Get Caught Up: Pittsburgh Land Bank Inaugural Meeting

On Monday, July 6^th at 1pm in City Council chambers, the six (6) appointed members of the full Pittsburgh Land Bank Board met for the first time.A historic moment for the City, after 15 minutes of public comment and a crowded room, they moved to the business of the meeting:

• The board elected Councilman Burgess as temporary Chair who will serve until the full nine (9) members are seated and permanent officers are elected. Decisions will be made by consensus until bylaws are adopted with formal rules and procedures.

• Monday's meeting was not telecast; all meetings moving forward will be.

• After a brief discussion, board member Paul Leger introduced a motion which passed by consensus to create a nominating committee and hold a community nominations process to fill the remaining three (3) board seats within 30 days.

• Per the legislation, the remaining to-be filled board seats must be residents of the City of Pittsburgh and come one each from the clusters of council districts as impacted by the work of the Land Bank:
  • Cluster A: Districts 2, 6, 9
  • Cluster B: Districts 1, 3, 5
  • Cluster C: Districts 4, 7, 8

To Submit a nomination: In addition to each of the board members putting forward three (3) names to be added to the current three (3) nominees, anyone may put forward a nomination, including a self-nomination, by submitting it to any of the nominating committee members (list and contact info below). Nominations will close next Monday, July 20th at noon at which point the nominating committee will contact nominees to accept their nomination and become official. Upon acceptance of nomination, the list of *all* officially nominated individuals will be publicly posted on the Land Bank’s webpage. The nominating committee will then review the legislation and official nominees and make a recommendation of three (3) individuals to be presented at the next Board meeting for consideration and action.

• The board will set its next meeting within the next 30 days. All meeting agendas are posted on the Land Bank webpage ten (10) business days in advance.

• Board Members:
  • Karen Abrams **nominating committee member
  • Councilwoman Theresa Kail-Smith **nominating committee member
  • Paul Leger **nominating committee member
  • Councilman Ricky Burgess (temporary Chair)
  • Senator Wayne Fontana
  • Councilman Daniel Lavelle

• There was no more business and the meeting adjourned at 1:45pm.

Please stay tuned for more information and updates, including ways to get involved and provide input as the Land Bank moves into implementation.