Common Council

REGULAR COMMON COUNCIL MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 6, 2021 Hybrid Meeting ---------------------- MUNICIPAL BUILDING COMMON COUNCIL CHAMBER (limited public seating) -and- For Remote Attendance: Visit https://middletownct.gov/councilmeeting or WebEx.com Join a Meeting Event # 173 376 3454 Password: Middletown or Dial 408-418-9388 Access Code: 173 376 3454 NOTE: if calling from a phone, please press *3 to activate hand raise function REVISED AGENDA 1. Call to Order A. Pledge of Allegiance B. Council Clerk Reads the Call of the Meeting and Mayor declares call a legal call and meeting a legal meeting 2. Accept/Amend the Agenda 3. Resolution: Honoring Michael Kline Eagle Scout 4. Approval of Minutes – Regular Meeting of June 7, 2021 5. Approval of Minutes – Special Meeting (Budget Approval Meeting) of June 14, 2021 6. Public Hearing on Agenda Items – Opens A. Approving that, in accordance with Section 23-22 of the Middletown Code of Ordinances, the 39 acres of open space off of South Plumb Road be named the “Bysiewicz Family Farm Open Space” and is hereby approved and accepted. (NOTE: 1st public hearing per the Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown; Common Council may vote following 2nd public hearing after a regular meeting) July 6, 2021 COMMON COUNCIL -- REGULAR MEETING Page 2 B. Approving that, in accordance with section 23-22 of the Middletown Code of Ordinances, the 83 acres of open space off of Route 17 be named the “Allison M. Wilson Nature Preserve” and is hereby approved and accepted. (NOTE: 1st public hearing per the Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown; Common Council may vote following 2nd public hearing after a regular meeting) C. All other agenda items 7. Public Hearing on Agenda Items -- Closes 8. Mayor requests Council Clerk to read appropriation requests and the Certificate of Director of Finance A. Russell Library: $14,447 -- Acct No. 1000-7000-51110-FT PERM 070-110; to correct identified pay disparities for the Library’s Head of Finance and Executive Assistant 9. Department, Committee, Commission Reports and Grant Confirmation Approval A. City Clerk’s Certificate B. Monthly Reports -- Finance Department: Transfer Report to June 29, 2021 C. Grant: Recreation & Community Services – Acct No. 3510-32000-59200-0321-x-2021; to provide 272 weeks of free summer camp to Middletown residents, the equivalent of approximately 40 children attending 7 full weeks of camp: $24,480 D. Grant: Recreation & Community Services -- Acct. No. 2210-32000-59022-0321-03205-x-x; to support department activities, supplies, wages, and busing: $10,000 E. Grant: Board of Education – Acct No. 2450-3000-59400-x-03030; grant reduction: ($162.50) F. Grant: Board of Education – Acct. No. 2450-33000-52183-x-x; food services: $169,912.72 G. Grant: Board of Education – Acct. No. 2450-33000-43480-x-x; miscellaneous grants: $4,063,439.91 H. Grant: Recreation & Community Services – Acct. No. 2210-32000-59022-44230-0321-03205-x-x; for purchase of SUV for Recreation Division of Recreation & Community Services Department: $38,000 I. Grant: Mayor’s Office – Acct. No. 3046-01000-59200-x-x- 2021; Department of the Treasury Corona Virus State and local fiscal recovery funds, county portion: $4,492,537.14 J. Grant: Mayor’s Office/ Superintendent of Schools – Acct. No. 3730-33000-59200-x-03080-2022; additional funds to enhance School Readiness program due to pandemic, providing supplementary funds for pandemic recovery phase: $32,262 K. 3rd Quarter Employment Activity Report 10. Report to the Common Council: Mayor Florsheim A. Arrigoni Bridge Project B. 21st Century Bond, Including Update on Expenditures July 6, 2021 COMMON COUNCIL -- REGULAR MEETING Page 3 11. Covid-19 & Vaccination Update: Health Department, Acting Director Kevin Elak 12. Payment of all City bills when properly approved 13. Resolutions, Ordinances, etc. A. Approving the Common Council recommendation to the Charter Revision Commission. B. Approving that the Bulky Waste Fund budget for the Fiscal Year 21-22 be approved as follows: Expenditures Repairs/Maintenance to Vehicles $40,000 Motor Vehicle Parts/Supplies $25,000 Bank Service Fees $25,000 Waste Removal $495,000 Mattress Recycling $1,000 Tire Recycling $10,000 Waste Equipment Supplies $25,000 Site Improvements $45,000 Truck Rental/Lease $3,000 Total Expenditures $669,000 Revenues Scale Receipts $579,000 Scrap Metal Recycling $35,000 Gift Cards Receipts $1,000 Roadside Bulky Waste Revenue $20,000 Interest Earned $4,000 Transfer from General Fund $30,000 Total Revenues $669,000 C. Approving that the Recreation and Community Services Department Youth Grant (FY 21/22) be allocated as follows: Agencies Amount Ahern Whalen $5,700 Middletown Youth Soccer, Inc. $7,600 Middletown Youth Lacrosse $3,600 Middletown Youth Football and Cheer $10,000 Prof. Galitto Girls Basketball $1,000 Prof. Galitto Boys Basketball $1,600 Little League $10,500 TOTAL $40,000 D. Approving that Mayor Benjamin D. Florsheim be authorized to sign and submit an application to the State of Connecticut for a grant in the amount of $12,000.00 in Local Capital Projects Improvement Program funds, for the cost of installing a new Heating, Ventilation, and Air July 6, 2021 COMMON COUNCIL -- REGULAR MEETING Page 4 Conditioning (HVAC) Control Systems for the City of Middletown Central Communications Center’s telecommunications site; and that a new line item be created in the Capital Improvement Plan entitled “Central Comm. Center Site HVAC Upgrade” in the amount of $12,000.00. E. Approving that Resolution 20-21, which approved the spending of $725,000 for the purchase of four properties on South Plumb Road, be rescinded; and, in its place, authorizing the Mayor to sign all documents and/or agreements necessary to effectuate the purchase of the properties located South Plumb Road (Map/Lot 07-0329), East Street (Map/Lot 07-0334), and 7.1956 acres of 124 South Plumb Road (Map/Lot 07-0333) in the amount of $710,000.00 as open space, subject to approval as to content and form by the Office of the General Counsel. F. Approving that the Mayor be authorized to sign all documents and/or agreements necessary to effectuate the donation of approximately 7.4 acres at 148 Arbutus Street to the City of Middletown for open space, subject to approval as to content and form by the Office of the General Counsel. G. Approving that Mayor be authorized to sign all documents and/or agreements necessary to effectuate the purchase of approximately 83 acres, consisting of a 31-lot subdivision with 73 plus or minus acres in the City of Middletown, and 10 plus or minus acres located in the Town of Durham as open space, subject to approval as to content and form by the Office of the General Counsel. H. Approving that the identified pay disparities for the Library’s Head of Finance and Executive Assistant be corrected, with all costs of such adjustments (+$14,447) covered by the cost savings of (a) the approved downgrade of a Librarian IV to Librarian III (-$5,462) and (b) by leaving a permanent part-time (20 hour) librarian position vacant through December 2021 (-$16,983); and that the full-time salary lines of Russell Library’s FY22 operating budget be adjusted, increasing Line 3 HEAD OF FINANCE from $80,267 to $85,821 and Line 32 EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT from $61,827 to $70,720, effective retroactively to July 1, 2021. I. Approving that the City of Middletown’s settlement of the action entitled Northeast Remsco Construction, Inc. v. City of Middletown, bearing docket number HHD-CV18-6107645-S, in the amount of $695,000, be and hereby is approved and that the Mayor is authorized to sign all documents and agreements necessary to effectuate such settlement, subject to review and approval by the Office of General Counsel as to content and form. J. Approving that the 2020 Hazard Mitigation Plan, including Volume I and the City of Middletown Annex, is hereby adopted; and that the municipal offices identified in the Plan are hereby directed to pursue implementation of the recommended priority actions that are assigned to their agencies; and that any action proposed in the Plan shall be subject to and contingent upon budget approval, if funding is required, and this resolution may not be interpreted so as to mandate any such appropriations; and that the City of Middletown’s Department of Land Use is designated to coordinate with other offices and entities and shall periodically report on the activities, accomplishments, and progress, and shall prepare a progress report as required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. K. Approving that the annual feast of St. Sebastian scheduled for the third weekend of September, 2021 is a special event, which will be subject to the provisions of Section 218-10 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Middletown; and that a portion of Pearl Street, abutting St. Sebastian Church property from Washington Street south to the end of the Church property, be closed as of 8:00 AM on Friday, September 17, 2021 through midnight, Monday, September, 20, 2021, in accordance with the directions of the Middletown Police Department; that a portion of Washington Street, Main Street, Court Street, and Broad Street, be closed on Sunday, September 19, 2021, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, in accordance with the directions of the Middletown Police Department and the Connecticut Department of Public Safety; and that the City of Middletown shall expend no more than $3,500 for said event without further Councilmanic approval. July 6, 2021 COMMON COUNCIL -- REGULAR MEETING Page 5 14. Mayor’s Appointments 15. Meeting Adjournment K: review/ agenda/ 2021 July 06 – REVISED regular meeting agenda – 06 July 2021