Time's running short for Street as Council returns today

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN CORRECTED.

So many things to do, so little time, particularly when you're a lame duck.

But the biggest problem for Mayor Street, who has only about 110 days left in office, is that he must persuade a City Council less interested in whatever meager carrots he might offer. As for his stick, it's now twig-size.

Council returns to session today after a three-month recess. There are only 10 sessions during which Street can put the finishing touches on his eight-year reign. After that, it's lights out.

On the agenda? Street and Council will wrangle over casinos and the Convention Center, a long-stalled plan to privatize the Water Department's Biosolids Recycling Center and a series of budget changes that are usually done later in the fiscal year.

There are also bills to lease the garage below LOVE Park to a private vendor, a rezoning for a second skyscraper near the Cira Center at 30th Street, a financing package for major renovations at the Gallery and a bill to give PGW new means of purchasing natural gas.

But clearing a path for the Pennsylvania Convention Center expansion is surely one of the more significant issues. So far, Council President Anna Verna and company have no clue about the details of what Street will send them.

One piece of legislation will attempt to streamline the zoning issues connected to the center's massive expansion out to Broad Street.

Another bill would modify the service agreement among the city, state and Convention Center Authority - essentially who gets to collect the hotel tax, who pays the debt on the old building and expansion and who covers any operating deficits.

Privately, some close to the proposed deal say the city is choosing short-term financial gains and giving up a much larger long-term fiscal benefit. But Joyce Wilkerson, Mayor Street's chief of staff, said, "I don't think there are a lot of controversial issues here, but then you never know."

Meanwhile, a bill clearing a path for the proposed SugarHouse Casino along the Delaware River is headed for a final showdown in committee, but the bill for the Foxwoods Casino in South Philly has yet to be introduced into Council.

"We hope that we can get support for the Foxwoods legislation and break through the logjam in Council," Wilkerson said.

It's unclear whether Councilman Juan Ramos, who introduced the SugarHouse bill, will introduce the Foxwoods bill. City Councilman Frank DiCicco, whose district includes both casino sites, adamantly opposes the locations. Ramos could not be reached for comment.

"We need some mechanism to get these issues on the table so everyone can decide. They shouldn't be strangled by this Council district prerogative," Wilkerson said.

But that's exactly what's happened in West Philadelphia, where Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell has refused to introduce legislation that would enable the city to build a Youth Study Center at 48th Street and Haverford Avenue.

Wilkerson said the administration will continue to push for the legislation this fall.

"Hope springs eternal," she said.

The administration also still hopes to privatize the Water Department's sludge treatment facility, a plan that Blackwell and AFSCME District Council 33 have thwarted for more than 18 months.

Street wants to sign a 25-year contract with a company that will turn the waste into recyclable pellets. The union, which is pushing a different technology, now favors leaving the decision to the next mayor.

Street will also push for an expanded police video surveillance camera program. The city has more than $7 million earmarked for 250 cameras that will be placed in high-crime areas and monitored by police. The city is also negotiating with Unisys on a Phase 2 contract for another 250 cameras. *

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