The Citizen Call to City Council for a Public Hearing - UPMC Sports Medicine folly

The Citizen Call to City Council for a Public Hearing

Signatures Submitted

As per city requirements, more than 25 people have signed a petition thereby expressing and interest to hold and attend a Public Hearing on the pending sale of land presently owned by the U.R.A. to U.P.M.C. for a Sports Performance compound to be built on the South Side's LTV site.

The petitions were turned into the City Clerk's office on Monday, March 1, 1999 by Mark Rauterkus, a city resident. City Council got a three minute peek on February 17 to some of the red flags about this development. A wide range of people from many sections in the city choose to sign the petition to request the public hearing. Pettitions were passed around at the University of Pittsburgh, at the South Side Market House and at a high-tech firm, US Web Pittsburgh.

Regional Issue

A public hearing on this issue is important. The proposed plans play on the city-wide stage and have regional consequences. The impact of these decisions goes beyond the South Side to Oakland (looses the day-to-day activities of the football team at Pitt and some 800+/- jobs) to the North Side (looses the day-to-day activities of the Steelers football team and the Steelers' corporate headquarters) and to all the corners of the city. The happenings on the LTV site can set the stage for later efforts at the 200+ acre Hazelwood site, Nine-Mile Run and other URA developments. What happens on the South Side, and why it happens, impacts many corners of the city.

Because of the regional and city-wide impact, it is most important for all the members of city council to give the plans and the alternatives careful consideration with an open minded approach.

The graceful custom of City Council to often cast votes based upon the desires of the individual City Council Memeber who resides in that district is not suitable here. Everyone on City Council needs to be fully aware of this development plan and the related issues. Please do not opt to base voting decisions according to some "default decision methods."

Many people who live outside the city expressed and interest to sign the petition, but could not do so because of the stipulated rules. Some would like to speak at the public hearing.

Philosophy, Policy and Planning

We want astonishing developments to occur. This pending transaction and policy approach is sure to impact city residence for decades. The endeavor is similar to the building of the new stadiums on the North Side. in that everyone is called to make a space that impacts all city-council districts.

Plan B Fallout

Now that the finance hurdle of the two stadiums has been crossed, let's gather ourselves and look into the looming shaddows of Plan B's future. Now it is time to move onto the next decisions. Earnest discussion begin because:

• There is a natural fallout and aftermath of Plan B.
• The training facilities took a back-seat to the discussion of game-day facilities.
• The scope of focus widens to training, citizens and institutions.

  There is much to do beyond the new building issues and corporate convention center scheduling. Now it is time to give a care about the players who are NOT under professional contracts with agents.

Promised Position Paper

This public hearing is going to come in the wake of a position paper put forth for open public scruitiny and input. This living document, version 1.0 to be released in the first week of March, 1999, takes a long look at the needs of the little guys, the small-businesses, and the kids. City Council's attention to these matters addresses the other end of the spectrum -- away from professional athletes, corporate sky boxes and Pitt's interests. Let's give the ideas some consideration and input opportunities. Let's stop UPMC's plans for all the right and honorable reasons. Let's redirect UPMC's willingness to grow by pointing out better ways to achieve this growth.

Advanced Discussions in Meaningful Ways

The goal is to be positive and to present uplifting solutions to some difficult challenges. Version 1.0 of the Position Paper and the delivery of the petitions for the Public Hearing to the City Clerk are coupled events. Knowledge of the hearing and knowledge of the position paper should make for more fertile discussions to come.

People need to take the microphone to make public statements and public promises on many issues that circle these plans.

• Let's wait and see if the owners of the Steelers show up and assert the claim that the Steelers are to make a permanent move of its corporate headquarters out of the North Sie and onto the South Side to be a tennant at the proposed UPMC site.

• Let's wait and see if the University of Pittsburgh football coach can stand to see his athletes manage pressing schedules as student-athletes with daily trips out of Oakland. The proposed site means a trip off campus, down Bates Street, up Second Avenue, across the unopened Hot Metal Bridge, and along River View Drive to the football practices, tudor/study sessions, rehab, film reviews, conditioning practices. The commute times (plus rush hour, plus hurt limbs, plus need for personal cars, plus closing of the Glenview Bridge for 18 months and the Ft. Pitt Bridge for additional time) are sure to burn hours out of players' days.

• Let's wait and see who says what when the NCAA compliance officers prohibit the sharing of the same facility at the same time with professional athletes, as clearly stated in the NCAA Manuals.

• Let's wait and see what amount of money UPMC wants to grant to the South Side athletes.

Prelude to City Council's Public Hearing and Vote

Much work and education should be slated with the help of City Council before the formal public hearing even occurs.

Telivised Round Table Discussions Are Welcomed

Let's schedule open discussions and informational sessions that can lead up to the Public Hearings. I'm sure that the citizens would like to know what is slated with the pending UPMC plans. Let's give the URA and UPMC television opportunities to outline and detail the pending plans. Understanding a $30-Million development with various buildings, new road-way construction, complicated site challenges takes time. Only the informed can expect to get beyond the glitz of a new complex to see the flaws and troubles. Unknown plans can't garner objections nor improvements nor outside recomendations. Wiser to dismantle and re-assemble plans rather than buildings and roads, yet alone the river and flood-plane issues.

Case in point, the present location of Dr. Freddie Fu's Sports Medicine office includes a therapy pool. The aquatic's pool, built into an existing building on Baum Blvd., and the extensive remodeling for Sports Medicine occurred in 1990. Seemingly, the hydro-therapy pool doesn't fit its present location and reportedly is constantly under reapair. UPMC remodeled the building at considerable costs. To retrofit and accomidate specialized sports equipment, i.e., swimming pools, is both new and abandoned properties is expensive. Let's ponder the plans and see if UPMC is going to repeat past mistakes like the ones at the existing Sports Medicine offices or like the ones at its indoor football practice facilities, The Cost Center.

Video Tape and Broadcast the URA Board Meeting

The URA staff should make a technical presentation to the URA board on the sale of land to UPMC in the days ahead. Let's capture that presentation on tape and on the URA.org web site so we can review the details before the public hearing. Another show-and-tell session that covers the A-B-Cs is not needed as the troubles happen more in mid-stream near L-M-N-O and P.

I'd like to request the broadcasting of a number of meetings before the public hearing.

The city-wide cable can be used as a before the Public Hearing and before the eventual City Council vote on this issue. This is an extra consideration that does not need to be granted by the Sunshine Law and such. I'd like to see City Council go the extra mile for me now so we can facilitate some extra communications on these on-topic issues.

When the stage is set for a public hearing, certain things can be accomplished, but other items and issues flounder. Speakers with an opportunity of a three-minute sound-bite can't address philosophy, global issues, nor any lengthy first hand accounts. A public hearing can be a forum to display a watershed of pent up ideas in support for specific legislation about to be enacted. But, a public hearing is not a debate. Otherwise, let's call a public hearing and get to the roots of society's ills.

Give and Take Is Needed For Excellent Planning

A lot of give and take is needed to craft philosophies and to uncover both the basics and the spectacular. There isn't any give and take within the process with the minute expections of:

1. The URA Director gets asked some questions by City Council at Working Meetings on Wednesdays.
2. The URA Board gets together to sign-off on the projects that the staff submits.
3. Tame community groups are tickled with tidbits and ponder window-dressing design conerns.

If UPMC and Pitt make a $30 million mistake with its move and development to the South Side, they can then, in-turn, choose to close Pitt Stadium. That then becomes another mistake with a possible price tag of $200-$300 million. The people of our city suffer and the people have to pick-up the pieces, such as is the case with UPMC arch-rival AHERF's $1.6 billion bankrupcy.

Pitt already built an indoor football practice facility in the 90s. Let's let them use that one for a while longer.

UPMC isn't a private corporation, but a public-non-profit hospital in a volitile health-care industry. Let's talk about little leagers, scholastic sports and wellness issues. Let's talk about employee fitness, day-care responsiblities and improving access. Let's talk about Pitt too, its state funding, its tenure record, its public space policy in Oakland.