The committee meets the first Wednesday of every month at the SSLDC offices. The following information is what happened at the February 7th meeting. Thanks, Judy for the minutes!
Community Gardens – Maria Riley again reviewed the construction documents with the committee. Following discussion it was approved that:
Monastery Garden: Final documents will uplight wall, uplight tree, and include GFCI access.
South 18th Garden: Repairs to the steps should be completed before any installation takes place. Scrim should then be installed, followed by planting.
Gateway Signage/Branding – Peter reviewed his conversations with Rick Landesberg of Landesberg Design. Landesberg has agreed to do design work pro-bono. Scrim will be the “big wow� and all other branding signage will be “cousins� to the scrim. Peter showed samples of possible metals to be used to construct the scrim. Following discussion, the committee
decided to go with Cor-Ten. Judy reported that PA Downtown Center enthusiastically approved using funds from the Demonstration Grant to offset the cost of the scrim and other signage.
Footbridge Lighting – Repairs to the 15th Street footbridge fencing have been completed. Joe Balaban is working with Ben Carlise to have inspection completed and have 10th Street lights energized.
Litter Awareness Program – Judy reported that the Focus Area Survey is essentially complete. Most of the research was completed by SSLDC Coro Intern David Simon. David will work with PA Resources Council to ensure it meets their standards. Committee presented their selection of questions for the Community Attitude Survey. Survey will be mailed mid-tolate March. John gave a brief overview of Committee members’ meeting with new Graffiti Officers.
Additional Demonstration Grant Opportunities – Judy reported that PDC encourages application for Sidewalk Accessories even though Committee has not yet finished Litter Index Project. Father Don will present resolution at next SSSNA Board
meeting. Judy distributed copies of additional Demonstration Grant applications for Committee to review. Committee can then decide which, if any, should be applied for.
Year 1 Budget Revision – Judy reported that a budget revision putting all $47,600 of year one funding into the Gateway Gardens has been requested of the URA. Year 2 Budget Revision – Judy reported that she would be meeting with the URA on February 9th to review the $180,000 year two budget and make any necessary changes.
Year 3 funding application status – Judy reported that the initial application submitted by the URA for year 3 funding has been rejected. DCED has decided Pittsburgh Elm Street districts must now compete for funding. She will keep Committee
informed as things move forward. Judy distributed copies of each focus area’s five year action plan to the appropriate Committee member and asked that they work with their particular committee to review, prioritize and/or update their action plans. Elm Street focus committees will be working with CTAC on strategic planning and this task.
PDC/URA Assessment – Judy reported that the PDC and URA would like to conduct South Side Slopes Elm Street assessment. Ultimately, this meeting was cancelled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
Volunteer Recruitment Training with URA – Bev Boggio and Judy Dyda attended the work session on February 13th.
