The Coalition to Strengthen the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood, Inc

12/17/2024

Stewardship Permit submitted by C**t Gateway for C**tsville Historical Park

Before the process of clearing the property title for the former forge and foundry , C**t Gateway is required to develop, and file Environmental Land Use Restrictions (ELURs) and a Stewardship Permit with the state of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Program (CT DEEP). In addition, an Environmental Exhibit to the deeds is in development by the DOI/NPS and C**t Gateway. The exhibit explains the parties ongoing responsibilities for various environmental obligations. This meeting occurred on Tuesday, December 10th . CT DEEP held a virtual public meeting sharing the draft Stewardship Permit submitted by C**t Gateway, LLC, as the property owner of the former C**t Manufacturing site. This is a required component of the public comment period which will close on December 30, 2024. The property encompasses the two brick and brownstone buildings (the former forge and foundry) that will be donated to the National Park Service. Acquisition of these buildings will fulfill the final legislative requirement for formal establishment of C**tsville National Historical Park.

Other work happening in C**tsville this past year includes the work being done to stabilize and restore the Sam C**t Monument in C**t Park. The NPS was able to contribute $89,000 to the City to support this effort. Currently the granite steps and base have all been cleaned, stabilized, and repointed. The bronze work is scheduled for the spring of 2025 and the city is exploring options to replace the broken crest.

NPS is continuing work with Professor Leah Glaser from CCSU. She is conducting an Historic Resource Study of the historic district, and NPS has been able to fund some internships for public history students to assist with the research. They are discovering some rich stories of workers and life in C**tsville that will provide a wonderful basis for interpretation of the site. A new Interpretation & Education Program Manager, Alan Amelinckx for C**tsville and Springfield Armory has been hired. They continue to learn from our partnership with the Center for the Study of Guns & Society at Wesleyan University.

Future work is being managed by Andrew Long, who has worked closely with the City on projects such as the C**t monument and the architectural assessment of the Gardner’s Cottage and Carriage House. And he is working with NPS Architectural Services branch to tee up plans for stabilization of the brownstones as soon as the park is established.

The Stewardship Permit will authorize on-going corrective actions including environmental investigation and remediation as needed. As applicable, post-closure care and maintenance as well as long-term environmental monitoring must be conducted to ensure completed corrective actions remain effective into the future. The proposed activity is not expected to adversely affect any natural resources or human health. Environmental Land Use Restrictions and Engineered Controls are being used as remedial actions to achieve compliance for petroleum, solvent, and/or metals contaminated soils (due to historical releases and/or historically placed urban fill materials) remaining at the site.)

To review the draft permit and access the fact sheet, go to https://tinyurl.com/3p4yc35p.
The Commissioner will not make a final decision regarding this proposed permit until the public comment period has closed and all received comments have been evaluated and addressed. All interested persons are invited to express their views on the tentative determination concerning this draft permit. Written comments on the draft permit and/or remedial actions must be submitted no later than December 30, 2024. Written comments should be directed to:Ryan Mowrey, Environmental Analyst :By email to: [email protected] with a copy to [email protected] or if email is not possible, by US Postal Service mail to:

Ryan Mowrey, Environmental Analyst
Remediation Division Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse, 2nd Floor
CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
79 Elm Street
Hartford CT 06106-5127

10/27/2024

Stop by C**t to see the new mural. It is on the concession stand in the parking lot facing the new futsal courts.

10/10/2024

10/10/2024

The Charter Oak Monument Restoration is now complete. Go check it out! Bernadine Silvers

08/03/2024

The following is an excerpt of the introductory section of the commissioner booklet. “By ordinance the Commission shall consist of 21 members…. The Commission presently has estab-lished it will meet 10 times a year. The meetings take place on the last Tuesday of each month, starting at 6 p.m. Meetings are usually locat-ed at City Hall, 550 Main Street.…Meetings are conducted in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, with the order of business at meetings using standard proce-dures: call to order, accepting or amending the minutes of the last meeting, report from committees, communications and petitions, old business, new business, public portion, and adjournment. This is a state mandate of all commissions. The agenda is flexible to ensure last-minute important items can be discussed, even though not on the agenda. General meetings must be open to the public: subcommittee meetings can also be open for citizen participation. The initial responsibility of the Advisory Commission members is to the citizens of the city of Hartford. They must always consider whether views expressed are from a fringe, or whether expressions are a serious manifestation of needs and desires of neighborhoods or city-wide groups, and then they must translate these inputs into actions and answers.”But what does this really look like? Currently, we have 10 commissioners, most of which represent a park. We desperately need at-large members who are interested in all of, or maybe a couple of the city’s parks or the city’s recreational programming. The agenda includes discussion and advisories to the mayor’s office and City Council about items on its agenda, mayoral plans, and items of interest on the Planning and Zoning agendas and the Tree Advisory Commission. We provide feedback on the park maintenance division’s monthly report and any issues or problems brought forward by a friends’ group or residents. We provide feedback on the city’s monthly recreation report as well as resident feedback. PRAC meets every 3-4 years to prioritize issues to work on. Our current issues are recruitment of new commissioners and review of equity of park amenities and recreational services. Over the pandemic and due to changes in employment, we have lost 5 commissioners. Former recruitment methods that included announcements or fairs, haven’t been successful. So, each commissioner is reaching out within their own network to find people who we know care deeply about the parks and recreational programming. We do have a flyer which will go out via social media, local print news, local radio, and will be displayed in the recreation centers and city hall. If you are approached, please take a minute or two to consider joining the commission. You will make new friends and help the city address the needs of the community. The second issue PRAC is working on is equity of park amenities and recreational services across the city. Equity can be measured in many ways. The number of hours park maintenance workers are in each park, how much funding is allocated to each park or geographic area of the city, the same access to amenities geographically, equal access to recreational programming geographically. 85-90% of our residents have access to a park within a 10-minute walk of their home. But the recreational programming has been primarily reduced to two recreation centers, Parker and Arroyo. Wille Ware does offer some programming, but Blue Hills has been clamoring for their recreation center to be reopened, the same is true of Metzner on Franklin Avenue and at the Rocky Ridge structure on Zion Street. We will be reviewing the CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) park funding and the Park Trust Fund expenditures in upcoming meetings as well as reviewing the amenities in each of the parks. You can access the PRAC agendas and minutes via https://hart-ford.civicweb.net/portal. You can choose when to attend the meetings by topics you’re interested in. Please consider joining us to share your thoughts and weigh in on these important community issues.

07/12/2024

Park Party Planner

Are you considering holding an event in one of Hartford’s Parks?

The City of Hartford’s Special Events Taskforce can help you get organized.

BY DONNA SWARR



It could be a baby shower, birthday party, family reunion, there are so many options! Many times, people assume that they can just go and claim enough picnic tables, or that the area will be free. The city requires those planning events to register if the number of people is greater than 100, and if it’s close to that, you’ll want to consider it. Why? Some areas are popular locations in our parks, and you can reduce your stress by getting a permit to “hold your spot”. There has been a dramatic increase in events this year, much more than pre-pandemic. You don’t want to be disappointed when someone else has pulled a permit and you have to figure out a new location the day of your event. Some people think that a loudspeaker permit is sufficient/ It is not and will not hold the space. Many times, an event has some fun stuff planned, for instance a bouncy house, music, a food truck, ice cream truck, or tents. These require permits. By requesting a “Special Events” permit, they will help you organize your event and provide you with where and how to get them as well as some other useful information. They can recommend where to ask your guests to park or when the park opens and closes. But most of all, they can help you find the best place in the park to hold the event. They know how many tables are available in each area, they know if there is electricity, where the water fountains are located as well as the other amenities available in the park.



How do you get a permit? There is a form on the Development Services website, https://tinyurl.com/bdfk9jct. Don’t worry too much about filling out all of it, as you may want to ask questions before answering. They will ask for a map of the area, where you plan to put things, what you plan on having, such as a bouncy house. The form is a great guide for event planning. Filling it out can be a bit overwhelming, but you will need to have the answers to these questions if you’re organizing an event. Once you feel you have answered the questions , maybe a few you want to clarify, submit it. You will get an email or a phone call to set up an appointment to meet with the Special Events Taskforce. You can ask questions when they call or email or at the meeting.



Our parks are a great place to hold a party. It’s one of the ways parks are intended to be used. Many have shaded picnic areas, pools, and basketball courts. The Special Events Taskforce is there to help you comply with city regulations and plan a successful event.

07/09/2024

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/hL1y2GxUfjTwMGTa/?mibextid=WC7FNe

06/26/2024

C**t Park Foundation
This funding will help enhance Hartford’s C**t Park with an expanded area for music performances, as well as a new domino table and picnic tables. Additional new amenities include two benches at the south side of the internal walkway to ensure there are sufficient rest areas along the park’s 1-mile loop.

https://states.aarp.org/connecticut/nine-recipients-part-of-aarp-connecticuts-sixth-livable-communities-grant-program

06/26/2024

Update on new MLK housing complex

Linda Nelson was relocated from her rental in the Martin Luther King Apartments more than a year ago but the passing of time hasn’t changed her mind about returning once the 1960s-era complex is redeveloped.

06/24/2024

This handy-dandy guide answers A LOT of questions - which you will find very useful. Click here - https://hartford.us6.list-manage.com/track/click?u=39b7e14d2208c353c1942a363&id=2a6f6ad121&e=ffedb8c40f