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11 investigates EXCLUSIVE: New mobile stage sits in parking lot, city continues renting stages

PITTSBURGH — 11 Investigates found the city’s new mobile stage sitting in the Public Works parking lot near Manchester.

The city purchased the stage from a company in Canada for approximately $175,000 earlier this year so they wouldn’t have to continue renting stages for events such as musical and theatrical performances.

But 11 Investigates discovered that the stage has been sitting in a parking lot since approximately January.

Councilman Anthony Coghill wasn’t aware of that until we brought it to his attention.

“I come from the private sector, so when I purchase something, there’s a purpose for it, and when I purchase it, it’s put into use. I’m not going to let it sit around,” said Coghill.

The stage has been sitting in Manchester for about six months, and during that time, 11 Investigates discovered that the city has spent more than $17,000 to rent stages, like the one used for the Sunday morning concert series in Mellon Park.

“Nothing bothers me more as the fiscal watchdog for taxpayer dollars than to see us make purchases but not utilize those purchases, and in this case, where we purchase almost a quarter million dollar stage, and we are still renting stages, just doesn’t make sense,” said Coghill.

11 investigates reached out to the mayor’s office and they provided the statement below.

“The stage has not yet been put into service due to ongoing delays with the vehicle titling and registration process through PennDOT. After initially submitting the paperwork in February, it was rejected twice due to missing information from the manufacturer. The necessary information has since been provided by the vendor, and the corrected paperwork is expected to be submitted later this week.

As of now, we are still awaiting the issuance of a title and registration from PennDOT. While we do not yet have a confirmed timeline, we’re hopeful to receive a license plate within the next several weeks. Once registered, the stage will be inspected and outfitted with city decals before it can be deployed for events.

We understand the concern regarding ongoing rental costs and are eager to get the city-owned stage operational as soon as the regulatory process allows.”

Coghill said all of those details should have been worked out before the purchase.

“That should have been in place before we even purchased it, if we are going to purchase something like that. It’s just getting old and rusting now, so why aren’t we using it?” said Coghill.

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