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From YouTube: Pittsburgh City Council Public Hearing - 6/16/22
Description
proposed annexation of the Borough of Wilkinsburg by the City of Pittsburgh
A
Good
evening
and
welcome
to
pittsburgh
city
council,
cable,
cast
public
hearing,
we
are
discussing
tonight,
the
city
of
pittsburgh's
proposed
annexation
of
wilkinsburg
borough.
We
have
a
number
of
registered
speakers
and
then
everyone
who
is
here
even
if
you're
not
registered,
you
will
be
given
a
chance
to
speak.
So
we're
grateful
for
you
to
be
here,
and
I
am
councilman
reverend
ricky
burgess.
I
represent
the
ninth
council
district.
I
am
the
president
pro
tem
or
vice
president
serve
of
council,
and
so
I
am
hosting
and
conducting
tonight's
meeting
on
behalf
of
council.
A
A
Okay-
and
so
the
next
thing
we
do
is
an
overview
now,
council
is
in
the
midst
of
doing
a
more
comprehensive
study
of
the
impact
of
wilkinsburg
upon
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
That
report
is
not
done
yet,
but
we
are
doing
it.
It
will
be
delivered
to
council
as
a
formal
report,
and
it
will
be
divided
up
into
how
it
will
impact
each
of
our
committees.
A
A
I
want
to
thank
john,
who
is
our
sergeant
of
arms
is
with
us
every
day
and
ira
and
our
guest
officers.
God
bless
you
thank
you.
I
feel
very
safe
tonight,
all
right,
wilkinsburg
pittsburgh
and
each
municipality
school
districts
have
successful
wilkinsburg
and
pittsburgh.
Each
municipality
school
district
have
successfully
combined
several
functions
over
the
past
15
years.
In
other
words,
we
have
already
in
some
ways
combined
with
wilkinsburg
we've
combined
with
wilkinsburg
in
in
various
ways
we
walk.
A
We
we
we
combined
the
garbage
collection
in
2006,
and
so
the
city
of
pittsburgh
already
collects
the
garbage
of
wilkinsburg.
We've
done.
Fire
protection,
the
full
integration
of
the
wilkesboro
fire
department
in
the
pittsburgh
fire
department.
All
the
firefighters
who
wanted
to
be
part
of
the
city
were
brought
into
the
city
and
that's
been
two
since
2011
and
finally,
last
but
not
least,
are
the
public
schools,
the
consolidated
wilkinsburg
middle
and
high
schools.
A
We
do
not
yet
have
their
grade
schools,
we
do
have
their
high
school,
their
middle
schools
and
their
high
schools,
and
we
have
been
educating
them
since
2015.,
and
so,
let's
kind
of
look
at
how
that's
occurred
from
the
consolidations
we've
had
the
wilkinsburg
pittsburgh
fire
house,
consolidation,
2011
efficiency,
merged
fire
departments,
are
able
to
spend
less
per
capital
and
per
acre
to
extend
fire
production
to
new
neighborhoods
in
wilkinsburg
service
quality.
The
merger
resulted
in
expanded
coverage
and
faster
response
time.
A
Job
retention,
all
wilkinsburg
firefighters,
were
offered
positions
with
the
pittsburgh
fire
department,
and
so
we've
increased
the
population.
We
have
increased
the
land
covered
and
increased
the
cost
of
fire
protection,
as
it
says.
So.
Next
is
the
wilkinsburg
pittsburgh
garbage
collection,
contract,
2006.
A
wilkinsburg
was
already
contracting,
so
it
was
not
all.
It
was
not
collecting
their
own
garbage.
They
were
contracting
with
waste
management.
A
houston
based
private
waste
collection
company
before
contracting
with
pittsburgh's
department
of
public
works.
The
contract
with
pittsburgh
has
provided
wilkinsburg
with
roughly
680
000
of
annual
savings
when
compared
to
the
cost
of
contracting
with
waste
management.
So
it's
you
know
safe
pitch
save
wilkinsburg
over
a
half
of
a
million
dollars
service.
A
If
you
really
look
at
the
history
of
the
city
really
really,
since
this
beginning
you'll
see
that's
how
it
grew
was
through
a
series
of
mergers,
pittsburgh
was
actually
a
bunch
of
little
small
towns
that
slowly
and
surely
over
time
became
merged,
and
it
has
a
history
of
merging
services
with
nearby
municipalities,
including
ingram,
where
I
was
born.
My
oliver
and
millville
the
ingram
fire
department,
pittsburgh
city
council
voted
unanimously.
I
was
there,
then,
to
provide
firefighting
services
to
ingram
in
2015.
A
The
all
of
our
schools,
the
ma
oliver
and
pittsburgh,
share
a
school
board.
The
the
contract,
also,
the
municipality,
also
contracts,
e.m
emergency
medical
services
with
the
city
was
there
for
that
vote
too,
and
then
will
the
millvale
water
and
sewer
pittsburgh's
take
over
the
of
the
millvale
water
system,
allow
for
the
funding
of
system,
upgrades
and
repairs,
and
so
for
all
of
our
places
that
we
have
merged
with.
It
has
been
a
positive
experience.
A
A
So
before
you
came,
I
said
out
loud,
I
will
say
again
that
there
are
people
who
disagree
with
these
facts.
I
resp.
I
respect
your
right
to
disagree.
I
would
ask,
I
would
ask
politely
that
you
allow
me
I
won't
talk.
I
would
I
would.
I
would
prefer
if
you
don't
talk
when
I'm
talking,
I
won't
talk
when
you're
talking
it
will
be
very
respectful.
I
understand
that
you
disagree
and
I
apologize.
A
A
These
structural
challenges
by
many
up
objective
observers
will
limit
the
borough
and
the
school
district's
ability
to
invest
in
improved
services
under
revenue
underlying
property.
Tax
revenue
will
remain
stagnant
without
tax
breaks,
growth
or
increased
stock
rates
earned
income.
Tax
revenue
is
susceptible
to
economic
cycles,
expenditures,
rising
costs,
including
high
overtime
costs,
due
to
the
lack
of
manpower
and
aging
infrastructure,
and
so
you
will
see
that
wilkinsburg
and
some
say
will
be
bankrupt
in
a
few
years.
There's
some
disagreements
to
that,
but
that
is
what
the
the
objective
observers
have
said.
A
They
will
have
a
0.8
million
dollar
deficit
in
this
in
the
city
and
by
2028
they
will
have.
They
always
have
a
2.2
million
dollar
deficit
annual
deficit
for
the
school
board.
So
in
the
next
few
years,
without
a
change,
they
will
be
running
structural
deficits
all
right,
and
so
then
there
is
a
process-
and
I
will
say
this,
as
I
have
said
before,
that
I
I
I
will
not
decide
the
future
of
wilkinsburg.
Only
wilkinsburg
residents
will
decide
their
future.
A
What
will
happen
is
those
interested
parties
have
the
right
by
state
law
to
collect
signatures,
they
will
collect
a
percentage
of
signatures
and
they
will
give
that
signatures
to
the
allegheny
county
court.
The
court
will
then
review
those
signatures.
If
they
have
enough
valid
signatures
automatically.
A
A
A
Voters
and
if
wilkinsburg
votes
in
favor
of
annexation,
then
the
following
january
automatically
wilkinsburg
and
his
school
district
will
become
part
of
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
and
then
we
will
work
with
the
wilkersburg
officials
to
talk
about
what
that
merger
will
look
like
and
what
the
transition
teams
will
look
like
all
right,
and
so
probably
the
full
school
merger
would
not
occur
as
the
even
because
it
will
start
off
in
january.
The
full
merger
of
the
schools
probably
would
not
happen
until
the
following
september
to
give
the
school
board
a
chance.
A
I
know
there
are
passionate
people,
probably
on
both
sides
of
the
issue.
I
do
hear
that
I
wish
state
law
was
different.
If
I
was
the
king
of
the
world,
this
would
not
be
the
process
that
I
would
believe
we
should
use.
I
believe,
if
I
was
king
of
the
world,
it
would
be
a
vote
of
both
the
pittsburgh
city,
council
and
wilkinsburg
city
council,
the
citizens
of
pittsburgh
and
the
citizen
wilkinsburg.
That's
what
I
would
do
if
I
had
a
choice.
A
A
If
not
a
hundred
percent
of
wilkersburg
will
become
part
of
my
council
district.
So
the
future
of
wilkersburg
will
be
the
ninth
council
district,
either
60
percent
of
it,
but
if
I
or
if
they,
if
they
listen
to
me,
it
would
be
all
of
it.
I
think
wilkinsburg
should
be
left
intact
and
become
if
it
becomes
part
of
the
city.
A
It
should
become
one
solid
piece
of
the
ninth
council
district,
which
means
that
it
would
become
a
half
of
my
council
district,
which
also
means
probably
the
next
council
district
from
the
ninth
council
district
would
come
from
wilkinsburg
and
I'm
fully
aware
of
that
and
expect
that
to
occur.
If
annexation
happens,
I
will
work
with
that
person,
probably
to
represent
the
new
9th
council
district.
So
I'm
laying
all
my
cards
on
the
table
and
I'm
grateful
for
you
coming
now.
A
I
have
registered
speakers
I'm
going
to
go
through
the
registered
speakers
first,
but
I'm
not
sure
all
of
you
are
here
and
then
even
if
you're
not
registered,
I
will
give
you
after
I
complete
calling
out
the
registered
speakers
if
you're
here
I'll,
also
give
you
three
minutes
to
speak.
Okay,
that's
the
process,
so
the
next
thing
will
be
for
me
to
go
through
the
registered
speakers
and
then
those
who
are
not
registered
and
then,
if
we
have
time
I'll
go
over.
A
E
My
name
is
renee
dahlny
and
I
live
in
wilkinsburg.
I'd
actually
love
to
invite
you
to
come
to
wilkinsburg
and
look
around
because
it's
not
some
flaming
mess,
as
has
been
perceived
so
one
of
the
things
that
really
bothers
me.
I
had
some
points
I
wanted
to
make,
but
the
first
thing
I
want
to
say
is:
I
really
feel
like
it's
not
a
good
faith
effort.
The
fact
that
you
come
in
here
with
this
wcdc
driven
data
that
we
have
told
you
repeatedly
is
not
true.
E
Not
I
don't
have
the
numbers
right
in
front
of
me,
but
it's
close
enough
I'll
ballpark,
it
wilkinsburg
increased
by
six
percent
swissvale
the
swissvale
miracles
swiss
balls
on
its
way
back
all
swissvale's
already
considered
a
upper-middle-class
borough
increased
by
four
percent,
so
wilkinsburg
actually
increased
greater
than
swiss
fails
did
over
that
period
and
that's
rich
lord
in
public
source.
You
don't
necessarily
have
to
take
my
word
for
it.
E
The
other
point
another.
So
the
first
big
point
I
want
to
make
is:
there's
quite
a
difference
between
shared
services
to
save
money
and
losing
your
political
autonomy,
and
nobody
in
wilkinsburg
wants
to
lose
their
political
autonomy
and,
what's
more,
actually,
everybody
in
wilkinsburg
is
pretty
happy
with
their
services.
We,
like
our
dpw.
Our
streets
are
clean.
We
love
our
schools.
We
really
really
do.
I
sent
my
son
to
wilkinsburg
public
school.
E
E
But
but
because
I've
talked
to
you
so
many
many
times
so
you
know
here,
but
here's
here's
what's
new,
since
we
last
saw
each
other.
So,
as
you
know,
the
wilkinsburg
community
development
corporation
is
who
has
really
been
pushing
this
and
they
have
had
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
to
push.
This
they've
had
massive
amounts
of
public
meetings,
they've
sent
out
mailers
and
flyers,
and
so
one
of
the
things
that
we
looked
into
was
like.
Oh
we'll
put
our
mailers
and
flyers
together.
It's
nine
thousand
dollars
a
time
right
and
they
send
out.
E
I
don't
know
six,
seven,
eight,
a
fortune
right
money
that
could
have
actually
been
used
to
redevelop
wilkinsburg
but
they're
working
on
this.
Instead,
whatever
it's
immaterial,
may
17th
was
primary
election
day,
so
we
have
a
pretty
organized
opposition
at
this
point
like
a
year
ago,
we
didn't
know
what
we
were
doing
now.
We
know
what
we're
doing,
and
so
we
were
at
the
polls
right
because
you
saw
that
timeline.
It's
going
to
be
on
the
ballot
in
a
year
great
we're
at
the
polls.
We've
got
our
flyers
we're
there
all
day.
E
I
live
in
blackridge.
This
is
one
of
the
affluent
areas
that
everybody
would
think
would
be
a
hotbed
of
support
for
annexation,
and
I
really
did
not
know
how
my
neighbors
were
gonna
take
this.
So
this
is
ward
one
and
my
my
priest,
my
the
voting
district.
I
was
at
covered
four
precincts,
so
that
is
seventy
percent
of
the
first
award,
which
is
all
the
okay
85
of
the
people,
are
against
it.
So
with
all
the
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
they
put
into
it,
people
are
virulently
against
it.
E
A
F
F
But
tonight
I
want
to
talk
about
elections.
Our
house
is
a
poll
working
house,
I'm
a
second
term
elected
judge
of
election.
For
my
voting
district,
my
partner
has
been
an
appointed
judge
for
a
neighboring
district
for
several
elections
too.
Now
I
want
to
draw
your
attention
to
the
timing
of
this
annexation
effort,
specifically,
as
it
relates
to
voter
turnout
and
how
proponents
may
inadvertently
disenfranchise
up
to
11
of
wilkinsburg's
active
voters.
F
According
to
county
voter
registration
data
approaching
11
percent
of
wilkinsburg
residents
who
have
voted
in
the
last
eight
years
are
third
party
or
or
independent
voters.
There
are
66
percent
more
of
these
than
there
are
republicans
in
wilkinsburg
pennsylvania's
closed
primary
election
system
normally
excludes
these
third
party
and
independent
voters
from
primary
elections,
in
which
democrats
and
republicans
choose
their
candidates
for
the
november
general
election.
So
these
voters
have
learned
to
ignore
the
primary,
ignore
the
primary
elections
and
not
bother
to
show
up
a
strange
departure
from
this.
F
This
happened
despite
tremendous
effort
by
some
parties
to
turn
out
voters
who
have
been
programmed
to
believe
that
they
don't
vote
in
primary
elections.
Proponents
of
annexation
are
exploiting
this
to
deny
voice
to
upwards
of
11
of
wilkinsburgers
from
voting
on
the
annexation
question
by
hiding
it
from
them.
If
proponents
actually
wanted
meaningful
consensus
from
the
majority
of
wilkinsburg
voters,
they
target
this
question
for
the
2022
midterm
or
the
2024
presidential
election
instead,
they're
hoping
to
stack
the
deck
of
electors
by
asking
the
question
in
an
election
historically
has
the
lowest
turnout.
F
G
G
I
know
there
are
a
lot
of
passionate
people
who
are
interested
in
the
best
interests
and
the
best
future
for
wilkinsburg.
I
believe
that
annexation
is
the
best
path
for
wilkinsburg,
primarily
because
property
taxes
would
be
cut.
In
half
I've
talked
to
a
number
of
private
developers,
people
who
would
come
in
and
invest
in
in
improving
the
commercial
buildings
in
the
downtown
center.
G
G
There
are
individuals
who
I
know
from
who
do
moderate
to
low-income
housing.
They've
told
me
flat
out
that,
because
of
the
property
taxes,
those
projects
don't
work
in
wilkinsburg,
they
can't
get
the
monies.
They
can't
get
the
numbers
to
work
further.
I
think
that
the
when,
for
seven
years,
leading
up
to
last
june,
I
was
president
of
the
cdc
board
and
what
I,
when
we
first
began
talking
about
annexation,
along
with
the
rest
of
the
board,
insisted
that
we
do
our
homework,
get
the
facts,
analyze
the
data.
G
G
We've
lost
20
percent
of
our
population.
In
the
last
20
years,
we've
lost
20
percent
of
our
black
population
in
the
last
10
years.
I
I
believe
that
our
best
hope
for
turning
that
around
bringing
investment
into
the
community
and
stemming
the
tide
of
of
both
vacant
houses
and
departure
of
our
population
is
through
annexation.
H
H
Before
moving
to
the
city,
I
was
resident
of
wilkinsburg
for
20
years,
because
of
that
experience
I
feel
like
I
can
speak
very
well
to
wilkinsburg's
benefits
to
the
annexation,
but
I'm
when
I
sold
my
home
there,
the
taxes
for
the
new
owner
were
upwards
of
ten
thousand
dollars.
No
community
can
sustain
that
for
any
length
of
time.
H
H
The
wilkinsburg
community
development
corporation
and
its
partners
have
done
a
great
job
in
revitalizing
wilkinsburg,
but
they
can
only
take
it
so
far,
while
pittsburgh
pittsburghers
love
their
neighborhoods
and
their
distinct
identities.
Continuing
to
look
at
this
region,
sorry
being
attacked
by
something
continuing
to
look
at
this
region
through
a
narrow
lens,
holds
us
all
back.
H
A
C
C
C
We
are
not
interested
in
running
wilkinsburg
to
make
life
better
for
the
people
who
buy
these
expensive
houses.
That's
not
what
we
are
all
about.
That
is
a
very
small
part
of
wilkinsburg,
and
we
don't
want
to
be
run
by
the
minority.
Let's
talk
about
signatures
for
a
minute.
The
two
people
who
gathered
the
most
signatures
for
this
petition.
C
C
D
Hello,
my
name
is
celeste
banks.
I've
been
a
resident
for
30
years
in
wilkinsburg.
I
grew
up
in
wilkinsburg.
For
that
reason,
I
did
not
send
my
children
to
wilkinsburg
schools,
so
I
guess
it's
better
now.
The
way
it
is.
I
don't
have
kids
in
school
anymore.
So
I
want
to
know
what
the
rate
is
for
rubbish
removal
in
pittsburgh
for
per
home.
Can
you
tell
me
that
no
okay?
How
can
I
find
that
out.
A
D
D
I
Councilman
burgess
thanks
for
having
this
hosting
this
and
my
name
is
papa.
I
moved
to
wilkinsburg
a
little
closer.
My
name
is
joseph
papa.
I
moved
to
wilkinsburg
only
about
a
year
ago.
I
grew
up
in
penn
hills,
so
I
know
that
a
lot
of
people
want
a
long
longevity
before
you
get
to
speak,
but
I
think
I
have
some
relevant
newer
experiences.
I
I
You
know
our
incomes
aren't
that
high
and
the
property
tax
values
we
got
hit
with
a
reassessment
from
the
school
district
as
soon
as
we
bought
and
it's
tough
wilkinsburg
property
taxes
are
a
burden
on
newer
people
and
I
think
dismissing
that
is
like
well,
if
you
don't
like
it,
just
live
somewhere
else,
but
I
love
wilkinsburg.
My
grandmother
lived
on
findlay
drive
in
a
rental.
When
I
was
a
kid
the
whole
time
I
was
growing
up
until
she
couldn't
live
by
herself
anymore.
It's
a
great
community.
I
My
mom
taught
at
school
for
the
deaf,
it's
a
nice
place
and
I've
been
around
it
for
a
long
time
and
I
see
some
of
the
benefits
of
the
annexation
and
my
idea
is
put
it
up
for
a
vote.
Let
the
people
have
a
say.
I
don't
see
why
we
should
be
so
angry
right
now
and
shout
down
just
putting
something
on
a
ballot
for
people
to
have
a
decision
to
make,
and
I
also
appreciate
that
you
led
with
the
facts
with
some
very
good
information
and
a
really
polite
presentation.
I
A
Of
the
speakers
before
I
conclude
the
meeting
since
you've
come
out
tonight
and
I'm
here,
if
you
have
any
questions,
even
though
this
is
not
normal,
but
since
you're
here
and
we're
in
formal
group-
and
I
appreciate
you
coming
coming
far,
if
you
have
questions
of
me-
I
don't-
I
won't
argue
with
you,
but
I
I
can
answer
if
you
have
specific
questions
about
the
city
or
our
process
or
any
of
those
things
I'll
answer
them
before
we
leave
tonight
sure
yeah.
So.
E
A
So
the
question
was
because
they
they
can't
hear
you
on
the
broadcast.
The
question
from
the
floor
was
about
the
wilkinsburg
meetings.
We
did
meet
with
wilkinsburg
mayor
and
talked
about
them
hosting
us.
So
really
councilman
lavelle
is
the
chair
of
this
committee.
He
will
hopefully
schedule
dates
to
meet
in
wilkinsburg,
where
we
come
to
wilkinsburg
and
listen.
A
A
A
The
property
values
have
went
up,
but
the
question
is:
has
the
tax
receipts
went
up?
I
don't
know
the
answer
to
that,
but
but
but
there
is
a
study
being
done,
that's
not
this.
That
will
be
given
to
council
and
I
am
not.
I
am
not.
I
am
not
directly
conducting
the
study,
so
every
council
person
is
conducting
the
study
on
the
thing
that
my
committee
is
is
is
parks,
and
so
I'm
looking
at
wilkinsburg
in
terms
of
parks,
every
councilman
level
would
be
the
councilman
who's.
A
A
A
I
think
the
best
use
of
those
who
do
not
want
this
annexation.
The
best
use
of
their
time
is
to
persuade
wilkinsburg
voters.
In
case
we
vote
yes
to
dissuade
them
from
the
exhibition.
I
think
that's
the
best
use
of
your
time.
I
think
right
now
it's
a
pretty
evenly
divided
council.
I
don't
I
don't.
I
can't
promise
it
either
way.
A
And
I'm
sure,
if
those
of
you
know
me,
I
have
been
perhaps
one
of
the
most
active
council
people
in
terms
of
economic
development
in
the
city,
I
was
former
the
chair
of
our
housing
authority,
and
so
I'm
I'm
very
familiar
with
economic
development,
and
I
am
completely
convinced
now.
This
is
no.
This
is
not
for
debate.
I'm
not
gonna
debate
with
you.
I
guarantee
you
this.
A
If
wilkinsburg
becomes
part
of
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
it
will
jumpstart
development
tenfold
in
wilkersburg.
Now
that
part,
I
know
as
a
fact
the
property
rates,
the
property
taxes
simply
make
development
in
wilkinsburg
almost
impossible
for
most
of
the
city,
and
so,
if
it,
if
the
lower
rates
came
in
effect,
the
market
alone,
the
market
alone
would
begin
to
turn
over
houses
in
wilkinsburg
almost
immediately.
A
No,
so
I
don't
want
to
do
a
prime
run
development,
but
I'll
kind
of
talk
about
there
is
a
website
I
was
blessed.
I
had
a
a
millionaire
actually
give
us
give
me
and
a
group.
We
work
with
a
million
dollars
to
create
a
process
to
rebuild
communities.
It's
called
the
help
initiative.
You
can
look
it
up.
It
has
a
website
its
own
website.
It's
called
h-e-l-p.
A
It
is
a
formal,
step-by-step
process
of
how
communities,
especially
challenging
communities,
are
redeveloped,
and
so,
in
essence,
what
happens
is
the
place
in
wilkinsburg,
that's
closest
to
wealth
that
your
wealthier
corridors
and
those
closest
to
wealth
normally
are
the
areas
where
public
investment
will
come
right,
we'll
start
on
those
fringes,
rebuilding
those
communities,
because
what
you
want
to
do
is
you
want
to
bring
the
market
in?
There
is
not
enough
money
in
any
municipality.
There
is
not
enough
private
money
to
rebuild
those
communities.
There's
not
enough
money
in
homewood,
there's
not
enough
money
in
larmer.
A
The
city
of
pittsburgh
does
not
have
enough
money
to
rebuild
its
communities.
The
private
market
does,
and
so
what
you
do
is
you
strategically
put
in
private
development.
I
mean
public
development
to
coax
private
development
to
come
in
and
then
overnight,
not
overnight,
but
fairly
quickly.
You
start
to
see
rapid
development.
The
problem
with
wilkinsburg
is
because
of
their
tax
rate
that
it
structurally,
it
doesn't
make
good
financial
situation.
A
Unless
you
have
these
higher
income
houses,
they
it's
harder
for
them
to
be
rehabbed,
because
the
mortgages
and
getting
the
second
mortgages
would
be
so
high.
The
best
example
in
the
city
of
at
least
my
work
in
case
you
want
to
see
the
work
that
I've
done
and
sort
of,
and
since
I
may
be
a
part
of
this,
if
it
comes
it'll,
be
in
part,
part
of
my
work
is
larmor.
A
Why?
Because
they'll
be
able
to
get
the
properties
in
wilkinsburg
right
now,
cheaper
than
the
city
and
cheaper
than
those
communities,
they'll
build
them
up.
They'll
build
they'll,
so
some
of
the
offshore
houses
will
not
get
torn
down.
They'll
actually
be
rehabbed
right
now
they
can't
be
rehabbed,
because
if
you,
you
can't
get
them
the
way
it
works.
Is
you
have
to
get
your
money
out
of
the
property
right
and
if
the
taxes
are
too
high,
it
cuts
down
the
profit
margin
and
so
there's
less
likelihood
of
development?
A
I
couldn't
mean
to
have
this
long
conversation
with
you,
but
but
this
is
my
area
of
expertise
right.
I
have
been
responsible
for
probably
about
a
thousand
units
of
housing
during
my
time
on
council
I've
chaired
the
housing
authority.
For
probably
I
can't
remember
now,
seven
eight
years
I
am
one
of
the
most
active
members
of
economic
development
in
the
city,
and
so
I
know
this
backwards
and
forwards
and
again
I'm
not
I'm
not.
I
have
never
told
wilkinsburg
residents
what
they
should
do
any
of
the
meetings.
A
A
A
The
only
way
that
you
can
make
communities
thrive
is
to
consciously
and
deliberately
transform
them
into
mixed
income
neighborhoods
and
all
the
work
I've
done.
We've
not
built
public
housing.
By
itself
we
built
public
housing
and
we've
made
what's
called
mixed
income,
one
third,
very
poor,
one
third
working
class,
one
third
market
rate.
So
if
you
come
to
homewood
for
the
first
time
ever
now,
we
have
houses
where
the
rents
are
twelve
hundred
dollars.
You
come
to
longboard
same
thing.
A
You
have
these
now
market
rate
housing,
that's
not
attracting
other
market
rate
housing,
and
it's
just.
I
think
that
we
for
good
or
for
bad
pittsburgh
has
the
economic
muscle
to
we
have
the
muscle
to
bring
more
development
to
wilkersburg,
whether
you
vote
for
us
or
not
it's
a
different
conversation.
Does
that
make
some
sense
all
right.
E
Steering
yes,
which
just
passed
last
night
so
we'll
continue
today.
The
cause
of
light
in
wilkinsburg
is
not
taxes.
It's
not
lack
of
investment.
It's
titles,
85
of
those
houses
that
you
see
that
are
falling
apart
or
owned
by
a
dead
person.
Sorry,
if
you
put
them
with
them
for
30
years,
so
you
can
start
looking
through
your
mind.
Oh
yeah,
that
person
died.
Oh
yeah,
that
person's
up,
so
I'm
not
going
to
pretend
that
there
wasn't
a
public
policy
failure
30
years
ago
and
they
should
have
done
something
about
this
houses.
E
But
now
you
have
a
house,
that's
owned
by
a
dead
person.
Do
you
know
that
they
buy
a
house
from
a
dead
person?
Absolutely
nobody.
That
means
it
has
to
go
before
a
judge,
so
the
land-
and
this
is
not
a
problem
that
wilkinsburg
alone
has.
This
is
a
statewide
problem,
but
the
pennsylvania
state
legislature
created
something
called
land
bank
statutes
in
2014
and
then
rewrote
them
in
2017.
So
it's
a
newish
model
of
what
the
land
bank
can
do
is
take
these
properties
and
clean
up
the
title,
because
nobody
can
fix
that
house.
A
So
in
my
other
hat,
I'm
the
chair
of
the
pittsburgh
land
bank,
I'm
it's
chairman
of
boards,
I'll
share
with
the
board,
and
so
we've
just
committed
two
million
dollars
of
of
clearing
title.
We
have
two
million
dollars
from
our
pro
funds
that
we
gave
to
the
the
land
bank
specifically
to
clear
titles.
We
are
in
the
midst
of
clearing
titles
very
very
rapidly,
with
an
outside
firm.
So
I
again
I
don't
mean
to
talk
about
me.
A
This
is
the
work
I
do.
As
you
see,
I
know
a
lot
about
development,
a
lot
about
land
issues,
but
I
want
us
to
go
home
at
seven
o'clock.
You've
been
here.
I
really
appreciate
it.
I
think
we've
exhausted
the
conversation,
I'm
going
to
adjourn
the
meeting
publicly,
but
I
will
talk
privately
to
anyone
who
still
remains
all.
E
A
The
land
banks,
the
land
bank
of
pittsburgh's,
that's
a
longer
conversation
that
we
can
have
at
a
different
day,
because
that's
not
the
purpose
of
tonight's
meeting.
I
appreciate
I
didn't.
I
I'd
never
said
that
it
was.
I
appreciate
you
coming
out.
I
appreciate
you
thank
you
for
coming.
God
bless
you
and
good
night.
This
means
adjourned.