City Council

JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Norwich was held January 19, 2010, at 7:35 PM in Council Chambers. Present: Aldermen Desaulniers, Braddock, Nash, Caron, Hinchey, Popovich and Mayor Nystrom. City Manager Bergren and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll were also in attendance. Mayor Nystrom presided. Ald. Caron read the opening prayer and Ald. Nash led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Nystrom gave his “State of the City” address as follows: Good evening Tonight I appear before you to convey a message of a brighter future for our city. The future I speak of is not an automatic one, rather the future I speak of is one of perseverance and deliberate actions. It is also not to be illustrated best by new construction projects on the near horizon. The future I am speaking of is one of our own creations, one of our own hard work and thoughtfulness. Previous efforts to confront and respond to positive changes in our economic conditions have often been met with enthusiastic support and ceremony as a new city council takes office. It is generally at this moment that I would roll out a list of all that has been accomplished which demonstrates that all is well here in our city. So as not to disappoint, I can report to you that because of difficult choices made during last years budget effort we have been recognized as a city whose financial standing is worthy of note. The financial institutions have provided a double AA bond rating for the city of Norwich. The impact of this positive rating protects a significant level of our general fund as the rating maintains a lower interest rate, charged to us for monies borrowed. Additionally, I can tell you that your new city council has initiated a united approach to moving the City of Norwich to a greater position of economic strength. This action brings organizations such as the Norwich Community Development Corporation, the Norwich Redevelopment Agency, Rose City Renaissance and the Downtown Norwich Revitalization Committee together. Our weekly meetings will soon bring forth an updated plan of economic development that I believe will be worthy of adoption even while we face very difficult decisions regarding further budget challenges. I am pleased to report, that the City of Norwich this very evening, will take under consideration the adoption of a new lease agreement for Dodd Stadium. With negotiations wrapping up I look forward to having the opportunity to announce additional good news very soon, perhaps even this week! We continue to enjoy a strong relationship with our neighbors of The Mohegan Nation. During the recent 350 anniversary celebration they assisted us in the re-enactment of the deed signing ceremony of the City of Norwich. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Mohegan Nation through the Sachem Fund. I would be remiss in my responsibilities if I did not acknowledge and give thanks to the Leaders of the Mohegan Nation and former Mayor Benjamin Lathrop who together made this event possible. I look forward to establishing a strong personal friendship with the members of the Mohegan Tribal Council as well. The bright future I spoke of a minute ago is because we are undertaking a body of work long overdue in our community. Work which describes our economic condition and defines our economic challenges. I believe it is only after we understand completely that which defines us that we can empower ourselves to improve our 1 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 situation. During the coming months we will be presenting a number of challenges and opportunities for public participation and sharing of ideas concerning developing our own strategies which will provide for internally generated economic stability and future growth of our city. I sincerely believe that the tough economic times we face can be overcome if we are willing to face and accept hard choices, while making informed decisions. Some of our decisions may appear cold and harsh while others will seem distant in their economic impact. The reality is we are heading into a period of time where our financial stability will be challenged greatly because our community has become increasingly more dependent on State and Federal assistance, much more than I am comfortable with and we find our future more and more at the mercy of others. The lack of honest and balanced decisions on the part of the State of Connecticut, coupled with poor funding choices by the federal government will threaten the long term stability of our ability to fund the education of our schools and children. We must more closely gauge our spending decisions with our ability to generate municipal revenues to cover their costs. We need to better control our own destiny. Understanding that Norwich’s financial stability is clearly our own responsibility, I will be asking my fellow council members and you, the general public, to be willing to support purposeful investments in ourselves. Our choices must forever reflect the need to recognize that deliberate involvement, disciplined decision making and well thought out policies must create the needed strength in the future of our city. The future that I am referring to is not 2 or 4 years out but perhaps 15 to 20 years away. Without this healthy vision of ourselves we will continue to fail at making this city a place for investment, for commerce and as a place for our young people to choose to stay and raise their families. In order to secure such a future, I believe we must choose to embrace the concept of a sustainable community as evidenced through our energy programs and projects. Owning the Norwich Public Utilities provides us with a unique and solid foundation and leg up on the competition throughout Connecticut and beyond. According to United States Senator Joseph Lieberman and other thought leaders, the real growth in future jobs will be in Green Technologies. The potential for cost savings and investment in new development demand that we follow this course of action. I am proud to recognize that NPU is already moving our city in this direction. Approximately four months ago the City was part of a $9.2 million dollar federal grant to install smart grid technology. This investment will enhance our Public Utility’s ability to assist every electric customer to save money in their day to day operations. When you consider that NPU already offers rates substantially lower than CL&P and the rest of the state this effort will strengthen our ability to compete and encourage future growth right here in Norwich. In summary we must all pull together, marshalling our strengths and perhaps even giving up something of our own. I will be coming back to you throughout my tenure as your Mayor seeking your support for critical elements of the emerging and very important plan to change the economic course that Norwich has been on for several decades now. The future is bright for those willing to fight for it and for those willing to work together to achieve a better outcome. Together we can create a brighter future for ourselves and our children. I look forward to working with you, the citizens of Norwich, and with you, my fellow Council members in creating this brighter, better future for all of us. Thank you January 19, 2010 2 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 Mayor Nystrom called for a moment of silence and prayer for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. He also mentioned that the firemen raised $9376.56 in four hours at their boot drive. Rev. Enock Petit-Homme spoke on behalf of the Haitian community and thanked everyone for all their support. Mayor Nystrom called for a public hearing on BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT THAT CHAPTER 1, SECTION1.0 OF THE NORWICH ZONING ORDINANCE IS HEREBY AMENDED BY INSERTING THE FOLLOWING: 1.47.2. RESORT MEANS A DEVELOPMENT IN EXCESS OF 10 ACRES THAT IS PRINCIPALLY INTENDED TO PROVIDE VACATIONERS, VISITORS OR SEASONAL RESIDENTS WITH RECREATIONAL AND RELAXATION FACILITIES SUCH AS GOLF COURSES, CROSS COUNTRY SKIING TRAILS, FISHING DOCKS OR PIERS, BOAT/CANOE/KAYAK LAUNCHES AND OR CONFERENCE FACILITIES Speaking in favor: Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, believes it is a step describing what we want in Norwich and not having somebody else fill in for us. Bob Zarnetske, 15 Butternut Dr., stated that this ordinance gives definition, gives meaning to the concept of resort and the definition was tailored to make sure we are dealing with the sorts of activities that we want to encourage to a development through zoning ordinance. It has met the approval of the Commission on the City Plan. It’s a good definition and I encourage you to adopt this tonight. There were no speakers in opposition. There being no further speakers, Mayor Nystrom declared the public hearing closed. Mayor Nystrom called for the second reading on BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, CONNECTICUT THAT CHAPTER 1, SECTION1.0 OF THE NORWICH ZONING ORDINANCE IS HEREBY AMENDED BY INSERTING THE FOLLOWING: 1.47.2. RESORT MEANS A DEVELOPMENT IN EXCESS OF 10 ACRES THAT IS PRINCIPALLY INTENDED TO PROVIDE VACATIONERS, VISITORS OR SEASONAL RESIDENTS WITH RECREATIONAL AND RELAXATION FACILITIES SUCH AS GOLF COURSES, CROSS COUNTRY SKIING TRAILS, FISHING DOCKS OR PIERS, BOAT/CANOE/KAYAK LAUNCHES AND OR CONFERENCE FACILITIES Ald. Nash made a motion, seconded by Ald. Caron, to amend the above ordinance to add the wording “excluding race and dog tracks, and amusement parks”. The motion failed on a roll call vote of 6-1. The original above ordinance, introduced by Ald. Zarnetske and then Ald. Nystrom, was unanimously voted to adopt on a roll call vote of 7-0. Upon motion of Ald. Hinchey, seconded by Ald. Braddock, it was unanimously voted that the members of the Norwich City Council go into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing the lease of Dodd Stadium 3 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 by the City of Norwich to a team affiliated with the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League when publicity regarding such lease would cause a likelihood of an increase price or cost to the City of Norwich. City Manager Alan H. Bergren, Comptroller Joseph Ruffo, Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll. Attorney Karl Sternlof, Attorney Michael Jewell and/or Gary Schnip and/or Peter Maneri of the Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and Attorney Ben Hayes, President of the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League shall be asked to participate during all or portions of this Executive Session at the request of the City Council; and I hereby further move, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes Section 1-200, that the members of the Norwich City Council continue in Executive Session for the purpose of discussing strategy or negotiations with respect to collective bargaining including proposed negotiated contractual changes with the Municipal Employees Union Independent. City Manager Alan H. Bergren, Human Resources Director Brigid Marks Comptroller Joseph Ruffo and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll shall be asked to participate during all or portions of this Executive Session at the request of the City Council; The council was in Executive Session from 8:10 PM until 9:05 PM at which time Mayor Nystrom no votes were taken. City Manager Bergren gave his report as follows: DATE: January 19, 2010 TO: Mayor Peter A. Nystrom & Council Members FROM: Alan H. Bergren, City Manager SUBJECT: City Manager’s Report 1. Haitian Relief Efforts ♦ The City posted contact information Thursday, January 14th on the website for people looking to donate to the relief effort and to locate family members. ♦ Norwich volunteer fire departments coordinated a boot fundraising event this past weekend and raised an amazing $9,376.56 in 4 hours for the Haitian Health Foundation. ♦ On Saturday, January 16th the Human Services Director and Norwich Emergency Management Director met with members of Norwich’s First Haitian Baptist Church in Greeneville to ask their approval to set up a Mobile Emergency Operations Center at their Church on Sunday, January 17th from 12:00 noon to 5:00 PM. to help them access information about their families and friends in Haiti. Participating in this event Sunday were myself and staff from Norwich Human Services, the Red Cross, Norwich Emergency Management, Uncas Health District and the Southeastern Mental Health Authority .The Statewide Emergency Response Vehicle was also setup. Congressman Joe Courtney and his staff and State Senator Prague joined us in our meeting with members of the Haitian Church to discuss how we could assist them in addressing the many needs of the Haitian families. ♦ This afternoon I met with area Haitian organizations, Human Service representatives and Emergency Management Director, Gene Arters to discuss coordinating local assistance for Haitian relief. ♦ There will be an open mic session for City, State and Federal leaders to speak on Saturday, January 23rd, 10:00 a.m. at NFA’s Slater auditorium. This session is to provide an overview of the situation in Haiti and will highlight a series of fundraisers that NFA has planned. 2. Budget 4 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 The Finance office is in the process of meeting and reviewing department requests in advance of preparation of the 2010-2011 budgets. City Departments have been preparing budgets with 5,10 and 15% reductions and were told more reductions may be necessary because of the situation in Hartford. This process will continue for the next two weeks, and anticipate Governor Rell's budget presentation in February. Upon motion of Ald. Popovich, seconded by Ald. Desaulniers, it was unanimously voted to suspend the rules to add the following resolution to the agenda: WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, by resolution adopted October 5, 2009 appointed a committee to review and report considering the process to select a baseball team to lease Dodd Stadium following the relocation of the Connecticut Defenders; and WHEREAS, the committee ascertained that individual teams were limited in their ability to negotiate a relocation to Norwich by the terms of their agreements with the Leagues with which they are affiliated; and WHEREAS, the professional baseball Single A minor league with substantial geographic coverage of the northeastern United States is the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc.; and WHEREAS, the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. expressed an interest in moving one of its franchise teams to the City of Norwich; and WHEREAS, the City of Norwich commenced negotiations with representatives of the New York- Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. on behalf of the owner of a single A minor league baseball team franchise in said League, which franchise will be identified by said League when if the terms of its relocation to Norwich, Connecticut under a stadium lease agreement with the City of Norwich has been finalized; and WHEREAS, the Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and representatives of the City of Norwich have negotiated with the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. for a proposed lease of Dodd Stadium between the City of Norwich and the owner of the franchise selected by said League to relocate to Norwich; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, having reviewed a draft of said proposed lease, having met with representatives of Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and with Mr. Ben Hayes, President of the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc., finds it to be in the best interest of the City of Norwich to enter into a lease agreement with the owner of the franchise selected by said League to relocate to Norwich, Connecticut. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY NORWICH by the Council of the City of Norwich that City Manager Alan H. Bergren be and hereby is authorized and directed by the Council of the City of Norwich to finalize negotiations for the lease of Dodd Stadium for a term of ten years, with the right of the tenant to exercise up to three options to extend the term of lease for five years each, under terms and conditions substantially as set forth in said draft lease agreement and, with the concurrence of the Chairman of the Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and 5 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 Corporation Counsel, to execute and deliver a final lease of Dodd Stadium with the franchise selected by the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. Mayor Nystrom called for citizen comment. Bob Mills, Executive Director of the Norwich Community Development Corp., is neither for nor against the hospital acquisition. He wants to clarify the facts and the truth of what the committee found. Rodney Bowie, 62 Roosevelt Ave., read the committee’s report and stated that the were projections only. If we allow commercial real estate to come in there we would see a payback in possibly twenty years. If we allowed residential we will never get payback. Ron Ward, 121 Golden St., Peter Liebert of Preston, Tom Kinney Ledgewood Ct., 48 Pratt St., and a letter read by City Clerk Greenhalgh from Brett Bernadini all support the the resolution to explore all means to lend support from the City for the Arts. Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, Art Lathrop, 403 Washington St., and Joe Molcan, Hansen Rd., all want the council to vote no on acquiring the hospital property. Mark Fields of Colchester, is not here to say yes or no to the purchase of the hospital property but there has been a lot of bad information misinformation and wrong scenarios being published in the past few weeks and he wanted to set the record straight and hopes the council will not use this misinformation to make their decision. Danielle McMullen, MEUI staff member, requested that the council accept their contract as they are willing to continue with the coalition. David Crabb, 47 Prospect St., stated the city should learn from precious mistakes such as the mercantile exchange and wanted to know what plan B is for the hospital property. Resolution 2 ignores the code of ethics fair and equal treatment. Andy Depta, 105 Vergason Ave., congratulated Mr. Mills and his committee. It was the most organized and due diligence in compiling information he has experienced in many years. His passion is to have a charter revision. He has gone through the charter and stated what he feels needs to be changed such as the Mayor having voting power. He feels this should be changed so the Mayor is not a voting member. He also thinks the budget process needs to be changed. Joanne Philbrick, 10 Elm Ave., came tonight to hear the Mayor’s State of the City address and to see how the council will vote on the hospital property. She feels a disservice has been done to the voters by suspending the rules and postponing citizens comment until 9:15 PM. Glen Carberry, wanted to share with the council the background of a very similar transaction which the city undertook but on a smaller scale, which was the Simon Ford property on North Main St. It also was sold to the city and the city should learn from that transaction. City Clerk Greenhalgh read a letter supporting the arts from Brett Bernadini who could not make the council meeting tonight. The Spirit of Broadway Theater stands in support of Ald. Nash’s resolution to help the arts. 6 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 There being no further speakers, Mayor Nystrom declared citizen comment period closed. Ald. Desaulniers made a motion, seconded by Ald. Caron, for adoption of the following resolution introduced by Ald. Desaulniers: WHEREAS, the City of Norwich and the State of Connecticut acting through its Department of Public Works have entered into a Purchase and Sales Agreement dated July 31, 2006, approved by the office of the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut on January 24, 2007, pertaining to the sale of approximately 61+/- acres of land commonly known as the Norwich portion of the Norwich State Hospital property as more particularly described in the Agreement; and WHEREAS, said Agreement provides among other things that the State of Connecticut will sell said property to the City of Norwich for the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) and other good and valuable considerations, the purchase price to be paid to the State of Connecticut at the time of closing; and WHEREAS, said Agreement further provides that in order to effectuate a closing, the City of Norwich, as Buyer, must provide notice to the State of Connecticut, as Seller, of its intent to purchase the property which notice may be given at any time after the approval of the Agreement by the Attorney General of the State of Connecticut up to the date that is the third anniversary of the Agreement approval date; and WHEREAS, said Agreement further provides that all notices required or permitted to be given under the Agreement shall be in writing addressed to the Seller at State of Connecticut, Department of Public Works, 165 Capital Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106-1606, Attention: Commissioner, Telecopy: 860-713-7253 and Attention: Legal Services Division, Telecopy: 860-713-7269 with a copy to Updike Kelly & Spellacy, P.C., One State Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06123-1277, Attention: Susan Hays, Telecopy: 860-548-2680; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich finds it to be in the best interest of the city of Norwich to acquire said property from the State of Connecticut for the price of One Dollar ($1.00) and to effectuate a closing on the property by giving notice to the State of Connecticut of its intent to purchase the property as called for in the Agreement. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that City Manager Alan H. Bergren be and hereby is authorized and directed to send a notice of intention on the part of the City of Norwich to purchase the property described in the Purchase and Sales Agreement from the State of Connecticut for the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) as called for in the Agreement and to take such steps and actions as are necessary to arrange and effectuate a closing; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that the sum of One Dollar ($1.00) be and hereby is appropriated from Account No. 01065-81000 from the Economic Development Project Contingency Account to purchase said property. The motion to adopt the above resolution failed on a roll call vote 7-0. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Desaulniers, it was unanimously voted to suspend the rules to add the following alternative resolution introduced by Mayor Nystrom and Ald. Braddock: 7 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 WHEREAS, The City of Norwich continues to have a strong interest in the redevelopment of the former Norwich State Hospital Site (the site as described in the Purchase and Sales Agreement dated, July 31, 2006 for the sum of one dollar ($1.00)) and the City is cognizant of the regional impact of the site for future economic development, for Norwich and the area; WHEREAS, Due to the current economic conditions that are facing the City in this severe global recession, Norwich is not prepared to accept the terms and conditions of the aforementioned Purchase and Sales Agreement; and WHEREAS, The immediate costs of providing security, preparing environmental plans and other fiscal impacts associated with taking title to this property at this time, will put an undue strain on the City of Norwich in the upcoming budget, while we face revenue losses and the ability to fund basic City Services; and WHEREAS, The City has and will continue to have a strong interest in promoting the proper reuse of this property for our economic future, and wishes to engage the State of Connecticut in dialog on the disposition of said property in the best interest of the City and the region. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of Norwich that City Manager ALAN H. BERGREN be and hereby is, authorized and directed to send a letter on the part of the City of Norwich to the appropriate State of Connecticut agency to explore the opportunity to work with the State regarding different acquisition terms and/or partnerships with State that may include but not be limited to the involvement of other regional entities and /or organizations to facilitate the ultimate disposition and reuse of the property, in the economic interest of the City and the region. Upon motion of Ald. Nash, seconded by Ald. Braddock, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Ald. Nash and Ald. Caron: WHEREAS, the Norwich arts community is an integral part of the quality of life and the local economy; and, WHEREAS, The City in the past has provided economic assistance to support the arts community through the years; and, WHEREAS, Economic conditions in the city and the state as well as across our nation has put pressure upon funding of local arts and challenges their very existence; and, WHEREAS, the City of Norwich will face many difficult financial decisions as the City Manager prepares the upcoming 2010-11 recommended City budget. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Norwich City Council directs the City Manager to explore any and all means to lend support from the City for the arts community beyond the scope of the local budgetary process. This may include providing in-kind support and/or avenues to leverage funding from other sources that may be available and/or other creative ways to assist the arts community through the next fiscal year to continue the City’s tradition of support for the local arts community. Ald. Caron made a motion, seconded by Ald. Nash, for adoption of the following resolution introduced by Ald. Nash and Ald. Caron: 8 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, by resolution adopted August 18, 2008, formed a Charter Review Committee which was requested to consider, among other things, clarification of language in the Charter, a comparative analysis of the Charter and recommendations regarding substantive changes which could be made to the Charter with a detailed explanation of potential costs and benefits of making such changes; and WHEREAS, the Charter Review Committee reported to the Council by a report received December 1, 2008 recommending the Charter be reviewed for technical modifications and updating for language consistency, gender, neutrality and accurate reference to current statutes, ordinances and regulations, but otherwise concluded the Charter was a sound working document; and WHEREAS, there has been no further formal Council review of the Charter since receiving the committee’s report. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY NORWICH that a subcommittee comprised of Council President ProTempore Peter Desaulniers, Alderwoman Jacqueline Caron and Alderman William Nash be and hereby is appointed to conduct such public hearings as they determine necessary and appropriate at which to receive written and oral recommendations regarding suggested Charter changes and clarifications and to make a report of the same to the Council of the City of Norwich at its first meeting in July 2010. On a roll call vote, the above resolution passed 4-3. With Ald. Braddock, Hinchey and Mayor Nystrom voting in opposition. Ald. Desaulniers made a motion, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, for adoption of the following resolution introduced by City Manager Bergren: RESOLVED, that the proposed Agreement between the City of Norwich, Connecticut and Municipal Employees Union Independent (MEUI), covering the period between July 1, 2009 and June 30, 2012, be, and the same hereby is, approved in accordance with the provisions of Connecticut General Statutes, Section 7-474, and be it further resolved, that the City Manager, Alan Bergren, be, and hereby is, authorized and directed to execute the same in the name of the City. The above resolution passed on a roll call vote of 5-2, with Ald. Popovich and Mayor Nystrom voting in opposition. Upon motion of Ald. Nash, seconded by Ald. Popovich, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution: WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, by resolution adopted October 5, 2009 appointed a committee to review and report considering the process to select a baseball team to lease Dodd Stadium following the relocation of the Connecticut Defenders; and WHEREAS, the committee ascertained that individual teams were limited in their ability to negotiate a relocation to Norwich by the terms of their agreements with the Leagues with which they are affiliated; and 9 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 WHEREAS, the professional baseball Single A minor league with substantial geographic coverage of the northeastern United States is the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc.; and WHEREAS, the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. expressed an interest in moving one of its franchise teams to the City of Norwich; and WHEREAS, the City of Norwich commenced negotiations with representatives of the New York- Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. on behalf of the owner of a single A minor league baseball team franchise in said League, which franchise will be identified by said League when if the terms of its relocation to Norwich, Connecticut under a stadium lease agreement with the City of Norwich has been finalized; and WHEREAS, the Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and representatives of the City of Norwich have negotiated with the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. for a proposed lease of Dodd Stadium between the City of Norwich and the owner of the franchise selected by said League to relocate to Norwich; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, having reviewed a draft of said proposed lease, having met with representatives of Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and with Mr. Ben Hayes, President of the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc., finds it to be in the best interest of the City of Norwich to enter into a lease agreement with the owner of the franchise selected by said League to relocate to Norwich, Connecticut. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY NORWICH by the Council of the City of Norwich that City Manager Alan H. Bergren be and hereby is authorized and directed by the Council of the City of Norwich to finalize negotiations for the lease of Dodd Stadium for a term of ten years, with the right of the tenant to exercise up to three options to extend the term of lease for five years each, under terms and conditions substantially as set forth in said draft lease agreement and, with the concurrence of the Chairman of the Norwich Baseball Stadium Authority and Corporation Counsel, to execute and deliver a final lease of Dodd Stadium with the franchise selected by the New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League, Inc. Mayor Nystrom called for citizen comment on the resolution introduced under suspension of the rules. Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, believes this resolution is a step in determining our destination. Vote yes. Bob Mills stated this is a good example of how this process should work. Support it. David Crabb, 47 Prospect St., stated that on his first opposition to this proposal he suggested a letter to the State asking for an extension for this proposal of two years or a period or a period of time determined by the council. Kathleen Murphy, 227 Boswell Ave., thinks we should step back and take a breath. The State was very clear on saying we have to let them know if we will proceed by the deadline of Jan. 24th. Why should they give us a different approach than what they have given Preston? She thinks this would be unethical of the State. 10 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH JANUARY 19, 2010 Upon motion of Ald. Nash, seconded by Ald. Caron, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Ald. Braddock and Mayor Nystrom: WHEREAS, The City of Norwich continues to have a strong interest in the redevelopment of the former Norwich State Hospital Site (the site as described in the Purchase and Sales Agreement dated, July 31, 2006 for the sum of one dollar ($1.00)) and the City is cognizant of the regional impact of the site for future economic development, for Norwich and the area; WHEREAS, Due to the current economic conditions that are facing the City in this severe global recession, Norwich is not prepared to accept the terms and conditions of the aforementioned Purchase and Sales Agreement; and WHEREAS, The immediate costs of providing security, preparing environmental plans and other fiscal impacts associated with taking title to this property at this time, will put an undue strain on the City of Norwich in the upcoming budget, while we face revenue losses and the ability to fund basic City Services; and WHEREAS, The City has and will continue to have a strong interest in promoting the proper reuse of this property for our economic future, and wishes to engage the State of Connecticut in dialog on the disposition of said property in the best interest of the City and the region. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Council of the City of Norwich that City Manager ALAN H. BERGREN be and hereby is, authorized and directed to send a letter on the part of the City of Norwich to the appropriate State of Connecticut agency to explore the opportunity to work with the State regarding different acquisition terms and/or partnerships with State that may include but not be limited to the involvement of other regional entities and /or organizations to facilitate the ultimate disposition and reuse of the property, in the economic interest of the City and the region. Upon motion of Ald. Caron, seconded by Ald. Braddock, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 11:05 PM. CITY CLERK 11