Council approves $2 million for police equipment, inches closer to revolving loan fund for local businesses

Posted By: David Fortier November 15, 2023

By David Fortier

The newly elected council and mayor, each of whom is in their second term having won their seats back after this year’s municipal election on Nov. 7, in its first meeting approved a contract of over $2 million for police equipment, listened to legal counsel for a cannabis establishment make a plea for a retail shop of its own here in Bristol and referred a revolving loan fund program for local businesses to Corporation Counsel for review.

In addition, the council discussed with Public Works its new hours that begin on Monday, Nov. 20, for instance extending the workday on Tuesday until 5:30 p.m., with other offices to follow. And the council approved the commissioning of a letter from the mayor to the state alerting them that the city will comply with state zoning regulations early in 2024.

“This is locking this price in now, combining our contracts and getting us solidified for the next five years, that’s it in a nutshell,” said Police Chief Brian Gould in addressing the $2,746,562.59 contract with Axon Enterprises Inc., a provider of equipment from camera recording systems to dashcams and body cameras.

With the different unfunded mandates from the state coming over the past years, the police dept. has signed three contracts for equipment, Gould said. Under the new agreement, which will begin the next fiscal year so it will not affect this year’s budget, the police dept. will combine these contracts and possibly save the city as much as $900,000.

“I do think that’s probably a high estimate,” Gould said about the savings, “but even if you cut that in half, and then bring it down even lower, we’re going to be saving a significant amount of money in the end.”

The contract covers, specifically, a camera recording system for interview rooms, 130 body cameras, 110 tasers and 35 dash cameras. It begins with the 2025 fiscal year and runs for five years. The agreement covers equipment upgrades as well.

“In the past, we had different platforms and that was not good for us,” Gould said. “This is all now talking to one system.”

Meaghan Miles, a land use attorney and partner with Carmody, Torrance, Sandak and Hennessey in New Haven, made the case during public participation for Curaleaf, an American-based cannabis company with locations in 18 states across the country, to come to Bristol.

Curaleaf has four locations in Connecticut, including Hartford, Groton, Stamford and Manchester.

“Curaleaf really wants to come to Bristol,” Miles said. “You have one more license available for a hybrid retailer and Curaleaf really wants that license for the final one. They specifically want to relocate their Hertford store to Bristol, so close down Hartford and reopen in Bristol.”

The location for the Bristol Curaleaf store would be the former BlockBuster Video store on Farmington Ave. Much of the preparation work has already been completed, but city and state regulations need to be addressed.

The transfer from Hartford, Miles said, might simply require an address change. However, hurdles exist that would require the city to initiate this process and that might also include a modification of its current ordinance.

“You have only two licenses,” she said in reference to Bristol’s cannabis ordinance. “You want to make sure that you give one to an operator that actually opens in Bristol and operates a quality facility.”

Miles had with her a team from her law firm and offered to answer any questions, but the council did not take her up on her offer.

The council did vote to send the matter to the ordinance committee for further review. The city did not act on Miles’s request for a letter to the state on its behalf, initiating local approval.

Later in the meeting, an application from a cannabis product packaging facility business to establish itself in Bristol was tabled until more paperwork is filed. Bud’s Goods of CT would be located on Cross Street.

A proposal for a revolving loan fund program for local businesses was referred to Corporation Counsel for further review and to authorize the mayor to execute any documents to put the contract in place.

“This is the first step in getting started on a new program, hopefully better, for businesses and a more responsible way to use city funds for incentives,” said Economic and Community Development director Justin Malley.

The program will provide loans to new and established businesses. If a business pays back 50 percent of the loan’s principal the remainder is forgiven, Malley said, unless the business defaults and then a clawback provision would be enforced.

In other business, the council discussed with Public Works its new schedule, which shuffles work hours to accommodate the public. The hours will be Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The mayor said more offices will be following suit.

The council approved a motion to accept the resignations of the remaining members of the Mayor’s HIV Task Force and to send a letter of thanks and appreciation from the city to members for their service.

Also, the council authorized the mayor to send a letter to the State of Connecticut Office of Policy Management’s governmental policy and planning division notifying the office that the City of Bristol is not presently in compliance with state law and that the city will bring its zoning regulations into compliance no later than Feb. 15, 2024.

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