Update (9/22/23): Allegheny County Council may vote Tuesday on whether to file a lawsuit demanding the 15-member legislative body has a say in the reopening of the county’s Shuman Juvenile Detention Center.
The county announced last week that it would hire private company Adelphoi to reopen and run the center, which has been shuttered since September 2021. A barrage of criticism of the private-sector plan followed, from activists and politicians alike — including Council President Pat Catena.
Council’s agenda for its Sept. 26 meeting includes a motion directing the body’s solicitor to file suit in the Court of Common Pleas, essentially asking a judge to confirm that the county’s Home Rule Charter gives council the power to approve or strike down the Adelphoi contract.
According to the proposed motion, council’s case would be rooted in the charter’s language giving council the duty to pass ordinances to lease or permit use of county property. The motion also notes that County Executive Rich Fitzgerald has frequently sought council’s approval for contracts involving county-owned property in the past.
A representative for Fitzgerald told PublicSource last week that the contract is being handled by the judicial branch. Neither Fitzgerald’s representative nor a court spokesperson responded immediately to requests for comment Friday as to whether they think council has to approve the Adelphoi contract.
Catena predicted council would easily approve the motion to file a lawsuit. “I think we were all pretty much in agreement that we didn’t want a third party” to run the Shuman Center, he said.
If a judge puts the brakes on the Adelphoi contract, even temporarily, it could delay plans to begin housing youth at the Shuman Center this year. It could even push the process into next year, when a new county executive takes over for Fitzgerald — and both candidates for that post said last week they oppose privatizing the center.
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