Regular Meeting of the Common Council Wednesday, April 25, 2018 7:00 PM Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 27 West Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut NOTICE - The next regular meeting of the Common Council will be held on Wednesday evening, April 25, 2018, at 7:05 PM in Council Chambers, City Hall, 2nd Floor, 27 West Main Street, New Britain, Connecticut. Public Participation will begin prior to the regular meeting at 7:00 pm. 7:00 PM - PUBLIC PARTICIPATION CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL INVOCATION PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE MATTABASSETT DISTRICT FY 2018-2019 BUDGET PRESENTATION AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS AND SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the regular meetings of March 14, 2018, March 28, 2018 and special meetings of March, 22, 2018, March 28, 2018 and April 10, 2018. 2018-3-14 Regular Meeting 2018-03-22 Special Meeting 2018-03-28 Special Meeting 2018-03-28 Regualr Meeting 2018-04-10 Special Meeting AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA 1 PETITIONS 1. Ald. Carlo Carlozzi, Jr. for a detailed breakdown of anticipated 10% State aid cuts. Please include information regarding departments being impacted and list all specific cuts including grant/aid title. Please also provide the source of information regarding the knowledge of these anticipated cuts. Petition 2. Ald. Santiago for the installation of fencing or other form of safety obstruction at the Slater Road Park. Residents have concerns that there are no safety barriers for children playing in the park, from running into the road. Petition 3. Ald. Iris Sanchez, Ald. Francisco Santiago and Ald. Richard Reyes for the City to investigate what can be done to re-open the Spanish Speaking Center and the Mt. Pleasant Community Room. Petition 4. Ald. Don Naples for the investigation of the addition of traffic control signage on Hazelmere Road at the intersection of Kilbourne Avenue. A safety hazard has been reported following new residential construction in the area. Petition 5. Ald. Carlo Carlozzi, Jr. for the Town Clerk to provide a report with the names of all members to all boards, commissions and committees in the City. Such report should also include the School Building Committee, Stanley Trust Fund and Mattabassett District Commission. Petition 6. Ald. Daniel Salerno and Ald. Kristian Rosado, by request of the Eastside NRZ, for the review of signal, signage and crosswalk conditions relative to safety within the CVS and Post Office areas of Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street. Petition 7. Ald. Daniel Salerno and Ald. Kristian Rosado for the general safety review regarding traffic, signage, crosswalks and traffic signals/lighting on Columbus Boulevard. Petition 8. Ald. Iris Sanchez for the appropriate department to provide a cost estimate for repairs to Willow Street Park. The report should include information pertaining to ensuring operational security cameras, overall cleanup of grounds, and maintenance and repairs to the Park. Local residents have expressed a desire for their children to use the park; however, the current conditions are not adequate. Please submit the report to the Common Council Office by May 16, 2018, to be included on the May 23, 2018 Common Council agenda. Petition 9. Ald. Iris Sanchez for the Police Department to report on the planned placement locations of the driver feedback signs which will be installed in low and moderate income neighborhoods. Petition 10. Ald. Iris Sanchez for the investigation of the removal of the handicap parking sign located between 206 and 208 Clark Street. Residents have requested the removal of the sign. 2 Petition CONSENT AGENDA - All reports are on consent unless removed during the Common Council meeting. REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS, DEPARTMENTS AND LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES: A. RE: CLAIMS FOR INJURIES AND/OR PROPERTY DAMAGE Report NEW RESOLUTIONS 1. RE: APRIL 27, 2018 AS ARBOR DAY. E. MAGNUSZEWSKI, A. AYALON Resolution 2. RE: CITY OF NEW BRITAIN AS A LOVE WINS CITY IN HONOR OF ANA GRACE MARQUEZ-GREENE. E. MAGNUSZEWSKI, C. CARLOZZI, JR., R. REYES, E. SANCHEZ, R. SMEDLEY, K. ROSADO, B. ALBERT, A. AYALON, K. BRESLIN, J. GIANTONIO, D. NAPLES, W. PABON, D. SALERNO, I. SANCHEZ, F. SANTIAGO Resolution 3. RE: APPOINTMENT OF MR. MICHAEL PETERSON AS NEW BRITAIN POET LAUREATE. D. NAPLES, B. ALBERT, K. BRESLIN, I. SANCHEZ Resolution 4. BUDGET APPROPRIATION – POLICE DEPARTMENT. RE: $20,000 FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION FOR NIGHTTIME SEAT BELT ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM. C. CARLOZZI, JR., W. PABON, R. REYES, E. SANCHEZ, F. SANTIAGO, R. SMEDLEY Resolution 5. RE: PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO SEC. 2-41 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES TO PROHIBIT MAJORITY LEADER, MINORITY LEADER OR PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE FROM SERVING AS THE CHAIR OR THE TEMPORARY CHAIR TO SUBJECT MATTER COMMITTEES OR SUBCOMMITTEES. C. CARLOZZI, JR. Resolution 6. RE: IMMEDIATE HIRING AND PROMOTION FREEZE WIHIN THE CITY OF NEW BRITAIN. C. CARLOZZI, JR., E. MAGNUSZEWSKI, E. SANCHEZ, R. REYES, B. ALBERT, A. AYALON, K. BRESLIN, I. SANCHEZ, F. SANTIAGO Resolution UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. 34191-1 REPORT OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT. RE: VACANT AND FUNDED POSITIONS WITHIN THE CITY TABLED 02/28/2018 3 Report Spreadsheet Original Petition 2. 34207-1 REPORT OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT RE: AUTHORIZED BUT UN-ISSUED DEBT. TABLED 02/28/2018 Report Spreadsheet Original Petition ADJOURNMENT 4 March 14, 2018 REGULAR MEETING OF THE COMMON COUNCIL MARCH 14, 2018 Mayor Erin E. Stewart called the Regular Meeting of the Common Council to order at 9:01 p.m. on Wednesday, the 14th day of March 2018 in the Common Council Chambers, City Hall. Thirteen members were present at roll call: Ald. Magnuszewski, E. Sanchez, Reyes, Smedley, Rosado, Albert, Giantonio, Naples, Pabon, Salerno, I. Sanchez, Santiago, and Carlozzi. Two members were absent: Ald. Ayalon and Ald. Breslin. The invocation was given by City Clerk, Mark H. Bernacki: O God, our Heavenly Father, look down on New Britain’s leaders. Give them the determination and commitment to recognize our challenges and work cooperatively to make New Britain a better place to live, work, receive an education or raise a family. We ask this in Thy name. Amen. The pledge to the flag was led by Mayor Stewart. A moment of silence was observed in memory of former New Britain High School basketball coach Marco Villa who passed away on March 1, 2018. Mayor Stewart presented her annual State of the City address. MAYOR’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS 34221 RE: 2018 MAYOR STEWART’S STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS State of the City Address March 14, 2018 To all of those gathered here in our Council Chambers tonight: Welcome to City Hall and thank you for being with us. Hello to all of our citizens watching on Nutmeg TV and online at newbritainct.gov as well. Distinguished members of the Common Council, elected officials, department leaders, city employees, and most importantly, my fellow citizens – I come before you tonight to deliver my 5th state of the city address. And the 5th state of the city address is circling right back to the first one that I gave. Where I stood right here and told you that the state of our city is that New Britain is at a crossroads…and when you find yourself at a crossroads you have to make a decision to go one way or the other. Typically these speeches are an opportunity for the Mayor to stand up here and recite a litany of accomplishments and conclude with a broad appeal for bipartisanship and civility in government. Rather than waiting until the end, I’m going to begin by saying how proud I am to share the responsibility of governing our City with this council. We have each been given an enormous responsibility by our fellow citizens and I have faith that, together, we will rise to face the challenges that are before us. We are off to a rocky start, there is no doubt about that, but I challenge each of us to try and change that. I will do my part. We can do it, we can improve communication, we can respect each other, we can choose to trust one another, but each of us has to be willing. 5 122 March 14, 2018 I am sure many of you who are new to this are discovering the difficulties of government, learning many new things along the way, formulating opinions and hopefully, realizing that we have much more in common than we have differences. But as long as we remember that the person we are disagreeing with is , in fact, a person – and not merely the partisan letter that follows their name – and we remember that all of us deserve respect, I believe we will navigate through these rough waters. Our city has come a long way in the last 5 years. A very, very long way. This is a new era for the Hardware City. We cannot sit here and forget where we came from. We cannot sit here and pretend that what happened in the past, didn’t happen, because those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. We have to be sure that we have learned from previous mistakes that were made. We have to collectively understand, whether we like it or not, why certain things are done certain ways. We have come a long way. When we were at the crossroads in 2014, our government collectively chose the road leading to success. This didn’t just magically happen, it happened by a group of individuals, of all parties, coming together, and working together to make it reality. That attitude of finding smart, bipartisan solutions, that chapter of successful decision making has led to incredible results that you cannot dispute: Our unemployment rate is 5.6 percent, among the lowest it has been since the Recession started in December 2007.