Phillips Introduces Resolution to Examine Parks Spending

Councilmember Anthony Phillips introduced a resolution “authorizing the Philadelphia City Council Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to hold public hearings on the condition of the City’s public park system, including funding, maintenance, infrastructure, staffing, safety, and opportunities to establish sustainable long-term revenue streams to support Philadelphia’s parks, recreation centers, and public green spaces.”

According to the resolution, the City of Philadelphia “manages one of the largest and oldest urban park systems in the United States, overseeing approximately 11,516 acres of parkland.” This includes city spaces such as recreation centers and pools.  The benefits to operating these community spaces are manifold; as maintains these spaces contribute to the city’s fight against climate change, and serve as community centers that provide recreation options to Philadelphia’s youth. 

Regarding the amount of funding the city does provide, Philadelphia lags behind peer cities, spending about $112 per citizen. Information provided by Phillips office shows that Baltimore spends about $155 per citizen, and Pittsburgh and Cincinnati spend $176 and $239, respectively. 

Jones Calls for Senior Housing Emergency Plans

Councilmember Curtis Jones introduced a bill creating “security and emergency preparedness requirements for senior housing facilities.” The law defines senior housing facilities as any residential building, apartment complex, or independent living facility containing ten or more dwelling units where at least 80% of the units are occupied or meant to be occupied by people 62 years of age or older. 

 The measures required by the new law, if passed, will include 24 hour on-site security, concierge, or trained property representative who is physically on-site. The building must also install high-definition video surveillance camera at entry points, emergency exits, and common areas. All primary exterior entrances and exits must have self-locking, self-closing doors. 

The legislation also requires a comprehensive emergency security plan, which includes maintaining a roster of tenants requiring specialized assistance, fire evacuation plans, and scheduled and staff and security trainings held every year. 

Bass Wants CPR, Conflict Resolution Taught to City Employees

Councilmember Cindy Bass introduced a pair of resolutions for Public Safety committee hearings on “implementing mandatory conflict resolution and de-escalation training for city employees,” and for “implementation of CPR and emergency overdose awareness training for all City employees to strengthen emergency preparedness and situational awareness across City government.”

The first resolution would “expand conflict resolution and de-escalation training across all City departments,” and provide city employees with the tools to handle high-stress environments while maintaining calm communication. The City already supports community-based conflict resolution programs and services to Philadelphians and local businesses and community groups. 

Bass’s second resolution cites medical emergencies and overdoses as the impetus for the trainings, as only between 23 and 28 percent of Philadelphians suffering from cardiac arrest revived CPR from a bystander, which is well below the national average of 40 percent. According to the resolution, immediate CPR and double or triple a person’s chance of survival by maintaining blood flow until trained medical personnel arrive. 

Last Week’s Committee Hearings

On Tuesday, May 26th, the Committee on Parks and Recreation heard testimony on the following legislation:

Resolution No. 260346

Resolution Authorizing Council’s Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs to hold public hearings for applicants seeking nomination to serve on the Commission on Parks and Recreation and further authorizing the Committee to recommend for Council’s consideration nominations to be forwarded to the mayor.

Bill No. 260424

An Ordinance Establishing temporary parking regulations, and enforcement thereof, and temporary residential and guest parking permits for the vicinity of: the area bounded by the intersection of North 21st street and North College avenue, North 21st street, Master street, North 25th street, Cecil B. Moore avenue, North 33rd street, West Oxford street, West Glenwood avenue, North 32nd street and continuing along the railroad boundary south from North 32nd street at West Thompson street to the intersection of Aspen Street, Pennsylvania avenue, Hamilton street, North 21st street, Fairmount avenue, Corinthian avenue, Brown street, North 21st street, Poplar street, Corinthian avenue, South College avenue, Poplar street, West College avenue, North College avenue to the intersection of North College avenue and North 21st street, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260430

An Ordinance Authorizing the Commissioner of Parks and Recreation, on behalf of the City of Philadelphia, to enter into a multi-year lease agreement with the Fairmount Park Conservancy, under which the City would lease to the Conservancy portions of the City-owned premises known as Franklin Delano Roosevelt Park for the Conservancy’s use, operation, management, maintenance, and repair, all under certain terms and conditions.

Also on May 26th, the Committee on Technology and Information Services heard testimony on the following legislation:

Bill No. 260385

An Ordinance Authorizing the Chief Information Officer, on behalf of the City, to enter into a multi-year agreement to purchase support for mainframe and database software protocols and applications, under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260386

An Ordinance Authorizing the Chief Information Officer, on behalf of the City, to enter into a multi-year agreement to purchase licenses for email, cloud services, enterprise software, data services, security software, and other related computing products and services, under certain terms and conditions.

On May 27th, the Committee on Law and Government heard testimony on the following legislation:

Bill No. 267076

An Ordinance Providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by Council proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter relating to the creation of the Philadelphia Child Welfare Commission; and authorizing and directing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.

Bill No. 260264

An Ordinance Providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of the proposal set forth in a Resolution approved by Council proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the creation of a Creative Philadelphia, to provide for the powers and duties of such office, and to otherwise provide for incorporation of the office into the City government; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election; all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260457

An Ordinance Providing for the submission to the qualified electors of the City of Philadelphia of an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to change City procurement procedures and requirements; fixing the date of a special election for such purpose; prescribing the form of ballot questions to be voted on; and authorizing the appropriate officers to publish notice and to make arrangements for the special election.

Bill No. 260458

An Ordinance Amending Section 17-103 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Bonds Relating to Procurement Contracts” to amend requirements related to performance and payment bonds on certain contracts and providing for disclosure and monitoring of the bond acquisition cost, all under certain terms and conditions

Bill No. 260459

An Ordinance Amending Section 17-109 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Local Bidding Preferences,” by establishing a new category of bid preference for businesses that are both local and small, and amending definitions, certification, goal setting and reporting requirements, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260460

Ordinance Amending Chapter 17-1400 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Non-Competitively Bid Contracts; Financial Assistance,” by updating references and exclusions, all under certain terms and conditions.

Resolution No. 260094

Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter providing for the creation of the Philadelphia Child Welfare Commission; and providing for the submission of the proposed amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

Resolution No. 260467

Resolution Proposing an amendment to The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to change City procurement procedures and requirements; and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

Resolution No. 260270

Resolution Proposing an amendment to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter to provide for the creation of Creative Philadelphia and providing for the submission of the amendment to the electors of Philadelphia.

The Committee on Licenses and Inspections also met on May 27th to hear testimony on the following legislation:

Bill No. 250644

Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by adopting the 2021 edition of the “International Energy Conservation Code” and the “International Residential Code- Part IV Energy Conservation” as published by the International Code Council, with previously adopted amendments thereto, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 250645

An Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by adopting the 2021 edition of the “International Plumbing Code” as published by the International Code Council, including introduction of new amendments and maintenance of previously adopted amendments to the 2018 International Plumbing Code, as adopted under the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260391

An Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by amending Subcode “M” (The Philadelphia Mechanical Code) and adopting the 2021 edition of the “International Mechanical Code,” as published by the International Code Council, with amendments thereto, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260392

An Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by amending Subcode “G” (The Philadelphia Fuel Gas Code), Subcode “PC” (The Philadelphia Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities), and Subcode “EB” (The Philadelphia Existing Building Code), and adopting the 2021 editions of the “International Fuel Gas Code,” “Performance Code for Buildings and Facilities,” and “International Existing Building Code,” as published by the International Code Council, with amendments thereto, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260393

An Ordinance Amending Subcode “A” (The Philadelphia Administrative Code) of Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code (The Building, Construction and Occupancy Code),by revising and clarifying certain provisions; making corrections for compliance with the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act; and making technical changes; all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260394

An Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by amending Subcode “B” (The Philadelphia Building Code) and adopting the 2021 edition of the “International Building Code,” as published by the International Code Council, with various amendments thereto, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.

Bill No. 260395

An Ordinance Amending Title 4 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “The Philadelphia Building Construction and Occupancy Code,” by amending Subcode “R” (The Philadelphia Residential Code) and adopting the 2021 edition of the “InternationalResidential Code,” as published by the International Code Council, with amendments thereto, as authorized by the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction Code Act, all under certain terms and conditions.