Pittsburgh committee delays decision on proposed public-safety training campus after hours of public comment

Pittsburgh City Council’s Public Works and Infrastructure Committee voted Wednesday to hold for two weeks a resolution that would authorize up to $1.8 million for a master plan and consultant contract on a proposed public-safety training campus at the former VA hospital site — a project opponents call “Cop City.”

The hold followed more than four hours of public comment, in which more than three dozen speakers urged council to reject the contract or insist on significant changes. Commenters said the city should prioritize housing, mental-health services and violence-prevention programs instead of expanding police training infrastructure.

The debate centered on a resolution introduced in committee that would authorize the city to contract with the firm named in the proposal — identified in committee paperwork and public testimony as Henningston, Durham & Richardson (HDR) — for master planning and design work, at a not-to-exceed amount of $1,800,000 over two years. During public comment multiple speakers alleged concerns about HDR’s business practices and said the site should be used for housing or EMS training rather than an expanded…