Following approval by the Contracts Committee and then a public hearing the full City Council Monday night at Geraldine Johnson School will take up New York-based Exact Capitol’s $410 million proposal to resurrect two shuttered Downtown theaters as well as building more than 800 housing units occupying nearby streets including two residential towers to become the tallest buildings in the central business district. See agenda here.
The agenda item is grouped under the consent calendar “Contracts Committee Report re: (Ref. #88-16) Resolution Authorizing a Land Development Agreement (“LDA”) for the Downtown Theatre Buildings and Adjacent Vacant Properties” but will likely be pulled out for discussion.
During the public hearing, attended by more than 100, speakers urged the council to adopt a Project Labor Agreement similar to other city projects such as Bass Prop Shops on the East Side. A PLA was not part of the LDA with the developer.
Thank you. Weird thing is that I looked at CC and did not see the theater LDA and did not see it!!!
Looked at CC Agenda****
It’s listed under consent calendar.
I looked at it last night and I just did not see it.
Let’s understand this, placing something is one of the MOST DANGEROUS things a mayor can do
Under parliamentary rules governing City Council meetings, Consent Calendar items are reserved for items that are deemed to be non-controversial. They allow a City Council to save the bulk of it’s meeting time for issues in which there is a need for a serious public debate.
under the consent calendar
Let’s understand this, placing “under the consent calendar” is one of the MOST DANGEROUS things a mayor can do
Under parliamentary rules governing City Council meetings, Consent Calendar items are reserved for items that are deemed to be non-controversial. They allow a City Council to save the bulk of it’s meeting time for issues in which there is a need for a serious public debate.
This is the coward’s way of approving it.
Unanimous consent and that way no one has to say anything.
Back in the day, even if i was supporting something as controversial as this i would move to have it removed from the consent calendar.
At least put fellow council members on notice that they will not shove this under the rug.
PLA is a must for a deal like this.
Troll, all they need is one council member to move it off consent calendar?
Those were the old rules. Even in a committee meeting and I was not on the committee, I would ask that it not be put on the consent calendar because I will move to remove it and most times the chairperson would oblige.
Like I said it is a coward’s way of dealing with controversy.
In the last two years,I have RARELY seen one CC member move anything off the consent calendar. Ganim pushes the CC meetings at lightning speed and just get it over with. Yes,there are Robert’s Rules but CC meetings are virtually worthless for anyone who wants to go to a CC meeting and hear any discussion of issues facing the city. More time is spent on pre-council meeting honorariums,feel-good stuff.A lot of prayers are included.( i believe in prayer. I do it in private).And then the “official CC meeting moves at warp speed. And then there is one of my pet peeves. No public speaking at sub-committee meetings(that has to go).
Any one considering running for council president should move to remove this from the consent calendar.
Or else you can assume that they will be a bucket boy for the mayor.
Or bucket girl as the case may be.
Glennn Marshall, Jim Lohr, et all
Looks like you will have to rally the troops again because Joe Ganim did not hear you or he doesn’t believe the Building Trades unions are significant enough to be bother with.
This meeting is also at the Geraldine Johnson school. Come on down. The more the merrier.
See your City Council in action or inaction what ever the case may be.
Might help you decide which way to vote in November.
This contract will create many many jobs… For the friends of Mario Testa’s friends.
This project is frivolous and inappropriate for the city’s development needs/objectives and will never receive enough financing to move off of the drawing board. And the city will wind up buying the land back from the “developers” after the smoke clears (and that could be real smoke…) — just like with the D’Addario family and the Hi Ho Mall land-deal scheme in the 90’s…
If it looks too good to be true — somebody investing $400 million in a
Bridgeport (CT) ” entertainment project in 2017 — then it isn’t true… More fantasy-bs propaganda… No matter how the CC votes, it’s for a fantasy project and therefore mute… Just for show…
The Exact Capital deal is done. Ganim will ramrod it through the City Council. He’ll get away with it because there are no rams among the sheep.
This will create many jobs for the trade unions that endorsed a convicted felon for mayor.
Jeff
It’s like kind of reminds me of our history of tying up property
Meanwhile, buildings decay
What’s at stake here, Jeff, is more than a lot of other deals. It is the Jewel of Bridgeport these guys are dealing with