Allegheny County Council members on Tuesday appointed Dan Grzybek and Robert Palmosina to two boards that oversee how hundreds of millions of dollars are spent annually on regional infrastructure.
The moves are significant because Mr. Grzybek and Mr. Palmosina are replacing Bob Macey and Nicholas Futules on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission and Sports & Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, respectively. The latter two have served on those boards for over two decades combined. Council voted unanimously to approve the appointments, with Mr. Grzybek and Mr. Palmosina each abstaining from voting for himself. Council member Paul Klein was absent
The Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) consists of a governing body of more than 30 elected officials across 10 counties in the region, including Allegheny. It also includes a “corporation” of roughly 50 employees, headed by former County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, its executive director.
The SPC helps plan and budget for infrastructure projects ranging from roads to bridges to public transportation projects each year in the 10-county region, totaling in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Sports and Exhibition Authority of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County (SEA) owns PNC Park, PPG Paints Arena, Acricuse Stadium, various parking garages in the area, as well as the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and its riverfront plaza.
Mr. Futules, the outgoing council member who has roughly eight years of experience on the board, said much of the hundreds of millions of dollars he and colleagues oversaw had to do with maintaining the convention center.
Some political observers note that Mr. Grzybek and Mr. Palmosina’s appointments reflect a view to put more liberal members on those boards.
Mr. Grzybek and Mr. Palmosina are volunteers in their new votes. During last week’s appointment review committee meeting — which consists of all 15 council members vetting picks for boards and committees before a vote at a regular council meeting — all members present approved of them being confirmed to those boards.
Initially, Mr. Macey was selected for re-appointment to the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission by County Executive Sara Innamorato, but it was opposed by a majority of council members due to comments he made on immigration during a public hearing on a proposed ceasefire resolution for the Israel-Hamas War. Mr. Macey apologized before the vote in April, but members still voted against his reappointment.
Mr. Macey said in an interview last month that his comments were in reference to the hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001, who were here on visas. According to Politifact, of the 19 hijackers on the flights that crashed on 9/11, one was on a student visa, 14 were on six-month tourist visas and four were on business visas.
Despite the political backlash, he has wished Mr. Grzybek well on the new board. Mr. Grzybek’s term runs through Dec. 31, 2028.
Mr. Futules also said in a recent interview that he did not ask to step down from the SEA, but that he wished whomever would replace him — in this case, Mr. Palmosina — best of luck in the new role. Mr. Palmosina’s term on the SEA runs through Dec. 31, 2029.
Council approves reassessments bill
Members also voted 14-0 Tuesday to approve a bill sponsored by Council member Sam DeMarco.
It focuses on property reassessments and appeals, altering some timelines within county law and is meant to give property owners more assistance when appealing their assessments, and municipalities more certainty when preparing their budgets every year, Mr. DeMarco said Tuesday.
The legislation moves up the deadlines for appeals, as previously drafted. For the 2025 tax year, appeals must be filed to the county’s appeals board six months earlier than before — by Oct. 1, 2024 rather than March 31, 2025, according to the bill. In subsequent years, appeals would generally be filed by Sept. 1, according to the bill. Those changes assist the property owners and municipalities as previously described, according to Mr. DeMarco and supporters of the legislation.
In a separate action — after about 40 minutes of debate — Council voted down a resolution to oppose the sale of U.S. Steel to Nippon. It failed 6-8. The resolution had been stalled in committee for months.
It was mostly a symbolic vote, as the sale is a federal issue.
Correction: This story was updated June 11, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. to correct the number of elected officials on the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission.
First Published: June 4, 2024, 11:39 p.m.
Updated: June 5, 2024, 5:35 p.m.