Stated Meeting 1 2/24/2022 COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA STATED MEETING Via Microsoft Teams Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thursday, February 24, 2022 10:15 a.m. PRESENT: COUNCIL PRESIDENT DARRELL L. CLARKE COUNCILWOMAN CINDY BASS COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN ALLAN DOMB COUNCILWOMAN JAMIE GAUTHIER COUNCILWOMAN KATHERINE GILMORE RICHARDSON COUNCILMAN DEREK S. GREEN COUNCILWOMAN HELEN GYM COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN DAVID OH COUNCILMAN BRIAN J. O'NEILL COUNCILWOMAN CHERELLE L. PARKER COUNCILWOMAN MARIA D. QUINONES-SANCHEZ COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA COUNCILMAN ISAIAH THOMAS MICHAEL A. DECKER, CHIEF CLERK Stated Meeting 2 2/24/2022
Thank you, and good morning to everyone. We're going to get started, but before we begin the Council session today, I would like to make the following announcement: Due to the continuing threat to public health from COVID-19, City Council is currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make this remote meeting possible. Instructions for how the public may view the meeting and offer public comment are included in the Stated Meeting notice that was published in the Daily News, the Inquirer, and the Legal Intelligencer prior to the meeting, and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. I now note that the hour has come. The Clerk will please call the roll to take attendance, and members that are in attendance, just say a couple of words to make sure that your image is displayed on the screen. Mr. Decker, please call the roll. Stated Meeting 3 2/24/2022
Good morning, Council President, colleagues, and the City of Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President, colleagues, and the City of Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. And good morning, Philadelphia.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. And good morning to our city.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. I am present.
Councilman Johnson. (No response.) Stated Meeting 5 2/24/2022
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, Council colleagues. I'm present.
Good Stated Meeting 6 2/24/2022 morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues.
Good morning, Council President, colleagues. Present.
Good morning, Council President. Good morning, colleagues. I'm present.
And good morning. And I think Councilwoman Brooks is here now.
Good Stated Meeting 7 2/24/2022 morning, Council President. I'm present. Thank you.
Good morning, Council President. I'm present. Councilman Johnson.
Councilman Johnson and Councilwoman Brooks are in fact present. Thank you very much. We've established our quorum. So we're going to start with our invocation, and to give our invocation this morning, the Chair recognizes Pastor Clarence Wright of Love Zion Baptist Church. He is here today as my guest. I would ask all members and guests to please bow your heads for the invocation.
Good morning to all, to our honorable Councilmembers and the President of our Council. This is the final week of Black History Month, so to start off this Council session, I would like to Stated Meeting 8 2/24/2022 our city who is worth recognizing and share some of his words. In our Black christian faith tradition, we have the Bible, which is our sacred text, but we also have the hymn book, which is also important. So as an invocation today, I want to read the words of the hymn "We'll Understand It Better By and By," which is by Philadelphia native Charles Albert Tindley. This hymn has encouraged me and I think it speaks to all that we're going through in our city and our nation. It says, we are often tossed and driven on the restless sea of time, somber skies and howling tempest oft succeed a bright sunshine. In that land of perfect day, when the mists have rolled away, we will understand it better by and by. We are often destitute of the things that life demands, want of food and want of shelter, thirsty hills and Stated Meeting 9 2/24/2022 trusting in the Lord, and according to his word, we will understand it better by and by. Trials dark on every hand, and we cannot understand, all the way that God would lead us through this blessed promise land. But he guides us with his eye, and we'll follow until we die, for we'll understand it better by and by. Temptations, hidden snares often take us unawares, and our hearts are made to bleed, many a thoughtless word or deed, and we wonder why the test when we try to do our best, but we'll understand it better by and by. By and by, when the morning comes, when the saints of God are gathered home, we'll tell the story how we've overcome, and we'll understand it better by and by. Gracious God, our creator, bless our city, bless this Council, and help us to do your work. In the name of the one who Stated Meeting 10 2/24/2022 and who still guides us, we pray. Amen. (Amen.)
Pastor, thank you so much. Thank you. We really appreciate your spiritual guidance this morning. Thank you so much. And our next order of business is the approval of the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 17th, 2022, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 17th, 2022 be approved. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the Journal of the meeting of Thursday, February 17, 2022 stand approved. Stated Meeting 11 2/24/2022 by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and our Journal is approved. And our next order of business is request for leave of absence, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla.
Thank you, Mr. President. On behalf of the members of Council, there are no requests of leave of absence today.
The Chair thanks the gentleman. We're now going to have a motion on the Sunshine Act, and the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion concerning certain legislative matters that may arise during the course of today's session of Council that were Stated Meeting 12 2/24/2022 on the Calendar prior to the circulation of today's session.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that any of the following matters, if considered today, may be added to the agenda for this session of Council and, as required by law, subsequently published on the amended agenda after the consideration of those matters: resolutions authorizing hearings, amendments to bills on first reading, the consideration of bills vetoed by or re-called from the Mayor, resolutions taking substantive action to be voted on in this session, a motion to withdraw a bill or resolution that is not on the Calendar, and a motion placing a bill or resolution on or returning a bill or resolution from the Suspension Calendar that is not listed on today's Calendar. The purpose of this motion is to provide the public with notice concerning possible actions by Council Stated Meeting 13 2/24/2022 to be included in the Calendar that was published prior to today's session. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded that the legislative matters stated by Councilman Squilla may be added to the agenda for today, should those matters arise during the course of the session of Council. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it and the motion carries. And our next order of business is communications. And I would ask the Clerk to please read the messages from the Mayor and any other communications that he may have in his possession. Stated Meeting 14 2/24/2022
From the Mayor to the President and members of the Council of the City of Philadelphia, I am transmitting herewith for the consideration of your honorable body an ordinance amending Chapter 10-700 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Refuse and Littering," by revising the annual fee for neighborhood sanitation and cleaning services and exempting owner-occupied duplexes from the annual neighborhood sanitation and cleaning services fee requirements; all under certain terms and conditions.
Is that it? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Decker. Our next order of business is the introduction of bills and resolutions. And by way of a reminder, we are asking that all resolutions, including privileged resolutions, be placed on the Final Passage Calendar for the next session of Council, unless they Stated Meeting 15 2/24/2022 are being referred to committee. In our current remote environment, this procedure will provide the appropriate opportunity for public comment. I would like to thank you very much in advance for your anticipated cooperation. Mr. Decker, would you please read the titles of the legislation that's being offered today by our members.
Yes, Mr. President. Councilwoman Parker offers one bill and one resolution. On behalf of Council President Clarke, an ordinance amending Section 2-305 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "Office of Property Assessment; Chief Assessment Officers; Powers and Duties," by further providing with respect to the manner in which assessments are determined for certain properties that are subject to resale restrictions; and by providing for additional reporting requirements with Stated Meeting 16 2/24/2022 respect to such properties.
Mr. Decker, I just want to make sure everything is formalized. It's not clear that Councilwoman Parker may be here today, so I'm a little concerned by having the legislation being offered by her if she's not present. Can you read that again and have it being offered by Councilman Jones. Sorry about that.
Councilman Jones offers one bill and one resolution, entitled "An ordinance amending Section 2-305 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled 'Office of Property Assessment; Chief Assessment Officers; Powers and Duties,' by further providing with respect to the manner in which assessments are determined for certain properties that are subject to resale restrictions; and by providing for additional reporting requirements with respect to such properties." Stated Meeting 17 2/24/2022
Also on behalf of Council President Clarke, a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Land Bank to dispose of 809 West Firth Street and 2955 North 8th Street located in the 5th Councilmanic District.
Councilwoman Gilmore Richardson offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution declaring March 6 through 13, 2022, during Women's History Month, as Women in Construction Week in the City of Philadelphia, and honoring Women in Nontraditional Careers for their commitment to support, increase, and advance the participation of women in construction, manufacturing, and transit careers in the Philadelphia region."
Councilman Jones Stated Meeting 18 2/24/2022 offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution honoring and congratulating Philadelphia native Arthur 'Art' McNally, for his career's outstanding impact on modern football officiating and his revolutionary induction into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame as the first ever on-field official to be enshrined."
And a resolution recognizing and honoring former Philadelphia Eagles coach Richard Albert "Dick" Vermeil for his distinguished 15-year NFL coaching career and congratulating him on being inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame in 2022.
Excuse me. Stated Meeting 19 2/24/2022 Excuse me. For the record, just for the record, Mr. President, that's co-authored by the sports member, which is Isaiah Thomas.
Councilman Johnson offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution honoring the life and legacy of comedy legend Bob Saget, a Philadelphia native and Temple University graduate, on the occasion of his passing."
And a resolution recognizing Philadelphia's own DJ Diamond Kutz for her selection as a co-host of the upcoming reboot of the seminal Stated Meeting 20 2/24/2022 television program, "Yo! MTV Raps."
Just for clarify for the listeners, Michael Decker, It's DJ Diamond Kutz, just for the record.
There you go. Got to get it right. Thank you, Councilman.
Councilman Green offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution recognizing Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law on the 125th Anniversary of its founding."
The Chair recognizes Councilman Green. Did you want to be recognized? Stated Meeting 21 2/24/2022
Not on this matter. It's in reference to the Consent Agenda and bills called up. I'll ask to be recognized later.
Councilwoman Brooks offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution expressing the Philadelphia City Council's firm support for workers at Starbucks in Philadelphia who are attempting to form a union, and urging Starbucks to accept card check neutrality."
And a resolution honoring the life, work, and accomplishments of Jacqueline "Jackie" Wiggins, whose dedication to serving, teaching, and advocating for marginalized populations has immeasurably strengthened Black communities and the City of Stated Meeting 22 2/24/2022 Philadelphia as a whole.
Councilwoman Gauthier offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution honoring the life and work of Reverend Dr. Evelyn C. Graves, for her lifetime of dedication to community activism and innovation in the creative and performing arts through the founding and leadership of Evelyn Graves Ministries."
And a resolution authorizing the Philadelphia City Council Committee on -- the City Council Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to conduct public hearings to explore the role of the Philadelphia Roadmap for Safer Communities Tactical Team as part of the City's comprehensive response to unprecedented gun violence.
Councilman Thomas offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week and Black Business Crawl organization, the Philadelphia 76ers Buy Black program, and past recipients Spergo and Girl Contracting, Incorporated."
Councilman Squilla offers one resolution recognizing and honoring Michael J. Bradley Jr. as the Grand Marshal of the 250th Annual Philadelphia St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Councilwoman Bass offers one resolution, entitled a "Resolution honoring the Philadelphia Tennis Club for being the oldest Black-owned tennis club in the country."
Next Stated Meeting 24 2/24/2022 week's Calendar.
Councilman Oh offers two resolutions, entitled a "Resolution recognizing and honoring Dr. Delana Wardlaw and Dr. Elana McDonald - the 'Twin Sister Docs' - for their outstanding contributions to the City of Philadelphia and crucial leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic."
And a resolution recognizing and celebrating March 6th as Lithuanian Independence Day in the City of Philadelphia.
There are no other bills or resolutions being offered today by the members, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. That concludes our introduction of bills and resolutions. Stated Meeting 25 2/24/2022 There are no reports from committee, so our next order of business is the consideration of the Calendar. Being no bills on our First Reading Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla -
I'm sorry. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Council President. I'd like to request that Resolution 220125 be moved from the Consent Agenda to be put on the Final Passage Calendar and that Bill No. 210685 be held.
Thank you, sir. Stated Meeting 26 2/24/2022 right. Thank you, Councilman Green. Our next order of business is the consideration of the Calendar. There being no bills on our First Reading Calendar, the Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion concerning the resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that the rules of Council be suspended as to permit the use of a Consent Agenda to consider the following resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar: Resolution Nos. 220146, 220147, 220148, 220150, 220151, 220152, 220154, 220156, 220157, 220158, 220159, and 220160. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the rules of Council be suspended to permit the use of a Consent Agenda to consider the Stated Meeting 27 2/24/2022 2ND READING resolutions just read by Councilman Squilla. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, the motion carries, and we will consider the Resolution Consent Agenda shortly. The Chair again recognizes Councilman Squilla for the purpose of calling up bills and resolutions on the regular Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar today.
Thank you, Mr. President. In addition to the resolutions being considered on the Consent Agenda, the following resolutions and bills are being called up from the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars today: No. 220155, 220009, Stated Meeting 28 2/24/2022 2ND READING 220010, 220082, 210956, 220006, 220079, 220080, 220001, 220002, 220077, 210902, and 220051. All other bills and resolutions are being held.
And I think 125 should also be added to the regular and Second Reading.
That's on the regular. It was taken off Consent.
Council President, real quick for clarification, how about 210685?
Oh, that's Stated Meeting 29 2/24/2022 being held. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilmembers. Before we proceed, we will have our public comment session. We're going to take a brief five- to ten-minute recess to give our technology professionals some time to connect the speakers we have for today's meeting. It looks like we have a significant amount of individuals testifying today, so we'll probably need all of that time. Let's take a brief recess to allow our technology people to connect our speakers. Thank you. Be back shortly. (Short recess.)
Thank you. Thank you, and we are back. Thank you very much for your patience. So now that everyone is connected to the meeting and before Stated Meeting 30 2/24/2022 considering the resolutions and bills we have before us today, we will consider the public comment as follows: Public comment must concern matters on the Second Reading and Final Passage Calendars for possible action at a session of Council. A speaker on any of those matters must sign up in order to testify. You must call 215-686-3406 by 3:00 p.m. the day before the session to sign up for your public comment. When you call, we will take your name, your phone number, the number of the legislative item you are commenting on and whether you are in support of or against the legislation, and add your name to the list. We will telephone each person of the list during the Council session and invite them to our remote meeting. Today given the significant volume of people we have to testify, your time will be two minutes. So please adjust your testimony to reflect a Stated Meeting 31 2/24/2022 two-minute time limit. In order to be fair to all those wishing to speak, though, I intend to hold faithfully to the established time limit. And once invited to the meeting and asked to begin your testimony, a timer will be started. We will then monitor your remaining time throughout your testimony, and when there are 30 seconds remaining to your time, you will be reminded of this. Once your allotted time has passed, you will be asked to conclude your remarks, and shortly thereafter you will be muted and disconnected from the remote meeting. I also reserve the right to limit the number of speakers where repetitious comments are being made on the same subject matter, which could affect callbacks for public comment at a meeting. But please be aware that the public meeting is being recorded. So because the meeting is public, Stated Meeting 32 2/24/2022 participants and viewers have no reasonable expectation of privacy. So by continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. I want to thank you very much for your participation, and I will now ask the Chief Clerk to please read the first name on our list of our speakers today. Mr. Decker.
The first speaker today is Alison Whittenberg, commenting on 210396.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
Hi. I'm Alison Whittenberg and I am just going to quote Nelson Mandela: It's never too late to do the right thing. I bought my family home to live in it and it was wrongfully sold, and this sale must be overturned and vacated. I've gone through all the channels. And Stated Meeting 33 2/24/2022 I guess what disturbs me is, there was a stay on the property when it was sold. So there's a lot of instances where the law isn't following the law, and I keep going to the law to try to correct it. But I think we've reached the point where we must go back in order to go forward, and as I said, my house was sold even though there was a stay on it, even though there was no diversion court, there was no service. And this has been going on. Some of the comments that I had gotten just in asking about this and when I had tried to rectify it is, "You don't have to live there, just go and buy another home." "We deal with hundreds -sorry; thousands of properties. We can't expect to get everything right." And then lastly, "I sympathize." I got that a lot. I've been to the Board of Ethics, the counselor's office, the Attorney General's office, the Judicial Stated Meeting 34 2/24/2022 Review Board, Internal Affairs, several different agencies and also, you know, trying to rectify this in court. I think there needs to be a detailed audit. And this is not going too far back in history, but this has been happening, and I think instead of just putting a Band-Aid on it or prolonging things, this has to be -- has to have a detailed audit of what exactly is going on, because a stay, it seems like it can be leapfrogged and there's sealed bids going on and -- sorry. I hear this, but I just want to say I really hope that this is taken seriously, because people need what they worked for all of their life. They need their homes. This is happening a lot to Black and Brown people. It's a systemic problem, and it must be seriously addressed. Please make history and do the right thing by the residents of Philadelphia. Stated Meeting 35 2/24/2022 Thank you. Thank you for giving me time to speak.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed.
Hi. My name is Daniel Trubman, T-R-U-B-M-A-N, and I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight once again that despite the rhetoric from so many Councilmembers about the importance of affordable housing in Philadelphia, we learned this week from reporting from Taylor Allen in Axios that the Habitat for Humanity project in North Philadelphia had been reduced in size to placate local NIMBYs. If Council Bill 210848 had passed in the fall as originally intended, seven households would already Stated Meeting 36 2/24/2022 be on their way to being housed. Instead, this Council acquiesced for several months of delay and reduced the number of affordable homes that will be built, all in the name of defending the illegal parking lot. It is my understanding that Bill 210848 will now pass this week. It won't actually come before this Council until April, but I hope the progressive members of this Council will recognize their continued deference to councilmanic prerogative is contributing to the housing accessibility crisis in the City. We cannot build an inclusive city for all as long as we allow free parking to be a higher priority than housing all Philadelphians in a high quality, affordable homes. Thank you.
Thank you so much for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Deborah M. Stated Meeting 37 2/24/2022 Figart, commenting on 210956.
Hello. My name is Dr. Deborah M. Figart. I'm a Ph.D. economist and I live in the Logan Square neighborhood. I'm speaking in favor of Bill 210956 to create a Philadelphia Public Financial Authority. The economy and our public health, these are two interrelated concerns in the pandemic era. The economy is not some abstract concept. There would be no economy without people. The goal of any economy is, therefore, economic wellbeing. That means full-time living-wage jobs contributing to local economic development. In our current economy, such opportunities are insufficient. Here's some evidence: According to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, bank lending to small businesses has dropped Stated Meeting 38 2/24/2022 since the Great Recession, but small businesses are key to jobs and economic development. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 99.7 percent of U.S. firms with paid employees are small businesses, designed as less than 500 employees. Both current and budding entrepreneurs in our city have limited or no access to affordable capital and credit. A Public Financial Authority would help. I have published a peer-reviewed economic impact study of a proposed authority in the City of Philadelphia. The overall takeaway is that every $1 billion in new lending or investments by the Authority would yield approximately 142 million of increased earnings in Philadelphia, 3,200 new jobs, and one and a half billion in our metropolitan area gross product. Thank you.
Stated Meeting 39 2/24/2022 Thank you very much for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
My name is Peter Winslow. I'm a resident of Philadelphia and I'm a member of the Philadelphia Public Banking Coalition. Thank you, President Clarke and members of City Council, for this opportunity to provide public comments in support of Bill No. 210956 to establish a Philadelphia Public Financial Authority. Today as we fear for the people of Ukraine, you are providing hope for the people of Philadelphia by establishing the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority. As we witnessed the tax on democratic processes elsewhere, you are reasserting democratic values in Stated Meeting 40 2/24/2022 Philadelphia by establishing the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority. We applaud your confidence in yourselves and in the people of Philadelphia. You are asserting leadership in the face of skepticism. You are demonstrating imagination in the face of pessimism. You're exhibiting courage in the face of defeatism. At the forefront of a national movement to democratize money, you're advancing the American Project started here in Philadelphia by Quaker colonists and then pursued by Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and the practical visionaries who were your predecessors. Establishing the Financial Authority is akin to asserting a declaration of independence for our money. By using the well-established structure of Pennsylvania's Economic Development Finance Law, Act 102, and innovative ways, Philadelphia will pioneer the development of a more robust Stated Meeting 41 2/24/2022 and more equitable local finance ecosystem. Please establish the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority as an investment in the future of Philadelphia, the empowerment of our communities, and the prosperity of our citizens. Please approve the amendments today and enact Bill 219056 next week. Please do so unanimously. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning, members of City -- Stated Meeting 42 2/24/2022
Good morning, members of City Council. My name is Stan Shapiro and I am speaking as Vice Chair of Philly Neighborhood Networks. People often say that budgets are moral documents because they tell us how governments are going to treat those they govern with society-shared resources. Bill 210956 creating the Philadelphia Public Financing Authority is a moral document for the same reason, and it makes the right moral choices, deploying City resources to meet the neglected needs of communities across Philadelphia. Those vested in the status quo tell us that the long-term mission of PPFA to create a bank they can hold and invest City deposits is a fool's errand. Well, it feels like there's something deeply racist about the assumption that our diverse city can't do the same thing Stated Meeting 43 2/24/2022 that North Dakota did over 100 years ago. North Dakota contains half the population of our city and has built a robust and powerful $7.5 billion bank. I say we can do the same if we simply have the courage to think big. And what are the consequences, moral and otherwise, if we leave our money in conventional banks? We all know how badly big banks have treated the Black and Brown people of our city. I need not say more on that. But let's also never forget that the big banks almost destroyed the entire economy of this country and this city less than 15 years ago. And while the big banks were bailed out of the holes they dug for themselves, cities like ours were left to find their own shovels. We've also heard that this is a bad bill because we can't trust our government to manage our own money, but the financial industry, which holds and manages our money now, is the most Stated Meeting 44 2/24/2022 heavily penalized in America, having been fined the staggering sum of $331 billion, with a B, over the last 20 years for a wide variety of deceptive practices. It's as if the business model of the big banks is fraud. How can we justify keeping the people's money in companies like that even on a moral or a practical level? The choice of this Council could not be more stark. Continue the status quo that has left Philadelphia the poorest big city in America or try something different, standing up a new institution whose mission will be laser focused on helping the left-out people of our city and doing so as the primary investor of City assets. I know you'll make the right choice. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Daler Khamidov, Stated Meeting 45 2/24/2022 commenting on 220051. (No response.)
Good morning. State your name for the record. Please proceed with your testimony. (No response.)
Good morning. My name is Vesyl Kushmir and I'm a small business owner and I come from Ukraine. We was comply with all the emergencies like COVID-19 situation. We was comply with all the rules and regulation for that period of time, and we keep on doing that, you know. And I'm talking about the Bill 220051, the -- you know, what you call that? The salary -not the salary. The paid leave time. So it's going to hurt us bad. Stated Meeting 46 2/24/2022 Eighty percent of our people, of our clients, is coming from out of state, and for us like really doesn't matter. It's going to be -- we're going to have a business in Philadelphia or (unintelligible). So, you know, the reason why we still here, because we have employees here. And we started business a while ago, not too while ago, but because we have people in Philadelphia who want to work with us. Right now like some people, some employees going to take advantage of that. They might take that two weeks, you know, even though they don't need it, and that's another expenses from the business. We don't have like a huge margin in that or a big margin. We count every penny, and we will have to move to other city because the regulations are going to affect us really bad. Thank you for your time. I'm very sure you're going to make the right Stated Meeting 47 2/24/2022 decision. Thank you.
Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning. State your name for the -please proceed.
Hello. I'm Stephanie Marsh, your favorite administrative aide -- Administration aide. Good morning, President Darrell Clarke and this esteemed Philadelphia City Council. I'm commenting today in support of Resolution No. 220152, which recognizes the contributions of Dr. Ethel Allen. Thank you to the sponsor, Councilmember Kendra Brooks, who, like Dr. Allen, is a Black woman representing a minority party. I called Dr. Allen Aunt Ethel, Stated Meeting 48 2/24/2022 because she was a family friend. She knew me before I was born. Her brother, Sidney, was my dad, Omega fraternity brother and my godfather. Her sister-in-law, Louise, is my mother's cousin. It takes a village. I was lucky enough to be in her village. Born in 1929, Aunt Ethel was raised at 23rd and Nicholas Streets in North Philadelphia. Her dad, Sidney, had a tailor shop on the corner. She was educated in parochial schools and graduated from Hallahan High School. She went on to West Virginia State College and majored in chemistry and biology, minors in math, as she desired to be a dentist like her uncle. By the way, the second Black female Philadelphia Councilmember was Augusta Clark, who also went to West Virginia State College. They were there at the same time. Reverend Leon Sullivan also went there. Dr. Allen later graduated from Stated Meeting 49 2/24/2022 Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, which is PCOM. After a residency in Michigan, Dr. Allen came home, began her practice at 15th and Columbia Avenue, which is now Cecil B. Moore. She called herself the "ghetto practitioner," as most of her patients were underserved. Dr. Allen became a physician. Gussie Clark became a lawyer, both from the same HBCU, one was a Delta, the other AKA, both of them members of The Links. Dr. Allen is a charter member of the Pentail (ph) Links. In 1971, Dr. Allen gave up her practice for politics and ran for the Fifth District of City Council. So before there was Cecil B. Moore, John F. Street, and Darrell Clarke, there was Dr. Ethel Allen representing North Philadelphia as a republican. She championed women's rights, minority rights, healthcare for the poor, employment, and education. Stated Meeting 50 2/24/2022 In 1975, she ran as an at-large candidate for City Council and won. Rizzo was the Mayor at the time. She later was on the national stage and gave the seconding speech for President Ford at the Republican National Convention. She later was appointed as Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth. She was named one of the 12 outstanding female politicians in the nation by Esquire Magazine. Aunt Ethel was very bright, no nonsense, no mincing of words, had a presence that was intimidating and daunting. She called herself the FBI fat, Black, and intelligent. A few years ago, Councilmember David Oh sponsored a resolution to honor her and presented it at the school. There's a scholarship in her name at PCOM. She died in 1981 at the age of 52. She suffered from breast cancer and heart disease. Stated Meeting 51 2/24/2022 Many of you on Council today stand --
-- on Dr. Allen's shoulders. Thank you, and please adopt Resolution No. 220152.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. Awesome story. Thank you.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed.
Hello. My name is Aaron Wise. Thank you, Council President and Council. I'm calling on resolution Ms. Elsie Wise, who was my mother, who was a longtime West Philadelphia resident and formed the West Powelton Community Concerned Council. Stated Meeting 52 2/24/2022 She was a (unintelligible) woman and mentor of the neighborhood. She made sure that the people of the neighborhood strived for excellence. She was well known and she also achieved a great deal in her passing. She was also one of the first members to hold a non-profit for the past 60 years. She's also made sure the citizens of the neighborhood strive for excellence, and she's also made sure the youth are very taken care of. She also established what's called the West Powelton Drummer Line and also a member of the community executive board. She leaves paths to her son and grandson a well-established community and a well-established neighborhood. I thank you for this time.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
The next speaker Stated Meeting 53 2/24/2022 is Antoine Mapp, commenting on 220155.
Good morning. Please proceed with your testimony.
Yes. I'm here. Is it possible you can come back to me? I'm in court right this second. Can I give you like five minutes? The judge is calling me.
You can try to come back to us while we're doing public comment. Mr. Decker, next.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony. (No response.)
State your name for the record and please proceed.
I'm getting a message she's not connected, Mr. President. I'm getting a message from Owenda.
My name is Geraldine Brown. Good morning, President Stated Meeting 55 2/24/2022 Clarke and Councilmembers and the Wise family. I'm the Director of Dunlap Citizens and Concerned Center and I'm here to make a resolution for Ms. Elsie Wise and her family. I'm stating that for the 30 years that we have networked in the community, I want to say that she's one of the trailblazers for community and youth, and we truly honor her for her dedication and legacy that she has blessed to carry on in the West Powelton community. Her focus more so was the youth, and she displayed that with community services as well. I've been blessed to have the pleasure of networking with her from Dunlap Community Center as well, and I just want to announce that we appreciated the legacy that she has left for her community and our community from the Dunlap Citizens and Concerned.
That's my comment on 220155, and thank you very much. Have a good day.
Thank you, and thank you for your testimony. We really appreciate it.
Good morning. Please proceed with your testimony. (No response.)
Just state your name and proceed with your testimony.
Go ahead. Stated Meeting 57 2/24/2022 Go ahead with your testimony, Ms. Knox.
Okay. First of all, I want to say thank you very much for what you're doing. My mother was a very proud woman, a sweet woman. Everybody loved her in the neighborhood, proud mother of two children, Aaron Wise and me, grandmother of five and great-grandmother of five, who loved her very much, and people in the neighborhood respect her and thought that she was awesome. She did anything for you. Ask her anything, she will do it. No problems at all. She started a drill team in 1989 and they doing very well, West Powelton Steppers and Drum Squad. The Drum Squad is the Sixers. They doing very well. But, like I said, mother was a wonderful lady. I miss her so much, her and my father. Thank you very much for doing this for us. Thank you. Have a good Stated Meeting 58 2/24/2022 day.
Thank you so much for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Good morning. State your name for the record and please proceed with your testimony.
Hello. My name is Jacob Zychick and I am the American Heart Association's Community Advocacy Director in Southeast PA. I'm speaking in favor of Resolution No. 220158 that recognizes February 2020 [sic] as American Heart Month, encourages Philadelphians to be mindful of their heart health, and honoring the American Heart Association for their advocacy on the issue of heart health. Thank you to Councilmember Bass and the entire Philadelphia City Council for their support of this resolution and the continued advocacy addressing health Stated Meeting 59 2/24/2022 equity and improving cardiovascular health for all in the City of Philadelphia. Heart disease continues to be the leading cause of death for Philadelphians, taking lives at a higher rate in Philadelphia than any other major American city. The American Heart Association is committed to championing health equity. We continue to partner locally with community stakeholders and neighborhood organizations to address hypertension, nutrition insecurity, and improving life-saving bystander CPR rates. This has led to us locally distributing over 500 CPR infant kits and hundreds of hands-only CPR kits, launching the Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, which contributed over $800,000 to local non-profit organizations in North Philadelphia in and around the Temple University area, and providing guidance and technical support to local food Stated Meeting 60 2/24/2022 providers on nutrition standards. Once again, thank you to Councilmember Bass and the entire Philadelphia City Council for this resolution that recognizes February 2020 as American Heart Month, encouraging Philadelphians to be mindful of their heart health, and honoring the American Heart Association for their advocacy on this issue of heart health. We look forward to our continued partnership and collaboration with the Philadelphia City Council and the City of Philadelphia. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. We appreciate it.
Mr. President, the next speaker is Daler Khamidov, commenting on 220051.
Yes. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Stated Meeting 61 2/24/2022
Just state your name for the record and proceed.
Yes. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Daler Khamidov. I represent the Northeast Philadelphia Liberty Bell Small Business Association. First of all, let me express my gratitude for the opportunity to speak to important people. Thank you so much, City Councilmen. You guys are doing a great job. I, like my many member of our association, have small company. We only work up to ten people. There are only two people working in my company, me and my employee. All the same time, I have a business selling carpet with great difficulty and pay. I have only hundred dollar daily, but I need two more mortgage, because the carpet business is very hard and difficult, but my budget doesn't allow to pay so much money. Stated Meeting 62 2/24/2022 There is absolutely no extra money in my businesses and so many businesses in our association. This is not a restaurant. Sometimes there is no trade at home, but you still need to pay two workers. Now many people don't want to work for that kind of money, because they thinking hundred dollar daily cheap. The supposed bill will generally kill businesses like mine, small businesses. We're working up to ten people. I always pray, not for myself but for my worker to never get sick, but if he get sick, I still pay for his treatment and this two weeks. I have to hire one more other worker and pay him too. I will simply become bankrupt. I will be forced to move my business out of Philadelphia, and I have several customer businesses like that where working up to ten people, and I planning move my businesses, all of them, out of Philadelphia. And there is hundreds of Stated Meeting 63 2/24/2022 such small businesses in our association, and they will all move out of City. For people who are out of work, the government take care them and pay them unemployment benefits. For low-income families, the government pay too for housing, for food, for utilities, for medicine, and even for cell phone. Thank you so much for taking care of us. According to this logic, you need to be principally and really care about people --
-- and help them too. Let the government take over the payment for --
Yes. Yes. Small business cannot take on such a (unintelligible) to themself.
It's a good idea. It's a good idea. So thank you for that idea. But this will totally kill so many small businesses. Thank you so much, ladies and gentlemen. Let the government of the -so I'm totally against the Bill No. 220051.
All right. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. I think Councilwoman Brooks wanted to make a point of order with respect to the testimony of Mr. Khamidov. Councilwoman Brooks.
Thank you so much, Council President. This bill never included any businesses that are ten and under. So I think just for clarification, the initial legislation that was issued started at ten and above.
Thank you. Thank you. Some Stated Meeting 65 2/24/2022 misinformation. Thank you, Councilwoman. Thank you for that clarity.
No other speakers. Thank you very much for the public comment, and thank everyone for participating. We're now going to -- I think Councilwoman Parker is continuing to try to get in, but she's having some challenges.
Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to note for the record that I am present.
Mr. President, Whip, and Deputy Whip, thank you so much for having my back. I apologize.
We will always have your back. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. Stated Meeting 66 2/24/2022 going to consider today's Resolution Consent Agenda. I'm going to ask Mr. Decker to please read the titles of all the resolutions on the Consent Agenda. After each title is read, any member may object to the inclusion of the resolution on the Resolution Consent Agenda. Upon such an objection and without debate, the resolution will be immediately removed from the Resolution Consent Agenda and placed on today's regular Final Passage Calendar. Let the record reflect that we have always had 120125. That has been removed from the Consent Agenda. It will be on our regular and Second Reading Calendar. Mr. Decker, please read all of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda.
Resolution No. 220146, entitled a "Resolution authorizing the conveyance of an interest Stated Meeting 67 2/24/2022 assignment of the redevelopment agreement for 3252 Germantown Avenue located in the Fifth Councilmanic District"; and Resolution No. 220147, entitled a "Resolution congratulating Carol G. Stukes-Baylor on being elected Vice Chair for the City of Philadelphia Board of Pensions and Retirement, making her the first woman and woman of color to hold this position"; and Resolution No. 220148, entitled a "Resolution congratulating Eric Pryor on his appointment as President of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, making him the first Black President of PAFA"; and Resolution No. 220 -(Background noise.)
And Resolution No. 220150, entitled a "Resolution also naming the 6300 block of Lancaster Avenue Stated Meeting 68 2/24/2022 Way, to commemorate the Reverend Absalom Jones on his legacy as an abolitionist, clergyman and the founder of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, the first African American Episcopal Church in The United States"; and Resolution No. 220151, entitled a "Resolution also naming 24th Street, between Wharton and Reed Streets, 'Dorothy D. Allen Way,' to honor the life and legacy of Dorothy D. Allen"; and Resolution No. 220152, entitled a "Resolution recognizing the strength, determination, and contributions of renowned physician, Philadelphia City Councilmember, and Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dr. Ethel Allen, whose medical expertise and dedicated public service prioritized the City's most vulnerable residents and paved the way for future generations of independent Black women in Philadelphia politics"; and Stated Meeting 69 2/24/2022 220154, entitled a "Resolution congratulating Dr. Amy Gutmann on her confirmation to the Administration of President Joe Biden as the Ambassador to Germany and recognizing her many contributions to public life and service in Philadelphia and beyond"; and Resolution No. 220156, entitled a "Resolution honoring and congratulating Champion of the Week and Black Business Crawl organization, Black Kidz Can Cook and Kidz Meals on Wheels, on their dedication to helping feed children across the city of Philadelphia and showing them the importance of culinary skills"; and Resolution No. 220157, entitled a "Resolution authorizing the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to execute and deliver to the Philadelphia Land Bank deeds conveying title to certain properties located in the First Councilmanic District pursuant to the requirements of the Commonwealth Land Stated Meeting 70 2/24/2022 Act"; and Resolution No. 220158, entitled a "Resolution recognizing February 2022 as American Heart Month, and encouraging Philadelphians to be mindful of their heart health, and honoring the American Heart Association for their advocacy on the issue of heart health"; and Resolution No. 220159, entitled a "Resolution recognizing and honoring creative entrepreneur and activist Ant Brown for his work in combatting violence among at-risk youth"; and Resolution No. 220160, entitled a "Resolution recognizing and honoring Louis Scaglione - President, CEO, and Music Director of the Philadelphia Youth Orchestra Music Institute - on the occasion of his 25th Anniversary with the organization."
Is that it? Thank you, Mr. Decker. The Chair recognizes Councilman Squilla for a motion to adopt each of the Stated Meeting 71 2/24/2022 Resolution Consent Agenda.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move the adoption of each of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that each of the resolutions on the Consent Agenda be adopted. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and all of the resolutions on the Resolution Consent Agenda have been adopted. We will now consider the bills and resolutions on the regular Second Reading and Final Passage Calendar. Stated Meeting 72 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220155.
A resolution honoring the life and legacy of civic leader Elsie Wise for her dedication to community empowerment and mentorship through the founding of the West Powelton Steppers and Drum Team, and leadership in West Philadelphia civic organizations for more than 60 years.
Thank you, Council President, and I'd like to make a few brief remarks before calling for the adoption. Good morning, colleagues and to everyone tuning in from home. Last week I introduced a resolution honoring the life and legacy of Ms. Elsie Wise, a community leader whose decades of work and activism in West Philadelphia created programs and institutions that will improve the lives of our youth for Stated Meeting 73 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING decades to come. A fierce housing advocate and youth mentor, Ms. Elsie dedicated her entire life to uplifting the community and the people around her. If you've ever seen the West Powelton Steppers and Drum Team at a Sixers game or community event, then you've witnessed Ms. Elsie's enduring legacy of youth mentorship and empowerment. For more than 30 years, this organization that she founded has provided kids with a creative outlet that instills leadership and determination, and expands their horizons beyond the blocks of their West Philly neighborhoods. Ms. Elsie was known by her community as everyone's grandmother, a reflection of how she extended her love and patience to everyone she met. Whether bringing dinner to Firehouse 5, Ladder 6 on holidays to thank the firefighters for their service or Stated Meeting 74 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING welcoming neighbors into her home, Ms. Elsie could always be counted on to bring people together over a home-cooked meal. Ms. Elsie's family and community have been coming to terms with the void that she left behind since her passing in December of 2020, but her legacy lives on, and it was an honor to introduce this resolution recognizing her and expressing gratitude for the many years she spent striving to create a better West Philly and a better Philadelphia. With that, I move for the adoption of the resolution.
Thank you. It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Stated Meeting 75 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. I'm sorry. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220009.
A resolution proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the removal of gender-based references throughout the Charter, and providing for the submission of the proposed amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
Stated Meeting 76 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Thank you. It has been moved and seconded that the resolution be adopted. Because Resolution No. 220009 is an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it requires two-thirds vote. Therefore, the question is shall the resolution be adopted. The Chief Clerk will call the roll.
Councilman Green. Stated Meeting 77 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilman Thomas. Stated Meeting 78 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. Two-thirds of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, Resolution No. 220009 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220010.
A resolution proposing an amendment to the Educational Supplement to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the removal of gender-based references throughout the Educational Supplement.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and properly seconded that Stated Meeting 79 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING the resolution be adopted. And, again, because Resolution No. 220010 is an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it requires two-thirds vote. Therefore, the question is shall the resolution be adopted. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilwoman Gym. Stated Meeting 80 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Council President Stated Meeting 81 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Clarke.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. Two-thirds of all members of Council voting in the affirmative, Resolution No. 220010 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Resolution No. 220082.
A resolution proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the establishment of a Fair Housing Commission as an independent commission.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It has been moved and properly seconded that the resolution be adopted. And because Resolution No. Stated Meeting 82 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING 220082 is an amendment to the Home Rule Charter, it requires two-thirds vote. Therefore, the question is shall this resolution be adopted. Chief Clerk, please call the roll.
Aye. Stated Meeting 83 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Council President Clarke. Stated Meeting 84 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. Two-thirds of all members voting in the affirmative, Resolution No. 220082 has been adopted. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 210685.
Point of information, Council President. I believe that bill is being held.
It's being held. My fault. I forgot to correct my -- sorry about that, Councilman. Please read the title, Mr. Decker, of 210956.
An ordinance signifying the intention of the City of Philadelphia to organize the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority pursuant to authority established under state law, and amending Chapters 20-600 ("Standards of Conduct and Ethics"), 20-1200 ("Lobbying"), and 17-1400 Stated Meeting 85 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING ("Non-Competitively Bid Contracts; Financial Assistance") of The Philadelphia Code to address ethics, contractual and other requirements applicable to the Philadelphia Public Financial Authority.
Thank you. The Chair now recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Council President. I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 210956. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council. I move for the adoption of the amendment. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. All those in favor of the motion will signify by saying aye. (Aye.)
Those opposed? (No response.) Stated Meeting 86 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
The ayes have it. Bill No. 210956 has been amended. Bill No. 210956, as amended, will be placed on the Final Passage Calendar for our next session of Council. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220006.
An ordinance amending Chapter 19-4000, entitled "Income Inequality Initiative - Earned Income Tax Credit," by requiring employers to provide notification to workers regarding the availability of certain additional federal and City tax benefit programs and extending the Department of Revenue's notification and reporting requirements to such additional tax benefit programs.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Domb.
Thank you, Council President. Stated Meeting 87 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING I want to thank my co-sponsors for this bill, Councilmembers Brooks, Thomas, Green, Johnson, Gilmore Richardson, Gym, and Gauthier, all who co-sponsored this bill. Thank you for your support. As you know, Council President -- you've been a big advocate for this -- there's over a billion dollars right now of federal money in EITC credits, child tax credits, and now we have City wage tax refunds also that are available for 75,000 families in our city and about 300,000 residents. And when you think about it, it's over $3,000 per person potentially in federal, City, and local tax benefits. Now, we passed a bill a few years ago requiring employers to notify their employees about the earned income tax credit. This bill expands the notification to not only EITC but child tax credit and wage tax credit refunds, but we also added to this bill that all Stated Meeting 88 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING third-party payroll service companies, like ADP, like Paychex and others, will also be required to notify the employees of the checks that they provide about the earned income tax credit, child tax credit, wage tax credit, and other federal and City tax benefit programs. For these companies, it will be a tremendous benefit, I believe, in helping us get the word out, but I also think it's a great benefit for the payroll service companies to offer this service. Our goal is to try to improve where we are today and get this $1 billion into the hands of Philadelphians, and I'm hoping this will help. So I want to thank everyone for their support. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilman. This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll. Stated Meeting 89 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilman Oh. Stated Meeting 90 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the Stated Meeting 91 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING title of Bill No. 220079.
An ordinance constituting the Twenty-Sixth Supplemental Ordinance to the Restated General Water and Wastewater Revenue Bond Ordinance of 1989, as supplemented; authorizing the Bond Committee to issue and sell one or more series or subseries of tax-exempt or taxable water and wastewater revenue bonds and revenue refunding bonds.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. Stated Meeting 92 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilwoman Stated Meeting 93 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Quinones-Sanchez.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 220080.
An ordinance authorizing the execution, delivery and performance by the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation on behalf of the Philadelphia Gas Works of a Renewal of Service Agreement for Gas Storage and Transportation Under Rate Schedule GSS with Transcontinental Gas Stated Meeting 94 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Pipe Line Company.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Aye. Stated Meeting 95 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Council President Clarke. Stated Meeting 96 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16, the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, please read the title of 220001.
An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the removal of gender-based references throughout the Charter, as approved by Resolution of the City Council; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot question to be voted on; and, authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill Stated Meeting 97 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilman Jones. Stated Meeting 98 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill Stated Meeting 99 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING passes. Mr. Decker, 220002.
An ordinance providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to the Educational Supplement to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, relating to the removal of gender-based references throughout the Educational Supplement, as approved by Resolution of the Council; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot question to be voted on; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilwoman Bass. Stated Meeting 100 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Councilman Stated Meeting 101 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING O'Neill.
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 220077.
An ordinance providing for the submission to the Stated Meeting 102 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the creation of a Fair Housing Commission as an independent commission; as approved by Resolution of the City Council; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot question to be voted on; and, authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question now is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Councilman Domb. Stated Meeting 103 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. Stated Meeting 104 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 16; the nays are zero. A majority of members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes. Mr. Decker, 210902.
An ordinance amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code," by amending Subcode "A" (The Philadelphia Administrative Code) and Subcode "PM" (The Philadelphia Property Maintenance Stated Meeting 105 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Code) and other related sections of The Philadelphia Code to add provisions related to the abatement of rats and other vermin in the City of Philadelphia.
This bill having been read on two different days, the question is shall the bill pass finally. Mr. Decker, call the roll.
Mute. You're on Stated Meeting 106 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING mute, Councilwoman. (No response.)
Councilman Squilla. Stated Meeting 107 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Aye. The ayes are 15; the nays are zero. A majority of all members present voting in the affirmative, the bill passes.
Pardon me, Mr. President. This is Councilmember Gilmore Richardson. I'd like to be recorded as voting aye on that bill.
Stated Meeting 108 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING Thank you, Councilwoman. And, Councilwoman Gauthier, we still -- okay. Mr. Decker, please read the title of Bill No. 220051.
An ordinance amending Section 9-4116 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled "2021 Public Health Emergency Leave," to establish additional leave time under certain circumstances, modify existing provisions concerning the paid sick leave, and making technical changes.
Council President, I have a point of information to the sponsor.
Thank you, Council President. I want to thank Councilmember Brooks for this original legislation that Stated Meeting 109 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING she introduced some time ago in dealing with this issue. I know the current legislation that's on the books requires this bill to only affect businesses of 50 or more. During the hearing in the Public Health and Human Services Committee, I know there was concerns raised by the diverse chambers that, from my understanding, met with Councilmember Brooks. I wanted to get some perspective in reference to this amendment and what led to this number at 25. I know based on the information that the diverse chambers raised regarding the impact, especially the Black and Brown businesses, they were greatly concerned in reference to how this legislation would impact those businesses.
Thank you, Council President. Stated Meeting 110 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING So we reached out to many stakeholders, including businesses, workers, enforcement officials, after the meeting with the joint chambers and we came up with the number of 25 to meet halfway between what our original number was and what it was before. We wanted to make sure that we included a larger swath of businesses based on the fact that the vaccination mandates have been lifted, the pandemic is not over, and we wanted to make sure that we're encompassing so many more people than what we -- just meeting halfway between what our original number was of ten or more and what the businesses wanted at 50 and more, and I thought 25 was a reasonable compromise after meeting with the business, the workers, and the enforcement individuals.
No. I just Stated Meeting 111 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING wanted to -- thank you, Councilmember Brooks. Was there any specific data in reference to the number of 25? I know the diverse chambers have still stated that they're concerned that at that number, it would impact a significant amount of businesses, especially on our commercial corridors, and they, from my understanding, are still greatly concerned that if the legislation is below the 50 employee number, that will have a devastating impact on Black and Brown businesses, especially so many of those businesses have been impacted by the pandemic and many have actually closed because of the challenges from an economic perspective based on COVID-19.
The question was, what was the data based on in reference to the number 25, when from the Stated Meeting 112 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING diverse chambers they said that even at ten, a significant number of businesses will be impacted. So I'm trying to get a sense of how many businesses will be impacted at 25 or more employees as opposed to 50.
I don't have those exact numbers in front of me of the exact number of businesses that will be impacted by that, but we know that the paid sick leave has always considered Black and Brown folk and businesses in addition to healthcare workers and just the public in general. We're working on the request for that information at the request of another Councilmember, and when I get those numbers, I'll gladly share them with you.
Okay. But I was just trying to get a sense of what was -- you said you came to a compromise. From my understanding, the diverse chambers are still greatly concerned. I Stated Meeting 113 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING know they had a meeting with you, and in that meeting did you also have small business owners in that meeting? Because that was the other call I heard from other members in reference to those organizations, an opportunity to meet with you, especially from small business owners who could talk to you directly about how this will impact them especially as we're going through this pandemic still.
Absolutely. They were supposed to bring small business owners to that meeting. Based on the hearing, they said that I always only talked to the talking heads at the top. It was their responsibility to bring small business owners to that meeting and they did not. They only brought the leadership. And we have extended the invitation to other small business owners at the request of another organization that will happen later on in the week, but after the meeting, I can Stated Meeting 114 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING only work with what they gave me, and this was a meeting that they requested.
So if additional small business owners reach out to you regarding their concerns, you'll be open to have a conversation with them before the bill is brought up for a vote?
Thank you, Councilwoman and Councilman Green. Before I call on Councilwoman Sanchez, Councilwoman has a technology issue, but she communicated through technology that she wanted to be listed as voting aye on the last bill. It's a new world. So let the record reflect -
-- Stated Meeting 115 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING that that vote was 16; zero, that Councilwoman Gauthier did vote aye. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez.
Thank you, Council President. And I just wanted to add my voice to this kind of -to this discussion. I had reached out to Councilmember Brooks, and she kindly included me in the meeting with the ethnic chambers of commerce in the discussion, and then thereafter we had a conversation. And similar to you, Councilmember Green, I had asked for the data around the impacted businesses, and I encouraged her to look at that dataset so that we can see who is impacted. And I had a real honest conversation, you know, where we understand the economy and how small businesses, particularly family-owned businesses, operate, and I too am very concerned around this impact Stated Meeting 116 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING and hope that she will continue to talk to folks throughout this. You know, I feel more comfortable with 25 as of 10. The data will inform us around who that impacts. And as I stated to Councilmember Brooks, this is an issue of compliance, right? You know, coming from a family of small businesses, we have many ethnic businesses and immigrant businesses in the neighborhood that have people on the books and people that are not on the books. They make decisions about do I have to get rid of some people on the books so that I am not in compliance. Because the issue around compliance isn't that they aren't paying sick leave in some cases and making accommodations. It's when they have to give up their payrolls and all the other -- the back office stuff that becomes an impediment to small businesses that we have to take into consideration. The Councilwoman has been very Stated Meeting 117 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING open to that dialogue, and I think that we should continue to have this discussion around the reality of how small businesses operate and how they manage their back office and how they make decisions. So I just wanted to thank the Councilwoman and recognize that she is meeting with folks around this, and encourage all my Council colleagues to continue to have conversations with her, and when the data is available, that we look at it. And, again, this isn't that people aren't complying in their own way. It's what you show once you become a target of a potential audit in this. It becomes a burden for minority businesses and immigrant businesses, many who have undocumented folks at some level, right, and they make choices about how they manage what they have on the books. That's the reality of the economy that we've created in this country because of Stated Meeting 118 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING our failure to have adequate immigration reform to give these folks who are working and critical to all businesses in the City. So I just want to thank the Councilwoman and hope that we continue the conversation. Thank you, Council President Clarke.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman, I understand you do have an amendment that reflects the conversations, the 25 conversations.
Do you want to proceed with offering that amendment today?
Okay. All right. Start again. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks for an amendment to Bill No. 220051. Stated Meeting 119 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you, Council President. I would like to offer an amendment to Bill No. 220051. A copy of the amendment has been circulated to all members of Council, and I move for the adoption of the amendment.
All in favor of the motion will signify by saying -(Duly seconded.)
The ayes have it. Bill No. 220051, as amended, will be placed on the Final Passage Calendar for our next session of Council, with conversation to continue. The Chair recognizes Mr. Decker. Do you have any additional resolutions, sir?
Yes, Mr. President. There was a resolution on the Consent Agenda that was removed and Stated Meeting 120 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING placed on the Calendar. Resolution No. 220125, a resolution encouraging the Philadelphia Board of Education to adopt and implement a civic participation and voter registration program, as proposed by PA Youth Vote. It was introduced by Councilman Green, Mr. President.
Thank you, Council President. At times I've been very critical of the School District and the School Board in reference to various actions. This is a time I'm actually going to commend them for what I anticipate will be a vote tonight on the School Board agenda that is really creating a civic participation and voter registration program in the School District of Philadelphia. We all know that last fall, we had 22 percent voter turnout in our Stated Meeting 121 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING General Election, and we have an opportunity through this adoption tonight with this new program to enable many more eligible voters to become registered in the City of Philadelphia. Approximately 8,000 students in Philadelphia every year in our public high schools become eligible to vote every year because they turn 18. And so that's an opportunity to really increase voter turnout. Unfortunately, before this program has been adopted, only 15 percent of those students actually registered to vote. Through the Board policy that we believe will be adopted this evening, they will actually have a paid staff person or voting champion in each of our schools providing information and encouraging that type of civic participation. This is the first of this type of initiative in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I definitely want to thank Stated Meeting 122 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING PA Youth Vote, in particular my neighbor, Tom Quinn, as well as Lorene Cary from Vote That Jawn and all of the various high school students and now even alumni of our Philadelphia School District high schools, who have really pushed this initiative. They've been working on this for a number of years, and I'm just glad to see that this type of initiative is occurring in our School District and we're taking some leadership to really help promote a civic participation in our electoral process by getting our young people the opportunity to become eligible to -- who are eligible to vote actually to register to vote by having this type of initiative in our schools. With that, Council President, I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying Stated Meeting 123 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted. Mr. Decker, that concludes our Calendar -
A resolution authorizing the Philadelphia City Council Special Committee on Gun Violence Prevention to conduct public hearings to explore the role of the Philadelphia Roadmap for Safer Communities Tactical Team as part of the City's comprehensive response to unprecedented gun violence, introduced today by Councilwoman Gauthier. Stated Meeting 124 2/24/2022 2/24/22 - STATED - 2ND READING
Thank you, Council President. I move for the adoption of the resolution. (Duly seconded.)
It's been moved and properly seconded. All in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it, and that resolution is adopted.
There are no other resolutions on the Final Passage Calendar, Mr. President.
Thank you very much, Mr. Decker. Prior to recognizing members regarding speeches, I will note for the Stated Meeting 125 2/24/2022 we will use the Chat feature available in Microsoft Teams to allow members to signify that they wish to be recognized. In order to comply with the Sunshine Act, the Chat feature must only be used for this particular purpose. With that said, speeches on behalf of the majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Oh.
Thank you very much, Council President. Last night Russia invaded the Ukraine and people are fleeing. There are a new set of refugees. What does it have to do with us? It has a lot to do with us. I recall the last time that Iraq invaded Kuwait, we ended up in a war, and it has ultimately led to a very long engagement by the United States in the war in the Middle East. We have a lot of citizens from Stated Meeting 126 2/24/2022 of the Philadelphia community who have fled the Ukraine from prior wars and aggression from Russia. At this point in time, I just wanted to convey my thoughts and prayers for the people in Ukraine, the Philadelphians with family there, and thank our City Council for passing a resolution early in February that Philadelphia stands with Ukraine. No one can be free in isolation, and no nation can be free without the bond of other free nations. That is an issue that faces every nation when another nation crosses its border and begins aggressions. It is more about the idea that we could live in a democratic nation with individual rights and liberties guaranteed by a constitution and upheld by a collective group of freedom-loving people and freedom-loving nations. Now we are challenged to see Stated Meeting 127 2/24/2022 nation will respond. It is a very challenging situation, but I do want to say that I appreciate all who understand that freedom is not free and that the cost of liberty is high, but it is critical that we maintain liberty in this world. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Councilman. Very troubling times. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Brooks.
Thank you, Council President. As Black History Month continues, I want to take a moment to recognize the strength, determination, and contributions of renowned physician, Philadelphia Councilmember, and Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Dr. Ethel Allen. Dr. Allen overcame almost unsurmountable barriers for Black women Stated Meeting 128 2/24/2022 education, but persevered throughout each challenge. She brought similar dedication and unapologetic energy to her work as an elected official. Although Dr. Allen was a republican and we may have had political differences, she demonstrated a fierce commitment to marginalized communities across her years of service. As she paved the way for independent Black women, both in the medical field and people like me in elected office, I won't repeat her biography because Ms. Marsh did a wonderful job during public comment, so I just want to thank her for sharing the beautiful account of her aunt's life. I think I speak for every member of Council when I say we are grateful for Dr. Allen's bravery and her commitment to our city's most vulnerable residents, and I want to thank you, colleagues, and thank you, Ms. Marsh, and Stated Meeting 129 2/24/2022 viewing public for allowing her this moment to honor her. Thank you, Council President.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Talk about insurmountable odds, winning a Council seat as a republican in the Fifth Councilmanic District was no joke. It was pretty awesome. The Chair recognizes, on behalf of the majority, Councilman Thomas.
Thank you, Council President. Thank you, colleagues. A couple things I just wanted to note today. First of all, I was honored to introduce the resolution today with Councilmember Jones. It's always a pleasure to work with him. He called me the sports Councilmember, and part of the reason why that's the case is because I still coach high school basketball. We had a game yesterday -- I was talking before the Council session -- Stated Meeting 130 2/24/2022 and, you know, we lost pretty bad. What was more disappointing than the loss was actually the article that came out earlier this week about Paul Robeson and some of the concerns that the principal communicated on the record as well as to myself and other colleagues as well as the coach there about the infrastructure issues that they're facing. Paul Robeson is one of our better schools that we have in the City of Philadelphia. They've produced and performed strong academic numbers. The young people there, in large part, tend to be good citizens, hard-working teachers. And you wonder why they still have some of the infrastructure issues that they have compared to some of the progress that we've seen in places where the demographic looks a little different. And using the principal at Paul Robeson's words, not mine, SLA and what happened at SLA compared to what he's going through Stated Meeting 131 2/24/2022 of what we're talking about. So I'm really concerned around the infrastructure plan as it relates to the School District and the City of Philadelphia. We play our home games at Frankford High School, and prior to the start of the season, Frankford, Northeast, and a couple other schools put in some requests to have new scoreboards in the schools, and those requests were met. Schools were given new scoreboards, but the irony of getting a new scoreboard when the winter sports season starts and not having their scoreboard put up during winter sports seasons. So scoreboards, if you don't know, are predominantly used by girls basketball, boys basketball, wrestling, and cheerleading, all winter sports. So we ordered new scoreboards for the schools and they never got put up. This is another example of the Stated Meeting 132 2/24/2022 by not just myself and other members of City Council, but the public at-large as it relates to having a plan around the School District of Philadelphia and the infrastructure problems we have. I am not the first Councilmember to say it. I'm just providing more examples in highlighting our concern as it relates to long-term planning around the School District. My other concern related to the School District is the fact that they don't have the same level of government affairs staff that they had before, and I haven't seen any plans to hire folks. So now when we are facing issues on the City Council side, whether it's big issues like infrastructure or other issues like the Public League Championship this week, we really don't have points of contact like we had. We're forced to work with staff and other people, and it's putting us in a position where we're becoming Stated Meeting 133 2/24/2022 less efficient as it relates to the serving constituents in the City of Philadelphia. If anyone don't know, this weekend is the Public League Championship and the Catholic League Championship for boys and girls basketball. This week has been the Final Four, and if you look at the Final Four for the Philadelphia Public League, it was held at High School of the Future, and the students were limited to maybe four tickets per person, and we were told it was because of COVID, but yet we allow fans to be packed in like sardines with no mask mandates happening.
And then on the Catholic League side, they're having their games at the Palestra with thousands of people able to attend their game. And so what we're seeing is another example of disproportionate treatment as it relates to the young people who go to School District schools Stated Meeting 134 2/24/2022 District of Philadelphia plans to play their championship games at small gyms that hold less than 700 people when we have bigger gyms in the City of Philadelphia that hold thousands of people that will allow parents to see their children play in the Public League Championship. So many Councilmembers are graduates of School District of Philadelphia schools, so we know firsthand what it means to be able to participate in the Public League Championship in any sport, and now we're forcing grandparents and aunts and uncles to not be able to come to the game because we're choosing facilities that hold less than 1,000 people. We're limiting the number of people who are able to participate in these events. And then as Councilmembers, we're not adequately able to communicate these concerns on a consistent basis, because the staff members that we would work with Stated Meeting 135 2/24/2022 -- we all talked about Haniyyah Sharpe-Brown leaving a couple months ago or weeks ago -- they're not there anymore. So I'm extremely concerned as it relates to our School District in general with the infrastructure issues, the athletic competitions happening this weekend. These are just small examples of the number of concerns. We talked previously about the special admission schools, and it feels like every time we're bringing up the School District of Philadelphia, it's a constant complaint and not progress happening. So I just wanted to start with that issue. I also wanted to take a couple moments to commend the work that's been done by the Arts and Culture Task Force. All of my colleagues on Council who have been advocating for arts and culture space, the nightlife economy position is Stated Meeting 136 2/24/2022 to encourage people to apply so we can put ourself in a position to feed the economics of the City of Philadelphia. I also wanted to close out with the mention of this being Black History Month and us finishing the Black Business Crawl where we highlighted a bunch of Black businesses across the City of Philadelphia and tried our best to continue to encourage people to support and court those businesses, but I can't close out talking about Black History Month without communicating the unfortunate information that the FOP decided to sue the City of Philadelphia over the driving equality bill. I do want to thank all of my colleagues for their support as it relates to the driving equality legislation. I want to thank everybody who reached out to me, and I want to assure the public that this is legislation that we feel like is not only Stated Meeting 137 2/24/2022 responsible, but we feel like will be able to withhold the challenge in court. Thank you, Council President, for the leniency this afternoon at this point now, and thank you, colleagues, for your patience as well as the listening public.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Parker.
Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, let me start again by saying a special thank you to you, our leadership, and all members of Council for your patience in dealing with both my technical and scheduling difficulties today. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I couldn't miss this opportunity to let you, along with members of the public, know that Stated Meeting 138 2/24/2022 out of town on business, I received some great information that really put a smile on my face. I know today that there is a Pension Board meeting, and the good news that will be received is that we will receive preliminary actuary's report today that is going to show that our funding percent has reached 55 percent, 55 percent. It was just in the mid 40's, Mr. President, five years ago. And so when we looked at those projections, I'm thinking about Matt Stitt and Bob McDermott. I'm thinking about those meetings when I first got here during my first term. We are ahead of our schedule, the schedule that we set for ourselves. In addition to that, Mr. President, I wanted to note that the decision-making, the decision-making relative to public policy, and they weren't easy decisions, that were made Stated Meeting 139 2/24/2022 the Pennsylvania House, several members of Council who are no longer even here, Mr. President, who made tough decisions regarding municipal pension funds and retirement security ensured that it would be in existence for current retirees and the future. Sometimes we don't see the return on investment immediately, Mr. President. It took some time, but now we are beginning to see the fruits of that labor. And so I will -- I'm in the car on the phone. I don't have the files, any of the information in front of me. We will be putting together a resolution next week so that we can formally recognize the accomplishments of our Pension Board, to Fran Bielli and his team, Rob Dubow. And, again, we'll go through all of them next week, Mr. President. But for something that had been on the chopping block about how terrible Stated Meeting 140 2/24/2022 was, when defined benefit pensions across the City are -- across this nation, to be quite frank, are becoming a thing of the past, we found a way to do it, Mr. President, reducing the assumed rate of return, getting additional revenue from that sales tax, making adjustments to plan design that would not have been done without the municipal workers, but we preserved retirement security for municipal workers in the City of Philadelphia and that, Mr. President, in the midst of all that's going wrong is something we should be sure enough proud of. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. I recall those days and times and the commitment, all folks involved, and it was unprecedented and the difficult decisions that were made by all parties, and I particularly want to talk about our Stated Meeting 141 2/24/2022 it relates to municipal unions. They stepped up to the plate and it was a difficult sale to their members, but they did what they had to do and now we're fortunate that we have a stabilized environment as it relates to our pension fund. So thank you, and thank you for your tenure up in Harrisburg moving the needle up there, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Green.
Thank you, Council President, and I want to commend Councilmember Thomas for all the work he's doing in reference to education with the youth and with sports and really making a very impassioned speech regarding what he sees on a regular basis regarding our facilities. Earlier in the session I gave some credit and praise to the School District and the School Board in reference to encouraging citizen Stated Meeting 142 2/24/2022 people, but at the same point, our infrastructure is not where it needs to be. Last Wednesday I participated in the press conference along with Penn Environment, PennPIRG, and the Black Center for Justice and Equality. It was based on a report regarding the fact that 98 percent of the drinking water that was tested in our public schools had lead in it. Sixty-one percent of the outlets in our schools were tested with lead. Now, this ability to have this testing was due to the hard work that this body has done. I know Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Squilla have been focused on this issue and passing legislation back in 2017 that allowed us to get the data. But in response to this report, the District challenged the data, and I find it quite troubling that they could challenge the data, because the data came from the School District of Philadelphia. Stated Meeting 143 2/24/2022 and report that they're challenging actually came from the School District. And it's a great concern that the District is still doing these issues and taking attempts to address issues in ways that are not correct, in ways that are not transparent, when the whole basis of the study was based on legislation we did here in City Council and the information for that study came from the School District itself. So we still have a lot of work to do. The work that all of us have been doing in our Council districts and all parts of the City, the things we've been trying to do to address the District as a whole, the words that were stated by Councilmember Thomas and have been stated by so many members of this body regarding the infrastructure of our schools needs to be addressed, and we have to make sure we get the lead out of our schools. This will be an issue that will definitely come up in our budget process, Stated Meeting 144 2/24/2022 the School District receives a significant amount of dollars from us through our real estate tax, and we're going to ask these questions, as we always do, in reference to what are they doing to address this issue as well as all of the other infrastructure concerns we have in the School District regarding asbestos, pest infestation, mold, and all the other things that our children, who need to have a great environment to learn in and a building that we need to have a great environment for our teachers to work in and for other School District employees to work in, needs to occur. And this is an issue that many members of this body have been addressing for some time, from our Education Chair, Councilmember Maria Quinones-Sanchez, to all members of Council, and we will discuss this again during the budget season. Thank you, Council President.
Stated Meeting 145 2/24/2022 you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez.
Thank you, Council President Clarke. And this infrastructure and this School District conversation we'll continue to have around infrastructure and building, and I know, Council President, you've allowed some latitude around this discussion and the establishment of a workgroup to look at putting together a building authority that really can focus in on capacity, expertise, you know, as we search for a new Superintendent, an educational leader who doesn't have to constantly respond to issues of an expertise in an area of capacity that has been challenging for the District. So I look forward to, again, all my colleagues and this conversation and this space, Squilla, Gym of course, Councilmember Green and others who we've Stated Meeting 146 2/24/2022 this, but we really have to deal with the big picture around where we're going to be, as billions of dollars enter and how we use them and leverage them and make decisions about them are important. I wanted to talk a little bit -- you know, it's Black History Month and all of us have been attending panels and having discussions around equity, inclusion, diversity. Councilmember Jones and I last week talked a little bit around this around the contracting and the development community, but I wanted to take a moment and just recognize the Inquirer's own self-analysis around their position around diversity and what they called a more perfect union. If folks didn't read it, they self-assessed around all -- their headline, "All Buildings Matter," which was quite controversial. And I'm encouraged by the fact that they have some internal workgroups. There's been Stated Meeting 147 2/24/2022 left, some people who have fallen on the sword, and thankfully we still have some very dynamic reporters of color who have been working in that culture for many years despite all the challenges that they've self-recognized. It's not always that we get media outlets that say mea culpa, we did some stuff that's wrong, we're looking to change. The value and the importance of that is that the image that is portrayed by our Black and Brown communities by these media outlets impact everything we do, policy formation, how we respond, how we react. Over the next month before we get into this budget and throughout the budget, we're going to have a lot of conversations around diversity and inclusion and really hold people to task about what they say and then what they do. And one of the things that I've enjoyed in a post-COVID, post-social Stated Meeting 148 2/24/2022 is, I can have these conversations and be a little bit more direct and be unapologetic about what I hear people see and then what I watch them do, which is very opposite to that diversity and inclusion. So I want to thank my colleagues who have used this month to uplift folks who have been trailblazers. I didn't realize Ethel Allen was republican, so when you said that in the Fifth Councilmanic District, we're standing on those shoulders and many shoulders of people who have come in and have fought the good fight. But I'll say to you, in a Council that is majority people of color, you know, we really have to hold folks to task around some of these goals that they've spoken to. I know Councilman Johnson had several hearings where we talked about this, who we do business with, how we do diversity. And I'm ready to say to folks, I'm tired of you moving the goalpost on us. You Stated Meeting 149 2/24/2022 to include us, but you create access and barriers to access to capital, to contracting and all those things. So I look forward to working with my Council colleagues.
I'm taking note that as the Inquirer works on this, unfortunately at the same time, just this morning Ernest Owens reported that they're being challenged on salary inequities as it relates to some of their reporters. And I bring this up because one of the things I've learned as Chair of Appropriations as I talk to departments, we have many departments -and, Council President, I know I've mentioned this to you -- the Public Defender's Office and other places, that tend to be 90 percent people of color who are the lowest paid. We have people working for government that are still eligible for WIC and SNAP. When we get to the budget, as I mentioned to you, there's someone Stated Meeting 150 2/24/2022 Defender's Office after 50 years and he only makes $45,000. So we got a lot of work to do around this stuff, and I hope that in this budget process, we really do not use limitations and lack of us being bold, to continue to use excuses and allow -- you know, Councilwoman Brooks is talking about sick leave, giving people real access, but no one should be working for government, no one should be in this space and the inequities around departments of color be allowed to continue. You know, you want to say thank you and you mentioned the unions who were instrumental in this pension reform that we're doing, that we did. Now we'll meet our goal in 2028 as opposed to 2031 in terms of 80 percent funded. We've always asked our workers and our workers of color to step up to the plate. It's time for us to step up to the plate and say to Stated Meeting 151 2/24/2022 them, we will not have anybody working in government that is eligible for WIC, that is eligible for SNAP or any other government benefit because of the inequities in salaries, and that includes lawyers and lawyers of color who graduate with loan debt. And I say that as a mom of an L1 student at Temple, right? They should not have to make choices about where they go work, particularly if they want to come into the public policy sector, because of our miserable salaries. So I'm ready to tackle that on. I just -- it's really hard to meet with departments and hear these stories over and over and over again how we discriminate against people of color in the workplace, right? So the Inquirer called itself out. I'm going to call us out and say we got a lot of work to do in our budget in our department. So thank you, Council President. I know you always allow me Stated Meeting 152 2/24/2022 Chair of Appropriations to have these fights and these battles, a lot of them behind closed doors, right, not necessarily public, but I think it's time that we are in a new place and a new time in our history where this should no longer be tolerable. So thank you very much, Council President and my colleagues. Look forward to that work.
Thank you, Councilwoman. Yes, we do, and we will step up. The Chair recognizes Councilman Johnson.
Thank you, Council President. Just a couple brief announcements. One, I want to thank Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and her team, Deputy Commissioner Benjamin Nash and Deputy Commissioner Kevin [sic] Dales, for participating in a virtual Stated Meeting 153 2/24/2022 It was very, very informative, greatly received from constituents all across the Second Councilmanic District and the City of Philadelphia as a whole, because people want to feel safe, and at the end of the day, information goes a long way to reassuring them that we are addressing this issue as much as we can. So I just wanted to publicly acknowledge her and her team, because at the end of the day, we must have a safe city, and if we have people being carjacked, none of us, none of us, including Councilmembers, are exempt to someone jumping out on us, putting a gun in our face, in our family members' faces and taking our cars or even one of us losing our lives as it relates to the senseless carjacking that's taking place. And I'm sure her and her team will continue to stay on this issue. And acknowledge you also, Council President and the leadership team, for also Stated Meeting 154 2/24/2022 we can tackle this issue as well as the senseless gun violence that we're seeing taking place here in the City of Philadelphia right now. And we're even at a higher percentage to date than we are than last year when it comes to homicides, which means we may surpass 600 homicides this year. But I'm not going to claim it. I'm going to claim that we're going to continue to work aggressively to reduce the level of gun violence that we're seeing here in the City of Philadelphia. m. at the Christian Street YMCA, OTIS, which is the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability, will be unveiling the Washington Avenue plan. Now, I know a lot of you have probably received e-mails regarding the design of Washington Avenue, and I want Stated Meeting 155 2/24/2022 Squilla for also working in partnership with myself and OTIS to come up with a plan that reflects all of the residents that reside not only in the Second Councilmanic District, in the First Councilmanic District. And I'm going to say that again, all of the residents. This has been a very, very contentious process. Some of the so-called progressive individuals who believe that this design should be one way, this counts the long-term residents, who also have a perspective. And so this process regarding redesigning Washington Avenue started during the pandemic. A lot of the survey and data collection we're taking online during the pandemic, and then when the last final process was unveiled, you had some long-term residents and some RCOs and community leaders to say, hey, wait a minute, you know, there is a digital divide. A lot of us weren't able to Stated Meeting 156 2/24/2022 we were shut down because of COVID, and we want to have a say. So I applaud OTIS for saying, well, wait a minute, let us do a working group in neighborhoods such as Point Breeze and Grays Ferry to listen to the long-term residents and to get their perspective about the redesign of Washington Avenue, and OTIS actually did that, and they made the decision to scrap the three-lane plan. I'm going to say that again. OTIS made the decision, not Councilman Squilla, not Councilman Johnson, OTIS made the decision to scrap the three-lane plan in the name of equity, listening to all of the constituents. m. at Christian Street YMCA. But this has been a very eye-opening experience.
I've heard from sources comments being said that we're Stated Meeting 157 2/24/2022 leftovers, "leftovers" meaning those individuals who are long-term residents, not new residents, which is totally despicable when you hear comments made such as that. When you talk about Black lives matter, well, at the end of the day, when you talk about the issue of equity, that should apply to everyone, not just because you want something to be the way you want it to be. m. I just wanted to put that out there for the record, because I've seen several different articles padding Mark Squilla and myself as like the bad guys, trying to not make Washington Avenue safe. I lived in Point Breeze all my life. I still live in Point Breeze. Now I'm raising my family, right? And so if anybody who is going to make sure that everyone is safe, it's definitely going Stated Meeting 158 2/24/2022 myself, similar Mark Squilla, always living in South Philadelphia. So we didn't just arrive on the set and say, wait a minute, we don't want Washington Avenue to be safe. We want to make sure that the process is inclusive and diverse for everyone. My last announcement, Council President, is that on next Wednesday, March the 2nd, I will be hosting with the Special Committee on Gun Violence, we will be hosting a hearing on youth mental health trauma and gun violence. We talked about addressing this issue from a public health standpoint. The Surgeon General recently released a report talking about the increase in depression and mental health issues amongst young people. And so this Special Committee on Gun Violence will do a deep dive and take a look at the mental and behavioral health issues that have an impact on our young people and the correlation with gun violence. Stated Meeting 159 2/24/2022 address the issue of trauma and support amongst our young people, and that event is going to take -- that's going to be on Wednesday. Let me make sure I have the time correct. Special Committee on Gun Violence, for individuals who may want to testify, let me get you the exact time, and that's it, Council President. m. Yes. m. Thank you very much, Council President. Keep up the good work, my colleagues.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you for that very informative and important conversation. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Gauthier.
Thank you, Council President. I also wanted to chime in on Stated Meeting 160 2/24/2022 facilities and School District-owned facilities. I want to first thank Councilmember Thomas for bringing the Paul Robeson issue to the floor and expressing support. I also want to express my support for Principal Gordon and the school community over there. I had the opportunity to sit in on a town hall meeting late last year where there were a large amount of parents and Principal Gordon was one, of course, and they were talking about this facility issue and how long the school has waited for these repairs, and they were also sort of expressing that parents and students have really dug in with Principal Gordon to make Paul Robeson High a supportive and wonderful community for the students. They've achieved many honors over the past several years, and so they feel like they've done the work and the District hasn't met them with appropriate investment in their Stated Meeting 161 2/24/2022 success and that the lack of investment also doesn't appreciate how hard everyone has been working. So I just thought, you know, that was -- it was really poignant to hear them speak about it from that perspective. And I also want to say that my impression was that although the school community really wants the repairs to happen and to happen ASAP, they were, you know, really in the near term asking for clarity, at least a schedule, when can we expect these repairs to happen, and that is not -- that's more than reasonable. And so after that meeting, you know, I talked with folks at the District and expressed my support and just want to advocate for that publicly as well. And I also want to say that the District's approach to the issue at Robeson High and many of our schools and facilities also reminds me about the Stated Meeting 162 2/24/2022 pool. The District owns an Olympic-sized pool at the Sayre Recreation Center that has been out of commission for five years, leaving Cobbs Creek youth with less access to resources and recreation and also leaving Parks and Recreation without a place to train lifeguards, which has impacted our ability to open pools. The community has fought for that -- the reopening of that facility for five years. We were given an assessment that it would take $3 million to renovate that pool and get it back in working order. State Representative Joanna McClinton and myself said that we would put up a million dollars to get that pool renovated. Dr. Hite turned that offer down, said that he would put the whole entire amount of the $3 million amount in front of the Board. The next thing we know, a $10 million recommendation is put in front of the Board, with no information to the Stated Meeting 163 2/24/2022 increase and no information to the Board, and it was voted down. And so I just want to express an extreme level of frustration with the District's approach to its investment in facilities. We're being asked to wait until there is a plan. This is a dynamic city with a number of needs we have to do while we plan. And I also think that it is inequitable that the ones that have to wait for the plan are always Black and Brown children and Black and Brown communities. We're tired of waiting. And so I just wanted to add my voice to this conversation and to say this has to -- we have to take a different approach to this. Our community members and our kids deserve nothing less than that.
Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Domb. Stated Meeting 164 2/24/2022
Thank you, Council President. There have been some comments made recently that I'd like to comment on, because I think or I hope they weren't meant the way they were delivered. First, I want to mention this pandemic has taken its toll on everyone, our families, our friends, our neighbors, all Philadelphians, even all of us here today, and our businesses and our workers also took their hits. As the data has proven and as stories have been told, restaurants, hotels, and the entire hospitality industry, including our tourism industry, was decimated, crushed, more so than any other sector in our economy, and they're still lagging in their ability to recover. January and February were devastating months for hospitality. So I'd like to thank the restaurants for doing everything they Stated Meeting 165 2/24/2022 doors open and safely serve us all, but mostly for surviving through the pandemic. Thank you for every City-mandated sign you hung in the window, for every temperature you took. You know when you used to have to take temperatures before we walked in a restaurant. For every vaccination card you checked, for every sponsored vaccination clinic you ran, and for every time you asked a customer to put their mask on as they left the table, hoping not to hear the wrath of their opinion on this topic. It's been very difficult for everyone but especially those in the restaurant business, to say the least. I'd also like to thank the restaurants for fighting to keep Philadelphians, our residents, employed at a time when carrying a payroll was and has never been more difficult. So thank you to the restaurants and their workers Stated Meeting 166 2/24/2022 through each and every shift and safely served all of us while they were wearing a mask for eight hours and ten hours and 12 hours straight. This industry has shown us what resilience looks like, and I thank them for their creativity and advocacy these past two years. Our restaurants were the only thing that helped bring us together during COVID in a safe manner. Thank you, and thank you for keeping that fund going when we needed it the most. I also want to comment, Council President, and talk openly about the safety in our city. I believe it's our job as elected leaders to reduce the anxiety that comes with where we are in this moment, and we need to let people know what's being done to keep them safe. With Group Violence Intervention, GVI, I know Councilmembers Jones and Johnson have been spearheading our gun safety and Stated Meeting 167 2/24/2022 programs, doing a great job. We have support services working diligently to offer alternatives to those who want a new way forward, and we want to avoid them being in our systems. We have multiple layers of law enforcement, federal, state, and local entities, talking with one another regularly to course correct, share intelligence, and support one another. I personally am appreciative of the arrests made this week to remove a dangerous person from our community. This was someone who led a carjacking ring and murdered two people in our city and someone who may lead us to several others committing acts of violence in our streets. This arrest was made possible because the very people we need to come together are doing just that. We are not perfect, but we are taking back control of the City by working together. I encourage everyone to get to know the support service Stated Meeting 168 2/24/2022 officers in their neighborhoods. Let them know what you need, let them know what you know, and let them know what you see. And I ask every single public employee working on behalf of our city to rise to this moment and outwardly appreciate each and every person who lives or works in this great city. We are a community when we see one another.
We're a community when we acknowledge one another, and when we extend a hand to one another, we're really a community. We are stronger if we do this together. So I ask that our leaders all remember how closely people are listening to what we say and how it impacts what people do and say to one another. And on that note, I think we're all pleased to see the arrest made this week that makes Philadelphia a safer city for all of us. Thank you, Council President. Stated Meeting 169 2/24/2022
Thank you. Thank you, Councilman. We definitely need to work together. Councilman Jones and then I think Councilman Johnson wanted to come back with a point of information. The Chair recognizes Councilman Jones.
Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Member Thomas for being my Jiminy Cricket social conscience, reminding me about the issues that our students face in the facilities they go to trying to seek an education. Overbrook High School, we did a video and we're going to repost it. We did a walking tour through there, and on the abandoned fourth and fifth floor, it looked like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie, post-collapse of society. There were desks strewn everywhere where there used to be a thriving music program, and it just talked about the disinvestment Stated Meeting 170 2/24/2022 others face. If you went down the basement where there was a championship basketball team, where Wilt Chamberlain played, the lockers and locker room were places where you wouldn't want to lay down a towel, more or less get dressed for a game. So thank you, Member Thomas, for reminding us of that. What I speak to today is the Interfaith Movement for Change done by Minister Robinson, had us out in front of the School District headquarters. Why is that important? Because he wants to restore a curriculum in our public schools that talks about business, that talks about entrepreneurism, and one of the things that I remember is that there are some people that are trained, educated in our schools to work for wages. The other people that are trained and educated to work for profit. When you're working for wages, that's wonderful, but you can't leave Stated Meeting 171 2/24/2022 son or daughter. What you can do as an entrepreneur is leave your assets, your business, to your children. And when I think about what Member Domb said about the carjacking, the more we help young people swim their way out of poverty, run their way out of poverty through track and field, non-traditional sports such as lacrosse, play their way out of inner city conditions, the less carjacking there will be. So what Member Thomas brought up and what Member Gauthier talked about with Sayre swimming pool is a direct correlation to outcomes for our young people. If we wait and we say, all right, next capital budget, the one after that or the following one in the Five Year Plan, those are generations of young people that miss the opportunity to see a college campus, to become Olympians. Stated Meeting 172 2/24/2022 is an urgency of time to fix these things. The school-to-prison pipeline is a real thing, and the more opportunities through sports, through education that we provide those young people, we divert them from that prison population. The difference between standing on the podium of the Olympics and standing up as the defendant please rise in the courtroom are these decisions we make about capital improvements to our schools. So thank you, Member Thomas. Thank you, Member Gauthier. Thank you, Member Domb for being my Jiminy Cricket and reminding me why this budget process that we're about to embark upon is so important. Thank you, Mr. President.
Thank you, Councilman. Thank you so much. Stated Meeting 173 2/24/2022 Johnson, did you need to make another point?
Yeah. Just one point, Council President. The hearing on youth mental health trauma and gun violence is going to be Tuesday -- I'm sorry; Wednesday, March the 2nd, but it's going to be at 1:00 p.m. Earlier I said 10:00 a.m. It's going to actually be 1:00 p.m. And then also I just want to just wrap up the conversation regarding the conditions of the facilities and providing opportunities for our young people to go in school -- to go to school in high-quality environments. Just remind all of our colleagues that we're going through a search process right now for the next Superintendent here in the City of Philadelphia, and even if we are allocating a budget to the School District, it's their responsibility to prioritize the upkeep and maintenance of these buildings. Stated Meeting 174 2/24/2022 wanted to put that out there. Hopefully we're actively paying attention to who that next Superintendent will be. And also during the next process, I know we have a lot of aspiring mayoral candidates to pay attention to individuals who will be appointed on that School Board, because, again, if we're appropriating the budget, if nothing is being done with that budget, then all the work we're doing is for naught from an enforcement standpoint. Just wanted to put that out there, Council President. And have a blessed day, everyone.
Thank you, Councilman. I wasn't aware there were people interested in running for Mayor. With that, I'm going to recognize -- I'm sorry. I digress. With that, I'm going to Stated Meeting 175 2/24/2022 a motion to adjourn.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. (Duly seconded.)
Thank you. It's been moved and seconded that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, March 3rd, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. All those in favor indicate by saying aye. (Aye.)
The ayes have it. The motion carries. Thank you all very much and, again, please be safe out there. Thank you all. God bless you. ) Stated Meeting 177 2/24/2022 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, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. MICHELE L.