EAST HARTFORD TOWN COUNCIL
TOWN COUNCIL CHAMBERS
JANUARY 6, 2009
PRESENT Chair Richard F. Kehoe, Vice Chair William P. Horan, Jr., Majority Leader Marcia A. Leclerc, Minority Leader Donald H. Pitkin, Councillors Marc I. Weinberg, Jason Rojas, Barbara-Ann Rossi, Patricia Harmon and Eric Thompson
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Kehoe called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. He announced the exit locations in
accordance with Connecticut General Statutes § 29-381, after which the Council joined him in the pledge of allegiance.
The Chair call for a moment of silence to honor the life of Doris Suessman, a lifelong resident of East Hartford and champion of the preservation of East Hartford’s history.
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Jason Rojas
to amend the agenda as follows:
add Item 9. D. Waiver of Bid Requirements – Dike Engineering
Professional Services.
Motion carried 9/0.
OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO ADDRESS THE COUNCIL ON AGENDA ITEMS
Mayor Currey (1) thanked the Council for the amendment to the agenda for the bid waiver for engineering services for the town’s Dike system; (2) the new legislature will be seated tomorrow and looks forward to local representation for the town; (3) CRCOG and CCM have stressed a good dialog between municipal government and the state legislature due to the current financial situation; (4) looks forward to presenting the Council with the stimulus package on tonight’s agenda; and (5) the Mayor’s budget workshops started Monday.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
December 9, 2008 Executive Session/Leinad, Inc.
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Marc Weinberg
to approve the minutes of the December 9, 2008 Executive
Session/Leinad, Inc.
Motion carried 9/0.
December 9, 2008 Regular Meeting
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Barbara Rossi
to approve the minutes of the December 9, 2008 Regular Meeting.
Motion carried 9/0.
COMMUNICATIONS AND PETITIONS
Resignation of Councillor Jason Rojas
This item was moved to the end of the agenda.
General Update of East Hartford Fire Department by Fire Chief John Oates
John Oates, Fire Chief, presented the Council with a summary of regional and other external activities relating to the town’s fire department. Chief Oates also quantified the department’s areas of responsibility as follows: (1) Emergency Response; (2) Fire Prevention and Public Education; (3) Fire Administration; (4) Communications; (5) Training and Education; (6) Fire Apparatus and Equipment Maintenance, and; (7) Support Services.
Economic Stimulus Package
Mayor Currey stated that the items listed in the Economic Stimulus Package are projects
that can start in six months. This meets the Governor’s guidelines for submittal to the
federal government. Denise Horan, the Town’s Engineer, and Al Costa, East Hartford
Public Schools’ Director of Facilities, were on hand to answer questions and explain the
package as presented. Note: Copies of both the town’s and schools’ economic stimulus
packages follow these minutes.
NEW BUSINESS
Referral to Ordinance Committee: Section 10-7(b) re: Public Works Contracts
MOTION By Bill Horan
seconded by Don Pitkin
to refer to the Ordinance Committee the issue of whether the bidding procedures for Public Works contracts under Section 10-7 of the Town of East Hartford Code of Ordinances need to be amended, with instructions for the Committee to review the bidding procedure currently in place and to report back to the Town Council with its recommendations, if any.
Motion carried 9/0.
Authorization for Board of Education to Apply for State Building Grant re: Roof Replacements at O’Connell & Goodwin Schools
MOTION By Jason Rojas
seconded by Marcia Leclerc
to authorize the East Hartford Public Schools to apply to the State
Department of Education for a school construction grant and to accept or
reject the construction grant regarding the roof replacement projects at
Thomas S. O’Connell Elementary School and Joseph O. Goodwin
Elementary School; to authorize the East Hartford Board of Education to
prepare schematic drawings and outline specifications for the proposed
projects; to establish a School Building Committee that shall consist of the
Public Building Commission and two members of the Board of Education,
not more than one from the same political party, appointed by the Chair
of the Board of Education as the School Building Committee, for the
purposes of complying with the provisions of Chapter 173 of the
Connecticut General Statutes.
Motion carried 9/0.
Recommendation from Fees Committee re: License Agreement: Itron Inc.
MOTION By Marc Weinberg
seconded by Marcia Leclerc
to approve the license agreement between the Town of East Hartford and
Itron, Inc., which agreement allows Itron, Inc. a non-exclusive license to
install, operate and maintain radio-controlled monitoring devices to monitor
Connecticut Natural Gas meters on approximately ninety of the Town’s
street lights under the following terms:
- the location of the monitors shall be subject to Town approval.
- the term of the agreement shall run for no longer than ten years.
- the fee payable to the Town in connection with the license shall
be as follows:
- Years 1-5 $75.00 per device
- Years 6-10 $80.00 per device
MOTION By Barbara Rossi
seconded by Jason Rojas
to amend the motion as follows:
“…3. the annual fee payable to the Town …”
Motion carried 9/0.
On call of the vote of the amended motion, motion carried 9/0.
Waiver of Bid Requirements – Dike Engineering Professional Services.
MOTION By Barbara Rossi
seconded by Marcia Leclerc
that pursuant to Section 10-7(c) of the Town of East Hartford Code of
Ordinances we waive the bidding requirements of Section 10-7(b) of the
Town of East Hartford Code of Ordinances to authorize an amendment to
the April 23, 2008 contract between the Town and GEI Consultants in
accordance with the December 23, 2008 letter from GEI consultants to
Town Engineer Denise Horan in an amount not to exceed $527,279.00,
which is in the best interest of the Town as it will allow the Town to meet
the requirements of the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal
Emergency Management Agency with respect to the accreditation of the
East Hartford Dike System.
Motion carried 9/0.
OPPORTUNITY FOR COUNCILLORS TO DIRECT QUESTIONS TO THE ADMINISTRATION
Don Pitkin (1) inquired on status of the answer to his question asked at the December meeting regarding the Redevelopment Agency’s Main Street plan; (2) the switch for the handicapped entrance on the south side of the building does not work; and (3) the status of the compliance of existing adult businesses to the newly passed Sexually Oriented Businesses ordinance.
Pat Harmon asked for the development status of the Big Y building located in the Plaza on School Street and the Showcase Cinemas building on Silver Lane.
COUNCIL ACTION ON EXECUTIVE SESSION MATTERS
PEH I Limited Partnership v. Town of East Hartford
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Bill Horan
to accept the recommendation of the Corporation Counsel’s office to settle
the tax appeal case entitled PEH I, a Limited Partnership v. Town
of East Hartford and to authorize the Town Assessor to reduce the fair market value of the property located at 100 East River Drive, owned by PEH I, a Limited Partnership, to the sum of $13,000,000.00, subject to rounding; beginning with the Grand List of October 1, 2007; further that neither party will be entitled to fees or costs of any kind; further that if the plaintiff is entitled to a refund of taxes paid, the refund will be deducted from the next installment of taxes.
Motion carried 9/0.
State Taking of Town Property: Silver Lane at Forbes Street
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Bill Horan
that the Town Council accept the recommendation of the Corporation
Counsel’s office to accept the State of Connecticut’s Assessment of
Damages in connection with the condemnation of two parcels of Town
property described as follows:
- Parcel No. l - 11,421 square feet, more or less, located on the
northerly side of Silver Lane (SR 502) at Forbes Street, which
parcel abuts DePietro Park and is a portion of the property known
as 1006 Silver Lane.
Damages $30,550.00
- Parcel No. 2 – 713 square feet, more or less, located on the
southerly side of Silver Lane (SR 502) at Forbes Street, which
parcel abuts the Sunset Ridge Sixth Grade Academy and is a
portion of the property known as 450 Forbes Street.
Damages $8,900.00
Motion carried 9/0.
Robert C. Sandberg v. Mark Sirois, et al
MOTION By Marcia Leclerc
seconded by Eric Thompson
to accept the recommendation of the Corporation Counsel’s Office
to settle the federal lawsuit entitled Robert C. Sandberg, Jr. v. Mark Sirois,
et al., Case No. 307CV01598 (AVC), for the total sum of $22,500.00 and
other terms and conditions contained in the proposed settlement
agreement submitted to the Council Chair under cover memorandum
dated January 6, 2009.
Motion carried 9/0.
Resignation of Jason Rojas
Councillor Rojas stated that this would be his last meeting due to the fact that he will be seated in the new State Legislature tomorrow. He thanked all for his tenure on the Council and all Councillors congratulated him for his success and wished him well.
OPPORTUNITY FOR RESIDENTS TO SPEAK
None
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION By Jason Rojas
seconded by Don Pitkin
to adjourn (9:35 p.m.).
Motion carried 9/0.
The Chair announced that the next meeting of the Town Council would be on January 20, 2009.
Attest________________________________
Angela M. Attenello
TOWN COUNCIL CLERK
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