Some of My City Council Activities this Past Week ---
Recently a number of community leaders expressed that it might be helpful to understand what are some of the issues and activities that I have been involved in. I thought I would post brief summaries of my weekly activities and invite the public to comment and/or provide feedback on additional considerations on these issues. These are brief summaries, and I would be interested in any comments that you might have:
August 28th
Attended (and co-chaired) the Sheff Movement Meeting at Hartford City Hall, with special attention on continuing to support the adovcacy efforts to expand Sheff strategies in Hartford and Hartford area.
August 30th
Participated in the Hartford Board of Education's "First Day of School Tour" It was a positive experience to join the tour with the first site being Capital Prepatory School, at the renovated Barnard Brown School site. Led by School principal Stephen Perry, this extended year program has developed into a high quality magnet school, where 100% of students graduate to attend college. It was also an honor to serve as a Hartford School Building Committee Member on the Advisory Committee several years ago that found a suitable location for the school, which previously had been housed at Capitol Community College. I was only able to attend the first part of the tour, which also went to a number of other high quality schools.
September 1st
- Attended a Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Community Focus Group Meeting, discussion centered on considerations by community leaders on how the Foundation can continue to best meet the needs of the community in its philanthropic activities.
- Attended Special Meeting of the Hartford City Council, discussion centered on new council leadership, with rJo Winch elected as President of the Court of Common Council.
September 2nd
- Met with Mayor Pedro Segarra on a number of critical issues, including: preliminary ideas for organizing education funding strategies for the upcoming legislative session; community revitalization issue discussions (various neighborhoods); follow up to quality of life issues; and various other issues.
- Attended Anti-Graffiti Enforcement Meeting, where a new Public Address message was showcased notifying the public who to report incidents of illegal graffiti activity to. Mayor Segarra introduced high school interns who had developed the PA advertisements, with leadership assistance from Hartford Public Access and the Mayor's Communication Director. The event was attended by a number of community leaders involved in an Anti-Graffiti campaign including the Mayor's Office, Hartford Areas Rally Together, Knox Parks Foundation, Crime Stoppers, Hartford Police Department and City Constituency Services. Also attending were Senator John Fonfara, Councilman Luis Cotto and department representatives from the Office of Youth Services -- as well as a number ofcommunity leaders. I began my leadership in this effort earlier this year, and several strategies presently include increased cleaning of graffiti locations, public engagement effort, increased enforcement and other strategies. Please contact Jennifer Cassidy at 860-757-9566.
- Attended the groundbreaking at the Butler-McCook House and Garden to celebrate the installation of a closed-loop geo-thermal heating system at Amos Bull House as part of the Connecticut Landmarks' Hartford Campus.
- Attended Special City Council Meeting of the Whole to confirm several of Mayor Segarra's new appointment and reappointments: Corporation Counsel Saundra Kee Borges, Police Chief Daryl Roberts, Director of Emergency Services and Telecommunications Andrew Jaffee, New School Board Member Sharon Stallings-Patterson. The Council of the Meeting then had a lengthy presentation on the building of the new Public Safety Complex in Hartford by Chief Operating Officer, David Panagore.
September 3rd
- Convened a meeting of leaders to discuss new location of the Hartford Welcome Center and concerns for the decreasing resources going to marketing and promoting the City. Attending the meeting were Oz Griebel (CEO & President of the Metro Hartford Alliance); Mike Zaleski (Director of the Downtown Business Improvement Districct); Kate Boulac (Director of the Greater Hartford Arts Council) and David Panagore (Chief Operating Officer of the City of Hartford). The GHAC will be moving to 100 Pearl Street, yet other discussions ensued about what to do about the Pratt Street site. An October City Council Planning and Economic Development Committee Meeting will also have as an agenda item discussions on the present strategies related to the City's marketing and promotions options.
- Attended a leadership meeting with Mayor Pedro Segarra, Council President rJo Winch, and Minority Leader Luis Cotto to discuss various issues.
September 4th
- Attended the Friends and Families of Forster Park Community Day, {Download Community Day Saturday 9-4-2010} where hundreds of young people and families enjoyed a community event on a beautiful day, and celebrated a million dollar city investment in revitalizing the Forster Park.
