Hill leaders to take arena concerns to city school board
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Their push for neighborhood benefits stalled, Hill District leaders plan to take their arena concerns to the Pittsburgh Public Schools and City Council, starting with a bid tonight to keep the Penguins out of the middle schools.City school board member Mark Brentley Sr., who represents the Hill and supports neighborhood demands, said he wants to postpone a vote set for tonight’s board meeting on a Penguins’ plan to have team officials and staff talk with students about career choices.
“My concern is the timing,” Mr. Brentley said yesterday. He said he didn’t want to create the impression “that we’re aiding one party or another party” in the contentious talks.
The move comes as negotiations toward a community benefits agreement, or CBA, appear to have slowed. The One Hill Community Benefits Coalition wants development funding, first dibs on jobs for Hill residents, a grocery store and community center, more park space and input into a neighborhoodwide plan as conditions for building the arena there.
Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said on Jan. 14 that One Hill, the city and Allegheny County were “90 percent of the way there.” Yesterday, though, both sides said a deal was weeks away, in part because the mayor and county Chief Executive Dan Onorato will be in Europe for most of the rest of the month on a marketing trip.
Mr. Onorato’s spokesman said talks can continue in the leaders’ absence.
“Nothing is scheduled,” said Carl Redwood, leader of One Hill. “In my estimation, I can’t see anything happening for a few weeks now.”
“This agreement is something that’s going to be used and referred to for decades and decades, so we want to make sure it’s done right,” said Mr. Ravenstahl.
One Hill will meet Monday at 6 p.m. at the Hill House to plot a strategy to win an agreement, said Mr. Redwood.
Tonight’s flash point is a resolution allowing the Penguins to send staff into nine schools to talk about the tie between education and jobs. Some of the presentations are to be conducted by Ron Porter, a senior consultant for the team who has been its public voice on the CBA issue.
“It just doesn’t look so good,” said Mr. Brentley, adding that he backs “the Penguins and their involvement in our community. … You could’ve done this in the beginning of the school year, or in the beginning of the hockey season.”
The proposal “has nothing to do with arena negotiations,” said team spokesman Tom McMillan. “We think it’s a great program for our employees to reach out to kids in the middle schools, and we hope they will pass it.”
One Hill didn’t strenuously oppose a Jan. 14 city planning commission vote on the arena master plan, which passed 5-3. The coalition, though, will “oppose all arena construction activity until we have an agreement,” said Mr. Redwood.
Mr. McMillan said the team intends to start excavation and foundation work in late spring, and building in early summer.
“I firmly believe we’ll have an agreement before construction begins,” said Mr. Ravenstahl.
One Hill has submitted 45 petition signatures demanding a City Council hearing on community benefits and is weighing when to have the hearing. Council has no role in arena approvals, but could apply public pressure.
“I see [an agreement] happening,” said Councilwoman Tonya Payne, who represents the Hill. “There’s no turning back.”
what in the world does the pens going to talk to kids about job oportunities have to do with the hill! that group is a bunch of extorsionists. so now they want a bunch of kids to miss out because no one wants to build a supermarket in a place where it will just get ripped off? my best friend is from there and he totally against what these people are doin. “giving them what they want will never turn them into anything better than what they already are” and thats coming from a black man.
