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An Ordinance of the County of Allegheny, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, amending Ordinance 39-05-OR in order to revise the County’s policy regarding the inclusion of public art in certain eligible capital projects.
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WHEREAS, on September 6, 2005, Allegheny County Council passed Ordinance 1728-04, an ordinance intended to provide guidance regarding the potential inclusion of public art in a narrow category of capital projects involving the new construction or improvement of certain County structures; and
WHEREAS, former Chief Executive Onorato signed Bill No. 1728-04 into law on September 15, 2005, and the bill was assigned enactment number 39-05-OR; and
WHEREAS, while Ordinance 39-05-OR was well-intentioned, it has become apparent over time that the ordinance as enacted creates significant - and likely unresolvable - issues including, but not limited to, applicability to certain types of projects, calculation of eligibility thresholds, waiving the ordinance’s requirements by subsequent enactment; and
WHEREAS, in addition, Ordinance 39-05-OR as drafted did not adequately account for potential administrative burdens inherent in its application or potential issues relating to conditions attached to funding that the County may use to complete capital projects; and
WHEREAS, because the County’s capital projects are largely paid for through bond issuances, paying for the inclusion of public art in capital projects necessarily requires that the County would ultimately be forced to pay interest on the bond funds used for the inclusion of public art, and it is the judgment of Council that the interests of the County’s residents and taxpayers are not served by increasing the amount of debt service payments due to project design features that do not enhance the utility of the structures involved; and
WHEREAS, while the County of Allegheny still believes that investing in the arts is crucial to revitalization and development of a strong community and economy...
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