By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for LibraryWatchtower
On September 20, Pittsburgh City
Council approved Bill 2016-0614 that allows the sale, by the City of
Pittsburgh to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA)
for $1 each, several city properties including the historic Hazelwood
Library building. The URA would then prepare the Library building,
along with other properties included in the bill, for redevelopment
and resale.
Bill 2016-0614 was approved by a vote,
of the 9-member City Council, of 7 Aye, 2 No, with no abstentions ---
A motion was made that this matter be Passed Finally. The motion carried. by
the following vote:
Aye:
7
- Rev.
Burgess, Mr. Gilman, Mr. Kraus, Mr. Lavelle, Mr. O'Connor, Ms.
Rudiak,
and Mrs. Kail-Smith
No:
2
- Ms. Gross, and Mrs. Harris
Abstain:
0
Prior
to the official vote during the meeting's Public Comments segment,
David Tessitor, long-time city activist and Founder of the Pittsburgh
Free-Net, and Glenn A. Walsh, former Life Trustee on the Board of
Trustees of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in the
Pittsburgh suburb of Carnegie, Pennsylvania, spoke against the
proposed sale of the historic Hazelwood Library.
Mr.
Tessitor reminded City Council members that in December they approved
a now-ongoing study of the conditions and values of 150 city-owned
properties and recommend a 40-year repair and maintenance plan. Since
several of the city-owned properties that would be sold by Bill
2016-0614 are part of this year-long study, Mr. Tessitor suggested
that it would make more sense to delay the proposed sale until the
completion of, what is known as, the Massaro Study (the Massaro
Corporation is conducting the study for the City).
City
Councilwoman Deborah Gross (representing Council District 7) agreed
that it made no sense to approve the sale of these properties, until
the completion of the Massaro Study can tell City Council the best
places to relocate city services and facilities necessary if these
properties are to be sold. Consequently, Ms. Gross voted against Bill
2016-0614.
City
Councilwoman Darlene M. Harris (representing Council District 1) also
voted no on Bill 2016-0614. She mentioned that, just before the
beginning of the Tuesday morning Council meeting, the City Law
Department had notified her that the historic Hazelwood Library,
which was donated in-trust to the City by Andrew Carnegie, could not
be sold without the approval of the Pennsylvania Orphans' Court.
Hence, she could not approve the sale of the historic Hazelwood
Library by Pittsburgh City Council.
The
following are the prepared comments of Glenn A. Walsh, delivered
before City Council just prior to the final vote on Bill 2016-0614:
Statement before the Glenn A.
Walsh
Council
of P.O. Box 1041
The City
of Pittsburgh PA 15230-1041 U.S.A.
Pittsburgh: Telephone: 412-561-7876
Carnegie Library 2016
September 20
Good morning, I am Glenn
A. Walsh, 633 Royce Avenue, Mt. Lebanon. Today I am speaking as
a private citizen representing no organization.
I support reuse of the
historic Hazelwood Library building, including the large auditorium. However, I
oppose Bill 614 which would allow the City of Pittsburgh to sell-off the historic
structure.
Last week, City Finance
Director Paul Leger said ---
1) That Bill 614 does not
actually sell the properties.
YES IT DOES !!! The bill
says, “…conveying AS IS all of the City's right, title and interest, if any, in
designated City-owned properties.” If you pass Bill 614, you will convey, and
lose control over, the historic Hazelwood Library.
2) That unless conveyed to
the URA, the properties can only be sold at auction.
He did not mention the
third option, a long-term lease with a non-profit organization such as the URA
or the Hazelwood Initiative, which was done with the historic Buhl Planetarium
building in 2002.
The point is that the
historic Hazelwood Library should not be sold in the first place. Andrew
Carnegie gave this building, including the large auditorium, to the City for a
public purpose, and the building should always be owned by the City, so the
people of Pittsburgh, through their representatives in Council, will always
have a say in what happens to the building.
Redevelopment of the
historic Hazelwood Library can occur, as Councilman O’Connor wishes, by a
long-term lease under City ownership. However, once this building is conveyed
to the URA, neither Councilman O’Connor nor any other member of this Council
will have any control over the final disposition of this building. Then the URA
Board will make the final decision, not this Council.
I, respectfully, ask
that the historic Hazelwood Library be removed from Bill 614, if you feel Bill
614 must be passed.
Thank you.
gaw
Internet Links to Additional Information ---
Bill Number 2016-0614, which proposes to sell historic Hazelwood Library building to URA for $1:
Link >>> https://pittsburgh.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2778755&GUID=3E19B1D7-201D-4C90-B125-623971E58534
Hazelwood Library Photo Album:
Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/photoalbumCLP-branches.htm#hazel
Save Hazewood Library: Link >>> http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/hazelwood/
Related Blog Posts ---
"City Council Preliminarily Approves Sale of Historic Hazelwood Library." 2016 Sept. 15.
Link >>> http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/09/city-council-preliminarily-approves.html
"Historic Hazelwood Library Public Hearing." 2016 Sept. 13.
Link >>> http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/09/historic-hazelwood-library-public.html
"Proposed Sale of Historic Hazelwood Library: Public Hearing Thursday."
2016 Sept. 5.
Link >>> http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/09/proposed-sale-of-historic-hazelwood.html
"Keep Historic Hazelwood Library as City Property." 2016 Aug. 18.
Link >>> http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/08/keep-historic-hazelwood-library-as-city.html
2016 Sept. 26.
2016: 75th Year of Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium Observatory
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/01/astronomical-calendar-2016-january.html
Like This Post? - Please Share!
Want to receive LibraryWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < librarywatchtower@andrewcarnegie.cc >.
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh, LibraryWatchtower Editor / Author:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@andrewcarnegie.cc >
Twitter Feed: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
LibraryWatchtower Blog: < http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com >
TransportWatchtower Blog: < http://transportwatchtower.blogspot.com >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin Blog: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, etc.: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.
* West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh:
< http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/cfl.html#westend >
* Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Carnegie PA:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.
2016: 75th Year of Pittsburgh's Buhl Planetarium Observatory
Link >>> http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/2016/01/astronomical-calendar-2016-january.html
Like This Post? - Please Share!
Want to receive LibraryWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < librarywatchtower@andrewcarnegie.cc >.
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh, LibraryWatchtower Editor / Author:
< http://buhlplanetarium2.tripod.com/weblog/spacewatchtower/gaw/ >
Electronic Mail - < gawalsh@andrewcarnegie.cc >
Twitter Feed: < https://twitter.com/spacewatchtower >
LibraryWatchtower Blog: < http://librarywatchtower.blogspot.com >
TransportWatchtower Blog: < http://transportwatchtower.blogspot.com >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
South Hills Backyard Astronomers Blog: < http://shbastronomers.blogspot.com/ >
Barnestormin Blog: Writing, Essays, Pgh. News, etc.: < http://www.barnestormin.blogspot.com/ >
Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
* Andrew Carnegie & Carnegie Libraries:
< http://www.andrewcarnegie.
* West End Branch, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh:
< http://andrewcarnegie.tripod.com/cfl.html#westend >
* Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall, Carnegie PA:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.com >
* Civil War Museum of Andrew Carnegie Free Library:
< http://garespypost.tripod.com >
* Astronomer, Educator, Optician John A. Brashear:
< http://johnbrashear.tripod.com >
* Buhl Planetarium, Pittsburgh:
< http://www.planetarium.
* Adler Planetarium, Chicago:
< http://adlerplanetarium.
* Duquesne Incline cable-car railway, Pittsburgh:
< http://inclinedplane.tripod.
* Public Transit:
< http://andrewcarnegie2.tripod.
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