The New Britain Common Council held its regular meeting on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included public participation, consideration of zoning petitions, adoption of several resolutions, and discussion of city finances and infrastructure. The meeting adjourned at 8:37 PM.
I want to welcome everybody to the September twenty-fifth uh regular meeting of the common council. Uh this is the public participation part of the meeting. It's now seven oh one. Um and we have a list to draw from. Uh please remember to state your name and address clearly for the record. Limit your speaking time to three minutes. If uh no one has signed up but still wants to speak, anybody in the room will be recognized who wants to be uh recognized. And we'll check on remote to see if anybody's calling in. So with that we'll begin with Frank Chase. I'm old. Frank Chase, twenty-four Roxbury Road. He is hoping to get a date established this week. The compromised outdated and undersized undersized storm sewer systems in the Allen Street basin and in the Hampton Eaton sub basin were first identified 30 years ago by Director of Public Works Joe Corelli. These systems have been ignored, neglected, and mismanaged by the by elected and appointed city officials for decades. The unhealthy contaminated flooding water contains bacteria, fecal matter, fats, motor oil, grease, etc. The cause is undeniable, the effects will be catastrophic if the flooding is allowed to continue. Weston Simpson Engineers reported the state of the infrastructure is at crisis levels. Now sections of our interior, front foundation wall, the north side, which faces the retention pond, have been breached by the flooding water. This is an emergency situation which we will attend to as soon as possible. The cost of this repair will be sent to the city's insurance company for immediate reimbursement, along with our other recorded outstanding flood-related expenses. As Morre already has noted, the city will be installing a sixty-six-inch pipe on Allen Street, replacing the compromised 24-inch pipe. Flooding our neighborhoods and compromising the smaller pipes and drainage structures in the Hampton Eaton subbasin. Really? Who is feeding whom here? We pay you for your services. You are criticizing us for our civic efforts to uncover the truth about the flooding. We are engaged because our city officials have neglected our infrastructure problems for decades. The more we shine the light on this problem, the more defensive our city officials become. After all, it has been decades. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chase. Our next speaker is John Postopic. John Christoph, 292 Linwood Street. Good evening. Media companies are being pressured to restrict internet for children. Maybe they should include former mayors. Going back to water. Our most recent water bill. Now it has a post office box in Woburn, Massachusetts. That's after a Hartford Connecticut post office box. And then a New Britain Connecticut Post Office box. Who we paid a bill to. It used to be the Board of Water Commissioners. Then the New Britain Water Department. Now it's the city of New Britain. Just curious. Was it my understanding from the last common council meeting that the work approved for the overlook project fixes deficiencies in the present system, but does nothing to prepare for the future, which is happening right now. Are they fixing 10-year flooding problems and doing nothing about the hundred-year problem? Just curious.