[4:04] Good evening, it is now 6:00.

[4:06] I call this a special meeting of the pittsburgh city council to order.

[4:10] madam city clerk, will you please call the role?

[4:14] >> councilmember craft?

[4:16] >> present.

[4:17] >> councilmember killings?

[4:18] >> present. >> councilmember banales?

[4:20] >> present.

[4:21] >> vice-mayor scales-preston?

[4:24] >> present.

[4:25] >> mayor white?

[4:27] >> present.

[4:31] >> would you please introduce the first item?

[4:33] >> yes, and good evening. Good evening, mr. Maher and members of the city

[4:36] council. Tonight's appeal is regarding the planning commission's decision

[4:38] to deny a use permit design and review for upgrade,

[4:44] remodel, and improvements to an existing gas station and construct

[4:46] a 1600 square foot commercial convenience store at 1005 railroad avenue.

[4:51] john thunderbird, assistant director of planning, is here with a presentation.

[4:56] john?

[5:04] >> good evening, mayor white, vice-mayor scales-preston,

[5:08] and city council members. City manager, city attorney, and stakeholders

[5:12] in the public, assistant director of planning.

[5:16] this is a staff presentation on the appeal of the planning commission's

[5:20] determination for the remodel and upgrade project for the existing

[5:24] valero convenience store.

[5:27] before I begin with my presentation, I would like to

[5:32] outline the format of the appeal hearing

[5:34] to ensure the public and anyone wishing to speak in favor or against

[5:37] the project understands the procedures after staff's presentations. First,

[5:41] the mayor will open a public hearing.

[5:48] hear a presentation from the appellant, hear from members of the public,

[5:51] here rebuttal, or concluding response from the appellant.

[5:57] close the public hearing, and ask questions, if necessary, deliberate

[6:01] and act on the appeal.

[6:05] also as a quick note of mention for the council, staff has received

[6:08] numerous letters and emails in regards to supporting an opposition to this

[6:10] project. Both from the original meeting, and when the notice went

[6:12] out for the appeal hearing tonight.

[6:14] these letters and emails have been provided to you, and are available

[6:19] to the public, as well.

[6:26] by way of project background, I would like to provide the council

[6:29] with an outline of how we arrived here tonight. And then, they will

[6:32] present the project. The project outline came out on june 15th, 2021,

[6:37] for planning application, requesting a use permit and

[6:43] removal.

[6:47] on june 14, 2022, the planning commission voted 3-2 to adopt a

[6:50] resolution denying the use permit and design review approval. On june

[6:52] 23rd, 2022, the applicant filed an appeal

[6:59] on the planning commission's denial of the use permit and design review

[7:02] approval. On november 10th, 2022, and pursuant to pmc 18.18.060,

[7:05] public notice was provided for tonight appeal hearing.

[7:11] project location -- the project is located at 1005

[7:15] river avenue in the downtown commercial zoning district,

[7:20] and is located in the southeast corner of railroad

[7:23] avenue and east 10th street. The site is surrounded by residential

[7:26] and commercial uses, and surrounding uses include the market to the east,

[7:30] the city of pittsburgh housing authority, pittsburgh chamber of commerce and

[7:33] gateway apartments to the north, the old riverside high school to

[7:37] the west, and vacant land to the south.

[7:43] this is a current photo of the site, and

[7:45] the existing valero pumps, and 300 square-foot kiosk. The applicant

[7:51] tonight is requesting approval of the use

[7:59] permit and design review again to remodel and upgrade the existing

[8:00] convenience store. A convenience store falls under the use classification

[8:03] of grocery and is defined in pittsburgh code as a convenient store that

[8:08] sells general merchandise incidents the

[8:13] food and beverages. The proposed hours of operation, if approved,

[8:16] would be from 5:00 a.m. To 11:59 p.m. With an estimated six employees.

[8:23] safety measures -- as discussed in the planning commission staff

[8:25] report, the applicant met with the staff and the chief of police and

[8:28] will be providing additional safety measures to the site,

[8:34] including no outdoor storage of materials. So, there is a clear

[8:37] view of the site outside at all times. Maintaining a surveillance

[8:40] camera system that will operate 24 hours a day and will provide

[8:43] pittsburgh police department access to video surveillance, if needed.

[8:47] posting signage prohibiting loitering and the consumption of

[8:51] alcoholic beverages on site, installing high tape

[8:58] next to the exit, and also will provide public safety measures,

[9:00] if needed, and if determined by the chief of police. Also, as additional

[9:03] safety measures, the applicant will provide for, again,

[9:11] responsible sale of alcohol including limiting alcohol sales to the hours

[9:14] between 9:00 a.m. And 10:00 p.m., and outside of these hours, the

[9:17] cold boxes where alcohol is stored will be locked. The applicant would

[9:20] install buzzers on the doors of the alcohol cold boxes, so that

[9:23] someone the clerks would know when somebody removes

[9:28] an alcohol container, multiply her, or beer.

[9:37] in limiting the shelving space to no more than 25 linear feet in

[9:40] the store. Although these are safety measures proposed by the applicant,

[9:42] they have also been made into the conditions of approval for this

[9:47] project.

[9:53] abc. Regarding alcohol sales at this site, staff has been

[9:55] in communication with the licensed representation department of abc,

[9:57] alcoholic beverage control, and received information that the premises

[10:02] is located on census tract number 3100. In this census tract, three

[10:05] off sale licenses are allowed. There is currently only one active license,

[10:09] and it is for la raza market.

[10:15] abc would review this proposal for alcohol sales at the

[10:18] site, and would have ultimate say on issuing the license, or not.

[10:22] additionally, on may 19th, of this year, city staff wrought this item

[10:26] to the two by two meeting of the school board of

[10:33] the pittsburg unified school district to request feedback and comments

[10:36] on the item. The school board did not raise any concerns over the

[10:40] proposed project.

[10:43] as discussed so far, this has been in relation to the

[10:46] use on the site. Now, we are looking into the physical changes proposed

[10:48] to the site, with the desire to review the application. As shown

[10:51] on this side, the project consists of demolishing the current kiosk

[10:53] building, reducing the length of the existing fuel

[10:57] island canopy from approximately 2000 square feet to 1400 square

[11:01] feet, removing two fuel pump dispensers, and expanding the convenience

[11:06] store, with 200 foot trash enclosures, along

[11:11] with parking lot improvements, including a secure bicycle locker,

[11:14] and capacity for two standard bicycles.

[11:20] landscape upgrade projects to the site include

[11:25] upgrading climbing vines on the western side of the city, as shown

[11:29] on this slide. A new landscape strip along the western

[11:35] property boundary line, and along the southern property line,

[11:41] this would include new landscaping, and also to maintain the existing

[11:46] landscaping. Property development regulations. The proposed

[11:52] project is subject to the cities adopted development review design

[11:56] guidelines.

[11:58] as shown on this slide, the proposed project is consistent with the applicable

[12:00] design guidelines sections, additionally, the proposed project meets or exceeds

[12:05] the csd district zoning.

[12:08] property zoning regulations, which includes

[12:11] high floor to air ratio, lot coverage,

[12:15] lock setbacks, landscape coverage, and parking for both cars and bicycles.

[12:25] as shown on this slide, staff believes the proposed project would improve

[12:27] the neighborhood by developing the lot with the well-designed building,

[12:29] updated parking lot and landscaping, the building's design materials

[12:33] earth tone colors would be compatible with the other commercial

[12:35] buildings in the area, including la raza market located just east

[12:40] of the project site.

[12:42] findings -- staff believes that the council can make the required

[12:47] findings to grant the use permit and

[12:53] have approval for the remodel and upgrade of the

[12:55] valero gas station which will allow for the construction of a new and

[12:58] improved commercial building and related site improvements. And

[13:04] for the approval for alcohol sales,

[13:06] and along with the other recommended conditions, including an attached

[13:08] resolution, the existing use would continue to provide a commercial

[13:12] business within a city, at a currently underutilized site.

[13:15] despite the planning commission's decision

[13:17] not to approve the application, staff also believes that all the

[13:22] use permit findings, design review findings, and plant

[13:25] policies can be made in the affirmative for consistency of the project is

[13:28] conditionally approving use in the csd zone, has been categorically

[13:30] exempt from sequence. Also, the project forums with good taste and

[13:33] design, as the exterior appearance is

[13:37] of high quality, and the project will be in harmony with the surrounding

[13:42] uses. Recommendation -- as such, staff recommends that

[13:49] the city council moved to adopt the resolution, upholding an appeal

[13:52] by the applicant, and approved planning application number ap-21-1572,

[13:58] subject to conditions.

[14:01] thank you mayor, vice mayor, and councilmembers.

[14:03] also, with the conclusion of this presentation, I, again, would like

[14:06] to outline the procedures to allow for tonight's appeal hearing to

[14:11] proceed. Again, staff present it,

[14:15] in the staff presentation. The mayor will open a public hearing.

[14:23] we will hear a presentation from the appellate,

[14:25] hear from members of the public, here rebuttal or concluding response

[14:29] from the appellant, close the public hearing, and ask

[14:32] questions, if necessary, the deliberate and act on the appeal. Additionally,

[14:38] I would like to mention as a quick mention, staff did receive a late

[14:40] request today from the adjacent neighbors owners attorney, for la

[14:44] raza market, asking for continuance of this item to a date not specific,

[14:48] but not to exceed four weeks. With that being said, I would like to

[14:51] now turn it over to the mayor to open up public hearing

[14:59] and also, staff is available for any additional questions. Thank

[15:00] you, mayor pete

[15:02] >> thank you, john. Do any of my colleagues have questions for staff

[15:04] at this time? All right. If there are no questions, I will know

[15:13] open the public hearing. I will call

[15:16] for the applicant. As steph indicated, per city council policies and procedures,

[15:18] the appellant will have five minutes to speak, and all members of the

[15:21] public wishing to speak will be limited to three minutes. Will the

[15:23] applicant please come forward? The public hearing is now open.

[15:28] >> good evening, see councilmembers.

[15:31] my name is diane kinderman.

[15:32] I am an attorney with the law firm of abbott and kinderman.

[15:38] we are located in sacramento, and I

[15:40] represent the appellant in this matter. We appreciate the few minutes

[15:43] that we have to speak on this appeal.

[15:44] before I say anything substantive, I want to mention that I just received

[15:52] 77 letters of support that I would like to present, should I provide

[15:55] them to you, mayor? Or, to the city clerk? A few of these are already

[15:58] in the record, but not all of them are.

[16:04] does that mean I am speaking too close to the mic?

[16:10] no? We are okay? Okay, good. All right. Good. Okay, before I get

[16:15] started, I want to let you know, our entire team is

[16:17] here. We had submitted a letter in support of the project that outlined

[16:20] significant legal technical design and other issues come

[16:25] and we have our architect here, we have our economists here

[16:31] and anyone who can answer questions within their

[16:33] purview, if you have any questions a little bit later on. So, everybody

[16:36] is here, if you would like to speak with them or ask any pertinent questions.

[16:49] as indicated, we did submit a letter on november 7th, and we submitted

[16:51] it a second time to city council.

[16:53] so, it should be in the record.

[16:54] hopefully, you have had an opportunity to review it. I'm going to mention

[16:57] just four key points from that letter today in my few minutes here. And

[17:00] they are kind of prisms through which typically city council members

[17:02] look at a project, and whether or not they should approve a project

[17:06] or uphold an appeal, perhaps.

[17:08] the four key points that I wanted to raise, many of these were mentioned

[17:13] by staff. Oh, and I want to make sure that I think staff.

[17:21] they were extremely helpful and patient, as

[17:23] we ask a lot of the questions, both through the application process

[17:27] and during this appeal. So, I wanted to make sure to acknowledge

[17:30] them and thank them, we appreciate their expertise and their patience

[17:34] with us. So first, as mr. Thunderberg indicated, the

[17:44] project is consistent with all of the planning documents. The general

[17:46] plan, the zoning, and any community plan related to the old town area.

[17:54] and I just wanted to mention that that is very important

[17:56] from a legal standpoint, that the project be consistent with those

[18:00] documents. The second prism that typically council members might

[18:02] look at a project, is economic.

[18:03] and that is very important here because we have many letters in

[18:05] which people are concerned about the economics. Not only of

[18:10] a neighbor, but of other businesses in the downtown area.

[18:16] in old town and in the community at large, if this small

[18:18] shop were to expand from its original size of 300 feet to 1600 feet,

[18:24] square feet.

[18:32] so, with that, we have retained economic planning systems, they

[18:34] are also referred to as eps, we have retained them to prepare an

[18:38] economic analysis and provide an opinion. And I had a quick summary

[18:40] here of their findings. And if we go to the next powerpoint? The key

[18:45] finding here -- and ms. Lapin is here to discuss

[18:52] this further -- is that the project will not result in a negative financial

[18:55] impact to any markets in the city, including the la raza market, as

[18:57] there is sufficient demand in the downtown area to sustain the proposed

[19:00] convenient market expansion. And in fact, if we look at

[19:06] the next powerpoint, the sub findings, there are going to

[19:10] be 2600 households in the downtown area. And what

[19:16] the finding was that, in fact, there are probably not going to

[19:18] be enough convenience markets to satisfy the demand.

[19:24] so, these sub findings are interesting on the amounts spent.

[19:29] if we go to the next page, it talks about household demand

[19:35] and spending, it will exceed the existing convenience stores downtown

[19:39] by over 10%.

[19:40] so, even with this little expansion, there is going to be

[19:46] -- there will not be sufficient convenience

[19:48] markets with all of the approved development that is anticipated

[19:52] in the city. So, once again, there will be no significant

[19:56] economic, or any economic impact to any market,

[20:03] including the neighboring market, the la raza market. And I know they

[20:05] were very concerned about that.

[20:08] so, that is why the applicant decided to retain someone with

[20:12] that expertise, to determine what was appropriate here. So, once again,

[20:16] that conclusion is that there will not be any significant, or any impact

[20:19] to the la raza market, or economic impact to the la raza market or

[20:23] other convenient markets, convenience markets in the downtown

[20:28] area of the community.

[20:31] the third point I just wanted to make, quickly, is just kind of the

[20:35] design prism, as mr. Thunderberg explained,

[20:46] there is going to be quite a bit of enhancement at that corner which

[20:48] is --

[20:49] >> please, wrap up.

[20:50] >> it is a defective gateway. Thank you. I appreciate your time. Are

[20:52] there any questions at this moment?

[20:54] be met we will ask questions at a later time. Thank you.

[20:57] >> thank you. I appreciate your time.

[21:02] >> madam city clerk, do we have any public comment?

[21:06] >> yes, terry brewer.

[21:10] >> good evening, councilmembers.

[21:15] what I would like to start off saying is that

[21:19] I represent la raza market, recently, I just came on board.

[21:27] today, I received voluminous documents regarding this meeting. Number one

[21:31] was as -- what was her name? Ms. Kinderman

[21:37] had explained is that there is a 48 page letter

[21:47] with exhibits that were attached to it. I am going

[21:49] to need extra time to rebut those attachments, because as she was

[21:53] talking about, these attachments are based on

[21:56] an analysis of the company that I would like to at least engage

[22:01] in an rebuttal analysis.

[22:04] so, if I could at least get a 3 to 4 week continuance

[22:10] so I could follow up and read the appropriate documentation and

[22:13] be prepared for an opposition?

[22:19] >> are you done with your public comment, ma'am?

[22:23] >> well, I -- you know, the things I wanted to

[22:28] point out are -- you know, the -- the eps, there

[22:34] is no information in here regarding

[22:37] how they came up with the independent analysis on how it is going to

[22:43] enhance the place.

[22:48] in fact, it is -- the biggest issue, really, is the fact that this is

[22:51] going to impede on the economic business impact for the la raza

[22:55] market.

[22:57] and the market has been there for 20 years, or more.

[23:02] we would like to at least see the, you know,

[23:07] I would at least like to get a continuance so I can better prepare for an opposition.

[23:09] >> thank you.

[23:11] >> thank you.

[23:14] >> madam city clerk?

[23:20] >> wolfgang cropsey?

[23:26] >> good evening, mayor, vice member, counsel. All right.

[23:32] cropsey, ceo of the chamber of commerce here in pittsburgh.

[23:38] it is not often that we get approached by two businesses that are seeking

[23:43] our help with the chamber in accomplishing

[23:45] their goals. In this particular case, there is an opportunity here

[23:48] to enhance customer experience.

[23:50] and that is something that has been talked about from our big

[23:55] box retailers all the way down to our small businesses. How can

[23:57] we extends the experience that our customers have in pittsburgh

[24:03] when they go to shop and spend money, and

[24:06] go out to eat? You have a gas station that is owned by a family-owned

[24:09] business that is trying to improve, and enhance the experience. Not

[24:11] only for the customers, but every single person that drives into old

[24:16] town pittsburgh.

[24:22] and to enhance one of the last corners of that intersection

[24:24] that could use some improvement, and also used the improvement of

[24:27] safety. You also have la raza market, another family-owned business that

[24:29] fears that this business is going to impede. And I would say that

[24:33] rising tide lifts all boats. That when a business improves its infrastructure,

[24:37] improves its systems, improves its experience, more people

[24:43] will come. That is more people that will stop there, that will probably

[24:46] spill over into la raza market.

[24:48] la raza market also has an asset that is going untapped. That is

[24:51] its market that is -- if you went to high school here, you probably

[24:54] have lunch there. That is an asset that valero does not have that

[25:01] I feel is untapped. So, it is very understandable that counsel and

[25:04] city members want to have compassion for a

[25:10] small business, and I totally understand that. Maybe there is

[25:12] an opportunity here for either agencies, or even the city, to look at doing

[25:15] underwriting of a pretty desirable loan, that maybe la raza market

[25:17] could benefit from to enhance its exterior. But also, to bring that

[25:23] restaurant cafe part online, and generate another revenue source

[25:27] for them.

[25:30] so, I feel that there is an opportunity

[25:33] here to enhance the experience of customers, and to enhance

[25:43] the experience that people have, coming to old town. But, there is

[25:46] also an opportunity here if we think creatively to help la raza market,

[25:49] to diversify the revenue stream, and provide something that valero

[25:53] can't provide.

[25:58] they are currently already serving snacks and drinks, just looking

[26:01] to expand that. And to ask a business to improve its facade, provide a

[26:03] safer experience, and to cooperate with pd, but not provide them the

[26:08] opportunity to generate revenue to offset those expenses, that

[26:17] is a tall order to fill. So, I think we could create a triple win here,

[26:20] but a win for the city, by having that intersection improved. A win

[26:23] for valero, allowing them to generate revenue to make their enhancements

[26:25] with solar, ev charging, et cetera.

[26:27] but also, look at a way that we could help la raza market take an

[26:29] untapped asset in their property, and turn that into a revenue stream,

[26:32] so they can enhance the business.

[26:34] because they are, you know, with the tobacco measures that the state

[26:36] has passed, they have been hit with that, as well. So, I think there

[26:39] is a way we can come together to create solutions, so that every

[26:42] single stakeholder in this is winning.

[26:44] but, I definitely would like to see a more beautiful intersection

[26:46] to the gateway of old town. Thank you.

[26:50] >> thank you.

[26:54] >> sean dooley?

[27:08] >> I thought I put on here that I wasn't going to speak, but I will

[27:11] say a few brief things. I just think it wouldn't be fair, considering

[27:16] the last things we have been through economically,

[27:18] to allow them to put a store right on, pretty much, the same sidewalk

[27:21] as them. I guess the attorney was saying, I don't know who came up

[27:24] with these analyses and stuff, I am not a professional in that area.

[27:29] but, it sounds like there might be a little bit of bias

[27:32] in there. Also, I think in the matter of -- they want to remove

[27:40] two fuel pumps from the premises.

[27:42] but, that is the only gas station we have down there and it already

[27:44] gets pretty wild during, you know, rush-hour and stuff. So, I

[27:49] don't know if anybody wanted to maybe bring some attention to that

[27:52] aspect of it, it might make a little bit of congestion and stuff down

[27:54] there. But, yeah. I just came to opposed simply because of the moral

[27:57] fact that they have been down there for a long time, and, I don't know.

[28:00] in my opinion, I think it would hurt their business. Especially

[28:02] because they are kind of offering almost the same kinds of products.

[28:05] like, what would they offer that is new?

[28:13] and you brought up the cafe -- I don't think anyone has even -- they

[28:15] are not getting any revenue from that. There was a different business

[28:18] there. I don't even think they operate out of there anymore. So, I don't

[28:21] know. I will just keep it brief, and that is just the reason I wanted

[28:24] to oppose it. Thank you.

[28:25] >> thank you.

[28:28] >> jimmy dorsey?

[28:38] >> good evening, all elected officials and everything like that.

[28:43] the la raza market has helped our church out a lot.

[28:49] they donate a lot of food, and both say, jimmy, we have

[29:00] something for you. So, I will take it down to my church and we feed

[29:02] the homeless on tuesdays and wednesdays.

[29:04] that is a big help to us, because that is money we don't have to take

[29:08] out of our church budget to do things.

[29:09] and I love helping the homeless, and well, I really love feeding

[29:13] people when I don't have to use my money, I like that better. And

[29:16] I know a lot of people that have helped me to do that, and

[29:21] I have been in pittsburgh at least 22 years. And before that,

[29:28] it was -- I don't like to say "ethnic" but it was a chinese

[29:32] lady and a chinese man that had a restaurant there. So, that restaurant

[29:36] has been in business in pittsburgh for a long time, and that has been

[29:41] a tax base for the city, which keeps

[29:48] the streets going, the lights paid, and things like that. The bottom

[29:50] line, you can't go anywhere without electricity or gas. And that is

[29:54] the bottom line. Me, myself, I am not no attorney, or anything like

[29:57] that. But, this lady that came up with

[30:02] the analysis of the neighborhood, I don't think she lives in this

[30:05] neighborhood. And I don't have a degree in that area. But, that story

[30:08] has helped the community a lot.

[30:10] and the people that owned it before, the way they sold it -- I'm trying

[30:14] to be nice, grab my tongue, I do not think the deal was right.

[30:20] I will put it that way.

[30:23] because my friend of them, paid double for that property when

[30:28] they have been leasing it at least 15 or 20 years.

[30:39] so that is like, you are renting a house and you tell the owner,

[30:42] I want to buy. And he says, I will agree to sell it to you. And then

[30:45] he turns around and sells it to someone else. That is not fair.

[30:48] so, I understand what is going on.

[30:49] we want to make pittsburgh look good. And y'all make pittsburgh

[30:51] look good. I'm not kidding. I'm not just saying that to say that.

[30:59] you go out, and come back to pittsburgh,

[31:02] look how different it is. Our friends come from brentwood and all that

[31:04] and they see the lights and stuff, and they say, how did your city

[31:07] get through this? That is all I have to say, thank you.

[31:09] >> thank you.

[31:12] >> carol dooley?

[31:18] >> I'm not going to read all this.

[31:21] so, good evening. I just want to say

[31:25] thank you for allowing me to speak tonight.

[31:32] I was trying to put my thoughts down on paper and I was really having

[31:35] a hard time, because as the stillman just mentioned, I could not get

[31:38] past the way the steel came to fruition.

[31:41] I think it is really -- I think it is

[31:45] something that should be discussed with you because I am not privy

[31:48] to all of the details. But, that really sits really hard with me.

[31:51] we are pushing all of these small businesses out.

[31:56] we are pushing them out of business, that have been there 20, 30, 40

[31:59] years. These guys are like the only store in town where you can walk

[32:02] in and say, I don't have any money, can I pay you tomorrow? Sure.

[32:08] not that I would do that. But, I have

[32:10] been extended that opportunity on many occasions. There is no other

[32:13] store that is going to do that.

[32:14] they watch out for our safety, they take care of our families, they

[32:17] are something that is not there anymore, that we have lost over

[32:20] the years. And I am not even going to bring up the stuff about the

[32:23] security, because it just gets shoved under the rug. I don't know why

[32:26] it is being worried about now. I have to kind of wonder about the

[32:28] school board, though. That school is directly across the street and

[32:31] we have had two shootings that in the last six or seven months. Where

[32:34] shots are fired, and they are flying all over the place. I have to wonder

[32:37] if they are only about the business and the funding it is going to bring

[32:40] to the city. My granddaughter attend that school. I want her to have

[32:42] to worry about getting shot. It is not so much the gas station's

[32:45] fault, but, it is the kind of clientele that hang around there. La raza

[32:49] market has been working for years to clean it up, and they have their

[32:52] side okay. I am sure these are nice people, really nice people.

[32:56] but, the way they went about getting everything here today, was really

[32:59] despicable.

[33:02] >> thank you.

[33:07] >> oliver kilo?

[33:14] >> good afternoon, counsel.

[33:16] I want to bring up that point about the shooting. I

[33:21] was actually there at the shooting when that happened. Now, that shooting

[33:26] is not caused by the gas station or any

[33:35] other things like that, you brought it up as if the station --

[33:38] >> sir, please direct -- please direct your comments to the city

[33:39] council. >> okay.

[33:40] >> thank you.

[33:41] >> what is wrong with improving our city? The things that we are

[33:46] going to sell are not going to

[33:50] put anybody out of business. We simply want to improve the area.

[33:57] if something is wrong with that, would you guys please explain that

[34:02] to me?

[34:04] the store has been looking the same over, what, 30 years? Just

[34:07] a little box in the corner over there? They stopped making those

[34:11] a long time ago, I'm sure.

[34:14] why can't we expand that?

[34:16] it is not going to put anybody out of business?

[34:21] I think they are kind of afraid of that, but that is not going to

[34:25] happen. We are not going to be able to sell the stuff that they sell.

[34:27] so, for the neighborhood, like I said with the gunshots and this

[34:30] and that, well, we've got our bad spots here and there. Not just at

[34:34] the station. La raza market, the store down the street,

[34:42] we would do everything we try to do, you know, to keep everything

[34:45] clean and straight. Now, my thing is, let us grow.

[34:50] just like this new building that we've got and everything.

[34:56] I remember when it was here, I have been living

[34:59] here for 35 years. Pittsburgh looked like a -- oh, my god. Downtown was

[35:01] really bad. But, everything got cleaned up. That has continued to

[35:06] improve.

[35:09] that is not holding the business back, because the business is afraid.

[35:12] that doesn't even make sense! Right?

[35:15] that is all I'm going to say.

[35:18] >> thank you, sir.

[35:27] >> harkam il-sing?

[35:36] >> good evening, city council.

[35:41] I would like to say, in support of the improvement of that gas station

[35:44] right there, even looking at those pictures right now, you know, with

[35:47] that box sitting right in the corner, to me, I think, like, getting a

[35:50] better building or a new building over there will give us more opportunity.

[35:56] like, or safety while pumping gas. If

[35:59] it is going to have more employees sitting in there with the view.

[36:02] that is one thing. And then that entrance to the old city hall. You

[36:06] know, we would like to see something, like,

[36:11] a really good-looking gas station when somebody is really going to

[36:14] the old city hall. You know, that makes the old city look better.

[36:17] it is for the improvement -- I do really support that project. We

[36:21] will be looking forward to hearing from

[36:24] you guys. That is all I wanted to say now. Thank you.

[36:27] >> thank you.

[36:30] >> rodrick coleman?

[36:44] >> hello, mary.

[36:47] vice mayor, council members, my name is rodrick

[36:51] coleman. I moved here two years ago.

[36:57] my block was nothing but have experience shootings,

[37:01] drinking with young kids, and I took the time to clean it

[37:05] up. I started a boys and girls club.

[37:08] I don't want to see it go back. Because

[37:14] by putting this here store, this gas station, into a convenience

[37:17] market, you have a bunch of kids that go to pittsburg high school,

[37:21] they passed by there every day.

[37:24] and I have seen a lot of stealing, a lot of stealing liquor

[37:27] out of these stores. Are they going to be able to secure the stores?

[37:30] when it comes to our youth? That is the question we should be asking

[37:33] ourselves. How is it going to affect our community? Our kids ain't got

[37:38] nothing to do.

[37:41] so, I provided a safe haven for them to come to my home, to have

[37:46] something to do.

[37:49] now, when it comes to la raza market, I want

[37:54] to thank them for contributing to help me get this program on its

[37:59] feet.

[38:01] I wanted to thank golden star for helping me get my program off of

[38:05] its feet.

[38:11] these people give back to the community.

[38:12] what is this gas station going to give us back? What are they going

[38:15] to give our kids, our youth, our community? Those are the questions

[38:18] that we need to ask. Because the way that they got people standing

[38:21] out there right now, it is going to be worse. And all we are doing

[38:24] is just not helping the community.

[38:26] so, I just wanted to share that with you guys. Thank you.

[38:30] >> thank you.

[38:33] >> cynthia walters?

[38:42] >> good evening.

[38:45] thank you.

[38:51] I just want to say I am in favor of la raza market. I have lived

[38:53] in the neighborhood for 25 years.

[38:56] and that store has given me so much, more than I could ask for.

[39:05] they are from me. And like the other lady was saying, if you needed credit,

[39:08] they would give you credit. Not that I ever asked for it, either.

[39:11] but, they have everything I need and -- also, it is mostly working,

[39:15] poor people that live in that neighborhood.

[39:24] people on their way to work, go to the

[39:27] gas station, sure. But, their prices are going to be twice as high. But,

[39:30] the main concern is, they are going to be taking business from la raza

[39:34] market. It has been there for so long. And like you said, helped

[39:36] the community. And it is attached to la raza market. How fair is that?

[39:41] that is so wrong.

[39:42] and so what if they haven't changed the front of it? They have always

[39:46] been kind. And I have never been scared at night to go

[39:49] over there, because they take care of us.

[39:54] and they make sure that we get in our car safe, and everything

[39:57] else. If anyone bugs us, they are on it. And they will call the police.

[40:01] in a heartbeat, to come.

[40:05] I am just in favor of la raza, and I

[40:09] just hope that this gas station doesn't go forward, because it

[40:13] would be hurting us working poor, thank you.

[40:19] >> thank you.

[40:22] >> peter klink?

[40:28] >> good evening, council. My name is peter

[40:33] klink. I am a concern homeowner and citizen of pittsburgh. I have

[40:36] lived in this community for 27 years.

[40:44] la raza market on east 34th and 10th street has served as a clean,

[40:47] reliable, and family save establishment that I have shopped there for years.

[40:50] it has come to my attention that valero gas station next door wants

[40:54] to install a minimart store in their parking not. My major concern

[40:58] with valero is the lack of safety, enforcement,

[41:02] and danger, annoying thugs, and homeless people, that just hang

[41:08] out there on a daily basis.

[41:13] this, alone, has led my wife and I not to purchase fuel from this

[41:15] location. In doing so, finding a safer alternative. It is my belief

[41:19] that adding a convenience store here will simply amplify the problems

[41:24] and create unwanted havoc and crime in our beloved neighborhood.

[41:28] in the past 20 years, pittsburgh has

[41:32] taken back and renewed its downtown area, which has become a

[41:38] triptych and safe place to live for all of us. My

[41:41] point tonight being, a convenience store here

[41:45] would put a negative mark on the future of this lovely town. Thank

[41:47] you very much.

[41:50] >> thank you.

[41:54] >> debbie b -- I'm sorry, I can't read your

[41:59] last name.

[42:05] >> hello, everyone. Sorry.

[42:11] I think the gas station is a plus for the community, because

[42:14] where else are you going to get glass? They don't know that they

[42:18] aren't going to provide safety.

[42:21] people are just assuming, that they are changing things,

[42:27] that it is going to be bad for us, or whatever. They are not trying

[42:30] to take away business for la raza market. They are just trying to

[42:33] make a business. You know? And I think it is equal opportunity

[42:35] for everybody. They should be allowed to do it. They should be allowed

[42:38] in the area. That is all I have to say.

[42:42] >> thank you.

[42:46] >> bruce olsen?

[42:49] >> good evening.

[42:55] bruce olsen, pittsburgh's mr. Bicycle.

[42:58] pittsburgh's bicycle community has one small request for a mitigation,

[43:04] and that is to widen railroad avenue at the railroad avenue frontage

[43:13] of this property, by four feet.

[43:16] that is, move the sidewalk closer to the building, by four

[43:21] feet.

[43:24] the reason is, on northbound railroad avenue, we have existing

[43:28] bicycle lane from highway 4 all the way to

[43:35] the south edge of this property.

[43:37] but, there is not enough room in the intersection to install a bike

[43:40] lane. In fact, it is pretty tight.

[43:44] we are asking only for four feet to put a bike lane between the dedicated

[43:47] right turn lane and the dedicated through lane.

[43:53] I would point out, also, in addition to the existing bicycle lane from

[43:57] highway 4 to the south edge of this property, extending south

[44:02] from highway 4 all the way to the east bay right away, we have

[44:08] a marked shoulder lane.

[44:11] on the east bay right away, we have a bicycle path.

[44:20] so, we are talking about bicycle facilities from an existing

[44:23] bicycle path, down past bart, and all the way stopping at the corner

[44:27] of this property.

[44:33] we want these people to be good citizens. We want four feet of their

[44:37] property to be dedicated to bicycles, so we can safely have

[44:43] bicycles approach the limit line of 10th street, and safely continue

[44:48] north into the old town or the downtown.

[44:51] thank you very much.

[44:54] >> thank you.

[45:04] >> nazar abed?.

[45:13] >> good evening, everybody.

[45:18] the reason I am here about the gas station, of course, everything is

[45:20] turning from gas to electric cars.

[45:22] what about if we are improving the gas station,

[45:26] we make this smaller, and put another ev supercharger in there?

[45:31] if you are removing two gas tanks from there, you can put two

[45:36] ev chargers there. That would be great for downtown. Otherwise, the

[45:39] people of downtown, there is only three ev chargers.

[45:43] there is the supercharger by 50th street and railroad. If you do that

[45:48] instead of extending the store, I would appreciate it.

[45:51] that is all. Thank you.

[45:54] >> thank you.

[45:57] >> terrence brewer?

[46:04] >> good evening, counsel. Thank you for your time.

[46:09] I just wanted to quickly say that we all know what this

[46:15] is about.

[46:18] it is very plain to see that valero is attempting to

[46:24] savagely kick out la raza after 20 years,

[46:29] or more, of being in this community.

[46:34] they have a really good standing relationship with the community.

[46:38] just like what

[46:44] the gentleman before me -- I believe he was in support of valero

[46:50] -- he said, "let

[46:55] us grow, let us grow this city." and I am proposing that

[47:03] instead of making a redundant convenience store, in direct competition of

[47:09] la raza, which we all know which way that

[47:15] is going to go, how about a

[47:21] grocery store?

[47:27] I mean, the closest grocery store,

[47:29] safeway, that is all the way down on bailey road and it is -- you

[47:32] know, you have to deal with traffic, you have to deal with all of that.

[47:37] not to mention, traffic in that immediate area, when school

[47:40] is in, it is already chaos. It is chaos to get in and out, and to

[47:45] have, you know, more -- to have an additional store

[47:51] with more promotions, and things like that. And I mean, you can see

[47:54] the support that la raza has right here. I mean, I have already seen

[47:59] things on social media about, you know, a

[48:05] possible protest if this happens.

[48:11] and that is one thing that I don't really want, you know? I

[48:14] don't want to have a bunch of group protests and crazy things happening.

[48:21] but I think I stated before in a letter to you guys previously,

[48:26] that during the pandemic,

[48:35] valero seemed to have -- well, in my mind, I reached out

[48:37] to the attorney general about this -- seemed to have been price gouging.

[48:45] I don't know if any of you have had

[48:48] the time to look into this. But, their prices -- of course, all of

[48:51] the gas prices are sky high -- but, there is were skyhigh before anybody,

[48:57] before any action was ever taken.

[48:59] so, I would just take that into consideration. Thank you.

[49:02] >> thank you.

[49:05] >> marta wolf?

[49:15] >> good evening.

[49:23] I am the owner of not nothings.

[49:25] can you hear me? It is at 274 east 10th street. About two or three

[49:29] doors down from la raza, and my perspective is

[49:35] I am not opposed to a new store in pittsburgh. But, I am opposed

[49:41] to a new store in pittsburgh at this location.

[49:48] it is already one of the busiest intersections, I believe, in pittsburgh.

[49:57] and they, of course, already use it as a freeway half the time. I

[50:00] see cars speeding every day. It is already unsafe.

[50:07] and also, the traffic flow within the gas station is, like, yeah,

[50:11] many chaos.

[50:20] even though I am only two doors, or three doors down, I only use

[50:23] that gas station as a last resort, because I don't feel that it is

[50:26] safe. I don't feel that it is safe going into the gas station, I don't

[50:29] feel safe within the gas station.

[50:31] so, I think adding a store to this would just create even more gridlock,

[50:37] honestly.

[50:39] I don't see how it would improve this intersection, at all. Last

[50:44] week, there was an accident that took out a fire hydrant.

[50:48] fortunately, no one was injured.

[50:51] but, it just created chaos.

[50:57] and I am not sure what is the connection between a convenience

[51:01] store by valero to old town pittsburgh?

[51:07] that doesn't seem to make sense to me, that is not logical how that

[51:10] would contribute to old town pittsburgh.

[51:11] which, I love old town pittsburgh.

[51:14] I don't see that connection.

[51:16] so, I disagree with this feeling that it would be a

[51:24] safer intersection, and that it would improve this intersection.

[51:26] because I feel that it would make it more dangerous, and I don't think

[51:32] that there would be any improvement, whatsoever. It would just make things

[51:35] a lot worse at that intersection.

[51:37] and I am coming from the perspective of safety. I think it would be very

[51:41] unsafe. Thank you.

[51:43] >> thank you.

[51:46] >> dominique

[51:51] kalija??

[51:54] >> good evening, councilmembers.

[52:00] I am in favor of la raza.

[52:09] I have been a member of this community for the past four

[52:12] years, coming from l.a. I am a part of the pittsburgh historical society,

[52:15] and a part of the pittsburgh italian-american club. From them, having support

[52:18] for la raza over the past four years since I have been a community member

[52:21] here has made a world of difference.

[52:23] I was highly disappointed in the city's effort during covid,

[52:28] to help small businesses, coming from a family of small businesses

[52:32] in l.a. For the past 76 years.

[52:34] and seeing how different communities have come together, I have never

[52:36] seen a community come more together for la raza.

[52:41] when there is a shortage of food everywhere else, I was a manager

[52:44] at trader joe's for three years up here. When we ran out of food,

[52:48] they were the ones to go to. They stayed late, there was no time difference

[52:52] for them. They opened up early to help anyone out.

[52:59] and if the gas station was that concerned about business, why, now,

[53:03] to remodel?

[53:06] why haven't they done that before?

[53:07] if they were really worried about the community, why haven't they

[53:10] cleaned up? Why haven't they made an effort? Even now, to keep their

[53:14] area clean?

[53:19] clean, complete, tidy, safe for kids across the street, for the

[53:21] community. There has been no effort, whatsoever. I do not believe that

[53:24] adding a convenience store in lieu of elrosa next door, to help their

[53:28] business, I do not think that would help the business by

[53:31] making it look better, or to even bring in more community.

[53:40] so, doing that now, what is the difference? Why now? Why try to

[53:42] put a small business who is supposed to help the community out of business?

[53:45] it just doesn't make any sense.

[53:47] along with safety, I have used that gas station once in the past four

[53:52] years.

[53:54] when I did, my card was scanned, so it doesn't seem like there is

[53:57] an up-to-date safety feature on all of the pumps, as well. And for

[54:01] any of the kids -- I don't even deal safe for my kids -- when I

[54:08] do have them -- to go anywhere near there. I can barely go there if

[54:11] I don't see any cars, because I have seen cars there that are not

[54:14] doing -- pumping gas. I don't see anything differently. But, there

[54:16] has been no security. There has been no any type of way to help

[54:21] your parked patrons even be safe pumping

[54:26] gas.

[54:35] so, I guess if there is an update, I am not against that. But, I am

[54:38] against them putting in a convenience store that is not going to help

[54:40] their business. It is just going to hinder small businesses in that

[54:43] community that have helped our community for the past however long they have

[54:45] been there. Thank you.

[54:46] >> thank you.

[54:49] >> sikander -- I'm sorry, I cannot

[54:56] say your last name.

[54:59] >> good evening, counsel, and everybody else that came today.

[55:05] one thing that was mentioned a lot here

[55:08] was about the future of pittsburgh, and how we need advancements, et

[55:13] cetera.

[55:15] it is hard to imagine a future without kids. Who and with that

[55:21] being said, kids nowadays, especially high

[55:27] schoolers, they like to go out, have fun, they do their things.

[55:31] most them -- some of them might not make the

[55:35] best choices, and others do their best to make as good of decisions

[55:39] as they can. And when they see gas stations, they

[55:45] see it as hot zones, so

[55:49] they can get some things that they aren't -- that they are not able

[55:52] to get yet. For example, alcohol, vapes, things like that.

[55:56] and they might have either their older siblings, or they might steal

[55:59] it themselves. Which, is not very good for them or society, as a whole,

[56:04] as alcohol is known to alter their minds, and make them make poor decisions.

[56:10] with that being said, if a gas station would to be made, would they be

[56:20] able to stop that from happening?

[56:21] because things like this do happen.

[56:22] and when kids make bad decisions, it gets worse and worse. There is

[56:25] no positive outcome if something bad were to happen, due to that.

[56:28] thank you, very much.

[56:31] >> thank you.

[56:42] madame city clerk, do we have any additional public comment?

[56:44] >> no, I have no more speaker cards.

[56:46] >> all right. If there are no more members of the public wishing to

[56:49] speak, per the city council policies and procedures, I will now invite

[56:51] the appellant back to the podium, and allow them an opportunity to

[56:54] respond. Any comments that I made tonight. The appellant will have

[56:56] no more than 10 minutes.

[56:59] >> was that 10 minutes?

[57:05] excuse me -- thank you. Diane kinderman,

[57:08] again. Thank you, mr. Thunderberg, I appreciate that. So, I do want

[57:11] to raise a couple of points here that were raised by members of the

[57:14] community. So, if we could bring up the next powerpoint? Is that

[57:18] possible? The picture will be helpful. But, I

[57:21] wanted to show you is that the new design is going to have glass walls

[57:26] that is going to eliminate a loitering on that portion of the property,

[57:28] hopefully that is helpful. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

[57:39] so, all of those glass walls will help to eliminate loitering. And

[57:41] it is important to remember that la raza is right next to the store.

[57:44] so, the loitering isn't only on this property. It is also elsewhere.

[57:46] so, the applicant has attempted as much as possible to

[57:52] secure the area. But, with the improvement, these glass walls are

[57:54] going to help eliminate loitering.

[57:55] there will be more lighting, what have you.

[58:01] at that point, they will help install all of the sophisticated

[58:03] surveillance equipment, and all of the other measures that have

[58:07] been mentioned, both by staff, and in our letter to actually improve

[58:09] the health, safety, and welfare of the community, and of that area.

[58:14] we also understand competition concerns. Of course, the applicant

[58:20] didn't purchase this property with the intention of putting anybody

[58:22] out of business. He simply wanted to enhance this.

[58:28] and the expansion from 300 square feet -- well, 200 square feet to

[58:32] the 1600s square feet, only 900 square feet of that is

[58:38] going to be retail.

[58:40] the rest is storage. So, it is not like there is going to be 1600

[58:50] square feet of retail. There will only be 900. So, it is a very small

[58:53] increase. But, we understand the competition concern, which is why

[58:56] we had an empirical study done on the economic study.

[59:04] on the issue of the accident, and the concern about circulation on-site,

[59:07] one of the pumps is going to be removed, and there will be an ev

[59:11] charging station there.

[59:14] so, those are some of the concerns that I

[59:16] heard from the community. Also, the gentleman talking about the

[59:19] boys and girls club, and participating in the community, feeding the homeless,

[59:21] the applicant looks forward to being able to enhance his opportunities

[59:24] to do that. And he looks forward to being able to be a good member

[59:30] of the community.

[59:33] and thus far, he has already partnered

[59:36] with other local businesses to feature local food and other products at

[59:40] his location.

[59:42] so, if this gets approved, he has already worked with other members

[59:45] of the community to do that. He has also spoke with rosemary

[59:51] of the pittsburgh arts and community foundation.

[59:57] if you look to the right of where the bicycles

[59:59] are, they would like a miracle to be painted there, and to feature

[1:00:04] local artist.

[1:00:05] maybe the mural could stay there for a year, and then sunday takes

[1:00:08] a picture of it, and then sell the picture, perhaps. And then the artist

[1:00:11] would benefit from that. And the next year, another artist gets to

[1:00:14] do it. So, the artist is working with her to identify local artists

[1:00:17] that would like to feature their works on that blank wall there.

[1:00:23] so, he is trying to be a member of the community, and would like

[1:00:27] to continue to do that.

[1:00:36] and then, I also wanted to speak about -- well,

[1:00:39] let's look at the next slide here.

[1:00:40] yeah, it is just another viewpoint of the improvement here and how

[1:00:43] all of this class is going to keep people from hanging out and loitering

[1:00:47] along a wall.

[1:00:50] it is going to be well lit, and it certainly is going to deter crime.

[1:00:53] one other item -- we can go to the next slide -- this just kind of

[1:00:56] underscores many of the points that we raised as to why the appeal should

[1:00:59] be granted. And the entitlement should be approved. I wanted to

[1:01:02] mention the request for additional time.

[1:01:10] I understand, as a lawyer, I have had clients call me at the last

[1:01:12] minute. My problem with the request here, is that we have in the record,

[1:01:16] a letter from december 14th of 2021, from this attorney, where she talked

[1:01:19] to the city, where she talks about economic concerns. At that time,

[1:01:21] she could have chosen to obtain an economic report, to

[1:01:25] substantiate her arguments about economic damage to her client. She

[1:01:28] failed to do that. It doesn't seem fair that

[1:01:31] the applicant and appellant should be penalized, because they didn't

[1:01:34] take care of supporting their statements in a letter submitted on

[1:01:38] december 14th of 2021, opposing the project.

[1:01:46] so, I would oppose any extension of this. Although, I emphasize with

[1:01:48] counsel in this circumstance. I do not have the same level of empathy,

[1:01:56] and I would request that there be no continuance. What is happening

[1:01:59] is, there is an issue with -- everybody knows how the economy is going.

[1:02:01] interest rates are going up. The cost of building materials are going

[1:02:03] up. Availability of building materials is becoming more scarce. So, we

[1:02:07] would like to just -- if you were going to approve this, we would

[1:02:12] respectfully request that

[1:02:22] you deny an extension. And so with that, I don't know if you have any

[1:02:25] questions. If, perhaps, the architect would like to come up and speak

[1:02:28] about additional items? Or, if you want to hear from our economic consultant,

[1:02:32] if that would be helpful?

[1:02:34] if she wants to speak on those items?

[1:02:35] >> after your comments, I will close the public comment, and bring it

[1:02:38] back to the council for deliberation.

[1:02:39] >> thank you. I do not have any further comments at this time.

[1:02:48] we just look at the last point as to why this should

[1:02:51] be approved, and you can read those right there. I do not want to take

[1:02:54] up your time repeating those.

[1:02:55] >> thank you.

[1:02:56] >> thank you. Any questions for me?

[1:02:57] >> not at this time.

[1:02:58] >> thank you.

[1:02:59] >> thank you. All right. I will now close the public hearing. And

[1:03:03] I will bring it back to my colleagues for deliberation. Do any of my colleagues

[1:03:06] have any comments or questions they would like to make at this time?

[1:03:12] councilmember banales?

[1:03:15] >> yes, mayor, thank you.

[1:03:18] this is going to be for staff, just some

[1:03:20] questions. Can you confirm the existing number of parking spaces and the

[1:03:24] proposed number of parking spaces?

[1:03:25] >> well -- >> not including the gas pumps.

[1:04:16] >> thank you.

[1:04:19] a couple more questions.

[1:04:21] just to confirm that the number of gas pumps are,

[1:04:26] is currently six and the proposal is 4 so to reduce by two?

[1:04:32] thank you.

[1:04:34] in terms of the sales area I noted 903 903 ft.2.

[1:04:40] of those 903 how many of those

[1:04:49] will be dedicated to alcohol sales?

[1:05:02] >> good evening councilmembers.

[1:05:04] to answer the question, we are allowed 25 linear feet of shelving,

[1:05:10] so in a walk-in box there might be 4

[1:05:16] let's say, 4 shelves.

[1:05:19] we would probably have

[1:05:25] oh, six?

[1:05:34] 6 ft.2, I don't know probably like 10 ft.2,

[1:05:40] it's a very small, an area like this.

[1:05:47] >> so would be six of the cases or six

[1:05:50] shelves?

[1:05:53] >> it would be 4 shelves that are 3 feet wide.

[1:06:01] that's the footprint we are talking about for alcohol.

[1:06:06] the rule is 25 linear feet so you have 4, 8, 12,

[1:06:12] if you had that many, it's a small space.

[1:06:19] >> one more question and this would be to staff. There

[1:06:24] have been mentions of gas stations, could you

[1:06:28] remind me the nearest gas stations in the old town area other than

[1:06:33] this one?

[1:06:34] >> that would be a good question councilmember banales.

[1:06:41] I would think the nearest gas station would be in old town, if

[1:06:46] I'm not mistaken,

[1:06:52] >> through the mayor, the answer to the

[1:06:56] point of your question is there is not anything remotely proximate

[1:07:01] to this gas station.

[1:07:04] we don't know the exact distance to the next one but

[1:07:06] it's a fair distance away.

[1:07:08] >> thank you. I will reserve the rest of my comments for later.

[1:07:12] >> councilmember kraft.

[1:07:15] >> so in the first part of the presentation

[1:07:19] where they talked about removing 2 of the pump stations,

[1:07:25] then the gentleman came forward and said, okay but we

[1:07:29] are moving now into the future which would be ev. Discharging

[1:07:36] stations. Now it is mentioned that there will be one station,

[1:07:41] was that even a part of the presentation or a part of your plans beforehand

[1:07:45] or was it just with the comment that was made?

[1:07:50] >> thank you, that was part of the presentation. It's in the materials

[1:07:55] already. I didn't get to it in the light of the short time to

[1:08:02] speak. It is in the materials that there would be one ev station.

[1:08:06] >> thank you. My next one would be the community benefit.

[1:08:11] so community benefit is important in a small community.

[1:08:17] so that's nice about a mural but a

[1:08:20] mural is one thing that's a benefit but then when we talk about community

[1:08:24] benefits typically, we talk about one of our star examples happened

[1:08:29] to be called star market.

[1:08:31] they were instrumental in getting food our seniors and to our community

[1:08:35] during the pandemic. They have been a part of our planning

[1:08:41] for different special events or whatever. I would say they

[1:08:47] are the goldstar when we talk about community benefits. This market

[1:08:52] la raza also does things in the community as well.

[1:08:57] so when we say community benefit we are not just talking about something

[1:09:00] we are looking at but actually making a difference in someone's life.

[1:09:05] I just wanted to make that a clarification as to when we talk about benefits

[1:09:09] and what you are claiming is a benefit.

[1:09:12] the other thing, I like the

[1:09:18] concept that, that

[1:09:22] gas station is an eyesore in our community. It really is. That

[1:09:28] corner is an eyesore.

[1:09:30] that is the gateway to our downtown.

[1:09:33] we put a lot of money into the old town so

[1:09:37] to say that we continue to look at it as this is the way it was

[1:09:41] this is where we are and this is how it stays, that's not acceptable.

[1:09:46] at some point we do have to look at what

[1:09:50] is best, and that may be a combination of things.

[1:09:55] I would like what the chamber of commerce said,

[1:10:01] how do we look at both to improve the area. For me, looking at

[1:10:07] it as competition and that sort of thing, a convenience store is

[1:10:11] typically that. You walk in and walk out. It's convenient and right

[1:10:17] there.

[1:10:20] I'm going to get marketable things that I need for my house because

[1:10:23] I'm planning a meal. That's a difference.

[1:10:25] so I have a different philosophy about that from business.

[1:10:31] again one of my concerns would be,

[1:10:35] the fact that you have a business that has been doing good business

[1:10:39] here in our community. We don't want to penalize that business.

[1:10:45] how we look at this and say, what can we do? How do we say, both are

[1:10:50] important. We need both.

[1:10:53] for me it's not one or the other it's both. How do we make

[1:10:59] them coexist. How do we do what's right for the downtown

[1:11:04] corridor. So that's a question for staff that I'm going to throw

[1:11:08] the ball over to staff and asked that question.

[1:11:12] >> thank you councilmember kraft. Councilmember

[1:11:17] killings?

[1:11:20] >> so I just have a few specific questions to go through.

[1:11:26] is there a difference between the use designations for the convenience

[1:11:30] store as opposed to what's next-door at la raza. Is

[1:11:35] there a difference in the use designations?

[1:11:38] >> through the mayor, there is

[1:11:53] in particular the use type classifications fall within the

[1:11:57] same use so there is no real distinction. But the convenience

[1:12:02] store itself, the gas station is the main use and the

[1:12:07] convenience store is accessory.

[1:12:11] >> so the second one, I just want to confirm that in our

[1:12:16] municipal code, we don't have any prohibitions on distances of similar

[1:12:20] uses within our code currently.

[1:12:25] >> through the mayor, there is no existing provisions

[1:12:29] that imply.

[1:12:32] >> the next question, I think a lot

[1:12:36] of the sentiment tonight and overall in terms of as we are looking at

[1:12:40] the design of the project, it's been around safety.

[1:12:46] . I just want to hear from staff's perspective,

[1:12:51] as well as with pd, how this improved design would

[1:12:56] impact public safety.

[1:12:59] I did hear miss kinderman definitely sharing in terms of

[1:13:04] the glass, we want to hear from staff as well as pd,

[1:13:09] because as we are going through this I think one thing I've heard

[1:13:14] consistently throughout was around safety.

[1:13:19] so really wanting to get to the core of that.

[1:13:24] hearing about solicitation, loitering, cleanup,

[1:13:28] if there is a legitimate concern about safety I have my notions about

[1:13:32] how this may improve but I want to hear if there's anything from

[1:13:36] design standard or pd if you want to chime in as it relates to calls

[1:13:41] of service.

[1:13:44] I've heard a lot about, are we receiving calls of service in this

[1:13:48] area. I just want to be able to substantiate some of the claims

[1:13:51] that we are hearing as well is just from a professional standpoint.

[1:13:56] how the improved design will improve public safety in

[1:14:01] the area.

[1:14:04] >> those are good questions.

[1:14:06] in conversations with the police department and with the former police

[1:14:09] chief, we did meet on a few occasions.

[1:14:12] we had two meetings in regards to the conditions. One of

[1:14:18] the concerns raised was surveillance and the

[1:14:22] installation of cameras that needed to be included with the conditions

[1:14:26] of approval. The project applicant did agree to that and I believe

[1:14:29] it was one thing that was really going to make sure, it enhances

[1:14:34] the safety of the property.

[1:14:37] the other was, the applicant is

[1:14:43] really keen in a sense of loitering.

[1:14:46] we did put conditions of approval for the project where the loitering

[1:14:51] would be enforced.

[1:14:53] they have a real strong kind of commitment to making sure there

[1:14:57] was no loitering if this project is approved.

[1:15:01] that is another condition of approval for the project site.

[1:15:06] in regards to the office door and how they will be able to kind of

[1:15:12] view the site, with this glass, will actually

[1:15:17] enhance to be able to see what's going on.

[1:15:22] these are things that we have talked about in the design and

[1:15:27] talking about how we wanted to move the project forward at the

[1:15:31] planning commission stage. These are things we did discuss during

[1:15:34] the early stages of the project.

[1:15:40] >> through the mayor, I wanted to add on, everything john

[1:15:46] said is absolutely correct but I wanted to highlight,

[1:15:51] there are 12 specific conditions of approval in the resolution that

[1:15:56] are being applied.

[1:15:57] it's everything from requiring video surveillance to requiring

[1:16:01] graffiti is removed within 24 hours.

[1:16:05] several were regarding abc licenses or transfers,

[1:16:10] but it's gotten granular enough to even require that height tape

[1:16:15] placed at entry points.

[1:16:17] this is well thought out by the police department. Perhaps

[1:16:21] the overriding condition is condition 26, it says if the chief of police

[1:16:26] determines any additional safety measures are needed

[1:16:30] they will be implemented at the sole cost of the operator of this

[1:16:33] business. So at any time if the police chief or capt. Gaylor or

[1:16:39] any of the designees determine something is needed at

[1:16:43] this site, to improve public safety, even frankly reducing the hours

[1:16:51] of operation or the hours of alcohol sales, the chief of police can require

[1:16:55] that without going back to the planning commission or the city council.

[1:17:00] I wanted to highlight those in addition to what john said.

[1:17:06] having the big windows and allowing that visual in and out

[1:17:09] and requiring that as part of the use permit this applicant must protect

[1:17:14] against loitering. If there is loitering,

[1:17:19] it is the responsibility of the operator to post signage and also

[1:17:22] to notify the police department and not just to let it happen.

[1:17:26] they risk losing their use permit if they don't hold up their end

[1:17:31] of the bargain.

[1:17:32] that's not currently something that is required of the operator and

[1:17:36] it will be as part of this.

[1:17:40] >> thank you.

[1:17:43] >> vice mayor scales-preston.

[1:17:46] >> yes, I have another question with regards

[1:17:51] to security.

[1:17:55] I understand there will be glass walls but often times, when you

[1:18:00] see convenience stores or liquor stores, they have posters

[1:18:06] all posted up. So you know, that is a big part of security

[1:18:11] as well as having young people walk past that convenience store.

[1:18:17] I just wanted to look into that, ensuring that's

[1:18:22] not the case.

[1:18:23] especially since if they are on the corner, and safety happens to

[1:18:28] be a concern.

[1:18:31] 2, in terms of the cameras,

[1:18:36] do we happen to know where the cameras will be facing? Since there's

[1:18:40] a lot of traffic at the market, how many

[1:18:45] cameras will be put out at the gas station.

[1:18:49] >> vice mayor scales-preston that

[1:18:52] is something that would be as included in the conditions of approval.

[1:18:57] the project applicant is willing to work with pd as to how

[1:19:02] they should set up that live feed.

[1:19:05] and how they should set up the monitor and the cameras.

[1:19:10] I believe they may have already reached out to them so I don't want

[1:19:13] to speak on that unless the applicant, and I'm pretty sure they've been

[1:19:17] in touch. You did. Yet. If you could speak to that.

[1:19:31] >> I don't think I introduced myself.

[1:19:34] iv architect for the project.

[1:19:39] we did meet with the police department on more than one occasion. The last

[1:19:42] time we met with the police chief and the city manager. We requested,

[1:19:48] what do we do?

[1:19:51] now and in the transition and after if the project is approved

[1:19:55] and constructed. With regard to the camera we offered to the police

[1:20:00] chief we would provide them access under whatever terms they

[1:20:05] deem necessary. However we accomplish that.

[1:20:09] the police chief and I think the city manager was there, the police

[1:20:13] chief was very forthcoming and very collaborative. I think

[1:20:19] we have a good rapport.

[1:20:22] I think the specific question is about access? So we are providing

[1:20:27] them access. I don't quite know how that's going to happen just

[1:20:32] yet but the police chief seemed to have something in mind and we

[1:20:36] said we would be happy to comply with whatever process works best.

[1:20:42] even if it's a dynamic process, does that answer

[1:20:45] the question?

[1:20:48] >> if I might add one thing to that.

[1:20:53] the video will be available to the police department upon their

[1:20:57] request.

[1:21:00] >> my next question is in regard to the gas pumps.

[1:21:06] so if you are removing two of the gas

[1:21:09] pumps, do we have concerns of the flow?

[1:21:15] that's the only gas station, we are removing two gas pumps.

[1:21:21] I do understand ev charging stations and I know we have talked about

[1:21:26] installing more, in old town pittsburg

[1:21:31] so I'm just concerned about reducing the amount of gas pumps.

[1:21:42] >> through the mayor, vice mayor, that is the only

[1:21:46] gas station for quite a distance.

[1:21:55] regarding the circulation of the site, as it currently stands,

[1:22:00] it was reviewed years if not decades ago.

[1:22:05] this site plan was required to be reviewed by our traffic and engineering

[1:22:09] departments to make sure there was adequate traffic flow.

[1:22:14] to the question regarding whether or not cars will be able to get

[1:22:18] in and out, we are satisfied and we do have the city engineer here

[1:22:22] but we are satisfied that cars can come and go from the site adequately.

[1:22:26] regarding the reduction in pumps which I will note, it is being reduced

[1:22:31] by a third but you have stations and each one has two pumps.

[1:22:36] really we are going from 12 to 8.

[1:22:39] there is no requirement for a minimum amount of pumps. If they

[1:22:43] wanted to remove to tomorrow, they could. It boils

[1:22:49] down to a business decision.

[1:22:52] if we feel it will create an undue traffic issue

[1:22:54] that's another story but as I mentioned, we have reviewed the project and

[1:22:58] we don't see that becoming a traffic concern in fact we think the traffic

[1:23:02] will be able to circulate through the site adequately.

[1:23:07] since I have the floor I do want to speak to your previous question

[1:23:10] about the signage. There is a requirement in our municipal code then

[1:23:16] no more than 15%, be covered by signage.

[1:23:22] we are getting much more proactive about

[1:23:27] that and we are trying to enforce that. I would also point to condition

[1:23:32] 24 a which states that signage advertising the availability

[1:23:37] of alcohol for purchase from the store including the display of corporate

[1:23:40] logos of alcohol vendors shall not be posted to be

[1:23:44] visible to any individual positioned outside of the store.

[1:23:50] >> thank you.

[1:23:53] >> councilmember banales.

[1:23:56] >> my biggest concern with this project

[1:24:02] is the proximity to the school which is right across

[1:24:06] the street. And the fact that alcohol sales will be available at this

[1:24:12] convenience store.

[1:24:15] I guess I would ask the applicant

[1:24:17] if they would be amenable to

[1:24:25] eliminate alcohol sales from their project.

[1:24:38] >> may we step out a moment so I may speak with my client?

[1:24:43] >> that's fine.

[1:26:58] >> may I please ask staff to ask

[1:27:00] the applicant to return to the chambers.

[1:27:42] >> I apologize, we are trying to understand

[1:27:48] what your concern is in light of the conditions of approval, the

[1:27:51] fact that the school district supported this.

[1:27:55] we are trying to understand what your concern is and if it is a decision,

[1:27:59] we are trying to understand how to make this decision right now.

[1:28:04] what is your concern in light of the various conditions of approval

[1:28:07] and the fact that the city has the authority to withdraw the permit

[1:28:11] if there is an issue.

[1:28:14] we don't anticipate any issues because the team will be

[1:28:17] properly trained to ensure they are not selling to underaged people.

[1:28:24] is there anything else you can add.

[1:28:30] >> I appreciate the ask for clarification but I think

[1:28:35] I've been very clear.

[1:28:36] the proximity to our school in terms of alcohol sales being available

[1:28:40] is something that, I as a councilmember cannot support.

[1:28:46] I know and understand there exist current uses where alcohol sales

[1:28:50] are available but those were not made, those decisions were not made

[1:28:54] while I have been on the council.

[1:28:57] so I think we need to do better. In terms of

[1:29:03] serving our youth. And making healthy communities. Placing

[1:29:08] a alcohol use in terms of sales, right across the street from our

[1:29:15] schools is not appropriate.

[1:29:18] that is how I feel is a councilmember, I'm not

[1:29:21] speaking for the rest of my colleagues.

[1:29:23] >> we are trying to be respectful of everyone's concerns, is there

[1:29:26] a way that a sunset provision could be placed on it, it could

[1:29:31] be issued and within a year or six months if there's any violations

[1:29:34] that have been found they would have to come back and defend their

[1:29:39] right to maintain it?

[1:29:42] I know in certain circumstances there have

[1:29:46] been provisionals for a period of time.'s

[1:29:51] >> I think my ask was very clear, it's either a yes or a no.

[1:30:05] >> what I've been told is they are willing to withdraw the request,

[1:30:11] they are willing to withdraw the request with the right to come back

[1:30:15] to request the pcn in the future without having to come back for

[1:30:18] another conditional use permit, and we do that? Or would we

[1:30:24] have to request a cup again.

[1:30:30] would it need to be requested again in

[1:30:33] conjunction with the pcn.

[1:30:34] >> I will ask the city attorney maybe to respond to that.

[1:30:38] >> that's something I don't know off the top of my head, I would

[1:30:42] have to review that.

[1:30:45] >> it would just still be another entitlement, it would still be discretionary

[1:30:49] and we understand that. We would like the denial of that component

[1:30:53] to be without prejudice to come back and request it at a later time.

[1:30:58] >> just for clarification you are saying the applicant is willing

[1:31:02] to not do any alcohol sales and come back in a year and make the

[1:31:04] request.

[1:31:07] >> perhaps yes.

[1:31:10] >> through the mayor, looking at the municipal code,

[1:31:17] the requirements for abc require you need a use permit application

[1:31:21] before you can use the area

[1:31:25] because you need to inform the public of any alcohol sales going on in

[1:31:30] the area.

[1:31:31] I believe the requirement would be that they would have to come

[1:31:34] back to get a new use permit for any alcohol sales.

[1:31:36] >> or modify the underlying to add the pcn.

[1:31:40] >> I believe that's correct but I would turn to the city attorney.

[1:31:45] >> I think it might be a matter of semantics whether we call it

[1:31:49] a new use permit or a restated use permit.

[1:31:52] >> it would be discretionary.

[1:31:55] >> that's right it wouldn't be ministerial, there would be suggestive

[1:31:58] judgment.

[1:32:01] >> so all the record the applicant

[1:32:04] has agreed they would withdraw that request for alcohol sales.

[1:32:09] >> thank you.

[1:32:12] >> that superseded what I was going to say.

[1:32:18] so with mine, my concern was not the alcohol

[1:32:23] sales because we already have one that's already doing that as well

[1:32:27] and at the other end so within that radius it's already there.

[1:32:33] so if there's a violation or there's a concern and

[1:32:37] we already have it in place, so I didn't see it as something that

[1:32:40] was a concern for me. However, what my concern is,

[1:32:45] going back to removing the two pumps, adding one ev station,

[1:32:50] would you consider adding a second ev station, yes you would. Going

[1:32:56] for three? Just getting.

[1:32:57] kidding.

[1:33:00] >> as long as it would not impact circulation

[1:33:04] on the site, we have to have so many parking spaces. I don't know

[1:33:09] if the city engineer can speak to that. If that would impact circulation

[1:33:13] on the site I don't know.

[1:33:16] >> through the mayor, the project was exempt

[1:33:22] because it is existing use on-site.

[1:33:27] the actual footprint of the site will remain under the threshold

[1:33:30] to make a determination that would cause any potential significant

[1:33:34] impacts.

[1:33:36] circulation was reviewed and we did talk with the city

[1:33:41] engineer in regards to circulation to make sure there wouldn't be any

[1:33:44] impacts of the existing traffic.

[1:33:59] >> councilmember craft did you have any additional comments or remarks.

[1:34:03] >> know that was it.

[1:34:09] >> do any of my colleagues, councilmember killings?

[1:34:13] >> thank you, through

[1:34:17] the mayor, as we deliberate I want to say thank you to everybody for

[1:34:20] coming out and expressing your views on the project, your commitment

[1:34:24] to the community, and how we are developing here in

[1:34:26] the community because this impacts us all. In terms of where my thoughts

[1:34:31] and ultimately what's coming before us as counsel,

[1:34:36] is to remain once again objective.

[1:34:39] we know that as a city council and as we set policy

[1:34:43] it creates the landscape in terms of how people come to do business

[1:34:47] here and our community.

[1:34:53] where I see this is that we have to understand

[1:34:57] the application that is before us, everything is consistent with our

[1:35:02] general plan, our zoning regulations, our design review

[1:35:06] standards. Why is that important?

[1:35:08] because that's essentially what we are telling the world, if

[1:35:13] you want to do business here these are the metrics you need to play

[1:35:17] by. If you come and submit an application and meet these standards there should

[1:35:20] be some level of certainty in terms of getting across the finish line

[1:35:24] without goalposts being moved.

[1:35:26] I really want to highlight that as we go through this process. The

[1:35:30] second is dealing with the matter of the goals that we have is a city.

[1:35:35] I think we have heard consistently here, development is a good thing.

[1:35:42] seeing private investment to improve

[1:35:47] the entrance of our downtown, or to address what many have considered

[1:35:51] here, and I think we have all kind of expressed a general eyesore in

[1:35:56] the city in terms of that being cleaned up. Addressing public safety

[1:36:01] measures.

[1:36:03] so that's also a big aspect of that I am weighing as we look at

[1:36:07] this project. While I can appreciate the applicant and those who are

[1:36:11] filing the appeal bringing forward the information regarding the economic

[1:36:16] study, the truth is, it probably wasn't even warranted

[1:36:20] for the decision we have to make.

[1:36:22] the economic conditions in which a private person is getting ready

[1:36:26] to invest capital, that's their risk,

[1:36:30] that's the risk they are willing to take in a business endeavor in

[1:36:33] our city and if it pencils out for them, that's something that is

[1:36:38] kind of a win-win for all of us.

[1:36:44] but I do want to pivot and understand the community aspect of this because

[1:36:47] it is very real and it is very important as we talk about building

[1:36:51] community and the impact of business here locally. I am under

[1:36:56] the thought in terms of, looking at providing the options,

[1:37:02] the competitive nature of business itself and understanding

[1:37:05] that and allowing us to have this discourse in our city but understanding

[1:37:10] the value that we do have in a long-standing

[1:37:13] community business that has been here. So as it's already been shared,

[1:37:19] these types of decisions shouldn't be viewed as a this or that or this

[1:37:24] business verse that business, this is continuing to add to

[1:37:29] the makeup of our community to be able to provide options and beautification

[1:37:32] opportunities as well as opportunities for growth. Not only for

[1:37:37] valero but all the businesses in the corridor.

[1:37:42] we know we have a number of other businesses as well as potential

[1:37:45] uses coming down the pipeline as far as residential use. I do want

[1:37:49] to lift up in terms of the comments, I think that's very thoughtful

[1:37:54] and it's something we have to really look at as a community in

[1:37:59] terms of the opportunities and how we can support one another.

[1:38:03] we have heard in terms of something that we have been looking at so

[1:38:08] we are talking about the only gas station in this area and in old

[1:38:12] town. But in the same breath the terms of the need for groceries

[1:38:17] in the old town area. I think

[1:38:19] it's a real potential competitive advantage.

[1:38:22] not to go off on a tangent, that may be able to come to the

[1:38:26] surface with the adjacent business.

[1:38:29] with all of that I do want to once again acknowledge though, the

[1:38:31] comments that were made by my colleague counselor banales. With that,

[1:38:38] although the objective this in terms of

[1:38:41] what we currently have in place in terms of policy is really where

[1:38:46] I'm falling on my decision.

[1:38:47] I know that being put on the spot kind of with the question, regarding

[1:38:51] the alcohol sales and I appreciate the willingness to forgo the alcohol

[1:38:56] sales, the reason why is because this specific counsel

[1:39:00] and I think my colleague expressed it correctly, we can't go back in

[1:39:06] time in terms of businesses that have been grandfathered in.

[1:39:10] but this specific counsel has made a decision in terms of developing

[1:39:13] healthy policies for the community.

[1:39:18] we have a ad hoc subcommittee looking at tobacco, alcohol and cannabis

[1:39:22] policies within our community and how we are addressing it to ensure

[1:39:26] we have a community that is not preyed upon and that we are getting

[1:39:30] healthy outcomes in our community.

[1:39:32] I don't want the applicant to feel this is slated towards their business

[1:39:36] but my colleague did bring up appurtenant point that we have been mulling

[1:39:43] over as it relates to proximity to sensitive uses. Whether it's

[1:39:47] schools, churches, youth activity centers or things of that nature.

[1:39:52] so counselor banales I agree with the

[1:39:54] sentiment you brought up in that regards. I appreciate the applicant

[1:39:59] for being willing to bend and make that concession in terms of

[1:40:03] the alcohol sales at this point in time.

[1:40:08] that's really my thoughts in terms of where I'm at in deliberating

[1:40:12] and I definitely want to hear from the rest of my colleagues as we

[1:40:15] prepare to potentially make a motion on this item.

[1:40:20] I want to appreciate the applicant who has come forward with this

[1:40:24] project to improve a corridor of our community. I want to thank those

[1:40:29] who are here in support of la raza.

[1:40:32] a market that has been here for many years and I believe will

[1:40:35] continue to be here for many years.

[1:40:38] and finding a way that we can make this not only work but once

[1:40:41] again be objective in understanding the policies we have set here in

[1:40:45] the city and making sure we are being fair and applying that policy

[1:40:48] consistently across the board. Those are my thoughts and where I will

[1:40:52] end my comments for now.

[1:40:55] >> thank you.

[1:40:58] do any of my colleagues have any other comments they would

[1:41:02] like to make at this time. If not, vice mayor scales-preston?

[1:41:08] >> I just want to thank everyone who came out on

[1:41:12] behalf of la raza. It really shows the importance of community and

[1:41:17] coming together to support each other.

[1:41:21] I think it's important that as we look at businesses, that are

[1:41:26] willing to expand as well. How do we coexist together. How

[1:41:31] do we continue to build and work together. I would look at valero

[1:41:37] to see how will they work with the community that has

[1:41:42] so much support for la raza, how do you all work together and

[1:41:45] coexist together to build that community in that area. It's really needed.

[1:41:52] I want to thank councilmember banales for bringing up the alcohol sales.

[1:41:57] if I'm not mistaken, I believe about two years ago we were

[1:42:02] looking at, something came before us. A market,

[1:42:07] sales of alcohol and tobacco and we didn't approve it because it

[1:42:10] was on 10th st. We didn't approve it because it was on 10th st. The

[1:42:13] same thing we thought at that time was not to bring another store selling

[1:42:17] alcohol and tobacco sales because that's already there.

[1:42:23] that makes my decision feel much better

[1:42:27] knowing that this is directly across the street from the school and

[1:42:32] the one we denied a couple years ago was down the street and wasn't

[1:42:35] even as close. As we mentioned we want to build healthy communities.

[1:42:39] we want to build up that area down there. So we want to

[1:42:43] see improvement in how our communities can continue to work together in

[1:42:48] that area.

[1:42:51] >> thank you.

[1:42:54] are there any other comments.

[1:42:57] I will entertain a motion, if not,

[1:43:03] councilmember kraft?

[1:43:07] >> yes.

[1:43:09] just one statement and that is, I am

[1:43:13] pleased with the outpouring from our community in support of la raza

[1:43:18] , also with valero for making these concessions.

[1:43:23] the fact that each one should be able to make each other better.

[1:43:29] this is what our community is about is working together so

[1:43:32] I appreciate both sides and I thank you for that. With that I will move

[1:43:35] approval of the appeal at the planning commission's decision to deny use,

[1:43:40] permit and design review for upgrade, remodel and improvements to an existing

[1:43:45] gas station and construct a 1600 ft.2 commercial convenience

[1:43:48] store at 1005 railroad ave. Convenience store at 1005 railroad ave.

[1:43:52] that would be including the new conditions that were just added

[1:43:57] tonight.

[1:43:59] I want to make sure that as part of the motion.

[1:44:04] >> I think we are both going for the

[1:44:07] same thing which is much clarity.

[1:44:12] to try and clarify I think what we are doing here is a motion to

[1:44:15] grant the appeal and deny the appeal in part. The denial would

[1:44:20] be having to do with the alcohol sales, without

[1:44:29] prejudice to come back in one year to request the

[1:44:33] alcohol sales.

[1:44:36] and also modifying, instead of the one ev

[1:44:42] station, 2 ev stations.

[1:44:48] >> just a question on the alcohol, can that be a final decision or

[1:44:55] are we, is the one year required in

[1:45:01] terms of...

[1:45:10] it just allows us to apply.

[1:45:11] it's like a minimum of one year, you can deny it again. It

[1:45:17] just gives us the ability of one year before we might come back

[1:45:21] and ask if we ever did write? Based on your comments we understand

[1:45:25] what you're saying about the importance of having a healthy community. We

[1:45:30] understand that they are just acknowledging that

[1:45:33] we would possibly but maybe not come back but it wouldn't be sooner

[1:45:36] than a year.

[1:45:38] >> my understanding was the question was put to the applicant, would

[1:45:42] you be willing to not sell alcohol, and the applicant came back with

[1:45:47] we are willing to not sell for a year, and we would like to be

[1:45:52] able to come back in one year to attempt to

[1:45:58] receive that approval.

[1:46:03] and that's discretionary, just to be clear.

[1:46:08] is not a suspension for one year and then they will sell alcohol

[1:46:12] it said at least one year goes by and then they can come and request

[1:46:17] and go through the process for the body to make a determination

[1:46:19] on that.

[1:46:22] >> I will defer to councilmember banales.

[1:46:29] >> I think that's an opportunity

[1:46:34] that's available to any business to apply for the sale of alcohol

[1:46:38] at any time. As long as it's within our municipal

[1:46:43] code. Now we have some work to do as regards to our municipal

[1:46:46] code and as councilmember killings has alluded to, I would mention

[1:46:50] that there is a subcommittee on that. I don't have any issue as

[1:46:55] to the one year timeline as long as they are coming back to the

[1:47:01] discretionary review.

[1:47:16] I would say just prohibition on alcohol sales for

[1:47:20] one year, I think they would need to, I'm

[1:47:25] sorry, prohibition period.

[1:47:31] if they want to come back in a year we would

[1:47:34] need to manage that with the one year period and maybe that's the

[1:47:37] staff report. I want to make it very clear that they don't have

[1:47:40] the authority to start selling within a year. That they would have to

[1:47:43] come back for that discretionary approval.

[1:47:47] >> I do recall there is a provision

[1:47:53] in the municipal code where if something is denied you can't bring it back

[1:47:56] for a year anyhow so it would not be possible to bring it back before

[1:48:01] then.

[1:48:07] >> one follow-up question, the discretionary comes before the council or just

[1:48:08] planning?

[1:48:10] >> it would be just planning commission.

[1:48:13] the use permit application, allows for that.

[1:48:21] >> can we request that it come back

[1:48:26] to the city council?

[1:48:28] >> I recommend we put the question to the applicant.

[1:48:34] are you willing that the use permit application

[1:48:36] go directly to city council rather than first to planning commission.

[1:48:40] >> I wouldn't oppose that. I think that would be efficient. If we

[1:48:46] even do it. We may not do it.

[1:48:54] >> I think that's all.

[1:48:56] so we have a motion and a second?

[1:48:58] >> I will second the motion.

[1:49:01] >> mdm. City attorney did you want to summarize

[1:49:07] ?

[1:49:14] >> I think we have enough information to revise the resolution

[1:49:18] based on what city council has said.

[1:49:21] >> it would be the removal of conditions 19, 24,

[1:49:27] and 25.

[1:49:29] and then we would revise the resolution to include the language that would

[1:49:33] allow, sorry, would not allow for alcohol sales.

[1:49:38] then we would review the actual language in regard to allowing

[1:49:46] them to come back to the city council if they would decide to

[1:49:51] move forward with alcohol sales.

[1:49:58] >> and 2 ev stations.

[1:50:03] >> please cast your votes.

[1:50:09] the item passes unanimously. Thank you.

[1:50:15] >> thank you very much we appreciate your time.

[1:50:31] >> the city council will soon resume our regularly scheduled city council

[1:50:40] meeting in five minutes.

[1:51:36] '>> city clerk would you please call role.

[1:51:40] >> councilmember kraft.

[1:51:43] >> present.

[1:51:44] >> councilmember killings.

[1:51:46] >> present.

[1:51:47] >> councilmember banales. Present.

[1:51:50] >> mayor white.

[1:51:53] >> please join me in the pledge of allegiance.

[1:52:09] >> we have three proclamations this evening,

[1:52:21] the first one is for dell to view cats.

[1:52:28] >> thank you. I will be reading the proclamation

[1:52:32] honoring delta view cats.

[1:52:35] whereas community cats are unowned cats that

[1:52:41] live outdoors in the community and include friendly

[1:52:43] and unfriendly cats born outdoors without a guardian as well as lost

[1:52:48] or abandoned pets, and whereas east contra costa county has

[1:52:53] historically housed disproportionate numbers of community cats with this

[1:52:58] disparity increasing since covid-19. And

[1:53:04] whereas delta view cats led by linda rogers and

[1:53:08] peter wilson is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

[1:53:11] organization consisting of volunteers dedicating

[1:53:18] over 5700 hours annually to promoting and delivering humane care and management

[1:53:22] for our abandoned cats in pittsburgh. And

[1:53:28] delta view cats, their ultimate goal is to reduce the

[1:53:32] number of abandoned community cats outdoors to decrease risk and harm

[1:53:38] to cats.

[1:53:43] delta view cats firmly believe in trap, neuter, return

[1:53:48] as the method proven to be compassionate in controlling

[1:53:53] community cats overpopulation.

[1:53:56] trap, neuter return is a technique where

[1:54:00] cats are trapped, neutered and vaccinated than adopted

[1:54:05] by responsible homes for return to their community after recovering.

[1:54:11] where caretakers provide food, water, shelter if feasible monitoring

[1:54:16] injuries and illness and medical treatment if possible.

[1:54:21] delta view cats has trapped and neutered over

[1:54:27] 800 cats and aided in the adoption of over 300 cats

[1:54:31] throughout pittsburgh and has responded over 650 resident

[1:54:36] requests for help with a population with most notable efforts occurring

[1:54:44] in the marina, oak hills and riverview park neighborhoods. Whereas

[1:54:50] delta view cats feeds 50+ community cats daily,

[1:54:55] generous donations ensure the food pantry is stocked and available

[1:54:57] for these abandoned community cats each day.

[1:55:03] over 16,000 cans and 2400 pounds of dry food per year are needed

[1:55:08] to achieve this goal. Now, therefore,

[1:55:14] on behalf of the city council of the

[1:55:18] city of pittsburg, we hereby honor delta view cats.

[1:55:26] >> thank you vice mayor scales-preston.

[1:55:42] >> thank you mayor white,

[1:55:58] vice mayor scales-preston, councilmember killings,

[1:56:09] councilmember banales, councilmember kraft. City manager

[1:56:14] garrett evans. Thank you very much, I want to thank you on behalf of

[1:56:22] of the 30 volunteers that we currently have in action as well as dozens

[1:56:26] of pittsford residents and associated cat rescuers working

[1:56:31] with us in east county with whom we have partnered over the years

[1:56:36] for this recognition of their efforts to humanely manage

[1:56:41] some of the abandoned cats in the city of pittsburgh.

[1:56:47] >> what started out when we first moved in 2017

[1:56:53] as a short-term project to deal with the abandoned community

[1:56:58] cats on our street turned into something much bigger

[1:57:04] then linda and I ever anticipated or imagined. Two things come to

[1:57:08] mind that make all of this possible. The first

[1:57:14] is the volunteer cat rescuers that

[1:57:19] have stepped forward because they cared about the cats and the city

[1:57:24] of pittsburg. The second is the ongoing support of the city

[1:57:28] of pittsburgh in the form of the commitment early on of

[1:57:36] time and for the last four years, sarah belafonte's,

[1:57:42] time is our liaison to the city.

[1:57:45] both are exceptional liaisons and you should be proud

[1:57:49] of them. Sarah was with us as we struggled to continue to operate

[1:57:54] during trend 20.

[1:57:57] -- covid and admits the shutdown of services in addition

[1:58:04] , the funds set aside to pay for spay and neuter surgeries, when

[1:58:07] we were able to schedule them were essential.

[1:58:12] there is no city in contra costa county, no city at all

[1:58:18] that has stepped up in the way

[1:58:24] pittsburg has.

[1:58:27] thank you very much on behalf of us and our volunteers

[1:58:32] and on behalf of the cats that we have helped. We

[1:58:36] wouldn't have been able to help without you and I sincerely mean

[1:58:40] that. Now let me turn the microphone over to the other cofounder,

[1:58:45] linda rogers who asked me in 2018 if I was willing to help with a

[1:58:48] little cat rescue and whose energy, creativity and willingness

[1:58:53] to stick to it are the foundation for the success we've had. Linda.

[1:59:04] >> so it's all my fault![ laughter ]may I just ask

[1:59:08] quickly for some of our people who are here, I'd like

[1:59:15] the volunteers to stand up.

[1:59:21] if you could please recognize our volunteers.

[1:59:32] >> peter and I are really followers

[1:59:37] and we try hard to get in front of our dedicated volunteers and

[1:59:40] the many city residents who are devoted to the humane care of their

[1:59:44] backyard colonies. They always seem to stay a step ahead and in

[1:59:50] front of us. I'd like to recount a couple of examples that I think

[1:59:54] are very memorable.

[1:59:56] one is about what our volunteers have been doing at the city's riverview

[2:00:01] park. We strive over there to manage the

[2:00:06] park and from 2017 when we first came on the scene until

[2:00:12] may 2021, we had no cats abandoned at the park which

[2:00:17] was great. We were also able, when cca asked was helping, we

[2:00:21] were able to pull about 12-15 cats out.

[2:00:27] we were able to get them through to adoption.

[2:00:32] it has been a really popular jumping ground for many people since about

[2:00:36] 2005.

[2:00:39] there have been 40 kittens dumped at or near our

[2:00:45] feeding stations, all have been either starving and

[2:00:48] ill but friendly for the most part, but dumped and abandoned.

[2:00:54] when it comes to abandoned kittens our volunteers are on top

[2:00:57] of catching these. We have 12 adults in our colony, we don't intend for

[2:01:02] that to be a sanctuary in the hope is there will essentially be no

[2:01:05] cats therethrough just what happens with cats and we provide their end-of-life

[2:01:09] service when it's time.

[2:01:13] when it comes to catching them, our volunteers

[2:01:17] have been right there, they have caught trapped or even netted these

[2:01:22] kittens.

[2:01:24] they will intake the kittens because they have been abandoned and it's

[2:01:28] against the law.

[2:01:30] some of our volunteers have been able to foster some of the kittens

[2:01:34] along with peter and myself.

[2:01:35] we have moved these fosters into the adoption program because

[2:01:41] delta view cats does not have a foster

[2:01:44] network or an adoption program.

[2:01:46] all of them have found there forever homes without the diligence of our

[2:01:51] park colony caretakers.

[2:01:53] the city would easily have about 150 cats at that park today and

[2:01:58] that's just with 40 kittens, none of them spayed or neutered

[2:02:03] and left there to breed.

[2:02:06] so is dodging a large bullet.

[2:02:09] the other story I'd like to share with you is about

[2:02:11] one of your residence in pittsburg. We were approached during trend

[2:02:15] 20 by a family in the oak hills area. We call it

[2:02:21] the oak hills gang. It took us two years to finally capture the

[2:02:26] mom cat they named cleopatra.

[2:02:29] a tiny little black thing no bigger than 7 pounds.

[2:02:34] we began with those residents and their two children.

[2:02:38] nicholas, their youngest son became quite the expert at socializing

[2:02:43] cleopatra's kittens. He would be very kind and give them

[2:02:48] treats.

[2:02:50] he dropped trapped more than one of the men became very good at being

[2:02:54] one of the people to monitor the traps. The family adopted one of

[2:02:58] her first litter, peter and I fostered one with an eye injury, and we got

[2:03:03] him into a loving home.

[2:03:07] we caught several adult male cats so we thought we were getting close

[2:03:10] to stopping the breeding and of course the six kittens she had had

[2:03:13] in 2020. Then came the next litter.

[2:03:15] the family worked diligently to catch the kittens but cleopatra

[2:03:21] remained elusive.

[2:03:22] as we were sure her next litter would be born in may of as we were

[2:03:25] sure her next litter would be born in may 2022, dean managed to capture

[2:03:30] cleo. In a little shelter they had made out of a carton with holes

[2:03:34] in it. She went in and they were able to close at both ends. She

[2:03:37] was already pregnant so we would've had even more per kittens.

[2:03:42] this family has turned a shed into a

[2:03:47] kitty condo so cleo and her remaining adult kittens and one of the adult

[2:03:50] males can live their lives in comfort and safety.

[2:03:56] cleo has a couple of little stuffed toys she's been given so that she

[2:03:59] may take them out during the day for sunshine and then she brings

[2:04:01] them back into the condo at night.

[2:04:04] ever the cat mom.

[2:04:07] this incredible family in oak hills has done a wonderful thing

[2:04:13] and they kept one of our traps over

[2:04:16] there for two years because they just constantly tried to trap.

[2:04:23] we think delta view cats is blessed to have amazing volunteers and our

[2:04:26] city is fortunate to have so many residents who care, are ready,

[2:04:29] willing and able to step up to help the city humanely manage our escalating

[2:04:33] overpopulation of community cats.

[2:04:36] delta view cats speaks for the pittsburgh abandoned

[2:04:38] community cats that have no voice.

[2:04:41] thank you for this proclamation to honor these often forgotten cats.

[2:04:55] >> we will now move on to our second

[2:04:59] proclamation, small business saturday.

[2:05:07] >> proclamation for small business saturday.

[2:05:14] whereas the city of pittsburg celebrates our local small businesses and the

[2:05:17] contributions they make to our local economy, whereas according

[2:05:20] to the united states small business administration there are

[2:05:26] 35 small businesses in the united states. They represent 99.7%

[2:05:31] of firms with paid employees.

[2:05:37] small businesses employ 46.8% of the employees in the

[2:05:42] private sector in the united states.

[2:05:49] whereas 79% of consumers understand the importance of supporting the

[2:05:51] small businesses in their community, on small business saturday 70% report

[2:05:55] the day makes them want to encourage others to shop

[2:06:00] small.

[2:06:02] 66% report the day makes them want to shop small all year long.

[2:06:07] whereas 58% of shoppers reported they shopped online,

[2:06:14] with a small business and 54% reported dining or take out

[2:06:16] from a small restaurant, bar or cafe on small business saturday

[2:06:20] in 2021. Whereas pittsburg supports our local businesses

[2:06:25] that create jobs, boost the economy and preserve our communities, and

[2:06:29] whereas advocacy groups

[2:06:33] and private organizations across the country have endorsed the saturday

[2:06:35] after thanksgiving a small business saturday, now therefore,

[2:06:39] holland barrett white on behalf of the city council of the city

[2:06:42] of pittsburg, we do hereby proclaim november 26

[2:06:47] we do hereby proclaim november 26, 2022 as small business saturday

[2:06:50] and urge the residence of our community to support small businesses and

[2:06:53] merchants on small business saturday throughout the year.

[2:06:59] [ applause ]

[2:07:08] >> I'd like to introduce our recipients here tonight.

[2:07:12] these three women only company missed,

[2:07:18] they were the first participants in our downtown pop-up program.

[2:07:24] [ applause ]

[2:07:29] >> we won't take too much of your time. I hope you can hear me. Hi

[2:07:35] community! My name is amanda doss. We are the

[2:07:41] owners and creators of misc which stands for motivating,

[2:07:45] inspiring and servicing the communities.

[2:07:48] our main initiative is to help fill the

[2:07:54] gap for financial literacy. When it comes to our youth between the

[2:07:58] ages of 10-17. What we have done is created a product that

[2:08:02] we are really loving right now.

[2:08:05] it is our and poured candles, they

[2:08:09] are organic and we tried to make them with the least

[2:08:15] toxic ingredients. The proceeds go towards building our youth initiative

[2:08:19] which is discussing the basics of finance. So when our kids

[2:08:24] get to learning and work and get a paycheck, what is coming out

[2:08:28] of that paycheck and why? What they can do, to invest and save

[2:08:34] at an early age to build their future in a nutshell so that's what

[2:08:38] we are doing and we are very excited about it.

[2:08:42] we appreciate the opportunity that the city has given us to be able

[2:08:45] to continue to build our network and grow and make a presence in

[2:08:48] pittsburg. Eventually we want to take over the

[2:08:54] whole of contra costa county and beyond. So thank you so much for

[2:08:58] this opportunity and we will be looking forward to the future.

[2:09:10] >> many of us has purchased her candles and I recommend them.

[2:09:16] moving on to our next proclamation for homeless

[2:09:20] awareness month. This proclamation will be read by councilmember kraft

[2:09:26] for the bay church, new destiny church

[2:09:32] ,

[2:09:35] >> thank you. Whereas the month of november is recognized

[2:09:38] as homelessness awareness month in the united states

[2:09:43] and there are approximately 3093 homeless individuals in contra costa

[2:09:47] county based on the 2022 point in time count. 764

[2:09:53] sheltered and 2329 on sheltered.

[2:10:01] pittsburgh had 221 people who did not have shelter. The primary costs

[2:10:09] causes our cost of living, job loss, eviction, separation,

[2:10:12] divorce, violence mental health,

[2:10:16] caretaker, medical issues, landlord and roommate dispute, incarceration.

[2:10:20] whereas the city of pittsburg is dedicated to assisting

[2:10:22] the most vulnerable population in the community through community

[2:10:27] collaboration, partnerships and planning and implementing solutions.

[2:10:31] whereas the month of november is designated

[2:10:34] as homeless awareness month to educate the public and bring awareness to

[2:10:38] the needs of the homeless and the coordinated efforts of the bay church,

[2:10:42] new destiny church, and providing

[2:10:48] the shower program.

[2:10:51] they are able to shower, received clean clothes and receive a meal

[2:10:55] and restore their dignity. That is my addition to that.

[2:11:02] therefore, holland barrett white on behalf of the city council of

[2:11:05] the city of pittsburg, we hereby proclaim november 2022 as homelessness

[2:11:10] awareness month and recognize st. Vincent's paul to addressing

[2:11:15] this in pittsburg.

[2:11:18] we also recognize the bay church and new destiny church.

[2:11:23] so.[ applause ]

[2:11:29] >> as you can see I'm very excited about this

[2:11:33] project.

[2:11:36] >> before we take comment.

[2:11:39] councilmember kraft, did you want to add anything additional

[2:11:43] in terms of the work you and like -- you have been doing?

[2:11:49] >> we learned the true meaning of

[2:11:53] a village when we started coming to the shower program and some of

[2:11:57] the people that we helped. Some of the people we saw there.

[2:12:03] when the addition of the bellows barbershop, when this one

[2:12:07] guy walked in, he was all out there and everything

[2:12:11] else. And afterwards we were talking, jerry and I were talking and

[2:12:19] this guy walks up and said I feel like $1 million. I'm looking and

[2:12:23] I'm like, was that the same guy?

[2:12:26] very handsome.

[2:12:31] and he said, it restored him. He felt rejuvenated and ready to start

[2:12:35] the next week. It's just that we take advantage, we sometimes forget

[2:12:39] what it's like to not have and to be without. So, to see

[2:12:44] this one simple act change a life at that moment, at that time,

[2:12:50] it speaks volumes but it means so much to them,

[2:12:55] but it means so much to those who are providing it.

[2:13:01] roland who is one of the biggest troublemakers in our community,

[2:13:04] is now a part of that program and he is a volunteer that's

[2:13:09] out there all the time. Roland thank you. He makes

[2:13:13] a point to make sure I come and visit periodically and chanel. You

[2:13:18] guys do amazing work.

[2:13:21] I cannot say enough about the work that you do and the

[2:13:26] commitment that you have. For that I am thankful and I am blessed to

[2:13:30] be a part of this with you.

[2:13:33] >> thank you so much.

[2:13:38] >> I know there are other volunteers out there so if you all can

[2:13:44] stand up.

[2:13:47] if you volunteer with the shower program because you deserve to be

[2:13:51] recognized as well.

[2:13:54] [ applause ]

[2:14:00] >> it does take a village and councilwoman

[2:14:05] kraft and I we are always talking about the

[2:14:09] shower program and all of the humanity partners and just

[2:14:13] the importance of having this in our city.

[2:14:17] there are many cities in contra costa county that do not do anything

[2:14:22] for their own housed community.

[2:14:25] community partners are coming together to

[2:14:29] get this done.

[2:14:35] we have 6-7 community partners to have

[2:14:37] this program every saturday. We appreciate your compassion, your

[2:14:42] time, councilwoman kraft and I were

[2:14:48] out there one time, there were no shoes at st. Vincent so

[2:14:55] one of the volunteers went over to walmart and got him a brand-new

[2:14:59] pair of shoes. That is really important when you are

[2:15:02] homeless to make sure your feet are warm. We are always trying to

[2:15:06] get socks.

[2:15:09] we were talking about how we will collect more stocks -- socks. So

[2:15:15] for those watching, it's every saturday, at st. Vincent,

[2:15:21] get a shower, get a meal,

[2:15:25] they can take another meal with them to go. They can go inside for

[2:15:31] a clean pair of clothes.

[2:15:32] sometimes the dental clinic is open so they can get services through

[2:15:37] dental care.

[2:15:40] there are tons of services so thank you so much

[2:15:42] for what you do.

[2:15:45] >> and

[2:15:50] I had one thing? In the conversation that we were having and I also spoke

[2:15:53] with jerry because I was out there saturday at the program. One of

[2:15:56] the things that we know, the biggest need is socks. For keeping their

[2:16:01] feet warm.

[2:16:04] so the vice mayor and I had talked about doing a drive and asked

[2:16:08] in the community to help us donate socks and we are talking about white

[2:16:14] men's crew socks. You are not

[2:16:19] trying to find a size or color or whatever. Speaking with the city

[2:16:24] manager, asking if we could put a been or something so that if

[2:16:29] anyone in the community wanted to donate socks they could do so

[2:16:33] here at city hall and we would be willing to pick them up and take

[2:16:36] them over the program. So if you are listening

[2:16:42] . Please note, it's a simple request and we are

[2:16:46] hoping you will help us fulfill this need.

[2:16:51] >> councilmember kraft if I could add, women's socks as well.

[2:17:01] >> did we have a presentation?

[2:17:05] >> it's going to be like 50 minutes or so just getting. We

[2:17:10] will keep it brief.

[2:17:16] thank you, it means a lot.

[2:17:21] I think sometimes the issue of homelessness can seem really daunting. It's a

[2:17:24] very big and complex issue that traverses the population.

[2:17:30] I think one of the biggest errors people can make is to assume

[2:17:33] that everyone who is homeless is dealing with the same issues. As

[2:17:37] we know it's a very diverse set of issues and a diverse set of people

[2:17:41] faced with homelessness. I think because the issue can seem so daunting,

[2:17:44] sometimes people don't even know where to get started.

[2:17:50] I think it's been so great to work together with the city and

[2:17:52] then with our partners here, to take this on with the idea that

[2:17:55] really teamwork makes the dream work. So our partners here,

[2:18:00] so the city of pittsburgh again, we run the shower trailer in a

[2:18:10] few other cities and we've gone to some other cities and not all

[2:18:13] cities have always been is welcoming.

[2:18:15] a week ago we celebrated our annual one-year mark.

[2:18:21] so there is our church, the bay church.

[2:18:30] new destiny church has been a great opportunity for us to partner together.

[2:18:40] we can't say enough.

[2:18:43] they have really helped us with haircuts

[2:18:49] .

[2:18:52] the back of our trailer folds out and allows us to give haircuts

[2:18:55] and it really is a beautiful thing to watch someone who's been facing

[2:18:59] the elements of the street come get a warm shower, and get their

[2:19:03] hair cut. We have had quite a few people who actually go directly

[2:19:08] to a job interview after. They will come in and shower, get their hair

[2:19:13] cut and go in for a job interview.

[2:19:16] so we provide hot showers, we have a picture of our showers

[2:19:20] here in a moment. We have a toilet and we do haircuts.

[2:19:25] we do clothing at this site thanks to claudia and team. We have hot

[2:19:29] food thanks to loaves and fishes, and really

[2:19:34] I think the biggest part of the biggest service we provide is a

[2:19:38] sense of community. We tell all our volunteers that at the end of

[2:19:43] the day, you just come and have one conversation

[2:19:47] with somebody who was on the street.

[2:19:50] I am a physician by background training and something

[2:19:53] I think about a lot, our medicines we give are only so good if someone

[2:19:58] means to be loved. A 15

[2:20:04] minute conversation can go a long way so we really

[2:20:10] try to emphasize that.

[2:20:12] again as we think about such a challenging problem we hear about

[2:20:15] it all the time, what's the best way forward? It's certainly not

[2:20:19] to stay in our homes and think about milton mullen dollar initiatives

[2:20:28] , there was recent controversy about a bathroom in san francisco and

[2:20:31] the budget made statewide news.

[2:20:32] here's an opportunity to think creatively about this problem.

[2:20:40] the idea that we all come together to do this and lifted up. Lift it

[2:20:46] up. Here's a picture of our showers. One of the things

[2:20:50] we have enjoyed about our shower trailer, and it

[2:20:55] was a core group at the bay church that built this. The trailer came

[2:20:59] from colorado and we brought it over and refurbished it. These are

[2:21:02] really good showers. We are not just trying to provide access to

[2:21:07] water, but people come out of they are

[2:21:10] happy with the quality of the showers.

[2:21:12] we make sure to clean these showers after every use.

[2:21:18] the team on their knees just cleaning it and making sure it's ready for

[2:21:21] the next person to use. I think somebody used the word dignity.

[2:21:27] they trust us and they are using a bathroom we are providing and

[2:21:30] we want them to feel safe and we want them to feel dignity in that

[2:21:34] space. Here's someone cleaning.

[2:21:37] we run every saturday, we pride ourselves on making sure that we

[2:21:42] show up no matter what.

[2:21:44] I think one of the biggest ways,

[2:21:52] this is a community that has been let down and disappointed along

[2:21:54] the journey so we know us showing up is extremely important. So we

[2:21:58] are there from 10 am through 12:30.

[2:22:01] loaves and fishes opens up at 11:00.

[2:22:05] someone will register in and then we will walk them over to where

[2:22:11] we can get clothing.

[2:22:14] and then we come back and use the showers and go get hot food

[2:22:20] or maybe they will get hot food beforehand. I would also like to

[2:22:24] give a shout out to the city water.

[2:22:27] I don't know city water people I guess, but they are

[2:22:32] terrific.

[2:22:36] you can tell when someone has been tasked with doing a job and when

[2:22:39] someone really wants to be part of the team. I love each and everyone

[2:22:42] of them. I have their cell phone numbers and they are great.

[2:22:46] so this is a display of how the whole setup looks like. We are in

[2:22:52] simpson court right there.

[2:22:58] we were thankful enough for someone to gift us a new truck.

[2:23:04] so that is our ford f3 50 that can pull this trailer. For the sake

[2:23:07] of time because I know we are rounding it out

[2:23:12] there are two types of people in life, people who care about data

[2:23:15] and people who don't. So if you don't you can cover your ears. I

[2:23:19] think the most important thing to say is that we have a diverse age

[2:23:23] range that centers around 41-60.

[2:23:25] we do provide showers for children, and families.

[2:23:31] and I think our oldest, I want to say

[2:23:35] 98.

[2:23:36] >> 93.

[2:23:39] >> I was cheating there little bit.

[2:23:41] and then a gender breakdown, more males than females but 2/3 to

[2:23:47] 1/3 about.

[2:23:50] so the number of showers we have provided in the last year is 553.

[2:23:53] so that's an average of 10.6 showers every saturday.

[2:23:59] if you look at the trend line starting in 2021 all the way till october,

[2:24:04] it's upward and I think it took us a while to build trust in the

[2:24:07] community for people to know of the resource. If you take our average

[2:24:13] weekly showers it's nearing 13 showers.

[2:24:16] is not uncommon for us to have 20 people.

[2:24:22] we break it down with encounters because there are people

[2:24:25] we can serve who don't necessarily come shower.

[2:24:30] we have had 647 encounters over the last year.

[2:24:36] a big question for us is how often do people return to

[2:24:39] the showers, we have different groups.

[2:24:42] we have people we meet once and maybe they

[2:24:45] are moving through town and we don't see them again, there's a lot of

[2:24:48] people you can see have used our showers twice. Then we have this

[2:24:51] group on the far right that we get to know really well. These are people

[2:24:56] who are coming quite often, in our first year nearly 42% of

[2:25:02] our guests visited our showers three or more times.

[2:25:06] so there's quantitative data and there's really the stories behind

[2:25:11] what we are doing. I think it's being able to bless a mother

[2:25:15] and daughter who are homeless, we were instrumental in helping with

[2:25:19] supporting a mother and daughter that were

[2:25:22] out using our showers and helping them get jobs and housed. Bob wasn't

[2:25:28] able to make it here today, but if you want to learn

[2:25:34] about how to be resilient in life come hang

[2:25:36] out at our shower trailers. People like bob

[2:25:41] who ran marathons in his life, a world-class artist,

[2:25:47] he's traveled. He taught martial arts.

[2:25:53] a wonderful beautiful man and sadly entered homelessness

[2:26:02] when his boat sank.

[2:26:08] but, bob is resilient and doesn't feel

[2:26:12] sorry for himself. I have learned more from bob than I think

[2:26:16] he's learned from me. I think that's part of how we approach this. It's

[2:26:21] a handshake model of service.

[2:26:24] we value the idea that this is not a one-way street of the service,

[2:26:27] that we are gaining and it's okay to say that. I think sometimes we

[2:26:32] feel the need to overemphasize the all true mystic nature of services

[2:26:37] but it's okay that we are all taking care of each other and I think that's

[2:26:41] the core essence of what we are doing. So where we've come,

[2:26:46] I think we have started to build trust in the community, we have

[2:26:49] strengthened our partnerships and bonds,

[2:26:55] I know the people we serve alongside of become close friends. Where we

[2:27:00] hope to go we plan to continue to keep showing

[2:27:05] up.

[2:27:07] we don't plan on going anywhere as long as you will continue to

[2:27:10] have us in your city doing this work. As I think about maturing

[2:27:13] as a program, where we fit in the spectrum of things, there are

[2:27:18] so many programs doing larger numbers and other things.

[2:27:22] I think we build relationships with people and what we would love

[2:27:26] to be able to do is launch those relationships with people to be

[2:27:30] able to have access to some of the resources. Whether it's getting

[2:27:34] people into detox or housing, of course there are challenges

[2:27:38] and barriers but we would love to be able to streamline some of the

[2:27:41] processes as we get to know the specific needs of people. We have

[2:27:45] some immensely talented people on our team and people who have come

[2:27:48] with skill sets and abilities to be able to do it. We would

[2:27:52] love to partner with more and more people as we think about trying

[2:27:55] to get people from where thereat to where they want to be.

[2:27:59] a few of you who are standing in front of me, this is some of our

[2:28:05] vibe.

[2:28:07] last christmas we had a microphone out so if you have a good singing

[2:28:11] voice come join us around the christmas season. You can compete with my

[2:28:15] four-year-old daughter. Thank you. Really.

[2:28:22] it's a true honor to stand here before you and receive an award

[2:28:25] for the recognition from your city.

[2:28:28] thank you.

[2:28:32] >> thank you.

[2:29:53] >> moving on to the city manager reports and remarks.

[2:30:03] >> this will be quick. I'd like to wish the

[2:30:07] staff and the community a safe and happy thanksgiving.

[2:30:11] >> thank you. Do we have any public comments?

[2:30:17] for items not on tonight's agenda?

[2:30:33] >> first I want to congratulate all the candidates

[2:30:37] who just won the most recent election, I would like to tell you guys

[2:30:43] about some of the events that have transpired since I was last here.

[2:30:48] today I just got one of my first donations from mr. Willie moffat

[2:30:52] who donated $600 to split between the three schools.

[2:30:57] and a letter that I sent you guys requesting

[2:31:01] a certain amount of money for us to get.

[2:31:08] oh my gosh it's late and I'm exhausted.

[2:31:14] I went blank. Oh my goodness.

[2:31:18] I just want to thank you guys for being here tonight and listening

[2:31:21] to me. I want to thank you for everything that you have listened

[2:31:26] to me talk about and things in general.

[2:31:29] have a good night.

[2:31:36] >> if there are no additional public comments we will now move to committee

[2:31:41] reports. Do any of my colleagues have any reports they would like

[2:31:45] to make at this time.

[2:31:48] councilmember killings?

[2:31:51] >> through the mayor, last monday the economic development

[2:31:56] subcommittee met, a few of the items we discussed,

[2:32:01] we discussed an update on the letter m funds and their allocations.

[2:32:07] also what would be coming before us tonight regarding public art

[2:32:09] here in the city and the program that will be on the agenda tonight.

[2:32:14] another presentation that we received was about a program which is a community

[2:32:19] gift card program and really in an effort to

[2:32:25] try to support local businesses we gave some feedback in looking

[2:32:34] to see how that develops.

[2:32:37] we also discussed an item on the agenda which is the

[2:32:40] expansion of the contra costa ferry and the study that is taking place.

[2:32:47] one item we had some discussion around was the green empowerment

[2:32:52] zone that was just created by state law under a bill by assembly member

[2:32:58] grayson.

[2:33:09] so there was some discussion around that in terms of trying to understand

[2:33:12] the specifics around the board, the specifics around

[2:33:18] the zone and the process regarding identifying

[2:33:20] of projects and staff was going to be following up and involved

[2:33:23] in some meetings regarding that.

[2:33:27] so something related to that green empowerment zone and the potential

[2:33:29] for the city's participation will be coming forward at a per

[2:33:37] future date. We also received some updates from the chamber of commerce

[2:33:39] and the work they are doing in the community and supporting businesses

[2:33:42] here in our city. With that, that ends my report.

[2:33:48] >> thank you.

[2:33:52] we had both land-use and finance subcommittees that met on this past

[2:33:57] friday. For land-use we had a consultant update

[2:34:01] on the work that has been ongoing surrounding objective land-use standards.

[2:34:10] we also had a conversation and update on downtown pittsburg and which

[2:34:15] uses outside of retail should or should not require use permits

[2:34:20] .

[2:34:23] that is still an ongoing conversation just to build on the work that was

[2:34:26] done a number of years ago. They are on land use and zoning.

[2:34:33] for finance we got a budget update and continued the

[2:34:35] conversation around zero-based budgeting.

[2:34:41] >> councilmember kraft.

[2:34:46] >> along with the vice mayor, the

[2:34:51] pacs subcommittee met with the strategic planner to come up with the strategic

[2:34:56] plan for the foundation, part of that includes revenue identification,

[2:35:01] structure, and more. So

[2:35:06] there are meetings that are set up for the next four months

[2:35:15] , and that recommendation will come back

[2:35:19] to counsel at that time.

[2:35:20] I will leave the community services sub committee report

[2:35:27] to the vice mayor.

[2:35:34] >> through the mayor our community service subcommittee met last week,

[2:35:38] we went over the fund allocations as well as our budget

[2:35:44] and approved that.

[2:35:47] then, we are looking forward to

[2:35:54] moving forward with some of the things that we are looking into

[2:35:57] with regards to small businesses and how we can help them through

[2:35:59] a small business program and that's the end of my update.

[2:36:05] >> thank you vice mayor scales-preston.

[2:36:08] we will now move to our first consideration item.

[2:36:18] >> thank you very much.

[2:36:19] the first consideration item is, authorizing the

[2:36:25] city manager to execute a memorandum for understanding of

[2:36:28] a feasibility study for expanded ferry service in contra costa county.

[2:36:34] this is a study that many members of council have commented on and

[2:36:38] I'm very glad that sarah is here to present this.

[2:36:43] >> tonight we will be discussing

[2:36:47] the proposed memorandum of understanding for expanding ferry service to east

[2:36:50] contra costa county. So there is regional interest

[2:36:56] from antioch, hercules, eastern contra costa county transit authority

[2:37:00] and the contra costa county transit authority to

[2:37:02] expand existing ferry service to east county. You will see here the

[2:37:08] map of current routes.

[2:37:11] for those of us that don't or haven't ferried, some stats.

[2:37:17] it's affordable, the average cost on these current routes

[2:37:20] as you see here are free for passengers under five, discounted for seniors

[2:37:25] and disabled, up to 11 for some.

[2:37:30] 10 minute routes being about $.50 to about a dollar and $.25.

[2:37:36] the average trip length range from 10 minutes to about 60

[2:37:41] minutes.

[2:37:43] typical operation hours are used for both transit commute and recreation,

[2:37:48] 6:30 in the morning through 8:25 p.m. 6:30 in the morning through

[2:37:53] 8:25 p.m.

[2:37:56] other bay area ferry routes include treasure

[2:37:58] island ferry service, golden gate ferry, angel island and alcatraz

[2:38:04] ferry services.

[2:38:20] this study identified potential benefits including the seven on

[2:38:32] your screen and in some cases called for further investigation into feasibility

[2:38:36] of realizing these services in east county locations. The potential

[2:38:38] benefits include affordable and efficient transit option so in 2015

[2:38:42] affairs topped out at about $15 and the

[2:38:47] trip length between 40 minutes between sound -- downtown san

[2:38:53] francisco to hercules.

[2:38:55] another benefit is connectivity.

[2:38:58] east contra costa -- would connect

[2:39:04] to alameda county in san francisco.

[2:39:06] another benefit is accessibility and convenience.

[2:39:11] these fairies are ada accessible vessels. Tickets are sold online

[2:39:17] and trip planning resources are available.

[2:39:21] there are restrooms on board and there are wi-fi available as

[2:39:26] well. The fleet is fairly young, the study discussed new vessels,

[2:39:31] there have also been nine new fairies purchased since

[2:39:36] 2017.

[2:39:39] another benefit is traffic alleviation.

[2:39:42] in 2017 there was 411 daily weekday riders.

[2:39:50] over 1000 would use the antioch martinez hercules system. Job creation

[2:39:56] is another potential benefit.

[2:39:58] besides creating jobs for operation of these routes, it's possible a

[2:40:02] terminal could have positive economic multiplier effects. Although

[2:40:07] further study would need to happen to confirm potential economic impacts

[2:40:12] relative to other development opportunities and/or activities. Regional

[2:40:17] economic development could manifest as people use the ferry for the

[2:40:22] concord pavilion, the center for the arts, theater downtown and etc.

[2:40:28] on the weekends.

[2:40:31] environmental benefits, fewer cars on the road, and alternative

[2:40:35] transit options. Lastly the potential for the nexus of emergency response.

[2:40:42] so recognizing the dual mission as provider of transit and emergency

[2:40:45] services. Providing water access for emergency personnel if and when

[2:40:48] land or air transportation are not feasible, and

[2:40:53] commute or emergency transportation relief, if for while the bridges

[2:40:58] are inoperable.

[2:41:03] >> the 2015 study also had some financial

[2:41:07] conclusions. The first, only one of the four proposed routes

[2:41:11] could operate under existing funding that aims for 40% of

[2:41:17] revenues recovery.

[2:41:20] in 2015, numbers between 20 and 61 million revenues would

[2:41:26] be required to fund direct route services. The number

[2:41:31] ballooned to 55 million or 87 million for interline routes between the

[2:41:36] two or three remaining cities. A second conclusion is initial expenditures

[2:41:41] and capital replacement expenses.

[2:41:46] ranging across the four city study.

[2:41:52] and operational feasibility is also

[2:41:54] affected by policy considerations not addressed in the report. Like

[2:41:57] allocations of regional measure to funds.

[2:42:10] a good example is of another creative funding source.

[2:42:20] richmond currently uses the measure j sub regional program to subsidize

[2:42:22] its operations and the city of richmond also contributed to the improvements

[2:42:26] of their ferry terminals.

[2:42:29] other funding sources are expansive.

[2:42:37] lastly, the 2015 financial feasibility study prompted for more studies.

[2:42:42] which is why we are here. Recommending the authorization, to

[2:42:48] authorize the city manager to execute between the cities,

[2:42:52] county and expand studies to evaluate

[2:42:56] the feasibility of expanded ferry service. The bullets on your screen

[2:43:00] are the main tenets of what they would study.

[2:43:09] >> thank you staff, do any of my colleagues

[2:43:13] have questions for sarah regarding the feasibility study.

[2:43:21] >> all right. I see none.

[2:43:23] I'd like to start off by thanking staff for putting all the hard work

[2:43:31] and trying to figure out how to get the most out of this for the

[2:43:35] city of pittsburg. As you stated, a similar feasibility study was

[2:43:39] conducted in 2015 and pittsburg at the time was

[2:43:45] not a participant.

[2:43:48] about four years ago,

[2:43:54] we were both at a cctv interview for

[2:44:00] us running for city council,

[2:44:05] they asked us what our major initiatives were. Chanel at the time said we

[2:44:11] are going to improve congestion on highway four and I

[2:44:14] thought in my mind, how will we do that? But lo and behold

[2:44:19] I thought all of the things this counsel has really been doing both

[2:44:23] as a member of the city, counsel but also

[2:44:31] members of auxiliary boards and other bodies, to really improve

[2:44:36] mobility for east county and the region, I

[2:44:41] think it's all added up to things like this being possible right?

[2:44:45] so I think that when we look at the funding availability at both

[2:44:48] the federal and state level, there are unprecedented dollars to

[2:44:54] help us see something like this into fruition for our community.

[2:44:58] I think the hardest thing is being centrally located around water,

[2:45:02] the other thing is having the infrastructure for a boat

[2:45:07] to actually be able to dock and it seems like we are well positioned

[2:45:11] in both of those regards.

[2:45:16] I hope this doesn't just stop at a feasibility study but actually

[2:45:19] turns into an opportunity for us to open up new pathways of travel

[2:45:25] for the people that live in our community but also want to visit

[2:45:29] for recreational and other things that most cities

[2:45:33] benefit from in terms of tourism here locally.

[2:45:39] my ask would be, if we do move forward with the

[2:45:44] feasibility study, we take a serious look as

[2:45:49] an alternative mode of transportation for those folks who live around

[2:45:52] the region and are trying to commute.

[2:45:55] and do not see car travel is the way to go.

[2:46:01] this is a vmt reducing project and I think it will further our

[2:46:04] sustainability goals as we think about growth.

[2:46:10] I will also say that, as we think about this we should

[2:46:16] also think about it in a way that doesn't make us contingent or reliant

[2:46:20] on some of our neighboring jurisdictions right? So if we decide

[2:46:25] to move forward how do we do it in a way where we are able to stand

[2:46:30] alone but of course, if antioch or martinez want to

[2:46:35] move forward it just makes the pot sweeter, if they choose not to move

[2:46:38] forward we should still work to create a pathway to make this happen

[2:46:43] because I think it's, it's...

[2:46:49] it's overdue. I want to thank all of my colleagues for being

[2:46:54] supportive of this to date, and would love to hear from you

[2:46:58] if you have anything to add, I would also entertain a motion is anyone

[2:47:03] would like to make one.

[2:47:14] >> we have a motion.

[2:47:17] >> I will definitely just, I will share thoughts

[2:47:23] as we consider this motion.

[2:47:28] I definitely want to appreciate in terms of the effort that you

[2:47:31] have put forward mayor in keeping this conversation alive. I think

[2:47:35] something that's been on the community's mind, is a fairy possible in our

[2:47:41] community? I think the effort in not only understanding

[2:47:43] the feasibility and everything that it was going on in 2015, jumping

[2:47:49] in on this study, I want to thank staff and thank you for thinking

[2:47:53] about putting pittsburg in this joint study because I think there

[2:47:58] is definitely cost savings there in terms of doing this on our own.

[2:48:02] but at least looking into what the feasibility is along with martinez

[2:48:04] and the established routes they were looking at.

[2:48:09] but once again to do our due diligence in terms of what would it take

[2:48:13] for a fairy to be operational on our marina and on our waters.

[2:48:20] and then figuring out the chart or the path in terms of getting

[2:48:23] there but I think this study obviously is the first step in understanding

[2:48:26] and showing the community in terms of questions that

[2:48:31] I'm sure a lot of us get in terms of wanting to see a fairy and being

[2:48:34] able to point to something specific in saying this is what it would

[2:48:39] take to get there. With that, I definitely want to support

[2:48:41] in terms of this motion for the adoption of this mo you for the

[2:48:46] city manager to go ahead and enter for the xp's ability

[2:48:52] -- for the feasibility study.

[2:48:57] >> do we have a second?

[2:48:58] >> I will second.

[2:49:01] >> we have a move and a second, please cast your votes.

[2:49:09] the item passes unanimously.

[2:49:10] I would also like to take a moment to thank supervisor glover for

[2:49:17] also being a champion of this.

[2:49:20] as a member of c cta and the county supervisor.

[2:49:24] because when I called and asked why we were left out of the 2015

[2:49:28] feasibility study he simply noted, at that time,

[2:49:36] maybe the city didn't have an express interest but if there is an interest

[2:49:38] now I would be happy to champion that, so I really appreciate supervisor

[2:49:42] glover pulling together all of his cities that he represents

[2:49:48] the touch the water to see if this was still

[2:49:53] a feasible opportunity in 2022.

[2:49:56] moving on to our next consideration item. Mr. City manager.

[2:50:00] >> thank you very much mr. Mayor.

[2:50:03] the second consideration tonight, to adopt a pledge to address

[2:50:09] persistent opportunity gaps experienced by young men and

[2:50:12] women of color. This is another step building from the youth and

[2:50:15] young adult services master plan.

[2:50:18] colette simonson is here with a presentation.

[2:50:23] >> good evening mr. Mayor, council and members of the dais.

[2:50:28] tonight I will talk to about the adoption of the

[2:50:30] city council resolution to adopt a pledge to a dentist

[2:50:36] address persistent opportunity gaps experienced by young men and

[2:50:40] women of color.

[2:50:48] in 2019 the city of pittsburg hired hpc international to develop a conceptual

[2:50:50] framework in relation to youth services.

[2:50:52] by means of stakeholder meetings and planning sessions.

[2:50:57] in march 2019 the city hosted a kickoff workshop to discuss the

[2:50:59] most critical needs. Representatives included the members of the

[2:51:06] city council, board members and staff from pittsburg unified school

[2:51:09] district. A board member from mount diablo school district, the city

[2:51:13] manager, city staff and the pittsburgh police department.

[2:51:21] hpc completed the framework in july 2019 and worked alongside staff

[2:51:24] to develop the draft plan. On june 20, 2022, the city

[2:51:30] council approved resolution that adopted the youth and development

[2:51:36] master plan with programs and funding specific

[2:51:40] to pittsburg youth and young adults.

[2:51:48] implementation strategy 2.2 of the youth and young adult services

[2:51:51] master plan is to establish local branches of youth support initiatives

[2:51:53] and collaborate with youth mentors, to increase the number of at risk

[2:51:59] and minority youth with positive and professional role models. In

[2:52:02] spring of 2022 and in alignment with mbk, the city of

[2:52:07] pittsburgh joined hundreds of cities and tribal nations across the country

[2:52:14] engaging in cross sector citywide collaboration to create critical

[2:52:16] and transformational systems, to address disparities for pittsburgh's

[2:52:21] youth and men of color.

[2:52:29] it's beneficial not only to the youth and men of color but to the

[2:52:31] economic viability and overall health of the residents in the city of

[2:52:36] pittsburgh. In spring of 2022 and in alignment with mbk, the

[2:52:41] city of pittsburg joined hundreds of cities and tribal nations with

[2:52:46] the effect of us in this effort, underway

[2:52:52] .

[2:52:55] additionally in partnership with improve your tomorrow, the pittsburg

[2:52:59] unified school district is now providing mentorship for young men

[2:53:02] attending martin luther king jr.

[2:53:04] high school, pittsburg high school and black diamond

[2:53:10] high school.

[2:53:13] the city of pittsburg has a population of

[2:53:18] 76,544, with 23.44% under the age of 18,

[2:53:22] 43.3% identifying as latin acts, 34% white,

[2:53:31] 19.4% asian, 13.6% black or african and.9%

[2:53:37] american indian a percentage

[2:53:48] of male youth meet eligibility requirements.

[2:53:54] females graduate meeting uc eligibility nearly

[2:53:59] 20% more than their male combined,

[2:54:03] they represent about 80% of the

[2:54:07] linear rest of you thunder the 17

[2:54:10] across the county. In other words, racial disparities

[2:54:16] -- on june 20, 2022, the council requested staff to work with the

[2:54:18] unified school district to develop a joint resolution to further the

[2:54:21] work and commit opportunity expressed specifically and women of color.

[2:54:25] the other was brought before the board of trustees as an information

[2:54:31] item on november 9, 2022. The word unified school district and the

[2:54:35] city support my brother's keeper of pittsburgh emphasize the commemorative

[2:54:38] partner on closing opportunity gaps for all young men

[2:54:42] and women of color with an overall goal of ultimately ensuring all

[2:54:45] were supported as they pursue a promise with a promising future

[2:54:50] and promising healthy life. Staff is recommending tonight that the

[2:54:53] council adopt a resolution a pledge to address opportunity gaps expressway

[2:54:57] young men and women of color and what with the pittsburgh unified

[2:55:03] school district.

[2:55:05] that's all I have for my presentation.

[2:55:07] I am ready for questions.

[2:55:10] >> thank you. Dave our colleagues have any questions or

[2:55:12] comments they would like to make at this time?

[2:55:18] councilmember?

[2:55:23] >> I would like to think collect, staff, for all of the work we are

[2:55:28] doing on this. I want to thank as we

[2:55:33] have in the conversation as we created the mbk ad hoc, this

[2:55:37] is one of the items during back resolution and so definitely looking

[2:55:41] forward to the continued partnership and working with the school

[2:55:45] district in terms of holding ourselves what we are laying out with resolution.

[2:55:50] it is in general, in terms of the commitment to address

[2:55:55] these disparities through the identified

[2:55:57] programs that we have looked like did and continue to look like in

[2:56:00] terms of those targeted results.

[2:56:03] I know that they there is definitely a sentiment

[2:56:06] and I want to think staff even when we heard in the presentation,

[2:56:10] those that care about data and those that don't and so I think that one

[2:56:15] of the things that we really want to do in terms of this

[2:56:20] effort we are leading into is really looking not only at the data that

[2:56:25] the impacts and the allocations of the dollars

[2:56:28] for none of that we are spending as a city but leveraging with all

[2:56:30] of our community part nurse. I'm going to steal this from our ceo

[2:56:36] at the chamber of commerce.

[2:56:39] he shared the specific sentiment a number of times around

[2:56:42] the booking window with you ray.

[2:56:45] and so when we see the disparities in terms of young men

[2:56:50] of color and we are seeing in terms of academic outcomes

[2:56:53] and engagement with the justice system, and a number of other things,

[2:56:59] this isn't to overlook anything else in the

[2:57:04] city or any other subgroups, but it does say there is a specific

[2:57:09] need that is having a tremendous impact, a negative impact

[2:57:11] in our community and a focused effort to address it. That will really

[2:57:16] stem the tide in terms of what we are seeing

[2:57:20] communitywide. So I really want to lift that up because it is

[2:57:24] not, once again, even as we have the conversation before with different

[2:57:28] policy matters with the us versus them,

[2:57:32] but as we look at the specific framework and look at this resolution, it

[2:57:34] is more so identify that there is a specific problem we are trying

[2:57:39] to address and trying to have the right partners, stakeholders at

[2:57:43] the table in order to address it because when we look at some of

[2:57:47] these disparities, what it ends up poring over to in terms of where

[2:57:50] looking at trying to address whether it is crime or we look at safety

[2:57:55] comments in our schools or things that can go across the board. I

[2:57:58] think strategic focus on areas like this will help us address

[2:58:03] a lot of these common issues we are seeing in our community. And

[2:58:07] then be able to create a path forward in terms of, once

[2:58:12] again, I think the adoption of the master plan, that really looks to

[2:58:14] see all of our youth involved in the

[2:58:19] community regardless of the barriers they are facing. I am definitely

[2:58:23] in support of this effort on the resolution and the

[2:58:27] continued effort that we have with our partners that is being led by

[2:58:30] colette in these efforts. We are really trying to make sure that

[2:58:33] this is done in a strategic action, that

[2:58:37] all of the right stakeholders and partners are at the table. But once

[2:58:40] again, getting the outcomes that we desire as a counsel, as these

[2:58:43] that he, to really see better outcomes overall for our youth here in the

[2:58:47] city. With that, I will definitely support the motion to adopt this

[2:58:51] resolution moving forward, unless there is some other comments

[2:58:55] by councilmembers?

[2:58:57] >> are there any other comments that my colleagues would like to

[2:59:02] make at this time?

[2:59:05] >> I have a question for staff. In terms of

[2:59:09] the youth services master plan and the youth and young services

[2:59:13] master plan, would you mind sharing how much has been allocated toward

[2:59:21] automation realizing this plan?

[2:59:24] >> directly through the aarp surplus major I'm finding

[2:59:30] 875,000 dollars just for the youth and young adult

[2:59:34] services master plan, plus an additional $750,000 for

[2:59:40] mbk and another $750,000 on top

[2:59:46] of that for women of color.

[2:59:48] >> so in total?

[2:59:51] >> in total, that is what? $2.3 million plus the other programs

[2:59:55] that this counsel also did on top of that, but those are the three

[3:00:00] major ones.

[3:00:01] >> thank you. The reason I asked you to share that for the public

[3:00:05] is that that level of investment could not and would not be

[3:00:11] possible if it weren't for the commitment and the partnership

[3:00:15] of this counsel. I think when we first started, we talked a lot about

[3:00:19] seizing an opportunity because we are

[3:00:25] a minority counsel. We are the first minority counsel.

[3:00:31] and this is a strategic intervention which is something well know in

[3:00:38] our community as being an issue, a chronic issue point and so I think

[3:00:41] if any of you leave tonight, I hope you leave with the desire and ability

[3:00:44] to pat yourself on the back point I truly believe that the beneficiaries

[3:00:50] of the strategic action and this thinking are going to be

[3:00:54] the ones that will benefit from programs like the my brother's

[3:01:00] keeper initiative and the my sister's initiative. The other things

[3:01:03] we have developed are within the youth and young adult services

[3:01:09] master plan.

[3:01:11] it has already been stated that there are several programs in our

[3:01:13] community that currently work with youth and young people today.

[3:01:19] but never in our city's history have we been able to identify

[3:01:24] a subgroup of young people who have been disproportionately

[3:01:29] impacted. We have actually

[3:01:34] passed a strategic and to help improve outcomes as they work through

[3:01:39] the school district and move into building healthy

[3:01:44] lives for themselves. I also want to say that never in the city's

[3:01:49] history has the city and the school district signed a joint

[3:01:55] resolution on any strategic imperative that although we have

[3:01:59] had a two by two subcommittee, I hope this is the beginning and a

[3:02:04] testament of hopefully what can happen if we continue

[3:02:09] to work together. The school district and the city, to help

[3:02:13] move our community forward. We understand the city has a job.

[3:02:18] and the school district has a job.

[3:02:20] I think it is really cool that we can look at our community and say,

[3:02:24] you know, we both are here to serve our community

[3:02:29] in this way and are we committed in this way to actually seeing that

[3:02:32] to fruition. We have had some tough dialogue, but I want to thank

[3:02:38] each and everyone of you for showing up and not checking out of the discussion.

[3:02:43] I am completely convinced that your desire to stay in the discussion

[3:02:49] is because you understand, because you either have children or you

[3:02:53] have family in the school district and you have been a young person

[3:02:57] of color in this city before. You understand the need.

[3:03:03] I just want to thank you all for continuing to move this

[3:03:07] forward. Much like I reminisce on the story of

[3:03:13] shanelle scales-preston and

[3:03:18] I and the tv interview, I also remember asking you, councilmember

[3:03:24] , jelani killings, at the time before I was elected, what can I

[3:03:27] do to be helpful? You told me youth services is the most important thing

[3:03:31] on my mind. And so I hope with this, we

[3:03:37] have you in the community and everyone else

[3:03:39] appear, that we bring you justice.

[3:03:42] councilmember merl craft?

[3:03:48] >> yes, you are absolutely right.

[3:03:50] this is an amazing time in pittsburgh and that we are prioritizing our

[3:03:56] youth. Our youth of color, our youth of all

[3:04:01] colors. And so, making sure that everyone understands that we

[3:04:06] are prioritizing right now because when

[3:04:11] there is a burning building, you put the fire out first and then

[3:04:15] you move forward.

[3:04:18] that is to continue to accomplish the goal you want. And so

[3:04:22] understanding that right now, that is the priority now. There is a

[3:04:25] fire and we are putting out fire out and we are moving forward with

[3:04:29] this pledge. But that does not mean that that is at the exclusion

[3:04:34] of every other youth in our community. And so

[3:04:37] we want people to understand that this pledge that this counsel made

[3:04:41] in setting the dollars, setting those aside for our youth,

[3:04:46] we plan on moving that forward with

[3:04:51] our youth and moving all of our youth forward. Thank you.

[3:04:54] >> thank you, councilmember merl craft. If there are no further

[3:05:00] comments, I will entertain, there is a motion, a second?

[3:05:08] >> yes, I will make a motion to

[3:05:12] adopt city council resolution to adopt a pledge to address persistent

[3:05:14] opportunity gaps six variance by young men and women of color.

[3:05:19] >> thank you, vice mayor shanelle scales-preston.

[3:05:22] >> yes, I would like to second.

[3:05:25] >> please cast your votes.

[3:05:28] all right, motion passes unanimously. I'd also like

[3:05:32] to thank our consultant for being

[3:05:36] here. It is a far trek from where you live and it is late and I appreciate

[3:05:39] you committing your heart and your mind in your resources to help with

[3:05:43] these meetings.

[3:05:52] moving on to consideration item number

[3:05:56] seven. Mr. City manager?

[3:05:58] >> thank you very much, mr. Mayor.

[3:06:00] it is the third consideration item is a consideration to hire a retired

[3:06:05] annuitant with government code sections

[3:06:11] 7522. 56, 21221 and 21224.

[3:06:19] the resources director is here for the presentation. Jennifer?

[3:06:33] >> the director of records and counsel services intends to

[3:06:46] retire effective december 29, 2022.

[3:06:55] the employee, alice evenson, has opportunities serve as a retired

[3:07:00] annuitant on a temporary basis so operations

[3:07:05] can continue moving forward.

[3:07:08] in order to maintain

[3:07:14] a seamless -- over 25 years as institutional knowledge

[3:07:19] has been integral to city clerk operations, serving as an executive

[3:07:23] leader as well as a city clerk since 2006.

[3:07:32] calpers has a 180 day waiting period for government

[3:07:36] code sections and that section can be made for critically needed positions

[3:07:41] sooner than 180 days.

[3:07:44] this section applies to alice evenson's

[3:07:50] as a retired militant due to technical skills and knowledge needed to transition

[3:07:53] the scope of responsibilities during this period.

[3:07:57] alice evenson will work as an extra help, extra help, retired annuitant

[3:08:02] with the city clerk office to transition the director of counsel services

[3:08:06] such as maintaining the city's estate of history and providing

[3:08:09] assistance to the public and other departments and outside agencies

[3:08:13] effective january 9, 2023.

[3:08:21] that is the end of my presentation.

[3:08:22] are there any questions I can answer for you?

[3:08:25] >> thank you. And if my colleagues have any questions or staff? If

[3:08:29] not, I will entertain a motion.

[3:08:44] we have a motion.

[3:08:47] >> yes.

[3:08:49] on the motion of a city council resolution for consideration to

[3:08:54] hire a calpers retired annuitant in accordance

[3:08:58] with code section 7522 point 156, 2221

[3:09:03] and 21224.

[3:09:06] >> and a second?

[3:09:10] >> I will second the motion.

[3:09:13] >> please cast your votes.

[3:09:19] motion passes unanimously. Moving on to consideration item number

[3:09:21] eight, mr. City manager?

[3:09:24] >> thank you very much, mr. Mayor.

[3:09:27] as of the city council, for the consideration item is

[3:09:33] the authorization to the city manager to know shape and execute

[3:09:35] an agreement with local addition creative for eddie wide are planning

[3:09:38] and neural installation services. Jordan davis, director of

[3:09:44] development is here with the presentation. Jordan?

[3:09:49] >> thank you, mr. City manager. Good

[3:09:52] evening, mayor, vice mayor, and members of the city council.

[3:09:56] this item was first brought before the economic development waterfront

[3:10:00] development committee in august of 2021. At the time, the discussions

[3:10:03] centered around opportunities to improve aesthetics of the city as

[3:10:07] well as to drive tours and celebrate the city's immense history and diversity.

[3:10:12] in may of this year, 20 50,000 was earmarked for public art

[3:10:17] installations and this returned to the waterfront subcommittee

[3:10:22] in september of this year and then again just last week as councilmember

[3:10:28] jelani killings mentioned earlier. The purpose

[3:10:33] of this project is to create a blueprint for

[3:10:37] the city's approach to creating public art into activities and developments

[3:10:42] that are going to be coming to the city. This is

[3:10:47] more than just murals. This is place making. That is what we are

[3:10:50] focused on achieving as part of this. Are looking at having morals,

[3:10:52] but also sculptures a potentially even an immersive art experience.

[3:10:57] think about those who travel throughout

[3:11:00] the country this year. Something emma may be on a smaller scale,

[3:11:03] but along those lines where folks will come and visit and, you know,

[3:11:07] take place or participate, I should say, in an immersive

[3:11:12] art experience and also shop and dine. Any of those types of things

[3:11:17] in our city. We are hoping to send her this around events. We are

[3:11:23] you want to meet people where they're at, as the saying goes.

[3:11:27] and also clued folks like the pittsburg high school marching

[3:11:31] band for that is one of the feathers in the cap of the city, if you will.

[3:11:34] and a group that we have already had discussions with this contractor

[3:11:38] about incorporating. This also would potentially include film and photography

[3:11:43] services added dedicated website if you so choose.

[3:11:48] and mainly, or perhaps most importantly, I should

[3:11:50] say, project managers. This is somebody was not a track record in doing

[3:11:55] these types of implementations throughout cities. This company worked

[3:12:01] on the creative concord initiative last year and is also worked in

[3:12:04] the city of the creek and other private firms to enhance public

[3:12:08] art in those areas.

[3:12:11] this is the proposal from local addition creative that we

[3:12:16] are working on. And we are proposing to allow the city manager to negotiate

[3:12:21] a execute a contract consistent with this proposal includes installation

[3:12:26] of five murals as well as

[3:12:32] the renting of a home and a scissor lift to

[3:12:37] get to some of those tough to reach areas. The uv protective coating

[3:12:40] for all of murals and the coating.

[3:12:42] this also includes the anti-graffiti coating

[3:12:47] that is going to be necessary for some of these this proposal also

[3:12:50] includes sculpture installation of one large sculpture that will

[3:12:55] provide some examples of what I can look like for a six to eight

[3:13:00] month period.

[3:13:01] that includes all of the logistics.

[3:13:03] and then alteration organization and facilitation of this project

[3:13:09] . We have also noted on there, while it is not included in this

[3:13:14] because we have to financial scope and location

[3:13:17] or duration of the immersive art experience, but we have sort of

[3:13:20] identified $20,000 as being an approximate amount for what something like that

[3:13:26] might cost us.

[3:13:28] as mentioned, staff is receive the promotional from local edition.

[3:13:33] 20 $50,000 was allocated for public art by the city council earlier

[3:13:38] this year. At this time, staff is requesting that city council allocate

[3:13:43] $200,000 for the contract, including phase

[3:13:45] one. So the initial contract would be for

[3:13:49] $147,500. The remaining funds would be available for the city manager

[3:13:54] to execute additional work orders and task orders for perhaps more

[3:13:59] murals along with our installation or

[3:14:04] that which can grow in size to also the count for that. The

[3:14:10] euro location, artist, and final designs would be selected in coordination

[3:14:15] with pacf. And the final approval would be by

[3:14:21] the city council. I will pause there and say the reason

[3:14:25] I am bringing this before you tonight is because we don't just want to

[3:14:28] select a few errors in point murals appeared we want to work

[3:14:32] to identify the best location and figure what the process is going

[3:14:36] to be. A lot of the girls are going to be on private

[3:14:39] property and so we are going to need to record it with the property

[3:14:41] owners to talk about maintenance and getting the proper permits in

[3:14:45] place to handle that. But the final approval of all locations, mural

[3:14:50] designs, and artist will be at the approval of the city

[3:14:53] council. Artist preference is to be local, but as was mentioned earlier,

[3:14:57] are economic meeting last week, we don't want to exclude the potential

[3:15:02] for notable artists who might be able to do one of these murals

[3:15:05] to drive more visitors to the city of pittsburgh. So

[3:15:10] we have identified just kind of for the purposes of --

[3:15:16] getting a feel for what this could look like. A few locations

[3:15:20] in downtown and a few outside of downtown that might make good

[3:15:25] backdrops for some of these murals. So here,

[3:15:34] you can see five locations in downtown.

[3:15:36] I want to be clear, we have not talked to these property owners.

[3:15:38] we would need to talk with the property owners and identify what

[3:15:41] our requests are going to be and what the requirements are going

[3:15:44] to be for installing and maintaining these. And getting those access

[3:15:47] agreements. But these are five locations that

[3:15:52] local addition actually identified as being prime for potential murals.

[3:15:56] and these are a few, not downtown locations. Probably

[3:16:02] buried in their difficulty to work with the agency or the folks that

[3:16:05] have jurisdiction over some of these areas, like the b.a.r.t. Station

[3:16:09] . But frankly, a big link campus that would be

[3:16:15] a real key entry feature to the

[3:16:20] city of pittsburgh. There are also some areas that would have some

[3:16:25] entry signage., for example, the bottom left-hand

[3:16:28] corner, you'll probably recognize the terminus of the eastbound

[3:16:34] harbor railroad offramp.

[3:16:37] there is sort of a litany of signs, if you will,

[3:16:41] that are haphazardly thrown together.

[3:16:44] we have actually coordinated with the developer of

[3:16:50] outlook storage who is hopefully going to be redeveloping the property.

[3:16:54] we will get into some conversations to actually contribute to the

[3:16:59] installation of a wii finding feature as you enter the city. This might

[3:17:05] be an opportunity to combine that with some art really create something

[3:17:08] that is special as folks get off one of our most frequently used

[3:17:12] offramp's.

[3:17:15] these are some sculpture ideas. I selected these two because

[3:17:20] these were on the island. Where the pittsburg power company --

[3:17:26] operate.

[3:17:27] those islands, two years ago, underwent a similar type of contract

[3:17:33] with local edition creative to install

[3:17:37] murals but also to bring some of these cultures and for a limited

[3:17:41] period of time and they drove tourism as folks came to some of those juries

[3:17:46] or some of the other shops on their island, they stopped and

[3:17:48] they took pictures and they work really stick him at nighttime so

[3:17:51] they could take a picture of this dr. Who looking circle thing. At

[3:17:57] nighttime. So that is the idea, to drive tourism, give people

[3:18:02] a reason to come to different areas of pittsburgh, then

[3:18:07] hopefully, when they are here, to shop, eat, do that type of thing

[3:18:15] . But also to invest in our community and make it more aesthetically pleasing.

[3:18:17] make the residents of the city also proud to live here, to have these

[3:18:20] murals and to have the things that make people want to be downtown,

[3:18:24] to want to be out and about. And not just sitting at home. It really

[3:18:27] adds to the flavor of pittsburgh and it is something we think will

[3:18:31] go a long way in really making pittsburgh the home of art

[3:18:37] and across the county as a whole. With that,

[3:18:42] the staff recommendation is to adopt resolution authorizing the city

[3:18:45] manager to negotiate and execute an agreement with

[3:18:51] local edition creative for public art installations but I would be

[3:18:53] happy to answer any questions you have.

[3:18:56] >> thank you, jordan. Do any of my colleagues have any questions

[3:18:59] for staff? If not, I will entertain a motion.

[3:19:12] councilmember?

[3:19:14] >> yes, I just wanted to add some comments in discussions we had on

[3:19:18] the economic subcommittee meeting.

[3:19:20] I think jordan, through his presentation, really covered it well. Looking

[3:19:24] at this to the lens of place making. I know we have had

[3:19:31] a lot of discussions about the value of public art as it relates to beautification

[3:19:34] efforts as well as, once again, what we are doing in terms of our

[3:19:38] emphasis on roads and landscaping. And so really wanting to

[3:19:45] drive that home in terms of this particular effort with the place

[3:19:48] making. One area that I brought up in terms of our discussions

[3:19:53] , as you see, we will be looking at potential locations in terms

[3:19:57] of where these murals and sculptures can go. There is a lot of work that

[3:20:01] has to go into that. So not necessarily trying to get

[3:20:08] a consensus on the exact locations, but I did want to point out that

[3:20:13] you saw in the first slide that there were a number of them

[3:20:16] that were located in some really kind of hidden places in downtown.

[3:20:21] one of the sentiments that I really want to be heard is that I really

[3:20:26] want this to be in coordination, at least from my perspective,

[3:20:28] with the beautification of our entryways.

[3:20:30] really making sure there is a focus on the entryways. That is why you

[3:20:34] see and I gave some suggestions about that part entrance, but for

[3:20:40] some that you see right off of leverage. And of course,

[3:20:46] california. When we are looking at the public storage. There is

[3:20:48] been a lot of conversation that we have had in general, just about

[3:20:55] new signs, whether it is we making, and even as we are now looking at

[3:20:58] public art, really tying it into what we are trying to do overall

[3:21:00] through our beautification process and really having a specific focus

[3:21:02] around what areas we are trying to enhance first as we are trying

[3:21:07] to drive.

[3:21:09] I think we have some good conversations about wanting to continue to drive

[3:21:12] traffic to downtown and also understanding that there are a lot of places around

[3:21:17] town that need that as well. But wanting to ensure that when

[3:21:21] people are passing through pittsburgh, weather is on highway 4 or

[3:21:25] as soon as they get off the exit, what is that immediate kind of feeling

[3:21:30] they get when they enter our community? I really feel like this could

[3:21:33] be one of those projects that could help spearhead with creating a real

[3:21:39] sense with not only identifying our diversity, our culture, our

[3:21:44] history, but really that wow factor when you enter into our community

[3:21:52] . Douglas and the other element as far as we want to make sure that

[3:21:55] we are giving opportunities for local artists and there is a preference

[3:21:57] there. If there is somebody that, you know, creates a piece of art

[3:22:01] that is so compelling or maybe their work is prominent throughout the

[3:22:05] bay area and it would add that element to our community by having it here,

[3:22:09] being open to that as well. So I just share that we have had a

[3:22:12] lot of conversations about this project. And ultimately, even in

[3:22:15] looking at this specific program with how

[3:22:20] we create and craft a public art policy for the city, in terms of

[3:22:26] how do we sustain public art, whether it is a new development, whether

[3:22:30] it is in terms of the type or the sculpture of this immersive

[3:22:36] experience in other opportunities.

[3:22:37] there is a lot more conversations around the public art concept here

[3:22:41] in the city. But I think jordan

[3:22:46] hit it on the head in terms of looking at it more so from the place making

[3:22:49] and also the beautification efforts that we have ongoing here in the

[3:22:52] city. I will just add those thoughts.

[3:22:53] I would be happy to make a motion to approve this item if there are

[3:22:56] no other thoughts or comments from the colleagues.

[3:23:00] >> vice mayor shanelle scales-preston?

[3:23:04] >> yes. Thank you, jordan, for the great presentation. Our

[3:23:09] city could end up being one of those cities that are like the 10 most

[3:23:12] instagrammable cities. Other cities are like that

[3:23:17] where they have murals and they have sculptures and different artwork

[3:23:20] and, you know, it would be listed, people come through just to take

[3:23:26] a picture. Believe it or not, very young people. And so I just want

[3:23:32] to make sure that as we are working in us, that we

[3:23:35] get community input so that the community understands that, you

[3:23:40] know, we are not doing this without them. We want to include

[3:23:43] them and get their feedback from the young people as well. If we

[3:23:47] can keep that in mind. Thank you.

[3:23:50] >> I just wanted to add two things. I hope the community

[3:23:55] takes it

[3:24:00] to instagram, the city. And I also wanted to give a quick shout out

[3:24:04] to rosemary for working with our local art community.

[3:24:08] is there a motion

[3:24:13] or any other comments that anyone would like to make on this item?

[3:24:19] >> I make a motion for the adoption of the city council

[3:24:24] relation to execute an agreement with the local edition

[3:24:28] creative for citywide art planning and neural installation services

[3:24:34] .

[3:24:35] >> do I have a second?

[3:24:37] >> yes, I will second that motion.

[3:24:39] >> okay, please cast your votes.

[3:24:42] motion passes unanimously.

[3:24:45] moving on to our conflicts of interest

[3:24:50] is any councilmember have a conflict of interest they would like to make

[3:24:54] at this time?

[3:25:03] I am seeing none.

[3:25:06] we will now move to our combined city council pittsburgh immunity

[3:25:08] foundation whispered power company successor agency and

[3:25:14] southwest pittsburgh ghad ii calendar. Those have two

[3:25:23] only three discloses for.

[3:25:26] calendar items 14 and 15. Pursuant to governor

[3:25:30] code extend 54953 c 3, 14, a recommendation to approve

[3:25:37] the minutes to this to the attorney employment agreement. The amendment

[3:25:42] includes a revision of the agreement terms and increase in

[3:25:46] the salary by 5%.

[3:25:49] the 21,252 monthly, affective july

[3:25:55] 10, 2022.

[3:25:57] that provides for salary increases based on a consumer price

[3:26:03] index, cpa, council approval.

[3:26:08] for item number 15, pursuant to government code section 54953,

[3:26:14] c 3, agenda item number 15 recordation to approve

[3:26:19] the amendments to the city manager employment agreement

[3:26:23] . The amendment includes a salary increase of 7 1/2%

[3:26:32] to $23,097.83 monthly.

[3:26:35] effective july 10, 2022.

[3:26:38] a revision of the annual evaluation terms. I will now

[3:26:44] take a motion and a second.

[3:26:47] >> mayor, I make a motion to approve

[3:26:50] this consent item calendar items that your 15.

[3:26:54] >> I second that motion.

[3:26:56] >> thank you. Please cast your votes.

[3:27:02] motion passes unanimously.

[3:27:05] all right. Now to the counsel requests for

[3:27:12] future agenda items. Would any councilmember like to make a request for future

[3:27:16] agenda items at this time?

[3:27:27] moving on to councilmember remarks. Would

[3:27:32] any councilmember like to make any remarks at this time?

[3:27:36] vice mayor shanelle scales-preston?

[3:27:39] >> yes, thank you, mr. Mayor. On saturday

[3:27:44] , councilmember

[3:27:49] merl craft and myself went out to -- known as motel 6. The

[3:27:55] buffalo soldiers and supervisor provided a

[3:28:01] thanksgiving meal. A hot meal.

[3:28:06] councilwoman merl craft and myself played it close to 200 meals and

[3:28:12] they all delivered individually, due to

[3:28:17] covid. So someone took a meal to each apartment or

[3:28:23] room there. I just appreciate them for constantly

[3:28:28] thinking about doing this every year. I think this has

[3:28:32] been done for the past couple years in the community there.

[3:28:38] they were really happy to have a hot meal for thanksgiving. Also

[3:28:44] , after we left from there [ laughter ] we went over

[3:28:50] to attend a youth conference for young

[3:28:55] women for ages 12 to 21. That was put

[3:29:01] on by andrea taylor. She put on this conference annually.

[3:29:06] we were happy to have some of our pittsburgh youth there

[3:29:10] and they focus on confidence and self-esteem. Mental health

[3:29:16] . It was just great to have some of our

[3:29:22] young ladies on stage and be able to be confident enough to talk

[3:29:26] about, you know, things like until health and

[3:29:32] -- it is tough when you are that age. And to actually, they

[3:29:37] did a, what was it called? They did a sketch

[3:29:46] with a mere appeared she brought a mirror on stage, andrea did it

[3:29:49] so she has these young ladies to look in the mirror and tell me what

[3:29:53] you think of yourself. And for them to be there to stand on stage and

[3:29:59] like I like this about myself, but I don't like that. But you

[3:30:03] know? It's okay, I don't care what people think because I think I am

[3:30:06] awesome anyway. Have that confidence with adults recognize the things

[3:30:08] that they don't like. So I look forward to working with andrea more

[3:30:14] with our young ladies here in the city. Thank

[3:30:16] you.

[3:30:19] >> thank you, vice mayor shanelle scales-preston.

[3:30:25] would anybody else like to make any remarks at this time?

[3:30:30] >> yes. We also, yesterday, we went, the soldiers put

[3:30:36] on, they brought out so we can go see -- and so that is

[3:30:41] the story and so afterwards, they had discussion

[3:30:45] as to what did it mean to them are what did they understand

[3:30:50] about it? And one of the things that was the most, I think, the

[3:30:54] thing that really shook them was the fact that this story was from

[3:30:59] 1955. It wasn't until 2021, no, 2022, that

[3:31:05] it was, lynching

[3:31:10] was actually put on the books.

[3:31:11] and so, the question was one of them asked was, why would that take

[3:31:16] so long? And vice mayor shanelle scales-preston

[3:31:21] said because it is about voting and putting

[3:31:24] people in place and in power that can make those type of changes.

[3:31:28] until that happens, change doesn't happen. So

[3:31:32] that was a good learning experience for them.

[3:31:38] it was a lot of youth there as well. We just appreciate

[3:31:43] the soldiers for continuing to try to educate the community. Thank

[3:31:45] you.

[3:31:48] >> thank you.

[3:31:51] are there any other comments at this time?

[3:31:56] all right, seeing none, we will close this meeting in memory of

[3:32:02] two individuals that passed away recently. Joan

[3:32:08] and elaine cox works.

[3:32:09] joan started her first common practice here in

[3:32:15] partners in 1970, working for agencies throughout

[3:32:19] the bay area, including pittsburgh.

[3:32:20] following her retirement from the firm, she started, she worked

[3:32:26] as a consultant.

[3:32:28] recently, she especially loved working for pittsburgh

[3:32:33] . She helped him enter some of the city's most largest and consequential

[3:32:36] project throughout the years. Including the cable,

[3:32:40] the expansion of the recycling center and transfer station,

[3:32:46] columbia was solo through delta energy storage project

[3:32:51] . While she was never formally part of the pittsburgh staff, she was

[3:32:54] an important member of the team.

[3:33:03] elaine cox works passed away today. She was a former

[3:33:09] employee and she worked for the pittsburgh economic housing and

[3:33:13] development corporation during the housing crisis of 2008. I would

[3:33:18] also like to invite councilmember kraft

[3:33:22] to share any additional comments or remarks about either one of these

[3:33:25] individuals.

[3:33:28] >> yes, and so along with rosemary, she was also, she

[3:33:34] worked for -- which the downtown office and especially

[3:33:38] during the crisis of 2008, trying to keep people in their homes.

[3:33:44] and through today, she was at her office when she had a heart attack.

[3:33:47] one of the things she was doing was working on homeless rights and

[3:33:52] on housing that was the commitment she had made to this

[3:33:56] community and to the county. That would be

[3:33:59] elaine cox brooks.

[3:34:03] >> we will close tonight's meeting in their honor.

City Council Meeting - 11/21/22

Agenda

Transcript