[Richard Caraviello]: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Before I start this evening, I'd like to wish Councilor Longo-Carron, happy birthday. And one more thing, I'd like to thank Steve Brogan and the staff at the cemetery over the Memorial Day weekend. Him and his crew did a great job getting everything ready and all the volunteers who put the flags out there. Thank you to everyone, I think it was a great time. Had by all, I wish the weather held out a little more. But again, thank you Steve and his staff. Motions, orders, resolutions. 17493, offered by Councilor Knight, whereas May 26, 2017 marks the second anniversary of the passing of Firefighter Timothy Brennan, be it resolved that the Medford City Council hold a moment of silence in his memory, and be it further resolved that the 53017 Medford City Council meeting be dedicated in memoriam to Firefighter Timothy Brennan. If we could have a moment of silence, please.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Neistat. Mr. President, thank you very much, and I'd like to thank my council colleagues for supporting this resolution. As we're all aware, Timothy Brennan passed away some years ago with some complications to a health issue, but he was the consummate professional public servant And he's someone that dedicated his life to the fire safety of the residents in the community of Medford. He's sadly missed. His presence is sadly missed. I know his brothers and sisters down at the fire station miss him as well. I'd like to just take an opportunity to extend my deep condolences to the family once again, and ask that my council colleagues support the resolution and remembering Timmy on the anniversary day of his passing. Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Knight.
[Richard Caraviello]: All those in favor?
[Michael Marks]: Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilor Knight for uh, putting this on tonight's agenda. Uh, Tim was a good friend of mine. And, um, as Council Knight mentioned, uh, the Brennan family is synonymous with, uh, public safety in this community and, uh, have been, uh, providing, uh, the residents of this community with, uh, great public safety for many decades in this community. And, uh, with the loss of, uh, Tim at such a young age and someone that had a very promising future, Uh, it was real devastating. And, uh, I just want to thank Councilor Knight, uh, for putting this on tonight and remembrance of not only a great firefighter, but a good friend.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Vice president on the motion by Councilor Knight seconded by Councilor Marks. All those in favor. Yeah, I just have it. Motion passes 17 four eight eight offered by council. Lungo-Koehn be resolved. The director that the director of public works, update the Medford City Council with regards to the stop sign that is down with a cone on top of Brookside Parkway. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. I did receive an email complaining about this. I think the stop sign was left in the middle of the street and a resident of Medford had to move it over to the side. I did contact the Department of Public Works. They said they would take care of it and I wanted to just get an update on that, because after they said they'd take care of it, I think there was just a cone on top of it. So I've been noticing a lot of cones and big barrels in different places around the city, and I'm not sure if that means, I'm assuming that means we're getting to it, but obviously that stop sign needs to go up where it needs to go, or it needs to be taken off the side of the road. Public safety issues, obviously, when you have things either in the middle of the street or the side of the road. So if we just could get an update with regards to when this is going to be reinstalled or removed, that would be appreciated.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Longo-Kearns. Motion for suspension by Vice-President Mox. I'm sorry. On the motion by Councilor Longo-Kearns, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favour? Motion passes. Motion for suspension by Councilor Marks to take up
[Michael Marks]: Take up paper 17-487, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: 17-487, that is in committee. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. The Subcommittee on Business and Economic Development and Science had a meeting on Wednesday, May 24th at 5.30 p.m. in room 207. Myself was present as chair, Councilor Dello Russo and Councilor Scarpelli as committee members. Councilor President Cavell was also present. uh, building commissioner, Paul Moki city solicitor, Mark Romley, Richard to Tulio, um, and Lauren D Lorenzo from officer community development or present Mr. Um, president, uh, there were three petitions that appeared before the council, uh, the week prior, uh, all which were denied by the community development board, uh, for a number of reasons. Uh, paper 17-four, five, two, uh, was the evangelical Haitian church, which is located at 400 High Street in Method. They asked that we keep the committee, the paper and committee because they weren't ready to present that night. Paper 17-450 is Global Health Care located at 5 High Street. The owner and president of Global Health was present. Unfortunately, his signed person was unable to be there that night and asked us to keep the paper and committee. And the one report that we did happen to report out, 17-451, petition of a sign reversal by Richard DiTullio, property manager for Wayside Youth and Family, 5 High Street, Method Mass. The application 2017-11A exceeds allowable size, secondary sign, and window signage. The committee reported out, Mr. President, unanimously The first one was paper 2017-11A, the secondary sign in conformity with the primary sign with the designated colors of burgundy and flat. In addition, that the sign be placed in window bay five. The second denial, which was 2017-11B, we asked that the window sign be a flat color and that the window sign be located in window bay number three only. And the petitioner was present at that meeting, Mr. President, and agreed with what the recommendations were by this council, and stated that he was also, which was approved, his primary sign, which was approved, he was looking for a secondary sign. He stated that he was gonna have his primary sign match the color of the secondary sign, So we would have his signs both be burgundy, along with the awnings that are on that side of High Street, which are burgundy, to match and have a flow, Mr. President. And the petitioner stated that he would do so with this primary sign that was already approved by the council. So based on our meeting and based on the input from Councilor Del Russo, yourself, Mr. President, Councilor Scarpelli, I would move approval tonight on paper 17-451. 17-451.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion to adopt by Council Box to adopt the committee report seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. One, seven, four, five, one. Mr. Clerk, I do not have that paper in front of me. I don't have the paper. It's not on my sheet. Yeah, it's not on my sheet, Mr. Clerk.
[Clerk]: Yeah, thank you. 17, four, five, one.
[Richard Caraviello]: Petition for sign denial reversal by Richard Dettuglio, property manager for Wayside Youth and Family, 5 High Street, Medford, Mass. OCD application 2017-11A exceeds allowable sign size, secondary and window signage. One, sign denial application 2017-11A that the secondary sign in conformity with the primary sign with the designation of colors be burgundy and flattened edition. The sign be placed in window five, window bay five, number two. Sign denial application 2017-11B, that the flat color sign be granted for window bay number three only. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, move that this item be approved as reported out in the report from the subcommittee and signs and adopted by the body. to move presently.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Dara Rousseau. Seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Councilor Lococo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just want to make sure I completely understand it because I have the pictures from that week.
[George Scarpelli]: So they're going to change from white to green, from white and green to burgundy and... It's going to match the photo from the next door neighbor sushi restaurant. Yeah, so all those lines will be the same color.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Gotcha, so the... No light. No light, flat, and we're granting one on each side?
[George Scarpelli]: It'll be one on Main Street, one on North Forest. He already had one.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Okay, so we're giving him one extra. Okay, thank you. Just wanted to make sure I understood it. One sticker. Okay.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Thank you, sir. You're all set. Thank you. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to revert back to regular business.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: While we're under suspension.
[Richard Caraviello]: While we're under suspension. Councilor Dello Russo has withdrawn his motion. While we're under suspension, Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: To take paper 17485 regarding Evans Street.
[Richard Caraviello]: Second by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 17485, petition. by Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street, to address the City Council on Evans Street Water and Pipe Repair and Reservicing. Councilor Alango-Kern.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I'll let the petitioner speak.
[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address for the record. Thank you, Mr. President. Robert Capucci, 71 Evans Street. Through the Chair, thank you, Councilor Alango-Kern, for taking this out of order under suspension of the rules. I don't want to seem, you know, selfish about Evans Street, coming up here again because I know there's a lot of streets and sub water and gas systems across Medford that need to be looked at, but I'm a little disheartened before this body tonight to come and speak on this matter yet again. Through the administration's office, through the DPW, a letter came out saying that contracts would go out in May, for the work that needs to be done on Evan Street that members of this body have said in the past is in the top five of worst condition streets in the City of Medford. When that letter came out, it prompted some City Councilors, when they saw it, in good faith, to tell neighbours of mine and myself that work is going to be done this spring specifically this May. So a week and a half ago, one of my neighbors, Mr. Rob McGuire, knowing how often I come to the council meetings and discussions I have with the honorable members of this body, asked me point blank on Facebook, hey, well, my nickname's Booch, hey Booch, when are they gonna do the repairs on Evans Street? So I said, I'm not sure, I only know what we were told, what you were told. And then another neighbour of mine in the discussion on Facebook posted the picture of the letter that came out, and it was said that last week somebody was going to bring it up for discussion on this body, and for whatever reason, probably a good reason, it didn't come up for discussion. And I was going to speak last week on it. So the next day, last Wednesday, after work, I came right to City Hall, and I went into the engineer's office, Cassandra, and I asked point blank. Neighbours are asking me. We were told. that work was going to be done this spring, this May. She told me, and this is no offence, but these are the slow wheels of government. Medford has been waiting over six decades, not Medford, but Evans Street, for repairs that really need to be done. We had a water pipe that burst just before Christmas, this past Christmas, on Evans Street. But what the engineer told me, who also I know is constrained by a lot of projects that are going on, but what she said was, I'm finalizing the contract now. Then it goes to the purchaser's office. Once it gets approved there, then it goes out for bids. Then once the bids come in, the mayor has to choose the best one. So I said, well, my neighbors are asking me, when is this work going to be done? Possibly July. I'm sorry, Mr. President, but with all due respect, I really don't see it happening this year. And now you have to account for there's 26 houses, four on the corner, that's 30 houses, paying at least $1,200 in property taxes, paying God knows what in water taxes. Even the people that rent there, their rent's going up because of property taxes, the surcharges on property taxes. We're paying a lot. I did a ballpark figure. We're talking over six decades. We're talking millions of dollars in taxes from this one street. Uh, I'm here tonight to tell you that I spoke to my fellow residents and, uh, I'm not even here to ask for the work to be done anymore. Mr. President, uh, a year and a half ago, this administration ran on a promised on her platform that she was going to dust off the master plan. A year and a half later, Mr. President, there's another inch of dust on the master plan. The citizens on Evans street are disappointed. Mr. President, thank you very much. Thank you. Councilor.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. I guess I just want to speak in support of this. I think a number of us Councilors have brought up Evans street and I believe it was last spring and even before that, that we started complaining about it. And last spring when a number of residents, came before us begging, I mean, basically begging for some relief on the street. Children, who I see in the audience today, can't even ride their bikes without, I mean, when I drove down it after I got the complaints, it's like torn up with rocks and it's unsafe. And we were told it was gonna be done by now. I did reach out to the city engineer on the 8th of May just to ask for an update. I was told that Evans is in queue for later this year. as we need to replace the water main first. So that's the information I got on the 8th. I'm hoping sooner than later this year, what seems is you're getting information that it's going to be done sooner than the end of the year, which would be great if it could be done by July. But how many times, you know, can we be told, just keep being pushed off and pushed off when it's, top five, I think it's one of the worst streets. I think it might be top one or two in Medford from me just driving around and witnessing what's going on. And I just think we need some definite answers, and that needs to come from the mayor's office, who's going to be footing the bill. The engineer is probably doing what she needs to do, and she's being responsive. Obviously, July is better, kind of, than the answer I got. But what is, you know, really, when is it going to be done? When is the bid going to be accepted, and are we going to pay for it? And I think that's something we all need to demand come a few weeks from now when we are asked for a vote on the budget. I mean, we all need to think about a number of different things, including Evans Street, before we can vote on a budget. And I think the potholes and painted striping of our streets and the sunken manholes that aren't taken care of needs to be priority number one. It's a safety concern. You know?
[Robert Cappucci]: If you drive around the corner on Pinkett Street, the potholes there, you have to navigate around them to not put damage on your car. The potholes on Evans Street, I mean, there were baseball size rocks coming out of the, out of the gravel, out of the street.
[Richard Caraviello]: I've been by there next Tuesday night at six o'clock. We will be having a council, the whole meeting with the city engineer on a lot of these issues. And I urge you to come to that meeting at six o'clock.
[Robert Cappucci]: There's a lot of disappointed people on Evans street and this is my name.
[Richard Caraviello]: I understand. Thank you. Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_10]: I was here last year. I think it was around this same time and I was told the exact same thing about the budget and approving the budget and not approving a certain amount of money for her until she said that and we're here a year later and it's still exactly the same and I keep hearing later on this year, later on this year, next spring, next spring, and here we are, and it's summertime, and we're hearing later on this year, and then we're hearing July, and it's been, I've lived on that street for 41 years, and that street hasn't been repaved, and I, she said it, I have an eight-year-old daughter, she can't ride her bike, I have to put a bike rack on the back of my car and drive her to the bike path for her to ride her bike, In that neighborhood, because the rocks are on the sidewalk, the rocks are on the street. Pinkett Street is probably worse than Evans. I'm sorry for saying that, because I live on Evans. But Pinkett Street is pretty bad, too. You can't ride your bike in that neighborhood. And I don't know what has to happen. How do you get the street fixed? How do you get the street fixed? And everybody, I think. except for him, said that it's really bad, it's a really bad street, so everybody knows that it's really bad, aside from whoever's on C-Click Fix checking it off as repaired, because it's the furthest thing from repaired, but everybody knows that it's really bad.
[Richard Caraviello]: And I... And you were promised that it was gonna be fixed.
[SPEAKER_10]: For a long time.
[Richard Caraviello]: For a long time.
[SPEAKER_10]: So, I don't know what else. to do. I don't think anybody, I asked my neighbors, I asked my really sweet neighbors if they wanted to come and they don't want to come. They don't want to come. They don't want to deal with it anymore. They, they, they, they gave up. They, they gave up and that's sad. What?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yeah, that's it.
[SPEAKER_10]: Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much. And I'd like to thank Mr. Capucci and Ms. Smith for being here this evening. Um, On St. Patrick's Day, 3-17-17, we received a response to paper 17209 from the administration. And this paper clearly said that the contract will be in place in mid-May, and construction will proceed with the schedule thereafter. Now, we put this paper initially on the agenda in October. And I'm at a loss to figure out how long it takes to get the contract in place, but this all should have been done well before the construction season started, Mr. President. And not a week goes by now that I don't scratch my head and wonder what's going on inside that engineering office. I really have significant concerns about the way that that office is being managed and what's going on in the community. For us to have to wait 18 months for a response to a paper, for residents to have to wait six, seven, eight, nine months for a contract just to go out so that the work can be done that they said they've been scheduling for three years is ridiculous. And I'm not one to go out on these rants, Mr. President, about the administration not doing this and not doing that. That's not my style. But enough's enough. This office has got to keep its eyes on the prize, because the engineering office is far too vital to the delivery of the requisite services that we're here to provide, to be asleep at the switch.
[Richard Caraviello]: Agreed. Name and address of the record, please.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Jean Nuzzo, 35 Parris Street. I just want to go on the record, too, that Parris Street was also listed as a street that was supposed to be addressed this year. I wouldn't get into a debate about what street is worse. I think on our side of Medford, we have a lot of very, what I call, depressed streets that haven't really been attended to, the street nor the sidewalks. There's a hole that has been in front of my house for 46 years. We haven't been able to, I mean, kind of laughable, but it isn't. It keeps getting larger and larger and larger. Our elderly community on our street cannot walk down the sidewalks. It's abhorrent. And often when we attend these dialogues and discussions about development, we hear these developers tell us that our neighbourhoods are depressed and blighted. It really boils down to our streets not being able to be taken care of. So I know we've got a committee of the whole meeting. I'd ask that you consider Paris Street and maybe a few more of those surrounding streets in our neighborhood. It's been quite a while since they've been attended to. And I think it would go a long way for a number of elderly people we have, as well as mobily challenged folks in our neighborhood. You know, our area of Medford, I think the last time I checked, we have like 45% of the people who live in North and East Medford that are senior and disabled and lower income. So it's harder for them to get around because not all of them do have cars and they like to walk. So again, I know you've got a meeting coming up Tuesday. I'd like to attend as well. And I'm looking forward to that dialogue. But if you could consider our area as well, that would be great.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you. Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. And, you know, it's a shame when you have to have residents come up over and over again on the same issue. And it's even more of a shame, Mr. President, when department heads tell residents that something's going to be done and then there's no follow-up. You know, sometimes the schedule doesn't work according to how it was planned. And all you need to do is reach back out to residents and say, you know what, I might have told you it was May, but now because of the RFP or whatever went through, it took us a little longer, now we're looking at July or August. And I think residents would feel happy that the communication was there, Mr. President. I think what happens is the fact that there is a lack of communication, The fact, Mr. President, that this council has been asking for a master plan from this mayor for the past year and a half, a master plan, Mr. President, not because we want a master plan for the sake of a master plan. It's to address issues like this. Within a master plan, you would have someone that would go out and do a street audit and say, what are the top Dozen streets, two dozen streets, three dozen streets that need to be repaired. When is the last time they were repaired or resurfaced? You heard from Ms. White that mentioned she's been on the street for 41 years, four decades. That street has never been repaved. And I'm referring to Evans Street, Mr. President. And I really think, Mr. President, the fact that we don't have any type of master plan, the fact is that we don't have a full assessment of our streets, we're always chasing our tail. We can't even keep track. We're talking about repaving roads. We can't even fill potholes. Forget about repaving roads. We can't even do the basic fundamentals of filling potholes. Our staff is so undersized in the DPW that we can't even stay on top of a basic, basic city service. And then people are coming up asking about their roads, and they're very right, Mr. President, as Mr. Capucci mentioned, paying tens of thousands of dollars in property tax, and you have to look out and see your street look like Beirut, Mr. President. You get small potholes that could be swimming pools. It's unacceptable, rocks that could get kicked up when a car drives over them. It's a public safety concern. And it's not, if it was one or two streets, I'd say, you know what, we're in pretty good condition. We're seven square miles, we're a big city, we're in good condition. It's not one or two streets. It's almost every street in the city, Mr. President. And we have no game plan. You know, I attend events, Mr. President, and you see the mayor walking around with all her assistants. Rather than have a pen and paper in their hand, taking down notes when people say, I need my street done, they have a camera. Because all they want to do is capture the mayor with a picture. They're not looking for anything else, Mr. President. They don't want to hear your gripes or your concerns. They want to capture the mayor at events by taking her picture. That's what we have now. We have a photo op mayor that walks around and only looking for a picture. when the real nitty gritty needs to take place. If we can't provide basic city services in this city, we might as well lock the door at City Hall. We might as well lock it, Mr. President. I'm equally as disappointed with this administration, and you know what? When a department's not doing their job, I'll call them out, and I've been doing it for years. But as I stated before, a fish rots from the head down. And if you want to look at who's not doing their job, Mr. President, and who ultimately is responsible, the chief executive officer of this community that runs the day-to-day operations, it's the mayor of this community, Mr. President. I'm not going to point fingers at departments that are a shell of departments that barely have enough staff to do a day's worth of work. It comes from the top, Mr. President. You know, and I'd ask our council liaison that the mayor appointed, but she happens not to be here tonight. Actually, she hasn't attended since she was appointed a year and a half now. The council liaison, someone that would be here to sit in the audience, go back to the mayor and say, Madam Mayor, this was brought up tonight. This is the concerns at the council. This is the concerns I heard from residents. That's why that position was made, Mr. President, to address issues like this and bring them to the mayor's attention. I realize the mayor can't be everywhere, and that's why she has assistance, Mr. President, to help. This is what's rotten within this community, Mr. President. And I'm tired of talking about we can't go on to new issues when we talk about the same old issues over and over again. So I feel the residents' frustration. You know, I agree with Parrish Street and all the host of other streets, Mr. President, because I receive the phone calls and the emails, as we all do, when people say, what about my road? What about my street? And what do you tell them? You tell them to call the mayor's office, and they laugh. Say, I don't even get a call back. Now, we have to be more, Mr. President, than just a sounding board, this council. We have to be able to hold the mayor's feet to the fire. And if people behind this reeling are going to give the mayor unconditional support all the time, that's why we're not getting anywhere. That's why we're not holding the mayor's feet to the fire, Mr. President. We have plenty of enablers behind this reel that allow this mayor to go off and do what she wants to do and then want to talk a big game after the fact. Let's hold the mayor's feet to the fire. Let's hold her accountable to the job she was elected to do, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Vice president.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. Um, and I also like to thank, uh, uh, Mr. Capucci for bringing this issue forward tonight. Um, I have been down in that neighborhood and a number, a number of times over the past year. And, uh, the street is in deplorable condition and it's been like that for a long time. And, uh, promises were made that this was going to be fixed and it's extremely disappointing that it seems like it's, You know, it really might not even be on the radar. I mean, it should be, but it seems like nothing's getting done. And, you know, it's long overdue. It needs to get done. And I, too, question why is it delayed? Why is it being delayed? What has happened? And when is the work going to be done? And what exactly is going to be done? So if we could get an official correspondence back from the engineer's office, I'd like to see something officially from her basically telling us why it has been delayed.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think this will be something we'll discuss next Tuesday at the council meeting also.
[John Falco]: I'm sure we will, but I want to see something in writing, something officially as to why it was delayed. And I want to find out when it's, when they plan on actually getting this kicked off and going in a process it has to go through because everyone should be on the same page. And you know, it was mentioned earlier communication and a lot of this comes down to communication. And if they actually sent the memo to us saying, you know what, this was promised last year, but it's going to be delayed, at least when the calls come in, we can say, you know what, we received a communication back from the engineer's office. This is going to be delayed because of reasons A, B, and C. But we haven't received anything back. And the neighbors haven't received any news. And therefore, we're all kind of standing around looking at each other. So a lot of it comes down to communication. As far as this issue goes, there really hasn't been any, any communication. So if we can get an official correspondence from the engineer's department with those details, I greatly appreciate it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Clerk, if you could make that note, please.
[John Falco]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[George Rick Sacco]: Rec cycle 21 Ridgeway road method. Uh, I wasn't going to speak tonight. I just came down to, you know, witness the council meeting. Uh, but, uh, I'm going to go back a few years, just a few. Um, At one time we had a paper, it was called the Medford Mercury. And if I remember correctly, every year the city would go out, like Councilor Marks would say, they'd go out and they'd gauge these streets. In other words, they prioritize what streets are going to be done. For instance, not this year, not this fiscal year. Fiscal year 2018, they knew five streets, five critical streets. Those streets were published in the newspaper, and they were prioritized. So the citizens on those streets, a year before the street was even going to be reconstructed, those citizens knew that they were going to be in for a new street, new sidewalks, whatever the construction is. That gave the administration plenty of time if they had to put a water line in, or they had to put a gas line in, or whatever they had to do. It seems today that the planning is like The cart is going before the horse. They plan the street. They get the street planned. They go out and do it. And then about six months later, oh, we've got to put a water line in. Very frustrating, poor planning. But I just wanted to bring up that this is the way the citizens of Medford knew where they stood with their streets, the condition of their streets. And it was a very simple thing to do. I mean, I'm not sure. If I could ask the council now, do you know what the top five streets are in Medford that have to be paved? Does anybody know the top five?
[Unidentified]: All right.
[George Rick Sacco]: Well, you're close. Okay. You got the city council. I live on Ridgeway road. My streets, my streets in great shape. Okay. Did you go up the top of fells F you know, fells F you know, fells F they tore that street up. It's washing away. Come down Fells Ave to Murray Hill, one hole on the left side, it's gone. It's all being washed away. The contractor did a horrible job. Now where's the penalty there on these reconstructions on these streets? Okay. That's another issue. I don't want to get into that, but that's something that the council maybe should look at. Maybe they should go back to the DPW, go back to the mayor's office and say, listen, when we do the budget, we want to know what streets are going to be done. And we want to know not only what streets are going to be done, we want to know, number one, Evans is going to be number one. Number two is going to be Mystic Ave. Number three, whatever, okay? That way you know, going into that budget meeting, five streets, $2 million, okay? And it gives everybody right up front what has to be done. There's no going back saying, well, we're going to have to put in gas, we have to put in a water line, or whatever we have to do on that street. That also eliminates a lot of going back in and tearing up our streets. It's called planning, master planning. Okay. It might not include a building of a police station, but it's critical. It's our infrastructure. I mean, simple things. I was just talking to the councilor tonight, go down Salem street, Felsway to Medford, to Salem, all the way down. Not one crosswalk is striped. Not one, you can't even see them. That's our main street, highly visible, highly pedestrian areas, okay? Simple little things, all right? So, I mean, I just wanna throw that out. I don't know if you were aware of it. Some of you councilors might've been aware of it, but there are things that you can do to make the citizens aware where they stand, okay? And it gives the citizens plenty of time to make any adjustments and contact the council, contact the mayor's office, the DPW. It might be a street, a tree that has to be taken down or something. It's called planning. So that's all I have to say. I appreciate the time. Thank you.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Name and address of the record, please. I just wanted to add one thought after hearing the gentleman before me speak so eloquently about planning. I think that Recognizing that budget is always a concern in this day and age and recognizing that some streets need to be put off. If we could even be successful in our pothole repair, so currently what they'll do if you're fortunate enough to have a pothole filled, they'll do that. They'll fill it and they'll tamp it down. But that's not actually the right way to repair a pothole. You're supposed to actually cut so many inches, a surgeon would call it the clear margin. Cut so many inches and then you re-tamp and you fill with a square. If we made those types of repairs, the roads would look less like patchwork and you'd feel potholes less because when they're patched, they'd be patched more appropriately. And then the secondary and possibly more important thing we could do, and occasionally I hear it, when different developers step before you, when they fall under your purview, but what we should do overall is we should never let anybody who's opening our street open up a one-foot trench. They need to open up a minimum width for a minimum duration so that they have the appropriate space to reset and tamp down put in the subsoil, put in the proper layers of the different products that are required depending upon where they're working at the right grade so that you don't wind up with the puddle and all of that stuff. And I can forward to all of you, some of you may be aware, but I'm happy to share with you some general links to help you get a little bit more up to speed. But I think regardless of where we go with our repair of streets, we can do no harm. So when we open up our streets and we're working in our streets, if we require folks that are doing this work, and they know how to make those repairs because in other cities They wouldn't dare open up the street for a foot and a half for, you know, four or five feet. They'd open it up properly and they'd, you know, reset to existing or better condition the same way. And they also wouldn't use hot top patches on the sidewalk where there's concrete, where we've had some upgrades done. I've noticed that. I think it might have been NSTAR that did the gas upgrades. They would cut out the street, the sidewalk, dig that hole out, and they wouldn't properly set the patch and put concrete back in. They'd just tamp in hot top like someone was going to come later. And we've got some of those on Paris Street that go down the street. There's probably 30 or 40 of them at least. Maybe even one for every single address where they tie into the different homes. But those few measures don't really reside back with us, our budget, taxpayer money. It resides to the projects that are being done. And as a city, if we require those things, then our streets are gonna look better because we're requiring that people working in them maintain and return them to us in a condition that we're not gonna have to be doing repair work in two or three years. So I just wanted to raise that. And if anyone's interested, I'm happy to share some of those links. Thanks.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Thank you, President Caraviello. If we could just amend the paper and ask point blank to the mayor's office, will this be in this money for Evans Street and possibly Paris and Pinker, two other streets that we were promised, will this be in our next year's budget? I think that's really just the ultimate answer that we need because I truly feel if the mayor's office wanted it done, they would have told the engineer's office to go out to bid months and months ago like we were promised. And I think it's really unfortunate we have to ask questions at this stage of the game, when in two weeks we're gonna be asked for a vote on a budget, and we haven't even seen any part of the budget whatsoever. And I think it's a little late for that. We're at the last meeting in May, and we haven't even, like you said last week, they won't even answer you.
[Richard Caraviello]: You will have your budget book on Tuesday.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Next Tuesday, so we're gonna meet on the week after, the 12th, 13th.
[Richard Caraviello]: It's Tuesday coming up.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Okay, so, and I mean, I agree with Council Member Marks, forget about a master plan. We don't even have the budget book. So I think you see some frustration tonight. And you definitely see it from the Evans Street residents, Parris Street. But you're seeing it all over. I had a gentleman today threaten on Dune and threatened he's going to call the Globe. I mean, he called the news channels. Because simple potholes are just everywhere. On my way to work, to eat dinner at home, and then come here, I think I saw eight cones and one big barrel just plopped on, and my heights friends will know, plopped on manholes and sewer grates that are just sunken in so deep. Forget about it if a child veered off. I mean, somebody's going to get really, really hurt. Thankfully, most of the grates and sewers that I'm seeing are on the side of the road, but it's terrible. And these cones have been there for so long, they're not even standing up straight to let people know. They're falling over. So I for one I did not vote for the budget last year And I think I gave like a 20 or 30 minute speech why and Evans Street? I believe was one of the reasons one of the many reasons, but that's what we need We need you need four votes for the budget And I think we need to send a loud and clear message to the mayor's office that the number one the simple Things need to be in this budget whether we have to use outside contracting or not. We need our sidewalks We need potholes filled we need some work on our manholes that are sunken in. We need our streets repainted with regards to crosswalks for simple safety. We had children, a child almost get hit up near the Brooks School, I believe months ago. And I mean, that's just repaint our crosswalks, nevermind fulfilling promises that were made last year with regards to Evans Street. So I think we just really need to come together and figure out what the goals are of this city And the simple things need to be done. And it's really, it's very frustrating driving around this community the last month or two and getting the phone calls and the emails. And people just stopping me while I'm walking in my neighborhood. What is going on with this pothole or that pothole? I mean, cars are bumping over them. It's something we need to get a handle on. And I think we need some outside contracting to help us do that. But that comes at budget time when we need to be able to hire somebody to do it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Madam Council. On the motion by Councilor Falco, as amended by Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Clerk]: Roll call vote.
[Richard Caraviello]: Roll call vote has been requested. As amended by Councilor Knight, that we get the information by next week for the subcommittee meeting.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco?
[John Falco]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Montgomery? Yes. Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none of the negative. Motion passes. Motion by Councilor Marks to revert back to regular business, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Motion passes. 17489. offered by vice president marks be it resolved that the city ordinance be drafted that requires any store furnishing shopping carts to patrons to transport items purchased from this store be required to develop and implement the plan to prevent the removal of shopping carts from his property and create a specific plan to retrieve a shopping carts that are found on public property. Vice president box,
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I offer this resolution tonight to address an issue that exists in many areas in our community that are but business districts, in particular stores that have shopping carts that are allowed to leave the premise. And you only need to drive up Salem Street or Riverside Ave. And you'll see these cots throughout neighborhoods, uh, just abandoned on a sidewalk in front of someone's home. And I offer this tonight, Mr. President, to allow the city to first of all, get a handle on, uh, what ordinance would make sense in our community. Um, and also secondly, uh, for enforcement, uh, and to provide an arm of enforcement within our community when it comes to this. So I'm offering this tonight, Mr. President, and hope it goes to one of the subcommittees. I'm not opposed to it going to the public works subcommittee or any other subcommittee, Mr. President. It definitely is an issue that needs to be looked at. The responsibility of the owner, which would be the store, Mr. President, it shall be unlawful for any owner of any cart to permit any cart to be removed from the store premise and left unattended or abandoned on any city street or public place within the city. This would also require mandatory implementation and ongoing use of measures to prevent removal of shopping carts. And shopping cart owners shall implement and enforce, on an ongoing basis, measures to contain the shopping carts within the premise of its business establishment. I know there's a couple of businesses we worked with over the last several years, Sharp and Sharp to be one in the Wellington area. They put on a wheel locking mechanism that prevents the cart from exiting the barrier of their premise. And that is one mechanism. You install those locking mechanisms along with an electronic barrier, which stops the cots. Another one is shopping cots equipped with a protruding arm or a similar device, prohibiting the cot from leaving the interior of the business. That seems to be very effective. and a retrieval plan, Mr. President. Any ordinance that's worth its weight would require the store to submit a retrieval plan to the building commissioner, and they would have a system where they have prompt removal of carts that are located on city property. In order to do this, we would require any of the business establishments that have shopping carts to put identification on their carts. Right now, you may see some faint identification on certain carts based on the store, but that's all you may see, Mr. President. What I would ask is that the carts be affixed with the name, address, and phone number of the cart, the owner of the cart. And also that every establishment that has a shopping cart have a sign at the beginning of their store location that lets patrons know that this cart cannot leave the premise. and that there are means to protect this cot from leaving the premise. That way, people that do want to take the cot for a walk to their home know that that's no longer going to be allowed, Mr. President, based on the fact that many of these cots are just finding their way on city streets and ending up in front of someone's home for weeks at a time. And really, there's been no relief under any city ordinance to address this issue. We have Wegmans coming in, Bob Sporting Good, PetSmart, Aldi's in Wellington has a pretty creative way of doing it. You have to put a quarter in to get the shopping cart, and when you bring it back, you get your quarter back. Unfortunately, there are people that are not worried about their quarter and taking the carts and using them to you know, traverse around the community. So, I think it's a good way, but I also think they should put a locking mechanism, Mr. President, or another way of retrieving these carts so they don't get off their property. So, I would ask, Mr. President, that this paper be sent to the Subcommittee on Public Works. I think that's probably the most likely. Public safety, Mr. Vice President? Public safety would be fine. Public safety and public works. To me, it seems like a public work issue because it's It's a, you know, a card on a city street. No public works. I would ask that it be sent to public works, Mr. President. Um, and that, uh, similar to the issue with having these, uh, big box metal boxes, uh, for drop off that are popping up all over the city. Uh, there's one, Mr. President in the fells Plaza now. that's actually manned. The box is probably 15 feet long by 8 feet wide, and there's someone there at the entrance of the box. They open up the big gate to the box during the day, and someone sits out there in a lounge chair accepting items. You know, I don't know where we're going with this, Mr. President, but You know, homeowners shouldn't have to see this across the street from their homes, Mr. President. They shouldn't have to look at an abandoned mattress where it says we accept books. They shouldn't have to look at items that are left out there on days on end, Mr. President, that is just a public nuisance. And, you know, I'm hoping that we can address the shopping cart issue and the drop-off boxes pretty soon, Mr. President, so we can you know, tackle this very important issue.
[Richard Caraviello]: So you, you were recommending that this be sent, referred to the public works committee, correct? Correct. Mr. Public works me, which is, uh, chaired by Councilor Knight, uh, and yourself, uh, vice-president marks around it. And councilor Dello Russo was also on that committee. So I would hope that your committee would, um, would call a subcommittee meeting as soon as possible on the motion by councilor marks. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Mr. President for recognizing me. And just if the council could refresh my memory, and I certainly don't want to belabor the laborious presentation that we've already had, but I was, for some reason I have in my mind that there's already an ordinance on this, or did we not discuss one and it went nowhere? I remember some, it might be a decade ago that this matter was before us for quite lengthy discussion.
[Richard Caraviello]: If I could, uh, clerk has informed me that something that emotion was made on this about a year ago when it was received and placed on file. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I remember something even further back that the clerk, uh, let us know where that is. And nonetheless, thank you, Mr. President. I look forward to addressing this in subcommittee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by council, but by vice president mocks seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor. Motion passes. Offered $17,490. Offered by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, be it resolved that the pothole on Short Street that is filled with sand be filled in the interest of public safety. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. This pothole, I think I brought up a few weeks ago, is filled with sand. Two feet by two feet, I feel like it's a big pothole and just looking to get it filled. I appreciate they did some pothole filling on Rita and a few other streets that I've noticed, but Short Street needs to be done and there's a few others, if I can amend this paper, on Bell Ave that I got a call on today.
[Richard Caraviello]: Bell Ave also?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yes.
[Richard Caraviello]: Seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn as amended to add Bella Evolandia, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Motion passes. 17491 offered by Vice President Mox. Be it resolved that the protection of our city shade trees be discussed. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Um, as I mentioned a few weeks back, uh, for the last several years, maybe 10 years, We've received the distinct award of being recognized as Tree City USA in this community. And we received that award based on the number of trees that we plant on an annual basis, the fact that a certain percentage of our per capita budget is spent on shade trees, and the fact that we have a tree department with the tree warden, which is all great news, Mr. President. I think what we first have to do is recognize that the trees that are lining our streets are an important resource for the whole community and provide shade and protection to our pedestrians. Street trees help clean air. They help lower heating and air conditioning costs. They provide environmental benefits by filtering and reducing storm water runoff. Trees reduce noise and create a visual buffer between streets and private homes. And they also boost property value and enhance the character of a neighborhood. Currently, right now, Mr. President, when work is done in the community, I think everyone would be surprised that you would think the first person that a contractor would have to go to or anyone that's doing work around a city tree on a city street would have to contact or be in touch with the tree warden. That's not the case, Mr. President. For most construction work that's performed in our city, around city shade trees, the construction company or whoever's doing the work is typically required to go to OCD or the engineering office. So they don't have to go to our great tree warden, Aggie Tudin, to get her professional opinion as an arborist. Also, Mr. President, the work that was done recently on Boston Ave, where contractors did a lot of work on sidewalks that contain trees, the OCD and engineering department sometimes will consult or get the opinion of our tree warden. I have a problem with that, Mr. President. I think Aggie Tudin was a very capable person and has done a tremendous job in this city on our shade trees in the community, should be the go-to person as far as I'm concerned. When a utility company comes into this community and start veeing out our trees because the branches are getting too close to their wires, That's a concern if Aggie Tudin's not aware of this. If our tree warden's not there to oversee the veeing out. I've seen trees, Mr. President, that really don't look like a tree anymore when the utility companies are done with them. That's how bad it is. These are long established shade trees that have been in our community for 40, 50, 60 years that are being desecrated, Mr. President, across our community. So I ask tonight, Mr. President, and I think we can do this in two ways, an administrative policy which can be done through the administration or city ordinance, but oversight of construction work. And I would ask that any approval by the tree warden required for construction work including work by the city or its contractors or by any utility company that will impact a public shade tree or the roots within a defined distance of a tree stem, impose a fine if the approval is not obtained ahead of time, exception in the case of an emergency work, Mr. President. So that would be the first recommendation that I offer. And we could send it to the administration. Maybe the mayor will pick up on this. If not, I think it deserves merit in one of our fine subcommittees. And also the establishment, Mr. President, which we don't currently have right now. We have revolving accounts in this city, which is money that's earmarked and dedicated for certain purposes. For everything under the sun, you name it, we have a revolving account. We don't have one currently for our shade trees, Mr. President. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of trees in this community that, as you know, provide a direct benefit not only financially but physically to the residents of this community, and we don't have any type of dedicated revolving fund. So I ask that a tree fund revolving account be earmarked for tree plantings, Mr. President, and also to any fines that are issued by the city for any damage to public shade trees, and believe it or not, we do issue fines every so often for damage to our shade trees, not go into the general fund where the money goes now, that's similar to when our police write tickets, the money goes into the general fund, Meanwhile, we need police cruises. We need new equipment. We need radar signs. We need a host of things. But it goes into the general fund and gets swallowed up. What I'm asking for, Mr. President, is that any fines issued on behalf of our trees and also any other money that's recovered within the tree program go into a revolving account. And any donations that people may want to make to the trees in this community go into a dedicated account, Mr. President, for the preservation and protection of our city shade trees. It just so happens, and myself, I think it was Councilor Longo, and you, Mr. President, we received an email today regarding a tree that was damaged at Columbus Park. And a picture was sent, and I'll pass it around to my colleagues, Mr. President. Over the weekend, someone took I would assume some type of hatchet or carving knife, and carved all the bark off the tree from the base of the tree to about six feet up on the tree at Columbus Park. And this looks like a pretty young tree. And I reached out to Aggie Tudin. She did go out because she received the same email. And she said, based on her observation, she doesn't believe the tree will survive. This is only one thing, Mr. President, and it just so happens I put this on the agenda prior to even getting this email. But I think it shows you that, you know, we really need to step up our game. when it comes to the shade trees in our community. We're a big asset. For many years, you've heard people say, the only thing that separates us from Somerville is we're Somerville with trees. And some of it's true, Mr. President. The trees in this community, Mr. President, do a lot for our community. And it makes a neighborhood what it is. And I don't think we should take them for granted. This council was very strong for years when the city was posting signage on trees, using our trees to post all sorts of metal signs. It was this council, through its persistency, Mr. President, that stopped that policy of using trees to post signage. And the administration came out with a policy that prohibits that now, and it was this council, something I'm very proud of, Mr. President, and I think this council should be very proud of, because, you know, it's important as a community, you know, that we appreciate and respect all living things. And, you know, you may not realize the different animals that live in a tree. That's their home. You may not like squirrels that run around or birds that are doing their duty on your car, but, you know, they live in the trees, Mr. President. and we have to respect them. We have to have administrative policies and ordinances that allow us as a community to protect them and to stop utility companies and any other private company that's coming in and doing work on a public street, Mr. President, from desecrating our trees. So, I offer that in the form of a motion, Mr. President, that this be sent to the administration for administrative policy and that, I guess, if public works, again, we're going to be a busy committee. with Chairman Knight as the Chairman, that the Public Works Committee looks at the creation of a city ordinance that provides oversight to construction work, that gives the tree warden, Aggie Tudin, more authority over work that's being done and approval by the tree warden, and also that we create a dedicated revolving urban forestry fund to fund our shade trees in the community, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Well, I had the opportunity to drive by that tree, and it had to take some time to chop all the bark off. I don't know how somebody didn't drive by to see that happening. Again, you know, you tell the people, see something, please say something.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Name and address of the record, please. Thank you, Council President Andrew Castagnetti, Christian Street Method Mass. The trees are very nice. Of course, maintenance can be a problem. I never heard the terminology Difference between Somerville and Medford would be we're a city, or they're a city without trees. That's funny. My concern is we gotta maintain and take care of our basics. Maintain what we have, let alone building anew. For example, behind, by Riverbend, I'm sorry, the term would be Ring Road, That parking lot back there, there's hunks of cement that are supposed to be in place to stop cars from encroaching upon the sidewalks. They're all over the place, from the snow plowing. They can't see them when they plow, and there's one on the other side, almost in the river, mind you. I'm concerned someone's gonna get seriously, seriously hurt. And the potholes, as Councilor Del Russo calls them, potholders, I am not sure if there is a better way to build a mouth strap. Maybe we should talk to Montreal or some other locale where they have pothole problems big time, and maybe we can learn from the engineering process what would actually hold up. Maybe it has to be cut in a V or an opposite angle and filled maybe with cement if the tire is not going to stay. I am not that savvy in this area. However, my concern is if you don't take care of our basics, I don't know about some of them, but I'm concerned that we're going to be having like a weekend in Chelsea here. That's my concern with your massage parlors or your hawk shops. And there is some plane noise also.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Lego Kern.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. I just want to go on record as seconding the motion. I think it's a great resolve. I just wanted to see if we could maybe take it one step further. Back maybe eight years ago, there was a number of residents, and I remember clearly Roberta Cameron was pushing hard for a tree ordinance to be put in place. We met in committee a few times, and I drafted maybe a two or three page ordinance from some research I did. with regards to a few different cities and towns. We had, we met a committee on it and then it was sent to the city solicitor for review. It's been eight years reviewing, but I believe it didn't go anywhere because the votes really weren't there to create a tree ordinance back eight, 10 years ago and the administration was not for it. Now it kind of died down because at the right around the same time, maybe, maybe three, six months, nine months later, Aggie Tudin was hired. And she obviously came in and gave us a great spiel of what she's going to do and how good she's going to do it. And I think that kind of has appeased the citizens, especially over the last several years. But I think, especially after seeing this, and I agree with Councilor Marks with regards to everything he spoke about, I think it's time that maybe we bring that back and try to create an ordinance if our city solicitor would try to dig that up. I know I have it on my old computer, but dig that up, see if he has done any review. I think this council is a good example of making the changes that need to be changed. We've changed more ordinances and done more work in the last year and a half. I think changed more ordinances than I ever remember doing in a term. So I think it's, and I think it would have support now to review an entire ordinance and make it so we do a number of changes and make it a number of positive take positive steps moving forward, and a tree ordinance is something that's gonna give Aggie Tootin Teeth, it is gonna give her more power. It may cause her a little bit more aggravation with having, you know, the way we set it up, obviously, which I believe the prior tree warden was against an ordinance because of that fact. But it is something that will protect our trees, and I think it's, now is a really good time, especially if we can get the budget done in the next few weeks, maybe meet on it at the end of June, and try to get the language to review over the summer, I think it's something that this council definitely can move forward and should move forward.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Name and address for the record, please. Jean Neuzil, 35 Paris Street, Medford. Um, I just am thrilled to hear the phrase tree ordinance and I've had some conversations both online and sidebar with various people. who are concerned both for our public shade trees, but also for some of the old majestic beauties that are being torn out that we'll never see again. So I think this is great. And I love the idea of those fines going to a fund that people can also voluntarily contribute to if it's a topic that's near and dear to their heart. And I just think it's a great thing to be looking at. And I'd like to thank you all for considering it and put my citizenry support behind it.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much. I think it's important to point out that our tree warden, Maggie Tooden, was the two-time tree warden of the year, consecutive years in a row. And I think that we'd be remiss in moving forward without first getting some input and some feedback from Maggie as to what direction she'd like to see this going as well. So I'd like to amend the paper and request that the tree warden provide input. what you would like to see, an administrative procedure, an ordinance, and if she could make some recommendations thereof.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. On the motion by Vice President Marks, as seconded by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, as amended by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, as amended by Councilor Knight. Did I get them all? To be sent to Public Works and to the Mayor's Office. And again, all those in favor? Motion passes and then again, this came out today. Somebody had to take an hour or two to cut all this down. I can't believe nobody saw this happen. All right, this is right in the middle of the park there. People go by it all the time. I'm shocked that no one saw anything happen there. 17-492. be resolved that the manhole cover on the bottom of Rita Drive with cones on it be fixed in the interest of public safety. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. I'm not even sure if it's a manhole cover or a sewer grate, but it's on the side of the road. I mentioned it earlier. If we could get an update with regards to when that's going to be fixed, because it does have two cones on it, and if I could amend the paper. With regards to Bell Ave, there is another sewer cover that is probably two feet deep with a cone and a barrel on it that if we could get an update when they're going to be fixed and that they'd be fixed as soon as possible in the interest of public safety. Roll call vote, please.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn, seconded by Councilor Knight, with Bell Ave being added there too. All those in favour? Motion passes. Did you ask for a roll call, ma'am? Mr. Clerk. Mr. Clerk, the Councilor has asked for a roll call. I mistakenly did a voice vote. If you could please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dela Rousseau. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Kerr? Yes. Vice President Monk? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion passes. My apologies, Councilor. 17.494 offered by Councilor Scarpelli be it resolved that the city council discuss the street work that was performed on Clifton Road. Councilor Scarpelli?
[George Scarpelli]: Uh, thank you, Mr. President. And again, this, uh, it seems like there's a common thread here. Um, I know I've been talking about this since I first arrived here in this council and, uh, the resident that called and I took a ride down to Clifton and, uh, witnessed the street that was, uh, dug up for utility work, uh, is now, uh, has been patched and now sinking. So again, If we can ask the, I believe it was Councilor Knight who asked the, correct me if I'm wrong, asked for the city engineer to give us an update of all the utility work that was done. And if we can ask the city engineer to please bring that, if she can bring that to the meeting next week, I think it'll be pretty eyeopening to see the concerns and the calls and the issues we've got, we've received from our constituents about the biggest areas of concern were mainly because of our utilities not doing what they've been promised to us to maintain a level that our constituents deserve. So, again, I'm not, I think I made a motion a while back that I wanted to halt all work in public utilities. that are asking, coming to this rail and asking for a permit to start work in our community. And if I don't, for one council, if I don't get the information that I need next week and we don't have a sit down with the public utilities and talking about our roads and our streets, I think that something has to be done with this council. motioning moratoriums or delays for those, uh, those organizations, because when they can't work and, um, they can't perform the duties that brings the money to their, to their, their, uh, businesses. And I think that's when we'll start to listen. So, um, I appreciate the opportunity to address, uh, a council with this concern.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much, and I'd like to thank Councilor Scarpelli for bringing this up. When we passed Resolution 16404, we asked for all of the work that was done on our roadways and sidewalks by public utilities for the years 2014, 15, 16, and to date. But it's been 16 months since that resolution's passed, Mr. President, so I'd like to update it so that the engineer can come to our meeting next week prepared with this information to date. So we'd also have 2017 included. in this report that we're seeking. Also, Mr. President, I'd like to amend the paper and request that, um, the administration provide us with all the C-Click fix reports related to work done by public utilities on the roadways, uh, in preparation for the meeting on Tuesday as well.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Scarpelli as amended by Councilor Knight. Mr. Clerk, do you have all those changes? Seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Motion passes 17 four nine five offered by councilor Scarpelli. Be it resolved that the city council discuss the gas station hood located on Winthrop street. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, I've received a few phone calls, emails, and, um, uh, concerns about, uh, the hood that this is the canopy. that is being built over on the gas station on Winthrop Street and the concerns of how large it is and concerns of what that canopy makes the changing of the neighborhood and what it looks like today. So I did contact the city uh, city administration talked to Paul Moki, talked to Jeff Fargo. Uh, they were very, very involved, although they didn't have to be. I know that Mr. Moki was out that site many times. Um, looking at the, um, the canopy, they realize that it's actually smaller than what, what is actually passed, which brings me to my number one concern. And, um, we hear it over and over again. It seems like every, every council meeting we talk about this is, what happens when it comes to our zoning. This was something that was passed at a meeting with the neighbors that were on site, and there were two, I believe there were two issues on that agenda. There was one that called for another bay, which was denied, and then the canopy. Some neighbors said that they didn't realize the canopy was on that, so they left the meeting. But the biggest concern I have is really not that we can do anything about this now because the cat's out of the bag. It's been approved is again, the way we're looking at our, uh, ordinances that our zoning board, uh, their tools they're given to make decisions. And, um, some questions, some of our residents were, did they see specs where they're, um, do they understand how, how big this would be and how much it would change the appearance of the neighborhood. And, um, I don't know if that was, that's the case. So I know that, uh, a city, um, uh, departments did their due diligence when it came to the fire department giving, um, permission for that, that canopy that needed to be there. I think the new laws state that there has to be some sort of fire apparatus that extinguishes any type of gas fire. And it's actually powdered from a form that, uh, extinguishes blazes that, uh, to do with gasoline. So public safety is number one. But, again, I think that we need to, again, I know I mentioned the Metropolitan Planning Council and working with them to try to start a dialogue in our zoning and reviewing our zoning so we can control or support what's going on in our neighborhoods. And so things like this issue aren't brought up after the fact and the concerns of our neighbors are heard too late. Everything was done, the up and up and the due diligence of our city departments maintained, making sure that the residents were contacted. That was one of the One of the concerns that was brought to my attention and from what I was told and shown that that was covered and the neighbors were at the meetings, but I think that we really have to, again, bring up the discussion of our zoning and our ordinances because it's issues like this that change the face of our neighborhoods. And until we do that, and this council does that and finds a way to get that done, Uh, we're going to keep hearing the same issue over and over again. So, um, again, thank you. Uh, I know that I'm rambling, but I, it's an issue that, uh, was brought to our attention and, uh, thank you again.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think we all received phone calls on that and, um, and we've got the same answer.
[Adam Knight]: Um, yes, Mr. President, I did have a question for the gentleman. I was wondering if, um, because it's new construction and the canopy was put in, is that the new code? According to the fire chief. Yes, it is. That is the new code. They can't appear as the new code. And that gas section has been there for many, many years. And the matter was brought before the zoning board of appeals because they were looking for a nonconforming use of the existing city zoning. Okay. Thank you. Move approval, Mr. President. Second.
[George Scarpelli]: They were supposed to. Councilor Scarpelli, do you have any more? Again, no, that was just to answer. Thank you. Name and address of the record, please.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Gene Nuzzo, 35 Parrish Street. I can only advise you as I have in the past, having attended these community development meetings and zoning board meetings. When you attend, there's no real effort made to make sure that residents are able to see the documentation, can clearly hear the documentation, presenters are regularly advised, speak to the board, And often, when you're sitting in the audience, you'll have a back. So anyone with experience in transformational change and change management understands that the best way to deal with pushback and resistance is to make sure that expectations are set. And I think this is another example of the right equipment in these rooms and the right opportunities presented to make sure that neighbors get to hear what's happening. Maybe this could have been avoided and people could have been less upset about it. And I think it's also a good case for more transparency in this documentation. Right now, if a resident wanted to know about that project, they would have to go down to the Office of Community Development. They'd have to request to see the documentation. They'd have to be allowed to have that documentation. It would have to be readily available and not under review somewhere. And you would have to do it right there in the space. And for a lot of people, they're not out of work and home before 4 or 5 o'clock at night. So it becomes very difficult for us to see this. So I know previously we've had some conversations. I think it was in one of the subcommittee meetings about some software that's available that would make some of these things.
[George Scarpelli]: Just so I know Jean's going on, but tomorrow we have a meeting, a committee of the whole meeting at six o'clock that purpose of the meeting is to view presentation of Acela Corporation on the government legislative management program agenda minutes and video streaming.
[Jean Nuzzo]: I think this is the product you're talking about.
[George Scarpelli]: That's just so you know that's happening tomorrow.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Yeah, perfect. And so maybe one of the things people might want to ask them is if there's, uh, module that would allow for a mechanism for these documents. I know some surrounding cities, even Melrose and Malden, have a good portion of theirs readily available. I don't know if it's through Google Docs or Excel, but I think it would go a long way because most people, if they have the opportunity to see it, their expectations are set. They're not surprised driving home from work, and it keeps from having emotions elevated because they have that information. But the software or some Google Docs solution, maybe temporarily, coupled with maybe some technology, simple technology in the room so that people can hear a little better, even if it's a lapel microphone and a speaker, could go pretty far with some of these meetings. But just so you have that information, because I've attended a lot, and I know you guys have other ones you go to, and you don't always get to be at those.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Council Member O'Kary.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. And thank you, Councilor Scarpelli, for bringing that up. On topic, with regards to maybe just a little more information on what the Zoning Board of Appeals had to approve, I think I did see people discussing this issue, and people were a little upset with the way it went down. But what Gene Nuzzo had brought up, not only does it have to be a resident come down to City Hall between 9 and 5 or 9 and 4.30, depending on the day. I've also heard complaints from residents who aren't allowed to see the plans unless somebody specific is in the office, or they may have to come back another day at another time. And I think that is kind of hampering residents' ability to view plans and to actually, we talk about transparency, but that's kind of cutting people off from seeing what should be honestly posted online. a proposal, I think it should, of any sort, with regards to building or construction or anything that's going to need a variance or OCD approval, that should be something that's readily available to anybody that wants to view it, whether they're at city hall or not. And I think that would be helpful to the council, too. I've come down and reviewed plans, and I went from, I believe I ended up at the engineer's department, but I went to OCD first. It wasn't there. So, you know, not only are people not allowed to see it unless the director's in the office, but you have to kind of go through city hall and try to figure out where the plans even are. So maybe whether it be tomorrow night or be a separate amendment to this paper, I think plans, proposed plans should be online and accessible to anybody that wants to view them. So they know, should I go to this OCD meeting? Should I go to the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting? And they'll be able to see it on their computer while they want to decide. rather than searching through City Hall or kind of just giving up on the fight. And I think that's extremely important. I thank Gene for bringing that up. And I thank Councilor Scarpelli for bringing this up too. I was unaware of exactly what was going on with the zoning or with this one, but maybe you can just enlighten, if you know what zoning, what they needed, what type of permit or override, variance, I'm sorry.
[George Scarpelli]: Councilor Scarpelli. The non-conforming, I believe, was one for code. And then the other one was for the addition of a bay.
[Unidentified]: Oh, that was denied. That was denied.
[George Scarpelli]: So I think that, like I said, I think that the due diligence from our department, city departments, and making sure and understanding that that being an issue of fire apparatus, I know there might've been, the question was that a few phone calls that I got were questions about, could there have been something that was maybe smaller or more tasteful for that area? But from what I was told, there isn't. So it's what? It's too late. Well, it's not that it was too late. From what I gather is that, just from a phone call I just received before I came in, is that the understanding of that type of canopy, you need that for existing gas stations being that it's always been permitted. and always been a gas station that, um, that's what they had to maintain. So thank you.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank council Scarpelli for bringing this forward because this is an important, uh, issue and a zoning and ordinances. Uh, um, you know, it's, it's really, it's one of our biggest responsibilities. Uh, we've had a lot of discussions over the past term with regard to zoning and ordinances and a lot of changes. And I think a lot of, you know, when we talk a lot about zoning in ordinances, a lot of it is about communication, but a lot of it is also about transparency. And Gene Nozzo brings up a good point, which goes into the meeting tomorrow night with regard to, you know, legislative software. And that was a resolution that I brought up about a year ago with regard to legislative software. finally the meeting's going to happen tomorrow night, but it's important because it brings everyone onto the same page. If anyone has any questions or any issues, what they can do is they can find all that information online. All the boards and commissions can put all of their minutes, agendas, meeting minutes, all of their, anything that has to do with plans or documents, they can all be scanned to PDF and seen online. I mean, all the information that we receive every week, all kinds of memos, reports, all that detail. We get it behind the reel. But out in the community, no one really gets to see that. And that's the unfortunate part. Because really, it's your government. You should be able to see everything with the click of a mouse. All the data should be at your fingertips. And that's what this legislative software is going to do. And I think it's well worth the money to actually invest in that. You know, it really puts everyone on the same playing field, the same level playing field. Everyone has access to the data. I mean, I've used a perfect example. You know, Councilor Marks had asked for a number of times for a public safety summit. You know, and if he wanted to, if someone wanted to go in and research that, they could actually take a look, plug in public safety summit and see every time it was mentioned during a council meeting. You know, so they could actually go back and look at the detail. Take a look at the, The report, we talked about the FEMA document a few weeks ago. It was a 138 page document. Yeah, we really probably shouldn't be printing that. It's not very green, but everyone should have a copy. The public should have access to it too. And it should be easy to access. All you have to do is put that PDF online and everyone has access with the click of a mouse. So, you know, it's important that we do more in zoning and ordinances. We have, I think, thank Councilor Scarpelli for bringing this issue up tonight, but really it's one of our biggest responsibilities. We need to do more there. Um, I think we're heading in the right direction, but I think, uh, really one of the big things tomorrow night is that meeting with regard to legislative software. Um, I think it really will make, um, it doesn't all, it makes us an informed council, but also makes us an informed community because all the boards and commissions will have access to that data and have access to put all that information out there for the community to see. So thank you very much.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And I hope everyone wants to come. We'll be the six o'clock tomorrow evening. Motion to receive and place on file. Seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 17.496 offered by Councilor Scarpelli. Be it resolved that the City Council discuss scheduled work and blasting hours for the construction work located on Winthrop Street. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. I know how much my fellow colleagues love to discuss. So, um, the last piece is that the, um, the blasting that was conducted, I believe, last week over at the new site on the ledge over on Winthrop Street. Moving forward, I know that, I believe that it's the fire chief in his department that issues the permits, and I believe they notify, is it their department that notifies the neighborhood? Yeah, they have a detail there also. Right, so I just wanted to make sure that As I made my phone calls, from what I gathered, there will be more blasting down the line. So if we can, if we could just ask the chief, making sure that the school department was notified. I know Six Acres, with today's crazy world that we live in, that they know when they hear that type of work going on, that something's happening. And the other thing is the timeline, when that's going to happen. I know that some of the residents are a few senior residents that like to sleep in a little bit. We're woken with a big boom. So, um, if we can just make sure that, uh, everybody again is notified with any upcoming blasting if that, that needs to occur. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I just, uh, would like to amend the paper to request that the notice be given no less than 48 hours in advance.
[Richard Caraviello]: As amended by Councilor Knight. On the motion by Councilor Scarpelli as amended by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Motion passes. Motion by Councilor Knight to take hands, papers in the hands of the clerk. All those in favor? Second. Our motion passes. Be it resolved. Offered by Councilor Knight. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council wish Michael and Sheila McGlynn a warm and heartfelt congratulations on the momentous occasion of their 40th anniversary.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, this is a rather self-explanatory resolution. I'd like to ask my council colleagues to join me in wishing former Mayor McGlynn and his wife Sheila a very happy and exciting 40th wedding anniversary. I got the opportunity to see a man, McGlynn and his wife in CB scoops over the weekend and they seem to have started off this celebration with good fun. So I'd ask my colleagues to join me in support.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor knife, seconded by councilor Russo. All's in favor. Motion passes offered by councilor Falco. Be it resolved that the Medford city council extended sincere condolences to the family of Dennis Akdikens. Dennis was the Scoutmaster of Troop 416 in Medford. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to send our sincere condolences to Dennis's family. He was a Scoutmaster down at Troop 416 on Otis Street for many years. Like we said before, you know, he's very involved in the troop. He produced many Eagle Scouts. And I remember going on camping with my son in the troop, and he was very involved with the youth down in that Troop 416. He did a great job, and he will be missed.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Would you like a moment of silence? Yes, please. Please rise for a moment of silence. Thank you. Offered by Vice President Mox, be it resolved that the potholes on Parris Street, on the Felsway end, along with the corner of Commercial and Riverside Ave, be filled in the interest of public safety.
[Michael Marks]: Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. Just a few potholes, if we could send that to our DPW Highway Department to have them repaired immediately in the interest of public safety.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. All those in favor? Motion passes. Offered by Vice President Marks, be it resolved that the City Engineer report back to the City Council on when the portion of 4th Street from Riverside Avenue into Felsway be repaved. Vice President Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. This portion of 4th Street, if anyone's familiar, has been under construction for almost two years. It's directly behind the Sunoco from Riverside, and it leads to the Felsway. And they have done gas utility work there back, and I believe it was finished in October, November of last year. A small portion behind the Sunoco station was repaved. And the rest of the street that was dug up is still gullies and potholes, Mr. President. And I would ask that the city engineer report back to us immediately on the status of the street, when it's going to be repaved curb to curb, and why is it taking so long, Mr. President, on a stretch of road that may be 100 yards, 250 yards, why is it taking so long, Mr. President, to put that street back to the condition it was originally found.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I'd like to thank Councilor Marks for putting this resolution on it. I'd like to ask this matter be added to next week's agenda as well when we request that the city engineer come prepared to discuss this matter.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And Councilor, if I could amend that to also repair the sidewalks that were damaged during that work also. On the motion by Vice President Marks. as amended by Councilor Knight and President Caraviello, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Motion passes. Offered by Vice President Mox, be it resolved that the sidewalk in front of 39 Stearns Avenue be replaced. The sidewalk was dug up for utility work and never replaced. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. The sidewalk in front of 39 Stearns Avenue had utility work some time back For whatever reason, the utility company left after the work was completed and the sidewalk was never restored, Mr. President, which creates a slip and fall hazard in that particular area. So I would ask that the sidewalk in front of 39 Stearns Ave be replaced immediately, Mr. President, in the interest of public safety.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I'd like to thank Councilor Marksley for putting this resolution on the agenda this evening. I'd request that this matter be added to next week's agenda with the city engineer, and we'd request that the city engineer be prepared to discuss it next week as well.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Vice President Marx as amended by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor?
[Unidentified]: Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion passes. Offered by Vice President Marx be it resolved that the debris from the catch basin located at the corner of 2nd and Middlesex Avenue be removed in the interest of public safety. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. The state was out within the last several weeks cleaning the catch basins on state roads. And at the corner of Middlesex and Second Street, they cleaned out the catch basin, threw it on the sidewalk, the dirt and debris, and never picked up the dirt and debris. So it's sitting out there. It smells awful, Mr. President. It looks awful. And I put in a request to our state delegation. Hopefully they'll attend to it. If not, Mr. President, I realize it's on a state road, but it's still a road that has residents, taxpaying residents of this community. So I would ask that our DPW go out there, Mr. President, and clean up whatever was left behind by this particular contractor. in the interest of public safety. It's the corner of second street and Middlesex F. Thank you, Mr. Vice president on the motion by vice president marks seconded by council on a knife.
[Richard Caraviello]: All those in favor. Motion passes. I don't have anything else to do with that.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I know this is something the council voted on a few weeks ago. We got a, response on 17383, where we asked for council litigation monies. The mayor responded, the council legislative budget currently has approximately 4,300 available funds and other expense accounts that could be used for legal fees. So I'd like to move that we take a vote to transfer these funds into, obviously, that account. for obviously that's all she's going to give us right now, so.
[George Scarpelli]: Councilor Scapoli. All set, thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: On the motion by Councilor Long-Tam. I think that should be okay to get us through the next several months because the motion is pending.
[Clerk]: Your ordinary expense stuff is going to be, you know, you don't have anything for your budgets, you know, all that, just to let you know.
[Adam Knight]: One information comes to mind. What impact would this have on our ability to meet our requirements in posting in the newspapers, so on and so forth, if we exhaust our ordinary expense account?
[Clerk]: As required by the law. The advertising budget comes out of the clerk's budget. What it is, is that all your meeting expenses that you're going to have for budgets and stuff like that, you won't have any funds available for that. You won't have any supplies coming up, which is all this paper that you get.
[Adam Knight]: Letterhead.
[Clerk]: Business cards. Nothing's free.
[Adam Knight]: All right.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So maybe we should hold off on the vote and we should ask, um, let her know, let the mayor know that we, we need some of that money for come budget time. And obviously our ordinary expenses are used for that legal fund and see if we can get some money just to hold us over for six months because discovery.
[Richard Caraviello]: I did speak to the mayor and I think she was going to give us enough money to hold us over to the budget time. Was she considering it this though, I think. Right. Well, again, and then we'll revisit, uh, and that'll be in the next budget.
[Adam Knight]: Point of information, Mr. President. Um, normally, normally when our budget debates start, the first item that we discuss is the legislative budget. Now we're going to get our budget books. You said hopefully by Tuesday for next week's meeting.
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Adam Knight]: Um, so, Maybe we can set up the meeting for the legislative portion of the budget ASAP because once that's submitted to us, that's the budget. We can get that wrapped up and potentially maybe get an increase in funds there if it's not already included there. And so you want to hold that tool?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yeah. And if I could, while we're discussing the budget, we're going to plan on doing like a school budget. Yes. But on that, are we going to plan on just for scheduling purposes? Are we going to be thinking the week of the 12th?
[Richard Caraviello]: Well, after the meeting, if we could talk about it before we, before we go home this evening, if we could just stay a second and we can talk about that. I appreciate that. Thank you. All right. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: If I can, before we go to the records, if my council members can indulge me, I know that there's a couple of, um, um, announcements, uh, multi-use path project. There'll be a meeting. on Thursday, June 8th, 7 to 8.30 at the Andrews Middle School. I know that that's been a very interesting topic all over our community. It's a connector for, this is so the meetings at DCI will present and obtain feedback on concept design, alternatives to this clipper ship connector, a proposed multi-use pathway to be located along the north bank of the Mystic River, downstream of Method Square. So this is a very important meeting. I just wanted to give everybody a little extra time to make sure they're involved in such an important meeting. I know that the residents of Ship Ave were very concerned about being notified for these meetings. I think it's very important that they hear it. Again, talking to the residents, one of the biggest issues, the path being so close to their decks and backyards. And I just want to make sure that the DCR, one of his, one of their proposals might be a, a, a path moved all the way to the water. So it's actually over the mystic. So it's something they've done down the line down the road near assembly row. And it's really, really nice addition. So, and I think that might give, the residents that freedom and that they were asking for, for privacy. So that's one that I wanted to make sure. The other, I know that my, a few months back, former president Dello Russo pointed me to the mayor for the recreation commission, recreation focus group. I'm proud to say that the pilot program is, out and for print and online for all of our residents to now, um, sign up for a summer recreation programs, which, uh, have sports and arts and adventures in space programs, Lego programs, and, uh, detailed times where now, uh, the city administration has changed, uh, where we can purchase our pool and pond passes. And, uh, so it's more accessible for our constituents. and so on and so forth. It's a lot of detail and work that was done. I think that, you know, special thanks to Joe Russo, Allie Fisk from the mayor's office, did a great job for all the countless meetings for the last eight months. And then Julia Damon and Rachel Perry, who have been instrumental getting these programs in place so our residents can now register. We will be having meetings soon and discussion for a full-time program that the mail will present to us. We're now meeting talking about job descriptions and mission statements. So it's pretty exciting. It's something that we heard our constituents cry out and say that they really needed and wanted it. And I'm glad to say that it's happening and it's right in front of us. So please start registering for your programs. And send any questions or concerns our way so we can move things forward. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you for all your hard work on that.
[Adam Knight]: You did an outstanding job. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much. And I thank my colleagues for indulging me this evening as well. Team Medford in the Office of Outreach and Substance Abuse Preventage, Mr. President, has done a great job over the past year. Just last year, we funded their office, and since that time, they've made great strides. Just last year in the city of Medford, there were 19 opiate-related overdose deaths in 02155, Mr. President. And through the work of Penny Funny Alley, our outreach coordinator, and through the work of Paul Spencer, one of the citizens in the city of Medford who's been helping out with her office, they're doing what's called hidden in plain sight, Mr. President. This is a training for parents. And right next door to the council chambers, actually, we have what's set up, it looks like a high school kid's bedroom. And they teach you what to look for and where to look for illicit substances in your home if you feel as though your child may be experimenting or abusing drugs. So I'd like to let everyone out there know that this program will be running through the end of the week. And if anyone would like to set up an appointment that they can give the Substance Abuse Office a call at 393-2408. And they'll be happy to speak with you and let you know when they're going to be meeting down there. But I think this is a great step and a great stride, Mr. President, in helping parents identify and cope with the issue of addiction in the community. And they've done an excellent job in breaking the stigma that's associated with addiction here in Medford. So I'd like to thank them for their work and really appreciate what they've done and how they're going about doing it. So thank you to Penny and Paul and the rest of Team Medford. Um, but this hidden in plain sights, it's really something I was in there early this evening.
[Richard Caraviello]: I was too. And I, Councilor Marks was in there. We're looking at a very good, very, very good job. Thank you. Okay. Meetings.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Just one more announcement. Um, this Saturday night, June 3rd at the Chevalier theater is the Medford high school band fundraiser. Uh, the, uh, the theme is a night, a night on Broadway. Um, and the, uh, Tickets are pretty inexpensive. They're $15 for an adult, $10 for a student, but all the money goes to the high school band. I believe they have a competition maybe coming up in Florida, and I think they're trying to raise funds, so if anyone can make it, that'd be greatly appreciated. I'm sure it'll be a great show, so thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Falco.
[Michael Marks]: Vice President Mox. Also, Mr. President, this Thursday evening is senior prom night at Medford High School, and I want to wish all our seniors a safe an enjoyable prom night, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Councilor Lococoon?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Sunday is Medford Day, behind, I believe, the Andrews. One to four. Everybody's invited. It was a great time last year. Hundreds of people. A number of different events for the whole family. So, hopefully people will join us.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anybody else? Any more public service? The record is we're past the council at night. Councilor Knight. Councilor Knight finds the records in order, Mr. President. Move for approval thereof. On the motion of Councilor Knight for an adjournment. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes.
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total time: 6.84 minutes total words: 753  |
total time: 27.89 minutes total words: 1377  |
total time: 13.77 minutes total words: 1203  |
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total time: 0.85 minutes total words: 67  |
total time: 13.21 minutes total words: 599  |
total time: 4.41 minutes total words: 572  |
total time: 6.09 minutes total words: 360  |