WHEREAS, On November 4, 2008, the voters of Philadelphia approved a Charter amendment to create a new unified Department of Parks and Recreation, and a new Commission on Parks and Recreation; and
WHEREAS, The Commission is composed of 15 members: nine appointed by the Mayor from a list of nominations submitted by Council; and six ex officio members (the Commissioners of the Departments of Parks and Recreation, Water, Streets, and Public Property; the Council President; and the Executive Director of the City Planning Commission; and
WHEREAS, In July 2009, Mayor Nutter appointed the first members of the new Commission from a list of nominees submitted by Council. Their terms will expire later this year, and it is now time for Council to submit the next list of nominees for the Mayor's consideration; and
WHEREAS, Section 3-905 of the Charter requires that, after an application period of now less than 30 days, the Council shall hold a public hearing on the proposed nominations; and that [n]o later than ninety days after the close of applications, the Council, by resolution, shall forward to the Mayor no fewer than 18 and no more than 25 nominations; and
WHEREAS, On March 30, 2012, the Council and Mayor jointly issued a press release announcing the opening of the application process and stating that the deadline to apply was May 9, 2012; notice was timely published in six newspapers soliciting applications for the Commission; an Application Form was published electronically at
www.phila.gov
,
www.phila.gov/citycouncil
,
www.phila.gov/recreation
, and
www.fairmountpark.org
; copies of the Application Form were distributed to libraries, recreation centers, Fairmount Park facilities, and the Chief Clerk's Office; the Philadelphia Parks Alliance twice distributed the Application to its extensive mailing list; and the Mayor's Office of Communication used social media to publicize the application process; and
WHEREAS, In response to these announcements, more than 80 individuals submitted detailed applications; and
WHEREAS, On May 10, 2012, Council adopted Resolution No. 120401 authorizing Council's standing Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs (the Committee) to hold the public hearing required by the Charter Amendment and to submit a report to Council setting forth the Committee's recommended list of nominations for submission to the Mayor; and
WHEREAS, On May 21 and May 22, 2012, the Committee held public hearings at which applicants presented their credentials; and
WHEREAS, On June 13, 2012, the Committee adopted a report (Attachment A hereto) setting forth its recommended list of 25 nominees for consideration by the Council; now, therefore,
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, THAT Pursuant to Section 3-905 of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, and upon recommendation of the Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Resolution No. 120401, the 25 individuals whose names are listed in Attachment A hereto are hereby nominated for consideration by the Mayor as potential appointees to the Commission on Parks and Recreation.
RESOLVED FURTHER, THAT The Chief Clerk of City Council is hereby directed to transmit a certified copy of this Resolution to the Mayor.
Attachment A
Committee on Parks Recreation & Cultural Affairs Report on Resolution 120401
We hereby recommend that Council submit the following list of nominations to the Mayor:
Yahya Abdul-Qaadir
Hanley P. Bodek
Joseph G. Calhoun
Barbara A. Capozzi
Nicole Chandler
Andrew Denison
Nancy A. Goldenberg
Debra Wolf Goldstein
Tracey Gordon
Jeffrey L. Hackett
Annie Heckenberger
George Matysik
Michael McCrea
Leslie Anne Miller
Matthew Perks
Carol B. Rice
Robert S. Santoro, Sr.
Aaron Siegel
Michael Sklaroff
James Bennett Straw
Sarah Clark Stuart
M. Kelly Tillery
Robert T. Vance
Dennis A. Waller
Matthew I. Whitehorn
End