Monday, December 27, 2021

Transition Team: Eager to begin work

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2021/12/26/Members-of-Gainey-transition-committees-eager-to-begin-work/stories/202112260052

Members of Gainey transition committees eager to begin work

At the turn of 2021, Ed Gainey launched his campaign for mayor of Pittsburgh on the idea of bringing people together — that city government could “change lives, uplift communities and fix what’s broken” — and as the year ends, he’ll rely on those people to help him do it.

Mr. Gainey, the mayor-elect who will take the oath of office in January to succeed outgoing Mayor Bill Peduto, will lean on the help of four transition committees, packed to the brim with members he picked to “reflect the rich diversity,” he said, of the city he hopes to unite.

In interviews with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and in public comments, members of those committees — guided by subject areas that were pillars of Mr. Gainey’s campaign platform — said they will be driven by a desire to make Pittsburgh more equitable for its residents, especially in low income communities and communities of color.

“There are lot of people in the city of Pittsburgh who have not been seen for a very long time,” said Tiffany Taulton, director of community initiatives for the Hazelwood Initiative and a member of the transition committee on infrastructure and environment. “I’m really excited about this opportunity for [Mr. Gainey] to show all of us that we all belong here — that our struggles are real and they’re going to be addressed.”

Leaders of the transition effort said the committees will meet biweekly and will issue a final report of recommendations in mid-April to the new mayor and the general public — built on “an extensive process to engage the public” and solicit feedback from experts, said transition co-chair Angel Gober.

Ms. Taulton, a member of the committee that — according to a written plan — will explore how to improve and maintain the city’s physical infrastructure “with a special focus on environmental justice,” said she wants to ensure that low-income communities and communities of color are considered when city government thinks about health, safety and sustainability.

Hazelwood is one of those communities that’s been “historically neglected,” said Ms. Taulton, who also teaches environmental justice at Duquesne University. It’ll take consciously investing in those communities that have seen long-term disinvestment, and thinking of how long-term plans can weave between numerous subject areas to build infrastructure that’s good for both the city and its residents, she added.

A self-proclaimed “lover of trees,” Ms. Taulton said one of her biggest priorities is to talk about how trees can protect air quality and help to manage storm water in low-income communities that don’t traditionally have much tree cover.

“You have very big disparities in communities of color that often times leave them more vulnerable to flooding, air quality issues and heat island effects,” Ms. Taulton said. “Studies have shown areas that don’t have tree cover can be up to 17 degrees higher than areas that do.”

A desire to right these disparities and foster a “city for all” was at the center of Mr. Gainey’s campaign, and in a welcome letter to the transition plan, he wrote that it’s “our opportunity to unite and plan for the future” of a city long called America’s most livable, but where Black residents — specifically Black women — face outsize challenges. The common thread that should unite the transition committees, the Lincoln-Lemington state lawmaker wrote, is an “equity and empowerment lens.”

Dr. Kathi Elliott, who serves as CEO of Gwen’s Girls and is a co-chair of the health and safety committee, said Mr. Gainey has been engaged on the issue of systemic inequities impacting Black girls and women in Pittsburgh — an issue that she’s worked to address in her professional life.

Dr. Elliott said she’s looking forward to working with the mayor-elect to “tackle the inequities that were highlighted in the Gender Equity Commission report,” a study that Mr. Gainey cited numerous times during his run to assert that Pittsburgh is turning its back on many of its own residents.

The 2019 report found that Black residents in Pittsburgh could move to almost any other U.S. city of comparable size and have a better quality of life — with Black women, for example, facing higher rates of maternal mortality and poverty and lower rates of college readiness and employment.

The health and safety committee, co-chaired by Dr. Elliott and Wasi Mohamed, who is senior policy officer at The Pittsburgh Foundation, will also work to “consider social determinants of health and approaches to eradicating health disparities.” It’s a goal reminiscent of Mr. Gainey’s repeated pledge to bring a comprehensive public health plan to address the root causes of violence, from drug and alcohol use and education to poverty and the lack of opportunities.

The lack of opportunity will be a main focus of the committee on education and workforce development, tasked with making recommendations on how to “achieve shared prosperity” for residents by matching their skills with the needs of the city’s growing economies.

Eager to work with a committee he said “touches all sides of the city” in its diversity and expertise, Darrin Kelly, president of the Allegheny Fayette Central Labor Council and co-chair of the committee, said that in respect of the committee’s work, he’d like to get together with members before talking about specific policy recommendations.

Mr. Kelly said he’ll approach the work by emphasizing the need to protect workers — specifically those on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic — and to provide opportunities for people who may not have had them.

The committees will begin their biweekly meetings and public town halls in January, officials said.

Julian Routh: jrouth@post-gazette.com; Twitter: @julianrouth

First Published December 26, 2021, 6:00am

Saturday, November 13, 2021

No police on the job in Freeport

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/freeport-has-no-cops-after-chief-quits-at-end-of-1st-shift-state-police-covering-borough/
Freeport hasn’t had a police officer on duty since Nov. 3, when the newly hired police chief quit at the end of his first shift. With no officers left on the force, state police are handling calls in the 1.3-square-mile borough of about 1,700 residents, officials said. Retired Plum police Sgt. Matthew Feldmeier, 58, was hired as chief Nov. 1 and was sworn in that night by Mayor James Swartz Jr. He was the only applicant for the $53,500-a-year job. Swartz said Feldmeier worked his first shift during the day on Nov. 2 and participated in interviews that evening to fill two open positions for police officers. But when the borough secretary arrived at the borough building the following morning, she found the chief’s badge, office keys and a handwritten letter of resignation stating that he was leaving “to pursue other interests,” the mayor said. Several telephone and text messages seeking comment from Feldmeier were not returned. The only other police officer on the borough’s roster is Terry Lucas, a part-timer who also works as a police officer at a hospital in Pittsburgh. But the mayor said Lucas hasn’t worked a shift for the borough in nearly five months because of the demands of his other job. Swartz said Feldmeier gave him no indication that he was planning to resign. “He stayed after his first shift was done to sit in on the interviews with the police candidates we were having that night,” the mayor said. “After we were done, he walked out with one of the guys who was interviewed and told him he hopes he sticks around if he gets hired. So, when I heard he resigned the next day, I was pretty surprised.” The mayor said he could think of no issue or dispute between Feldmeier and him or other borough officials that would have prompted the resignation. After being hired, Feldmeier told the Tribune-Review that he was “very excited” about the position and that he looked forward to getting back to work. He said he had not thought about taking over as chief of a department with no patrol officers but that he was looking forward “to meeting the new police officers that will be coming on board.” On the night Feldmeier was sworn in, council approved hiring two police officers, but those positions have not been filled. Feldmeier worked in Plum from 1990 through 2015, including a nearly two-year stint as acting chief. When he retired from Plum as a sergeant, he worked part time at other police departments. Swartz said Freeport hired Feldmeier part time after his retirement from Plum but that he left after less than a month. “He went out for training with the former chief to get familiar with the area but never went out on patrol by himself,” the mayor said. The mayor said Feldheimer asked during his interview for the police chief position whether there were areas in the borough where crime might be a problem. “I told him where the bars were located and that, truthfully, this is a quiet little town,” Swartz said. “So I think he pretty well knew what the job was about.” Swartz said Feldmeier has not responded to his telephone calls. “I tried to call him, and it went to voicemail,” Swartz said. “Later in the day, I texted him, and he responded that he would call me back in 15 minutes. After about six hours passed, I texted him again to say I never received his call, but I didn’t hear anything back from him.” Swartz said he called Feldmeier again the following day but it again went to voicemail. “At that point, I was done calling him,” he said. Feldmeier was hired to replace Eric Belton, who resigned after six years in Freeport to take a job with Plum police. His last day with the borough was Oct. 29. Freeport’s only other full-time officer, patrolman Chris Kovacs, resigned to take a job as an officer in South Buffalo Township. His last day was Oct. 28. Because the department is so small, there already was an arrangement for state police to respond to calls in Freeport when there were no borough officers on duty. Swartz said Belton also alerted state police before he and Kovacs left to inform them that their departure left only Feldmeier on the roster until more officers were hired. The mayor said the arrangement will remain in place until the department hires a new chief and additional patrol officers. The closest state police station is Troop D in East Franklin, usually referred to as the Kittanning barracks, about 16 miles away. Swartz said it will be up to council to decide about filling the two police officer positions or waiting until a new police chief is hired and can participate in the selection process. “I don’t have any say in personnel matters, but I’d like to follow through with filling those positions so we can at least get some cops out on patrol,” he said. Councilwoman Mary Bowlin said she, too, was surprised by Feldmeier’s abrupt departure and had no inkling that it was coming. “It came out of the blue,” she said. “I don’t know what happened.” She, too, said she was unaware of any issue that might have prompted the resignation. She said council will talk about how it plans to move forward to fill the chief’s position when members meet Dec. 6. Because it is a personnel issue, the discussion likely will be conducted in executive session, she said. “We’re being covered by the state police, but we obviously prefer to have our own officers who know the community out there.”

Wednesday, November 03, 2021

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