Regular Meeting of Wilmington City Council

Thursday, April 17, 2014 at 6:30 p.m.

Council Chambers
Louis L. Redding City/County Building
800 North French Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801

AGENDA

  1. Call to Order
    Invocation
    Pledge of Allegiance
    Roll Call
  2. Approval of Minutes
  3. Acceptance of Treasurer's Report

4. Non-legislative Business

M. Brown Sympathy Frances Unthank
M. Brown Commend Little League Baseball and the Wilmington Little League
M. Brown Sympathy Carrie M. Cale
Cabrera Recognize LACC for the Annual Hispanic Student Recognition Program
Freel Sympathy Bridin Clare Reynolds
Gregory Sympathy John Willie Gardner
Walsh Congratulate the Latin American Community Center's Early Childhood Assistance Program STARS Level 5

5. Legislative Business

Samuel Prado: 5th District

Agenda #3918
Resolution
Pending		 Supporting Delaware Housing Coalition and the National Low Income Housing Coalition Opposing the Budget Request by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to Include a New Minimum Rent Policy for the Program’s Lowest Income Households
Synopsis This Resolution is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be supporting opposition by local and national housing coalitions to an Obama Administration budget proposal within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that would impose as new minimum monthly rent of $50.00 for the program’s lowest income households—those households earning less than $2,000 per year. Opposition by the housing coalitions to the new mandatory $50.00 monthly rent proposal is based on statistics that indicate that the USDA’s housing assistance program helps rural poor families that are 60% elderly and 48% persons with disabilities. The housing coalition groups say the imposition of a new mandatory monthly rent could have the effect of causing these individual to become homeless.

Robert A. Williams: 7th District

Agenda #3919
Ordinance
1st & 2nd Reading		 Amend Chapter 11 of the City Code Regarding Noise Control and Abatement
Synopsis This Ordinance is being presented by City Council for Council’s review and approval. If approved, the Ordinance would be authorizing new language to the City’s existing noise control and abatement law to prohibit excessive noise coming from within a dwelling. Specifically, the new language would prohibit citizens from yelling, shouting, hooting, whistling or otherwise making or generating any loud or raucous sound within a dwelling or structure that is plainly audible across real property, through common property partitions, or audible at a distance of 50 feet or more from the property boundary. The revision to the law would apply if any loud or raucous sound unreasonably annoys or disturbs persons of normal sensitivities who live or are located on adjacent parcels or in adjacent dwelling units.

Charles M. "Bud" Freel: 8th District

Agenda #3920
Ordinance
1st & 2nd Reading		 Constituting Amendment No. 3 to the Fiscal Year 2014 Operating Budget (Being an Ordinance to Amend Substitute No. 1 to Ordinance No. 13-013, As Amended), the Ordinance Adopting the Annual Operating Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning on July 1, 2013 and Ending on June 30, 2014
Synopsis This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration and City Council for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be authorizing a $1.75 million amendment to the City’s current FY 2014 Operating Budget. The Administration is requesting an additional $1.27 million in funding from the City’s Unassigned Fund Balance to support unanticipated costs associated with staffing and materials for winter snow-related services. Those expenses include an additional $250,000 for the Department of Public Works; $819,000 for police officer overtime pay; $155,000 for firefighter overtime pay; and $47,000 for the Department of Parks and Recreation. City Council is requesting access to $487,000 from the existing Cable Television Fund (CATV) for a variety of projects related to the government television station (WITN, Channel 22) including renovation of the Council Committee Room, upgrades to equipment in the TV studio and TV control room, upgrades to the TV lighting system in the Council Chamber, installation of Wi-Fi in the Council Chamber and other operational and capital needs that may arise related to upgrades of equipment and the production of government-related programming for City residents.
Agenda #3921
Ordinance
1st & 2nd Reading		 Enact Certain Traffic/Parking Regulations
Synopsis This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration and City Council for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be authorizing the Department of Public Works to make changes in traffic and parking regulations affecting certain streets in the City. Streets affected include potions of the following roadways: North Dupont, Cedar, North Shipley, West 17th, West 9th and West 4th. A complete list of the proposed traffic and parking regulation changes is available by accessing the Ordinance at www.WilmingtonDE.gov/government/ccagenda.
Agenda #3922
Ordinance
1st & 2nd Reading		 Amend Chapter 44 of the City Code in Order to Extend the
City’s Tax Abatement and Exemption Programs to June 30, 2018
Synopsis This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration and City Council for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be extending a series of tax abatement and exemption programs currently offered by the City that are due to expire on June 30, 2014. This legislation would extend until June 30, 2018 the 20-year abatement of real estate taxes for off-street parking facilities and the 5-year or 10-year tax abatement program for historic district properties and national historic register properties.
  1. Petitions and Communications
  2. Adjournment