Council Previews & Reviews >> Previews > April 9, 2012

Council Preview
Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, April 9, 2012

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 an open agenda public hearing. The next public hearing will be Monday, April 16, 2012 at 7 PM.

There are 28 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://townclerk.hartford.gov/Webfiles/archive.aspx

ITEMS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

New Agenda Items: The following items appear for the first time on the Council's Agenda.

COPS Grant – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the City to accept a grant of $1,933,760 from the U. S. Department of Justice through its Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant program. The grant will be used to pay the salaries and benefits of ten new Police Officers for three years. As a condition of the grant, the City must maintain funding for the ten officers for at least one year after the grant ends and must improve the rate at which homicides are solved. (Segarra) (Item #1)

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.

Tree Planting Program - The Council will consider a resolution allocating $600,000 to the Knox Parks Foundation to implement a tree planting program in 2012. There are two components to the program. Residents and other volunteers will plant 300 trees along city streets, in community gardens and in Old North Cemetery and two crews of Knox workers will plant 700 trees in parks, at public buildings and parking lots, in the South Meadows, and along city streets. The program will address deterioration of the urban forest due to the old age of many trees and the loss of trees in Storm Alfred. The Public Works, Parks & Environment Committee recommends approval. (Segarra) (Item #18)

Elderly Tax Relief – The Council will consider an ordinance which would make changes to the City's Elderly Tax Relief program. The program provides tax credits to homeowners who are 65 years of age or older whose incomes are below certain limits. The ordinance would increase the income limits from $35,400 to $45,500 for individuals and from $41,600 to $52,000 for married couples. The $500 tax credit would be retained for one to three family homes but would be increased to $1,500 for four family houses. The ordinance would also replace annual applications with biannual applications. (Segarra) (Item #25)

LIST OF ALL AGENDA ITEMS

Item #

  1. COPS Grant. Approval to accept a three-year grant of $1.9 million from the U.S. Department of Justice to be used to pay salaries and benefits for ten new police officers. (Segarra)
  2. Library Renovations. Approval to accept grants of $250,000 and $150,000 from the CT State Library and the Library's Endowment Fund to complete renovation projects at the downtown Library. (Segarra)
  3. Parks & Recreation Commission. Confirmation of the Mayor's reappointment of Craig Mergins and appointment of David Morin to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission. (Segarra)
  4. Worker's Compensation Claim. Proposed settlement of a worker's compensation claim by Daniel Meehan for $82,500. (Segarra)
  5. Contract Claim. Proposed settlement of a claim for payment made by New England Construction & Landscaping for expenses related to the Main & Tower streetscape project. (Segarra)
  6. CRCOG. Appointments of Councilman Alexander Aponte and Jonas Maciunas to the Policy Board of the Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG). (Segarra)
  7. Development Services Director. Confirmation of the Mayor's appointment of Thomas E. Deller as the Director of Development Services. (Segarra)
  8. H&HS Report. Report by the Council's Health & Human Services Committee on discussions that took place at the committee's meeting on April 2, 2012.
  9. Bids for City-Owned Property. Eight week extension of deadline for submitting bids for property at 126 and 130 New Park Avenue and 8 and 161 Francis Court. (Deutsch)
  10. Planning & Zoning Commission. Report by the Planning & Economic Development Committee on appointments of Ramon Espinoza and John Lupo as regular members, and Gerry Pleasant as an alternate member, of the Planning & Zoning Commission. (Segarra) (also see #21)
  11. Redevelopment Agency. Confirmation of reappointment of Steven Bonafonte to the Hartford Redevelopment Agency. (Segarra) (also see #22)
  12. Dillon Stadium. Resolution asking the Mayor to issue a Request for Proposals for naming rights for Dillon Stadium. (Cotto)
  13. Employee Health Clinic. Approval of a lease agreement with St. Francis Care, Inc. for space on the ground floor of City Hall for use as an employee health clinic. (Segarra) (also see #15)
  14. Commission on Aging. Confirmation of reappointments of Harry Hartie and Ethel Wallace-Jenkins to the Commission on Aging. (Segarra)
  15. Employee Health Clinic. Report by Health & Human Services Committee on discussion of a lease agreement with St. Francis Care, Inc. for space on the ground floor of City Hall to be used as an employee health clinic. (Segarra) (also see #13)
  16. Investigation. Call for investigation, by the Public Works, Parks & Environment Committee, of the poor conditions of city streets brought about by work done by construction and utility contractors. (Deutsch)
  17. ArtWalk Reception. Authorization for the Hartford Public Library to serve alcohol at an ArtWalk Reception on April 27, 2012. (Jennings)
  18. Tree Planting Program. Authorization to provide a grant of $600,000 to the Knox Parks Foundation for the planting of 1,000 trees along streets and in parks, community gardens, and cemeteries. (Segarra)
  19. CRRA Contract. Approval to enter into a five-year contract with CT Resources Recovery Authority for waste disposal and recycling services. (Segarra)
  20. New Park. Resolution asking for a study of the feasibility of making the parcel of land known as Turning Point Park a dedicated City park. (Aponte)
  21. Planning & Zoning Commission. Confirmation of Ramon Espinoza and John Lupo as regular members, and Gerry Pleasant as an alternate member, of the Planning & Zoning Commission. (Segarra) (also see #10)
  22. Redevelopment Agency. Confirmation of reappointment of Steven Bonafonte to the Hartford Redevelopment Agency. (Segarra) (also see #11)
  23. Marshall House. Allocation of $40,676 to Marshall House for its shelter for women and families. (Deutsch, Jennings)
  24. Tax Delinquencies. Request that a Council committee develop a policy on disposition of tax delinquent properties. (Deutsch)
  25. Elderly Tax Relief. Amendments to the Elderly Tax Relief program to raise income limits to $52,000 for a married couple and $45,500 for a single individual and to increase the tax credit on a 4-family home from $500 to $1,500. (Segarra)
  26. Valet Parking. Correction of an ordinance passed in December of 2012 to clarify that the penalty for operation of a valet parking operation without a permit is $100. (Segarra)
  27. Cloud Computing. Request that a cost-benefit analysis be carried out on the possibility of switching City networks to a cloud computing infrastructure. (Cotto)
  28. Guakia. Allocation of $2,000 to the Guakia Performing Arts Program. (Deutsch)

If you have any questions about the agenda, please call Richard Frieder at the Hartford Public Library, 695-6365, or email Linda Bayer at lbayer@Hartford2000.org. The Council Preview/Review is a joint project of Hartford 2000 and the Hartford Public Library.

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