[Fred Dello Russo]: please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello. Present. Councilor Falco. Present. Councilor Knight. Present. Vice President Lama Kern. Councilor Marks. Present. Councilor Scarpelli. Present. Councilor DelaRosso.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present. With four members present and three temporarily absent, please rise and join us in the saluting of the flag. Aye.
[Unidentified]: Aye.
[Fred Dello Russo]: 16-738 and 16-739 public hearing. A public hearing will be held by the Medford City Council in the Howard F. Alden Memorial Auditorium, Medford City Hall, 85 George P. Hassett Drive, Medford, Mass., on Tuesday evening, November 15, 2016, at 7 p.m., on a petition by Dom's Motor Service for a special permit pursuant to chapter 94 zoning ordinances of the city of Medford, section 94-148, use number 37, to operate an automotive repair establishment at 83 Mystic Avenue, Medford, Mass, said site being located in a C2 zoning district. At the same meeting, Dom's Motor Service will be petitioning for a class four automotive repair license at 83 Mystic Avenue, Medford, Mass. petition and plans may be seen in the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Medford Mass. Further information and any aid or accommodations, contact the City Clerk's office, ordered by the City Council, Edward P. Finn, City Clerk, advertised in Medford Daily Mercury on November 1st and November 8th. And a public hearing is a very simple process. It's divided into two parts. One part for those in favor of the petition, one part for those in opposition. And in the public hearing process, all we want to do is hear if you are opposed or in favor. And so as we call you forward and you wish to express your opinion of being either in favor or being in opposition, you do so at that proper time. And then after the public hearing portion is closed, then we have discussion on the matter. So I declare the public hearing opened and open it up to those in favor of the petition. Anybody in favor of presenting yourself to the podium and state so. Also, Mr. Clerk, while we're in this moment of quiet, please mark present the Vice President, Councilors Falco and Scarpelli. Hi, sir, please state your name and address for the record.
[SPEAKER_00]: Good evening, Keith Pemberton, 18 Cheever Road, Malden, Mass.
[Fred Dello Russo]: You are in favor of this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes, sir.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much. Anybody else in favor? Anybody else in favor? Hearing and seeing none, I declare that portion of the meeting closed. Anybody in opposition? Anybody in opposition? Hearing and seeing none, I declare that portion of the meeting closed and ask Councilor Caraviello, Chairman of the Licensing Committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, I read this as they're just moving from one location to another location. Am I correct? Yes. Yes. So I find the papers in order and motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And the chairman of the zoning committee, do you have anything to add to this councilor?
[SPEAKER_05]: Mr. President, I think councilor Caraviello gave us a great synopsis and I too would be supporting this paper and would second his motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Councilor Caraviello, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion granted. Second portion, second public hearing. Public hearing will be held in the Howard F. Alden Memorial Chambers, City Hall, Medford, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening, November 15th, 2016 at 7 p.m. on a petition by Dom's Motor Service to operate an automotive repair shop Class 4 license at 83 Mystic Avenue, Medford, Massachusetts. Petition and plans may be seen in the office of the City Clerk, City Hall, Medford, Mass. For further information and any aid or accommodations, contact the City Clerk at 781-393-2425. The City of Medford is a EEOAA 504 employer. By order of the City Council, Edward P. Finn, City Clerk. This too was advertised in the Medford Daily Mercury. November 8, 2016. All papers are on file. I declare this public hearing open. Anybody in favor, please present yourself to the podium. All those in favor. Welcome.
[SPEAKER_00]: Please state your name and address for the record. Keith Pemberton, 18 Cheever Road, Malden, Mass. Welcome. And you are in favor? Yes, sir.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Anybody else in favor? All those in favor? Hearing and seeing none, I declare that portion of the public hearing closed. All those in opposition, anybody in opposition to this petition, present yourself to the podium so you may be heard. Hearing and seeing none, we declare that portion of the public hearing closed. And again, call upon the Chairman of the Licensing Committee, uh, Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President again, um, This is a simple move, they're just moving from one location to the other on the same street. I find the papers in order, motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Councilor Caraviello, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you for staying and keeping your business in Medford. You run a classy operation. motions, orders, and resolutions offered by Councilor Marks being resolved at the mass port community advisory committee CAC be discussed. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Um, I was 16, seven 48. I apologize.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you. I offer this a resolution tonight as many members of this council have brought up, uh, before me, uh, concerns regarding, uh, increased, um, airplane, traffic over the community. And this has been an issue for many, many years. Uh, one in which, uh, the council has requested representatives from Massport to appear before the council, which has yet to happen. Uh, the council has requested that, uh, the noise monitors that are located throughout, uh, 30 communities that, uh, directly, um, in the path of Logan airport, um, uh, that the monitors be, uh, relooked at in the community and maybe replaced in different locations. Um, that has yet to happen, Mr. President. And we've asked, at least I've put on three separate occasions that the appointment to the, uh, Logan airport community advisory committee, which is known as CAC, C A C, um, that our representative from the city of method that's appointed by the mayor, appear before the Medford city council and give us an update on what is happening. And I think I put one on originally, it was about four or five years back. Uh, we never got a response from the representative at the time that the mayor appointed recently. Uh, I think it was two years ago. I asked again, I know council Lungo, uh, current has asked, um, uh, for representative to appear before, uh, this council, uh, to give not only the council, but the residents of this community, an update on what is happening. As we all know, there's been some work done to the runways at Logan Airport. And in particular, runway 15 and 33 has a major impact on this community. And we're experiencing it right now. We're hearing from residents. And those that are not familiar, the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee which I refer to as CAC, represents over 30 communities, cities and towns within the greater Boston area. CAC worked jointly with the FFA, I'm sorry, FAA and Massport to develop the scope of work for the noise study and will identify and evaluate potential runway use measures. CAC represents those communities which have authorized representatives in which are or may be affected by airport-related aircraft noise. The primary role of CAC involvement during the study is to provide the FAA and Massport with input on aircraft noise issues related to the airport, particularly as it relates to the identification of potential noise abatement measures. It also is a mission to provide input on suggested criteria to be used in evaluating and comparing those measures, and also recommend to Massport those measures that might be recommended to the FAA for implementation. So this is a very important body that was created by the state legislature. to act on behalf of local cities and towns that may otherwise not have a voice. And I can tell you firsthand that in this community, even though we're not direct abutters to Logan Airport like Winthrop and Revere and East Boston, we're experiencing the same, in my opinion, the same air traffic and noise over our community and much more frequent. Now, that's not just me saying it. If you go onto the Logan Airport Massport site, they have a list of complaints, and it's quite easy. It's a PDF file. You click on it, and it lists all the communities, and it does it year by year, the number of complaints filed for each community. And I took it back to 2014, and there were 81 in 2014 communities that someone from that community filed a complaint with Massport about the noise of the aircraft. I found it ironic, Mr. President, that Medford, out of 81 communities, had the fifth highest reported complaints. Fifth out of 81. And that was in 2014. You look in 2015, year to date, which is January to December, Medford, out of 84 communities that lodged complaints, Medford had the eighth highest complaint total in 2015. And then, it only gives year to date for this year, so it was January to September, nine months worth of complaints. And Method is out of 77 communities so far that have called and complained. Method has the fourth highest complaint total out of 77 communities. I find it, Mr. President, over the last two and a half years, stunning these particular numbers that we're seeing. And it validates the calls and emails that I've received over the last several years, and that's why I've brought the issue up time and time again over the last several years. So I, you know, knowing that we don't have a representative on this board, or we have one that doesn't show up to the meetings, I find it disheartening, at the very least, Mr. President. that not only the representative that's not showing up, that's one thing, and they're appointed by the mayor, but to have the administration not check to see if someone they're appointing, I know we have very few appointments, but we vet out the person, we ask why does the person wanna get involved, and you don't appoint someone to the community advisory board at Logan Airport if they're interested in making muffins. That's not what you appoint them to. That's not the committee they'd be interested in, Mr. President. So I'm not quite sure why our representative for many years has failed to attend the meetings. You could also go online and find out the minutes from each meeting they had. So the first meeting minutes I was able to obtain was September 30th, 2014. This is in direct concert with of the complaints that I pulled up from 2014 and I'm not going to go through the agenda, but the agendas from 2014 to today all deal with runway reconfiguration, how to do noise abatement, concerns about noise, concern about communities. And it's vital to have a seat at the table so Medford has a voice. We can't rely on other communities to say, well, you know what, Medford may have that concern too, or we'll speak on behalf of Medford because they're not represented. And in September 30th, 2014, Marshfield was there, Marblehead, Scituate, Belmont, Arlington, Nahant, Braintree, Milton, Revere, They were all present, and many, many more, Mr. President. But Medford is nowhere to be found. The minutes from January 15, 2015, Watertown, Hull, High Park, Cohasset, Watertown, Somerville, Dorchester, Milton, Marblehead, Belmont, Beverly, no Medford person. Maybe they were too busy, Mr. President, to attend that meeting. July 6, 2015. Hull, Marshfield, Belmont, Scituate. These are all representatives, Mr. President, from their community that were appointed. No method delegate there. And you can also appoint a delegate too. You know, if you're unable to make it, you can appoint a delegate and they list the delegates that show up on behalf of the actual appointment that was unable to make it. September 10th, 2015, Howell, Winthrop, Belmont, no method again, Mr. President. November 12th, 2015, need I say, no method resident? I won't go through the list of other communities that took the time to attend the meeting. January 14th, 2016, different administration, same results, no method resident. March 10, 2016. Nowhere to be found. I don't know if the time we didn't have someone who was at the transition when it's very difficult. If you call up Massport and say, do you know when our representative was appointed by the mayor and what term and so forth, they have no information on it. They rely on the city. And again, if you go back to the city, the right hand doesn't know what the left hand's doing. So April 13, 2016, The Minutes, no Medford resident again. But let me tell you some really important issues being discussed about runway arrivals, noise exposure, historic baseline five-year projections. These are very important issues, Mr. President. that if you don't want to brief us as a council, fine, the mayor appointed you. At the very least, you should be briefing the mayor on these issues. At the very least. And that hasn't happened, Mr. President. May 12th, 2016, no Medford resident appointment. July 14th, 2016, again, no Medford appointment on this list. Nowhere to be found. Mr. President, we've asked time and time again for a meeting with the administration. We've asked time and time again to have Massport come before us and give us an update. Unfortunately, the appointment, for whatever reason over the last several years, has not attended any of the meetings that they asked to be appointed to this particular community advisory committee and the administration has failed to recognize this, and it's just going on as business as usual. And now we received an email today, I think many council members were on it from some very involved citizens that are interested in this issue because it impacts their daily life. And we're being told that there's a very important meeting December 1st. And these residents went out on their own, sent a letter to the mayor, the city council and said, please, Madam Mayor, can someone be there on behalf of the community? We realized that the representative that was appointed has yet to attend any meetings or provide any feedback. Can someone be there? And I still haven't received a response on that, Mr. President, but we need to get a response. We've asked time and time again, this is an important issue. This is a very important issue. in this community, it's a quality of life issue. And I take it very serious that when residents call me, whether it's one, two, or a thousand, that I take their concern very seriously. And I take this very seriously, Mr. President. So, you know, I think it was two weeks ago we asked myself and Councilor Longo, asked for a meeting with the administration. I'm not sure where that stands. I know you probably have a lot on your plate to set up. This needs to happen sooner than later. We need to get an answer about this very important meeting that's taking place regarding two particular runways that have a tremendous impact on the flights over this community. And for us not to have a representative on board at this particular time that can be there on behalf of our city is a disgrace as far as I'm concerned. And it needs to be addressed immediately. So I would ask Mr. President once again, that we have a meeting with the administration, with the mayor. I mean, the mayor vowed when she ran for office that she was gonna be present to be with this council. She was gonna be a face that we see. She was gonna provide a representative that appears before the council. Is the mayor's representative here? I can't see the way in the back. Nope, no representative from the mayor here tonight. Mr. President, another broken promise, another broken promise. 11 months into the year, the mayor's appointment to the council has yet to come to one city council meeting. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Chair recognizes Vice President Lungo-Koehn. For a point of information to the councilors, I've spoken in some detail about this matter with the mayor. She and the city solicitor will be attending this week, a meeting with the, uh, federal aviation administration regarding this matter, uh, because, uh, she does, uh, take this very seriously and will, um, uh, be addressing this, uh, with the FAA. She is also, uh, spearheaded a collaborative drive with, uh, local municipal leaders in other communities. uh, to express their concern to the FAA on this very matter, as well as has undertaken, uh, an effort to, uh, uh, build relationships and engage, uh, the congressional, uh, uh, delegation, uh, senators and our state, uh, our representative to the United States Congress, uh, on the matter. Uh, she shared that with me today in conference. And we'll be attending a meeting on Friday, I believe it is. And hopefully, they'll be able to report back to us some of the results from that meeting. Point of information, Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: From what I've been told, that meeting was canceled. No?
[Fred Dello Russo]: The chair recognizes Vice President Alango-Kern.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Marks, the FAA meeting is on Friday in Burlington at 10 a.m. There was a more important meeting on Thursday night in Boston at Logan Airport to discuss a vote that's going to be taken to reroute the Milton air traffic through Medford. That's been postponed, I believe, until December 1. Thank you. I just want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this. to the table again, I think it's important that we speak about it as much as we can and to educate the public. I know there's a number of residents that have been emailing us. Some are just complaints, and there are actually a few with some residents who are more educated than anybody else in the community. And thankfully, they're educating the council through letting us know when meetings are, sending us air flight patterns. I mean, you name it, we've received in it, especially the last I'd say really in the last month or two, even though this issue has been the last few years, especially since runway 33 L it's something that is happening in my neighborhood. So I'm, you know, obviously very concerned about it. But like I said, I think last week of the week, two weeks ago, this is affecting 30,000 Medford residents, if not everybody in Medford, because no matter where you live, you hear it, whether it's right above whether it's right above your home or whether you're at the pivot point or a little bit away from it. I mean, it's happening at all hours of the night and all hours in the morning. I don't notice it much during the day, but when you, it's hard to get to bed, it wakes you up at night and it's in the morning, it's starting at four or five in the morning from what I hear and the complaints that I'm getting. So I think it's extremely important. And Councilor Marks is right. I can be correct, stand corrected, but we have two reps from what I've learned over the last couple of weeks. One rep, um, Mr. And Mrs. Miso is the CAC rep. And from what I understand has never attended a meeting like Councilor Marks pointed out. We also have a rep that this council has requested numerous times of the last nine months to appear before the council to just let us know what has gone on, what communication, even if you haven't attended a meeting, what communication have you had with our state delegation? to let us know that something is in the works, that there is a meeting that will be attended, that the mayor is on top of it, and nothing. We've received nothing. And now we're forced to have triple the amount of air traffic if this vote comes to fruition in December, which is, I believe, the vote is being pushed, and they want to take this vote by December. tremendously affect the city of Medford, and it's something that we do need a seat at the table. I know I do have confirmation myself as well that the mayor and city solicitor Rumley will be at the Friday meeting, but that December 1st meeting, I'm unaware if anybody will be in attendance, and that is gonna be a far more, they're all important, but of far more importance, because the city of Milton is complaining. They have created, whether the residents and the elected officials have created such a base of complaints and obviously have been on the forefront of pushing the issue. And from what I understand, they have air traffic about 6,000 feet above. We're here in Medford, and I'll thank constituents who have educated me. We're at 2,500 feet. At times, it feels like planes are going to land on your home. Children, it's affecting everybody, children, the elderly, and just every single person that lives in a home. Some homes are shaking. We need to get, and I'm glad to hear, I thought we weren't up there with the complaints, but I'm glad to hear tonight that Medford is complaining, and I urge every resident to continue complaining. And I know there was a resident here probably a couple months ago who said the complaints are gonna come into play. And we obviously, the residents, it's great to hear that the residents are complaining, but we need our administration and we need to get involved and make sure that we're complaining too. I do plan on going to the meeting on Friday. I can let anybody know what time that will be. That's at 10, and I'm not sure. The city solicitor is looking into a timeframe to see if it was an ending time for that meeting, because I know a lot of us do have to work as well. But that December 1st meeting, if we can get an update from the mayor, and also while we're talking about it tonight, a request to see if our city solicitor will be at that meeting as well. I'm sure I missed a number of things, and I know we have residents here that maybe want to educate us a little more. But what is coming down the line with regards to that vote is substantially going to impact this community. And when you talk about being fourth and highest out of 77, we're going to, once that happens, if we don't start complaining now and getting involved, we're going to be number one and our phones are going to ring off the hook and people are going to be quite upset with regards to the traffic above our neighborhoods.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you know, part of my work is at Massport all the time. And if the people who don't go there on a regular basis like I do, you'll see this construction is always ongoing there. And right now, they're redoing Terminal E to accommodate the largest plane out there, which is the A380, which is a two-story airplane. And they're putting in new jetways and everything, and I can only imagine the noise that's going to make when it's coming in and taking off. I don't know if they have a flight plan for that, but they are doing construction for that. I know for personal basis, planes land as early as 4.30 a.m. now, and they take off as late as 2.30 a.m., and coming in the next couple of years, We-Massport anticipates 11 more airlines, mostly European, coming into Boston Airport as part of their business stimulation plan. So, again, I don't see the noise getting any better. Like I said, I can only imagine the noise that the A380 is going to make when it's taking off and landing. Madam Vice President, do you have the address of where the meeting is on Friday?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Through the chair, Councilor Caraviello.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: It's at the FAA office in Burlington. City Solicitor Rumley is getting the address. He's not sure exactly where the office is.
[Richard Caraviello]: The December 1st meeting is at the same place?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: No, that will be in Boston.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do you know where that is in Boston?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: It's in my email, but I don't have it written down yet.
[Richard Caraviello]: If you can get to me, I don't have any problem attending that. If you want, I'll attend for the city if nobody volunteers to attend. Thank you, Councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Are you all set?
[SPEAKER_05]: Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President's chair recognizes counseling.
[SPEAKER_05]: Mr. President, thank you very much.
[Adam Knight]: I'd like to amend the paper to request that the administration consider appointing one of the members of the council as either the representative to the mass port advisory commission or as the alternate delegate to fill in when that person is unable to attend the meetings as amended by Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Seconded by Councilor cafe yellow. on the motion for approval by Councilor Marks. Good evening. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: Hi, my name is Cheryl Rodriguez. I live at 281 Park Street and I'm glad that this issue is coming out, but I think what's really important is we don't have the mass support community advisory committee person. So when they do meet, They ask everyone who's there, I would assume, are you suffering from noise? And if no one from Medford raises their hand, then when they give mitigation to others, they'll give punishment to us. So we need to be really on top of this because I've followed this since they changed the traffic. over two years ago now, and Milton was the first one at the charge that complained. Now, they're very close to the airport, because I hear a lot of complaints from the city that, oh, it's OK, we're in the city, and that's the price of living in the city is airplane noise. Milton is closer than we are to the airport. Their lowest plane is 6,000 feet. Our lowest plane is 2,500 feet. So they have already gotten it raised. When the initial findings came out, their planes were supposed to be at 5,000 feet, and they complained. and they were elevated to 6,000 feet. So the big question is, how come they can go to 6,000 feet there, but we can't even hit 5,000 here? So we really need to start complaining. And if nobody wants to go to that meeting on December 1st, I would love to attend that meeting, because my daughter is on daily medication from the plane noise. Last night as we laid in bed at 11.30 at night, we got a symphony of planes that lasted for approximately one hour. We're tired. We would like the planes to be quiet. We're tired of it being our turn. We're tired of the 6 a.m. wake-up calls. We're tired of the 60 to 90-second intervals of the low-flying planes. And we need somebody that's going to beat the drum for us. And they need to beat it loudly. I really encourage somebody to go. As many people as can go, let's send all those people there. Let's try and tell them that, you know, Medford isn't the dumping ground. We are the pivot point for these planes. These planes fly over Medford, they accelerate, and they turn onto other areas. Where do they turn? They turn to Belmont. So Belmont gets a fraction of the planes that fly over Medford. They turn to Watertown. They turn to all these towns that are going in and complaining. So we're getting nine, ten times the amount of planes that they're getting and we're just saying that's all right because this is the price of living in the city. It's not the price of living in the city. I'm not willing to give you my quality of life because I live in the city. So somebody needs to stand up for us. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of approval by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Caraviello as amended, Good evening, welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[SPEAKER_06]: Luke Prisner, 140 Forest Street. So I just wanted to get up here and maybe clarify something about these groups. So you've got the Logan CAC, the Massport CAC, and the 33L Working Group. The Logan CAC has been around for two decades. They were formed as a result of a courtroom. So in the late, mid-90s, South Boston and other communities put up a stink. There's litigation. And the Logan CAC was formed. And their sort of mandate was to carry out noise abatement studies. I'll come back to that. The Massport CAC was created as a result of legislation at the state level. And so they're kind of spinning up right now. And they're going to be the persistent entity for years to come. And they're going to be the sort of interface between the community and the airport, passports to the airport operator. And then the third group is the 33L working group, which was formed this summer. It includes officials from neighboring communities. And that's the group that's meeting with the FAA, because they weren't getting satisfaction. So they got their state representatives, they got federal representatives to write letters, to write a couple letters, and win an audience with the FAA. They're going to be meeting on Friday. And what they're going to be talking about are kind of the rough outline of a study that FAA, MIT, and Massport are going to conduct together. And that study is going to look at what can we do to mitigate the noise created by RNAV. RNAV is this navigation system. It's the reason why the planes seem so loud. So the Logan CAC, I want to come back to that because they're kind of important in the current near-term period. The Logan CAC has been around for two decades, and they're about to dissolve. Their charter is about to run out, and they're going to vanish at the end of the year. They're not going to have any money. Their charter's done. And what they're trying to put together are a series of recommendations related to runway use. And there's people on that CAC that strongly advocate for their communities, right? Medford doesn't have an advocate. And so those folks, doing what they need to do, what they feel they need to do for their constituents, are trying to push a runway use plan that is equitable. And what that can mean for us is the activation of runway 15 for routine use. And what that would result in is maybe a doubling of air traffic. And it would be concentrated over Fulton Heights and Wellington. The rest of Medford wouldn't really see it, you'd really feel it in Fulton Heights and Wellington. This would be in addition to the departure traffic from 33L, which a lot of us feel, with the exception of maybe up by the high school. So the Logan CAC is working on this runway use plan, and they want to have a vote. And they were going to vote on Thursday, and that meeting is been canceled, it's been pushed to December 1st. But that meeting on December 1st is going to be important because they're going to vote on a redistribution of runway use for arrivals. And that recommendation is then going to be pushed up to Massport and FAA, and they may take it. And if they take it, then what you're going to see is regular use of runway 15. So that's why that meeting is important. The meeting on Friday is with the 33L working group. And my understanding is the mayor and the city solicitor will be present. And I'm very thankful that they're going to be there because Medford needs a seat at the table because they're going to be laying out the plan for how to address the noise problems that we're all complaining about. So that's going to be a really important meeting with this third group. It's really important, and I really want to thank you all for bringing this up, because it's an important matter for the city. It directly affects quality of life, because it's our way of offering feedback to the airport operator. And we do need a Massport rep, for sure, the Massport CAC, because moving forward, that's going to be the group that's going to present the feedback to the airport. We need someone present at this Logan CAC meeting to make sure that we're not railroaded with an unequitable runway distribution. And we need someone at this 33L working group meeting to make sure that our concerns are factored in to whatever FAA and MIT and Massport choose to do moving forward with their study. So that's all I have. make it clear that the Logan CAC was created as a result of litigation 20 years ago, and their focus is runway use plans. Massport CAC was created as a result of state legislation, and it's going to be the sort of community advocacy group moving forward. And then we've got this ad hoc group that was put together because the other groups weren't basically meeting the needs of or listening to the concerns of or at least being able to address the concerns of people. So that's all I have. Those are the three groups.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. And I believe last time you were at our meeting a couple months ago, you had mentioned how the amount of complaints does factor in. Could you just reiterate what you stated?
[SPEAKER_06]: Well, sure, yeah. When Massport looks at the number of callers, And the number of complaints, you know, they, that's their main form of feedback. Those are the numbers. In fact, in the letter that was written by Senator Warren, which referenced the letter that our state legislators all signed, saying we've got a problem with noise. In Senator Warren's letter, she referenced the number of complaints. That's probably the clearest indication that the complaints are, like, people are looking at them and they mean something. And what I'll say is, you know, Milton has by far the most complaints. They have a lot of callers and they have a lot of complaints from each caller kind of thing. And, you know, we've got, I think, one of the highest, the fourth highest. And, you know, it's important to get complaints from a lot of callers. That carries more weight than a thousand, you know, a thousand complaints from one person. You can kind of dismiss that. But one complaint from 1,000 people, you can't ignore. So I'll make that judgment there. So the complaints are important, and people do look at them.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Caraviello, as amended by Councilor Knight, Chair recognizes distinguished citizen at the podium.
[Paul Camuso]: Oh, yes. Good evening, Mr. President, uh, members of the city council. My name is Paul Camuso, a resident of one 14 Lincoln road in Medford. Um, thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you this evening on this particular matter. Um, as we all know, we've seen an increase in air traffic over our community and uh, My personal opinions, being this close to Boston, we're going to see things of that nature. That's what makes us one of the components of making a great community. It's having the proximity to Boston. But with that comes the responsibility of our elected officials to advocate on behalf of our residents to make sure that we can do the best that we can as far as mitigating circumstances. The interesting part of this conversation, I think, Currently, runway 15 right at Logan Airport. They're looking to, as the gentleman said, to possibly divert more of the traffic to 15 right. For those of you that don't realize it, 15 right is the landing path when it comes over like Winchester, right over the Lawrence Memorial Hospital in the Lawrence Estates, and then over the lower part of the Fulton Heights in Wellington. and that will certainly increase if, um, if the changes go through, uh, I'd be remissed if I don't thank, um, the mayor as well as the city council for, um, for making sure that we have a seat at the table next week, um, at these very important meetings. I think the, uh, the FAA, uh, they're more worried about safety and things of that magnitude rather than noise complaints because at the end of the day, uh, safety is their paramount, um, uh, thoughts and feelings when it comes to, um, these type of decisions. Um, I'm learning a lot more about the air traffic patterns and stuff. My brother is a commercial pilot for a major airline that flies out of Logan airport. And, um, and, uh, like he was explaining to me, certain winds and stuff dictate the runway takes off and takeoffs and landings, uh, as well. So it's not just saying we're going to bury Medford with all the noise and give Milton a break. It all depends on some, uh, extenuating circumstances. As someone that does like to fly to go on vacation, I would rather take the safest route out of the airport. given the nature of being in an aircraft. I mean, it's common sense. But I just wanted to get up here and thank the Mayor, Mayor Burke, as well as the City Council on this particular matter, because I think one of the best things that we have going for us is voices of reason sitting at the table and discussing topics. The other thing I know that should be a priority of people is if we're going to get more air traffic over our community, We should be entitled to more funding to put additional measures in people's homes, similar to Winthrop, similar to East Boston. So I know that that's another important piece of the puzzle. And I just think it's very important that we look at this as a safety issue and as well as an issue of quality of life at the same time. One should not trump the other, as far as I'm concerned. but I'm just a one of many citizens in our community. So I thank you for giving me the opportunity to address this distinguished body this evening. And I look forward to seeing how this goes along and the next coming months. So thank you, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Citizen on the motion for approval by Councilor Marks, seconded by councilor Caraviello as amended by councilor night. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President DeLaRusso. And do we have a resident that knows exactly where to complain to so we could maybe announce that publicly? I know there's a phone. City website. City website has.
[Fred Dello Russo]: City website. City website has the information. And the Massachusetts Port Authority website has a hotline number that one can call upon. OK. It's on the front page of the website.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I think that's important just to educate the public and let them know. And in the contact section. Great. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion. All those in favor. All those opposed. 16-seven 49 offered by Councilor Falco be resolved that the department of public works repaint the yellow center line on central Avenue in the interest of public safety. Councilor Falco. Oop.
[John Falco]: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, the, the following resolutions are our result from our latest community police meeting held last week at St. Francis. We had, we had a good turnout. We had about 50, 60 residents from the community came to the meeting. Once again, big thank you to the Medford police department. All of the police officers that actually patrol that neighborhood were in attendance to meet the residents. It was nice to see the police engaging the residents to find out what the issues are in the neighborhood. It was a, it was a good exchange of ideas. And it was interesting. There were a lot of topics that came up, everything from traffic, parking. Talked about airplane noise. Airplane noise came up during the police meeting. We had a gentleman that stood up. He said, I'm not sure if I can speak about this here, but he wanted to talk about airplane noise. So that is something that came up as well. Talked about opiates, the staffing levels at the Medford Police Department. And we talked about speed bumps again. But it was a good meeting. Uh, but, uh, this issue did come up with regard to, um, the, uh, the yellow center line at central lab. Uh, at one point there was a center line, uh, in a sense faded in one end in, in most of the streets, non-existent. Uh, so if we could have the DPW come down and, uh, repaint the line, uh, in the interest of public safety, I think it'd be nice to actually, I think it'd be a way of narrowing the road to make it safer for everyone in that neighborhood.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion that the yellow center line on central lab be repainted. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? The motion carries. Offered by Councilor Falco, be it resolved that the Medford Public Schools and the Medford Police Department work together to review and propose improvements to the morning and afternoon drop-off procedure and traffic patterns at the Roberts Elementary School. Furthermore, that the final plan be communicated to the surrounding neighborhoods and parents. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, this issue came up as well. Uh, this is an ongoing issue at the Roberts elementary school. It was corrected a few years ago with the help of the police department and active parents in the community. And, uh, they put a system in place where they had, uh, actually soft horses that they put in the street to, uh, uh, stop some of the traffic. And, uh, since the, over the past year or so, the soft horses have now been removed. I think they're using cones, but it's not as efficient as it was in the past. And it seems that, um, there are a lot of new parents as well that are driving through the parking lot when they shouldn't. And it's a, once again, this is one of the most populated schools in the city. It's a public safety issue. Um, you know, a lot of, uh, young kids are in that area and, uh, it needs to be addressed. And furthermore, it needs to be addressed. The communication needs to go out to the parents. I don't think communication has gone out this year. Uh, it should go out. Um, it actually needs to be communication should be set to the residents in the neighborhood as well. So they know, what streets they can access and what streets they cannot access during pickup and drop off. So I thank you for your time and I move approval.
[SPEAKER_05]: On the motion for approval, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I'd like to amend the paper and ask that we include the school committee in the decision making process, Mr. President, whether the policy making body for issues that are affecting the school department. I think that that would be the courteous thing to do. Number one, number two, Mr. President, I'd like to amend the paper to expand it, not just to the Roberts Elementary School, but to all schools. Cause I think if we're going to be looking at improvements to the morning and afternoon drop offs at schools. And each school does have a different in, in, in particular set of issues that they're dealing with. But I think that if we're looking to improve things in the interest of public safety, that we should be doing it across the board, not just that one location, Mr. President. So I'd ask that a, in addition to the Rob's elementary school, we do take a look at all of the schools in the community on the motion of council.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Falco as amended twice by council night chair recognizes council.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. President. I thank council Falco for this recommendation. I'm there a couple of days a week picking up my grandchildren. And part of the problem is, you know, it needs a little bit of a police presence there. You know, we can't expect our crossing guards also to be traffic policemen also. And that's part of the problem, is they're busy watching the kids, and that's true. There's so many cars coming around that they can't direct the traffic and do kids. I've been there when there's been a policeman there, and it's better. Uh, but very rarely is there a policeman there. So, uh, my recommendation, if we could put it, that, um, a police would be there at least for the, the morning hour and the afternoon hour.
[Fred Dello Russo]: If I can amend that motion on that motion as amended by council Caraviello chair recognizes the citizen at the podium. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Cheryl Rodriguez]: Hi, I'm Cheryl Rodriguez. I live at 281 Park street. My daughter attends the Roberts elementary. I was part of the first parent group that helped to deal with the drop off patterns. I didn't get everything that I wanted, but I did get some of the things. Um, I'm back because I think that some of the places that we went wrong, we should probably include parents in this as well, this meeting, because we're the ones that are dropping off the kids. I know a lot of the parents that have to drop off on the street now are concerned that they're not able to go into the loop anymore. We do have the sawhorses at either side of the parking lot, but it's big enough that people can go around and people are using it as a cut-through. The kindergartners have to be brought in hand into the school and so that's over 100 parents that are dropping off every morning and picking up every afternoon. So I'm hopeful that if we do do something we can notify the neighbors because like I said I do live on Park Street and I see my neighbors backing out of their driveways in the morning. and off until close to 840, the traffic is backed up to the Felsway, and they're not aware that we had a meeting to discuss having the street be one way towards Salem, so they try to duck and play a little Tetris game to get down the street to get to the Felsway because they were not made aware of that pattern. So it's really not useful if we're not notifying anyone around. The crossing guard will turn her back and someone will take a right down park. I do encourage anything that we do not only go to the parents but also to the neighbours. So thank you for putting that forward.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Falco, seconded by Councilor Scappelli, as amended by Councilors Knight and Caraviello. Good evening, sir. Welcome and please state your name and address for the record.
[Paul Camuso]: Once again, Paul Camuso, 114 Lincoln Road, here in our lovely community of Medford. Thank you, Mr. President. I just would like to get up and thank this city council, as well as Mayor Burke and the DPW, the safety improvements at the Brooks School. And as many of you are aware, my son is a second grader at the Brooks School. When you look at just those minor changes, It certainly changed the whole traffic patterns down there, not as far as cut-throughs and all that, but as far as people traversing Route 60, those lights are incredible. Incredible. And to see them go up so quickly is a testament to our local government working together. And it was just, it's really good. I know there's more long-term planning that's going on in that particular area through West Medford Square and the like, but in the immediate, the immediate changes have gone over very, very big with the parents and it's certainly given us a safer environment. So I just wanted to get up and thank you all as well.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. So on the motion by Councilor Falco, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli, as amended by Councilors In Caraviello, all those in favour? All those opposed? Carries. 16-751 offered by Councilor Falco be resolved that the superintendent of schools and police chief contact Eastern Bus to address reports of unoccupied speeding buses. Councilor, who's driving these buses?
[John Falco]: Well, the driver, let me, let me, I guess, be clear. This, this is, well, it came up during the community meeting. And it's basically as the buses go from one route to the next. So, you know, the conclusion of the route, they're flying to get to the next route. So there's no one, we don't have students on the bus at that time, but still they should be adhering to this local speed limits that are in place. And it sounds like they're not, I got a number of complaints about this from residents and it came up at the meeting as well. So I just wanted to have either the police chief or the superintendent of schools reach out to Eastern bus, and just to remind their drivers to drive safely at all times. Very good.
[Richard Caraviello]: Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. I thank Councilor Falco for bringing this up. At the meetings at the school, this is something that I brought to Chief Sacco's attention on multiple occasions along with the community meetings. I live on a street over by the Brooks School where the buses go by after they drop the kids off and for the past It's a couple of years now. I've been complaining to the chief about the buses roaring by my house in the morning, with nobody in them, and totally ignoring the stop signs a lot of times, and they just head up Prescott Street with no regard for anybody. So again, thank you, Councilor Falco. Again, I've been on the chief about this in the past, but the buses still seem to be speeding by. Anything? Thank you. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. On the motion for approval by Councilor Falco, seconded by Councilor Caraviello, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Move approved, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion, all those in favour? Aye. Those opposed? Motion carries. 16-756, offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that the MBTA be contacted to see what they can do about speeding buses on our city roads, such as on South Street, where residents are complaining that buses are driving faster than the posted speed limit. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. This is along the same lines. I got a complaint this week about the MBTA buses unoccupied besides the driver, obviously, especially especially at night after it's gotten dark, just speeding down South Street. It goes along with, obviously, the speeding issue we spoke about two weeks ago. But if we can just try to work on eliminating speeding wherever we can, if there's any chance we can have the administration send a letter to the MBTA just to reduce speeding, especially obviously on our main roads, but all over the city, if we can just remind the MBTA bus drivers to reduce their speed to the speed limit, that would be extremely helpful.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you on that motion. Councilor Knight.
[SPEAKER_05]: Mr. President, thank you very much.
[Adam Knight]: Um, in recent weeks, it's been brought to my attention that some of our neighboring communities have implemented a universal 25 mile per hour speed limit. um, on all city controlled and operated roadways. And, um, this may or may not work in the city of Medford. And I'd like to amend the paper requesting that the traffic commission examined the feasibility of putting in a universal speed limit across, uh, the, the board here in the city of Medford, Mr. President. Um, it's my understanding that I believe the city of Somerville has adopted a 25 mile per hour speed limit across the board at all, um, portions of the city, unless otherwise posted. And, um, I think that we're facing a significant issue right now with traffic and speeding vehicles and the like, uh, as evident by the last six or seven agendas of the city council. Um, so with that being said, Mr. President, I'd like to amend the paper and request the traffic commission to examine the feasibility as to whether or not it would make sense to implement a standard and universal speed limit across the board for all city controlled streets and roadways.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. So on the motion for approval by vice president, longer, the current is amended and seconded by council night chair recognizes Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I just, uh, had a brief discussion with, uh, Sergeant Hodnett and, uh, discussion and the implementation of that 25 mile an hour speed limit is, is being looked at right now actively in Medford. And what's interesting is, uh, the state, it seems like the state is pretty, um, pretty aware of our concerns and they're actually looking to abide by our recommendation of dropping all of our streets and roadways in the city of Medford, 25 miles an hour. So I know that's something that the city is looking at, but what I really, if you've listened to the tone of our council, especially the last few weeks, the consistent cry is resolutions for, can we have police here? Can we have police there? Can we have police? And what, again, I think we need to revisit the number of policemen we have on the streets right now. I think our biggest concerns that we should be talking about is the lack of offices on the streets. And with that, again, I'd like to amend the paper asking the chief, if he can, is to give us the numbers of actual offices on the streets. I know that the number of 104 have been thrown around, but I want to know the actual number of offices on the streets that we have on a weekly basis, because I think that's where the problem falls. You know, especially with the Brooks issue coming up, we see them actively there, but we've seen them on Salem Street with issues. So they're out there and they're out there doing the best they can. But talking to some of these police officers, a simple car accident in one side of the city could take two or three cruises off the areas that's needed for up to a half hour to an hour and 45 minutes. I think it's important that we need to address the bigger concern. It's nice that we're asking the chief to come back and give us all these reports and stuff, but the truth of the matter is I think we as a council have to take more of a proactive approach in getting more policemen on the streets. I think that would stop a lot of our phone calls. I mean, one thing we talked about that we've been talking about privately is how many times how many phone calls we've gotten, the biggest issues we've had. And one of the biggest issue is, is speeding and traffic issues. So I know that council faculties brought up, uh, you know, a traffic, um, engineer and that sounds great. And, and, and, and we've done some great things in the Brooks area, the Brooks school area. But the truth of the matter is to make this work, we need, we need an identified traffic department that's going to have their, you know, the, the, the wheels on the ground and working toward making sure that these can get done. And right now, I don't think we have the levels of policing that we need to get that done. So, um, I applaud my fellow Councilors because I think we're all working very hard to make sure that these issues are out and put forth. But I think we as a council should really sit with the chief and bring the mayor a true number of, of, of, uh, of police officers on the streets. So if you can amend that and asking the chief for, uh, an updated number of police officers on, on the streets and working directly with the traffic. Uh, not, not the sector cars that are sitting at a traffic light, but identified traffic offices. So that'd be appreciated. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Uh, as amended by council Scarpelli chair recognizes vice president local current.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Uh, just briefly, um, through the chair, I agree with Councilor Scarpelli and I'm thankful Sergeant Hartnett came to our meeting. At six o'clock, it was good to have him there to discuss traffic up at the Malden Hospital site and obviously in the Heights. But I think concerning is the fact that we as a city only have five officers, and that includes Sergeant Hartnett in our traffic division. And that's just truly not enough in a community our size. I think it was mentioned, and you could probably correct me, Councilor Scarpelli, Somerville has about 18 in their traffic division. So it was good to hear from Sergeant Hartnett, you know, different things that have been going on in the last few weeks, but obviously we need a bigger department. We need to, I think we need more than 65 officers and we also need more than five in our traffic division. Um, the, the amount of speeding complaints, whether it be at a community meeting or people emailing or giving us, sending us phone calls, is speeding. Speeding is, I believe somebody just heard tonight, somebody was hitting on Salem Street over the weekend, and obviously we know what happened at the Brooke School, but there's also, you know, other areas that are hot spots, and we have a problem. This is the probably sixth week in a row that we've spoken about it, and hopefully the mayor hears us loud and clearly, and we can work some numbers and try to hire some more men and women, and specifically put one or two more in the traffic department so that we can curb the speeding because more people are just going to get hurt and it's not safe.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Vice President Lungo-Koehn as seconded and amended by Councilor Knight and amended by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favour? All those opposed? Motion carries. 16-752 offered by Councilor Falco, whereas the City of Medford is made up of many different neighborhoods, whereas each neighborhood has its own issues and concerns. The resolve of the Metro Police Department used the reverse 911 system to inform residents of specific neighborhoods of issues or concerns related to that part of the city.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, the reverse time one, uh, nine one one system is a valuable tool that we use in the community for, different events that we, you know, usually, usually use to, um, spread word, you know, about different events that are coming up in the community. And, um, uh, there were a few people that I mentioned at the community, community police meeting, um, that, you know, it'd be good to actually have some more neighborhood focused type messages with regard to anything that's happening with regard to like crime or that type of thing. So if you have a number of break-ins in the neighborhood or, or, you know, you know, car break-ins, you know, it'd be nice to actually isolate the messages to specific neighborhoods to say, you know, keep an eye out. Um, you know, uh, your neighborhood, there's various issues going on. So if we could just start to use the 911 reverse 911 system in a way that's neighborhood specific, uh, I think that'd be very beneficial to each neighborhood throughout a community. So move approval. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Councilor Falco, seconded by Councilor Caraviello. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Councilor Falco. Be it resolved that the pedestrian at 16-553, be it resolved that the pedestrian crossing signs be added to the crosswalk at the intersection of Essex and High Streets in the interest of public safety. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I received a number of phone calls about this issue here near the Winthrop Street Rotary, which we've talked about on many occasions over the past month with regard to traffic and safety. There is a crosswalk at the intersection of Essex and High Street and near Schoolhouse Road as well. There's a crosswalk that's in that area that's extremely dangerous to cross at. So if we could put up some pedestrian signs just to illustrate to drivers just just to bring some more attention to it, that it's a place where people do cross, there's a school nearby, there's a lot of traffic in that area with regard to basically five roads coming into one area. So if we could put up those pedestrian signs, I think it'd be just a great way to help out with public safety at that intersection. So move approval, thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion for approval, chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I'm having grown up on Whitman road, which is the next street up from Essex street. Um, I've had a lot of experience with this crosswalk and I can appreciate councilor Falco bringing forward a resolution, uh, asking the pedestrian crossing signs be added at that location. But quite frankly, Mr. President, that is a very dangerous location. And I questioned as to whether or not a crosswalk should be there at all. It's on a blind curve coming down a gradient that's very steep. So if you're coming from West Medford square towards the Winthrop street rotary, as you're coming around a blind bend downhill, you're now going to see a crosswalk. Um, and I think it's very dangerous location, Mr. President. And I'd ask that the traffic commission examine the feasibility of removing the crosswalk as to whether or not that's a good idea before investing any funds into putting up any signs. So I'd like to amend the paper, um, and ask the traffic commission to take a look and see if that crosswalk is actually feasible location for a crosswalk and whether or not there's a safer alternative. um, prior to investing in implementing any money, um, to connotate a mark where the crosswalk would be at this point in time.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of councilor Falco as amended by councilor Knight, councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Um, I, uh, I haven't, I live in that area too. And that is, it's a very dangerous crosswalk where the, whether you're coming from Method Square, because it's on the blind turn and that's where cars are speeding up to make it up the hill. I don't know if a sign is sufficient, if it's not lit or something to make people know. As soon as you come out of the roadway, the crosswalk is right there. And the same thing coming down, you have people coming down that hill at an accelerated speed. And again, that's from another blind turn. So unless there's a sign up a lot further, maybe flashing or something, that sidewalk, I mean that crosswalk is extremely dangerous, especially in the evening, because it's right on the bus stop and people are crossing there. That makes it a little bit more dangerous than other crosswalks. So if that can be taken into consideration too.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Falco, amended by Councilor Knight, Councilor Caraviello, Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I understand the concern of my fellow colleagues but the bottom line is there's a crosswalk there and it's a safety issue and the sign should go up until it's determined by the traffic commission to take them, to take them down or to eliminate the sidewalk. We want to keep our pedestrians safe. Putting up signs is a low cost option and if we don't use them there and they're taken down, I'm sure we can use them at some other crosswalk in the, in our city. So I mean in the time being, for the time being it should be about public safety and making sure that the residents of our community is safe crossing the street. If it should come down, I'm fine with that. If the crosswalk should be eliminated and the traffic commission decides to do that, that's fine. But in the meantime, it's about keeping the residents of our community safe. So I, I, uh, I believe the sign should go up as soon as possible.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you on that motion as amended. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Um, Mr. President, we talk about a traffic engineer. We started this discussion about a traffic engineer in the budget debates, uh, back in 2015. and the conversation continues. And I think that this is the perfect location where a traffic engineer would come in very handy to take a look at this and examine this feasibility. Unfortunately, we don't have one on staff here at the city.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval as amended, all those in favor.
[John Falco]: If I may, could we read back the amendments just because it sounds like it's contradictory now. I feel like it's,
[Fred Dello Russo]: On motion for approval that Councilor Falco, that there be pedestrian crossing signs added to the crosswalk at the intersection of Essex and High Street. Amended by Councilor Knight. What was his amendment? Traffic Commission examined.
[Adam Knight]: Whether or not to remove the crosswalk.
[Fred Dello Russo]: That the Traffic Commission examine whether to remove the crosswalk. And further amended by Councilor. Was it further amended? No.
[John Falco]: I think contradictory in nature. Yes. We're asking, well, I'm asking for signs to be put up and my colleagues asking, which is right.
[Adam Knight]: President to clear the record. I have no problem with the signs going up. If the traffic commission feels as though it's a safe location.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I understood it just to be, to look at all the options. I, I, I can see how it could be seen as contradictory. The signs go up. I have no problem with that. The traffic commission takes a look at it. Mr. President, is there a consensus that
[John Falco]: I would actually like, if Council and I wouldn't mind putting it in as a separate resolution, because to me it seems contradictory.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I mean, I'd rather have the science go on. So on the B paper that the Traffic Commission re-examined the location of the crosswalk to see if it's at all appropriate to be there in the interest of public safety. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. And on the main paper offered by Councilor Falco, that pedestrian crossing signs be added in the interest of public safety to the aforementioned crosswalk. All those in favour?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: then I think if you were voting on this, we just have to be clear to the traffic commission. We'd like the signs to go up, even though it may take months to move or eliminate the crosswalk because we know.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion I think speaks for itself that we're asking for pedestrian signs at that location.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I would ask council Falco if he would like to say as soon as possible, as soon as possible,
[Fred Dello Russo]: as amended by Councilor Falco himself as soon as possible. Does that clarify? Seconded by Councilor Caraviello. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Congratulations. 16-754 offered by Councilor Knight. Whereas the paper entitled Providing Safe Access to Medical Marijuana in the City of Medford is presently under review by the Medford City Council and whereas On November 8, 2016, the voters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts approved the passage of referendum question number four, legalizing the retailing of marijuana and its byproducts for recreational purposes. And whereas, question number four in section 3A1 specifically reads, zoning ordinances or bylaws should not prohibit placing a marijuana establishment which cultivates, manufactures, or sells marijuana or marijuana products in any area with a medicinal marijuana treatment center as registered to engage in the same type of activity, and whereas with the passage of question four comes a limit on local control over the zoning and licensing of recreational marijuana establishments directly related to the substance and subject matter of the aforementioned paper entitled Providing Safe Access to Medical Marijuana in the City of Medford, be it resolved that the Medford City Council request an opinion from the city solicitor concerning the impact of the passage of question four has on local control governing the zoning and licensing of medicinal and recreational marijuana establishments and be a further resolved and opinion be provided as to what options are available in order to hold the issuance of any license for this purpose and abeyance until such impact can be determined. Chair recognizes Councilor.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Um, this council, uh, the zoning in ordinance subcommittee and this council have worked on, um, the paper providing safe access to medicinal marijuana in the city of Medford for the better part of the last year. Um, with the passage of question four comes some uncertainty. Mr. President, uh, the department of public health at the state level, um, is now required to issue some public health guidelines in the form of regulations to guide us in the implementation of question four. And based on the language that I read in the proposal underneath question four, there is a direct correlation between the medicinal marijuana establishments and that of the recreational marijuana establishments. They go hand in hand, Mr. President. And the language included in the passenger question for limited local control, it restricted some of the decision-making powers that the municipality had. Um, as such, Mr. President, this paper is nothing more than a request from the city to the city solicitor to ask him what effect he sees coming out of the passage of question four in relation to the proposal that was before the council, uh, entitled providing safe access to medicinal marijuana in the city of Medford. Uh, and also, Mr. President, we'd ask that, uh, until this opinion is made available by the city solicitor that, um, we determine what options are available to us to hold the issuances of licenses in abeyance until it can be determined what impact it's going to have on the local level of government.
[Fred Dello Russo]: on the motion for approval by Councilor Knight. Second by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries off by Councilor Knight. 16-755, whereas on September 23rd, 2016, Mayor Burke introduced the paper entitled Home Rule Petition, increasing the number of licenses available for the sale of wine and malt beverages for consideration by the Medford City Council. And whereas this matter appeared on the November 4th, 2016 council agenda as paper 16-706, and was subsequently disposed of by majority vote of the council to refer to the subcommittee on licensing, whereas this action is duly reflected in the approved minutes of the October 4th, 2016 regular meeting of the city council, be it so ordered, the Medford City Council rescind vote 16-seven zero six to allow paper to be reintroduced to the council agenda absent of committee report and the subcommittee on licensing council night.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. This paper came before the Medford city council as outlined in the resolution. Um, at the time I had several questions relative to why we were asking just for a beer and wine, an expansion of the beer and wine licenses, but not the full liquor licenses. Um, I wanted to do a little bit more investigation and I motioned to move the matter to the subcommittee on licensing. Mr. President. Um, ultimately I picked up the phone and made several phone calls, spoke with the commissioner of the licensing commission as well as, um, our economic development office, a city solicitor. And, um, my questions were answered and I was satisfied. Mr. President, I wanted to know why we weren't asking for more full liquor licenses. And the answer was because there were 32 available full liquor licenses here in the community right now. Um, my thinking behind the whole, um, my first referral to subcommittee was that, uh, full liquor licenses seem to be more of a driver in economic development. And here we are in the city of Medford and we discuss the economic development of our downtowns rather frequently. So I wanted to be sure that if we were going to be sending a homeroom petition to the legislature, asking them to pass legislation, that we took a look at everything that was possible, Mr. President, before bringing the matter to the legislature. Um, since the time of the motion to refer the matter to the subcommittee, my questions have been answered as such. I spoke with Chairman Caraviello was the chairman of licensing committee and I, um, suggested that I put a paper forward to rescind the vote. Um, councilor Caraviello was in support of that matter when I brought it up. Um, as such, I did some research, Mr. President. And, um, if you put on the council agenda with notice to rescind the vote, then a majority vote is required to rescind the vote. If there was no notice, then a two thirds vote is required to rescind the vote. Um, so I put the paper on the, agenda this evening, Mr. President, for us to be notified that the vote for our rescinding, uh, would be taking place this evening. And I would ask my colleagues to support rescinding the vote and introducing the matter back to the council floor for approval on the motion for approval by Councilor Knight to rescind first to rescind.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Do I hear a second? Seconded by Councilor Caraviello. We need a roll call on this, Mr. Clerk. All those in favor?
[Adam Knight]: I'll move for a roll call, Mr. President, just to be procedurally sound.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On motion for a roll call. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll to rescind this.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Nate? Yes. Vice President Long and Curran? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: President Donaldson. Yes, with a vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. The motion passes. Now, the matter is before us.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, paper 166, homework petition. Entitled, increasing the number of licenses available for the sale of wine and malt beverages.
[Fred Dello Russo]: This was presented to us in council uh, on October 4th, uh, with an introductory letter, uh, dated September 18th, uh, from her honor, the mayor, uh, requesting and recommending that our honor body approve the following home rule petition to be sent to the general court to increase the number of licenses available for the sale of wines and malt beverages in the city of Medford. As you know, the number of such licenses, licenses, is presently limited by chapter two 10 of the acts of 2008 to 25. If this home rule petition is approved by the council and later by the general court, it will increase the available number of these licenses in the city of Medford to 40. There's a motion on the floor to
[Richard Caraviello]: Council coffee. Oh, Mr. President. I think we have a incorrect number here. I think it should be a 16 7 0 2 versus 7 0 6. We're looking back in the minutes.
[Adam Knight]: You get the minutes right there.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I have a paper. 16702 in the hand of the clerk, but on the council's night on the paper, we have Scribner's hour, Mr. President. It's a seven Oh seven Oh, we have seven Oh six. It should be seven Oh two. It is. So on Mr. Clerk, if you would let the agenda record know that it is to be considered a item number 16-seven Oh two that is before us. Was there a motion? Move approval on the motion for approval by Councilor. Second, Mr. Knight, seconded by councilor Caraviello. Uh, Councilor Marks. This is for a home rule petition process to be started.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, I wasn't aware and I'm thankful. Councilor Knight brought it up that, did you say there were 34 full liquor licenses available?
[SPEAKER_05]: One that are currently available in the city.
[Michael Marks]: And what was reported to me with beer and wine, there is currently three that is available right now. So, you know, I hope this helps stimulate business districts. But knowing the availability that's out there right now, and there's not a waiting list to get a liquor license in the community, I'm not sure how much this is going to help, Mr. President. I, you know, would like to see more than just an empty promise regarding the revitalization of our business districts that, uh, has been discussed in this community ad nauseum for the last 20 years, three separate commission reports, uh, to revitalize our downtown business district. And here we are still asking for improved lighting. It's pitch dark in the square after, after hours. Um, there is, uh, really, uh, no reason, uh, to come into our business districts. in my opinion, because there's no attractions, to be quite frank. And I'm sorry if people get offended when I say that, but that's the way I feel. And, you know, we have an office of community development that's staffed with, I believe, three people. And in my opinion, they've done very little to nothing to entice businesses into this community. And every time I drive through the square, it's a thorn in my side when I look around and I don't see any foot traffic. I don't see any business in the square, no matter what the hours is. And I think we have to do a better job. The liquor's fine and so forth. And we've made a lot of headway because for years in this community, you had to have 250 seat restaurant to have a liquor license. And that just, in this day and age, people aren't building 250 seat restaurants anymore. And so we made some great headway in that fact, but we still haven't made any headway regarding community development, regarding offering incentives for businesses to come into this community. Our location, you can't beat our location. You can't beat our public transportation. We have a river that runs through the heart of our community. We have so many things going for us, but yet we have for some reason an inability to improve our business districts, not just the square, all our business districts. And in the square, Mr. President, we have a lot right behind City Hall, city-owned. We have the old Roots parking lot across from the senior center, city-owned. We have three giant parcels of land that are undeveloped in our downtown business district that's owned by the city of Medford. And still, we can't move this square forward, Mr. President. So, you know, This is an attempt by the administration to bring additional business into the square. We have liquor licenses. We have beer and wine licenses that are still available right now. I think we have to do more of a focus on community development, on offering incentives, on maybe improving the square so when businesses come in and say, you know what, geez, this square is dark. You know what, there's no crosswalks. You know what, you take your life in your hand, when you cross High Street or Main Street or Riverside Ave. These are the things I think we have to look at before we can say a few liquor licenses is going to help our business districts. So, you know, I'm not sold on this as a stimulus at all. I'll support it tonight. But I think we have to sit down and really, rather than just getting feedback from these committees the mayor set up, you know, Business Economic Committee and Community Committee and Government Relations Committee and Economic Development, all these different committees, and I haven't seen one result from any of these committees. They've done yeoman's work, but I haven't seen any results. You know, I'm not sold on this. I will vote for it tonight, Mr. President. I'd rather hear more out of the mayor on what we're going to do to be business friendly and attract businesses to our business district, rather than just put together a quick fix on adding more liquor licenses, which We have liquor licenses right now that are available, both beer and wine and full liquor licenses. So that's not preventing quality restaurants from coming into our community. They can pick one up. What's preventing them from coming in is the way we do business in this community and the way our business districts look. Who wants to open or spend 100 or 200 grand in Medford Square when after six o'clock the sidewalks roll up? Who's gonna in their right mind invest in the square? We have to invest, Mr. President, we have to invest in the square first and all our business districts because they all need some severe help. Believe me. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Councilor. And before we take the vote, we invite our esteemed, uh, uh, citizen of East Medford to share his name and dress for the record.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Yes. Andrew Castaneri, Cushman street, Medford. Oh, two one five five. Uh, I appreciate Councilor Marx's words and I believe some, some of these extra liquor licenses will probably help a lot of the restaurant businesses presently and in the future. Um, although I believe in the thirties or forties, uh, there was a bar room on Salem street and there was a miss misfortunate incident that took place and someone lost a life. And I believe that's the point when method met Ford became a dry town from what I understand from my elders. Um, if I was making the, the delusion, the vision of Medford square to make it a, uh, one or five, uh, hop in place like Davis square. And my opinion, if Tufts this week, you will ever gets their green line station, it would make sense instead of redundantly on phase two going to West Medford towards the river because West Method already has a commuter line to a North station and Winchester center has that same line into downtown Winchester, even at trains at four o'clock in the morning, although they told him to shut the whistles down at that hour. Malden center has the orange line, Wouldn't it be wonderful to, as the crow flies, I can see it behind Mr. Finn's window, I can see the smokestack at College Ave in Winthrop, and it seems like three quarters of a mile as the crow flies, and if you did it underground, there's no such thing as eminent domain, except you could disturb a few rodents. And then behind you, Councilor, President, Mr. Dello Russo, I would take away that red brick building via eminent domain and give them fair market value, or even pay them double if I had the dimes to pay them, and have the Medford Commons, a la Winchester Commons, not quite the Boston Commons. While I'm at it, I would throw in a clipper ship. That's how I'd claim the fame, right over the bridge and left the drum. Over 500 clipper ships were built. I believe over 50 were over a football field long. Incredible. Sea of the Ocean, all the seas. We don't have one as a museum. They have one in Salem Harbor, which is only 200 feet. We'd have the eternal stimulus of all times, forever and a day. And we should turn our back towards the river and not turn our backs on the river As we did, if we did it like Georgetown, Virginia, we'd be sitting pretty today. And Councilor Marks brought up a good point. Location. This is probably the best location of all of Massachusetts if you want to do commerce because of Route 93. It's better than fighting the traffic down to Braintree. This land is the most valuable asset you could ever have. Have you ever had a Chelsea fire? or two of those fires they had, and most of these houses burnt down. We're sitting on Donald Trump type of a land. Thank you for listening.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. So on the motion for approval by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Caraviello, on the home rule petition 16-702. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice President Lungo-Koehn?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Martz? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Dello Russo?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. With the vote of seven in the affirmative, none in the negative, the motion passes. 16-757 offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Be resolved that the Traffic Commission discuss allowing buses and trucks to take a right from Winthrop Street to Route 16 in order for them to get on 93 without having to use South Street or Harvard Street. This is in addition to our approved amendment on October 25th, 2016, requesting that South Street be a no-trucking street. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. Since the speeding on South Street and the heavy trucking was discussed on October 25th, I received additional phone calls from concerned residents who live in and around South Street And this is one recommendation that was put forth, and I think it's a good resolve. And it would alleviate the heavy trucking, help alleviate the heavy trucking from South Harvard, Boston Ave, a number of different roadways in South Medford that are getting hit with heavy trucking. I'm pretty sure right now, Route 16, there's no trucking allowed. So if we could change that, I don't see a reason why we couldn't. Obviously, we need the help of traffic commission in the state, but if we could have the traffic commission look into this, I think it would alleviate the heavy trucking. I actually went in a gentleman's home over the last week, and the pitchers, I mean, the heavy trucking is going over the catch basins so heavily that the pitchers are being, you know, obviously crooked on the walls, the inner wall facing South Street. So I think They definitely need some resolve in that area, and I think this would help alleviate our main thoroughfares from the trucking.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Madam Vice President. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Um, yes, Mr. President, it's my understanding that that portion of route 16 is entitled Sleepy Hollow and it's part of what's known as the Emerald Necklace, which is a system of parkways and boulevards, uh, that would go from Medford and reach into all the way to the Jamaica way. Um, I believe that it has historic value as well. I think it might've been designed by, uh, Frederick Law Olmsted, Mr. President. Uh, it was also famous for, I believe if I'm not mistaken, the design of the Boston common and a central park in New York city. So I think that the control and jurisdiction over Route 16 and that roadway falls under the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and I do believe there's a longstanding trucking ban on that roadway, Mr. President. You know, I'm off exploring options. I'm off exploring feasible options as to how we can address the heavy trucking on South Street and surrounding streets. However, I don't know if this is option that's going to be available to us based upon the historic nature of, um, the roadway and the history surrounding, um, the allowance of trucking on that roadway. Uh, but I guess, Mr. President, you don't get a kiss unless you ask. So it's not going to hurt to ask. But, um, I personally am not too, um, optimistic that this is going to be something that's authorized, uh, from the department of conservation and recreation, but move for approval on the motion approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those in favor. All those opposed? Motion carries. Be it resolved. Offered by Councilor, Vice President Lungo-Koehn, 16-758. Be it resolved that the administration provide the city council with an update on what the fall street sweeping policies are with regards to ticketing and towing. Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. The good news is that we're doing some street sweeping in the city of Medford. I've seen the crews out and it looks like they're doing a diligent effort, but I did receive a couple complaints that are going around some cars. And from what I understand, a few people have called the mayor's office to complain. And at this point, there would be no tagging and towing from what I understand. And I just wanted to see if that was truly the case. And if it is, is this going to be just for the fall? Are we going to do something different in the spring? I just, people are upset that if you do go around a car, obviously you're leaving, you know, heavy leaves, now wet leaves that are in our roadways to obviously clog catch basins. And obviously it's not cleanly in front of certain people's homes. So just want to see if there is a policy in place, what we're doing during the fall street sweeping and what we plan on doing in the spring so that we can educate the residents with regard when we do get a call that why is my street dirty? I'm sorry. And then we can tell them there must've been cars parked there and the policy this fall. part of the administration is that we're not tagging and towing. We're just going around the cars. I think it's just good for the council to know the residents to know, um, because I, most residents want their entire street clean. They want in front of their home cleaned. So I think it's just important question that we need answered and the residents, um, want the answer to. And hopefully whether that's a policy in the fall, hopefully we do educate the residents, let them know ahead of schedule when the streets sweeping will be in the spring. and we do what we can to make sure the whole street is swept, whether we have to take it in tow. Um, I think that's sometimes a necessary element of, um, street sweeping. And obviously people need fair warning, many different ways to be warned, but it's something that the residents are calling and questioning and they deserve an answer.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Madam vice president chair recognizes constant. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. President's approval. Um, I got more than my fair share of complaints on, um, on why the cows were just ticketed and not towed. I did call, and the answer I got was that the administration felt that the streets weren't as bad as anticipated. And in the spring, there would be more of a considered effort in the spring with all the salt and sand in there. And at that time, there will be ticketing and towing. But like I said, no matter where I went, everybody complained that The streets weren't swept, uh, in front of the houses and will the truck be coming back to clean in front of the house? So thank you. Councilor chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I think it's safe to say that everyone behind this rail could say that we can do a better job when it comes to street sweeping in the city of Medford. Um, year in and year out, we have the same conversations every spring and every fall. What's going on? When's it going to be posted? The big sweep. check the city website, how people have been notified, so on and so forth, Mr. President. So I certainly think that we can do a better job. And I think that this is a good step towards us being provided with information to maybe sit down and take a look at the job we're doing and come up with some suggestions as to how we can improve upon that, Mr. President. So I move for approval and I support the resolution on that motion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Council marks.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, here we go again.
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Michael Marks]: For the last 10 years, this city council has spoken about the lack of consistency on behalf of the administration. In particular, the Street Sweepin' program. And last year, a message was sent out to the residents, we're gonna tag in tow. This year, a message is being sent out, we're just gonna tag. The lack of consistency, Mr. President. Also, if you go on the city website, it says, Street Sweepin' begins November 9th. The electronic billboard in the square, Street Sweepin' begins November 9th. Riverside Ave, street sweeping begins November 6th. They can't even get the two electronic billboards right, Mr. President. They can't get the dates right on the electronic billboard. It doesn't make any sense. We receive every year and the mayor gets out there and takes a picture, the distinction of Tree City, USA. We have a lot of trees in our community, we take care of our trees, and we plant a lot of trees. That's why we get the distinction. But yet the mayor says she doesn't see a need to have cars moved off the street. Well, Madam Mayor, come by my house, And I'll show you the thousands of leaves in front of my house alone. And I can assure you that that's in front of many people's homes in this community. And we do need a full sweeping. Why have a program where you're going to say, well, if people don't want to move their car, that's fine. People don't want to move. That's all right. We need consistency in this community, Mr. President. And to only have it done twice a year, and then not to do a full-fledged sweeping, I don't even know what to call it. Because those leaves are gonna end up in the catch basins. The catch basins are gonna clog, and they're gonna cause flooding throughout our community. And then the mayor's gonna say, I'm not sure why our community's flooding. I don't know, Mr. President. We've been talking about this for years. It's a simple fix. They do it in every other community. You post signs, permanent signs. For years they used to put them on trees. Then they stopped putting them on trees. Then they'd have the police go by with the blowhorns. Then they stopped doing that. There's been a lack of consistency every year. This particular street sweeping program changes every year. How do you expect residents to know what's gonna go on? Because every year it changes. Now I can guarantee you, Mr. President, that we're gonna get the calls like Councilor Caraviello got, saying, you know what, I took the time to take my car off the road that was parked in front of my home to make sure the front of my home got swept, because we only do it twice a year, and then someone else parked in the spot and the sweeping truck went around it. Isn't that a great way of doing business? And the mayor knows, she's as cute as Mayor McGlynn. We don't want to give people tickets. They won't vote for us. But guess what, Madam Mayor? You have to stand up. And leadership starts from the top. And you're gonna take some stances that aren't popular, and maybe having people move their cars off the street for sweet streepin' is not popular, but it's something you have to do in order to run a community. They do it in every other community, and they're successful. The city of Somerville does theirs a dozen times a year, and maybe even more. And they're a highly congested area in the city of Somerville, and they're able to sweep their streets in a systematic way in getting their streets clean. The city of Boston, But the city of Medford, who knows what will happen? Who knows? Next year's election year, geez, maybe we won't even ticket. Maybe we'll just say the trucks were out. That's all. We'll just say they were out. We won't even need to gas them up. We'll leave them in the DPW yard, Mr. President. Every year, it's the same tune. What does it take to put together a program? I don't understand. You set up all these committees, advisory committees, you know, and nothing results. We heard about resident permit parking. All the chiefs working on that for the last three years. What's it going to take to get resident citywide permit parking or have it done by zones like they do in other communities? This is not rocket science. I don't know what it's going to take, Mr. President. I'm very disappointed again on how this, I got the call tonight, they're gonna come out and they're gonna sweep and they're gonna ticket. They didn't say anything about towing, and they're gonna ticket if your car's out there. That's what they're gonna do, Mr. President. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: No, thank you. Councilor Caffiello. Thank you, Mr. President. Councilor Mark said we talk about this every year, and the fix is a very simple fix. It's just, if the city doesn't wanna go out and buy some sweepers, There are plenty of companies that come in and they do street sweeping on a subcontracting basis. So you can go out and buy a couple of sweepers, but we need to sweep all the time, not two times a year. That's not too hard to figure out. Either do it in-house or send it out of house. Once a month, twice a month, that's how you do it. Not rocket science. On the motion for approval, all those in favor?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Aye.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, can you have them update the electronic billboard on Riverside Ave?
[Fred Dello Russo]: As amended by Councilman Monks to update the electronic billboard. Uh, billboard on Riverside Ave to turn it right side up.
[Michael Marks]: Someone from the city would drive by and see that billboard that's been up for two weeks. That's the wrong date. All those in favor of that section of the city.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those opposed. 16-759 offered by vice president Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that the administration provide us with an update regarding the expenditures for property, for property, the city council approved, uh, since, January 1st, 2016. Did I say that right?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Close enough. Thank you, President Deller. So I just want to table this till next week. I want to thank the clerk. Got me some information I need. And I just want to do a little more research because I'm trying to pull paperwork at my house that I can't find on this one. So I'll table this till next week.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion to table, all those in favor? All those against? Motion carries. 16-756 petition by Gene Mark to Cummings Street, Metro Mass to address this council on traffic safety on the roads and sidewalks. Good evening, citizen. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Jeanne Martin]: Good evening. Jean Martin, Tancreda Street. This city was founded in 1630 and has had an ever-increasing population ever since. Our streets and sidewalks cannot accommodate everyone's wishes. That's just the way it is. The people who are on bicycles want to put bikes legitimately on the streets in Medford in the same lanes with cars, trucks, and buses. It is an accident waiting to happen. Someone is going to get injured or killed. It's only a matter of time. When a car hits a truck, the car driver stands a chance of survival. A bicyclist does not. A 19-year-old Taunton woman was charged in connection with a fatal hit-and-run Thursday night. A Taunton man died after being hit by a car while riding his bike Thursday night. I do not want to be responsible for someone else's death, and I'm not trying to hit a bicyclist. It's just that I have been more aware of bicyclists. I look in my rearview mirror more often, and they'll come up on my right. They'll come up in between the two cars, and it's very, very dangerous. And I'm in a car. I can't even imagine if a bus, if they're coming up along a truck or a bus, It's just, it's, and the bus or truck is trying to take a right. They will not see that. That bicyclist moves very, very fast. If you're a bicyclist in Medford from here on out, I'm letting you know that I don't want to hurt you. And we need to do something about this policy. I don't want to be up for my manslaughter charges. I really don't. I'm not intending to. I try to pay attention as much as I can. But the thought of hitting somebody on a bike is just frightening to me. You're risking the lives of others as well, as I may swerve not to hit you, and I may hit another car or, heaven forbid, a pedestrian. And I realize that you do not. even belong on the sidewalk these days either. And I talked to somebody that was a proponent of bicycles on the roads so that I could, you know, figure stuff out. And really, a bike doesn't belong on a sidewalk today either. And the reason for that is if you look at Riverside Ave, everybody's turned their front yards into parking spaces. And they have to go in and they have to back out. They couldn't see a bike if the car was coming out. There's only so much room on the roads in Medford, and there's only so much room on the sidewalks. Everybody wants a tree on the sidewalk. Everybody wants strollers and wheelchairs on the sidewalk. There is so much competition for space that it's just, I don't even think they belong on the sidewalks now. I used to say, oh, just put them on the sidewalks. I don't think it's safe for bikes on the sidewalks either. I just don't. And I realized, okay, so anyway, whatever. And now, the argument that I hear is that bicyclists actually have a right to be on the road. Not really. Not on the street. You know why? I'm a pedestrian, and I have no right to be walking down the middle of Riverside Ave. I do not. I do not have that permission. Do you know why? Because I'll get hit by a car. Unmotorized vehicles should not be on the road with motorized vehicles. And I understand that people like their bikes and everything else. But I know that you guys aren't going to change your policy. But I'm going to feel better when I go home tonight, because this is an issue of public safety. Sure, go ahead.
[Adam Knight]: I don't believe it's the City of Medford's policy that authorizes cyclists to ride their cycles on the roadways. I believe it's state law that authorizes such. It's not our policy.
[Jeanne Martin]: Oh, thank you. Well, at any rate, they're going to be on the roads, but if I hit you, sorry, I'm telling you right now, I just, I don't like it. You're endangering the mental well-being of people like me who have the excessive worry that I am going to hit you on a road unable to accommodate you. I know that's strong language, but I just feel that way. Bicyclists, this is from a lawyer's website, bicyclists have rights to roadways that are similar to other vehicles. By not properly sharing the road, frustrated motorists who are unfamiliar with rules and regulations can cause serious injuries to bicyclists. We can help you recover compensation for damages and injuries incurred in bicycle accidents. If you incur an injury such as a head trauma, neck injury, fractures or broken bones, rotocuff injuries, scars or catastrophic injuries, Take the necessary steps to protect yourself and build a case for compensation. Gather contact information from witnesses and people involved in the accident. Take photos of damages and injuries and avoid making statements regarding the accident until you have contacted an experienced attorney at our firm. Then the real kicker. Compensation that goes beyond immediate medical bills. Depending on the circumstances surrounding your bicycle accident, The at-fault party's automobile insurance could cover a large portion of lost wages, medical bills, ambulance fees, bicycle replacement services, and wrongful death claims. Homeowner's insurance, this is the kicker. Not only is my car insurance going to go up, because we all are on a group system. You have an accident, I pay for it. That's just the way the insurance process works. My homeowner's insurance could also be involved in the accident was caused by negligent behavior on another person's property. So I know that you guys aren't going to change your policy, but the least you can do is make a permit process in the city where somebody that wants to go on the roads has to pass a class, is going to be heavily fined, is going to have to deal with the rules of the road. I know you're not going to change the policy. I know. The bike people, they're a strong lobby. I think it's very, very stupid, dangerous, and especially given the light that our city has so many cars on it. We not only have our own cars to worry about, we got people going through our city to Boston via 16 or Salem Street or whatever. We have cars, cars, cars, and more cars. And we do have a car problem parked on the Fulton Street. Go to Fulton Street. Every time I drive up there, there's cars on the sidewalk. Now they're so bold, they're actually on the street. And by the way, I'm not picking on just the bike people. The car people, they need to be responsible too because, you know, if they're in the car, if they're on the street and I have to go into the other person oncoming traffics to go around them, you're putting me at danger in that too. So you need to get the cars off the streets, off the sidewalks and the like. So it's not just the bike people. But it's the bike people that bother me the most because you're not going to win in a fight on the road with a bike. You're taking your life into your own hands, but you're also taking my life into my hands, because I don't want to be in jail for manslaughter. I just don't. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, citizen. On the motion of Councilor Falco to receive and place on file, all those in favor?
[Michael Marks]: Councilor? Thank you, Mr. President. And I appreciate, Gene, you bringing up the issue. And I've had the same conversations with the members of the Bicycle Committee in the city of Medford. And I think one of the issues is that uh, we as a community, uh, still not, uh, bicycle friendly. And, uh, the city has made movement over the last few years in creating some bike lanes, but there's no connectivity. And for instance, you have the bike lane that starts off on the Winchester line, coming down Winthrop street. It goes for about 200 yards and stops at Wildwood road. And that's the end of the bike lane. Not sure where that takes you unless you just want to go down 200 yards. But this is an issue, because I think what we do by just appeasing people by saying, you know what? Oh, you want a bike lane? We'll throw a bike lane on Winthrop Street for 200 yards. Now they're going to put one on Boston Ave, a bike lane, under the mayor's new policy. And I think rather than having a full-fledged program that addresses connectivity, not with chastity, but enabling our bikers because for the most part, they're looking to get to Cambridge, Boston, Somerville, they're looking to get to other areas and connect with these bike lanes. And we've fallen short of the mark to really move this issue forward. And I believe, and I appreciate what you're saying, I think we could share our streets, but we have to do it in a safe way. We have to make it so it's safe for everyone to be on our streets. Because if someone opts to use a bicycle and not an automobile or use their feet, they should have every right to gain access to where they have to go and so forth. So I think it's incumbent upon the city to create lanes that are, first of all, safe, that work for not only drivers but also cyclists to make sure it's safe for both, and make sure there's connectivity, which currently doesn't exist. And, you know, this is, you know, I think what we're seeing right now is a movement. We're seeing more people now hop on a bike and get to where they have to go. And I think we as a community have to move forward like they've done in other communities. Although there's been accidents, you know, the same way I lost a friend on Route 16 about a year and a half ago. He was struck on his bicycle, you know. These are things that are happening. It happens to pedestrians. It happens motor vehicle fatalities. People get killed all the time in driving vehicles. It's not a reason to stop us from driving vehicles or a reason to stop walking because pedestrians are getting struck. It's a reason to create safer ways for transportation. And I think that's what we have to move upon. rather than having the mayor sit back and say, wow, we're bike friendly. Look at the lane I created. Look what I've done over here. I know the president doesn't drive a bicycle, and it's probably good for business for him if someone does get struck. But for the rest of us that want to maintain our safety, this is a very serious issue, and I think we have to do more as a city.
[Jeanne Martin]: If I may, thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to respond. Around Winthrop Street or something, that's fine. If you're going up Riverside Avenue, you have to be in the lane that the cars are in, and that is my problem. And maybe it'll work out that you have that many rural routes in Medford, but I don't see how that's gonna work. I just don't. And I appreciate it, though. I know that they're gonna be doing this. I just, I want my voice to be heard that this is very dangerous. I want pedestrians to feel safe crossing the street. I wanna amp up. all the crosswalks so that pedestrians can cross the street. And I truly believe that we need the sidewalk system that we have. And I believe that, you know, I believe in a priority system. Wheelchairs before trees on the sidewalk. That's just me. I mean, there's a priority list. And I think that bikes get to the, if you want to save the environment, then you got to commute with other people to work. get out to take the bus. We have other ways. Walk. Walk to the bus stop. The bike thing on the roads on Riverside Ave, this road is 350, 400 years old. And it just cannot accommodate everybody's wishes. It just cannot. The reason why you can't park on Riverside Ave is because there's not enough room. There's two lanes. At some point, decisions have to be made where you say we can't do this for someone. even if it's a wheelchair. You might not have the room to go in with a wheelchair. I want to see that, but if there's absolutely no way, then you have to say, well, I'm sorry, we can't do it with a wheelchair. So I thank you so much for listening to my anxiety on this. I appreciate the city for listening to me. And I'm going to be watching out for the bikes. I am. I mean, I check my rearview mirror a whole lot more now than I ever did. But I just fear that I'm going to take a right, the bike's going to be up there, and I'm going to hit them. It's just going to happen, especially at night, the rain, and all the other factors that come into being. And I'm all for bike paths in certain areas, like the river and stuff like that. That's great. But take your car, take your bike with your car to the river. That's my advice. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: City Council asked for a status, the status on the crosswalk at the intersection of Grove Street and Russell Bustle Road, which was brought forward in May. Councilor Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. I'm sorry. May or March. I think it was May. Thank you, Mr. President. I, uh, it's something I had proposed before and we never heard anything about that. Um, that intersection at Bustle and Grove is a, is a very, uh, heavily traveled by the children going to the playset park. And cars, again, just have total disregard. They cut off a grove to get down to the playset, and they just go right by there. There's a crosswalk there. It'd be a lot safer for the children to use. So again, I ask again that a crosswalk be painted right there, Mr. President. On that motion, all those in favor?
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those opposed? Motion carries. Offered by Council Marks, be it resolved that a moment of silence be held for longtime Metro resident Rita Curtin on her recent passing constant.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, Mrs. Curtin was a staple at, uh, St. Rayfields as a lunch mother for a number of years. Um, she, uh, was a terrific person, mother, grandmother, um, and just a dear friend. Uh, her husband, if anyone recalls, uh, Mickey Curtin who passed away some years ago, was the head of forestry in the city for a number of years, and Rita will be very sorely missed, Mr. President. Please stand for a moment of silence.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Offered by Councilor Marks, it resolved that the parking kiosk be discussed.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I received a number of complaints regarding the kiosk and the fact that this has been an issue of contention. This has been an issue of contention for a number of years now that this council has requested on federal holidays that the kiosk not have the ability to accept money. And it happened, I believe, eight months ago, and the company told us at the time they were going to rectify the issue and that they were also — we, as a council, requested that they reimburse anyone that put money in the machine during that period of time. And on Veterans Day this past Friday, sure enough, the kiosks were accepting money once again, Mr. President. And business owners were telling customers that were coming up that don't worry about the kiosk, that you don't have to feed them. And people were saying, well, it accepted my money. Are you sure you don't have to feed them? So, it left people at a real disadvantage on what to do. So, I would ask, Mr. President, that we receive a response from the parking method on the fact that the kiosks, once again, were accepting money on a federal holiday. And once again, that, uh, the, whoever put money in these machines because we have their plate number be reimbursed, Mr. President. Uh, and I would ask that we get a response immediately from, uh, park method regarding this issue. Very good on that motion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: All those in favor of those opposed motion care records of the meeting, November 6, 2016. We'll pass to counsel Falco.
[John Falco]: Mr. Councilor, how'd you find those records? Mr. President, I asked that those records be tabled. I actually did not receive a copy. in my package.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of the Council of Faculty that the approval process be tabled. All those in favor? All those opposed? Meeting is adjourned.
|
total time: 21.0 minutes total words: 1666  |
total time: 6.88 minutes total words: 642  |
total time: 28.67 minutes total words: 586  |
total time: 11.64 minutes total words: 818  |
|
total time: 9.02 minutes total words: 774  |
total time: 4.57 minutes total words: 172  |
total time: 6.43 minutes total words: 671  |
total time: 3.53 minutes total words: 62  |