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Council OKs lease pact with library
The agreements would formalize the Carnegie's long-standing but ambiguous relationship with the city, which has lasted for more than 100 years with no formal lease. The city owns the buildings, but the Carnegie occupies them and runs the branches.
The contracts, which allow the Carnegie to buy each property for $100, will enable the library system to begin a $40 million plan to renovate its entire system, Director Herb Elish said. The Carnegie will move to renovate — and purchase — the Brookline and Homewood libraries first with bids going out as early as this month, he said.
The system also will look at buying properties that house several libraries, closing those branches, selling the properties and using the proceeds to open new branches. Among the branches that could be closed are ones in Lawrenceville, Mt. Washington and the West End, Elish said.
An amendment presented by Councilman Jim Ferlo and sponsored by all nine members requires the Carnegie to come back to council for its approval before buying any of the branch buildings.
Only Ferlo and Councilman Bob O'Connor voted against the lease agreements. They were unable, along with City Controller Tom Flaherty and several citizens, to put off the final vote long enough to hold a public hearing.
The main Carnegie Library in Oakland is owned by the library system.
The city owns 13 of the system's branch libraries, while the city's Urban Redevelopment Authority owns one in East Liberty. The ownership of three others — Allegheny Regional, the Hill District branch and the MLK Jr. Reading Center — could not be determined, according to Flaherty.
Resident David Tessitor asked Common Pleas Court yesterday morning to prevent council from taking a final vote. Judge Robert Gallo denied the request, saying the courts had no authority to stop the legislative process.
"I'm not going to get into the politics of what this council is doing or is not doing," Gallo said. "If you don't like what these councilmen do, you get to vote them out."
Later, Ferlo sought to send the bill back to committee so council could hold a public hearing next week. The bill's original sponsor, Councilman William Peduto, joined Alan Hertzberg, O'Connor and Ferlo in voting for the delay, but five members wanted to proceed.
O'Connor then sought to amend the bill again by removing the $100 purchase price, but no other member would agree to even discuss the idea.
Flaherty threatened during public comment that lawsuits would be brought against the city if council approved the lease agreements. Afterward, he said he intends to weigh the impact of Ferlo's amendment before deciding whether to proceed with legal action.
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