Your opinion actually won't even count because you're not currently the City Solicitor.
That's why we have a new City Solicitor. And he's probably listening, and he would hurt me if I ventured into giving legal opinions.
As far as what the process will be for creating a category of employee.
I suspect that what the Law Department would say is that the issue -- I don't know what the answer is, but the issue will be the labor contract with the FOP. That's the issue.
I don't want to pick on the FOP, but I'm just bringing that up because that's one that 271 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. I always see. I always see police officers out directing traffic. And when I go to New York, they have public safety officers directing traffic, and they do it quite well. I mean, you'll get a ticket in a heartbeat if you block that box. So they're very aggressive and they appear to be extremely trained. So I'm just wondering is there -- you kind of told me that you have to check with the Solicitor. I'd like to know whether or not we have the ability to create a category of officer without changing the Charter or getting a new law or doing whatever we need to do to possibly have these quality of life officers that can do all of the things that we currently have other employees doing, or maybe utilize those employees in a consolidated way to do some of these functions so we can free up particularly the police, because we're talking about possibly $10 million in overtime for police or adding additional police, and I don't know how 272 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. we could do that and not look at other opportunities of redeploying police to help us fight serious crime, which they are best prepared to do.
We'll certainly look at that. One thing I guess I would caution in terms of managing expectations is, I suspect that we don't have a whole lot of uniformed police officers spending a whole lot of unreimbursed time directing traffic.
So I'm not sure that there's even after we -- even if we could do it, how much is there, because it's just a service I think we probably just haven't provided in any extensive way for a while.
Thank you, Councilman. I mentioned myself the Mural 273 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. Arts program, Clean Sweep program, that maybe we can talk to the Streets Department when they come up. And the third issue I'd like to mention that Councilman made me think of was this don't-block-the-box. I think you mentioned it, Mr. Managing Director. That also can create a lot of problems. Sometimes they put two don't-block-the-box designations side by side. It could take a third of the block, and I don't know why. We're not contacted when they -- I don't know who does it. I guess it's the Streets Department, but for me, it creates a problem. We had one just recently on -- because the 56th and L Street just opened.
56th Street between Market and Chestnut, there's a daycare. Just Saturday she complained that they can't park. 274 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. Somebody put in a double don't-block-the-box on both sides of the street. So her parents can't unload her daycare folks. So I don't know why we have them. It's new. This don't-block-the-box is something new, and all of the sudden, they're every place. We don't know when they're coming, and we get a lot of complaints about them. We would at least like the ability to give input. And I don't even know why we have them. Everybody knows when you get your license, you can only park so far from the corner, from a fire hydrant, from a stop sign, all of those things, handicapped areas, and now we have something new that has really become burdensome.
We can get you kind of what the standards are and what the process is for where the don't-block-the-box signs are placed. We can kind of tell you when we do it and by 275 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. what process and make sure that we're not putting them in any place where they're not needed. I guess I would just say that there are plenty of places where they are needed. I have the opposite experience around 7:40 in the morning trying to get onto 15th Street from Arch.
Madam Chair, Managing Director, I think there's some confusion here. We're not talking about don't-block-the-box. We're talking about --
Yes. Don't-block-the-box signs just prevent gridlocking in the moving of vehicles through an intersection.
We're 276 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. talking about the parking signs that --
But they still say don't-block-the-box. They have signs up that still say don't-block-the-box. They have those signs up on street signs that have just recently in the past several months been installed.
They shouldn't, because don't-block-the-box concept is to prevent gridlock of moving vehicles in an intersection. We don't 277 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. have to go far to witness it at 15th and JFK.
And we also know where there's one at 56th between Chestnut and Market. So we'll check it out.
Okay. Thank you for the clarification. I'm talking about those X's that they put at curb sides and sometimes they put double ones, and they appear every place for some reason. I don't know why.
They tend to be around buses and driveways and things like that.
And then sometimes they put double, and who knows why. That is one of the issues where we ended up having people demonstrate around the Market Street Elevated project in my area. So when things just happen and people do them and we don't know why or we see no 278 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. information -- and a lot of times, as you know, SEPTA has done so many things wrong in my district. So I don't know. It's a problem when these things happen in conjunction with SEPTA, who already creates a problem, and then they tell us the City agreed, and I don't know where it comes from or for what purpose. So we can have that detailed discussion at another day, but I wanted to bring it forward since the issue was raised, although I thought it was something I don't --
We'll follow up. That is a Streets Department question. We'll bring it to them.
Thank you. There's an issue, Managing Director, that I'm going to ask you to help, because it involves coordination with various agencies, and it's an issue that I think 279 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. is important to the Administration and definitely important to me. We have many inmates at our facility that have been programmed for work release. And we all know what work release means, that they can actually leave the jail in the morning, go to work, and at the end of the day, come back. Well, I had pretty much an agreement -- because I spent a lot of time in meetings with Commissioner King, Fairmount Park -- for a source to seed the funding, and I thought that if these inmates are programmed -- and the union people even indicated that this would be a good development program, training program. Nobody knows better than you the labor that we need to try to get the park back in shape. We have dozens of inmates. The Fairmount Park Commission was willing. The person was going to donate the funding to pay these inmates 280 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. so when they are released, they leave the jail with some money. They also develop a skill that possibly they could be hired by the private sector. And for some reason, everyone says, Yeah, we love this concept, and nothing ever happens.
It's a company that would hire inmates on work release? Is that the idea?
Well, there are companies that do hire. In Montgomery County especially, there's a contractor, Mascaro, that his workforce is made up with inmates from Graterford that every day go to his facility and work and then come back to the jail at night. What I'm talking about here is a program that is very near and dear to me, and everyone I've talked to said, It's a shame that we have inmates that are programmed for work release and not able to find a job. They were going to set up a way to pay these inmates that 281 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. work that could work for Fairmount Park. My point is, we've got these folks. They need to learn a trade. They need to learn how to use various tools and equipment, and when I said employment opportunities, if certain companies knew that we had people coming from a program that knew how to use power equipment, that knew how to use a trencher, that could put new rails up for fences, that they would not have difficulty finding work, but this program just can't seem -- and I think with your guidance and the Commissioners and Fairmount Park and others, that they were to the point where they were willing to bring these people from the jail, put them under the supervision of a Fairmount Park representative and for even a period of time -- and I'm not speaking for the Commissioner -- to have some oversight by the prison system. Because I do spend a lot of time, go to events and go to that 282 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. facility regularly. It's troubling to me personally to see that we had a gentleman -- I mean, Kal Rudman was ready to put up $25,000 to seed that program, and it never happened, where we could put these inmates to work. And every time I see him, he says to me, Where are you with that program? And I said, Well, if you talk to people, it sounds like everybody is interested, but nothing ever happens. Also, Will Rojas, I believe his name is, also indicated that there was matching money at federal grants for a program like this, a training program. And it just doesn't fly, and I'd appreciate you helping to launch this, if it's possible.
Councilman, I will get together with the Prison Commissioner and the Director of Social Services and find out more about this program. A program that serves a different population but with which we have had 283 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. really extraordinary success has been Ready, Willing and Able, who worked in the parks and people -- we talk about being able to develop a brand and to develop a positive image and provide great service, Ready, Willing and Able in the park has been doing that type of thing. So we'd be interested in knowing the feasibility of --
Managing Director, what got my attention, when the prison executives went into the local union and said, This is what we'd like to do, and we described it as a program that wasn't just putting people out to work, putting them out there, training them because of possible opportunities that they would have with various vegetation management companies to be able to start in some cases their lives all over again. And so if you could help, it would be greatly appreciated. Sorry to take advantage of this forum.
That's what I'm 284 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC. here for. And I also know Kal Rudman, who has been an extraordinary supporter of so many different things in the City, certainly the Police Department and lots of other initiatives, and a Central High alum that I'm probably going to see in the next couple of weeks.
And I leaned over the rail and said to Commissioner King, I hope the offer for the money is still there. Thank you, Managing Director.
Thank you very much. Yes. We like our Prison Commissioner, too. Are there any further questions? (No response.)
Then our Committee will stay in recess until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, Wednesday, March the 1st. Thank you all. 285 2/28/06 - WHOLE - BILL 060003, ETC.
Thank you. (Committee of the Whole adjourned at 4:55 p.m.) - - - 286 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 February 28, 2006, 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.)