Regular Meeting of the New Britain Common Council – July 9, 2025
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Regular Meeting of the New Britain Common Council – July 9, 2025
The New Britain Common Council met on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 7:00 PM in Council Chambers at City Hall. The meeting included public participation, approval of minutes, a consent agenda, and adoption of several resolutions. Fourteen members were present. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 PM.
Consent Calendar
- Items A, B, C: Approved unanimously (14-0). These included claims for injuries/property damage, a corporation counsel response regarding city vehicles, and the Finance Department monthly report of checks.
- Item D – Early Voting Locations: Approved after a brief discussion. Alderman Santiago proposed an amendment to add Sunday, September 7, 2025, to the six days for early voting. Corp Counsel noted that amending a report is not standard procedure; the amendment was withdrawn, and the report was adopted unanimously. Mayor Stewart confirmed that Labor Day on September 1 reduces early voting to six days for the primary.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Andrew Pope (87 Brighton Street): Reported sewer water backup into his basement despite a check valve. He contacted Public Works and the Water Department, but was told the city was not at fault. He requested tracking of such complaints and expressed frustration with the city’s response.
- Chris Cartelli (112 Dudley Street, President of New Britain Soccer Club): Thanked the council for the resolution honoring the U-17 boys’ team for winning the 2025 Connecticut Cup. He highlighted the club’s volunteer-run efforts to break down pay-to-play barriers and provide year-round soccer opportunities.
- Rev. Dr. Jonathan Counts (20 Crestwood Lane, representing New Britain Area Interfaith Conference): Called for respect and justice for immigrants, stating that immigrants should not be slandered or scapegoated, and that due process must be upheld.
- Keith (speaker from St. Mark’s Church): Thanked the council and police, discussed homelessness in his area, and requested assistance with paperwork related to a citizen’s arrest after being assaulted while feeding the homeless. He mentioned Traumatic Brain Injury and unmet meeting promises.
- Marino (20 Cairn Drive): Commended Chris Cartelli and the New Britain Soccer Club for their work with youth, encouraging council members to visit Willowbrook Park.
- A remote caller (last four digits 7069) also spoke, but comments are not detailed in the transcript.
- Council members responded, thanking speakers and expressing support for the soccer club, immigrant rights, and addressing constituent concerns.
Discussion Items
- Resolution #1 – Recognition of New Britain Soccer Club: Unanimously adopted. The resolution honors the U-17 boys’ team for winning the Connecticut Cup. Alderman McNamara read the resolution; Alderman Santiago and others congratulated the team.
- Resolution #2 – American Savings Foundation Grant for Police Explorers: Unanimously adopted. Provides $5,000 to send 14 Explorers and 5 advisors to the Summer Explorer Police Academy at Westfield State University (July 20–26, 2025). Alderman Connors motioned; Alderman Smedley, a former police explorer and current Cadet Academy director, spoke in support.
- Resolution #3 – Hometown Foundation Grant for Police Explorers: Unanimously adopted. Provides an additional $1,500 for the same program. Alderwoman Barbosa motioned.
- Resolution #4 – Boat House Repairs at Stanley Quarter Park: Unanimously adopted. Authorizes $25,823.76 to Houzpital, LLC for interior repairs. Alderwoman Scott urged adoption to make the inside usable.
- Resolution #5 – Road Salt Purchase: Unanimously adopted. Authorizes $174,020 to Morton Salt, Inc. for 2,000 tons of treated road salt for the 2025–2026 winter season. Alderman Simpson noted that equals four million pounds.
- Resolution #6 – Ordinance Amendment on Street Takeovers: Referred to the Committee on Planning, Zoning, and Housing. Amends Chapter 15, Article VII of the City Code to align with Public Act No. 25-80, which targets motor scooters, dirt bikes, minibikes, pocket bikes, bicycles with helper motors, and ATVs. Alderman Santiago motioned to refer; Alderwoman Saavedra explained it adds a tool against street takeovers and thanked the corporation counsel and police chief for expediting.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes Approved: Regular meetings of June 11 and June 25, 2025, were approved unanimously.
- Consent Agenda Approved: Items A–D were adopted unanimously.
- Resolutions 1–5 Adopted: All passed without opposition.
- Resolution 6 Referred: Sent to committee for further discussion before full council adoption.
- Meeting Adjourned: At 7:35 PM.
Meeting Transcript
I want to welcome everybody to the well July 9th, 2025 meeting of the common council. As always, we begin with hearing from the public. It's now 7 p.m. I'm gonna read from the list and then see if anybody else wants to speak in in the room or remotely. Just to ask you state your name and address for the record. And you have uh three minutes. The floor is yours for three minutes. First name is Andrew Pope. Does that work? Yep. Okay. Andrew Pope 87, Brighton Street. So um I'm not here to complain about the sewers, but I'm just gonna show you a little story about the last two days with the sewers. Um this morning I woke up and between all the heavy rain the last couple of nights, I had sewer water in my basement, which it wasn't too bad because I've been fortunate enough where I've kind of figured out a way to mitigate it with a a check valve. However, the pressure from the city is so high that it's still leaking at this check valve. So I called the public works department, this is 7 30 in the morning, and they weren't open yet. I then called the water department and they sent somebody out. And by the time they had come out, they checked the sewer line and the lateral on Roxbury and on Brighton, and they said there's no problem. And I said, But I got sewer water in my basement. It wasn't like I got up in the middle of the night and flushed my toilet a hundred times. So and uh so he said to me, you know, there's nothing wrong, and I said, Well, what about the the program that's gonna come clean this? And he said to me, the city's not at fault. And I said, Great. So that's why I'm here to tell you tonight that i unless I have somebody there watching my sewer line 24 hours a day, I'm never going to be able to identify this problem to the city. This gentleman also mentioned to me that there are many other people who have had the same calls in the area. I don't know if they don't know about the program or if it's the same issue, that the sewer waters back up when it rains heavily and then they subside when the rain goes away. You're never gonna see that problem. Um I just want to know if anybody's even tracking these calls. Like does does this does somebody track how many times somebody calls about sewer water backing up into the basement. If they do, that'd be great. I would love to see the data on that. If not, whatever. Uh um and then the other part is I I don't know what to do if the city's never at fault, but the sewer water keeps coming in my house. I that program is basically useless. Right. Um yeah, thank you for your time, and I'll see you guys in a month. Thank you, Andrew. Our next speaker is Chris Cartelli. Good evening, everyone. Um, I'm Chris Cartelli. I'm here. Um I live at 112 Dudley Street. I'm here in my capacity as president of New Britain Soccer Club. Um, as some of you may be aware, there's a resolution on the agenda. Um which I would like to thank you all for considering. Um honoring our club and most importantly, one of our teams who um brought home a CT cup trophy this season, which was a huge accomplishment for us and for them. And I just wanted to thank you all for your continued support. Um it's really an effort of the whole community. Um we collaborate with a lot of different organizations, the parks and rec, um the school district. Um thank you for your patience with us over the winter.
openpublica.com