Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. The next bill being called for consideration is Bill No. 990728.
An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to convey to the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Philadelphia certain premises located at 1823 through 1835 Callowhill Street, and authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to enter into or to execute such other instruments as may be necessary or desirable to effectuate the provisions of this ordinance, all under certain SECOND READING - BILL 990728 terms and conditions.
This bill having been read two different days, the question now is, shall the bill pass finally? The clerk will call the roll.
Aye. The ayes are 14, the nays are 0. A majority of all members of Council having voted in the affirmative, the bill passes. INTRODUCTION OF TWO MORE BILLS
Special order of business. The Chair recognizes Councilman Clarke.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, I ask for a special order of business.
I'd like to introduce two bills to be referred to committee.
The clerk will please read the titles of the bills.
An ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to enter into a purchase and sales agreement with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Corporation ("Museum of Art") under which the City will acquire the ground and building commonly referred to the Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company Building, located at the intersection of 25th Street, Fairmount Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
And an ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property to SPEECHES enter into a purchase and sale agreement with the Philadelphia Museum of Art Corporation ("Museum of Art") under which the City will acquire the ground and building commonly referred to as the Reliant Standard Life Insurance Company Building, located at the intersection of 25th Street and Fairmount Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue.
The bill will be referred to the appropriate committee.
Are there any speeches on the part of Minority? (No speeches on the part of the Minority.)
Are there any speeches on the part of the Majority? The Chair recognizes Councilman Nutter.
Thank you, Madam President. Madam President, a tremendous amount has happened over the past week outside, primarily, of this chamber. We were last here on Wednesday, and then Thursday was the holiday. I saw a news account that seemed to indicate and SPEECHES attempted to place blame for one part of the stadium dilemma on one of our colleagues, Councilman Clarke, who the news account seemed to indicate that he, and he alone, was responsible for the dislocation, if you will, of a particular stadium site in Center City or close to Center City. It was amazing in that report that the Councilman would be portrayed in such a light, given the fact that he has held a number of public hearings that I've read about in the newspaper, has, in every public statement that I've read indicated, a willingness to work with that particular team on that particular issue; and then somehow, some way, all by himself, he was able to thwart their efforts. There was no report of what the particular proposal was, what it would have meant at that location, what the dollar figures were, and the like -- just minor little issues that a member of City Council, who has to vote on the measure, might have some interest in. And that was that particular portrayal last Thursday. During the first few days of this week, all we've heard is about your response from South SPEECHES Philadelphia with regard to the now-jettisoned project from Center City, and now there might be two stadiums in South Philadelphia. And then somehow, some way, Madam President, you have been portrayed a somewhat cooperative, and that the body has been non-responsive to the teams and their efforts to have stadiums. Now, the facts of the matter, as I recall them, are that members of the body individually have been asking for the detailed information to try to put something together in a responsible fashion. The body passed a resolution to try to indicate in a more public fashion, in a collective fashion, what our interests were and what our support may be. I believe the wording went somebody like, "We generally support the concept of a new stadium," and I think every Member supported that particular resolution. You, as both Council President and as a District Councilperson, have to be responsible to your constituents. And so, I guess I don't particularly understand, whether in the case of Councilman Clarke or in the case of Council President Verna, that our actions, or inaction at SPEECHES a moment, in response to our constituents, who elect us either in our districts or for the at-large members throughout the City, that somehow, we are being uncooperative in this particular matter as we seek information, and remind the public that of all the people who have all the discussions that they want to have, wherever they want to have them, we're the only body that has to conduct our business in public and vote on it. We're the only ones that do that. And so, whatever the discussions have been and whatever they will continue to be -- and I think in the past couple days, many Members signed a letter to both of the teams continuing to indicate our interest in this particular idea and in this particular proposal -- it seems to me that the weapons need to be reholstered, the fingers need to get back on the pencils, and put a plan forward to this body in a way that we can read it, understand it, analyze it, think about it for ourselves, and rind people that just because you talk to one group, it doesn't mean that either by osmosis or ESP, it transfers into the other groups' minds. We have a right and responsibility SPEECHES to read and understand these ideas and these issues and proposals for ourselves. And while people talk about creating and building these great palaces of play, there are other competing issues in this city, and maybe someone would want to talk about rebuilding and creating new edifices of education.
The School District produced a report some three years ago that indicated that the School District's buildings -- 253 at the time -- needed infrastructure work to the tune of 760-some-odd million dollars to bring those buildings up to code for the children of this city so that they could get a decent education. And so all of the time and effort and brain power that went into crafting a proposal, whether that one flies or not, to create stadiums, which we general agree we should have. Veterans Stadium is worn out, it is 30-some-odd years old, but 81 percent of our school buildings are 30 years old or more. We have some that are in the 50, 70, 80, close to 100-year-old range. And so why don't we have a collective discussion, not only about the palaces of play, SPEECHES but also about the edifices of education, and figure out a larger financing plan that allows us to have not only that activity, and if it's to be in South Philadelphia and if it can pass muster with the constituents in that section of the City, then let's have that discussion. But then let's also talk about larger infrastructure concerns and issues because at the rate we're going, the children of this city will be lucky if they're able to sell a peanut, a hot dog, cotton candy or a beer at any of these stadiums, based on the direction that public education is going in this city. So we have some time. I am certainly committed, other Members have expressed public commitment, private commitment, and any other commitment that anyone would like to have, that we can work with the teams for a deal that makes sense to this body, to our constituents, and protects the interests of the citizens of this city. Those are the important issues here. And so all of this bravado about, Well, we're going to move and we're going to take our facilities somewhere else and we're going to cut SPEECHES the tax revenues that you might get, I don't think is particularly helpful, I don't think is particularly conductive to getting something done. I was born and raised in West Philadelphia. I don't threaten easily. If people want to work and talk about something, that's fine. But I don't think it helps the discussion along that the next step is to stop work and we're going to move somewhere, we're going to take tax money away from you, and maybe one day, we'd still like to have a discussion about stadiums. They need to cut it out and get back to work. We have time to work on the stadium proposal, but it has to be done in a certain fashion that works with the rules and the decorum and process that goes on in this City Council. Thank you very much, Madam President.
Thank you, Councilman. The Chair recognizes Councilman Ortiz.
Madam Chair, I concur with the statements of my colleague Michael Nutter. What people seem to forget is that we SPEECHES have a responsibility to be responsible, to be able to analyze and see what the impact is on all of the citizens of Philadelphia. We have probably the biggest public works projects in the history of this city on the table. For the last six months, this Council has asked for information, for data, and for public hearings on that so that not only in Council gets educated but that the City's citizens, the taxpayers, who are, in the long run, going to have to foot the bill, for whatever palace, sports palace we build, get educated and are able to express their opinion as to whether and how we should go forward. It isn't just the citizens of Spring Garden who are affected, it isn't just the citizens of South Philadelphia who are affected; it is the whole of the citizens of the County of Philadelphia who are affected. It doesn't help anyone, as Councilman Nutter just said, to begin the discussions with threats about moving and taking away tax revenues from the City. That doesn't help the solution to the problem. We will take on this matter in a SPEECHES judicious way, in a responsible way, and in a way in which the citizens of Philadelphia, all of the citizens of Philadelphia, can have a say as to how we should go, how we should proceed, and where our decisions should take us. So let us, everyone, as Councilman Nutter said, put everything back in the holster. Let us sit down and talk, negotiate, and let us also inform and educate our people, the people that are we are responsible to, the citizens of this City.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilwoman Clark.
Madam President, to my mind, the stadium deal suffered from a lack of time to consummate a glorious, very, very large idea. We needed to work out the details, including financing, location, traffic flow, and proximity to residential areas. I won't be here when this gets worked out, but all the rest of you will. These problems should get solved. And I think they should have reasonable proposed prior to any agreement being SPEECHES made. Threats are counterproductive; only joint planning works. Now we have an opportunity to sit down and to define the problem, and then to apply reasonable techniques to the solution so that there's a win/win situation. Threats have a winner and a loser; win/win has everybody winning. Thank you.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Madam President, I agree in general with my colleagues, but I don't understand all the solemnity. I think we've just lived through some of our finest hours in City Council, and we showed we were a legislative body, that we intended to do our work seriously, that we weren't going to be pressured by people of power or people of money, and we were going to deal with the issue properly. I want to applaud Council President Verna in particularly because she's felt that kind of heat and the pressure, and I think she has responded magnificently. She made it clear, she served notice in advance. Months ago, she SPEECHES notified Mayor Rendell that unless you give us some information, we're not going to be able to act, and tat we're going to insist on a proper amount of time to act. She served notice at least three or four times that I know, and I suspect she served it many more times. And then when the time came, she said, No more, we can't do it. We're going to do it in a responsible way. I think Council acted admirably, and I think we're all to be commended. And I think Council President Verna deserves special commendation for the fine way in which she's led this body during this period of time. I think it's not a period of solemnity; I think it's a period of celebration. We're doing what we're supposed to do. We're going to conduct the Council legislative business in the proper fashion. And I wanted especially to commend you. I think you've given the people of Philadelphia renewed hope that just because you're of great wealth and of great power and of great influence, you're not going to have your own way. You're going to be treated in the same way that SPEECHES all other citizens are. And for that I commend you. Thank you, Councilwoman.
Thank you, Madam President. I just have very few words. I want to commend you and Councilman Clarke for your leadership in this matter by listening to the constituents, which you represent, as well as all of the citizens of Philadelphia. But I just would like to remind us all to remember December 1998, when we were all rushed over here from the Convention Center, when the National League of Cities was here, and we were told to vote on the Kvaerner issue and we would tell you later what's in the details. And Councilwoman Clark said "trust me" is like when a young boy is telling a girl to trust us. So we're not going that way anymore, SPEECHES and I think you've sent a clear message that we have to be given time to deliberate on a serious matter like this. Thank you very much.
Thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Kenney.
Thank you, Madam President. While I concur with all of the sentiments that have been expressed by Councilmembers Nutter and Clark and Cohen and Tasco, the one issue that I would raise, which I think is very important, is what the Mayor said the other evening in South Philadelphia at that meeting with the neighbor surrounding Veterans Stadium. And let me be the first to say -- and I think Councilmembers DiCicco and Verna both understand the problems and issues that affect the community residents that have been living in the shadow of Veterans Stadium for the past 30 years, both in VSN, which is the Veteran Stadium Neighbors, and Packer Park, and in the Britton Estates development, and even as far north now as SPEECHES Oregon Avenue and Marconi Plaza. Living with a stadium is an inconvenience, a severe inconvenience in many, many ways. The noise, the traffic, the unruly fans. And even when the Police Department and the City do the right things by the neighbors by setting up cordoned-off areas and special parking privileges, in many ways, even when there's not a problem, you're still a prisoner in your own home, where you can't invite people to your house for a christening or for a barbecue. You have to kind of register your life around the Phillies and Eagles schedules, along the Flyers schedules and Sixers schedules. And all of that being understood, and all of the concerns of the people in Spring Garden expressed by not wanting to go through that kind of life experience, I think, can be balanced if we work in a positive way to do these deals. I believe, despite all of the other concerns and issues relative to the City that Councilman Nutter expressed about our schools and about some of the other infrastructures needs of our city, I think in order for us to maintain a world-class status SPEECHES as a city, in order for us to continue to move our city forward in a way that's attractive not only for the region but to people in our neighborhoods and our region and nationally and internationally, we need to move forward. It is sad that professional ball players in this country make the amount of money that they make when compared to teachers and nurses and social workers and other things. But this is America, and sadly, that is the way it is. But let us not discount the financial benefits and revenue benefit that professional sports teams bring to our city. I've said this on the floor once before, that Allen Iverson, I think, is making probably one of the largest professional sports contracts in the history of the world -- even more than Michael Jordan and others. But the amounts of wage-tax revenue that Allen Iverson bring to that table during the course of that contract is not something that we can easily dismiss. There were some people in that room the other night in South Philadelphia who raised their SPEECHES hands and simply said, Let them move to Jersey, let them go somewhere else, take them all out of town, we don't care. I think that's an extremely short-sighted position. The people in that room who said to us, We've been suffering for 25 to 30 years, give us some relief. If you're going to put it in South Philadelphia, give us some opportunities to have institutionalized relief for a stadium, an Eagles stadium that perhaps may wind up in that neighborhood at some point in time. But the caveat and the caution that I bring to this room today is that January 3rd, we're sworn in; January 4th, we need to be dealing with this issue. We need to deal with Mayor-elect Street, who will then be the Mayor of this city, and we will have two new members of this Council. We cannot put this issue off into the spring, into the summer, and into the fall of 2000.
I think we have to move diligently, forcefully, and together into solving the problems relating to the neighborhoods around where the eventual sites of the stadium will be, copiously looking through the financial issues that are being raised as to what taxpayers payer are going SPEECHES to pay, and try to get the best deal for taxpayers. But I think in the end, we need to build these facilities to maintain our world-class status, to maintain our teams, and more importantly, to maintain the revenues that flow from these events. And I think that all of those issues can be balanced if we move in a very expeditious fashion. One thing I'd like to just mention in the way of caution: the longer we delay, the longer we delay in addressing the neighborhood concerns and the financial packages and the construction of the stadium, the higher the cost ultimately is going be. I don't know at any point in time when the interest rates in this country are going to be as good as they are now. And we take the chance of increasing the cost to the tax payer for every six, eight months or year we wait. So I'm not saying we should rush into this quickly, I'm not saying we should do it irresponsibly. We should follow the guidelines set down by all the members of this Council today and by what we know is our responsibility, but we ADJOURNMENT need to move forward as quickly and as responsibly as possible. Thank you.
Thank you. Are there any other speeches in no further speeches? (No response.)
Seeing none, the Chair recognizes Councilwoman Clark.
Madam President, I move that this Council be adjourned until December 2, 1999. (Duly seconded.)
It has been moved and second that Council stand adjourned until Thursday, December 2, 1999. All in favor will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it and Council stands adjourn until Thursday, December 2, 1999. (Adjourned at 11:52 a.m.) C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing proceedings of the Council of the City of Philadelphia of Thursday, November 18, 1999, were reported fully and accurately by me, and that this is a correct transcript of same. RE: STATED MEETING __________________________________, JOSEPHINE CARDILLO, Registered Professional Reporter