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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, directing the creation of a tax-exempt entity with a mission to secure and administer financial resources to support and enhance objectives of the Parks Department.
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WHEREAS, Allegheny County's parks are regional assets which benefit all residents of the county by enhancing their quality of life and well-being while providing opportunity for leisure and recreation; and
WHEREAS, maintaining the facilities and landscapes of the parks requires adequate funding to address the upkeep and significant monies to restore, revitalize and preserve those parks; and
WHEREAS, other governmental entities have address funding issues through cooperative agreements with independent organizations which focus on assisting such efforts through planning, fundraising, public education and involvement; and
WHEREAS, such joint efforts have been successful in enhancing parks and providing opportunities for improvement and revitalization of park lands to the benefit of all parties; and
WHEREAS, although the current and prior Chief Executives have expressed an intent to create a tax-exempt trust or other entity in order to secure resources for the Department of Parks and to assist the Department in fulfilling its function of administering the parks since at least 2002, such an entity has not yet been created;
WHEREAS, legislation put forth by this County Council has already established a Parks & Recreation Commission and a Council of Friends of the Parks for each county park, both of which are specifically intended to work in conjunction with the proposed trust or other entity to further strengthen and improve the Allegheny County parks system;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Formation of Tax Exempt Entity
An entity with tax-exempt status under §501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code and with a mission to secure and administer financial resources to support and enhance objectives of the Department of Parks, as well as to assist the county in meeting the planning goals for parks and to administer any funds voluntarily contributed by the public for assisting in the improvement and/or maintenance of the County's parks pursuant to Ordinance No. 07-06-OR, shall be created as follows:
A. Finalization of the plans required under the terms of this ordinance shall be completed no later than April 30, 2007.
B. All necessary filings for federal tax-exempt status shall be completed and filed no later than December 31, 2007. Such filings shall be completed and filed by individuals or firms not employed by or under contract to Allegheny County and, to the extent practicable, shall be completed by individuals or firms performing their work at no cost to the County.
C. In the event that tax-exempt status is granted, the tax-exempt entity shall be fully formed and its Board of Directors or other controlling body shall have its first meeting no later than 90 days after notice of such approval is received by the County.
D. In the event that tax-exempt status is not granted, new schedules for revised filings may be created by Ordinance.
E. The Board of Directors for the entity required under the terms of this Ordinance shall be constituted as follows:
1. The primary sponsor of this Ordinance or his designee;
2. Two other Members of Allegheny County Council who shall not be members of the same political party;
3. The Director of the Allegheny County Parks Department;
4. One member of each of the nine Friends of the Park councils to be appointed by each of those councils; and
5. Two at-large members who shall be residents of the County, who would be qualified to serve on a Friends of the Park council, and who shall be appointed by Allegheny County Council.
F. The entity to be created under the requirements of this Ordinance shall be created and operated as a private entity, rather than as a part of the County government.
Section 2. If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.
Section 3. Any Resolution or Ordinance or part thereof conflicting with the provisions of this Ordinance is hereby repealed so far as the same affects this Ordinance.