Coming to Philly City Council this fall: Drama over the Sixers arena, crime, and who will be in charge

It’s shaping up to be a dramatic fall in City Hall.

Philadelphia City Council members on Thursday attended their last session ahead of their three-month summer break. It’s been a generally sleepy spring for the city’s legislative leaders as members were campaigning for reelection, and the mayor’s proposed budget sailed through the negotiation process.

But when members return in September, they’re poised to take up a series of thorny issues, including the proposed Sixers arena in Center City, increasingly tough-on-crime public safety programs, turmoil in Philadelphia’s prisons system, and supervised drug consumption sites.

All that will come as several members maneuver to be the city’s next Council president, its top legislative leader. Here are five things to watch in the coming months:

Campaigning to become the next Council president will intensify come the fall, as several members jockey to replace Darrell L. Clarke, who did not seek reelection. Council members will vote to elect the next Council president in January, when several new members will also join the chamber.

» READ MORE: A who’s who of the (likely) new Democratic faces in City Council next year

Through the fall, the hopefuls will be jockeying to win over their colleagues. The members who are seen as top contenders are Curtis Jones Jr., the current Democratic majority leader; Mark Squilla, the Democratic whip; and Kenyatta Johnson.

Campaigning is already underway. On Thursday, Jones made multiple speeches on the floor thanking his colleagues and highlighting their accomplishments.

And Johnson expressed gratitude that his colleagues supported him “over these past couple of months.” In November, Johnson returned to Council a day after being acquitted of federal bribery charges. He spent nearly two years under indictment and was tried twice — his first trial ended in mistrial.

The developers of the proposed $1.3 billion arena project in Center City set a self-imposed deadline of this fall to obtain the approvals they need from the city to move ahead with design and construction.

But they are meeting plenty of resistance, particularly from Chinatown residents and advocates. The arena would sit on the southern edge of the neighborhood, and activists have expressed strong objections to the project, saying it would displace residents and businesses and dramatically change the character of the neighborhood.

Squilla, whose 1st District includes the space where the arena would sit, would lead the process of crafting and introducing legislation and zoning designations needed for the project to move forward. Squilla will hold enormous sway over the process, given the tradition of councilmanic prerogative, in which lawmakers defer to district Council members on land-use decisions.

He has said he’s awaiting the results of a city-funded evaluation of the project that will measure its impact on economics, parking, traffic, and surrounding communities.

Philadelphia City Council members are looking to essentially block supervised drug consumption sites from opening in nine of the city’s 10 geographic Council districts.

In May, five district Council members sought to ban supervised drug consumption sites in their districts, but following an amendment, only one geographic district is now not included in the prohibition: West Philadelphia’s 3rd District, which is represented by Jamie Gauthier, one of Council’s most progressive members.

Kensington-based Councilmember Quetcy Lozada introduced the bill in May and had hoped it would pass this spring, but she said Thursday that the city’s Planning Commission requested a 45-day delay. She said the bill represents “the voice of residents” and that she’s looking to pass it in the fall.

This fall, lawmakers will wrangle over several new measures aimed at controlling crime, including banning ski masks in some public spaces, a controversial measure introduced earlier this month by City Councilmember Anthony Phillips.

The bill would allow the city to fine people $250 for wearing the masks in schools, rec centers, and on public transit, and it was cosponsored by 10 members — meaning it already has the support of a majority of Council.

» READ MORE: Philly may ban ski masks in public places like schools and parks

Members are also expected to hold hearings this summer or fall on the city’s capability to use drones to fight crime, a key interest of Clarke’s.

Additional measures related to public safety are likely to come. On Thursday, members passed a resolution urging the administration to work with state and federal law enforcement to plan a summertime “summit” with the goal of developing a public safety plan to present to the next mayor, who will take office in January.

Council is expected to consider creating an independent board of community members who would perform direct oversight of the city’s prison system, which has for years been described as being in a state of chaos due to understaffing and overcrowding.

Voters would ultimately decide on the creation of such a board, which requires amending the city’s Home Rule Charter, a document akin to a constitution. On Thursday, Councilmember Isaiah Thomas introduced legislation to get the measure on the ballot and create an office that would be staffed with investigators.

It’s unclear at this point whether the proposed oversight board would have subpoena power. A task force of advocates, lawyers, and labor leaders are meeting to craft the framework around it.

Thomas’ effort is similar to one that former Councilmember Helen Gym undertook last year, but she resigned to run for mayor before the bill passed. Gym was critical of the current Prison Advisory Board, which critics say is toothless. Last year, a member of the board resigned in protest, calling it a “farce.”

More legislative movement on the jails could be coming.

In the coming week, Council’s Committee on Public Safety will hold a hearing about a prison break in May, when two inmates — one accused of four homicides — escaped from the Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center. Both men were arrested, but jail officials and correctional officers have said problems including understaffing led to the breach.