Welcome all to the regular meeting of the Common Council for November 19th 2025. Start of the new term. I want to welcome our new and returning alderpersons to this first meeting. We begin as always with public participation. The time is now 7.01. I have a list here of speakers and we'll call on anybody else who wishes to speak or if anybody is calling in remotely. Please remember to state your name and address clearly for the record and limit your speaking time to three minutes. After such time we will give all the persons who have something to say about what they've heard a brief OPPORTUNITY FOR REMARKS. OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS JIM SANDERS. GOOD EVENING, JIM SANDERS, JR., 172 KENSINGTON AVENUE. I AM HONORED TO BE THE FIRST PUBLIC PARTICIPANT OF THIS NEW ADMINISTRATION. I'M A LITTLE SHOCKED THAT FORMER ALDERMAN STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND NEPHEW OF THE MAYOR DIDN'T TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY. THAT BEING SAID, I WANT TO CONGRATULATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU. I'm happy to see so many former aldermen in the audience as well. They're probably all here to give you a little bit of advice. The one thing I can tell you is don't give a crap about what anybody thinks about you. Care about that you're doing the right thing. Know that you're doing the right thing in your heart. I don't normally go off of quotes, but a couple things stuck out to me that I came across recently. And one is don't have an opinion where you're not willing to take responsibility. I think that's important. And the better one that I found out that really I liked a lot was criticism is easy. Responsibility is rare. The moment you take ownership of the problem, you become the solution. Before you fault someone else, ask where you can take ownership. That's where real leadership begins. Most people criticize leaders. Most people criticize. Leaders take responsibility. Choose which one you want to be. Again, congratulations to each and every one of you. Look forward to our first Latino mayor. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Sanders. I need all the advice I can get. Much appreciated. Our next speaker is Barbara Marino. evening Barbara Marino 85 Batterson Drive first off congratulations to one and all before me it's hard to believe it was just a week ago we were standing on that stage and taking an oath not to an individual not to a political party but to the citizens of this city and to represent one and all it's not an easy job tonight starts the hard work but I have to believe that we're all here for a common purpose the betterment of the city to that end I'm here to seek your assistance as well as that of Mayor Sanchez and any other state representative in the audience. With regard to I was at the school building committee meeting yesterday with a couple of your colleagues. One of the things that concerned me was we have a 11 million dollar bill outstanding since reimbursement to the city for the homes project that's been outstanding since the end of September. We also have a $9.9 million amount to file for the same project once we receive the $11 million. So that's almost $20 million to do the city and reimbursement for that project alone. The other thing that I learned too, and thank you to Mr. Salina for bringing it up at that meeting, is that we still have some outstanding issues and concerns about funding level percentage of funding for the Smith project as well as the especially the pre-K building. So there are certain items that need to be addressed so that we hopefully can get 100 percent funding for that pre-K building and at least 95 percent on the reimbursement for the rest of Smith. So I do ask for your assistance in whatever political poll you can bring to bear. make sure that the city gets reimbursed the funding that he needs. Thank you. Thank you Miss Marino. Third speaker is John Board. Good evening, John Board, 37 Highland Terrace. Thank you, Mr. Majority Leader. Good evening to members of the council and newly elected. Tonight, the council will consider and adopt the standing rules of the council for the 2025-2027 term. I want to speak not only about principles, not only about procedure, but about principle, because rules aren't just technicalities. They are a reflection of principles of what we value, what we respect, and how we're governed. Over the last several months, I've been advocating for the inclusion of a Rule 14, a simple yet important addition to the Council's rules that would establish clear expectations regarding public participation, decorum, and decorum modeled after the General Assembly rules. This rule would not silence anyone and ensures that everyone gets to speak without being intimidated interrupted or disrespected. Unfortunately, despite repeated outreach and what I believed was good faith conversations, there was no movement, there was no amendment, there was no discussions on this proposal even after verbal commitments were made. And I want to be very direct here because it matters. Alderman McNamara, you gave me your word that regardless of the election outcome, we would sit down and discuss this proposal. You and I know that conversation happened about a commitment for a meeting. Yet despite my repeated follow-up, including yesterday, I really don't raise this as a point to embarrass anyone, but I raise it because words matter, because commitments do matter. In politics and in public service, the only real currency we have is our integrity. our willingness to honor commitments even when they are inconvenient or unpopular. If we cannot keep our word as something as simple as a basic conversation about a rule, then how do you expect the public to trust anything else that you say or do? Rule 14 deserves consideration, or at least a conversation that was promised. And if any members object to the language which I've drafted and shared previously, They are welcome and, quite frankly, obligated to offer amendments. The easiest thing in politics is to say no. But the real work is offering a better path forward. It is easy to sit in the minority, but it is far more difficult to bear the true weight of governing. So tonight, my ask is simple. Don't adopt these rules without at least acknowledging and discussing a potential Rule 14. Don't let silence stand in place of good governance. Let us honor our commitments and give this proposal the fair hearing that was promised by Alderman Matt Nomera. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Board. Next speaker is Kelly Knauss. Hello, how are you doing? My name is Kelly Knauss, 29 Cedar Street. You guys probably know me from the past. You know, Mayor Erin Stewart, me and her never talked, even though I was your community service for 28 years. I want to thank everybody on the board here that just got elected. I think there's a lot of things. You know, like I did your community service for 28 years. You sent all your riffraff to me. And one year before I got hurt, I came to this town hall and warned all of you that eventually I was going to get hurt because I was the only one left. Because Reverend Bob Hames was my community service person. And Reverend Pat was my boss. When Reverend Pat hired me, you've got to understand, I was a millionaire, okay? The only reason why... I worked for St. Mark's is because I was a millionaire, and if I got hurt, I wouldn't get into workman's comp. I wouldn't get into unemployment. I wouldn't get nothing if I got hurt in the past. But I was worrying about my family if I got hurt, okay? I made millions of dollars, and then I sat down with Reverend Pat and said, Reverend Pat, let me work for your church. Let me take my heart and give it to God like the Bible says. Okay? So I gave up my contract to the church and took care of all your community service. Why did I do that? Because I wouldn't have no workman's comp if I got hurt. Okay, my head was cracked open in the church. I got a traumatic brain injury. from inside the church on work time, with Reverend Pat being my boss and three other priests being my boss. And Mary Erin Stewart, for 12 years, has been hiding the text that I have in my phone. She's the one who sent the community service to my church because I was no longer, I was the only person in your town. Remember Santiago? Come on, don't just shake your head. Say it out loud. But please, say it out loud. Shake your head. Yes. He's the man that I respect. I respect that man. I respect that young kid, too. You know why? Me and him dressed the same when we were really young. I respect everybody. But you've got to respect the person that got hurt doing your community service Amen. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Knauss. Thank you all. Those are all the names I have who signed up to speak. Is there anybody else in the audience who wishes to speak? Please step forward, name and address for the record, and the floor is yours for three minutes. Hi, everybody. My name is Joanne Vargas, 66 Franklin Square, New Britain. I am just so proud of you guys. Congratulations to all of you. I don't care what party you guys represent. I'm so glad elections is over. Just don't forget certain things. Don't forget the love of New Britain, the unity, who you represent, and also pathways. I know there's a lot of youth programs in New Britain but Pathways is overlooked. Our kids matter. My son matters and our alumni matters. Do not forget them. I think that's it. But thank you. And for those who reached out to Pathways recently it means a lot to us as well. You guys know who you are. Thank you. I didn't mean to put you on the spot but thank you. And There is a grace period. I'll give you that but I will hold you guys accountable. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for speaking. Anybody else in the audience. Please step up and state your name and address. Getting a lot of advice tonight so keep it coming. Good evening everybody. Congratulations to everyone on winning your elections. I would like I would like to say I'm Lisa Liu and I live at 63 Bassett Street and I'm here to speak on hoping that we will arrange more community cleanups in different parts of the city. I've heard about two that person Scott was involved in and one that was at the fast track and we need more things like that and it could be a good project for a community service and to involve the youth and involve anybody who wants to help bring the city into a better condition thank you thank you miss Lou I saw another hand up. Does anybody wish to step forward and speak before the council? That's once. Twice. Anybody? Mr. Colosi. Good evening. My name is Carlo Colosi. I live at 547 Slater Road. I wish to congratulate all of you that were victorious in the last election. I do see some new faces here on the council and obviously some returning faces. A couple of, I'm going to, Alderman McNamara said if any of you want to give us some advice, so let me do that, especially to the new ones. You know, caucus meetings are very, very important. You get a package. from the city in advance of the council meetings. I encourage all of you, all of you actually, and not only just the new council members, to read those packages, to go through the resolutions, to go through and see that you understand what is in there. If you have any questions, you want to ask those questions at your caucus meetings. If you want to direct leadership of your individual caucuses to please go out and talk to the department heads. so that you understand by the time you get to the council what it is that you're gonna be voting on. Please don't ever vote on something that you don't understand. This is a very important position that you're in. You are here to assist, and congratulations also Mayor Sanchez, you are here to assist the mayor and the running of our city. The people voted for you, they depend on you. You all have different platforms, some of them the same. I know what's important to me are keeping our taxes, as low as possible, reducing costs. I think that's very, very possible to do. But safe cities and safe streets. I also want to thank our police that are here tonight. I also want to thank the fire department that's here tonight for the work that they do to keep us all safe. But congratulations again. Please take your job seriously because it is very important. And the more questions you ask in advance, the less time you have to spend at a council meeting. I will tell you that some of us that just love to speak at council meetings, we're not here anymore on both sides of the aisle. So council meetings should be a little shorter. And I do want to point out that I think I counted seven or eight former aldermen that are here in the audience tonight. I don't think it was planned, but we're here. If you all need any advice, I think that's a good show of people that are here to help you out. Thank you again. Congratulations. best wishes for the new term. Thank you Mr. Calozzi. Anybody anybody else in the audience wish to address the council once twice three times. Anybody online. No callers online. So that concludes the public participation portion of the meeting. Seeing no further speakers we will close this at 7 19. And at this point in time for incumbent and new members this is an opportunity to briefly comment on what you've heard or shed some light on what somebody has said from public participation. Any members wish to address the council. I think President Santiago had his hand up first. My hand, my finger. All right. First meeting of the year. And I know everyone has a lot of expectations for us, and I'm hoping that as a group, 15 of us will make you happy, proud, because, again, we all had different platforms, correct? But I think we all came with the idea to serve the city. And I'm hoping that we all can work together as individuals that, you know, have the best interest for the city. And Nash, definitely. I was there to see you helping all those individuals that weren't unfortunate and couldn't get to have food. And I saw how passionate how you were with the people that was around the city. And I appreciate all the contributions you did during the course of the time that you were doing it. And trust me, you got an ear right here. You always had. I just don't go back and forth on Facebook. If you notice, I don't do that. So that's why I don't. play those games around there. If you want to talk one-on-one all day, you have my phone number. Everyone has my phone number because it's on the website. You can call me anytime, any place. I'll answer the phone because it goes directly to my cell phone. So that being said, also, Mr. Carlosi, I don't think it was planned. I just think it's a support. I think everyone here as a village wants this mayor to succeed like any other mayor that we had sitting in this seat. You want him to be there to serve for the city. and the betterment of the city. And I'm hoping that with the support of the 15 here, and it takes a village, as I always said, to help support this man, to make sure that he does the things for the support. And hold him accountable, like we all will. Hold him accountable for his wording and what he does, just like we did to the next mayor and the mayor before that and everything else. And I'm hoping that he keeps his word just like we would always do. Again, Mr. Bourne, you're talking about word. You're right. The word is integrity is about you keep it. You know what I mean? That being said, We'll have that conversation. If John don't I'm telling you right now we'll have the conversation. I can't promise you anything because I always said that don't promise that you can't but at least we'll have that conversation like any other conversation that I do I offer to everyone out here. Again first meeting give him a chance and also give this man a chance to have a good night. That was very nice of you Cisco. Any other members miss all the women. everybody welcome back and thank you so much for everybody for coming out today I love seeing so many people here this like really makes my day so thanks Jim Sanders for coming out and thank you for the lovely advice and the words and yes it's really important for us to be response take responsibility for our actions and Barbara thank you so much for coming out and for your and I wanted to say congratulations to you as well. And I hear what you're saying and I assure you that we'll look into your concerns. And John, thank you for coming and sharing your concerns and integrity is definitely important. And as you heard from our other aldermen, we will be having a conversation with you. And Kelly thanks for all the work that you have done here in this city and we appreciate you and I'm sorry for what has happened to you. And. Oh my goodness. Sorry Joanne. Thank you so much for coming. And I can't even read my own writing sometimes. Thank you for coming and the support that you have given to us and anything for the kids. Of course you know I'm a fan of that and let's talk more about the pathways. And Lisa thank you for coming out and the community cleanups are extremely important to me. Keeping our city clean is important and I think involving the youth is very important and that because we need to teach our kids how to keep things clean and safe as well. And thank you Carlo for coming and thank you for your advice and thank you. Yes of course keeping our city safe again. And lowering costs is like really important because everything is so expensive and everybody's struggling here in our city and I want to just say best wishes to the City of New Britain and congratulations to New Britain because you have a wonderful team here and a wonderful mayor and congratulations to you. Thank you. Peace and love. DIRECTOR DEWOLF. Thank you Alderman Scott. Any members wish to Alderman Centeno. This is new since the last time I was here. That happened to me two years ago. I just want to thank everybody for coming out again. This is my second time around. The first time around, I had hair, and it was dark. Now I don't have hair, and I'm all gray. But I just want to thank everybody and everybody's support. I want to tell the audience to spread the word. Two times a month, except for November and December, you get to come here if you have an issue and you want to express concerns about the city, about your neighborhood. So tell your neighbors, come on out. You don't have to come out every single, and that's your chance to kind of yell at us. So, and to keep us in check. But thank you again for your support. and for coming out. Thank you for everybody that spoke. And just be a little patient with us. But we're going to get the job done. I know we are. Thank you. Alderman Delaney. Do I have it? Okay. I too am new here and I appreciate all the good words. I won't. I'm sorry I won't name everybody's names or repeat what you said. I think we've had enough of that. But like my good friend said here, I do have hair. It is graying. But please be patient with us. I'm looking forward to it. I'm nervous. I'm excited. All of the above. But thank you for coming out. Thank you. Thank you all. Seeing no other hands raised, that concludes the Oh I'm sorry Alderwoman Ortiz Luna. I just want to thank everyone for coming out. This is my second time here despite what happened in the election. I'm happy we got the outcome that we worked hard for right. And thanks for former aldermen for being here. I I text Mike Thompson this morning about a question from Public Works so he is always on my on my speed dial. Jerrell, when I wasn't an elder woman, I always referred residents to him because people were still texting me, asking me for questions. Chief Marino, Chief Ortiz, they've been great. So thanks again for everyone being here. Barbara Marino, I am going to be a liaison to the Board of Ed. So I will be working with you. I'm excited for that. I know we're all adults here. And this is something I really want to stress just because I went through it a lot during the election. We should have respect for each other. We have each other's phone numbers. Pick up the phone and let's talk. None of the social media, Facebook, I've already seen comments about Democrats are going to fail. That's not what we want, right? Because if we fail, we all fail. We all fail in Britain. So I just hope we all have respect for each other. We have a lot of work to do and we're ready to work. Thank you. Thank you all the one. Seeing no other hands raised that concludes this portion of the meeting. I just conclude I want to thank Mr. Board for his remarks and for proposing Rule 14 which I have read thoroughly and I did make a commitment to speak to you. However, it really has to be vetted considering the existing rules include our business is conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, which addresses decorum extensively in Robert's Rules of Order. But we will have that conversation. There will be no resolution tonight to change the rules, but we will have an opportunity for both caucuses to look at your proposal. But thanks for speaking. Having said that, I want to thank everybody who spoke. And it is now 729, and our regular meeting will begin shortly. Thank you. Councilman, please go to your seats. Can everyone be seated please? Good evening. I call to order the November 19, 2025 regular meeting of the Common Council. And this time, and the time now is 7.41 p.m. Let me note this. Mr. Clerk, will you please call the roll? Alderpersons McNamara? Here. Smedley? Present. Sanchez? Vargas? Here. Simpson? Present. DeLurnia? Here. Barbosa? Maldonado. Here. Hargraves. Here. Gibson. Here. Scott. Here. Ortiz-Luna. Here. Malinowski. Here. Centeno. Here. Santiago. Present. Thirteen, President, Your Honor. Thirteen. Fourteen. Fourteen, President, Your Honor. Okay, Mr. Clerk, may we all rise for the invocation, which will be followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Let us pray. O God, our Heavenly Father, bless our newly elected mayor and common council members. Grant that the first meeting be the start of a new era of cooperation, mutual respect, and bipartisanship to better govern the city of New Britain. Provide them with the strength to work for the common good and bless them for their dedication to public service. Look down on all of our first term elected leaders and make them fast learners. We ask this in thy name. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Well, okay, in accordance to Section 2-21 of the City of New Britain Code of Ordinances, we will now begin the election of our leadership team positions. Item number one is the election of President Pro Tempore of the City of New Britain, Alderwoman Luz Ortiz Luna. Thank you your honor. I rise to nominate Alderman Francisco Santiago for the position of pro temp. Second. Second by Alderwoman Sanchez. Any discussion. Oh that's right. I forgot. Okay. Any discussion all those in favor signify by saying aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. Mr. Clerk please perform the swearing in ceremony. Okay, the second item is the announcement of our caucus leadership positions. I will start by calling on Alderman Santiago. Alderman Santiago- Thank you, Your Honor. For the Democratic Caucus has met and we have chosen Alderman John McNamara as Majority Leader, Alderman Wilma Barbosa as Assistant Majority Leader, and Alderman Luis Ortiz Luna as Assistant Majority Whip. And I urge you to opt. There's no vote necessary for this. Alderman Smedley for the Republican Caucus. Thank you, Mayor. The Republican Rudd Caucus has met and we've chosen myself as the Minority Leader and Alderman Matthew Malinowski as our Assistant Minority Leader. Thank you. Congratulations to you all. For the next item, Alderman Santiago will announce the appointment of the Clerk of Committees. Thank you, Your Honor. We have met and decided on Shane Livingston to be the clerk of committees. And Shane does get sworn in. Yes. Mr. Clerk? All in favor. Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot about that. Yes. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Those opposed, nay. Congratulations, Jane. Okay. We will now move on to the adoption of the standing rules of the Common Council. I call on Alderman Santiago. Alderman Santiago. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt the standing rules. May I have a second? Second. And I urge adoption. Alderman Smedley. Any questions or comments? Seeing none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. We will move on to the appointments of committee assignments. Alderman Santiago. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt the membership committee's assignments. Second. Alderman Simpson. And I urge adoption. Any questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Alderman Santiago, the Common Council liaison appointments. I feel like I went to Catholic Church. I make a motion to accept and adopt the council liaison assignments. Second. Second by Alderman Sanchez. And I urge adoption. Any questions or comments? Okay. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. That closes the official part of this agenda. Alderman Santiago for the minutes. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Thank you Your Honor. I make a motion to accept the meeting meeting minutes of the regular meeting of October 8th 2025 and October 22nd 2025. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Are there members that need to excuse themselves for this. DIRECTOR RIVERA- Excuse me Your Honor. DIRECTOR HERSEY- We have one two three four. Okay I don't think you have to leave your seat you just can't can't vote. Okay so any questions or comments seeing none all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. Alderman Santiago for any amendments. Thank you Your Honor. I make a motion to amend the agenda by adding item number eight. Second by Alderman Sanchez. Okay, Mr. Clerk, roll call. Alderpersons McNamara? Yes. Smedley? Yes. Sanchez? Yes. Vargas? Simpson? Yes. DeLurnia? Yes. Hargraves? Yes. Yep, Maldonado? Yes. Gibson? Yes. Scott? Yes. Ortiz-Luna? Yes. Malinowski. Yes. Centeno. Yes. Santiago. Yes. 14 in favor, Your Honor. Motion carried. Item is added. Mr. Clerk, any petitions? No petitions, Your Honor. Okay, there are no petitions. Alderman Santiago for the consent agenda. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept the consent agenda of item A and B. Seconded by Alderman Smedley. This is a roll call vote, Mr. Clerk. Alderpersons McNamara. Yes. Smedley. Yes. Sanchez. Yes. Vargas. Yes. Simpson. Yes. Delernia. Yes. Hargraves. Yes. Maldonado. Yes. Gibson. Yes. Scott. Yes. Connors. I apologize. Ortiz-Luna. Yes. Malinowski. Yes. Centeno. Yes. Santiago. Yes. 14 in favor your honor. Thank you. Motion carries. We will move on to the first item on the agenda. Alderwoman Vargas for item number one. To his honor and the Common Council of the City of New Britain. Sorry. I make a. Sorry hold on. I'm sorry. Like I said right Grace for the first time person. Thank you. I make a motion to accept and adopt an item number one. Second. Second by Alderwoman Luna. Thank you. To his honor and the Mayor to his honor the Mayor and Common Council of the City of New Britain I recommend the adoption of the following whereas the New Britain Common Council recognizes the month of November As a time traditionally set aside to celebrate Thanksgiving a holiday that encourages reflection gratitude and unity. And whereas Thanksgiving is a time to honor and remember those who came before us from the early early settlers to the native peoples whose histories and experiences have shaped the foundation of this nation or as the spirit of Thanksgiving reminds us of the importance of gratitude in our daily lives. Being thankful for our blessings fosters kindness, empathy, and generosity in our relationships and communities. And whereas in today's world, it is vital to remember that graciousness and gratitude not only improve personal well-being, but also help to build stronger communities and create more productive and respectful political discourse. And whereas respect and kindness towards others regardless of background or opinion are fundamental values that contribute to a more peaceful and inclusive society in both our personal interactions and in public service. The practice of these virtues is essential for common good. And whereas by cultivating an attitude of gratitude we shape our minds our thoughts and ultimately the outcomes we produce leading to more positive and meaningful contributions to our families workplaces and society at large. Now therefore be resolved that the Common Council of the City of New Britain hereby recognize November 20 20 November 27 2025 as Thanksgiving Day and the month of November as a time for gratitude and reflection and encourages all citizens to practice thankfulness kindness and respect in their daily lives for the betterment of themselves and their communities. And with this I urge adoption. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Thank you. Any questions or comments. Alderman Santiago. Thank you, Your Honor. I just need to make an amendment to the resolution just in the beginning for clerical error, where it says to her honor needs to be to his honor. Second. On the amendment, any questions or comments? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Now as amended any questions or comments for item number one. No. Okay. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Alderman Sanchez for item number two. Thank you Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt resolution number two. Thank you. This resolution is for the appointment of Richard Reyes to Board of Education to fill the vacancy. And it reads as follows. To his honor, the mayor and the common council of the city of New Britain, the owner signed back leave to recommend the adoption of the following. Whereas there is a vacancy of the Board of Education due to the resignation of Sal Escobar. And through you, your honor, I would like to read a little bit of Mr. Reyes' biography. Thank you. Mr. Reyes is a resident of New Britain since 1984. He he began teaching in Hartford then until 1997 when he became he became assistant principal and moved into New Britain public schools as assistant assistant principal of the Loretto and Smith schools. He moved to Roosevelt Middle School as principal. Mr. Reyes spent his career in New Britain for 16 years until retirement in 2015. Reyes is around here. He's sitting over there. And he also served the city as a system majority leader out of the man from 2017 to 2021. It's an honor for me to appoint him today. And it says we're as pursuant to the charter of the city on the brand 3-2F2. The Common Council is vested with the authority to fill the vacancy of a member of the Board of Education. Now therefore be it resolved the following individual be appointed to fill the vacancy on the Board of Education. And I urge adoption. Thank you. Any questions or comments? Alderman McNamara. Yeah I just rise in support of the appointment of Richard Reyes who's a long time educator I think in Hartford and in Britain. and has served this body as a leader in previous years and I think he brings experience and good judgment to a Board of Education to fill the vacancy. Thank you. Any other comments Alderman Scott. I just want to say congratulations and thank you so much for being here for our Board of Ed. Thank you. Any other questions or comments. All the men in Santiago. If you try to get away, you got them back. Congratulations, and I know you'll do well over there in the Board of Ed, and just keep the fight. Keep the kids in your heart like you always do, all right? Okay. Any other questions or comments? CNN. Oh, Alderman Luna. CONGRATULATION, MR. RIGES. THANK YOU FOR STEPPING IN AND TAKING THIS ROLE. WE NEED MORE PEOPLE LIKE YOU TO STEP IN, AND IT'S FOR THE KIDS, RIGHT? AND AGAIN, LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, I'M GOING TO BE A LIAISON, SO WE'LL BE WORKING TOGETHER. I'M EXCITED. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? OKAY, SEEING NONE, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, SAY AYE. AYE. ALL THOSE OPPOSED, SAY NAY. Motion carries. Mr. Clerk, I believe he needs to be sworn in. Congratulations. We did warn you. Alderman Scott for item item number 3. Thank you Mayor Sanchez. I make a motion to accept and adopt item number 3. Second. From January 1st, 2024 to December 31st, 2024, the New Britain Police Department has made 119 DUI arrests. The Connecticut Department of Transportation Division of Highway Safety has made available federal highway safety funds for overtime to support DUI law enforcement efforts from November 1st to September 6th, 2006. 26, sorry. And this is 100%, this is like a grant that we'll get and let it be resolved that Mayor Sanchez is authorized to execute all of this grant documents with the State of Connecticut DOT on behalf of City of New Britain for the FY2026 DUI Enforcement Program for Municipality Police Departments and of this grant money will be used to help make our streets safer, and I think this is really important to keep our streets safe, and I urge adoption of this. Any questions? Alderman Santiago. Thank you, Your Honor. There's another clerical amendment needs to be done for the beginning where it says to her honor would be to his honor. And second by Alderman Simpson. Okay. Any questions or comments on this amendment? Okay. Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Now, as amended, any questions or comments? Okay. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. Alderman McNamara for item number four. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt number four. Second. This resolution comes to the council every month or two to approve abatements, rebates and corrections from the revenue collector. A spreadsheet is attached to the resolution. This particular one has $44,168 in rebates for auto taxes and $23,476 in property tax corrections. I move adoption. Any questions or comments? Thank you, Your Honor. I called him in Santiago. Same thing again, clerical error on the beginning where it says to her, your honor, I'm going to make a motion to change to his honor. Second. Second by Roy. Second by Roy. Second. Any other, any questions or comments on the amendment? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All those opposed, nay. Motion carries. Now as amended, any questions or comments? Roy? No. Okay. Okay, seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All opposed say nay. Motion carries. Alderman Luna, Ortiz Luna for item number five. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt item number five. Second by Alderman Sanchez. This is to authorize the Public Works Department to retain the services of Martin Surveying Associations to perform land surveying services for the West Main Street improvement projects, state projects, or state project. The purchasing agent to issue a purchase order in the amount of $24,000. The funds are available through a grant that we received through the local transportation capital improvement program, and I urge adoption. Any questions or comments? Okay, seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. Alderman Centeno for item number six. Thank you, Your Honor. I rise to the resolution I make a motion to accept and adopt resolution number six. Second. Second by Alderman Luz Luna. And this resolution is in reference to the Stanley Loop Trail connections project. This will improve connections between the Stanley Loop Trail and neighborhoods along Eddie Glover Boulevard. The funding is provided by DEEP, Recreation Trails, which is 80% state funded for construction, leaving 20% match from the city public works. And I urge adoption. Any questions or comments on item number six? Seeing none, all those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed say nay. Motion carries. Alderman Simpson for item number seven. Thank you your honor I rise to make a motion to accept and adopt item number seven. Second. Second by Alderman Malinowski. Thank you. This resolution is coming from a FEMA grant awarded to the city in 2022. Basically the city was able to complete all of the projects outlined in that and we have over three hundred thousand dollars left over. So this expenditure would contract for a a multitude of training courses for our fire department under the assistance to fire assistance to firefighter grants and Irish adoption. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions on item number seven. Seeing none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Alderman Santiago for item number eight. Thank you, Your Honor. I make a motion to accept and adopt item number eight. This is a purchase order for allowing the New Berlin Parks and Community Service departments to, I know it's winter, but to order a ground mower. Right now there's a good deal on it, and they got there on the list, so they want to make sure they order it so this way we get the better price for it. If not, we would have to wait a couple of months, and it would be 50%. more so we're doing our due diligence, thank goodness for Public Works getting this deal in and I urge adoption. Any questions or comments on item number eight? I'm seeing none. All those in favor say aye. Aye. All those opposed nay. Motion carries. Points of special privilege Alderwoman Scott. Thank you Mayor Sanchez for allowing me to have this moment to share that this month is Native American Heritage Month. It's important to acknowledge that next Thursday is also Day of Mourning. It is a time to honor Native ancestors and the struggles to survive to stay survive. And I'm just going to read this little thing this little speech that I gave last on Saturday. This land is. This land is your land is a song that speaks to the land being your land from California to New York Island from the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters. This land was made for you and me. Yes you and me. This that's what this time is to celebrate. Those who lived in solidarity with this land those who nurtured well nurtured them. Those whose DNA is embedded in the names of the rivers and the streams and the states and the towns and the schools to this day, the endless skyways and the golden valleys the song speaks to have been inspiration, the reflection of our ancestors due to their great stewardship of all of these resources. able to celebrate the contributions and the history. It wasn't just the tears on the trail, but the great spirits that also went and stayed with us always will. Every time, like Connecticut, Quinnipiac, you hear those words spoken, and it's written or written our ancestors are named and remembered. So let's celebrate them and remember them every day and always. Thank you so much. Peace and love. Thank you Your Honor. I just want to remind the Puerto Rican community today is celebrating the discovery of the island of Puerto Rico. which happened long long time ago November 19, 1493. So today Puerto Rico is 532 years old. So I just want to put this out there and thank you your honor. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Thank you all the women Sanchez. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Motion to adjourn. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Second by who. Everyone. DIRECTOR HERSEY- Everyone. Okay. All those in favor say say aye. Nay. Motion carries. Meeting is adjourned at 8.09 p.m. Thank you.