, you've every year raised the bar and thought outside of the box, particularly around issues impacting services to children and the like.
I just have a couple of questions. Do you know if there exists a book that talks about theatre, arts, museum etiquette for children? 294 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc.
That is a good question. I think that we'll definitely look into it and get back to you.
Or to Madam President, but then I want to know. Because I'm discovering that when young people come to theatre, teachers may not take the time or can't take the time to help them understand what theatre etiquette is and museum etiquette is, and so therein lies an opportunity.
So I ask that, because I know it doesn't exist in the performing arts. So I needed to know if it existed in the visual arts.
I know that we provide or we work with the teachers, who work with us, to make sure that both 295 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. the teachers and the children understand how they're going to get most out of the Museum, which is a certain level of kind of behavior that enables them and enables their colleagues to pay attention and to absorb what's there.
And to really take in the experience. But we will definitely see what kind of volume there might be available. And we should also add, as my colleague reminds me, our Department of Conservation, the very, very skilled people who restore all the works of art in the Museum, and actually one of whom advised on the sculpture cleaning for the top of City Hall, the Alexander Milne Calder sculptures, they are very thrilled to work with kids so that they understand why they shouldn't touch works of art and the kind of lasting damage that that may do.
So they have been doing that as a regular basis and after-school programs and whenever they get the opportunity.
Okay. All right. I'm excited about the Bends, the Gee's Bend.
I actually saw that a couple of years ago. I had my own DVD. So to know that it's now coming to Philadelphia is huge, and we look forward to knowing how we as members of Council can really blow that up and make sure that everyone knows about it, but particularly children of color.
Wonderful. We welcome your help and we would particularly welcome your help in spreading the word about it.
Lastly, you may not have been here for testimony from Councilman Goode and I wherein he 297 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. talked about a bill that is now law that requires departments to tell us how they're doing around MBE/WBE activity and/or a letter I sent to the Mayor on the same issue. So I must say I'm extremely pleased with the numbers reflecting all communities of color. The only number I'm troubled by is the three percent for women. So can you help me understand what that means? Could it be that the services that you need are not reflected by women who can provide those services, or what?
This is Robert Marrone, Director of Facilities and Operations for the Museum. We've worked very hard with GPUAC, who we look to to help identify all of the contracting forces out there to bid on the kind of work that needs to 298 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. be done at the building, and due to some of the nature of the work, it is very specialized in certain areas, but they have helped us identify both material suppliers as well as contractors to do that work. And, frankly, it is a challenge, particularly in the women-owned business area, for us to meet the goals that we strive to meet. Not because we don't try. It's just because the businesses aren't there to participate.
To capture? Okay. And we all know of the important work of GPUAC. Currently, that is the one entity you deal with around that issue?
So involvement with the Women's Resource Center run by Geri Swift or -- there are a couple of others in the business of helping women have access to these kind of opportunities you haven't had a chance 299 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc. to connect with yet?
No, we haven't, but I would think that GPUAC, but I'll verify that to make sure that GPUAC is in fact doing that kind of checking, because they do use all of the resources, to the best of my knowledge, out there to help raise our levels of participation.
And these are primarily for construction-related opportunities?
What about professional or food service? Are they handled in-house? Because it's not unusual for an entity to have his own list of caterers, if you will. I can't think of the proper term for that. So with regards to professional services that the Museum uses, external from the Museum, or food service services that the Museum uses, procedurally how do you handle those type of professional arrangements? 300 4/1/08 - WHOLE - BILL 080022, etc.
I can talk to the professional service side for, say, design services and things like that, in which we also strive to get participation. And, again, that varies across the board due to the specific work at the Museum and people that are experienced in those particular areas, but we do encourage even going beyond our prime consultants to sub-tier consultants to get participation to the best that we can do. In terms of food service, I would have to pass that to Gail.
I don't even know if you contract out. I mean, you have your own restaurant.