[Richard Caraviello]: Medford City Council, 10th regular meeting, Medford, Massachusetts. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Falco.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Present. Vice President Marks.
[Jeanne Martin]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Scarpelli.
[Richard Caraviello]: Present. President Caraviello. Present. Please rise and salute the flag. 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. 17296, offered by Vice President Mox, be it resolved that the Medford Fire Station, engine three, on Salem Street be discussed. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I had the opportunity last week to take a tour of Engine 3, Ladder 2, which is the fire station on Salem Street, 276 Salem Street. And if members recall, back some three years ago, this council voted for phase one of a refurbishing of many of our fire stations throughout the community. by the way, which did not include Engine 1, which was the headquarters. And many of the stations got some major and minor upgrades to the station. The one in particular that I viewed, Mr. President, at Engine 3 on Salem Street was work that was performed back in April of 2014. And that's a little under three years ago. And at the time, the station had a list of priorities. Actually, there were five separate sections of priorities, of which each section contained 10 or 11 items that needed to be done as a punch list. And one of the major items at engine three was the floor where the engine truck sits. And that particular floor, the cement was splitting. And the slab was deteriorating because of the splitting of the cement floor. And at the time, it was discussed by the chief of the fire department as well as the captain of Salem Street Fire Station, that that was going to be one of the major recommendations for renovation. And if anyone's familiar, there's actually two bays at Salem Street, and they were only going to work on the bay to the right. And the work involved repairing the slab, which is the top cement floor, and also laying down a new epoxy coating on the floor and that's uh like a rubberized, similar to a rubberized flooring, which expands and contracts. So that work was done at a cost of $91,000 three years ago. And many of the holes that were on the slab floor were patched. The epoxy was placed on the floor itself, and three years later, Mr. President, and I have a picture here for my colleagues if they'd like to see it. This is actually the bottom of the cement floor that you can see from the basement. And I have a couple of real good pictures that show the cement peeling off from the bottom of the floor. that we just paid $91,000 for. And I don't know about you, but I'm outraged to see this type of shoddy craftsmanship and lack of concern by the city after just paying $91,000 to have this work done. I'm not sure if the work is still under warranty, Mr. President, but someone from this city needs to get a hold of the contractor or the subcontractor immediately and have them go down to that site because we're in the same situation we were roughly three and a half years ago when we commissioned this work to be done. We commissioned it because the cement was splitting like we're seeing in this picture. And we're already seeing cracks on the epoxy floor. And that is made to expand and contract. You're not supposed to see cracks on epoxy floors. And we're already starting to see cracks on the floor, Mr. President. So my first motion would be that that floor, the bay to the right-hand side, be reviewed immediately by our building department, be reviewed by Paul Moki, our building commissioner, and the appropriate channels be reached to get a hold of this contractor or subcontractor that did the work, Mr. President. Secondly, if we're not aware, if you could pass that around, that'd be great. They also replaced the overhead doors in both bays. So there were two overhead doors put in at a cost of $40,000. And when they put the doors in, they have to meet new requirement now, new state code. And the code calls for What they refer to as safety lights. So we don't have them in a lot of our stations because they haven't been upgraded. But Engine 1 has the safety lights. They look like traffic lights. There's a green light, big green light, and a red light. And you'll have two of them. at the entrance to each door. And this alerts the driver of the truck when it's safe to pull out. When the doors go up, the light turns green. If the door's not up, the light's red. The driver, it's another safety precaution. They know not to exit the building, because that means the door's down. Now, the new overhead lights were put in. They look terrific. both bays at engine three. However, there was never enough money and the specs of the project did not call to wire these particular lights. So they've been up there for three years and they're not wired. So they're not serving any type of safety concern for the fire station and they're not fully operating. And that's a major concern, Mr. President, that such a basic improvement with safety lights, there was no thought about wiring the lights, and that wasn't part of the spec. So, Mr. President, I would ask that that be the second motion that we get a response back from the city administration. We find out who the clerk of the works was on this particular project, find out why the safety lights were not included, the wiring of the safety lights were not included in the bid specs, and why just the lights were put up in this particular station, Mr. President, without being wired. There were a number of other concerns that I won't address here tonight, Mr. President, but I did want to call to the Council's attention There's been a lot of discussion about a new fire headquarters. There's been a lot of discussion, and don't forget, the fire headquarters, I believe, is out of the six fire stations, it's the third newest. So we're talking about replacing the third newest, and we have these other stations, like Engine 4, Engine 3, what I just spoke about, Engine 5, that are far older than our headquarters, and in my opinion, need the same amount of work, if not more, than the headquarters, Mr. President. What I wanted to call to my colleagues' attention, and I know it's been raised here before in the council, is that the fact that we just got a second set of turnout here, and the firefighters are ecstatic now they finally got a second set of turnout here, And the issue remains, Mr. President, that we still don't have the basic necessity, as Councilor Lungo-Koehn found out when we did the tour at the headquarters, we have what they refer to as an extractor, which is basically it's a giant washing machine that's like on steroids that cleans this heavy-duty turnout gear. And bless you. This heavy-duty turnout gear And we have one extractor, one giant washing machine for over 120 firefighters. It takes roughly 45 minutes. So if you do the math, you'll figure out we're in dire need of these extractors. It takes about 45 minutes to wash one uniform, and it takes about two hours to dry. And that's on an average. So we have one extractor, so this means that after a fire goff a bit, the firefighters have to take their uniform from North Method, from West Method, from Haines Square, down to the headquarters, and wait in line to use the extractors. From what I've been told, the extractors, the drying washing machines, about $7,000. The dryer that they use is about $6,000. So we can equip a fire station with an extractor and a dryer at a cost of about $13,000 and then another maybe $1,200 to $1,500 to properly wire it. So you're talking anywhere from maybe $14,000 to $15,000 to make sure, Mr. President, that this is not you or I washing our suit coat after we're done with a council meeting. This is washing off the contaminants that leach into the firefighters' skin when they're on these uniforms. And I recently read an article And if anyone's interested in looking at it, it's an article on high cancer rate and risk hazards for firefighters. And this is a November 20, 2016 article, and it's out of San Francisco. And it states that prevention in San Francisco sounds like a washing machine. That's how they address cancer prevention. There's no secret to this, Mr. President. It's done all over the country, and it's very successful in washing the turnout gear in a timely fashion and not sitting it back into the fire station, which is happening now, and cross-contaminating the new uniforms with the old uniforms. It's a major concern. And according to the International Association of Firefighters, it says 63 percent of firefighters will get cancer at some point. That's a staggering number. When I read that, I said, you've got to be kidding me. So we can anticipate, Mr. President, and it's awful to say that 63 percent of our firefighters, we have 120 of them, at some point may contract some type of cancer. And anything we can do, Mr. President, there are things that are probably out of our control. We try to provide the latest and greatest equipment. But anything we can do as a city to help mitigate that, we are obligated to do that, Mr. President. We are obligated to do it. And to have one extractor to wash these turnout gears is a complete disgrace. And the administration, and I'll even say this council, should be ashamed of ourselves, Mr. President. We should be ashamed of ourselves to let this linger on, especially with the facts and figures that we have on cancer rates, Mr. President. I read an article recently, I believe it was in the Boston Globe, and they did a study statewide. And Method was at near the top for cancer rates among active and retired firefighters. That's alarming, Mr. President. That's alarming. We're not a giant city. And to be near the top of the rate for cancer rates among the state is very concerning for me. We had the mayor here a couple of weeks ago and she stood up and she turned around to the firefighters and she said, whatever we can do to help and protect the people that protect us, I'm on board. And that was a great line, Mr. President. But actions speak louder than words. And if the mayor's on board, Mr. President, I would expect, and I talked to the union president, I would expect, Mr. President, tomorrow that the mayor will have a purchase order. Tomorrow morning, a purchase order for two new extractors and two new dryers. We have the one at the headquarters and put two new ones, extractors and dryers, in the other stations. This way we'll have three stations that are equipped to accommodate the firefighters throughout this community. And that's not a giant expense. We're talking $35,000 to $40,000 to ensure an additional safeguard for our firefighters. You know, the article goes on, Mr. President, to say, it's easy to look at the plumes of billowing black smoke from a massive fire and know they aren't healthy. While firefighters are putting out flames, priority one is protection from the heat in those flames. That's what their turnout gear is for. The gear is doing its job, keeping firefighters from getting overheated and burned. But while in a fire environment, they're soaking up the toxins that are in the smoke and heated gases, and it's believed the toxins from years of putting out flames are soaking into the turnout fireproof fabric and slowly leaching in to the firefighter's skin. This is alarming, Mr. President, knowing the current condition and currently how we're treating our turnout gear in our stations. It's alarming. And it's alarming when you walk into a station and you smell a burnt smell. It's almost like you're in a fire somewhere. It's the burnt smell of their gear, Mr. President. That's exactly what it is. And they're putting these uniforms on and these particular pieces of gear And as I just read, slowly but surely, Mr. President, if these aren't properly washed, the toxins are leaching into this skin. You are correct. So I would ask, Mr. President, that my first motion is that two additional extractors and two additional dryers be purchased immediately by this administration, purchase orders, and that they be located wherever the fire chief or the brave men and women of the fire department believe they're needed, Mr. President, and also that each fire station have a separate area. Councilor Lungo, Kern, and I, when we toured of the headquarters, that was one of the major concerns. They don't have a second storage area for their gear. So you might have a pristine set of turnout gear you just got, and it's housed next to the gear that's waiting to be washed that was just in a house fire, or just in a car fire that released toxins. It's unacceptable, Mr. President. So in addition, my motion would be the two extractors, the two dryers, that each station that they find some space, Mr. President, where they can locate another set of turnout gear so there's not cross-contamination among the turnout gear. And I would ask, Mr. President, that this be taken in a roll call vote because of the importance of this matter. And that we receive a response immediately from the administration regarding this resolution, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. I think each machine does three uniforms, I think you told me. Am I correct? And it takes about 45 minutes per cycle. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I want to thank Council Marks for bringing this forward tonight. We should be doing everything we can to keep our firefighters safe, especially buying the extractors to wash the turnout gear. That should be a no-brainer. It should be done. And we should make sure that we take care of that right away. But just getting back to one of the council's other points with regard to Engine 3, I did have the opportunity a little while back to go down to Edge and Three as well. And they took me into the basement. They gave me a tour of the facility. And you're right. It's definitely scary to see when you go underneath that bay and you see crumbling cement. It's just scary to actually see that firsthand. And it's crumbling all over the place. And something needs to be done. But as I walk through the fire station, it's that, but there's other issues as well. And I've gone to a couple other fire stations as well. And there are a lot of issues. There are a lot of issues throughout our city in our fire stations that need to be addressed. They need to be addressed sooner than later. And one of the things, just if I could go back a little bit, prior to being on the city council, I was on the school committee. during the budget time, which is one of the most important times of the year, is you're going through the budget and what you allocate to building maintenance. And what I remember was my first time through the budget, I asked the director of buildings and grounds, what are we doing for preventive maintenance? And he looked at me, he said, Mr. Falco, we're doing nothing. And that was Mr. Edwards. That was back in 2010. And so what I did then is I offered a motion, a resolution, that the school committee go out and tour each of the buildings throughout our community to actually see what's broken, what's fixed, and to have committee of the whole meetings to actually see firsthand as a group what needs to be addressed. And we did that. And it was very effective. And we all went all at the same time to each of the facilities. So how the buildings were being taken care of, what was broken, what was fixed, what needed to be addressed, what needed to be addressed right away so we could appropriate money in the budget. Now, in the draft capital plan that we got a glimpse at back a little while ago, there's some money there in the upcoming years. I think it's about $2.5 million for firehouse improvements. And if Councilor Marks wouldn't mind, I'd like to amend the resolution that we schedule Committee of the Whole to go to each firehouse in the city as a group so we can take a look at the issues Because there are issues out there that need to be addressed. And we can go from building to building and see what needs to be done, what's broken, what needs to be repaired. I mean, and he's right. I mean, I went to the fire station in West Bedford. I mean, the gear is right behind the truck. I mean, 15 feet from the truck is all the fire gear. I mean, it's dangerous. And cancer's a major concern, and we need to make sure that we're addressing these situations, but just general situations. When I was down in the West Medford fire station, I think the shower had no door on it. So I mean, you know, that, that's, that's to me that that should be a simple fix. And, uh, you know, it shouldn't, they shouldn't have to wait forever to get a door fixed in the shower. If you take a look at some of our buildings, I mean, when I went down to South Medford and went to West, you take a look at the, uh, And actually, I'm trying to think of Salem Street. Salem Street did have the same issue. If you take a look at the heating, it's terribly inefficient. It's 1,000 degrees in one room. You have to open up the windows to cool it down in the middle of the winter. And these are things that need to be addressed. We should have our environmental Alicia Hunt go down and take a look to see if there's anything that we could be doing to make these buildings more cost effective, more efficient. They are older buildings. So these need to be a top priority. So if I could amend the resolution that, Mr. President, if you could schedule a committee, the whole meetings, so we could go out and take a look at each facility as a group and take a look at what needs to be addressed, because the budget's coming up. We need to make sure that we have maintenance in there to do these things, but we also need to make sure that we can prioritize these items when it comes to when we look at our capital budget.
[Richard Caraviello]: Would you like the chief to accompany us?
[John Falco]: That's fine with me.
[Richard Caraviello]: if we could also put that Chief Gilbert, he could accompany us also.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, just to follow up on Mr. Falco's suggestion, and I think it's a worthy suggestion. At the time when we did phase one, the chief put together a punch list, which I have a copy of, Latitude Engine 3, and it's, a two page punch list of items that he wanted to see done. And out of the just say 50 items on here, I think the city addressed maybe six of them. But I think it would be helpful because I'm sure this punch list still exists for each station. You went through each station. So prior to us meeting, I think it would be helpful to have a listing of what they feel the improvements as necessary. And also regarding the $2.5 million, that's the mayor's draft proposal. There is no money to back anything in the mayor's draft proposal. These are just recommendations that the mayor put out there. And we asked, as a council, on two occasions, just within the last two weeks, where will the $2.5 million be spent and what stations? And we have not received a response yet from the administration, Mr. President. So the mayor could put down anything she wants in her draft capital plan, making it look like things are being done in the community. There's no money, first of all, that backs any of those items. And secondly, Mr. President, she doesn't even know when we ask the questions, when her department heads are here, if they can explain what 2.5 million of the mayor's line item is gonna go towards, they can't answer it. So what kind of proposal is that, Mr. President? Any monkey can write something down, but if there's nothing behind it, Mr. President, to back it up, it's meaningless. And when you have the department head sitting here, and you have the mayor's chief of staff, and she can't answer a question, What's the two point, what is it, a secret? Doesn't make any sense, Mr. President. Just lip service again. Thank you. And I thank my colleague, Councilor Falco, for bringing that up.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Falco, do you have anything further? That would be all. Maybe we could do it on a Saturday, when maybe we'll have more time. That's fine with me. For everybody else, I'll talk to the Chief.
[George Scarpelli]: Sounds good, thank you. Councilor Scott Belli. Thank you, Mr. President. Again, I thank my fellow colleagues for bringing this issue up. I know that back in budget time, when we discussed, we talked to each individual department. One of the things that we talked about was the implementation of the wash machine and having that implemented. And I think one of the biggest concerns they had was that most of our stations don't have the capability from the electrical standpoint, the plumbing standpoint, to do what's needed to have that machine. So if we can ask, I'd like to see if you wouldn't mind that we can amend it to ask the building department to find out, Mr. Moki, if they can look into, to see which departments, which fire stations can, that have the capability to make sure that Because if it's that simple, it should be that simple. I mean, these are dire issues that are very concerning. So I know that that was one of the concerns that was brought up when I talked to the rank and file and what the reasoning was why they couldn't put in the washing machine for the turnout gear was because the stations weren't compatible for the electricity and the water that was needed there. And then if we can reach out to the chief too and have another amendment put on that. I thought there was discussion that there was a grant that was supposedly coming out for two more of these wash machines and dryers. It never did. Okay. So again, if we can get an update on that and what happened with that too, or that'd be important. So again, and again, I follow up with what else, what council Falco said, that was one of the biggest pieces. And then, um, that with the school committee looking at the schools now, Obviously, we couldn't do everything. It was impossible to do. But what it did was we finally had, and that wasn't it. I believe my answer to that was with the schools was it's a rolling plan. So we're always doing capital improvement. So I think that if we can get a list, not just in the fire departments, but in all of our municipal buildings, and what we see as more dire actions that need to be taken, and then categorize them so we know what needs to be done and what's really at its last legs that are going to cost us when it's too late. So I think that's important. that's one of the concerns I got back with when we talk about new buildings, new, new police station, new schools, what are the plans in place to make sure that we are, we have a plan in place for upkeep. So I think it's important that we, we, uh, ask the city administration that if we can have a, um, a plan in place and what, uh, a working plan in place with the city administration on all of our municipal buildings. Thank you. Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Thank you, President Caraviello. I just want to thank Council Member Rox for bringing up the issue with regards to the extractors. I have it a little differently. I know when we took the tour, we had a lot of information coming in our head. I could have sworn the men and women of the fire department said, the machine that's there now is actually not an extractor. It's a washing machine, and it does one at a time, like you had mentioned. And they were in hopes, they were wanting and in need of extractors. And the new extractors, if they got one, does three uniforms at a time. So I think it's, either way, especially, that's something that shocked me, the fact that we didn't have an extractor. And I could stand corrected, but we didn't have an extractor. And I think something to point out with regard to that is not only they're going into fires and they have the soot on their uniforms, But they're being stored, especially at engine one. And from what I hear, it sounds like all the stations, they're being stored right next to the diesel trucks. So the trucks are coming in and out, probably on a daily basis. And when you go in there, Council Member Knox was right, you smell something. I didn't know if it was from the uniforms being in the fire so often and not being extracted. But you also smell fuel. And you could see a layer of soot on the lockers where the uniforms are stored. And you look up on the fan, and there's another, you could see the layer of, it was just black. So you can imagine what's going into our men and women's lungs after, number one, after a fire, and after re-wearing the uniform over and over again. But also just, after I was told that story, and then I went and checked out the kitchen, which is a huge door open right next to the trucks. I mean, what they're taking in, just sitting there 24 hours on their 24-hour shift, It's extremely concerning. It's why I brought it up the last few weeks when we've been discussing these issues. So I think as many extractors as we can get, whether that be, I think it's a good resolve to start with two, two washers, two dryers, two extractors, and we figure out a way to put them in one or two of our stations because these men and women said that sometimes they're coming on their off hours because it only does one uniform at a time and they are, not in queue during their 24-hour shift, so they either have to ask somebody to help them or they have to come back on their time off to be able to wash and dry their uniform. And I just think that's absolutely ridiculous, especially with the rates that we're hearing with regards to cancer. And that's something, if that is $10,000 or $100,000, we need to spend some money to clean their uniforms. They're breathing in every day. So I think it's extremely important to bring up on a separate night, I know it's been a couple heated debates and discussions over the last few weeks, but I definitely think this was in need of being brought up. I too was told a couple weeks ago that they, fire department themselves wrote a grant for a washer, for an extractor and a dryer. It sounded like they were getting it at the time, but it may have changed within the last two weeks.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think they said the chief had wrote in the grant, but it never came through.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Well, that's why a grant writer that I brought up a couple weeks ago, I mean, we need a grant writer, part-time, full-time. We need somebody to help the fire department, the police department, every department in the city get the equipment and funding that is out there to use for, so we don't have to use City of Medford taxpayers' money. I think a grant writer will go a heck of a long way, and I'm sure there's other opportunities for extractors and things like that that we could be going after, and we just aren't. As a community, our department heads are doing the union heads the best they can, but it's just not, I think there's more out there that we can be grasping. So that's one point I wanted to make. The second point with engine three, I think the council voted like three or four times because I know when Louise Miller was our finance director, we hounded her. I remember specifically hounding her with regards to the fact that when we put the million to 2 million and a half into the updates and the fire stations, there was a one year warranty. And I don't know if anybody else recalls it, but I remember grilling her on multiple occasions within the first six to nine months saying, where's the punch list? Where's our OPM? Did the OPM go through it three months after, six months after? We need to capitalize on that warranty and make sure everything is done, was done correctly, and it hasn't faded, ripped, or teared. And I think I, you know, obviously, we upset her, we asked her so much, but the job obviously wasn't done. how it should have been done, because I'm sure that those pictures, which say a thousand words, occurred within that time frame, one year, and we could have capitalized and made those contractors do the work right if it wasn't done correctly. This council tried. I think we took three or four votes to ask about that one-year warranty and what needed to be done and if the OPM took a walkthrough more than once or a couple times to see what what was failing and what needed to be, you know, brought up to the contractor. And we really didn't get anywhere with regards to our votes. So I think Councilor Markson, I second the resolve.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Neistat. Yes, Mr. President. I do recall leadership from 1032 here a couple of weeks ago indicating that they were pursuing a charitable donation for the extractors. But I also think that we can't have too many. We only have one now, 10 of them more heart. Um, we have enough stations to place them as long as we have the space needs and the infrastructure needs to, um, to meet the capabilities. Uh, we should, we should have more than two, three, four, five, as many as we can get. We should get our hands on. So, um, I'd like to amend the paper to request an update, um, from the administration relative to the status of the charitable donations of the extract is similar to the grant that, um, Councilor Scarpelli added. Um, Councilor Falco and I had the opportunity to tour the West Medford fire station And one of the things that was most alarming to me was the fact that the actual smoke detectors in the fire station don't work. So I'd also like to further amend the resolution asking that an inspection be conducted to ensure that all of the fire alarms in our fire stations are operational, Mr. President. There's a fire in the fire station, and the firefighters don't know about it. I think we have a serious problem here. So I really think that's vital, especially when Councilor Marks brought this resolution forward in the interest of public safety and with a concern of public safety, um, you know, with the lights, um, same thing goes for having an operational smoke alarm in the building that they live in for their 24 hour shift, Mr. President. So I'd ask that, um, an inspection be conducted to ensure that all fire alarms in each station are operational and up to code.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Michael Marks]: Also marks. Thank you, Mr. President. You know, and I've been saying this for a number of years now, our municipal buildings, and I'm not sure if it works the same way on the school side, our municipal buildings are not reviewed on an annual basis. You would think, Mr. President, that the building commissioner would have an annual review of all our municipal buildings. and make a list of what's needed, and then move forward on repairs. That does not happen on the municipal side. I'm not sure about the school side, but I can tell you right now it's not happening on the city side. And the city relies on the firefighters or the police department to bring forward initiatives and work on building maintenance. And it's just not going to happen that way, Mr. President. And we're seeing the results of it. You know, you go on Salem Street, and, you know, there's signs on almost all the windows, do not open the window. And I asked the captain, I said, why would you put a sign, do not open the window? He said, open the window. I opened it, Mr. President, and the spring-loaded mechanism was shot, and literally you could take your fingers off. It came down like a hatchet. And that was every single window in the building, every single window. These are things, Mr. President, that the building commissioner should be going throughout all our buildings and writing a thorough report on the condition and the status of each building. Instead, Mr. President, it's like a gag order. We saw it happen with the DPW yard. We had a building that should have been condemned for at least 10 years, and we went to the Board of Health, we went to the building commissioner as a council, and we said, please, will you go down and take a look at the DPW yard? And at the time they came back and they said they don't see any problem with it. The building should have been condemned, Mr. President. But there's a gag order. There's an unwritten gag order in this city that doesn't allow the administrative staff and the department heads to do their job. Because all you need is a set of eyes, Mr. President, to walk into any of these municipal buildings and you can see the lack of maintenance and what's going on. And I don't fault the building commissioner, because he's on that gag order. He's on that gag order. He's worried that he'll lose his job if he brings up issues, Mr. President. And that's a concern. That's a concern, Mr. President. And that needs to stop. It needs to stop. And we, as a council, have to send that message out. It's unacceptable, Mr. President. I'd ask anyone to take a look. Anyone in the public is welcome to go into any of these city buildings. Take a walk in. Let me know what you see in the building. Let me know if you think the condition is where you'd like to lay down for 24 hours a shift, Mr. President. It's unacceptable. And I would ask, Mr. President, that we as a council request that the building commissioner do an annual review on all our municipal buildings and that it start effective tomorrow. An annual review, Mr. President. Do you want to make that a separate motion? Whatever, yeah, if you want to make a separate motion. We should be receiving annual reports on the condition of our buildings, Mr. President. So then when the mayor comes forward and says, I'd like to expend $22 million for a new police station, we don't have to say, why do you need that, Madam President? We know, we're already armed with the information year after year on the needs of our facilities. It doesn't happen now. It should have happened with the library, it should have happened with the DPW, it should have happened with the police station, and it should have happened with all these fire stations, Mr. President. So I would ask that that be part of the vote tonight, too, in the form of a motion, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. On the motion, Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just wanted to say I second that last motion. You know, we take a look at our buildings in our city. I mean, buildings are one of our most, you know, important assets on the books. You know, when, you know, when, Myself and Councilor Scarpelli went out and, you know, we looked at the, we were on the school committee, we looked out at the school buildings. I mean, it's to ensure that, you know, those buildings are going to be, you know, uh, kept up so that, you know, it ensures that those buildings are around for future generations of Method students. And we really need to make sure that we're doing the same thing with all city buildings and make sure that, um, you know, uh, all the routine maintenance has taken place and the preventive maintenance has taken place because that's, you know, Buildings are expensive to replace. We're seeing that now at the police station. So we really need to make sure we stay on top of this issue. I think that's a good resolution that we do get a report back from the building commissioner. It's something that we need to keep an eye on. Like I said before, it's probably one of the most important assets that we have on the books is our buildings.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[John Falco]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Marks as amended by Councilor Falco, Councilor Scarpelli, and Councilor Knight. Roll call vote has been requested. Mr. Clerk. Seconded by Councilor Locren. Mr. Clerk, if you could read the motions back for Vice President Mox.
[Clerk]: I'm gonna go backwards. All right, Councilwoman, build a commission to do an annual review of all municipal buildings. Councilman Knight, do a thorough inspection of service on all fire stations, inclusive of smoke alarms, sprinklers, and so on. Also, let me see here. Councilor Scarpelli, let me see. A listing of all the municipal buildings and what the needs are and the estimated costs, along with a working plan in place to address the needs of the building. Status of the grant for two more additional washers. Let me see here. Building commission report back on each fire station's capabilities on power and plumbing for, uh, for the extractors and, uh, dryers. Let me see. Councilman Marks, uh, listing of all, uh, uh, needed improvements, uh, to be completed by the chief for each fire station, which is the punch list. Uh, let me see, uh, Councilor Falco, uh, Committee of the whole meeting to be scheduled for each fire station accompanied by the chief. The immediate purchase of two additional extractors and two dryers. And to include in each fire station to have a separate storage area for each of these. The city administration put back who the clerk of the works was for the project and why safety lights were not included into the specs. Let me see. Let me see the floor here. The floor will be, I guess the floor will be reviewed by the building commissioner and to, and who is the contractor? Reach out to the contractor who did the floor.
[Michael Marks]: Just to see if it's still under warranty. It may not be. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay.
[Clerk]: Mr. Clerk, if you could please call the roll. Councilor Dello Russo. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Lungo-Koehn?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Vice President Marks?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, a motion passes. 17297 offered by Councilor Falco, whereas new commercial and residential development is occurring throughout our city, whereas the exterior lighting from these developments is having a negative impact on our existing neighborhoods. Be it resolved that the zoning and ordinance subcommittee develop an ordinance with regard to exterior lighting to provide clear guidelines for its installation and regulations that will limit the wattages and luminance of the outdoor lights.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, I've received a number of phone calls in a number of different neighborhoods over the past couple of months regarding lighting from various buildings throughout our city. And I received a call from a resident down on Emerson Street, actually, specifically, with regard to they built a new building. They put lighting on the outside, but the lighting literally shines into this person's house. And it really has a negative impact on his quality of life at night. And if he wants to go spend time in his yard, the yard is lit up all the time, and it's a problem. And it's a problem in other corners of our city as well. So when I looked into it and I talked to the code enforcement officer, he had mentioned to me that we actually do not have an ordinance with regard to exterior lighting. So I bring this resolution forward tonight. because I think this is something that we should look into, especially since we're hearing about more and more development in our city. We need to make sure that we have regulations and ordinances in place to help guide development and developers to make sure that Our existing neighborhoods are not negatively impacted by lighting that's too bright. So I agree we need to have lighting. I think lighting is a great crime deterrent. But I also believe that it needs to be not too bright. It needs to be regulated to some degree. So I just wanted to bring this forward tonight. And if we could move it to the subcommittee on zoning to work on a resolution, I would I think that's a good idea and I'd like to move approval. Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I think that this is a great initiative and it's something that the subcommittee should certainly look into. I'd like to amend the paper to request recommendations from the building department and the electrical division as well as the chief of police as to what recommendations they may have in terms of outdoor lights, wattages, lumens, so on and so forth. I think that when we're talking about wattage and lumens, that's a little bit outside the level of expertise of everybody behind this rail. So I think that would be very helpful, Mr. President. But one concern I do have is obviously the ability to ensure the public safety. And Chief Sackles appeared before this council on a number of times in the past, indicating that one of the number one deterrents to crime is well-lit streets. So I think we're going to have to walk a fine line here, and there's going to have to be some balancing, Mr. President. But I certainly think it's a worthwhile endeavor that deserves exploration, research, and study. And I move for approval, as amended. Councilor Dello Russo.
[SPEAKER_03]: Mr. President, I think this is a very thoughtful measure. I thank my colleague for this and I eagerly look forward to addressing this issue in subcommittee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Councilor Dello Russo. On the motion as, as amended by Councilor Knight, name and address for the record, please.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Thank you, Andrew Castagnetti, Cushman Street, Medford, Massachusetts. I'm speaking about the subject of the new growth.
[Richard Caraviello]: We are not talking about new growth.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: You're talking about lighting? We're talking about lighting. It says here, I believe, whereas new commercial and residential development is occurring throughout the city. That's how the paragraph started. and it talks about lighting. So I'm gonna talk about lighting and the new growth that's all in the same paragraph of the resolution, I believe it's called. Thank you, sir. It's a nice idea to keep the blinding lights out of our eyes. Thank you, Councilor Felicko, appreciate that. But more importantly, I feel it would be better to amend this and add to the resolution to make sure that any and all new real estate tax growth be first used to offset any and all prop two and a half real estate tax increases. Also, I don't believe there is any law that mandates that the city must increase the real estate taxes at all. Therefore, but if you still insist on raising our real estate taxes, again, a la the last 50 years plus standing, at least use our new growth tax monies to offset any prop two and a half proposed increases and for once give the middle class a break. Simply put, I'm wondering out loud if you or anyone in political power here in 02155 can finally get this extra new growth, real estate taxes, to help lower the middle class real estate tax bill instead of this so-called new real estate tax growth as stated in the paragraph, is working against us, as in we need more schools, police, fire. And it adds to our total of last year's real estate tax bill, not to mention the infrastructure costs. So it adds more money to the inflated bill of the real estate tax, which is over $100 million to that levy, So then, meaning next year, they're gonna take two and a half percent of an over-inflated bill. Does anybody have any ideas to help the middle class, especially the lower middle class while it still exists, to help the middle class? Anyone? On this new growth business? Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you for your silence. Councilor McLaughlin.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I guess we're talking about, oh, okay, thank you. With regards to the new development, I know that's part of it, and the lighting, there was a meeting last week that Council Marks and President Caraviello and I attended with regards to the potential redevelopment of Salem Street and Canal Street, complex 21 potential units or less. And one thing that did surprise me, which I thought was a great thing, was they had a lighting expert at that meeting. So maybe we could look into, I don't know if we could ask the question, if you don't mind me amending the paper, is that a requirement? Because maybe it would be something we could potentially ask developers to provide a lighting. And it was interesting, I mean, they had an expert on everything, so I'm really not sure with regards to which ones were required and which ones weren't. But we could maybe get an update and look into that. Because even if it's just on a small basis, Having somebody to at least identify what the lighting plan is is going to be beneficial for the neighbors in the neighborhood. And it was an interesting portion of the three hour meeting we attended last week. So if we could look into that further and ask the question, is a lighting specialist required? And if so, when is it required?
[Richard Caraviello]: If you don't mind. If you can amend that motion, Mr. Clerk.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Oh, this is a goal to the zone. Well, we can ask that in committee.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Falco, as amended by Councilor Knight and Councilor Lungo-Koehn, do I have a second?
[Unidentified]: Second.
[Richard Caraviello]: Second by Councilor Knight. Mr. Clerk, roll call has been requested. Councilor Falco made the motion, seconded by Councilor Knight.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Affirmative. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Kerr? Yes. Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, motion passes. Motion by Councilor Knight to suspend the rules. take hands at the paper clip. 17-299 offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the DPW Commissioner direct the Engineering Department to provide the City Council with the construction schedule for resurfacing of Evans Street. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, this was a matter that came up before this Council a number of times, most recently before the cold months when the ground froze. It's been brought to my attention that they were going to be having some pre-construction meetings and a construction schedule was going to be established. So for that reason, Mr. President, I think that the residents on Evans Street have waited long enough and this roadway needs to be repaved. And I'm asking for a copy of the construction schedule from the engineering department, Mr. President. As I sit here and think about this resolution and the need for resurfacing on Evans street, um, I do also recall that we had a extended discussion relative to Paris street as well. Um, then these two projects were kind of working hand in hand as, as the council discussed them in the past, Mr. President, over the spring. Um, so I'm asking that we amend the paper to also include, um, a breakdown for the construction schedule of Paris street and Evans street and, uh, move for approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by council at night, seconded by council, Logan Kern, all in favor. Motion passes. 17-300 offered by Councilor Knight. Be it resolved that the DPW Commissioner direct the Engineering Department to respond to the following items outlined in Council Resolution 16-404 adopted by the Council on 4-19-2016. One. Listing of all roadways and sidewalks where public utilities have performed or are scheduled to perform any digging or excavation work from January 1st, 2014 to date, including the street addresses of where the work took place or was scheduled to take place. Number two, a listing of all roadways and sidewalks where public utilities have performed any digging or excavation work that have not been completed in accordance with the established City of Medford standards from January 14th to date, including the street addresses of where the work took place. Number three, a complete schedule of repair work for all roadways and sidewalks where public utilities have performed any digging or excavation work that have not been completed in accordance with established City of Medford standards from January 2014 to date, including the street address of where the work is to take place. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Yes, Mr. President. This was issued last April relative to a response to some concerns about excavation work done up in the Lawrence Estates along Crocker. along Trancroft, along Lincoln Road. Ultimately, it was a six-part resolution that was sent to the administration. A number of the items were addressed that were related to trees and utility wires. But we still have questions and concerns, Mr. President, about who's watching the shop when it comes to public utilities doing trench work. what type of trench management system they have in place. So ultimately this resolution asks what's been done and what's scheduled to be done and where. Has the utility met its obligation to the city of Medford to return the street into the condition that it was left in? And if not, where are the street addresses where this work hasn't been returned to the pristine condition, Mr. President? And I think that this is an important issue in our community and I also think that it's something that needs to be looked at a little bit closer because, quite frankly, I think that the public utilities are running roughshod over the public ways in our city. This coupled with the fact that the Everett to Winchester project has been approved, and the pipeline through the Winthrop Street Corridor has looked like it's going to happen within the next couple of years, Mr. President. I think it's very important that we hold our public utilities accountable for the work that they do in our community to ensure strong quality of life in the neighborhoods.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: If I can, I just, I thank my colleague for bringing this up. I know this has been a bone of contentions with myself that making sure that we hold, um, um, these contractors, um, to what their intent intended to, uh, complete with the city's, um, roadworks. I think that if we can, I'd like to see if there's a way we can reach out to the community itself if they have, um, some construction work. I know that we have a neighbor in the heights that contacted me that the contractor last year put down the hot top but didn't replace the cement on the sidewalk. So even if they could reach out to the city administration and the see click fix and if the if there are any other locations that the community can help us with some of those addresses to be could be helpful, but I appreciate Mr. Knight for bringing this up. It's uh, it's it's an issue that I hear way too often our community from neighbors. So thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Scott. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, I want to thank my colleagues for bringing this up and speaking on it. Uh, While I'm grateful for the thorough work and wording of this resolution, I'm disappointed, Mr. President, that so much of it we're hearing again, and we haven't gotten the answers in the past that we've asked for.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Dela Rousseau. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by, by Councilor Scarpelli, all those, all those, Councilor Monks?
[Michael Marks]: Councilor Monks? response back from your resolution, I think regarding Winthrop street in front of the American legion. We have not, we have not got a response back. Maybe if we, if the council wouldn't mind, because that, that was a road work that was done by an outside contract.
[Richard Caraviello]: The heads now as they go over the right. Right. If we can amend that, Mr. Clark, councilor knife.
[Adam Knight]: I certainly have no problem amending the paper, and I know that Councilor Marks talks a lot about thermoplastic sidewalks, and that bump right there is probably the most effective speed bump that I've seen in the community in a number of years. So maybe we have an alternative to thermoplastic speed bumps, Mr. President, going forward.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Knight, as seconded by Councilor Scarpelli, as amended by President Caraviello. All those in favor? Motion passes. We have two more. Offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council congratulate Phyllis Patton on the moment of occasion of her 90th birthday. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: 80th birthday, Mr. President. I love Mrs. Patton. She's been great to us down there, especially at St. Joseph's School, but I don't want to give her another 10 years, Mr. President. Oh, 9th?
[Richard Caraviello]: I'm sorry.
[Adam Knight]: Couldn't read your writing.
[Richard Caraviello]: Sorry, 9th. 80th. I apologize. 80th birthday, Mr. President.
[Adam Knight]: Anybody involved with St. Joseph's Parish has in one way or another come across Miss Phyllis Patton. I first met her, I think, when I was in first grade going through CCD, and then I had the pleasure of playing some sports with her son, Ross, who was a great athlete growing up, and have been able to develop a relationship with her daughter, Robin, over the years, and her husband, Billy Raymond. So it's with great pleasure that I bring this resolution forward, Mr. President. I want to wish Phyllis a happy 80th birthday, although I don't see her as much as I used to in the past. She's in our thoughts, and I just want to hope that she had a wonderful day and wish her a happy birthday.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Scarpelli. and President Caraviello, Councilor Falco, and Councilor Marks. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council extend its deepest, sincere condolences to the family of Jim Coughlin, a former teacher in the Medford Public Schools on his recent passing. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. Coughlin was I think everybody here, one way or another, knew Mr. Kaufman himself as a former phys ed teacher in the Medford Public Schools. He was also a coach at the high school level, and also he ran the pool for us for a little bit over on Main Street. If you know Jim, you know that he had a really look like a mean exterior, but it wasn't. He was a great person. He was a man who graduated Norwich with a military background that his sons and family have followed. I know that he meant so much to our community and his wife, Paula, who also works in our system. I just want to reach out to them and give them give them our thoughts and prayers. And I know that yesterday, two days ago, during their wake, I made a promise in that I'll be reaching out to the state delegation, something that they brought to my attention, that our cruisers do not have AEDs. And that's something that you just overlook and you don't know. And something that was alarming to me as I talked to the family, is that the cruiser that was there, if they were fitted with the AED, that Jim possibly could have survived. So I will make it a promise to reach out to the state delegation to see if we could change this in the state. And that was the wishes of the family. And I made sure that I'd bring that up. And it's a fight that I'll take on for Jim and the Coughlin family. And again, we're going to miss him. and prayers to the family. So, thank you. Thank you.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you, Mr. President. I had the privilege of having Jim Coughlin as a physical education teacher when I was in high school a number of times through my four years at Medford High School. Great guy, always very supportive, very encouraging, especially, you know, when I told him I was running for public office. And I hadn't seen him for a while, and then when my kids started taking swimming lessons down at Tufts Pool, I bumped into him there and got some, you know, kind of, you know, friendship continued from there. But just a really nice, all-around guy. He was no nonsense, he was great. He always told it like it was, and he will be sorely missed, but just a fabulous person, so.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Falco. If we could please stand for a moment Councilor Locks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I, too, would like to echo my colleague's sentiments. I've known the Coughlin family for a number of years, and I, too, had Mr. Coughlin and Mr. English at gym at the high school. And I could tell you, if you did not pay attention while you were in gym class, there were ramifications. And one of them being those big, round, red balls. If you were talking or out of line, you would quickly find one of those next to your head. Mr. President, Jimmy, as Councilor Scarpelli mentioned, he had a tough shell, but a heart of gold. And he was just a good family man, a great husband, a father, a grandfather. And he will be sorely missed, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: The President Thank you, Vice President Miles. If we could stand for a moment of silence, please. I'll run the suspension. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Yes, Mr. President, this council put forward a number of resolutions requesting that the administration add to the names of the Veterans Memorial Park on Winthrop Street. And in our packets this week, we have received a letter announcing that the mayor will be commissioning an additional plaque. Last week, we discussed this at the meeting. We made the announcement. However, in our packets today, we also have the eligibility requirements, Mr. President. And I want to be clear that For consideration to get your name put on the Veterans Memorial at Winthrop Street, you have to have an application postmarked by March 15th, which is just around the corner, Mr. President, next week. Eligibility requirements would include that you enlisted while a resident of Medford and being honorably discharged, but there are also exemptions if you enlisted from another city or town. resided in Medford for no less than 30 years and were a World War II or Korean War veteran, then you'd be eligible for placement on the monument. If you enlisted from another city or town but resided in Medford for no less than 20 years and were a Vietnam veteran, you would be eligible for placement on the monument. If you served in Operation Desert Storm or Desert Shield or Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom and enlisted after 9-11-2001, you do not have an entry requirement. However, you must be a current Medford resident. For any further information, Mr. President, you can contact, obviously, the members of the Veterans Service Subcommittee, the Director of Veterans Service, or the administration. But I did want to be sure that this was out there because a number of individuals in the community have contacted me relative to getting their loved ones or their own names placed on the plaque. And the list that we have here, Mr. President, is a list of date corrected on 2-21-17, which outlines Patrick Andriatola, John O'Brien, Richard Perella, Robert Emma, Carl Hicks, George White, and Calvin Chin as veterans that are eligible for placement on the monument, but I would reckon that There are a number of other individuals in our community that are eligible for placement, Mr. President. And the last time it was updated was in 2014, so that was three years ago. And as World War II veterans and members of our greatest generation continue to age, the opportunities for them to wait two and three and four years to see their name put on this plaque aren't necessarily there anymore. So I think it's very important that we get this information out there. I want to thank my council colleagues for entertaining me. And I would ask that this matter be received and placed on file.
[Richard Caraviello]: Eden is here from, uh, uh, the transcript. If that's something, if you can get that in the paper for this week, it'd be greatly appreciated. Uh, all right. Thank you very much.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Actually, I yield to Councilor Marks. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: I was just thinking that regarding notification, it would be nice maybe if we can do a reverse 9-1-1 call to the entire city. Cause I agree with, uh, with Councilor Knight that, uh, you know, especially for someone that was in World War II and, The Korean War and so forth, they're not getting any younger and time is of the essence. So if the administration.
[Richard Caraviello]: To have the mayor, we request the mayor to have a reverse 911 call to the veterans, to all the community. Requesting all veterans to get their name in before they take cutoff day. Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. While we're on the suspension, I just wanted to mention really quick that tomorrow night is our monthly community police meeting. The new location for this month is at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital School of Nursing. It's at 7 PM. Chief Sacco and members of the Medford Police Department will be there to answer any questions that you have. 7 p.m. Lawrence Memorial School of Nursing. All are welcome. It doesn't matter what neighborhood you live in throughout our city, everyone is welcome.
[Richard Caraviello]: Great job, Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Councilor Lococo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. While we're talking about meetings tomorrow night, there's also a Board of Appeals meeting at seven o'clock at the library in the Magoon Room that I know people are interested in. So I wanted to announce that publicly as it's not at City Hall like it usually is. It's at the library. to discuss the Salem Street and Canal Street project.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much. 7 p.m. Motion to revert back to regular business by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor? Reports of committees. 17-099. Report of the committee of the whole meeting of February 27th, discussing the police station bond order and prior questions. Motion to accept, Mr. President. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to accept, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Petitions, presentation, and similar matters. 17298, Gene Martin. 10 Cumming Street Method Mass to address the council to offer a new proclamation. Name and address for the record, please.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you. Jean Martin, 10 Cumming Street. And as I stated last week, when you point a finger at one person, you're pointing three back at yourself. And somebody wiser than me said, when you make a complaint, when you criticize, you should have at least three solutions ready for that to solve the problem. So in that spirit, I rewrote the Medford's proclamation. Whereas our nation was originally established for the purpose of expanding the British Empire and for the purpose of supplying England with its natural resources, it thereby established a few key colonies in Massachusetts and Virginia, Medford being among them. Whereas the British colonists, in order to achieve their goal, had but one obstacle, the Pawtuckets, who were already living here. So the British colonists began taking the land of the native peoples, and in some cases enslaving them, while others died of disease and famine, Medford being among them. Whereas the British Empire was a participant in both the practice of indentured servitude, and the institution of African slavery, Medford being among them, we therefore acknowledge that our nation did not start out as a perfect one. Whereas the colonists eventually revolted against British rule, the grievances not settled, and on April 19th, 1775, 59 of Medford's men fought in the battles of Lexington and Concord, resulting in war between England and the burgeoning United States, having won their independence. yet still carrying remnants of its old colonial institutions, slavery among them. Whereas, the colonists became visionaries, having just been released as subjects of a king. They therefore enshrined certain individual protections from the government, knowing the potential abuses of government as they drew up our country's US Constitution. Whereas, it was the U.S. Constitution itself that allowed our own Medford abolitionists, Prince Hall and Lydia Maria Child, the ability to use this most powerful of all government instruments through the enshrined rights of speech, press, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Whereas, Sergeant William Lawrence was the first of many volunteers to give his life for Medford and our nation in the Battle of Bull Run during the Civil War as a member of the Lawrence Light Guard. Whereas, our Medford citizens and soldiers were both instrumental in arguing in the greatest of all debates in this nation, the unresolved issue of human bondage. Hall and Child led the consciousness of the majority in favor of the minority and giving rise to the Civil War, which freed our nation of its original design and liberated all peoples held against their will by adding the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Almost done. Therefore, we who are fortunate enough to live in this most blessed of cities, knowing and understanding our history, are especially dedicated to justice for all. We in Medford know the power of one voice and all that it can accomplish. We in Medford have lived among those who have laid down their lives in the pursuit of our nation's freedoms and cherish those rights unequivocally. Having shed blood in both the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, to defeat tyranny externally and internally, we are dedicated to protecting the rights of individuals to live without fear of persecution, no matter their race or any other minority designation. We value the individual as a whole person to be respected, freed from fear, and hold up the ability of the individual to live life to their fullest. Medford values all thoughts and perspectives, regardless of how unpopular the person is who states them, or how unpopular the concept may be. We believe all voices are welcome. So thank you very much, and I'll give this to the mayor tomorrow.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Ms. Martin.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Knight to receive and place on file, seconded by Councilor Falwell. All those in favor, aye. The records, the table records of the meeting of February 14th, 2017, but pass to Councilor Dello Russo. Councilor Dello Russo, after your exhaustive investigation. Mr. President, after a thorough and exhaustive investigation. Do you deem them in order?
[Fred Dello Russo]: We ask that the following correction be made to the records of that meeting under paper number 17-079, meaning the whole committee report, in that Councilor Falco be marked as ineffective.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilor Dello Russo. The records of the meeting of February 28th, 2017 were passed to Councilor Knight. Councilor Knight, how did you find those records?
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I found the papers in order, with the exception of paper 17-088 and subsection A, amended by Councilor Knight, that Massachusetts Highway Department provide a maintenance schedule for the area. This correction has been emailed to the city clerk. And also under item B, amended by Councilor Caraviello, that State Representative Donato receive a copy on the resolution and amendment. Those are the two changes that needed to be made. I've emailed the copy of those to the city clerk. Mr. President, I'd move for approval as amended. Thank you. Councilor Lococo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: After we take that vote, just a public announcement. Okay.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Naito to accept the records, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor, aye.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just wanted to announce that this Sunday is the fourth annual Running of the Leprechauns, 5K, benefiting the Boston Children's Hospital. It's Sunday morning, starts at 11 a.m. I believe registration begins at 9.30, 10. That's at 321 Winthrop Street in Medford. It starts in Medford, 5K, goes through Medford Square. Great cause, so I suggest anybody. It's gonna be cold, but it'll be fun. We'll get you green on.
[Richard Caraviello]: I will do my errands, and I am a beneficiary of the Children's Hospital, so I will be there. I'm running.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I'm running, yep. I'll be running.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion to adjourn by Councilor Scarpelli. I'm sorry, did you want to speak? I apologize.
[Sharon Deyeso]: Mr. President. Mr. President. Name and address for the record, please. Sharon Diesso, 130 Circuit Road in Mass Avenue, Medford. Thank you. Just a quick question. Some of my friends and I were wondering what the report summation was for the committee on the whole meeting regarding the spending plan for the architect $2 million bill for the police station. Briefly, how does that stand? And also, were wondering, is there any other way that's less affordable? I know that inflation sets in, but I believe a few weeks ago, Councilor Marks had presented a report that was presented by an engineer that was $350,000. I know things increase in three and a half years, but I'm certainly hoping, and we are, a whole bunch of us, that a $2 million bill is not being put on the city, I would assume that there are many, many people who you know yourselves through doing work in the city that can do a more affordable appraisal on those buildings. And besides that, why in the world would the mayor or anyone think of a $21 million project when the outside structure of that building, which has been looked at by contractor friends of my own who have had business there, called me and wanted to know, It's sound. Why is the police force and the chief waiting all these years when you could have built up a floor? Sandblasted or waterblasted the building and gutted the inside and cleaned it for those poor people all these years. We don't understand why everything is way to the 11th hour for ruthless spending. So we'd like to know the status of that, please. I mean, we're peons, but we're trying to use our imaginations to accommodate those policemen in a long waiting of years and to help the taxpayers a little bit in the community. Thank you very much. Thank you. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Just to answer a question through the chair, I'm not sure if you saw last week's meeting, but we took a few votes. It passed for its first reading, and then I was going to ask the clerk, when will it be up for its third reading before the council?
[Richard Caraviello]: When will it be up for its third reading? Two weeks? Three weeks?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: It's not on the agenda, so no.
[Richard Caraviello]: I don't know if I made the paper this week. It'll be, it'll be in this Thursday's edition of the transcript because the transcript goes to press at I think eight o'clock on Tuesday. So sometimes it doesn't make it in there. So be on on the nine and then 10 days after that. So probably.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So March 21st meeting will, it will take its third reading by vote of the city council. So that's when you maybe want to come speak in opposition or make your voice heard.
[Sharon Deyeso]: Well, we're hoping that you can come up with a devise another plan that's less costly than $2 million to have an architect. Doesn't anyone think of any other person or company? I don't understand how a mayor can just come in new and be part of the budget directing in the city and have a plan devised by some architect, who I'm sure was quite capable, how can it jump from a $350,000 company to $2 million? We can't even imagine how someone came out with that figure. Thank you very much. Sorry.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: The mayor answered us through the chair on February 27th, said on the 14th, it is 10% of budget cost, and the actual loan order is for $2 million. So she's believing that that's 10% of the actual budget cost.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think the actual loan was like $1.7 million. I think it was the number.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Oh, right. A million seven million seven.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think was the actual number in the budget there. Councilor Knight would like to speak.
[Adam Knight]: Um, Mr. President, um, Mr. Cito, Mr. Sisto raises a number of good questions and we've got a number of good answers from the administration, um, that are all public record that have been sent to this council. So, um, I don't think there'd be a problem if you gave your address to the city messenger, the city clerk could provide you with copies of what we received as well. If you'd like to see copies of the financials that the council received.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Scarpelli to adjourn, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favour?
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