The Pittsburgh Parking Authority board did not get to vote on whether to allow an electronic billboard on the Grant Street Transportation Center, adding a possible Sunshine Act violation to the sign-related issues that will be the subject of a special Pittsburgh City Council meeting this afternoon.

Lamar Advertising will pay $32,000 or more in yearly rent related to the 1,200-square-foot LED sign under an already-signed agreement with the authority. Contracts with public authorities should be approved by their boards at public meetings under the state Sunshine Act, according to Melissa Melewsky, an attorney for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

The contract for the sign was approved as an administrative action by the authority's executive director, David Onorato, who said that was permissible because it didn't involve spending authority money.

"The public has the right to learn and comment on whether they want the Parking Authority to enter into this contract," Ms. Melewsky said yesterday.

Councilman William Peduto said the failure of the board to vote on the arrangement is the fifth violation of required public process he has identified related to the billboard set for the emerging parking garage and Greyhound Lines station.

"It's a publicly owned structure, and the authority to lease part of it to a private company can only be authorized by a board," said Mr. Peduto. He believes the right to put the billboard on the center should have been the subject of a public bidding process, and then public hearings and votes by the Zoning Board of Adjustment, City Planning Commission, and council.

Instead, it was permitted by a zoning administrator who consulted with Urban Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Pat Ford. He has said that was one of several deals to replace old billboards that have not been subjected to public votes.

Mr. Ford also was the Parking Authority board chair last year, when the authority decided to host the billboard.

Mr. Onorato said he did not present the billboard contract to his full, five-member board because it doesn't involve any expenditure of public money. Lamar will pay the cost of installing the sign, estimated at $7 million.

"On any project like that, the executive director and my staff review drawings and specifications," he said, but the board doesn't vote on the details.

The board regularly votes on construction contracts and change orders related to the center, set to open this summer. The authority board has, in the past, voted on leases of authority property. In April, for instance, it voted to lease 1,129 square feet of store space in its Mellon Square garage to General Nutrition Corp. for $2,964 a month.

In regards to the billboard, though, the authority board "had discussions and saw a picture of it, and that's basically where it went," said Councilman Dan Deasy, who was a member of the board last year.

At council's meeting, members of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's administration will be questioned on the approval of the sign. Some council members want to launch a formal investigation.

The Sunshine Act requires that official actions of a public authority -- including enactment of policy, creation of contracts and adjudication of rights -- must be subject to votes at open meetings. The act allows only limited discussion behind closed doors.

In November, Mr. Onorato settled a federal civil rights lawsuit by former authority employee Robert Davis for $18,000, without board action. "I have standing authority to settle grievances, administrative actions or litigation involving personnel matters," he said in an e-mail response to questions.

In 2006, the authority board took no public vote on a $45,000 investigation of whether some employees were stealing. Mr. Onorato said the board was briefed privately. He said the effort found no evidence of theft.

Ms. Melewsky said both should have been subjects of public votes, under the Sunshine Act. Violations are almost never prosecuted, but can be summary offenses. Private civil actions can reverse decisions made in violation of the act, but are rarely successful, she said.

Mr. Onorato of the parking authority is a brother of Dan Onorato, Allegheny County chief executive.