Agenda for Regular Meeting

Synopsis: This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be authorizing a one-year extension of the City’s current contract with Brandywine Construction Company for maintenance of the City’s water distribution system with the possibility of another one-year extension of the contract at the option of the City. The annual amount of the contract is $2.5 million. There is no increase in the overall cost of the proposed contract extension versus the current contract that is in place with the same company.

Synopsis: This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be authorizing a one-year extension of the City’s current contract with Brandywine Construction Company for sewer infrastructure maintenance and construction with the possibility of another one-year extension of the contract at the option of the City. The annual amount of the contract is $988,600. There is no increase in the overall cost of the proposed contract extension versus the current contract that is in place with the same company.

Synopsis: Approval of this Resolution by City Council would allow the City to acquire this property from INF at no cost to the City for use as a lead-free relocation home for children and families whose homes are undergoing remediation to remove lead-based paint. The City previously spent over $100,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization funds to renovate the property, but INF has not been able to sell the property at an acceptable price in the current sluggish real estate market. Real Estate and Housing would instead like to use the property to temporarily house DELead client families and then re-visit the sale of the property when the housing market improves.

Adopted: Approval of this Resolution by City Council would authorize the City to allocate $3,348,520 in Federal dollars to support various community-based programs. These include $1,914,703 allotted for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), $416,976 for the HOME Improvement Program (HOME), $182,996 for Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) and $575,240 for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA). The determination as to how these funds would be distributed throughout the community was made earlier this year by a committee comprised of Administration officials, City Council officials and community members.

Synopsis: Approval of this Resolution by City Council would allow the City Planning Department to apply to the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs for a $17,272 grant. The grant supports the annual salary of the Historic Preservation Planner position within the Planning Department. The remainder of the salary for this position is funded by the Departments of Planning ($29,961) and Real Estate and Housing ($9,672). The historic preservation planner provides technical assistance to City departments and constituents on historic preservation issues and opportunities in the City; conducts federal project reviews for the City in accordance with the requirements of the National Historic Preservation Act; provides guidance on historic preservation tax incentive programs; conducts architectural surveys and develops (or helps constituents to develop) new National Register of Historic Places nominations; and represents the City in statewide historic preservation projects, issues and opportunities. The position performs Section 106 reviews of HUD DELead projects, provides administrative support to the Underground Railroad Coalition of Delaware and facilitates quarterly meetings of the Wilmington Preservation Roundtable.

Synopsis: This Ordinance is being presented by the Administration for Council’s review and approval. If approved, Council would be authorizing an update to the City’s Building, Mechanical and Plumbing Code which is administered and enforced by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. The Ordinance would delete international code references dating back to 2003 and would substitute updated code references adopted by the International Code Council in 2012. The updated Code establishes provisions applicable to construction, alteration, removal, demolition, use and occupancy and location and maintenance of buildings and structures. The new Code references would cover items such as, but not limited to, requirements for smoke alarms, fire sprinkler systems, carbon monoxide detectors, energy efficiency standards, stair treads and risers, roof flashing locations, duct joints, seams and connections, dryer exhaust ducts, etc.