Votes at a glance: council approves routine contracts, warrants and equipment purchases; some items held for public hearing

Pittsburgh City Council’s standing committee on Monday approved a slate of routine spending and contract measures and set public hearings or short holds on several proposals.

What passed: the council gave affirmative recommendations to a $15,000 firefighting foam grant (bill 24-81); extended a professional services agreement with Bromberg and Associates (bill 25-35); amended Global Wordsmith and Block & Associates contracts (bills 24-85 and 24-86); approved a $75,000 warrant to Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group for a community reinvestment analysis (bill 24-88); approved a $33,314.96 warrant to Bell Ford USA Group for clean-out services (bill 24-89); approved invoices, interdepartmental transfers and p-cards; accepted a $430,000.13 Greenlight Go grant for traffic control upgrades (bill 25-20); and amended and approved equipment purchases and leases, including a $65,000 RAD Trust Fund allocation for pickup trucks to support park rangers (bill 24-95 as amended).

Held or set for hearings: Council moved to hold bills 24-82 and 24-83 (comprehensive plan consultant contract terminations) for two weeks and to hold bill 24-87 (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney legal services) for one week. Land-use items creating the North Shore Entertainment District and rezoning parcels in Hazelwood were amended and held for cablecast public hearings.

Administration and staff answered brief questions on specific items: Finance Director Jen Gula said PCRG work was performed under RFP and paperwork is pending execution due to insurance documents; Chief Financial Officer Patrick Cornell and budget staff explained that the RAD Trust Fund amendment for bill 24-95 would fund pickup trucks for park rangers across RAD parks.

Most votes were taken by voice; affirmative recommendations were recorded for the measures noted above. Items held will return to the council according to the timelines set by members.