By Jack Krampitz
The City Council will hold their monthly meeting tonight following a public hearing on the sale of parcels on Centre Square to Wheeler Clinic and Carrier Corporation.
The hearing is required by state statute and is the final step before the City Council votes to complete the transactions for both sales at its meeting immediately after the public hearing.
Details on the city calendar’s event listing set aside five minutes for the hearing.
The agenda for the hearing reads as follows:
- Public Participation regarding the sale of Parcel 4 Centre Square to Wheeler Health or their nominee and/or their assigns.
- Public Participation regarding the sale of Parcels 5, 6, 7, and 8 Centre Square to Carrier Construction Inc. or their nominee and/or their assigns.
The Wheeler sale was subject to a long public debate earlier, and one in which the council originally voted down the sale, before approving it, after public outcry, on a different parcel.
At the regular City Council meeting, items of interest include an agreement for the city to partner with the Bristol Rotary Club to continue the operation of the Farmer’s Market this summer.
In addition, the City Council will vote on a resolution creating a cultural district, “The Bristol Cultural District,” in the downtown area of the city which will encourage a public-private partnership fostering the arts. The City Arts and Culture Commission will oversee the new partnership.
The district is comprised of portions of the following streets: Maple, Center, Main, School; Riverside Avenue and Memorial Boulevard.
There also is an item to approve an annual wage increase from $12,015 to $25,000 for the Emergency Management Director effective July 1.
The Joint Board meeting, comprised of the Board of Finance and the City Council which meets from 6:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. prior to both the public hearing on the Centre Square property sales and the City Council, will include a monthly report from the comptroller, detailing revenues from taxes collected through April 1.
According to the report, current tax revenue collections totaled $153 million or 99.6% of the budget. Click here for a copy of the report.