Posted on Fri, Jun. 20, 2008
The city would take control of Fairmount Park and hand over the city's sludge operations to a private contractor under separate bills approved by City Council yesterday.
Councilman Darrell L. Clarke and Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who have been pushing a city takeover of Fairmount Park since 2004, finally won approval of a ballot initiative slated for November.
If voters approve it, the Fairmount Park Commission, which has governed the park's 9,200 acres since 1867, would cease to exist. Fairmount Park would fuse with the city's Recreation Department. A new Commission on Parks and Recreation would advise the administration.
The merger "would result in more effective and efficient services and programs - ultimately better parks and recreation," wrote Lauren Bornfriend, executive director of the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, and Alexander L. "Pete" Hoskins, the group's president. The group's backing helped push the measure through.
The measure passed, 16-1. Councilman Bill Green said he voted against the measure because he wanted the law to require a two-thirds majority by Council to sell parkland.
In another proposal that stalled during the administration of Mayor John F. Street, Council voted to privatize its sludge plant, the city's Biosolids Recycling Center.
A partnership lead by Houston-based Synagro Inc. would take over the plant, building an addition that would dry the city's treated human waste into pellets that qualify as fertilizer that can be sent anywhere.
The fertilizer "cake" currently produced by the city is regulated by the government and is currently sent to farms, abandoned mines and landfills.
Local 394 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees opposes the deal. The union wants to save the 60 jobs still at the plant, but union officials also say the proposal won't save the city a dime.
City officials estimate the savings at $100 million to $200 million over the 23-year deal. The new process removes whatever smells remain after treatment, officials said. Previous practices resulted in odors floating into the neighborhoods of Southwest Philadelphia.
Council members Jannie L. Blackwell and Green voted against the deal.
In its last meeting before summer break, Council approved a number of significant bills, including:
Blackwell's bill to extend tax breaks under the Keystone Opportunity Zone for a proposed companion building to the Cira Centre in University City. The bill seeks to entice the major financial firm BlackRock Inc. to move one of its offices from Plainsboro, N.J. Blackwell's bill requires state legislation, which Gov. Rendell supports.
Councilman William Greenlee's bill to require background checks on individuals filing deeds. The requirement would ascertain that the person actually owns the house, to cut down on the number of homes that are stolen from under their owners' noses by people forging deeds.
Councilmen James F. Kenney and Frank DiCicco's bill to regulate the closing of sidewalks and traffic lanes during construction.
Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. and Brown's bill to allow outdoor decks over the Manayunk Canal Towpath. Jones envisions a waterfront dining area similar to the one in San Antonio, Texas.
Council is in recess until Sept. 18.
Contact staff writer Jeff Shields at 215-854-4565 or jshields@phillynews.com.
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