Council Preview
Hartford City Council Meeting

Monday, October 22, 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 next meeting will be Tuesday, November 13, 2012 at 7 PM.

There are 13 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.

Brownfield Grant – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the City to accept a grant of $500,000 from the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD) through its Municipal Brownfield Grant Program. Funds will be used for environmental assessment and clean-up of a vacant parcel of land at 120 Wyllys Street, which is part of the site of the former Capewell Horsenail Factory. A portion of the site is currently being developed into twenty townhomes by the Corporation for Independent Living. (Segarra) (Item #2)

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.

C-PACE Financing – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing the City to participate in the State of Connecticut’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) financing program administered by the Clean Energy Finance & Investment Authority (CEFIA). The program allows commercial and industrial property owners to obtain low-cost financing arranged by CEFIA to make energy-related improvements to their property. Repayment of the loans is made through an assessment on the property tax bill. (Segarra) (Item #8)

TIGER Grant – The Council will consider a resolution authorizing acceptance of a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through its Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The funds will be used to implement Hartford’s Intermodal Triangle Project which is intended to improve the connections between various modes of transportation - pedestrian, bicycle, taxi, bus, rail, air – in the downtown area. Specifically, the project will improve Union Station and the State House Square area, create a drive along the northern edge of Bushnell Park, and prioritize transit uses on Pearl and Asylum Streets. Total project cost is $21,121,000 and other funds will be provided through the City’s Capital Improvement Fund. (Segarra) (Item #11)

LIST OF ALL AGENDA ITEMS

Item #

1. Youth Violence Prevention. Approval to accept a grant of $750,000 from the State of Connecticut to be used for youth violence prevention activities. (Segarra)
2. Brownfield Grant. Approval to accept $500,000 in grant funding from the State of Connecticut for the purpose of doing environmental assessments and remediation on property at 120 Wyllys Street. (Segarra)
3. Cloud Computing. Report on the cost benefits of moving aspects of the City’s information technology from an in-house system to cloud computing. (Segarra)
4. Elderly Nutrition. Approval to accept $96,101 in grant funds from the North Central Area Agency on Aging to be used to provide nutritious meals to elderly Hartford residents. (Segarra)
5. 4th Quarter Transfers. Authorization of transfers of funds within the fiscal year 2011-12 budget to cover in the Registrars of Voters Office, Police Department, Benefits & Insurances Account, and a non-operating account used for the purchase of tax liens. (Segarra)
6. Dillon Stadium. Report from the Public Works, Parks & Environment Committee in favor of an ordinance changing the fee schedule for the use of Dillon Stadium. (also see #14)
7. Wedding Reception. Approval to serve alcohol at a wedding reception on November 10, 2012 at the Northend Senior Center. (Anderson)
8. C-PACE Financing Program. Authorization for the City to participate in the State’s Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program, which will provide low-cost loans to commercial and industrial businesses to make energy improvements to their property. (Segarra)
9. 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)
10. Project Safe Neighborhoods. Approval for the City to accept $42,745 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Justice which will be used to reimburse the City for the cost of purchasing 42 cameras for use by police officers in the field. (Segarra)
11. TIGER Grant. Approval to accept a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation for implementation of the Intermodal Triangle Project which will make improvements to Hartford’s transportation hub in downtown Hartford. (Segarra)
12. Transit Oriented Development Grant. Authorization to accept a grant of $730,000 from the CT Department of Transportation to develop regulations that will encourage transit oriented development in the downtown area. (Segarra)
13. Dillon Stadium. Ordinance changing the fee schedule for use of Dillon Stadium by teams, organizations, and the Hartford Public Schools. (Kennedy) (also see #6)

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.