The New Britain Common Council held its regular meeting on September 10, 2025, at 7:21 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting included public participation, approval of consent agenda, and unanimous adoption of 18 resolutions covering traffic safety, cultural recognitions, public works, and community events.
Welcome to the September 10th 2025 regular meeting of the Common Council. It is now 701 PM, and we'll begin with public participation. I have uh three names on a list. When you come up, uh please state your name and address for the record. And again, you have three minutes, and then I'll recognize anybody else who wishes to speak remotely or in the audience. Our first speaker tonight is Frank Chase. Frank Chase, 24 Roxbury. Dear Mayor Stewart, our city officials over the past thirty years have failed to upgrade the compromised Allen Street storm sewer system. This includes twelve years on your watch. Our due diligence since 2023 has uncovered the facts. We have been proactive with the assistance of Majority Leader McNamara making the required effort to appeal to your good senses. Leader McNamara understands the peril our neighborhoods, blacks and properties are in. Common sense tells us if you did understand after twelve years in office, would have surely prioritized, you would have surely prioritized fully funded and constructed the Allen Street project. As a reminder, we were invited by you to voice our concerns regarding your priorities and your fiscal behavior. Our criticisms are fact-based as we have detail for you in all of our narratives. You wrote to us, you are not kind to me, and you will never be. To date, you have refused to prioritize fully fund and construct the Allen Street Project. The cause and effect is undeniable. Our taxpayers deserve better than this. Our quality of life continues to suffer. Our safety continues to continues to be in harm's way. And 50 plus properties and structures are all at risk. Why do you continue to ignore the critical nature of the Allen Street problem when you have the resources to construct the Allen Street project now? Why are you choosing to ignore all of us in the Allen Street neighborhoods? Mayor Stewart, you have the authority to correct these hazardous conditions, and it's your responsibility to correct these hazardous conditions. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Chase. Our next speaker is Michelle Stewart Copes. I live at 281 Rocky Hill Avenue here in New Britain. And I chair the NACP Economic Development Committee as well as the Multicultural Business Association with Candace Scott. And I'm here to support the Multicultural Business Directory petition. I really think it can truly help the city because the majority of our population is multicultural. It can only develop the commerce in our city, the economic revenue gaps, which is the goal of the NACP, and it can build and bolster the tax revenue and base so that businesses can stay and be supported. The purpose of this directory is so that we can all know who each other is. We really don't know that. And to have a public listing of it will help us to be able to support each other, to be able to make referrals and to keep cities here in New Britain. We recently had a potluck meeting on the 25th, and it was really great. And Devon Tanksley had come to speak with us. He owned my wife didn't cook, and he talked about how it really would have been beneficial if we had invested in each other, supported each other, really was able to be there to promote our businesses, and also to make the city better as a wonderful multicultural city, rich in its ethnicity. So I hope that you support it. I hope that you help to develop it because it will be the first time it's been done. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you, Michelle. Third speaker on the list is Tina Santana. Thank you for this opportunity. That really impact my life. You guys would usually see me here talking about school district stuff because I do serve on the board of head. But the reality is, like all of you, we live in the city of New Britain, and we are faced with the same issues, and I'm pretty sure you are too.