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Prepared by:
Hartford Public Library, and Hartford 2000
The Council meeting will begin at 7 P.M. at Hartford City Hall in Council Chambers. The meeting will be preceded, at 6:00 PM, by the Mayor’s State of the City Address. The next public hearing will be Monday, March 17, 2008 at 7 PM.
There are 41 items on the agenda. Below is detailed information about items of particular interest to neighborhoods. Following those details is a summary of all agenda items, in layperson’s language. The complete official agenda for the Council meeting is available online by clicking on “Council Agendas” at the following web site:
http://www.hartford.gov/government/Town&CityClerk/Minutes/council_meeting_minutes.htm.
990 Wethersfield Avenue – The Council will consider a resolution granting approval for the sale of 990 Wethersfield Avenue to Rego Realty for $1.00. Rego proposes to rehabilitate the existing building into 24 units of market rate housing, ten of which will be designated for senior citizens. Rego will be responsible for environmental remediation of the site and, if the costs of remediation are less than $170,000, Rego will pay to the City the difference between $170,000 and the cost of remediation. Should the project not commence within 12 months or not be completed within 24 months, the property will revert to the City. (Item #4)
Pension Agreement – The Council will act upon a resolution approving a tentative agreement between the City and the Hartford Educational Support Personnel, Local 82. The agreement calls for 1) vesting at 5 years of service (down from 10 years), 2) increase of employee contributions from 8.41% to 9% on social security earnings and an increase from 11.41% to 12% on excess earnings, and 3) contributions made on pre-tax basis. The Council must, by State law, act on this agreement by March 14, 2007 or the agreement will be automatically approved. (Item #7)
National Recycling Coalition Grant – The Council will vote on a resolution authorizing the City of Hartford to accept a $200,000 “Model Cities” grant funded by the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) and endorsed by the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) for a pilot program to implement a recycling collection method known as “single stream” recycling. The purpose of the grant is to increase public participation in recycling. Hartford is the first city in the country to be offered this grant. The City will use the grant and an additional $405,000, provided by CRRA to the City, to purchase packer trucks, hire drivers, train employees, and prepare and disseminate multi-lingual public education materials. (Item #8)
School System – The Council’s Education Committee reports on discussions with Superintendent Adamowski and Board of Education staff regarding the 2008-09 school budget and the redesign of low performing schools. With regard to budgets, the superintendent explained that the current method of budgeting results in inequities. Therefore, student based budgeting will be implemented. Funding will be determined through weighting: grade weights, based on student grade levels, and need weights, based on student needs. With regard to low-performing schools, the school system will take action with schools that have performed substantially below the proficient level for two consecutive years. The process of redesign will include notification of parents and staff, engagement of parents and community on the design of a new school model, reconstitution of leadership, faculty and support staff, development of new curricula, methods, operational features and other elements, and an enrollment plan. (Item #10)
Hartford Park System – The Council’s Public Works, Parks and Environment Committee reports on a presentation made by the Trust for Public Land on their analysis of Hartford’s park system. The Trust examined management, financing, access, connectivity, and marketing and has made a series of recommendations for improvement. The Trust advises hiring a coordinator to work with the City and various parks groups in implementing the recommendations. The Committee took no action. (Item #11)
Upper Albany Branch Library – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the City to apply for a grant from the Connecticut State Library for construction of a new branch library in the Upper Albany neighborhood. (Item #20)
Predatory Lending – The Council will vote on a resolution supporting proposed State legislation that would ease the burden of predatory lending on Hartford families. The resolution also calls on the Housing Property Management Division to target foreclosure counseling services and options for homeowners to refinance or restructure their mortgages, and directs the Department of Development Services to conduct a survey of properties foreclosed in the past five years. (Item #25)
North Hartford Economic Development Task Force – The Council will vote on a resolution requesting that the Mayor establish a North Hartford Economic Development Task Force to develop a plan to address the effect of a higher separate tax rate on abandoned buildings and vacant lots, removal of the defacto junkyard on Windsor Street, development of parking in the entertainment district in the Northeast neighborhood, and purchase of City owned property below fair market value by minority and/or small Hartford based contractors. (Item #40)
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