Council holds pre‑agenda interviews for PLI assistant director and three Gender Equity Commission nominees

Robert Columbus, introduced as the city’s assistant director of code enforcement, told council members he has municipal inspection experience and a military and Department of Defense contracting background that he said gave him experience managing large teams and complex emergency situations. Columbus described his priorities as improving communication with council and the public and coordinating with other agencies on enforcement.

“I would definitely improve our public outreach and our communication with community leaders,” Columbus said during the June 18 pre‑agenda interview.

Columbus told council the demolition program is active but constrained by funding. He described two main funding sources that affect demolition timing: discretionary PAYGO funds and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. He said CDBG money requires an environmental review that can take up to six months and that the CDBG budget year begins in October, with funds received in November.

Council members pressed Columbus on process and communication. Councilman Ward and other members said constituents often expect faster follow‑up on complaints about vacant and blighted properties, trash and illegal activity and urged clearer lines of communication between PLI, the Department of Public Works and council offices. Columbus said PLI is coordinating with DPW, which is standing up an environmental services team, and offered to share contact information for follow‑up.

Three nominees to the Gender Equity Commission — Audra Mitchell, Crystal Wimalowa and Terry Miner Spencer — spoke briefly about their reasons for seeking appointment. Mitchell, introduced as the board president of Pittsburgh Action Against (name redacted in the transcript), said she is a survivor of intimate‑partner violence and that she wants the commission to ensure equitable treatment across city programs and contracts. Wimalowa, introduced as executive director of Audacity Art Alliance and a board member of the Greenwood Plan, said she planned to focus on accessibility to city resources for Black women, creative entrepreneurs and other residents.

Council members asked the nominees how the commission should respond to federal actions affecting gender equity and how it can increase community access to information about city contracts and opportunities. Both nominees emphasized outreach, public education and using commission membership to connect residents to resources. Council President LaVelle, Councilman Strassburger and others urged the new commissioners to be visible in neighborhoods as well as in meetings.

The clerk read the resolutions titled on the record at the start of the pre‑agenda session: Resolution Bill 18‑32 (appointment of Robert Columbus as assistant director, code enforcement, Department of Permits, Licenses and Inspections), Bill 17‑54 (appointment of Audra Mitchell, Gender Equity Commission), Bill 17‑57 (appointment of Crystal Wimalowa, Gender Equity Commission), and Bill 17‑55 (appointment of Terry Miner Spencer, Gender Equity Commission). The pre‑agenda interviews are an opportunity for council to meet nominees; the transcript does not record a final committee or council vote on those appointments.

Several council members said they would continue to press PLI leadership for improved information tools and a named contact for urgent cases so council offices can respond to constituents. Columbus said he would seek feedback and follow up with council members and community leaders once he has discussed details with his leadership team.

The pre‑agenda session adjourned after the interviews; council moved to the standing committee agenda afterward.

Ending: The interviews served primarily to introduce nominees and to surface operational concerns — especially demolition funding, interagency coordination and communication — rather than to produce immediate policy decisions. Formal outcomes for the appointment resolutions were not given in the transcript; the clerk had read the bill numbers into the record.