OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Common Council Regular Meeting – January 14, 2026

Common Council — Wednesday, January 14, 2026
BodyNew Britain, Connecticut
SessionCommon Council
DateWednesday, January 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 59:59

Transcript — Verbatim
1:33

Okay, yeah.

1:35

You can come up when you can.

1:37

Sorry.

1:42

Welcome to the January 14th regular meeting of the common council.

1:47

Happy New Year to all.

1:50

Uh we will begin the public participation portion of the meeting.

1:57

And the time is now seven oh one.

2:00

I have a uh a list of folks I'll call upon.

2:04

Uh and then anybody else who wishes to speak and address the council.

2:09

Please remember to state your name and address clearly for the record.

2:14

Limit your speaking time to three minutes.

2:18

Um if anybody again has not signed up, anybody who wishes to speak may do so.

2:26

The first name on the list is Michelle Ramos.

2:32

Hi.

2:38

Good evening, all my name is Michelle Ramos, located at 41 R Street in O'Brinton, new business owner to a grocery store.

2:46

I do get a little nervous talking in public, but I'm here in reference to concerns of parking.

2:52

I just opened my business on December 20th.

2:56

I was raised in the area in Glen Street and R Street, and I decided to do business.

3:02

As of today, I saw that we were getting tickets outside of the business.

3:26

So we can run our business, but we cannot pay for tick for parking every 30 minutes, two hours, pay attention to the ticket if it's expiring, wherever we're getting a ticket as we're running a business.

3:38

We can have customers in the store.

3:41

We can't leave the store unattended to run outside to move a car or pay for more parking, more parking to stay longer.

3:48

I run my business.

4:28

I don't judge nobody, everybody has their downfalls, but they do a lot of break-ins, stealing cars, they told cars back there.

4:35

So it's very concerning, especially me not having entrance from the back of the building.

4:40

My interest is in the front, so I prefer to park in the front.

4:43

If there's a possible way we can have like a reserve parking for business owners, or if something can be done in reference to parking for us.

5:00

It's kind of difficult.

5:01

It's a lot of out of pockets.

5:05

Well, thank you, Michelle, uh, for calling to our attention.

5:08

Uh, when everybody's finished speaking, uh, all the persons may wish to respond to what you said.

5:14

Perfect, thank you.

5:15

Thank you.

5:15

Thank you all.

5:23

Our next speaker is Anthony Jonice.

5:26

Anthony.

5:38

Good evening.

5:39

I'm Anthony Janice, 292 Eddie Glover Boulevard.

5:44

Senior Pastor Solid Rock Spiritual Center here in New Britain.

5:47

Reason why I'm here is I guess to give my three-minute pitch of a proposal.

5:53

Our church is trying to do here in the city.

5:56

We have a program, Fresh Start Program is a nonprofit human and social service initiative run by HPN International, an integrated auxiliary of Solid Rock Spiritual Center in New Britain.

6:07

This program aims to address transitional housing needs for clients at Samaritan House East in New Britain, pending the approval, of course, of Mayor Sanchez and New Britain City Council and Office of Planning and Development.

6:21

Solar Rock Spiritual Center is currently working with Pastor Michael Casey of St.

6:25

Francis Parish and the Archdiocese of Hartford to procure one of their vacant properties located at 655 East Street and Newington Avenue.

6:35

Fresh Right is a program that provides academic vocational education, life skill training courses, mental health education counseling, physical health training, transitional housing emergency sheltering during the winter months, and credit counseling.

6:50

Debt repayment is crucial for rebuilding our clients' creditworthiness and social score.

6:57

In addition, our program aids clients with children and family reunification, if at all possible.

7:17

Eligibility is open to those who have served 30 to 60 days in a state certified halfway house.

7:23

This program is uniquely designed to be the only academic vocational base facility providing long-term transitional housing and wraparound services for former inmates who were enrolled in college degree or certified vocational curriculum under the second chance pale program while incarcerated.

7:41

Prestart offers this program for up to two years.

7:50

Sorry, that reteaches necessary life skill essentials for developing self-sufficiency.

7:55

This steps include personal development, continue academic vocational training, substance abuse counseling, people skills building, special, excuse me, spiritual counseling, physical health activities, independent skills, and community involvement through volunteerism.

8:15

Moving from detention to homelessness in adopted social living creation environment where clients have an opportunity to thrive and adopt collective approaches with collective actions to achieve shared goals and solve complex problems that cannot be achieved by one entity alone.

8:32

Jobs and job training programs are essential for client successful long-term stability stakeholders in New Britain, such as Greatest Dairy, Springbrook Ice Fuel, Personal Oil Company, and New Britain Public Works.

8:51

Um all significant role, or play a significant role in this community development project.

8:57

Positive human development is what strong communities and wise leaders do.

9:02

We lift folks up.

9:03

Thank you very much for this time.

9:07

Thank you, Mr.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural████████████████████████████28%
Public Safety██████████████████18%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Public Participation███████7%
Affordable Housing███████7%
Community Engagement███████7%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Budget Equity Analysis████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Common Council Regular Meeting – January 14, 2026

The New Britain Common Council held its regular meeting on January 14, 2026, at 7:01 PM. The meeting included public participation, adoption of a consent agenda, reports on personnel and infrastructure projects, and unanimous passage of several resolutions. Key topics included parking concerns for a new business, a transitional housing proposal, city debt, the Allen Street reconstruction project, and recognition of Muslim American Heritage Month.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion to accept the consent agenda (items A, C, F, G) passed with 14 in favor, 1 abstention, and 1 absent.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Michelle Ramos (41 R Street, new grocery store owner) expressed concern about parking tickets for herself and customers. She requested reserved parking for business owners, noting the difficulty of leaving the store unattended to move cars or pay for parking. She also cited safety issues (break-ins, stolen cars) in the area.
  • Anthony Jonice (292 Eddie Glover Boulevard, Senior Pastor, Solid Rock Spiritual Center) presented a proposal for the "Fresh Start Program," a transitional housing and wraparound service for former inmates. The program would be housed at a vacant property at 655 East Street and Newington Avenue, pending city approval. It includes academic/vocational education, life skills training, mental health counseling, and credit counseling. He identified local stakeholders (e.g., Greatest Dairy, Springbrook, New Britain Public Works) and emphasized the program's goal of fostering self-sufficiency.
  • John Kristapik (292 Linwood Street) questioned the city's total bond debt ($294,185,000, per the mayor's response) and criticized the tax abatement for The Brit (Yasco building). He calculated that at a $30 million valuation, the property would owe $824,000 in taxes but pays only $50 (with 2% annual increases) for 26 years. He urged the council to review the abatement.
  • Kelly Noss (29 Cedar Street) recounted a personal grievance: his head was cracked open at a church property, but his police report allegedly states he did not give a statement. He requested a meeting with the police chief, citing lack of witness cooperation and a workman's compensation denial. He expressed frustration with the city's response.

Discussion Items

  • Response to Public Comments: Alderwoman Scott thanked all speakers and offered to follow up on parking, the transitional housing proposal, and Kelly Noss's request for a meeting. Mayor Sanchez provided the total bonded debt figure and defended the tax abatement for The Brit, stating it was preferable to a blighted property with a low tax bill.
  • Item B – Council Administrative Position: Alderman Smedley moved to accept the report on replacing the council administrative position. Alderman Santiago explained the process: the position was previously unionized; an MOU with the union removed it after the previous occupant's sunset agreement. The job description was updated, and the position will be posted through civil service.
  • Item D – Transition Team Report: Alderman Smedley moved to accept the report. Council members asked about team members and their roles. Mary Pakorski (via the mayor) identified: Randy Jackowski (Education), Donald DeFranzo (Finance), Rick Loops (Public Works), Susie Ambilinski (Public Safety), Tony Lynn Collins (Legislative Affairs), Diana Reyes (Education). Chris Anderson was confirmed as a temporary consultant in the finance department. The transition team was unpaid and is nearly complete, with one final meeting by end of January.
  • Item E – Allen Street Project: Mark Moriarty (director) presented the funding update. The project is estimated at $14 million. Local funding of $6 million has been committed. An additional $3 million has been secured: $2 million in state bonding and $1 million from an EPA (USCPA) grant originally for sewer work, reallocated to Allen Street. A $5 million LOTSIP application (submitted February 2026) is expected to be funded based on scoring criteria. The timeline is uncertain but the design will be ready for bidding once funds are confirmed. Council members expressed strong support, noting the project had been stalled for decades.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda adopted (14-0-1).
  • Item B (council administrative position report) accepted unanimously.
  • Item D (transition team report) accepted unanimously.
  • Item E (Allen Street project report) accepted unanimously.
  • Resolution 2 (Muslim American Heritage Awareness Month) adopted unanimously. Alderwoman Scott noted that the Islamic Center had expressed feeling unwelcome, and the resolution aims to foster inclusion.
  • Resolution 3 (B-line trail grant – $5.4 million increased revenue, $3.6 million for construction) adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 4 (after school program grants – $307,760) adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 5 (after school program expansion – $108,677) adopted unanimously.
  • Resolution 6 (Willow Street Park electrical engineering services – $50,000) adopted unanimously.
  • An earlier motion to amend the agenda by withdrawing item one passed (14-0).
  • A point of order regarding a petition was raised but not resolved; the meeting moved on.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, yeah. You can come up when you can. Sorry. Welcome to the January 14th regular meeting of the common council. Happy New Year to all. Uh we will begin the public participation portion of the meeting. And the time is now seven oh one. I have a uh a list of folks I'll call upon. Uh and then anybody else who wishes to speak and address the council. Please remember to state your name and address clearly for the record. Limit your speaking time to three minutes. Um if anybody again has not signed up, anybody who wishes to speak may do so. The first name on the list is Michelle Ramos. Hi. Good evening, all my name is Michelle Ramos, located at 41 R Street in O'Brinton, new business owner to a grocery store. I do get a little nervous talking in public, but I'm here in reference to concerns of parking. I just opened my business on December 20th. I was raised in the area in Glen Street and R Street, and I decided to do business. As of today, I saw that we were getting tickets outside of the business. So we can run our business, but we cannot pay for tick for parking every 30 minutes, two hours, pay attention to the ticket if it's expiring, wherever we're getting a ticket as we're running a business. We can have customers in the store. We can't leave the store unattended to run outside to move a car or pay for more parking, more parking to stay longer. I run my business. I don't judge nobody, everybody has their downfalls, but they do a lot of break-ins, stealing cars, they told cars back there. So it's very concerning, especially me not having entrance from the back of the building. My interest is in the front, so I prefer to park in the front. If there's a possible way we can have like a reserve parking for business owners, or if something can be done in reference to parking for us. It's kind of difficult. It's a lot of out of pockets. Well, thank you, Michelle, uh, for calling to our attention. Uh, when everybody's finished speaking, uh, all the persons may wish to respond to what you said. Perfect, thank you. Thank you. Thank you all. Our next speaker is Anthony Jonice. Anthony. Good evening. I'm Anthony Janice, 292 Eddie Glover Boulevard. Senior Pastor Solid Rock Spiritual Center here in New Britain. Reason why I'm here is I guess to give my three-minute pitch of a proposal. Our church is trying to do here in the city. We have a program, Fresh Start Program is a nonprofit human and social service initiative run by HPN International, an integrated auxiliary of Solid Rock Spiritual Center in New Britain. This program aims to address transitional housing needs for clients at Samaritan House East in New Britain, pending the approval, of course, of Mayor Sanchez and New Britain City Council and Office of Planning and Development. Solar Rock Spiritual Center is currently working with Pastor Michael Casey of St. Francis Parish and the Archdiocese of Hartford to procure one of their vacant properties located at 655 East Street and Newington Avenue. Fresh Right is a program that provides academic vocational education, life skill training courses, mental health education counseling, physical health training, transitional housing emergency sheltering during the winter months, and credit counseling. Debt repayment is crucial for rebuilding our clients' creditworthiness and social score. In addition, our program aids clients with children and family reunification, if at all possible. Eligibility is open to those who have served 30 to 60 days in a state certified halfway house. This program is uniquely designed to be the only academic vocational base facility providing long-term transitional housing and wraparound services for former inmates who were enrolled in college degree or certified vocational curriculum under the second chance pale program while incarcerated.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com