Council Review
Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, September 24, 2012

Prepared by:
Hartford Public Library, and Hartford 2000

There were 30 items on the original agenda. No additional items were submitted during the meeting. The next regular Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 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, October 15, 2012 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

SAFER Grant – The Council referred, to its Quality of Life, Public Safety, & Housing Committee, a resolution authorizing the City to accept a $3.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security through its SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) grant program. The funds will be used to hire 24 new firefighters and pay for their salaries for two years. Recruitment is currently underway to fill these new positions along with an additional 20 positions budgeted in the City’s General Fund. The 44 recruits will begin their training as firefighters on December 2, 2012. (Segarra) (Item #1)

Brownfield Grant – The Council referred, to its Planning & Economic Development Committee, a resolution authorizing the City to accept a $500,000 Municipal Brownfield grant from the CT Department of Community & Economic Development. Funds will be used to remove environmental contaminants from five vacant lots at 425 and 426 Woodland Street and 1135H, 1137, and 1161 Albany Avenue. The City has already completed environmental assessments on the property and has demolished the buildings. The grant will pay for removal of underground storage tanks, removal of soil contaminated with petroleum, and treatment and monitoring of the ground water. The lots, which are part of the Albany-Woodland Redevelopment Plan area, will be developed for neighborhood commercial use. (Segarra) (Item #5)

Bioscience Enterprise Zone Benefits – The Council referred, to its Planning & Economic Development Committee, a resolution indicating the City’s intent to participate in the State of Connecticut’s Bioscience Enterprise Zone Program, which is a tool to attract new or expanded companies which are engaged in research, development, or production in the areas of bioscience, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and photonics. Participation in the program would allow such businesses that locate or expand in Hartford to be eligible for certain incentives such as a 5 year abatement of property taxes and a variety of State corporate tax credits. (Segarra) (Item #7)

Blighted Housing Special Assessment – The Council postponed action on an ordinance establishing a Blighted Housing Special Assessment as part of the City’s Anti-Blight Program. Annually, a special assessment would be levied on housing units that are determined by the City to be blighted. This assessment would result in an additional tax to the owners of blighted property. The amount of the additional tax would be determined by adding up the direct costs to the City for public safety, code enforcement, and property maintenance for the blighted properties, and dividing the total cost by the number of blighted housing units. The cost of blighted housing would therefore be shifted from the general public to the owners of the properties. (Segarra) (Items #16 and 21)

LIST OF ALL AGENDA ITEMS

Item #

1. Fire Department Grant. Authorization for the City to accept $3.4 million from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for the hiring of 24 new firefighters. (Segarra) Referred to Quality of Life, Public Safety, & Housing Committee
2. Readiness Grant. Approval for the City to accept $26,000 from the Connecticut Department of Public Health to be used to improve Hartford’s readiness to respond to a bio-terrorism event. (Segarra) Passed
3. HIV/AIDS Prevention Grant. Authorization for the City to accept $150,000 from the Connecticut Department of Public Health to be used for education, counseling, and other services to prevent HIV/AIDS among Hartford residents. (Segarra) Referred to health & Human Services Committee
4. Healthy Start Grant. Approval for the City to accept $553,342 in grant funds from the Connecticut Department of Social Services to reduce infant mortality and give new babies a healthy start in life. (Segarra) Passed
5. Brownfield Grant. Authorization for the Hartford Redevelopment Agency to accept a $500,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development to be used to conduct environmental assessment and remediation on five vacant properties at Woodland Street and Albany Avenue. (Segarra) Referred to Planning & Economic Development Committee
6. Emergency Shelter Grant. Approval for the City to accept $369,359 from the Connecticut Department of Social Services to be used for the operation of the McKinney Emergency Shelter. (Segarra) Passed
7. Bioscience Enterprise Zone. Authorization for the City to participate in the State’s Bioscience Enterprise Zone program through which State and local tax incentives, already available to businesses within the City’s Enterprise Zone, are also made available to bioscience businesses located anywhere in Hartford. (Segarra) Referred to Planning & Economic Development Committee
8. Tax Fixing Agreement. Approval of a tax assessment fixing agreement with Becker & Becker Associates for the redevelopment of 777 Main Street and 45 Asylum Street for residential and commercial use. (Segarra) Referred to Operations, Management, Budget & Legislative Affairs Committee
9. Commission on the Environment. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of JoAnne Bauer to the Advisory Commission on the Environment. (Segarra) Passed
10. Fee Waiver. Waiver of $3,000 in fees associated with the Hartford Hurricanes Football League. (Kennedy, Anderson, Jennings) Withdrawn
11. Street Closure. Approval of the closure of Franklin Avenue between Preston and Brown Streets from October 5 through October 7, 2012 for the Columbus Day Parade and Celebration. (MacDonald) Passed
12. Commission on Cultural Affairs. Confirmation of the Mayor’s reappointments of Abby Brooks and Thomas Rome to the Commission on Cultural Affairs. (Segarra) Passed
13. Parks & Recreation Commission. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Rafael Rivera and George Sirois to the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission. (Segarra) Passed
14. Envisionfest. Permission for the iQuilt Partnership to serve alcohol in Bushnell Park as part of the Envisionfest event on September 29, 2012. (Segarra) Passed
15. Housing Study. Authorization to accept a grant of $200,000 from the CT Department of Economic & Community Development to conduct a housing study and needs analysis. (Segarra) Passed
16. Blighted Housing Special Assessment. Report by the Quality of Life, Public Safety and Housing Committee on a proposed ordinance establishing a special assessment on blighted housing which will result in owners of blighted housing being liable for an additional tax. (also see #21) Received
17. Health & Human Services Committee. Report from the Committee on discussions held on September 5, 2012 regarding the Southend Wellness Center. Received
18. Commission on HIV/AIDS. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Hector Davila to the Commission on HIV/AIDS. (Segarra) Withdrawn
19. Teen Pregnancy Prevention. Authorization for the City to extend its contracts with ten organizations who are providing services and programs to prevent pregnancy among Latino and African-American youth between 13 and 19 years old. (Segarra) Passed
20. Recreation & Community Centers. Establishment of a policy that City recreation and community centers provide services for all ages with normal or extended hours during school vacations and the summer. (Deutsch) Passed
21. Blighted Housing Special Assessment. Ordinance establishing a special assessment on blighted housing which will result in owners of blighted housing being liable for an additional tax. (Segarra) (also see #16) Postponed to Oct. 9
22. Pension Benefits. Ordinance providing an opportunity for police officers and fire fighters who are promoted to non-union positions to choose to change the pension program in which they are enrolled. (Kennedy) Failed
23. Retirement Incentive. Ordinance creating an incentive for Assistant and Deputy Chiefs of Police and Assistant Fire Chiefs to retire during 2012. (Kennedy) Withdrawn
24. LGBTI Appointment. Confirmation of the Mayor’s appointment of Dianne B. Waller to the Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues. (Segarra) Passed
25. Ethics Commission. Confirmation of the Mayor’s reappointment of David Klein to the Ethics Commission. (Segarra) Passed
26. Council Committee Appointments. Appointment of Councilman Joel Cruz, Jr. to the Operations, Management, Budget & Legislative Affairs, Education, and Quality of Life, Public Safety & Housing Committees and to the Committee of the Whole. (Wooden) Passed
27. Health Care. Resolution urging the federal and state governments to extend health insurance coverage to all immigrants, especially those young people eligible under the Dream Act. (Deutsch) Passed
28. Library Reception. Authorization for the Hartford Public Library to serve alcohol at the Wallace Stevens Birthday Bash on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. (Jennings) Referred to Public Works, Parks, & Environment Committee
29. Renaming. Proposal to superimpose the name “Barnett and French Way” on the block of Brook Street between Liberty Street and Albany Avenue. (Jennings) Withdrawn
30. Rocktoberfest. Proposal to close one lane of Farmington Avenue on Saturday, October 20, 2012 from 2 to 7 PM and to provide a special events fee waiver for the Rocktoberfest event. (Kennedy) Referred to Public Works, Parks, & Environment Committee

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.