City Council
Lincoln Place Fire Station gets $4.5M budget boost to escape muddy floodplain.
Neighbors have wanted a new fire station in Lincoln Place for decades, a council member said. Now, Public Works has asked council for $4.5 million more to move Fire Station 20 there from a floodplain in Hays. That would bring the total cost to $17.7 million. Still, the station will have a small community room instead of the community center neighbors wanted.
Written by Amy Whipple
- The Department of Public Works requested an additional $4.5 million to get the fire fighters in Hays out of the mud.
- This will bring the total cost of constructing a new building in Lincoln Place, across the Monongahela River from Hazelwood, for Fire Station 20/Medic 12 to $17.7 million. The Department of Public Works asked council to expedite the contracts in order to begin construction.
- Fire Station 20 is currently located on a floodplain in Hays.
- Director of Public Works Chris Hornstein said the project is part of an overall program to address critical emergency responder needs. This includes the recent completion of Medic Station 4 in the Northside and the in-progress Fire Station 8 in East Liberty.
- New or renovated stations are not the only structural problems for the city’s emergency responders. A post agenda meeting in May revealed that 33% of the fire trucks and 89% of Emergency Medical Service vehicles are past their service life or mileage limits. Hornstein said the department needs 10–15 million per year to appropriately maintain all emergency response vehicles but only $3 million a year is budgeted for the next five years.
- A July meeting on the response to the April 29 storm further revealed that not all fire, EMS and police stations have generators.
- Councilmember Barb Warwick of Greenfield said that the community’s desire for the new fire station in Lincoln Place began decades ago with funding accumulating since 2018.
- The combined station for fire and emergency medical services will also include a “small” community room instead of the community center that the neighbors wanted.
- Councilmembers Wilson and Charland said they wanted to make sure that the contractors will pay a prevailing wage. Don Mudrick, manager of personnel and finance for the Department of Public Works, said the prevailing wage is set by the federal government and the city is required to adhere to it, though union status cannot be a factor in determining contracts.
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City Council
Red light cameras coming to six Pittsburgh intersections in early 2026.
Drivers at six city intersections picked using crash data could get red light camera tickets starting in early 2026. Council gave preliminary approval to the system, which would run under a five-year, $14 million contract. A city transportation official said ticket money will pay for the program. However, she said the city still pays if fines fall short.
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Council prioritizes community needs over funding criteria for $1.7M grant distributions.
Thirty-nine community groups are in line for about $1.7 million from the Stop the Violence Fund. Council gave preliminary approval, though two members said seven groups didn't meet all funding criteria. A city supervisor said community need came first where a neighborhood has only one provider. Before next Tuesday's final vote, council will get a written rationale for the exceptions.
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Also at this week’s meetings.
A bill on a proposed public safety training campus is on hold for another two weeks. At council's Sept. 3 committee meeting, 26 people spoke against the campus and two were neutral. Earlier that day, 39 people spoke in support of the Oakland DIY Skatepark and one against. For now, there's no new skatepark legislation on council's upcoming agenda.
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Council passes homeless tiny house legislation they hope "gathers dust."
Pittsburgh would allow tiny house communities for unhoused residents under legislation council affirmed. It covers tiny houses only in managed temporary communities, not ones built for private use. For now, the city has no plans to build any, since recent county efforts are serving those needs. Still, council wanted the option in place in case the need arises.
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Councilmember Coghill trades postage budget for smart trash cans.
Pittsburgh residents always want to talk about city trash cans, one council member said. Now, another member has asked to move $9,000 from his office's postage budget to buy nine smart cans for his district. The cans alert public works when they're full. On Oct. 28, council will hold a meeting on litter.
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Youth Council graduates: new Commission serves young adults.
Teens ages 14 to 18 have advised the city through its Youth Council since 2006. Council has now affirmed a separate 15-member Youth Commission for ages 19 to 30. Members, appointed by the mayor and approved by council, will tell city officials what young adults need. The Youth Council itself must now have at least one member from every council district.
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🏖️ City Council is on break for the next 3 weeks. Instead of our regular coverage we're doing a series of deep dives. This week: an update on InformUp! Have a request for a future deep dive? Drop it into this week’s survey.
City Council
City, County officials outline emergency response gaps.
After the April 29 storm, a top priority is getting generators into every fire, EMS, and police station. Three council members said they weren't kept informed after the storm and had no point person to contact. One suggested naming a council member to receive and share information in emergencies. So far, the city has doubled its supply of oxygen tanks that work without power.
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Addressing the City’s fleet management crisis.
Properly maintaining the city's vehicles would take $10 to $15 million a year. The five-year budget outlook, however, allows for only $3 million a year. This week, council approved more oversight, including a yearly fleet report before each budget. It'll list repair costs per vehicle and flag any vehicle whose upkeep reached 30% of its purchase price.
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April 29 storm debrief reveals scale of emergency assistance demands.
During the April 29 storm, overloaded cell networks left 911 effectively out of reach. On July 23, city and county officials briefed council on the storm response. A county emergency chief said the region's 911 systems got 25,000 calls in the first four hours, Pennsylvania's usual daily total. Next, council will hear about Duquesne Light's response on Sept. 18.
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City and Pittsburgh Public Schools partner to create afterschool programs in underserved neighborhoods.
Some lower-income neighborhoods lack a city recreation center or a strong nonprofit offering after-school programs. A bill would let city staff run programs in Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings there instead. A pilot for kindergarten through fifth grade would start in October at schools in Lincoln Place, Sheraden, and Brookline. Details are still in the works, but it won't cost the city.
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State grants $6M to launch Urban Search and Rescue Task Force.
In the 2022 Fern Hollow Bridge collapse, rescue dogs had to come from eastern Pennsylvania. Now, the state has given the city $6 million for a task force specializing in collapses, floods, and other disasters. An assistant fire chief tied the need to that collapse and said two puppies are already in training. They'll be the only live-find dogs west of Harrisburg.
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Council frustrated by unused funds.
Each year, the city sweeps idle money out of dormant projects, and some of it can be lost for good. A $234,149 balance from an expired federal bike share grant, for example, no longer exists. Council members said they got no timely warning and no say in where leftover money goes. Now, the package is on hold for a week so council can weigh in.
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Regulating short-term rentals.
Right now, Pittsburgh has no rules for short-term rentals like Airbnb. A council member introduced legislation that would require investors who buy property to rent this way to get a yearly license. Violations would cost $500 per unit per month, but homeowners who occasionally rent their own homes would be exempt. Next, council will discuss the bills at a future meeting.
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Final Food Justice Fund recipients chosen.
Free meals, community gardens, and food-system job training are among the uses of the city's Food Justice Fund. Council has now affirmed grants for the fund's last $1.5 million. In all, 101 applications asked for more than $4 million. District 9 got the largest share of any council district.
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$40,000 for person-to-person police recruitment.
The police academy hasn't had a full class of 40 recruits since before the pandemic. A $40,000 request would pay for sales-style training for police recruiters. A city official said applications have risen to about 100 a month, crediting the bureau's full-time recruiters. Grant money the city already received would cover the cost.
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Continuing white-tailed deer management.
The city says its deer herd has outgrown its food supply, and car-deer crashes are up. This year, targeted culling expands from last year's pilot in Frick and Riverview Parks to all Allegheny Regional Asset District parks. Those parks close at night for the sharpshooters. Council advanced about $99,500 for one year of the program.
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Additional protections for LGBTQIA+ residents.
Council voted in favor of adding LGBTQIA+ people as a protected class in the city code. The bill also makes it a low priority to enforce state and federal laws that criminalize parts of LGBTQIA+ identities. That includes laws on drag performance, Pride flags, and restroom use. It's a response to growing threats to LGBTQIA+ civil rights at UPMC, in some states, and federally.
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At This Week’s Standing Committee Meeting.
Council's committee meeting this week ran 8 hours, and almost 70 people gave public comment. The largest group, 59 speakers, favored strengthening the Stop the Violence Fund. Speakers also weighed in on protections for trans healthcare and sex workers, and 11 opposed a public safety training campus. Top agenda items included reducing the minimum penalty for sex work.
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Reducing the minimum penalty for engaging in sex work.
A bill would make the minimum penalty for sex work a $100 fine, like a traffic ticket. Currently, it's a misdemeanor, with up to a year in jail for a first offense. The bill doesn't decriminalize sex work, though. Council unanimously advanced it, and a final vote is set for July 8.