COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - - - Room 400, City Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, June 12, 2008 9:15 a.m. - - - PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT ANNA C. VERNA COUNCILWOMAN JANNIE BLACKWELL COUNCILMAN DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILMAN W. WILSON GOODE, JR. COUNCILMAN WILLIAM GREENLEE COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN JACK KELLY COUNCILMAN JAMES F. KENNEY COUNCILWOMAN JOAN L. KRAJEWSKI COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN DONNA REED MILLER COUNCILMAN FRANK RIZZO COUNCILWOMAN MARIAN B. TASCO RESOLUTION 080553 - Resolution confirming the appointment of Gilbert Rowe to the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board. RESOLUTION 080554 - Resolution confirming the appointment of Melissa Kim to the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board. - - - V A R A L L O Incorporated Litigation Support Services Eleven Penn Center 1835 Market Street, Suite 600 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103 215.561.2220 215.567.2670 2
Good morning. This is a public hearing of the Committee of the Whole. I would ask Mr. McPherson to please read the resolutions before us. MR. McPHERSON: Resolution 8 080553, confirming the appointment of Gilbert Rowe to the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board. Resolution 080554, confirming the appointment of Melissa Kim to the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board.
Are they here? (Witnesses approached witness table.)
Ms. Kim, would you please identify yourself for the record and just tell us something about yourself, and perhaps you could tell us why you'd like to serve on 3 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 this Board.
It would be my pleasure. Good morning, Council President Verna and members of City Council. My name is Melissa Kim and I currently work as a litigating attorney for the law firm of Braverman Kaskey, P.C. here in Philadelphia. I am a candidate for the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board. Thank you for this opportunity to testify before City Council in consideration of Mayor Nutter's nomination. As you know, the three-person Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board is administered within the Department of Licenses and Inspections and hears and decides protests to applications for permits to sell take-out malt and brewed beverages. These permits are City issued pursuant to the authority granted by the Commonwealth in the Pennsylvania Liquor Code. I believe for City Council to properly consider my nomination, it is 4 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 important that I share a little bit of information about my background and my motivation for wanting to serve. I was born in Baltimore, but raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. My parents supported our family by owning and operating various small local businesses. As such, I developed an understanding and appreciation for the issues that small business owners confront. I have been a part of the Philadelphia community since 2000 when I matriculated into Temple's School of Law. I have a vested interest in the City and, if confirmed, will work with the Board to continue to promote public trust in the Philadelphia government. Thank you.
Thank you very much. Are there any questions from members of the Committee of Ms. Kim?
I have some questions, but do we want to hear 5 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 from both?
You want to wait until they both testify? Very well. Mr. Rowe.
Good morning, Council President Verna and members of City Council. My name is Gilbert Rowe and I am a candidate for the Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board. Thank you also for the opportunity to testify before City Council in consideration of Mayor Nutter's nomination. As you know, the three-person independent Malt and Brewed Beverage Hearing Board is administered within the Department of Licenses and Inspections and hears and decides protests to applications for permits to sell take-out malt and brewed beverages. These permits are City issued pursuant to the authority 6 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 granted by the Commonwealth in the Pennsylvania Liquor Code. My motivation for desiring to serve on this Board stems from my being a lifelong Philadelphian who has been committed and engaged with the Philadelphia community in various ways. Since 2003, I have been retired from the Philadelphia Commercial Development Corporation where I served as the Director of the Micro Loan Fund. In addition to my years of 14 experience with PCDC, currently I am the Treasurer of the Executive Board of the East Falls Development Corporation and I serve on the Gypsy Lane Owners Association. I'm also quite involved in Haven Peniel United Methodist Church, where I serve as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees. I'm also the Chairman of the Staff Pastor Parish Relations Committee and I am Board member of the Haven Peniel Development Corporation. As you can see, I have been a 7 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 consistently active and involved member of this Philadelphia community. Given my background, I have a keen interest in ensuring that as a Board member, I will make prudent and sound decisions regarding the issuance of permits. Thank you again for your consideration.
Thank you. Thank you very much. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Just talking to my assistant, one of the concerns that we have had with members of the Board before was their involvement in actively opposing any beer take-out in the community, and as a result of that, the majority of our disapprovals from the Board were overturned by the court. 8 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 Would that be the case with either of you, your active involvement in the past opposing beer take-out, beverage take-outs?
I'm sorry. When you refer to "active involvement," are you referring to activities outside of the Board?
Yes. Have you been a part of a community organization that has opposed beer take-out?
Because one of the concerns that we've had with this whole process, that our staff has worked very hard to work with community organizations where we have had businesses that sell take-out beer. They 9 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 have been a nuisance in the community, and when we got to the court, the court threw all the disapprovals out, and some of it was based on the activity of the Board member who had been actively involved in that. So I just want to say to you, it's very important that if a community organization or neighbors are opposing an activity in their neighborhood, that you give them serious consideration, because they are the ones who have to live with that nuisance on a daily basis, and so it's very important -- they feel that government fails them when they don't get any action.
I'm almost sure this is a very important assignment for us, and having been part of the community, it's a very important assignment. And, of course, all communities are involved with the problem we've had in the past with those type of nuisances.
Now, I 10 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 have another problem here. I know you're just getting appointed today, but we're having a festival on Ogontz Avenue on the 20th of June. I don't know when you'll have your first meeting, but if you are confirmed, I call upon your good services to meet me here at the Hoagie Factory, which has a license transfer but needs a permit to do business, and if they can't do business on the weekend of the 20th, they're going to lose a lot of money. So that's very important. I don't know how you can -- you can work that out, but I hope some way that you can hear his case and give him -- allow L&I to issue them a permit to operate. We haven't had any problems with them. That's just a comment. Another question. Has anyone in your family ever had a business with brewed take-out?
Beverage take-out business? 11 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554
We're just looking at all the possible challenges to your decision. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Madam President. We say to these new appointees or individuals that we look forward to approving this morning that this has been a big issue, as Councilwoman Tasco has said. It's been a big issue for this Council, because we do have neighborhood responsibility, and we ask you -- myself, we've been to some nine cases that were really, really important for the community, and in a couple where they went to the courts, the courts did not agree with the Board that you applied to be before, and one of the reasons they 12 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 issue was notification, that they didn't get notified in time and, therefore, they threw them out. So we're in a position of starting all over again with some of our worst stop-and-go's, those who sell -- you go in one door where they have two loaves of bread and one pack of lunch meat and you go in the back and it's a bar. They have Plexiglass up and they have a little, quote/unquote, shot window where they pass liquor out of this little window so that people can buy. And a lot of obviously drug addicts and people down on their luck hang there, because they're open all the time. And that's a big issue for us, but those are the ones that won, and so they're operational all over again, the worst stop-and-go's. And I said all of that to say we will appeal to you to look at the reasons the courts fought us on that, even though the Board approved it, so that you may consider what it is they're 13 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 looking for and help us so that if we start that process all over again, we'll have an opportunity to be successful in supporting community groups who fight those that operate wrongly and that don't support the community and that legally at this point have hang-out spots for drug addicts and people to hang in front that are anti all that this Council and our communities stand for. We hope that you'll consider that and that you will commit yourselves to looking at those issues that the courts considered so that we may be successful should we start all over again.
Madam Blackwell, rest assured that I'm almost certain that all these issues will be taken care of and confronted. There's a lot of interest I have and I'm almost sure the other members of the Board will have in our community. I was born in Philadelphia and I was born in North 14 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 Philadelphia, and I know just what's going on as far as the various neighborhoods are concerned. So you can rest assured that all consideration be given to our attention and to the problem that you just mentioned.
And I can assure you likewise, Councilwoman Blackwell. I'm trained as an attorney. I do have some knowledge and experience in handling hearings, as well as appearing before court. I've reviewed several of the decisions, the findings of fact and conclusions of law issued by the Board. I've also reviewed the City ordinance, which was very well written, as well as the Act of 2006 which created the Board through the Licenses and Inspections, and I can assure you that I will do my due diligence to make sure that the notice requirements are met and that the 15 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 decisions of the Board will be sound so that there's very little room for them to be overturned by the Commonwealth courts.
Thank you. Any other questions from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Thank you both very much. Do we have anyone that would like to testify on either of the resolutions before us? (No response.)
Seeing no one, this will conclude our public hearing. We will now go into our public meeting, and the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Madam President, I move that Resolution 080553 16 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Resolution No. 080553 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. All in favor will say aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. Again, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Tasco.
Madam President, I move that Resolution 080554 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and seconded that 17 6/12/08 - WHOLE - RESOLUTIONS 080553 & 080554 Resolution No. 080554 be reported out of Committee with a favorable recommendation. All in favor will indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. This concludes our public meeting. Congratulations to you both. We wish you luck. Thank you.
Thank you. (Committee of the Whole adjourned at 9:30 a.m.) - - - 18 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on June 12, 2008, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)