City Council

JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH MAY 16, 2011 A regular meeting of the Council of the City of Norwich was held May 16, 2011 at 7:30 PM in Council Chambers. Present: Ald. Desaulniers, Braddock, Caron, Hinchey, Popovich, Nash and Mayor Nystrom. City Manager Bergren and Corporation Counsel Michael Driscoll were also in attendance. Mayor Nystrom presided. Ald. Hinchey read the opening prayer and Ald. Nash led the members in the Pledge of Allegiance. City Manager Bergren gave his report as follows: DATE: May 16, 2011 TO: Mayor Peter A. Nystrom & Council Members FROM: Alan H. Bergren, City Manager SUBJECT: City Manager’s Report 1. Post Office Meeting Today Mayor Nystrom, Jackie Roy from NCDC and I met with Congressman Courtney and his staff, staff representatives of Senator Lieberman and Blumenthal’s offices and U.S. Postal officials regarding the future of the downtown Post Office. Various options were offered for contracted services with private parties to maintain a presence in the downtown. Future discussions will be held. 2. Downtown One City Clean-Up Day Reminder The Mayor and volunteers have organized a downtown “One City” clean-up day to be held on May 21st from 8:A.M. to 12:00 P.M. All volunteers should assemble in front of the City Hall building at 8:00 A.M. For more information or to volunteer, please call the Mayor’s office at (860) 823-3742. 3. Upcoming Events/Meetings ♦ The next Team Norwich meeting originally scheduled for this Saturday, May 21st has been cancelled due to the Clean- Up Day. The next meeting will be held on Saturday, June 4, 2011, 9 A.M. at the City Fire House. ♦ Memorial Day services will take place on Monday, May 30, 2011. There will be a short service at 10:00 A. M. at the Taftville Memorial Park and then the parade begins at 12 P.M. in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and heads north to Chelsea Parade where the program will commence on the green. ♦ The Council is scheduled to tentatively adopt the proposed budget on Monday, June 6, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. in Council Chambers. 4. State Budget Update Last week the Governor announced that an agreement has been reached with State Employee’s Unions for $1.6 billion in savings over the next two years. We are hopeful that this breakthrough will mitigate any chance of a “Plan B” that would significantly reduce revenues to the City from being adopted. Additionally, both the Mayor and I spoke this morning with legislative representatives who attended the EMT breakfast at American Ambulance headquarters regarding the budget and other work the Legislature is pursuing on behalf of our municipality. 5. Lincoln Portrait Contest The winning Lincoln portrait is scheduled to be placed in the original frame and hung in City Hall on the second floor on June 2, 2011. 7. Boys & Girls Club Fundraiser The Boys & Girls Club of SE CT held a fundraiser on Sunday May 15 at CT College. City employees, their families and the CT Tigers got together to form a team and raised over $1200 for this worthy cause which supports programs in the Norwich area. I personally thank members of our staff and those of the CT Tigers that participated. I would also like to thank area contributors for their generosity including Norwich Public Utilities and CLA Engineers, among others. 8. Transportation Center Progress Half of the transportation center’s superstructure has been assembled and the crane is now being removed so that Falls Avenue can be re-paved and opened. Following the re-paving and opening of the street, the temporary access road will be removed, the crane re-assembled and the West section of the transportation center will be constructed. The center is due to be completed at the end of April 2012. Mayor Nystrom called for citizen comment on resolutions. 1 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH MAY 16, 2011 Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, agrees it is appropriate to have a contingency account. He provided a copy of a article on streetlighting and asked a few questions on the lighting and on the budget. David Crabb, 47 Prospect St., opposes resolutions 2, 5 & 6. You need to replace the poetry with some data. The City should hold a brainstorming session to form a 5 year plan. He also questioned some of the increases from resolution 6. Ernie Cohen, 136 Hunters Rd., said he thinks resolution 6 is incomplete and we need to do more. Where is the source of this assistance going to come from. Many of us have had to cut back on food and clothing to pay our utilities. Engage in discussions to learn how to handle this problem, not just this year but for future years. Andy Depta, 105 Vergason Ave., echoed the previous speakers. He questioned the overruns from resolution 6 and also spoke on the streetlights being turned off and then back on. Marvin Serruto, 100 Starr St., stated on resolution 2 that Mr. Gorbachev paved that road. Brian Kobylarz, 16 Hobart Ave., commented on the City Managers report regarding the Post Office and preserving the arts. He also was in favor of resolution 1 stating, this is the time to visit the harbor. There being no further speakers, Mayor Nystrom declared citizen comment period closed. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Popovich, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Ald. Braddock and Hinchey: WHEREAS, the River Fest Committee of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring “River Fest 2011” at the Howard T. Brown Park on Saturday, June 4, 2011; and WHEREAS, “River Fest 2011” allows the entire community to share its cultural heritage with each other and permits festival goers to enjoy the variety of food, music and entertainment; and WHEREAS, The River Fest Committee of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce has requested permission to sell beer and wine during the festival. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that pursuant to section 13.142 of the Norwich Code of Ordinances, the City Manager is authorized to grant the River Fest Committee of the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce in Norwich permission to serve and sell beer and wine at the River Fest 2011 celebration to be held on June 4, 2011 at the Howard T. Brown Park subject to satisfactory proof that the River Fest Committee of the Greater Norwich area Chamber of Commerce in Norwich has complied with applicable regulations of the State Liquor Commission. Upon motion of Ald. Nash, seconded by Ald. Hinchey, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by City Manager Bergren: WHEREAS, the City of Norwich Public Works Department has identified a pavement rehabilitation project in an area located on Canterbury Turnpike from 500 feet south of Stewart Road to Pin Oak Terrace; and 2 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH MAY 16, 2011 WHEREAS, the Southeastern Connecticut Council of Governments has selected this project as a regional priority and approved the utilization of federal funds for construction activities; and WHEREAS, the City of Norwich published a legal notice display advertisement, mailed a news release to a number of officials and agencies, and mailed a letter of notification to abutting property owners announcing a public informational meeting concerning the proposed rehabilitation project known as the Pavement Rehabilitation of Canterbury Turnpike; and WHEREAS, this public informational meeting was held on April 19, 2011, at the Norwich City Hall at 6:30 p.m. at which meeting residents had an opportunity to voice their concerns; and WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Norwich, having considered the concerns of the residents expressed at the public informational meeting and during the public comment period, finds that the proposed Pavement Rehabilitation of Canterbury Turnpike is in the best interest of the City of Norwich, will promote the health, safety, and general welfare of its residents and will provide for the convenience and safety of the motoring public. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, that based on the foregoing, it hereby expresses its full support for the project known as the Pavement Rehabilitation of Canterbury Turnpike. Upon motion of Ald. Hinchey, seconded by Ald. Caron, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Mayor Nystrom and Ald. Hinchey: WHEREAS, the R.E. Van Norstrand Neighborhood Assistance Act, Chapter 228a of the Connecticut General Statutes (C.G.S. 12-630aa-12-638) offers certain benefits to municipalities desiring to obtain the same and is administered by the State Department of Revenue Services (Commission of Revenue Services); and WHEREAS, the Neighborhood Assistance Act provides a tax credit for business firms which sponsor local programs; and WHEREAS, such programs must be proposed and conducted by private non-profit agencies or municipalities and be approved by the local legislative body; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH: A public hearing will be held on June 6, 2011 to review applications and receive comments relative to the Neighborhood Assistance Act. Upon motion of Ald. Nash, seconded by Ald. Braddock, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Mayor Nystrom: BE IT RESOLVED that Brian Eckenrode be appointed to the Community Development Advisory Commission for a term to expire on February 27, 2012 or until a successor is appointed. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Nash, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by Mayor Nystrom: 3 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH MAY 16, 2011 WHEREAS, the City of Norwich is expected to receive $872,800 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds in FY ‘11-12 from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and WHEREAS, the Community Development Advisory Committee (CDAC) has held public hearings and voted on their recommendations for CDBG allocations in the month of April, and WHEREAS, the CDAC recommendations are subject to a 30-day comment period before the Norwich City Council votes on the allocations, and WHEREAS, the City of Norwich City Council must hold a public hearing prior to the vote of the Norwich City Council regarding the Block Grant expenditures for FY ‘11-12, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH that the Norwich City Council shall schedule a public hearing on the subject of Community Development Block Grant expenditures for PY ’11-12 at the first City Council meeting in June, on June 6th, 2011 at 7:30 P.M. and vote on the same at the second City Council meeting in June. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Nash, it was unanimously voted to adopt the following resolution introduced by City Manager Bergren: WHEREAS, several city departments are experiencing budget overages and surpluses in their vehicle fuel, heating fuel and utilities line items and, WHEREAS, the possibility of such overages and surpluses was anticipated and budgeted for in the Contingency Account, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH, that the sum of $212,200 be and hereby is appropriated from Contingency Account 01090-80086. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the fiscal year 2010-11 budgets for the following departments and divisions be increased or decreased as follows: PROPOSED ADOPTED BUDGET REVISED ORG-OBJECT DEPARTMENT DESCRIPTION BUDGET TRANSFER BUDGET 01021-80023 POLICE GAS OIL & GREASE 135,442 13,100 148,542 01021-80035 POLICE UTILITIES 110,059 4,500 114,559 01022-80023 FIRE GENERAL GAS OIL & GREASE 26,965 6,100 33,065 01022-80035 FIRE GENERAL UTILITIES 57,567 7,100 64,667 01023-80023 E.G.PLAIN VOLUNTEER FIRE GAS OIL & GREASE 3,574 1,000 4,574 01023-80035 E.G.PLAIN VOLUNTEER FIRE UTILITIES 15,842 (300) 15,542 01024-80035 LAUREL HL.VOLUNTEER FIRE UTILITIES 6,270 1,500 7,770 01026-80023 TAFTVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE GAS OIL & GREASE 3,872 3,100 6,972 01026-80035 TAFTVILLE VOLUNTEER FIRE UTILITIES 17,058 3,300 20,358 01032-80023 RECREATION GAS OIL & GREASE 7,481 (800) 6,681 01032-80035 RECREATION UTILITIES 10,000 4,500 14,500 01036-80023 SENIOR CENTER GAS OIL & GREASE 11,582 200 11,782 01039-80023 P.W. FLEET MAINTENANCE VEHICLE FUEL 131,643 25,000 156,643 4 JOURNAL OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORWICH MAY 16, 2011 01039-80035 P.W. FLEET MAINTENANCE UTILITIES 31,989 11,800 43,789 01040-80035 PW SOLID WASTE UTILITIES 5,300 (300) 5,000 01042-80035 PW STREET MAINTENANCE UTILITIES 57,414 2,000 59,414 01047-80007 PW BUILDING MAINTENANCE UTILITIES OTHER 55,270 4,700 59,970 01047-80035 PW BUILDING MAINTENANCE UTILITIES 169,606 5,700 175,306 01090-80002 MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS STREET LIGHTING 580,000 120,000 700,000 Net Increase 212,200 Mayor Nystrom called for citizen comment. Keith Ripley, Meadow Lane, stated that the explanation for the Contingency account was quite surprising and feels the definition needs to be changed. Something is very unusual and he wondered if this is consistent with the budget you will be looking at. Ernie Cohen, 136 Hunters Rd., wants a lively economy here in Norwich. He spoke on sustainable energy. To what extent is the community self reliant? We don’t produce any energy here. What is the likelihood of today’s youth staying here after graduation? We need to find ways to keep the young here. Andy Depta, 105 Vergason Ave., feels Norwich should have budget referendums as other towns do. Other towns allow taxpayers to vote on the budget. Politicians don’t want to give up the power. David Crabb, 47 Prospect St., spoke on engineering disasters on the history channel. We need to look up the definition of engineer. Retirees should have $200,000 for medical bills in 2016. We need to become financial engineers. Rodney Bowie, 62 Roosevelt Ave., spoke on the numerous non-profit organizations we have in town. It’s time we got payment in lieu of taxes. We can’t afford all the good things these people are doing. They need to pony up their share. Joanne Philbrick, 10 Elm Ave., said it saddens her that the audience at the Council meeting keeps getting less and less. She hopes the council budgeted in for utilities for the transportation center. She spoke on the City’s website and the meeting calendar stating that we are lacking information available. Kathleen Murphy, 227 Boswell Ave., thanked the Council for all they do and for the second public comment period but the Mayor needs to keep the comments to the three minutes. There being no further speakers, Mayor Nystrom declared citizen comment period closed. Upon motion of Ald. Braddock, seconded by Ald. Nash, it was unanimously voted to adjourn at 8:33 PM. CITY CLERK 5