OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Pittsburgh City Council Standing Committees Meeting - March 11, 2026

City Council — Wednesday, March 11, 2026
BodyPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
SessionCity Council
DateWednesday, March 11, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 48:16

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

March 2nd, 2026.

0:02

All council meetings will be live streamed on the city's website.

0:05

And for guest speakers, please do not turn off your microphones.

0:08

Our first order of business is roll call.

0:11

Will the clerk please take the roll?

0:12

Mr.

0:13

Charland.

0:15

Mr.

0:15

Cargill.

0:16

Miss Gross.

0:18

Mr.

0:19

Lavelle.

0:21

Mr.

0:21

Mosley.

0:22

Ms.

0:22

Solometro.

0:24

Mrs.

0:25

Warwick.

0:26

Here.

0:27

Mr.

0:28

Wilson.

0:30

Miss Strasberger Chair.

0:32

Here.

0:32

Five members present.

0:33

Thank you.

0:35

Our next order of business is public comment.

0:38

I would like to remind all speakers that the rules of council state that comments are limited to matters of concern, official action, or deliberation, which are or may be before city council.

0:48

Profanity will not be permitted.

0:49

Please state your name and neighborhood for the record.

0:52

You will have three minutes to speak.

1:19

For those wishing to speak, please come to the podium.

1:32

My name is Yvonne F.

1:34

Brown.

1:34

I live at 715 Mercer Street.

1:36

That's up in the high rise up on Bedford Avenue, top of the hill.

1:42

Uh yesterday, um, when I was speaking about the the uh refrigerator.

1:49

Um I'm serious.

1:51

I want to see the refrigerator.

1:53

Mr.

1:54

Lavelle, who doesn't our president who doesn't answer me, most of the time gonna say he's is in it is in there.

2:02

He doesn't know.

2:03

I wanna know, and if I can, I want to see it.

2:06

See, because Mr.

2:07

Krause, he was very shady, and I'll use example.

2:13

I heard that Mrs.

2:14

Harris died yesterday.

2:16

I sort of felt a uh uh uh sort of felt a little pain as she's gone.

2:21

Um, even though you know that uh me and her did not get along, but I can tell you what she did.

2:27

Uh Mr.

2:28

Krause had called a meeting with uh Vict, the lawyer for ACLU, and when he called the meeting, Mr.

2:39

Krauss wanted to take and say that we couldn't speak, that we were running for office, and there was other things, and Miss Ms.

2:48

Harris had told me, watch the video.

2:50

She says, watch me.

2:52

And she said this.

2:53

She said it was not uh he kept on saying it was a training.

2:57

It was a training.

2:58

Well, if it was a training, we the citizens were supposed to know that Vic was gonna be there.

3:03

But she said no.

3:05

She says because Mr.

3:07

Krauss wanted to say that we could not stand up here if we were gonna run for office and announce that we ran for office, and that he wanted to cut the time down from three minutes, I think to two.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural███████████████████████████27%
Energy██████████████████████████26%
Public Safety███████████████████19%
Racial Equity█████5%
Public Engagement█████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████4%
Technology and Innovation███3%
Transparency and Accountability███3%
Economic Development███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Pittsburgh City Council Standing Committees Meeting - March 11, 2026

A Standing Committees meeting of the Pittsburgh City Council was held on March 11, 2026, at 10:00 AM in Council Chambers. Eight council members were present (Wilson, Salinetro, Charland, Coghill, Warwick, Lavelle, Gross, Strassburger); Council Member Mosley was absent. The committees reviewed and voted on a range of legislative items including fee schedules, contracts, grants, property dedications, and membership dues, with most items receiving affirmative recommendations. Three members of the public provided comment.

Public Comments

  • Yvonne F. Brown (715 Mercer Street) spoke about a refrigerator she believes was taken by former council president Krause, criticized his conduct, and endorsed Will Anderson for office.
  • Unique Brown (neighborhood not stated) described discriminatory treatment she experienced in a domestic violence shelter system, arguing that Black women are often treated differently and that white women disproportionately hold power in these organizations.
  • Special Agent Sunshine delivered a prayer and spoke about spiritual protection and remaining faithful.

Finance and Law Committee

  • Vending Fee Schedule (2026-0242): Approved unanimously. Director Green explained that the resolution amends the 2026 fee schedule to consolidate vending license fees into unified fees, as recommended by the Department of Permits, Licenses & Inspections. The change is revenue-neutral and includes new administrative fees for Department of Mobility and Infrastructure work related to the vending program. It is intended to simplify the application process for vendors ahead of the NFL draft.
  • Budget Referendum (2026-0039): Held in committee for 12 weeks, due back by June 3, 2026. The ordinance would place a referendum on the May 2026 primary ballot to amend the Home Rule Charter regarding budget approval rules.
  • Invoices and P-Cards: Approved unanimously.

Public Safety and Wellness Committee

  • Group Violence Intervention Technology (2026-0193): Affirmatively recommended. Resolution authorizes a $300,000, three-year professional services agreement with Operation Better Block for technology services to track data from law enforcement and outreach workers, and to distribute public information on housing, food, and social services.
  • Buncher Warehouse for Police Training (2026-0194): Affirmatively recommended. Licenses warehouse space from The Buncher Company for four days over 90 days at no cost.
  • Buncher Gateway View Plaza Space (2026-0195): Affirmatively recommended. Licenses space at Gateway View Plaza for 45 days at no cost.

Public Works and Infrastructure Committee

  • Automated Red Light Enforcement Grant (2026-0196): Affirmatively recommended. Authorizes acceptance of $805,533 from PennDOT to replace signals at Fifth Avenue and Dithridge Street.
  • Parcel Dedication at Main Street/Liberty Avenue (2026-0203): Held in committee for three weeks, due back by April 1, 2026. Councilwoman Gross requested a hold to conduct community outreach regarding the intersection, citing 20 years of planning and stakeholder concerns.
  • Savoy Street Vacation (2026-0204): Affirmatively recommended. Vacates an unopened, unimproved paper portion of Savoy Street.
  • Energy Advisory Services (2026-0205): Affirmatively recommended after discussion. Resolution authorizes a six-year agreement with Enel X Advisory Services USA, LLC, at no additional cost, to provide energy evaluation and consultant services for the City’s participation in the Western Pennsylvania Energy Consortium (WPEC). City officials (Don Mudrick, Bat Mahoney, Joel McLear) explained that WPEC leverages collective purchasing power for electricity procurement, has achieved over 50% renewable energy, and helped identify 350 misattributed accounts, leading to cost savings. Councilwoman Warwick raised concerns about the process for renewing WPEC’s memorandum of understanding without council approval, but ultimately supported the resolution.

Land Use and Economic Development Committee

  • Land Bank Acquisition (2026-0207): Affirmatively recommended. Authorizes the Pittsburgh Land Bank to acquire the City’s interest in the property at 635 Kirkpatrick Street (Council District 6) at no cost.

Intergovernmental and Educational Affairs Committee

  • Membership Dues: Affirmatively recommended for:
    • United States Conference of Mayors ($21,824)
    • Pennsylvania Municipal League ($52,962.24)
    • National League of Cities ($19,626)
  • Sewage Facilities Plan Revisions: Affirmatively recommended for properties at 2111 Penn Avenue, 1717-1719 Cliff Street, and 544 Lincoln Avenue, all at no cost to the City.
  • Stadium Authority Agreement (2026-0202): Affirmatively recommended. Resolution authorizes a $1 agreement with the Stadium Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County for installation of public safety equipment. Dan Shack from the Office of Public Safety Technology explained that the agreement covers relocating a single camera from a light pole to the rooftop of a parking garage owned by the Stadium Authority for the duration of the NFL draft, after which it will be moved back. Council members discussed privacy concerns and the scale of the relocation.

Key Outcomes

  • All resolutions received affirmative recommendations from their respective committees, with two exceptions: (1) Budget Referendum (2026-0039) was held for 12 weeks, and (2) Parcel Dedication (2026-0203) was held for 3 weeks for community outreach.
  • Invoices and P-card approvals were passed unanimously.
  • The meeting adjourned following announcements of future meetings and pre-agenda interviews.

Meeting Transcript

March 2nd, 2026. All council meetings will be live streamed on the city's website. And for guest speakers, please do not turn off your microphones. Our first order of business is roll call. Will the clerk please take the roll? Mr. Charland. Mr. Cargill. Miss Gross. Mr. Lavelle. Mr. Mosley. Ms. Solometro. Mrs. Warwick. Here. Mr. Wilson. Miss Strasberger Chair. Here. Five members present. Thank you. Our next order of business is public comment. I would like to remind all speakers that the rules of council state that comments are limited to matters of concern, official action, or deliberation, which are or may be before city council. Profanity will not be permitted. Please state your name and neighborhood for the record. You will have three minutes to speak. For those wishing to speak, please come to the podium. My name is Yvonne F. Brown. I live at 715 Mercer Street. That's up in the high rise up on Bedford Avenue, top of the hill. Uh yesterday, um, when I was speaking about the the uh refrigerator. Um I'm serious. I want to see the refrigerator. Mr. Lavelle, who doesn't our president who doesn't answer me, most of the time gonna say he's is in it is in there. He doesn't know. I wanna know, and if I can, I want to see it. See, because Mr. Krause, he was very shady, and I'll use example. I heard that Mrs. Harris died yesterday. I sort of felt a uh uh uh sort of felt a little pain as she's gone. Um, even though you know that uh me and her did not get along, but I can tell you what she did. Uh Mr. Krause had called a meeting with uh Vict, the lawyer for ACLU, and when he called the meeting, Mr.

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