City Council

JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH OCTOBER 18, 2010 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Norwich was held October 18, 2010, at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Present: Aldermen Desaulniers, Braddock, Caron, Hinchey, Popovich and Mayor Nystrom. City Manager Bergren and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll were also in attendance. Absent: Alderman Nash. Mayor Nystrom presided. Ald. Hinchey read the opening prayer and Ald. Caron led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Upon motion of Ald. Caron, seconded by Ald. Braddock, it was unanimously voted to suspend the rules to introduce Bob Farwell from the Otis Library and Annie Chambers from SECTOR to give an update on downtown Norwich. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, it was unanimously voted under suspension, to reschedule the dialogue with Norwich Legislators until November 20, 2010, 11:00 AM, at the fire house. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, it was unanimously voted to withdraw the following ordinance, introduced by Mayor Nystrom: AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE ABATEMENT OF REAL ESTATE TAXES ON REAL PROPERTY IMPROVEMENTS AND THE WAIVER OF BUILDING PERMIT FEES FOR THE HISTORIC REDEVELOPMENT AND/OR REUSE OF THE PONEMAH BUILDING #1 WHEREAS, THE City of Norwich seeks to encourage development opportunities that will contribute to the economic stability of the city, encourage tourism and improve the quality of life for the residents of Norwich through the adaptive reuse, rehabilitation, and preservation of the historic and architecturally unique resources, including historic industrial mills, that reflect Norwich’s rich cultural past; and WHEREAS, the Ponemah Mills are contributing structures to the Taftville National Register Historic District, are designated as a historic mill site in the “Feasibility and Planning Study: The Historic Mills of Norwich, Connecticut” published by the city of Norwich in 1992, and are approved for inclusion within the Historic Design Overlay Zone by the Norwich Commission on the City Plan as of September 2005; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich wishes to encourage the adoptive reuse and rehabilitation of the Historic Ponemah Mill Building #1 located at 607 Norwich Avenue in Taftville for an economically viable project; and WHEREAS, Ponemah Riverbank, LLC (“Ponemah Riverbank”), an affiliated entity of Onekey, LLC, purchased the Ponemah Mill Building on March 26, 2007 and has begun to renovate the same; and WHEREAS, Ponemah Riverbank has obtained approval from National Park Service (NPS) for the historical preservation of Ponemah Mill while undergoing the conversion for residential and commercial purposes; and WHEREAS, in the event that the Project is built in separate phases, Ponemah Riverbank, LLC shall describe the phasing and apply for building permits for each phase; and 1 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH OCTOBER 18, 2010 WHEREAS, Ponemah Riverbank has completed substantial environmental cleanup of the Mill Property and faces significant unanticipated costs for the Mill project including the Norwich Sewer Authority’s Capital connection Fee; and WHEREAS, the current level of taxation is a material factor which threatens the continued existence of the structure, necessitating either demolition or requiring changes to the structure which will destroy its historic and architectural value; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, by Ordinance No. 1576 adopted October 15, 2007, authorized a tax abatement for said property pursuant to Section 12‐127a of the Connecticut General Statutes and Sec. 7‐121.5 of the Norwich Code of Ordinances recognizing it as part of its historic mill structures renovation program; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich also has authority pursuant to Section4‐7 of the Norwich Code of Ordinances to reduce or waive building permit fees in cases involving industrial companies where it determines that such buildings or structures will be a benefit to the city and the council, by Ordinance No. 1576, authorized the waiver of building permit fees in the redevelopment of Ponemah Mills; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich has authority pursuant to Section12‐127a of the Connecticut General Statutes to extend and modify the aforementioned tax abatements; and WHEREAS, the present economic conditions locally, statewide and nationally have created economic obstacles to the obtaining of financing and have created marketing difficulties for the planned residential and other units, unanticipated when the original abatements were authorized. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that real estate taxes on real property improvements associated with the historic redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the Mill shall be abated in full during its renovation (the “Construction Period”). The Construction Period shall be defined for purposes of this ordinance as the time between the issuance of the first building permit for new construction to follow the passage of this ordinance and the issuance of the final Certificate of Occupancy associated with the approved renovations; but in no case shall the Construction Period exceed three years from the date of July 1, 2011 unless a further extension is authorized by the Council; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that real estate taxes on real property improvements associated with the historic redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the Mill shall be abated in full or in part for a period of 15 years in accordance with the following schedule to commence on the October 1st Grand List following the end of the Construction Period: Year Taxation Percentage on Real Taxation Percentage on Property Improvements Existing Real Property Assessment 1 0% 100% 2 0% 100% 3 0% 100% 2 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH OCTOBER 18, 2010 4 0% 100% 5 0% 100% 6 0% 100% 7 0% 100% 8 0% 100% 9 0% 100% 10 0% 100% 11 20% 100% 12 40% 100% 13 60% 100% 14 80% 100% 15 100% 100% And, BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that if, after taxes on such structure have been abated under the terms of this ordinance, Connecticut General Statutes Section 12‐127a, and Norwich Ordinance No. 7‐121.5, such structure is demolished or remodeled in a way which destroys its architectural or historical value, than the then owner shall pay to the City of Norwich an amount equal to the total amount of taxes which had been abated under the provisions of this ordinance, Connecticut General Statutes Section 12‐127a and/or Norwich Code of Ordinance No. 7‐121.5; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that all building permit fees associated with the historic redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the Mill shall be waived except for any costs related to necessary third party review of construction documents which costs shall be paid in full as a building permit fee; and BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that City Manager Alan H. Bergren be and hereby authorized and directed to enter into and execute on behalf of the City of Norwich a tax abatement agreement reflecting the terms of this ordinance, satisfactory to him and the Corporation Counsel, and to cause the same or a memorandum thereof to be recorded on the Norwich Land Records. City Manager Bergren gave his report as follows: DATE: October 18, 2010 TO: Mayor Peter A. Nystrom & Council Members FROM: Alan H. Bergren, City Manager SUBJECT: City Manager’s Report 1. Greeneville and Buckingham Schools Inventory Please see attached report from Purchasing Agent, William Block. 2. Appointment to RDA I wish to remind you of the application to the RDA which I have submitted for your approval and will be on the agenda for your November 1st, 2010 council meeting. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me before the next meeting. 3 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH OCTOBER 18, 2010 Mayor Nystrom called for citizen comment on resolutions. Sheila Hayes, 8 Pin Oak Terrace, asked the Council to support re-appointing the members of the Uncas Health District. There being no further speakers, Mayor Nystrom declared the citizen comment period closed. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Mayor Nystrom and Ald. Braddock: BE IT RESOLVED that the below named be re-appointed as a regular member of the Uncas Health District with a term to expire on January 9, 2012 or until a successor is appointed: William Warzecha (D) Dr. Thomas Masterson (R) BE IT RESOLVED that the below named be re-appointed as regular members of the Uncas Health District with terms to expire on January 9, 2013 or until a successor is appointed: Frank J. Jacaruso(D) Deborah Monahan (U) Upon motion of Ald. Desaulniers, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 7:55 PM. CITY CLERK 4