Council Previews & Reviews >> Previews > March 28, 2011

Council Preview
Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, March 28, 2011

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 next Council meeting will be held on April 11, 2011 at 7 PM and the next public hearing will be Monday, April 18, 2011 at 7 PM.

There are 31 items on the agenda. Below is detailed information about items of special interest to neighborhoods. Following those details is a listing 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

ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

New Agenda Items:

The following items appear for the first time on the Council’s Agenda.

1-7 Myrtle Street – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the City to acquire the Capital West property at 1-7 Myrtle Street through eminent domain. The property is located within the Downtown West Redevelopment Area. The Hartford Redevelopment Agency has tried without success to negotiate the purchase of the property and, therefore, voted on March 10th to acquire it through eminent domain. (Segarra) (Item #1)

Older American's Act Grants – The Council will vote on a resolution authorizing the Mayor to apply for and accept $225,000 in grants through Title III of the Older American's Act which is administered by the North Central Area Agency on Aging. Funds will be used for four programs that serve Hartford's senior citizens. $30,000 will be used for the Keep on Living Program which provides health promotion and disease prevention services. $80,000 is being requested to continue the Dial-a-Ride grocery shuttle. $100,000 will continue the Home Help program and $15,000 will provide services to grandparents who are raising grandchildren. (Segarra) (Item #4)

Artificial Trans Fats – The Council will consider an ordinance restricting the serving, sale, storage, or distribution of foods that contain more than .5 grams of artificial trans fats per serving in any food establishment in Hartford. Artificial trans fats are found in vegetable shortening, margarine, and hydrogenated vegetable oil. The ordinance was drafted in response to a Council resolution passed on March 14, 2011. (Segarra) (Item 22)

Previously Submitted Items:

The following items were previously on the Council Agenda and were included in the Council Preview/Review. They were referred to committees and/or public hearing or action was postponed by the Council. They are now on the agenda again for action.

Parking Concession – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the issuance of a request for proposals (RFP) for a potential parking concession in downtown Hartford. The proposed concession would consolidate the operation of the City's parking facilities and improve parking efficiencies. The entity selected through the RFP would provide an upfront payment to the City in return for the right to operate the City's garages and metered parking spaces and to retain the annual revenues from such facilities. Funds derived from the transaction will be placed in a trust fund created by ordinance to ensure the use of such funds for long term strategic goals and objectives. The Council's Planning & Economic Development Committee discharged the item from committee without a recommendation. (Segarra) (Item #7)

Tree Ordinance – The Council will consider a proposed ordinance for the purpose of maintaining and growing Hartford's urban forest, maintaining trees in a healthy condition, protecting existing trees, and mitigating loss and damage to Hartford's trees. At a previous meeting, the Council referred this ordinance back to the Public Works, Parks & Environment Committee for further deliberation. (Boucher, Cotto) (Item #19)

Repeal of Council Pay Raise – The Council will consider a proposed ordinance repealing an ordinance passed on February 25, 2008, and approved by voters on November 4, 2008, increasing the salary of City Council members from $15,000 to $26,650. If the proposed ordinance is passed, a question will be on the ballot for the next general election asking voters whether the 2008 ordinance should be repealed. The Legislative Affairs Committee sent the ordinance back to Council with no recommendation. (Boucher, Kennedy, Torres, Painter) (Items #15 and 21)

LIST OF ALL AGENDA ITEMS

Item #

  1. Acquisition of 1-7 Myrtle Street. Authorization for the City to acquire 1-7 Myrtle Street through eminent domain. (Segarra)
  2. Fiber Optic Network. Approval to extend, for ten years, an existing agreement with AT&T for maintenance and operation of the fiber optic network that supports the City's telephone, data, and radio systems. (Segarra)
  3. Youth Grant. Approval to accept a $3,500 grant from the Youth Development Training & Resource Center for a Youth Employability Day event on March 29th in City Hall. (Segarra)
  4. Grants for Senior Services. Authorization to apply for and accept $225,000 from the North Central Area Agency on Aging to support the Dial-a-Ride grocery shuttle, the Home Help program, services for grandparents raising grandchildren, and health promotion and disease prevention for seniors. (Segarra)
  5. CT State Library Grant. Approval to apply for and accept a $9,000 grant from the CT State Library to continue the preservation and archiving of City of Hartford historic documents and records. (Segarra)
  6. ADRC Leases. Authorization to renew two leases with the Alcohol and Drug Recovery Centers (ADRC) for the use of City-owned properties at 46 and 56 Coventry Street for addiction recovery services. (Segarra)
  7. Parking Concession. Approval for the City to issue a Request for Proposals for an entity to operate the City's parking garages and metered on-street parking spaces in return for an up-front cash payment. (Segarra)
  8. Allocation. Allocation of $1,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford. (Kennedy)
  9. Loan Write-Offs. Authorization to write-off four uncollectible housing loans. (Segarra)
  10. Allocation. Allocation of $2,000 to Saturday Hoopsters. (Ritter)
  11. Grant. Approval of a $5,000 grant to the Mayor Mike's Little League team. (Painter)
  12. Grant. Approval of $19,100 grant to Guakia (Deutsch, Aponte, Torres)
  13. Banking Services. Request that the Administration pursue new alternatives for City contracts for banking services given current foreclosure actions of Bank of America. (Deutsch)
  14. Iraq & Afghanistan. Call for the US Government to end wars and occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan, support for April 9th New York City march to end war, and support for collective bargaining. (Cotto)
  15. Repeal of Council Pay Raise. Report by the Legislative Affairs Committee sending back to Council, without recommendation, an ordinance placing on the November general election ballot a repeal of the pay raise for City Council members approved by the voters in November 2008. (Boucher, Kennedy, Torres, Painter) (also see #21)
  16. Human Relations Commission. Confirmation of the appointment of Anthony McCann to the Human Relations Commission. (Segarra)
  17. MDC Appointments. Reappointment of Adam Cloud, Al Marotta, and Hector Rivera to the Metropolitan District Commission. (Winch, Torres)
  18. MDC. Appointment of Daniel Kinch, Rupert Daniels, and Lee Hunt to the Metropolitan District Commission (Deutsch)
  19. Tree Ordinance. Ordinance for the purpose of maintaining and growing Hartford's urban forest, by governing the planting, removal, altering, or damaging of trees. (Boucher, Cotto)
  20. MDC Appointment. Appointment of Douglas Green and the reappointment of Alphonse Marotta and Hector Rivera to the Metropolitan District Commission. (Kennedy)
  21. Repeal of Council Pay Raise. A proposed ordinance placing on the November general election ballot a repeal of the pay raise for City Council members approved by the voters in November 2008. (Boucher, Kennedy, Torres, Painter) (also see #15)
  22. Artificial Trans Fats. A proposed ordinance regulating the serving, storage, sale, and distribution of food containing more than .5 grams of trans fat per serving by any food establishment in Hartford. (Segarra)
  23. Pay Equity. Resolution highlighting the gap in pay between men's and women's earnings and proclaiming April 12, 2011 as Pay Equity Day. (Winch, Brinson, Painter)
  24. Recovery of Settlement Amount. Resolution requesting the Mayor and Corporation Counsel to take legal action to recover $485,000 paid as a settlement to USA Contractors in connection with the Park Street streetscape project. (Winch)
  25. Garbage Pick-Up. Resolution urging that the City continue to pick up trash at 31 Woodland Street until current regulations that prohibit such pick-up are amended. (Winch)
  26. Information Kiosks. Resolution stating that the City shall install information kiosks at all recreation and senior centers for the posting of information about arts, cultural, and heritage events. (Cotto)
  27. Fee Waivers. Approval of a 42% fee waiver of City fees for 23 events which had been pending during an informal moratorium on fee waivers. (Cotto)
  28. Bonus Prohibition. Resolution urging the Board of Education to adopt a policy prohibiting the awarding of bonuses to non-front-line staff, to be effective July 1, 2011. (Cotto)
  29. Reentry. Resolution supporting HB 6084, "An Act Concerning Reentry", a bill in the State Legislature which addresses issues surrounding the reentry of formerly incarcerated individuals into the community. (Cotto)
  30. Gender Identify and Expression. Resolution supporting HB 6599, a bill in the State Legislature which would add gender identify and expression as a protected class within anti-discrimination laws. (Cotto)
  31. No-Freeze Shelter. Request that the Mayor designate $53,285 to keep the Salvation Army's Marshall House open as a no-freeze shelter until June 30, 2011. (Deutsch)

If you have any questions about the agenda, please call Richard Frieder at the Hartford Public Library, 695-6365, or Linda Bayer at Hartford 2000, 547-1663 X21. The Council Preview/Review is a joint project of Hartford 2000 and the Hartford Public Library.

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