Meeting Minutes by Andrea Mudd
Fulton School hosted the monthly meeting of the HPCC on
March 18, 2004. Club President Bob Staresinic called the
meeting to order at 7:35 P.M. and introduced Fulton
Principal Marlene Taylor. Ms Taylor welcomed the Club to
Fulton and introduced several students and VIPs including
teachers, volunteers and parents before showing a slide
presentation highlighting student in-house activities and
recent field trips. As home to over 200 K-5 students, one of
Fulton's great strengths is the energy of its student body -
Ms Taylor's presentation showcased the efforts of students
and faculty along with community helpers to use their time
together productively. Ms Taylor invited the community to
visit Fulton at any time and made a tour of the school
available after the meeting concluded.
Mayor Tom Murphy's appearance was the much anticipated focal
point of the March meeting. Mayor Murphy spoke and answered
a number of questions from the audience. While our summary
can hardly do justice to the far-reaching volume of
information he shared, the Mayor left us after a non-stop
hour with the distinct impression we had been treated to a
virtuoso civics lesson, with a generous helping of Economics
101, and State-of-the-City report - held together by the
seemingly boundless enthusiasm the Mayor holds for our city,
our neighborhoods and our future. The successful growth and
development initiatives this Administration has brought to
fruition are somewhat tempered by the City's current fiscal
challenges. But maybe because Pittsburgh is experiencing so
much activity on both "fronts" the Mayor's talk truly had
something of interest for everyone ranging from
hard-number/hard-nosed political realities to eco-friendly
discussion of managing sprawl. In a call to action the Mayor
urged everyone to participate in the political process and
to support resolution of the City's financial problems by
urging State legislators to permit a broader tax base and a
more fair distribution of the tax burden.
Before adjourning the meeting, Bob Staresinic informed
everyone the Super Playground Clean-up has been postponed,
the deadline for voter registration is March 29th, and
announced an April 6 meeting of the Friends of the
Riverfront.
