This Week’s Top Agenda Items

• Appointment of new Chief of Police Held until Public Hearing

• $2.4 Million Funding for Downtown Ambassador Program To Be Approved

• Public Hearing held on plan to fund public infrastructure buildout for the Esplanade (Ferris Wheel) Development on the North Shore

Appointment of Chief of Police Held until Public Hearing

• On February 1, Mayor Gainey officially nominated Christopher Ragland for Chief of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

• Council approved Councilperson Coghill’s request to hold a public hearing before appointing Ragland, citing constituent concerns as well as concerns from the NAACP.

• Ragland has been serving as the interim chief since Oct. 2024 and has been with Pittsburgh Police for over 30 years.

$2.4 Million Funding for Downtown Ambassador Program To Be Approved

• Council voted unanimously to extend funding for the Golden Triangle Ambassador Program from $1.2 million over two years to $2.4 million over four years.

• The Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership program, operated by Block by Block, began in 2023. Ambassadors are downtown from 7 AM to 11 PM, serving as hospitality and public assistance for visitors. They can respond to opioid overdoses and call in police or social services as needed.

• At the Feb. 5 Standing Committees Meeting, Councilpersons Charland and Warwick—along with other Council members who commended the program’s work and success—expressed concerns about the sustainability of the program’s funding, especially given that other districts could benefit from it as well.

Public Hearing on Adopting the Manchester-Chateau Transit Revitalization Investment District Phase 1 Implementation Plan

• Council held a public hearing regarding the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh’s Phase I plan for the Manchester-Chateau TRID, initially presented in Nov. 2024. The plan includes high-end and affordable apartments, retail/dining, a hotel with a ballroom, and a Ferris wheel in the Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods on the North Side.

• A Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID) is a financing tool that uses future tax revenue to fund transit-oriented development (TOD) projects. There has been a TRID in East Liberty since 2013, and it is commonly used to finance the public infrastructure accompanying new developments.

• Council will hold a preliminary vote at the Standing Committees Meeting on Feb. 19. County Council and the School Board will also have to approve the plan.

Action Items

Let the City Council know how you feel about the above issues by taking this brief survey. We'll share everyone’s thoughts directly before they take a vote (We wont be presenting in person until we get to 50 respondants).

Take the survey here (~1 minute)