Allegheny County Council Meeting – March 25, 2025

Allegheny County Council met on March 25, 2025, for a regular meeting. No agenda or minutes were included in the source material; this summary is drawn from the transcript. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance and initial roll call showing 14 members present, followed by County Executive Sara Innamorato's first quarterly address of 2025, proclamations, routine referrals, unfinished-business votes, new business referrals, and extensive public comment.

Quarterly Address of the Chief Executive

• County Executive Innamorato began with a remembrance of parks Deputy Director Andy Grobe, who died at age 39 after 20 years with the county, and welcomed Mike Gable as interim parks director and Warden Trevor Wingard at the Allegheny County Jail.
• Workforce updates included a deal with CCAC to offer free tuition to county employees, a new federal-worker jobs portal that had received 80 resumes within its first few weeks, and plans for Take Your Children to Work Day on April 24.
• Parks updates: Boyce Park winter attendance in skiing, tubing, and lessons more than doubled year over year; lifeguard hiring is underway; South Park pickleball court construction includes lighting and pedestrian improvements; the Settlers Cabin paved ADA trail will begin construction in April or May; and new public flush restrooms are planned at Boyce Park and South Park.
• Public Works reported 53 drivers worked 29,224 hours, used 13,311 tons of salt and 900 gallons of calcium to clear 34 inches of snow from 356 miles of roadway, and received only 9 snow and ice complaints. The $13.4 million Armstrong Tunnel Rehabilitation Project has reopened the inbound tunnel and plans to reopen the outbound tunnel this summer.
• Emergency services and elections: the county hazard mitigation plan update aims for participation from all 130 municipalities; a new I Voted sticker was designed by a Mount Lebanon 10th grader after 13,000 public votes; the primary is May 20; and the county has hired 4,000 poll workers but needs 3,000 more.
• Health Department updates included nearly $2 million invested in opioid prevention, treatment, and harm reduction; H5N1 bird flu education; no current measles cases in Allegheny County; and a new health laboratory ribbon cutting scheduled for April 7.
• DHS-related updates: veteran services were moved under the Department of Human Services; winter shelter capacity was expanded beyond the previous code blue model; the 500 in 500 plan has created more than 233 units and housed more than 369 people; DHS provided $224,000 in emergency family support to refugee resettlement groups; and year-to-date medication treatment for opioid use disorder at the jail increased 28% over last year.
• Jail updates: National Commission on Correctional Health Care accreditation was renewed in January; the new warden implemented a new command structure, made operational changes in the children's pod, and is working with Animal Friends on a dog program. A volunteer banquet is set for April 23, and Bishop Zubick will lead a holy week service.
• Economic development updates included distribution of the first round of the Mon Valley Air Quality U.S. Steel Settlement, with the next round open; $10.48 million in GEDTF funds for 72 community projects; comprehensive plan public engagement beginning this summer; and introduction of the Manchester Chateau TRID legislation, expected to bring thousands of jobs and over $1 billion in economic output.
• The County Executive reported the county is on track for revenue and expenditures, announced quarterly budget briefings for council, and discussed lobbying the state for senior care, jail health care, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit funding. She criticized federal funding freezes and cuts, noting the loss of earmarks including $3 million for the 500 in 500 initiative, a Rankin workforce training center, PA Route 837 transit and pedestrian safety enhancements, and Turtle Creek flood mitigation.

Council Q&A

• Councilman Fatulas raised the Pittsburgh Regional Transit deficit. The County Executive said the county maximizes its state match, noting a return of $17 for every $1 the county contributes, and is working with PRT and advocates on a Harrisburg narrative. Fatulas said 14 to 17 communities could lose service completely and urged all council members and the public to lobby state officials.
• Councilman Grisbeck said 13 council members had signed a letter supporting PRT funding and asked how shelter capacity was expanded beyond code blue. The County Executive credited DHS leadership, about $13 million per year in shelter infrastructure funding, and community host sites that operated with minimal disruption.
• Councilwoman Hallam asked about free or subsidized bus passes and parking for county employees. The County Executive said employee benefits are under review, including wages, child care, transit, and education. Hallam strongly advocated for bus passes and parking.
• Councilman Palmery raised widespread litter after the winter and proposed a countywide cleanup initiative. The County Executive promoted the Adopt a Street program and Earth Day volunteer opportunities.
• A council member asked about the Schuman Center expansion to 60 beds. The County Executive said design and footprint planning are ongoing and a capacity answer would be provided later.

Proclamations

• National Library Week, April 6 through 12, 2025, sponsored by Councilmembers Filiagi, Embrazia, and Grisbeck. A speaker noted the Allegheny County Library Association has 46 independent libraries and about 70 locations, and a library association representative accepted the proclamation.
• National Public Defender Day, March 18, 2025, sponsored by Councilmembers Hallam and Grisbeck. Councilwoman Hallam praised public defenders and staff; Chief Public Defender Lena Henderson noted the 60th anniversary of the Allegheny County Public Defender's Office and honored long-serving staff.
• Vietnam War Veterans Day, March 29, 2025, sponsored by Councilmembers Hallam and Grisbeck.
• A proclamation recognizing Indiana Township Mayor Darren Crawley, sponsored by Councilmember Prizio.
• A proclamation congratulating Matthew Thomas Ricciardy on achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, sponsored by Councilmember Grisbeck.

Routine Approvals and Referrals

• Council approved the minutes of the February 25, 2025 regular meeting by voice vote.
• Council received and filed notification of contracts 13469-25, summarizing approved executive actions for February 2025.
• Appointments were referred to the Committee on Appointment Review without objection: reappointments to Friends of North Park for Lauren McAndrews, Barbara Gartner, Nancy Furby, Heidi Fornozick, Lawrence Steckle, Gerard Offman, and Kenneth Also, and Roberta Haas to Friends of South Park. All listed appointments have terms effective through March 25, 2028.

Unfinished Business

• Due to the Schuman Center litigation, council was required to submit three recommendations to the Chief Executive, who will appoint one as the citizen member of the juvenile detention board of advisors. The votes were recommendations, not confirmations.
• 13318-25, recommending Dr. Terry Collin Dillmore, passed by roll-call vote with 14 in favor and 1 opposed.
• 13406-25, recommending Rabbi Moisha Meyer Vogel, passed by voice vote.
• 13408-25, recommending Lee Davis, passed by voice vote.
• 13344-24, ratifying revisions to Allegheny County Health Department Article 3 food safety rules, passed by roll-call vote with 15 in favor and 0 opposed.

New Business

• 13470-25: referendum question on term limits for a single elected county official for the November 4, 2025 ballot, referred to the Committee on Government Reform.
• 13471-25: referendum question prohibiting county funding for personal staff of County Council members, referred to the Committee on Government Reform.
• 13472-25: authorization for Community Specialist Corporation to continue using South Park property as a respite and wellness center for health care workers and first responders, referred to the Committee on Parks.
• 13473-25: authorization for 100 Acres Manor Incorporated to continue using South Park property for its annual haunted house attractions, referred to the Committee on Parks after an initial misstatement that it would go to Government Reform.
• 13474-25: resolution agreeing to participate in a transit revitalization investment district plan for phase one of the Manchester Chateau Project, referred to the Committee on Economic Development and Job Creation.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Lisa Graves Marcucci cited a 2018 EPA Title V audit raising concerns about staffing and permit fees at the Allegheny County Health Department, and asked which positions would go unfilled under a plan to balance the budget by not filling ten vacant positions.
• John Kenstewitz spoke about correctional officer stress, PTSD, suicide rates, and low life expectancy, and urged a yes vote on the agenda initiative related to the restraint chair and leg shackles.
• Zachary Barber supported the revised air permitting fees, saying ten facilities produce about two-thirds of industrial toxic emissions in the county and that Clean Air Act fees are legally required.
• Cindy Meckle and her husband announced they are leaving Allegheny County, citing pollution from U.S. Steel's Clairton Coke Works after the 2018 Christmas Eve fire, test results including benzene at 17 parts per million, high lead and arsenic in soil, the deaths of three dogs from cancer, and unaddressed complaints to ACHD. Her husband, a Valley Clean Air Now member, said VCAN has placed hundreds of air purifiers in Mon Valley homes and described his wife's declining health.
• Kellyanne Fricket asked council to bring the Title V permit fee ordinance up for a vote, citing a 2024 air quality program deficit of over $540,000 and the Board of Health's use of the maximum 5% of Clean Air Fund balances to cover operations.
• Gail Newstatt urged full funding and staffing of the air quality program, citing Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment, Article 1, Section 27, and the county's poor air quality rankings.
• Karen Sloan, a Presbyterian pastor and parent, spoke in support of pollution permit fee increases as a moral and faith-based issue.
• Belle Carlton, a child, asked council to vote for cleaner air and better health for kids.
• Jonathan Blanton of Brighton Heights supported air quality funding, arguing strong, well-funded regulation also protects businesses from bankruptcy and negligence costs.
• Paula Scomenia of Highland Park supported fee increases, citing research linking fine particulate pollution to dementia, including an estimate of 188,000 dementia cases per year nationally and higher-than-average dementia rates among older Allegheny County residents.
• Patrick Campbell, executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution, criticized council for not acting on the air quality fee proposal, said the fee schedule is not punitive, and argued inaction had diverted nearly half a million dollars from the Clean Air Fund to administrative costs.
• Natalie Davidson of PennFuture supported the fee increase under the Clean Air Act and Pennsylvania's Environmental Rights Amendment, and urged all council members to vote to protect residents.
• David Swanson, president of the Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network and a Swissvale resident, displayed particulate debris collected from his window well, said his 9-year-old daughter had respiratory symptoms for seven months, and asked council to be courageous enough to vote for the fee increase.
• Jacob Poole asked council to conduct a census of homeless residents and made unsubstantiated allegations about child trafficking and forced labor.
• Kate Walker, minister of the First Unitarian Church of Pittsburgh, called the air quality fee vote a moral issue, said she represents more than 240 members, and urged council not to accept industry job-loss threats.

Key Outcomes

• Council recommended three candidates to the Chief Executive for the juvenile detention board of advisors: Dr. Terry Collin Dillmore passed 14-1; Rabbi Moisha Meyer Vogel and Lee Davis passed by voice vote.
• The food safety ordinance revisions passed 15-0.
• All new ordinances and resolutions were referred to committees; no final action was taken on them.
• Council did not vote on the air quality permit fee increase. During public comment, a request was made to amend the agenda to add it. The solicitor said the item was not posted on the agenda and voting on it would violate the Sunshine Act. A council member noted council rules may allow pulling bills from committee, but the solicitor responded that it still must be on the posted agenda to act. Council then voted to adjourn.