Council Review
Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, March 28, 2011

Prepared by:
Hartford Public Library, and Hartford 2000

There were 31 items on the original agenda. No additional items were submitted during the meeting. The next regular Council meeting will be held on Monday, April 11, 2011 at 7 P.M. in the Council Chambers in Hartford City Hall, preceded at 6:00 by a public comment period. The next public hearing will be Monday, April 18, 2011 at 7 PM.

This Review consists of two sections: Items of Special Interest and Action on All Agenda Items. The City’s official listing of actions taken on all items on this agenda can be found online at: http://www.hartford.gov/government/Town&CityClerk/Minutes/council_meeting_minutes.htm

ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

1-7 Myrtle Street – The Council referred to its Planning & Economic Development Committee, Planning & Zoning Commission, and public hearing, 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 approved 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)

Parking Concession – The Council tabled 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)

Repeal of Council Pay Raise – The Council passed an 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. The ordinance requires that a question be placed on the ballot at the November 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)

Tree Ordinance – The Council adopted an 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. (Boucher, Cotto) (Item #19)

Artificial Trans Fats – The Council referred, to its Health & Human Services Committee, 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)

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) Referred to Planning & Economic Development Committee, Planning & Zoning Commission, and Public Hearing on April 18, 2011
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) Referred to Operations, Management & Budget Committee
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) Passed
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) Passed
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) Passed
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) ) Referred to Operations, Management & Budget Committee
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) Tabled
8. Allocation. Allocation of $1,500 to the Boys and Girls Club of Hartford. (Kennedy) Passed
9. Loan Write-Offs. Authorization to write-off four uncollectible housing loans. (Segarra) Passed
10. Allocation. Allocation of $2,000 to Saturday Hoopsters. (Ritter) Passed
11. Grant. Approval of a $5,000 grant to the Mayor Mike’s Little League team. (Painter) Passed
12. Grant. Approval of $19,100 grant to Guakia (Deutsch, Aponte, Torres) Received
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) Passed
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) Passed
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) Received
16. Human Relations Commission. Confirmation of the appointment of Anthony McCann to the Human Relations Commission. (Segarra) Withdrawn
17. MDC Appointments. Reappointment of Adam Cloud, Al Marotta, and Hector Rivera to the Metropolitan District Commission. (Winch, Torres) Postponed
18. MDC. Appointment of Daniel Kinch, Rupert Daniels, and Lee Hunt to the Metropolitan District Commission (Deutsch) Postponed
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) Passed
20. MDC Appointment. Appointment of Douglas Green and the reappointment of Alphonse Marotta and Hector Rivera to the Metropolitan District Commission. (Kennedy) Postponed
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) Passed
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) Referred to Health & Human Services Committee
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) Passed
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) Withdrawn
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) Referred to Public Works, Parks & Environment Committee
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) Referred to Operations, Management & Budget Committee
27. Fee Waivers. Approval of a 42% fee waiver of City fees for 23 events which had been pending during an moratorium on fee waivers. (Cotto) Passed
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) Referred to Operations, Management & Budget Committee
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) Referred to Legislative Affairs Committee and Labor & Workforce Development Committee
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) Referred to Legislative Affairs Committee
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) Referred to Operations, Management & Budget Committee

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.