Councilwoman irked by 'snow job' from officials
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Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Natalia Rudiak said she's concerned that a lack of cooperation from the city public safety director and some of his subordinates will impede a study of how the city responded to the February snowstorm.
Ms. Rudiak, who's leading a task force appointed by council President Darlene Harris, said Public Safety Director Michael Huss hasn't responded to her e-mail asking to speak with him about the storm response.
She said one of her staff members contacted the Emergency Medical Services bureau for its input, only to be told EMS had been advised by Mr. Huss not to participate.
Ms. Rudiak said her office also asked the fire department to participate and has received no response so far.
Mr. Huss oversees EMS and the fire department.
Ms. Rudiak said two other offices reporting to Mr. Huss, the police department and Bureau of Building Inspection, agreed to meet with the task force. She added that pledges of cooperation also were received from the city public works and law departments, neither of which reports to Mr. Huss.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette asked Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's office whether Mr. Huss and his subordinates would cooperate with Ms. Rudiak's study. In reply, Mr. Ravenstahl released a statement saying he's conducting his own study.
"At my direction, public safety and public works directors have been focusing their efforts on submitting to me an internal evaluation aimed at identifying how we can strive to improve our response operations. ... This analysis will include recommendations on how their operations could be improved, recognizing the budgetary challenges that exist," the mayor said.
Ms. Rudiak expressed frustration with the mayor's response. Without the full support of the public safety department, she said, council's study won't be as useful.
Mr. Ravenstahl was criticized for what some considered slow snow removal after the Feb. 5-6 storm, which dumped nearly 2 feet of snow on the city. The city also apologized and disciplined four EMS workers after a Hazelwood man, Curtis Mitchell, waited 30 hours for an ambulance -- and died before one reached him.
Ms. Rudiak said the panel's goal isn't "finger-pointing" but to see what went wrong and how the city could better prepare for future emergencies. She said the study would steer clear of issues that could come up in any litigation involving Mr. Mitchell.
Ms. Rudiak said she wants to find out why it took as long as it did to clear streets, examine the state of the public works fleet, make sure all departments understand the role they play in an emergency, determine how volunteers can be mobilized to help the city and figure out how the city can communicate better with council and residents.
Mrs. Harris formed the panel March 1, and Ms. Rudiak said she hopes to complete the work in May.
Council will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. April 5, so residents can relate their experiences and offer suggestions.
Ms. Rudiak also announced the creation of a website -- snowtaskforce.pittsburghpa.gov -- where residents can leave comments and suggestions.
First Published March 25, 2010 12:00 am
