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WHEREAS, born on January 5th in 1956, our honoree arrived just in time for a major ice storm over the entire northeast of the country; and
WHEREAS, after graduating from Taylor Allderdice High School, this young man earned a B.S. in Education from Duquesne University, and became an elementary school teacher - the perfect training ground for his future professional life; and
WHEREAS, following an interesting path through the realms of real estate, working for Allegheny County in the areas of maintenance, special services, and development, the Pittsburgh Parking Authority, cable, equipment, and general services - all of which involve lands and buildings to some extent - this fellow consolidated his talents to one over-arching position; and
WHEREAS, this spouse of Cathy Niederberger, father of Joey Costa, and best friend to Tango the dog, this avid Steelers and Penguins fan who loves a good parade, this player in the City bowling league and on the City softball team, has a certain affection for working out at the gym, sitting on the beach, and traveling to New Jersey or to New York or to California; and
WHEREAS, this individual has received numerous honors and accolades, including being named Man of the Year by the Italian-American War Veterans of the USA, acting as Grand Marshall of the 2005 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, and being named Squirrel Hill's 2005 Citizen of the Year; and
WHEREAS, our honoree serves as the President of the Pittsburgh Columbus Day Parade, Inc., and was formerly a member of the 14th Ward Citizens Patrol, and a coach for the 14th Ward Baseball Association; and
WHEREAS, our honoree serves on the Squirrel Hill Business Task Force and is a board member of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy and the Three Rivers Regatta, and a member of Pittsburgh's Public Art Commission, having previously served on the boards of the Pennsylvania Parking Association, Pittsburgh Clean Cities, Inc. and Pittsburgh Marathon, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, with eighteen years of public works experience, this gentleman has been the City of Pittsburgh's Director of Public Works since 1999, directing over 700 employees who labor at engineering, construction, maintenance, clearing, cleaning, paving, de-icing, disposing, recycling, beautifying, spiffying, and polishing 1,012 miles of streets, 114 bridges, 228 park facilities, and various lands and buildings; and he has tenaciously jumped out in the middle of the night, worked through days of no sleep, and gotten plenty dirty fighting snow, rain, floods, tornadoes, ice storms, G-20s, and other occurrences, with the constant goal of accomplishing the task at hand in the best, most effective and efficient manner, in the eyes of the public, his bosses, the news media, and anyone else who might judge his work; and
WHEREAS, for some reason, this honoree has decided to retire from his position as Director of Public Works, effective last Friday;
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NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare this week to be "Guy Costa Week" in the City of Pittsburgh, and wishes Guy Costa a very healthy and happy future.