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Motion Expressing the Sense of Council of Allegheny County urging the Allegheny Regional Asset District (ARAD) to revise its internal operating procedures to allow for the consideration of applications for discretionary funding for entities that provide a broad range of services vital to the quality of life for residents of the County.
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WHEREAS, the statute which creates ARAD specifically mandates that ARAD exists to serve as a surrogate for local municipalities in funding regional assets, and specifically indicates that ARAD was created to ensure the continued viability of civic and other regional assets that are vital to the health, welfare and quality of life for area residents; and
WHEREAS, the definition of a “regional asset” in the statute is extremely broad and includes regional civic facilities and other organizations and properties vital to the quality of life of the region; and
WHEREAS, the statute forbids funding only four categories of activities: health care institutions which provide education or training services, parks smaller than 200 acres, entities which fail to serve a significant number of residents in communities other than the one in which the entity is located, and libraries which are not part of a regional or district library center or which is not part of a system serving multiple municipalities; and
WHEREAS, the Allegheny Regional Asset District, since its creation in 1995, has made virtually all discretionary grants to artistic entities, cultural entities and parks, because the District has created internal operating procedures that in many cases do not allow for even the review of applications from other types of organizations;
NOW THEREFORE, IT IS MOVED, AND IT IS THE SENSE OF THE COUNCIL OF ALLEGHENY COUNTY, that this Body supports funding of any entities operating within Allegheny County that provide services that are vital to the health, welfare and quality of life for area residents, specifically including volunteer fire departments and emergency medical service providers, with discretionary grants by the Allegheny Regional Asset District. Council hereby expresses its desire to see an alteration in the funding practices of ARAD to allow for the review of applications from applicants other than parks, artistic, and cultural organizations in fair and objective terms, and on an equal footing with all other applicants for ARAD discretionary grant funding, provided that this request is made in compliance with the ARAD enabling legislation.