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Hartford's Hoped-For Stimulus

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

April 01, 2009

Miss last night's council meeting on the Hartford stimulus ideas?

Sadly, Cityline did. But Real Hartford didn't, so check out the report. In interviews today, city Councilman Matt Ritter and Development Services Director David Panagore recapped:

"I think what happened last night was that there's a lot of anticipation and expectation that the money coming from the federal government is going to come down here and build us 20 projects," Ritter said. "What the mayor did last night was he was really...limiting expectations a little bit. Tempering the enthusiasm."

Panagore - the city's director of development services - said the city knows it is getting some money for projects like the Pope Commons streetscape. But he said it's "premature" to say whether or not the city's big-ticket item, the planned public safety complex -- will get cash.

"We're pursuing funding for the public safety facility. There are a series of potential sources within the [stimulus]," Panagore said. "We'll be competing nationally with other programs and buildings that are out there."

"The mayor wants to make sure that everyone in the community realizes that it's a challenge, but we're up to the challenge," Panagore said about getting funding for the complex. "But it's premature to make the conclusion that there's no funding."

That sounds like what Ritter heard last night.

"I felt the mayor's goal was to come in and say, 'Look, we have to apply for these grants ... and I don't know what we're going to get,' " Ritter said.