[Richard Caraviello]: 26th regular meeting of the Medford City Council, Medford Mass, July 18th, 2017. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Present. Councilor Falco?
[Michael Marks]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight? Present. Councilor Leonard Kern?
[Michael Marks]: Present.
[Clerk]: Vice President Marks?
[Michael Marks]: Present.
[Clerk]: Councilor Scarpelli? Present. President Caraviello? Present.
[Richard Caraviello]: All rise and please 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. Thank you everybody for being here tonight. Tonight, I'm going to let you know right up front, we are going to enforce council rules of ten minutes of speaking. And no more than twice coming up to speak on the same subject. We have a lot of people here, so everyone that wants to speak will get an opportunity to speak. Thank you. And we have some quicker things we want to do first, a couple of common pictures, small things, so we can get those people out of here and concentrate on what the bigger crowd is here for. All right. Motion to suspend on the rules?
[SPEAKER_48]: Mr. President, motion to suspend the rules to take up 17570, 17571, convictionless petitions.
[Adam Knight]: That's it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay, petition, common evictor license by Christina Pianfanas, 1776 Hudson Street, number one, Summerville, Mass. Doing business at Semolina, 572 Boston Ave, Medford, Mass. The petition is present. Councilor Scarpelli, who is the licensing chairman. Thank you, Mr. President.
[George Scarpelli]: Welcome. I see that all the paperwork is in order. Can you just give us a brief description of the business that we're presenting to us tonight?
[SPEAKER_58]: It's a restaurant, but we also, our business in Davis Square is a market, a specialty grocery, so it's gonna be a small market, but also we have a full liquor license with a full bar, so at Dave's, we have a wine shop, so instead of that, we're gonna have a bar and a restaurant. We're gonna be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, open at seven in the morning, Monday through Friday, until 10 or so at night, and then closed on Sundays.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, so the report calls that you're closing out, your hours are from what time to what time?
[SPEAKER_58]: We're gonna be open at seven in the morning, and then we'll probably close somewhere around nine or 10, depending on the night, maybe.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, but the permit reads. You're allowed 11. The hours of operation is 11, so. Right.
[sBk_gQcj4fU_SPEAKER_11]: Yeah. Okay, so you know that. Read that along. Yeah.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, I see all the departments have checked off, Mr. President. Everything looks like it's in order. I move to accept and place on file. Mr. President.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Naito. Mr. President, this is something I'm very excited about this evening. This is something that's been in the works for quite a bit of time when the Brown and Blue coffee shop was removed and we've seen Dave's Fresh Pasta on Holland Street that's been very successful. That's a very successful business over there in Somerville. They run for their money, but I don't want to let anybody know that out here. But I think that this is going to be a great addition to the community, Mr. President. And I, for one, feel as though this is something that should be supported this evening, and I'll move for approval to pay for it.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Councilor Dello Russo. Mr. President, there was great enthusiasm with the significant outpouring of support. on various phases of this project and for the licensing that was granted as well, Mr. President. So I also lend my voice of approval to this.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Thank you President Caraviello. Could you just let us know how many people, patrons, you'll be able to serve at one time? How many seats are there?
[SPEAKER_58]: We have about 60 to 63 seats inside as of now. We don't want it to be too crowded, so we're keeping it comfortable. And we will have some outdoor seating eventually, but we're not quite there yet. We've got to get it open first.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And can you give us a time frame of when you think you'll be open? The outdoor? Oh, just when you'll be open in general so the public knows.
[SPEAKER_58]: Well, we wanted to open tomorrow morning, but we're not quite ready. So we're thinking Thursday morning. We're going to open in stages. We're going to start with breakfast and then add the other things as we get comfortable. We're hoping to be fully running before the students come back, because Tufts is our landlord, and they will come, so we want to be ready for them.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Do you have the voucher program with Tufts University? No.
[SPEAKER_58]: We're not part of dining services or anything. They're just our landlord. I wish you good luck. Thank you very much. Appreciate the support.
[Richard Caraviello]: Move the motion by Councilor Scarpelli. Seconded. Seconded by Councilor Locario. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Congratulations. Hope to see you one day for breakfast, lunch, or dinner or all of the above. Thank you. Okay, 17571, petition for a common fixture license by Deepak Kachayapati. 50 Barrett Street, Malden, Mass. 02148 for Malden Bazaar, LLC doing business as City Bazaar. Councilor Scarpelli. Is the petitioner here? I thought I saw him here. He's in room B. They can hear you in there, so may I call his name? Larry, can you just go in there and see if he's there? I thought he said he was here. Also, I want to inform everybody that this meeting is being taped for a later broadcast, but it is also being filmed by another private person, so if anyone has any objections to that, please let me know. Okay, motion to table.
[SPEAKER_02]: All those in favor? Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion is tabled. Which one are we doing next, the science? PPA. PPA. Okay. Mr. President.
[Michael Marks]: Hold up.
[Richard Caraviello]: Yeah, we have one person here for the monopole. We'll get to you. There may be a few people there. Yeah. 17567, offered by Vice President Mox, be it resolved that the MBTA proposed cellular towers be discussed. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I offered this resolution several months back. When I found out of the proposal, the MBTA was looking to install 375-foot towers throughout 60 communities along the rail line. And at that time, Mr. President, the council asked that we have a meeting with the MBTA to discuss some of the issues that naturally we would know residents would have. One of the polls — actually, both of the polls are located in residential neighborhoods that abut railroad lines. And knowing that, Mr. President, the council asked that we meet with the MBTA to look at whether or not the MBTA can cancel the contract they have currently now with BAI Communications and allow for public input. which, to date, there has been very little, if any, public input. And I know some residents from the Tyler Ave area reached out to this council and requested that we give them the ability to speak before the council with some of their concerns, and I requested City Solicitor Mark Rumley, who I believe is here tonight, He is here tonight to be present if he can answer any questions. But as of Friday, June 30th, the T did announce that they were going to take a step back and conduct a 30-day assessment of the project, which involved, as I mentioned, 375-foot towers in 60 communities. The T also went on to say there will be no construction of poles or other infrastructure during this review. which will include comments and other feedback from customers, elected and appointed officials, and residents. A presentation of the status of the project will be given to the MBTA Fiscal and Management Control Board at an upcoming meeting. And I would ask, Mr. President, at this time that we hear from residents that are here regarding this particular poll. and the impact it's going to have on the neighborhood. I also wanted to mention that this council did write a letter regarding historic property that are located within this, I forget the distance, I think it's a half a mile or one mile from the pole. And we did write a letter stating that we were in opposition of these particular sites, Mr. President. But at this time, I know there's a few residents here. If you'd like to come forward.
[Richard Caraviello]: Good evening. Name and address of the record please.
[SPEAKER_16]: Good evening. My name is Carol Brown. I'm on 67 Tyler Ave and I want to thank the members of the City Council for Taking all of my emails and responding and I want to thank you again I've done it a couple of times and you're all really great about it, especially for the files. I thank you I've been a 33 year resident of Medford in West Medford. It's a wonderful community I can tell you from the the price of houses. Everybody loves our community and I know the T and the commuter rail are a big important part of our community and the value of the houses, but I have to say that I have a few concerns. First and foremost, I know there's a need for technology, but I feel that the T kind of snuck everything in through the back door. I only learned about this maybe 20, 30 days ago, and it was from a neighbor who was approached by a person who offered money for them to go down their property to put up the pole, which everybody in the neighborhood then started to hear about it. So that then gets me a little concerned. And I know Manchester-by-the-Sea and Andover are other communities who are being impacted by this. It just seems that Medford is, you know, I hate to say it, but we're the poor relation, and they're going to just kind of barrel it through. And the concerns of some of the people that are on vacation that I'm also speaking for, one, of course, is health concerns, because we're not sure what all of this is going to do or be. And then I walked the neighborhood and Saltonstall and Grove Street, right at the bridge that goes over the T line, all the trees have just been, they're bald. So they're moving forward, whether they say they are or not, they have just taken line of sight limbs down. There's mounds of fresh, sawdust from when they took the limbs. They put up a meter machine, but they haven't put the meter in yet. They put in a new gate, some new locks. So there's a lot going on that nobody else is apparently telling you. So from that point of view, if they've taken down all those trees, my question is, if they put up this 70-odd foot pole, are they going to wipe out all the trees that are the only small amount of hiding an enormous tree, which is like two telephone poles tall, which is really big. So if you take out all the trees, it's much more obvious. Is it a health concern? And what's it going to do for the property value of us in that area with this giant pole? You know, it's a question. So, those are my concerns. And if they're going to put up a tree or a pole, can they make it look like a tree? You know, some of the highways, you see those poles and they've got all the little limbs coming out of it. Can they at least, you know, kind of sort of pretend it isn't what it is? So I appreciate your time and looking into this. And I think the 30 days all well and good, but I think they're moving forward given all the limbs they've taken down. So that's our concern. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I'm not sure. Thank you, President Caraviello. I'm not sure if Councilor Marks or our city solicitor who has been involved with this, thankfully, can give us a little bit more detail with regards to the 30 days.
[Richard Caraviello]: I know- Mr. Rumbly, I see you in the audience here. Would you like to lend us your input?
[SPEAKER_24]: I'm sorry.
[Richard Caraviello]: Kind of like a grand jury, you get a chair.
[Mark Rumley]: There's really, what was just spoken, what was just stated by the citizen, I'm sorry I didn't get your name, is quite accurate, actually. There's a 30-day period which the management board of the T has decided to react to the groundswell of opposition, which is coming not only from Medford, but from many different cities and towns. And whether or not that will be continued or not, right now, would be a matter of speculation. We don't know. But the points that were being made about property value, about placement, they're all relevant and they're all prudent concerns. For example, just to take the last one first, there are poles that are erected at various places around greater Boston that are made to masquerade other things, one of which is a tree. That would be a good idea. But you're not going to get to the good idea unless you have some dialogue with the people whose property it affects. The second thing is the placement of the polls. As Councilor Marks has stated, they are at least in two residential areas, but there are actually three in Medford. The other one is in the Wellington area. So the placement of the polls, is it necessarily so that the places that they've chosen are the best places. Are there other places that maybe are not owned by the MTA that might serve the purpose just as well, which wouldn't have the same impact on residential areas? And there are a number of other concerns. For example, the initial plan, as I know the council knows and maybe the citizens don't, the initial plans were for poles that were not as high as the 73-foot poles that are presently planned. The original ones were much smaller than that. And it begs the question, why was that abandoned? So, in the time that the council has generated concerns and questions about this, which they have, and the mayor has also, her communication to the T went out on that very day that Councilor Marks talked about, June 30th. With all of the groundswell of opposition to this, there is a necessity for dialogue and conversation, because otherwise, the first statement that was made by the resident is the accurate one. It would seem to be something that's simply being forced on people. And something which is forced on people runs against the grain of not only good government, but also courtesy and good citizenship. So there's not a lot to report because we're in that window, but I would encourage anyone who has some interest in voicing their opinion or voicing their concerns about this to contact especially the state delegation so that they can also relay that to the officials at the T and that there can be a higher level of communication and dialogue than there has been to date, because that's what's necessary in order for there to be any progress on this issue.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, Mr. Solis. Through the chair, you said there is need and they realize the need for a conversation with the neighbors in the city. So within that 30-day period, is there any meeting scheduled, or we just don't know yet?
[Mark Rumley]: There aren't any meetings scheduled in Medford. I know that much. And that hasn't been for lack of trying. This council and the mayor have made, and I have, for the council, made repeated inquiries to the T to have a representative talk to us in any form they'd like. Not necessarily at a council meeting, but in any form, if they'd like to come out to Medford. And honestly, the response hasn't been no. There's been no response.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I want to thank the solicitor for listening to our concerns. I know he's very busy, but I've seen the dialogue back and forth with you and the TEA, and I've gotten a number of complaints, especially from the Tyler Ave. residents and you know it's a concern of ours and hopefully we can get a seat at the table with our residents to discuss the concerns that they have.
[Mark Rumley]: I agree. Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President thank you very much and Mr. Solicitor thank you for being here this evening. If you'd be so kind to explain a little bit about the background and why the MBTA has taken the position that local zoning laws won't control the height of the tower and so on.
[Mark Rumley]: I'd be happy to explain that and I know that many of you be I was going to say behind the rail. I know what the answer to this is. But part of it goes back to a case that came out of Somerville a few years back. If you drive down the 93, you'll see a billboard which is on top of or placed on MBTA property. There was objection to that billboard when it was constructed. The matter went through court and the courts decided that in that instance that the MBTA on their own property would be exempt from local zoning regulations. Now, that would still be true if they were to build on their own property in Medford. However, that denies the issue of whether or not there are better places to put these poles which may not be on MBTA property. For example, and I haven't done any homework on this, is there property owned by the City of Medford where it would be better placed as opposed to right along the tracks on MBTA property that could serve the same purpose? Because the purpose of these poles is to benefit their ridership with Wi-Fi and all that. But there are other concerns, too. And this one is also one that's relevant to the billboard case in Somerville. These towers, these towers always have a placement for other companies to put their, I don't know what they're called, radio equipment, wireless equipment on the tower. And they would be doing that for profit. Now, that argument came up in the Somerville billboard case, and the opponent said, If the T is going to have a billboard and they're going to make a profit from the billboard, then that should affect negatively, that is, it should affect their ability to have a zoning exemption. In other words, if they're going to engage in a for-profit activity, they should lose the benefit of the zoning exemption. However, the court said, in so many words, we all know that the T needs money. So, but there's a concern there, too. Now, if they were to construct a tower, which maybe looked like a tree or something like that, it would be less onerous if they were selling spots on that to private companies for Wi-Fi purposes. But those are issues that came up in the Somerville case.
[Michael Marks]: Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. And the council, as you know, Mr. Solicitor, is currently working on a city ordinance to address the cell tower issue.
[Mark Rumley]: Yes.
[Michael Marks]: I agree with you that because the MBTA has their own private property, city ordinance or regulation will have no bearing on what they do on their own property. However, in the community right now, we only regulate TV and radio antennas. So, under the city ordinance right now, if someone wanted to erect a cell tower, there are no provisions within our regulations that would govern that. And I'm hoping that this body, and I know we've already drafted and met with you and so forth, that we put in a regulation that governs cell towers and prohibits them in any area but industrial and commercial zoned areas. And I think that will go a long way to ensure residents that someday a cell tower won't pop up on private property, could be your next door neighbor, without having some oversight by this government. And I know that's hopefully within the next several months will be ordained by this council.
[Mark Rumley]: Yes, and just to speak very briefly on that, this council has brought forth that draft which had been done at a prior time. We've already had one meeting on it, and it would fill a hole which presently exists in our zoning ordinance in a very beneficial way, because without this proposed ordinance, there's a possibility that this same type of concern could rise up in different incarnations throughout other areas of Medford, and this proposed ordinance would go a long way to address that.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you. Thank you for coming tonight. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any further questions?
[Mark Rumley]: Thank you, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Knight to receive and place in file. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 17-580, request for an expenditure from the Law Department claims over $1,000 from accounts 1010151572. Present members of the Honorable City Council, from Mayor Stephanie M. Burke. We have, is the solicitors here, if you could stay while you're here? We have a claimant. Claimant's name is J. Craig and Charity Roddy, file 69, date of accident was June 7th, 2016, date of settlement June 28th, 2017, request 7500. And Mr. Clerk, would you like to elaborate on that?
[Mark Rumley]: Just very briefly, this is a water claim. There was a blockage in the city line. It caused some damage to property owned by the claimants on Sylvia Road. You can see that their damages were actually in excess of $7,500. That's because there were some elements of what they were claiming which really weren't part of the water claim. The DPW water department went out to quell the rising water. They weren't able to do it at the first manhole that they got to. They were at the second, but by that time, substantial damage was done. So we reached an accord on a $15,000 claim to settle it for $7,500. Thank you, Mr. Clerk.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any more questions for the clerk on this? Okay, Mr. Clerk. Move approval. Move approval. Second. By Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Lungo-Koehn? Yes. Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative, motion passes. 17-583, to the Honorable President of Medford City Council. Dear Mr. President of the City Councils, I respectfully request and recommend that your Honorable body approve on the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee of the Community Preservation Fund Revenue with the amount of $1,428,649. In addition, I respectfully request that your honorable body approve the recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee, the Community Preservation Fund Expenditures in the amount of $1,428,649. Open space, 142,865. Community housing, 142,865. Historic preservation, 142,865. Administration, 71,433. General remainder of the fund will be 928,621 dollars for a total of 1,428,649. Questions?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: To the chair.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilwoman, go ahead.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just want to point out that we did meet in Committee of the Whole this evening to discuss with the commission, the Community Preservation Commission, the details of this. I know that a lot of it's formulated through state law, so I don't know if anybody wants to just give a brief synopsis before we take a vote.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think Roberta Cameron's here?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yes.
[Roberta Cameron]: Thank you very much. So what we are asking for this evening is to appropriate the budget for fiscal year FY18, and we are asking for the minimum appropriation to be placed in reserve for each of the program areas. That is affordable housing, open space and recreation, and historic preservation. And the maximum amount that can be set aside for administrative expenses, which is 5% of the annual revenue, and the remainder to be transferred to the undesignated reserve, that is that it can be spent in any of the program areas. And the administrative funds, if they're not used in this fiscal year, will be returned to the program area fund.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And then, if I could just follow up, I asked in Committee of the Whole, but I think the public would like to know the time frame, so go over it, or you probably have an answer.
[Roberta Cameron]: So the Community Preservation Commission has been meeting now for two months, and we are in the process of preparing a plan that will enable us to know what the needs, opportunities, and priorities are for the city of Medford. The planning process entails a significant outreach process. We're looking at visiting approximately 30 boards and commissions and stakeholder groups individually, as well as holding two public forums that will take place in October. We will provide as much publicity as we can to try to get as much input as we can from the people of Medford about what we would like to see the CPA funds going toward. And the community preservation plan is supposed to, we aim to have it completed in November. so that we can begin to set up a grant application process over the winter and be able to receive grants, consider the different options, and provide a set of recommendations for the first funding round in spring next year.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: I'm also, thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any further questions? On the motion by?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Just publicly thank the committee for their hard work. Meeting every other week for a few months takes a lot from your families and we appreciate it. Whether for or against the CPA, you've worked very hard and it doesn't go unnoticed.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor?
[Clerk]: Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Roll call is required.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Long-Term? Yes. Vice-President Montz? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion passes. 17-572, petition for a sign denial. Reversal by Brian. Dugdale, Goulston and Sturs for a Methodist Associates LLC, owner of Meadow Glen Mall 3850, Mystic Valley Parkway, OCD Applications, 201710A-201710P, excessive signage number inside. Vice President Mox, who is the chairman of the signing committee.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, I believe we have the petitioners before us tonight. I believe we do. If they can give a brief presentation and a synopsis.
[SPEAKER_21]: Name and address of the record, please. Certainly. John Tuig, New England Development, 75 Park Plaza, Boston. I'm going to speak just for a minute. Brian Dugdale, who filed the petition, is to my left. Paul Sincotta from New England Development. Just because of the tightness of the room, we do have a few plans we'll set up. And maybe I'll just give a very brief overview before we
[Richard Caraviello]: We are enforcing the council rules of ten minutes, so if you could keep your time in ten minutes, I'd be appreciative.
[SPEAKER_21]: Absolutely true. We certainly will. We're very excited. I think as people know, Medical Inn Mall has been proceeding in redevelopment. Just a little bit of background on the signage. We looked at all the signage that was on the mall today. We thought about opportunities to be able to keep it within that sort of total square footage. The mall is significantly, I think as you know, set back from Locust Street, and it is a corner parcel. So I think, Paul, they're motioning for us to bring it up towards the front. A little bit of the history, I think everybody knows the council did approve this in the 1970s. We are bringing in a Wegmans and a Dix. What our thought would be, would very briefly touch on what the existing mall signage and what we've proposed. We're going to show it, there are 16 total signs if you have all the tenants. Rather than go sign by sign, item by item, we'll never finish in ten minutes, we're going to try to show it to you in a comprehensive way, where the signs are, how the package comes forward. Just by a little bit of background, we expect that the Dicks and the Petco will be opening in September and the Wegmans in November of 2017. So the picture that you see up there is what we're proposing to show for the Wegmans. You'll see the Dicks on the left, the Coles on the right. And that is our proposed signage. And the plan that Paul has underneath him is one of the plans that we filed, which showed actually all of the signs. If you start on the left, the Marshalls sign, the Petco. We were before, Mr. President, the council to get the Petco for the use allowed a while back. There's the Dick's next door, the Wegmans sign, and then the Coles. And then on the side, on the Parkway side, we have one sign, which is Coles, and then signs for the others. But just to give you a sense of how we approach this, the Meadow Glen Mall sign, for example, on the Parkway, is about 1,530 square feet. When you add all the signs up that we're putting on that side, we're a little over 400 square feet. So we did approach it with a sensitivity to the amount of signage, but also remembering we're anywhere from 250 to 400 feet off of the roadway. And these are all signage that are typical for this type of tenant, typical for this type of location. And underneath, and Paul's going to run out of hands, that he has, but a little bit of the detail where you can see, again, Marshall's on the left, appreciate the fanning, the Petco in the middle, then over to Dick's, the Wegmans sign, and then you can see along the parkway, what Cole's sign exists there today, the Meadow Glen Mall sign will go away, which was a large sign, and then just have some directional signs, because we are in the corner. And that's how it is situated. So we'll stop there. I'm certainly available to answer any questions from the council or any of the members or certainly the chairman of the subcommittee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, thank you. Are you aware of anybody expressing any opposition to this schema other than that it's in some spots not conforming according to our code?
[Richard Caraviello]: We are not.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, are you, if I could?
[Richard Caraviello]: I am fine with that, Mr. President.
[SPEAKER_50]: Thank you, Mr. President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: With regards to the lighting in, you know, the residence, I guess you're not really hitting any residence, but is there a time frame where the lighting will be shut off?
[SPEAKER_21]: It certainly, the advantage we have in this site is because, again, we're anywhere from 250 to 400 feet back off of Locust. We don't really impact residences. I mean, certainly there are some condominium folks behind us, but they're behind us. And the only things we have in the back are a couple of small packet lights at the loading docks. There's no signage there, so we are uniquely situated here from a neighborhood perspective. We really aren't near residents and certainly not single family or multifamily. Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I certainly feel comfortable supporting the majority of the signs here this evening. I think that this falls in line with some of the work that we've done in the past at the Felsway Plaza. We've approved some signs at the Felsway Plaza that actually enhanced the way that the And I think that these signs will do the same thing. I certainly have no problem with the signs that are advertising particular businesses, Mr. President, but I do have a problem with sign K. And Sign K isn't advertising a particular business. Sign K is advertising wine, liquor, and beer. It's going to be located directly across the street from our skating rink, directly across the street from Honell Stadium, and directly across the street from the campus of the McGlynn Andrews School. So with that being said, I certainly would support this evening approval of the 15 signs, but I myself personally can't support Sign K. It's not something that's advertising a store. It's advertising a product that's sold inside a store. And I think that that is really not the intent of our sign bylaw. So with that being said, Mr. President, I have no problem supporting the 15 other signs, but I'd move for approval of all signs except the sign K at this point in time.
[SPEAKER_21]: Mr. President, through you, just to speak to that. As you see often in even stop and shop signs, you will see that they'll have five or six signs along which advertise whether it be a bakery, pharmacy, other activities. I think the council's aware and certainly gone through licensing that Wegmans does and it's a big part of their business. They provide alcohol. It's anywhere from 15,000 to 20,000 square feet. They provide at very advantageous prices, and it's a big point in selling the Wegmans experience. We do advertise in a store that size. We have over 100,000 square feet. The amount of activities and the different offerings, that's why all of the major folks who have that size store do have the smaller size. You have it existing here in Medford. We would ask that the council consider that sign. It's a very big part of their business. They have gone through the processing here. For the licensure to have that ability to be able to sell that, so we would ask the council's support on that sign. Certainly, respectfully, I understand. I understand where I'm coming from.
[Adam Knight]: It doesn't say turkey, steak, and potatoes either, you know what I mean?
[SPEAKER_21]: That's a big part of Wegmans business too. Absolutely, I understand. But I did want you to know that that was a a very significant part of what they're doing, and why they do it, and why, for example, if you go to the Stop and Shop here in Bedford, you'll see those signs too.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Chairman?
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, past practice would indicate that this be sent to the Subcommittee on Business, Economic Development, and Science. You know, if the Council has a problem with one particular sign, I have no problem sending that one particular sign, or if the Council wants to review the entire project.
[Adam Knight]: Like I said, I can live with 15 out of the 16 in 30 seconds, but 16 out of the 16, I can't do. So if we want to exclude a particular sign.
[Michael Marks]: So I would make a recommendation, Mr. President, that all signs be approved except for the sign that indicates beer and wine, and that that sign be sent to the Business and Economic Development Subcommittee for further discussion.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Vice President Mox, Chairman of the Sine Committee, seconded by? Second. Seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Mr. President, thank you very much. We'll send you a notification for that, for the Sine Committee. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 15, 573, petition for signed denial of reversal by Rafael Batista for global health care services. 5 High Street, Medford, OCD application, 2017 9A. Number of signs in 2017 9A exceeds allowable number of signs. Vice President Mox, Chairman of the Signing Committee. Thank you, Mr. President. Is Rafael Batista here tonight?
[Unidentified]: Yes, I am.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, if I could. The Subcommittee of Business, Economic Development, and Science met on Thursday, July 13th at 5 p.m. for the purpose of discussing three signed denial petitions, of which one, paper 7-450, was one that was brought up by the committee, and there wasn't a representative there at the time from Global. And, um, we ask that we receive this paper and place it on file. So, at this time, Mr. President, I would recommend that, uh, this particular paper be sent back to the Business and Economic Development, right, the new one, correct, uh, for review of the, uh, Business and Economic Development and Assignment Committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Marks, Vice President, uh, Councilor De La Ruza.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion, Mr. President, I'm particularly concerned about this. new configuration that seems to be contrary to the hearsay we have received regarding the policy of the landlord. The landlord has never materialized or participated in any of our discussions regarding these signs which are non-conforming. on this property. I respectfully request that in addition to the petitioner that the landlord, the person who makes the decisions about that property, be present at the meeting.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Clark, could you please note that and have and make sure that he is invited to the next meeting. On the motion by Vice President Mox, that it be sent to subcommittee, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Before the roll is called, may I ask a question? Through the chair, can you tell me when you opened or when you plan on opening?
[SPEAKER_34]: Global Healthcare? Yes. Actually, we have Mr. Enoch, he is the owner of Global, he is here with us tonight. They are open right now. They are open. They are open.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I mean, I feel like they've, just personal opinion, I think they've changed the scheme to make it conform.
[George Scarpelli]: The landlord has asked not to above that line. So we need the landlord.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Otherwise I think the signs look good and hopefully we can get this done for the petitioner sooner than later.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Vice President Mock, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor?
[Unidentified]: Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Aye. Motion passes. This has been referred back to the subcommittee. You will be notified of that meeting.
[SPEAKER_34]: So we're not allowed to, excuse me, we're not allowed to do the signing yet until we get the meeting, is that correct? That's correct.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Dear Mr. President, members of the city council, the city of Medford intends to enter into a power purchase agreement with Select Energy Development LLC to purchase the electricity produced by the solar panels that it will install and maintain on the Medford DPW building located at 21 Jane Street. It is the intention of the city to enter into a 20-year agreement, General Laws Chapter 30B, Subchapter 12, that requires city approval for a contract that exceeds three years. I respectfully request and recommend that your honorable body, pursuant to the provisions of General Laws, Chapter 3RB, subsection 12, approve and authorize the same effort into an agreement with the term of up to 20 years. Alicia Hunt is here, will be in attendance to answer your questions. Earlier this evening, we did have a subcommittee meeting in regards to this. Name and address of the record, please.
[Alicia Hunt]: Alicia Hunt, 41 Wasson Street, Medford. So one thing that was asked earlier this evening that I wanted to make sure we were clear about was I was asked the Consultant was asked how long it would take to construct the project and they answered well It would take about four to five weeks to put the panels on the building But the actual process from the time we sign the contract till it's operational with all the lead time on purchasing the equipment the final designs the engineering And then the installation and all the inspections to operational can be five to six months. We had discussed how the current financing was somewhat contingent on it being operational by December 31st. And one of our concerns is that we don't want them to be rushing for the installation during the winter months and to be pushing to get this completed at the end of December. We're concerned about safety for workers. So we are very interested in getting everything signed as quickly as possible so that we can get the, we can not be rushing and have people trying to make that deadline during the installation at the end of it. in the middle of the winter. So.
[SPEAKER_50]: Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor De La Rosa.
[SPEAKER_50]: Mr. President, first I want to apologize for my absence at the Committee of the Whole meeting. Obviously, had I been there, some of my questions that I'm going to ask would have been answered.
[SPEAKER_04]: Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: If I could, for the chair, to Ms. Hunt, ask, why the 20-year contract? Could you explain that to me? Could you explain what or if there is a reason for doing that?
[Alicia Hunt]: Sorry. So the answer is that 20-year contracts for solar purchase agreements is the industry standard. That's what the industry needs in order to make their financing on the project work. I do have with me, the city has hired a solar owner's agent, which is a consultant that we hire to advise us on this. He's an expert in the industry, so he could actually speak to that in any more detail if that's helpful. So this is Paul Lyons with Zapotec Energy, and he is the consultant that the city has hired to advise us on these matters.
[SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, these deals are typically structured 20 years because the equipment itself lasts 20, 25 years. And you lock in the savings for the electricity cost for the DPW essentially hold it at nine and a half?
[Alicia Hunt]: 9.8 cents for 20 years.
[Fred Dello Russo]: What if the technology changes so rapidly in that field?
[SPEAKER_27]: It will change.
[Fred Dello Russo]: How does that affect this thing?
[SPEAKER_27]: Yeah, the panels will be pretty much the same. That's where most of the work goes. The efficiency is around 16, 18% now. Some projects I did 18 years ago, the efficiency was around 11%. So it's creeping up gradually, but these will work fine for 20 years. The inverters that do the converting, that technology is advancing. The inverters that they put in, they will probably, will probably replace in about 10, 12 years and you'll get a better inverter at that point in terms of reliability.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Dello Russo, you happy with that answer? Thank you. Councilor Lococo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, through the chair. If you could go over, I think it's important with regards to the savings. I know it's like 11,800 that we'll be saving the first year, and then if you maybe want to give a synopsis of the overall savings that has been estimated for the full 20 years. I think that's important for the community to know. Most people are for this project, but I think that's an extra bonus of what we could be saving.
[Alicia Hunt]: So we pay on approximately 15 cents a kilowatt hour at DPW now. And what they are offering us is 9.8 cents a kilowatt hour. So that would be the full price. There would be no other electricity charges to National Grid and for the electricity. Based on the amount of electricity, this would cover 100% of the electricity used at the DPW, and so in the first year, the estimated savings is $11,800. We have estimates for the full life of it, but I do like to caveat that in that it makes assumptions as to what the price of electricity will be in 20 years, because the way you know your savings is what would you have paid and what are you paying. We would lock in 9.8 cents for the 20-year term. We assume there would be an increase in electricity over the 20 years. There is also a very slight degradation in the panel, so how much electricity that is produced goes down every year a small amount. There is a guarantee that on year 20, that will be making no less No less than 85, so whatever it's making today, at least 85%. Maybe they'll make 90 or 95%, but at least 85% is guaranteed. So you can't just take 11,800 and multiply by 20. That would be a lovely number. The number that they've come up with, assuming price of electricity increase and the decrease in electricity output is $455,000 over the life of this contract.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: With regards to, I think it's important just to point out that Select Energy Development LLC, who we're going to be contracting with, has done over 400 projects in Massachusetts. Is he present tonight as well?
[Alicia Hunt]: He was not able to stay.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: But he was here to answer questions for us at the subcommittee meeting. I have solar panels on my house. I'm in full support. And I thank you again for the detailed outline of all our other municipal and school buildings that potentially down the road could as well get solar panels to help with energy costs throughout our schools and municipal buildings.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Falco.
[Alicia Hunt]: If we sign the contract now, that gives us, there are many steps in part of the process. Some of it is that they will not incur the capital cost of purchasing the panels unless there's a contract in place. That's good business sense. And then there's the installation and then the inspections. So those are pieces that sort of, they take the amount of time they take. and it's not a short amount of time. We also need permissions from the utilities. I do think that we can get to move along fairly quickly. We all believe that if we did this now, we could get this complete by the end of December. I might have to smile and thank the building inspectors a lot to get out there before December 31st to get everything inspected and signed off on. We may have to buy them some pizza to make sure they get out there quick. But we do think that we can get it done. We would like to not be rushing any more than we are. Their financing for this project is based on it being part of the current Massachusetts State Solar Incentive Program, which is well-defined and well-known. We know exactly what it is. They have financing. They're ready to go on this project. There are the financing system in the state, the incentive program is changing, and it is still not certain enough for any company to be willing to give me locked in pricing to do any project, including as good as this one is, next spring. There are many companies that have said, we want to do solar on Medford Municipal Buildings. And when I asked them for pricing, well, we'll have to wait until the program is fully defined in, we believe it's going to be November.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: I think it's also important to point out one of the things that was discussed at the Committee of the Whole earlier this evening was the regional bulk purchasing of the electrical load. Maybe you can talk a little bit about that and how that had an impact on being able to secure such a low rate.
[Alicia Hunt]: Right. This is an excellent rate for electricity for commercial solar. We are a member of Power Options, which is a non-profit purchasing cooperative for electricity, natural gas, and solar in the region. And it is open to state entities, municipal, other non-profits. Tufts University happens to be a member as well and uses their services. They did a solicitation for solar, so it is through this very large purchase. that Power Options members are making that this good of a rate has gotten. The company has informed me directly, as my consultant has also told me, that they would never have given this good of a rate for a one-off project. It's because it is part of a group solicitation. So that.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, so it sounds like this past year in our budget hearings we learned that we were able to save about $300,000 in the provision of our electricity to Esquiz by taking over the maintenance of the poles, right?
[Unidentified]: Yeah.
[Adam Knight]: And now with the approval of this, we're going to be saving another, what did you say, $422,000? That would be over the life of the contract. So in the last three months, say, it's almost close to three quarters of a million dollars that we could save on just the cost of electricity by these two boats. Yes, within 20 years. It's still the same amount of money.
[Unidentified]: Mr. President. Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: You'll have the opportunity to speak. Okay, thank you. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Again, I thank some of the other points that Ms. Hunt brought up and I appreciate all your hard work because this is the innovation and the progress that we see that we need in the progressive community. So I think that talking about the carports, I think that that being, when you look at other land use and other community buildings that that spend so much money in electricity. I used, in the earlier meeting, we used the ice hockey rink and the money that it costs to run an ice hockey rink or the lit fields and looking at different ways down the line that I know that Alicia's looking for. A carport, if you can just quickly just go over there real quick.
[Alicia Hunt]: So right, we would very much like to do carports in Medford. I've actually had this parking lot pointed out to me as one that would be good for solar. I'm also interested in the lot between the McGlynn and Andrews schools because of how close it is to the wind turbine, it would have such great visibility. When you do carports, the financing is somewhat different, the incentives are somewhat different, and there is also the construction concerns of the fact that you do have to do very, you have to dig deep holes to put good foundations in so that they don't get blown away with wind shear, the same wind that makes the turbine good, we don't really like on the solar panels. That dirt then has to be carted away and has to be tested. And so we do have some concerns about where we are comfortable testing soil in Medford, digging out stuff and opening up additional problems. That said, it is something that we are looking at and we're looking for good projects. It is hopeful that under the new structure that's coming out, there will be good incentives for carports that will make it worthwhile, that would be better than doing it now, not to mention it's a more complicated project because of those structural issues.
[George Scarpelli]: Again, I just point out the innovation. I appreciate the hard work.
[Alicia Hunt]: We've been looking into that as well.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you. Thank you. Mr. President. Vice President Marx. Thank you, Mr. President. And Alicia, knowing that the DPW building was built several years back with the ability to take on solar, and it's taken us this many years to get to that stage, The addition of a new police station, the addition that we just heard with grant funding from the state for a new public library, is that the intent of the city to, when we build these facilities, to build them not just only with the capability of housing solar, but actually building them with the solar.
[Alicia Hunt]: So that is something that I have been discussing with the architects of both projects. I am on the building committees for both projects, or I'm being consulted on both projects. And it is simply a matter of, it's not, while I would always advise a homeowner to purchase solar because they can take tax credits, the city cannot take. It does not make financial sense for us to purchase it because of the tax credits. It makes sense for us to lease it. Therefore, it is not literally part of the construction project. We have to enter into this separate agreement with somebody to do the solar panels on the roof. I would prefer that we have those negotiations and as the construction of the building is completed, we're then coming in and putting the solar panels on top immediately. That is my preference. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to do that through the help of perhaps power options, having the right consulting on board to help with that. It would not literally be part of the project because of between contractors. You'll want one contractor to close out and then the other to come in and put the solar on the roof. But I would like to have those agreements in place and ready to go as those buildings are complete. And when I did actually discuss it with the police chief, I assured him that my putting solar on the building would not delay his opening. It would simply come on and offset his electricity once that building is open.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you. I mean, we just built this facility, there's no air conditioning.
[Richard Caraviello]: All the bodies absorb the air conditioning, I don't know if you know how that works.
[Michael Marks]: It's the lights. It may be the lights. The lights, yeah. Alicia, regarding solar farms. I know we mentioned the carports. Has there been any discussion regarding solar farms and the ability to use these farms to, I mean, the DPW building is great, but as you know, we're in a large facility, this is the largest facility in the city, and there are a number of other city-owned buildings that solar would be great, and are there any way we can use solar farms?
[Alicia Hunt]: So, to be clear, by a solar farm, are you referencing the idea of a whole lot of ground mount solar that's like next to the building, or are you talking about just larger arrays on the buildings?
[Michael Marks]: Either or.
[Alicia Hunt]: Okay, so we definitely want to do larger arrays on the buildings. The roofs of the schools need, they're 17 year roofs, 17 year old roofs. We've had some, Consultants looking at them and you need to have a roof that's good for 20 years before you put solar on it. The current roofs need to be replaced before we can put solar on it. That is an active project in the city. The facilities director for the schools and I are meeting with a consultant on that tomorrow actually. So, we need to do the roofs. It is our hope to then follow that with solar as soon as the roofs are ready. We, however, will need refreshed proposals and new pricing. Power options will have new pricing once the new incentive structure is in place. So, we'll need to look at that. For ground mount solar, it's either a carport and then you have sort of the structural concerns and the passing and we're looking at what parking lots work. We don't have room for what is technically considered a solar farm in Medford. Typically, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, but that's a whole bunch of ground mount that is surrounded by a fence and that land is not used for anything else. And we don't have open space in Medford that we are willing to give up for just solar. We need the ball field space, the soccer fields, the woods. So there isn't that kind of open space in the city.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do we have anybody that, did you want to speak? Alicia, thank you very much.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Thank you for letting me speak. Name and address for the record, please. Jean Neuzil, 35 Parris Street. So while I think solar is a wonderful thing and renewable energy is great, I take exception with having an argument that we're going to save $455,000 by spending $600,000. I take umbrage with that.
[George Scarpelli]: Right, but I don't have information Gina. I just saw you. We're not spending anything. They are occurring all of the cost Who is they?
[Jean Nuzzo]: 600 thousand dollars outweighed by whom they get the tax benefits the city couldn't so we're contracting through them and
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: We get the savings. It's a 20-year contract.
[Jean Nuzzo]: And how do we arrive at $455,000? Is that because of the energy that we're not going to have to buy?
[George Scarpelli]: Because of the rate we're going to...
[Richard Caraviello]: That number may vary a little bit.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: That calculates the increase as well.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Right. So we're saying we're going to save $11,000 a month.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: $11,800 the first year.
[Jean Nuzzo]: For the first year. Because instead of spending how much per kilowatt hour? 15 cents. We're going to spend 9.8. 9.8. The solar company is buying on our behalf and we're contracting them. They will offset the $600,000 by the tax credit. So it's zero out of pocket for us. Correct. Exactly. Thank you.
[Unidentified]: Appreciate that.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_48]: Well, we have one more resident in.
[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please. Thank you, Mr. President. Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street. I just have one question through the chair. That fixed rate that's being offered per kilowatt hour, is that locked? Like, what happens if something comes up in the future where they could get a lower rate? Could we opt for the lower rate? Thank you, Mr. President. Ms. Hunter, could you answer that?
[Alicia Hunt]: So the 9.8 cents is locked in for the life of the contract. They can't raise the rate because they suddenly have higher expenses and we can't lower the rate because we could have gotten a better deal somewhere else.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the questions. Motion approved by Councilor Lococo and seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor?
[SPEAKER_38]: Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion passes. Thank you. Dear Mr. President, city council members, I respectfully request or recommend that your Honorable body approve the following home rule petition to be sent to the general court to allow the licensing committee, commission of the city of Medford to grant licenses for sale of alcohol at Chevalier Theater to an entity that operates the theater by way of a contract lease or other agreement with the city of Medford.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, motion to waive the additional reading and have a brief synopsis by the city solicitor representative of the administration.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Motion by Councilor Knight to waive. Seconded by Councilor Del Rose. All those in favor, aye. Mr. Solicitor, could you please give a brief synopsis, please?
[Mark Rumley]: Thank you, Mr. President. I didn't get my address. Mark Rumley, City Solicitor, 50 Woodrow Avenue in Medford. As the Council knows, the City crafted an RFP for Chevalier Auditorium a few months back. And there have been a couple of responses to that RFP that are presently in the process of being fully reviewed and recommendations made to the mayor. In any event, one of the things that's come up is the benefit that Chevalier Auditorium would have if there were a single liquor license that applied to Chevalier. What occurs right now is that when the Chevalier Commission books an event, generally speaking, if that event wants to offer alcohol to its patrons, it will apply for a one-day license before the Liquor Commission, and it's done on a singular basis. If we had a management company under contract with the city to manage Chevalier and Axe and all the rest, it would be very wise to have a liquor license available for them to receive on their application to the licensing commission. So really what it would do is to make it singular, but only for that building. It wouldn't be a liquor license that could be used anywhere else and could only be used by the entity that was designated by the city as the manager for that auditorium. So that's the purpose of this. In addition, there's language in this home rule petition that deals with common vigilance license because as this council knows better than any other body, there are steps to get a common vigilance license that brings a petitioner to you. it would be efficient and economical for a manager to be able to receive from the licensing commission, if they get a liquor license, also a common vitualist license. That way, if there was any type of food that was going to be offered to patrons, it can all be done at once. And the wisdom of that is that they wouldn't have to break the petitioning process to go to the licensing commission for a liquor license and then to the city council for a common vigilance license. Also, analyzing this in the most conservative way, if the manager wasn't a good manager, whatever it is, and we wanted to revoke their agreement, then the liquor license and the common vigilance license would be revoked at the same time. So it's a much more swift and economical way to go. And the council understands what a home rule petition is. If you pass this, it would go to the state legislature for its action.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I think this is a step in the right direction. It's another really building block to the long-term success of the Chevalier Theater and also helping revitalize Medford Square and, you know, kind of bringing Chevalier Auditorium up with the times. You know, you go to the Somerville Theater in Arlington, both of those theaters over there have the ability to serve alcoholic beverages on premises. And in order for us to compete, I think that this is something we need to do. I support it wholeheartedly and I move for approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Knight for approval. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. Solicitor, was this supported by the Chevalier Commission?
[Mark Rumley]: Yes, as a matter of fact. I did give the language of this to the head of the Licensing Commission, but the members of the Chevalier Commission were on the evaluation team, and there are three. I can't speak for all of them, but I'm very confident in saying that they are in favor of this license and this Home Rule petition.
[Michael Marks]: And also, it's my understanding a new management company will be on board. Shortly, is that your understanding also?
[Mark Rumley]: Yes, the use of the word shortly is always a very treacherous. But the reason I say that is there hasn't been a, the committee hasn't made a final recommendation to the mayor, although there are only two, not only, but there are two good proposes. And when that recommendation is finally made to the mayor and then she makes a determination as to which one, then it'll move forward. I hope that it's shortly also, Councilman.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Lonen-Kern?
[Heather]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Vice President Marks?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Scarpelli?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Clerk]: President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion passes. Thank you, Mr. President. Dear Mr. President and members of the City Council,
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, motion to waive the reading and have a brief synopsis by the State Solicitor.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Solicitor, if you could please give a brief synopsis on this one also.
[Mark Rumley]: 578 is, yes. This is kind of a cousin to the Home Rule petition, and it's this. As I just said, we have two responders to the RFP that was crafted by the city. And it just so happens that both responders said that they would prefer a five-year contract initially. Now, as you just heard with solar panels, there's a requirement that the city council approve any term which is longer than three years on a lease or an agreement. And that's the purpose of this being before you tonight.
[Richard Caraviello]: Questions for the solicitor? Move approval. Motion by Councilor Nathan, move approval.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President?
[Richard Caraviello]: Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: I just think it's appropriate to point out the good work that was done by members of the commission. They did appoint an evaluation team made up of John Costas, Mike Oliver, John Veneziano, Allie Fisk from the Mayor's Office, Ann Marie Irwin from the Mayor's Office, and City Solicitor Rumley. So I appreciate their due diligence.
[Richard Caraviello]: This is what the people have been asking for.
[SPEAKER_54]: Thank you, Councilor.
[Richard Caraviello]: Great job. Thank you Mr. President. Thank you. Name and address of the record please.
[John Costas]: John Costas, 25 Salem Street, president of the Chevalier Commission. I kind of wrote this down so I could be brief, and I thought it was going to be at City Hall, so I'm just going to read it. When I was 23, I stood in this very spot. Well, it wasn't this very spot. It was that very spot, requesting the City Council save Chevalier Auditorium. And if you asked me then, at that time, would I be standing here almost 40 years later, I would have laughed. It's amazing. In the fall of 1980, the City Council gave Chevalier its first major milestone by voting to retain Chevalier Theatre and GMAC Gymnasium. And now it's before you again for another major milestone. This vote will move Chevalier to its rightful place as a professional performing arts center. In the last 40 years, the Chevalier Commission has invested hundreds of thousands of hours and has executed over $3 million in the restoration of Chevalier Theater to create a first-class facility that will be attracted to professional management company. We have met our goal. This decision will have a tremendous economic impact on Medford Square, not to mention the millions of dollars of revenue that will be generated from the meal and hotel tax that will benefit the taxpayers. And here's the important part. It is unfortunate that some of the key players that made this possible, like General Dean Grandy and Dick Ober, are no longer with us to enjoy the fruits of their labor. Approving this paper would be one of the biggest things that could happen to the Chevalier Theater. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_20]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On to motion by Councilor Knight. Roll call. Oh, excuse me. Name and address of the record, please.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Jean Neuzil, 35 Parr Street. Sorry, I just want to take a moment. I can remember being a young girl, and John and Dick, when we were working on one of the shows for the Mystic Players, brought us young folks in there, and it was nothing like what it is now. It was loaded with mold and dust and debris. Nothing worked right. Rat droppings everywhere, and they stood us in the middle of the stage. and they told us their vision. And I just think that where they've brought it, I think they should be acknowledged for that. And I hope and trust that they will pick the right representative to really bring breath back into this theater because it really is a gem for the industry. So, just wanted to let people know that my observations way back then and how far it's come.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. On to motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. I'm sorry.
[0HXibsUvumY_SPEAKER_12]: Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[0HXibsUvumY_SPEAKER_12]: May Markybrook, 16 Glenwood Ave. It's going to be very, very brief. In 1946, Irving Perlman. I didn't know that was a joke. 1946. Irving Berlin wrote music for Annie Get Your Gun. I'm sure a lot of you have seen that production. It's been very, very popular. And there was a song there called There's No Business Like Show Business. So, I just wanted to say, mention that, because the words go something like this. I'm not going to sing it because I don't want to interrupt you. Come on, you can sing it. No, please. There's no business like show business, like no business I know. Everything about it is appealing. Everything that traffic will allow. Nowhere can you get that happy feeling when you're stealing that extra bow. So my message to the council tonight is, first of all, thank you for the many times you have supported Chevalier. I want to compliment the Chevalier Commission, the Friends of Chevalier, all the volunteers who have gotten us to this point tonight. And my message is the ending of this song, which says, let's go on with the show.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Knights, seconded by Councilor Falco. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knights? Yes. Councilor Long-Term? Yes. Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scottville? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion passes. Thank you very much. 17-579. Premier Stephanie and Burke, licensing of food trucks. Dear President Caraviello and members of City Council, this past April, City Council approved food trucks at 10 various events that have. Well, basically, at the beginning of the year we allowed food trucks to come to various events. We now have another one that would like to come to a couple of events in August, September, and October. And we need approval to allow them to come. On the motion, aye. Aye.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Second?
[Richard Caraviello]: Second.
[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please. Thank you, Mr. President. Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street. I would just respectfully ask through the chair that the Board of Health look into this, because there was just a report in the news that in Boston, many trucks were in violation of health codes. So please keep that in mind.
[Richard Caraviello]: Board of Health inspects all the trucks before they come. Excellent, thank you, Mr. President. Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Dello Russo, seconded by?
[George Scarpelli]: Second.
[Richard Caraviello]: By Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor?
[George Scarpelli]: Aye.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion passes. City of Bedford, notice of a public hearing. Public hearing. Okay, anybody want to?
[Unidentified]: Okay, five minute recess.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to revert back to regular business. Seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Motion passes. City of Bedford. Notice of a public hearing. Public hearing will be held by the Medford City Council in the Community Cable Access Studio at 489 Winter Street, Medford, Massachusetts on Tuesday evening, July 18th, 2017 at 7 o'clock p.m. on a petition by Dogs for Days LLC. Petitioner Nicholas Gavostis for a special permit pursuant to Chapter 94, Zoning Ordinances of the City of Medford, Section 94-138, Section D, number 48. Keeping or raising livestock, including animal stables or kennels at 29 Lincoln Street, Medford, located in a Industrial Zoning District. Petition plans may be seen at the office of City Clerk, City Hall, Medford. For further information, contact the City Clerk, 781-393-2516. This is a public hearing. We now open up to all those in favor of the petition. Please come forward. Name and address of the record.
[SPEAKER_26]: Michelle Legler, 21 Inglewood Road, Winchester.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much. You'll have a chance to speak later. Anyone else in favor of this project? Please come forward and state your name and address, please.
[Robert Cappucci]: Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much. And you are in favor of this, correct?
[SPEAKER_40]: McCalla-Loconte, 49 Lorena Road in Winchester. Thank you. In favor. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_02]: Jack McGoldrick, 10 Brigette Avenue, Medford.
[Richard Caraviello]: And you are in favor of this? I am in favor. Thank you. Anyone else in favor of this?
[SPEAKER_00]: Ashley Ayres, 18 Sunset Road, Winchester, Massachusetts. Isis Johnson, 244 Kennedy Drive, Malden, Massachusetts.
[SPEAKER_58]: Name and address of the record, please.
[Kelly Catalo]: Certainly. Ann Marie Hill, 4 Magnolia Way in Winchester, Mass.
[SPEAKER_28]: Thank you. Ray DeLovo, 63 Woodside Road, Medford. Thank you.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Jean Kingston, 16 Chestnut Street, Winchester, Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_45]: Laureen Petrillo, 3620 Mystic Valley Parkway, Apartment East, 110 Medford, Mass.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anyone else in favor of this?
[SPEAKER_16]: Jones here, 40 Cedar Road North, Medford, Mass, in favor.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_57]: Good evening, Heather Lasota, I'm at 3600 Mystic Valley Parkway in Medford, Mass.
[Caraviello]: I'm in favor.
[Heather]: Thank you. Nance Shanahan, 7 Wainwright Road, Winchester, Mass. I'm in favor.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Okay, I'm sorry, go ahead.
[SPEAKER_12]: Sorry. Catherine Grose, 15 Wild Pasture Lane in Raleigh, Mass.
[SPEAKER_50]: Alex Cole, 43 River Street, Andover, Mass.
[SPEAKER_01]: Stephanie Walsh, 47 Brookbridge Road, Stoneham, Mass.
[SPEAKER_00]: Shannon Allen, 27 Canterbury Road, Winchester, Mass.
[SPEAKER_09]: Oliver Scarborough, 91 Upham Street, Malden, Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_34]: Andrew Gavazzo, 74 A Pleasant Street, Stoneham, Massachusetts.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_35]: Diane Barber, 16 Otis Street, Medford, Massachusetts.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[sBk_gQcj4fU_SPEAKER_11]: Jennifer Keenan, 250 Grove Street, Medford, Mass.
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: Linda Cataldo, Station Landing.
[Richard Caraviello]: Linda Cataldo.
[SPEAKER_45]: Angela Reyes, 93 Myrtle Street, Medford, Mass.
[SPEAKER_34]: Carlos Smith, 16 Otis Street in Medford. I support this.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. We will now close that part of the hearing. Do we have any more?
[SPEAKER_00]: Melissa Zampatella, 19 Inchell Road, Winchester.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_04]: Danielle Montero, 24 Nathaniel Road, Winchester.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Okay, at this point we will now close that part of the hearing. And those who will speak in opposition of this, please come forward.
[SPEAKER_15]: Good evening, counsel.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do I- No, you just- Kayla Heinrichsen- I am assuming you're not in favor.
[SPEAKER_15]: No, I'm not.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_15]: Okay, Kayla Heinrichsen, 34 Grove Street, Medford, Massachusetts.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anyone else who's not in favor here?
[Robert Cappucci]: Chuck Daugherty, 173 Wilburn Street, and I'm not in favor.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_23]: Charlotte Branch, 98 Woodrow Favre, Method Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_35]: Mary Ellen Dougherty, 173 Woburn Street, Method Mass.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_01]: Donna Dougherty, 171 Washington Street, Method Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_27]: Lorenzo Lepore, 117 Whitney Road, Medford, Massachusetts. Thank you.
[Kelly Catalo]: Carrie Jones, 107 Ashcroft Road, Medford, Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Kelly Catalo]: Kelly Catalo, 4602 Street, Medford, Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_54]: Is that a free speaker here? Just name and address of the record if you are in opposition of this project. My name is Albert A. Massascusa, 27 Local Street, Apartment 3, Method, Massachusetts. Thank you very much.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. I have lived. At another point, we're just taking the people that are, in a few minutes you'll have an opportunity to speak.
[SPEAKER_54]: Now you shouldn't be talking. My name is Eileen. You don't need the mic with me.
[SPEAKER_13]: My name is Eileen Dillon. I live at 27 Locust Street in Medford.
[SPEAKER_20]: Thank you very much. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_13]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Oh, I'm against it. You'll have an opportunity to speak at a... You want me to talk about it now? Not at this time.
[SPEAKER_54]: All right, buddy.
[Richard Caraviello]: Not at this time.
[SPEAKER_23]: Okay. Can we hold on a second? I didn't catch that.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I didn't catch your name. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your address or your name.
[SPEAKER_23]: Christina Gibbons, 28 Doonan Street, Medford, Mass.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_08]: I'm Palmezano, 43 Brackett Street.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: In which city? Medford.
[Caraviello]: Medford, thank you.
[Clerk]: Sean Givens, 28 Doonan Street, Medford, Mass.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_20]: Leonard Guayona, 86 Chandler Road, Medford.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_10]: Jerry Bolton, 7 Robinson Road, Medford. Thank you. C.J. Daugherty, 14 Rowling Pond Road, Lincoln. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_54]: Greg Gallinopoulos, 24 Marston Street, Medford.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anyone else in opposition?
[sBk_gQcj4fU_SPEAKER_04]: Michael Lewis, 133 Pine Ridge Road.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Do we have anyone else in opposition? Please step forward.
[SPEAKER_58]: Sheila Grant, 92 High Street, Medford.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And last call, anyone else in opposition here in the other room? Hold on.
[SPEAKER_57]: Colleen Ray, 358 Broadway, Lynn.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Robert Cappucci]: Collin McGowan, 173 Medford Street.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Last call. Any that are speaking that are not in favor? At this point, we'll close that part of the meeting. And we'll open it up for discussion. Thank you. City Clerk Flynn, we request permission to hand out to City Council. Would that be okay? That's fine.
[SPEAKER_26]: Anybody in the audience?
[Richard Caraviello]: All right, thank you. If I could remind you that the ten minute rule is in effect.
[SPEAKER_26]: Absolutely.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much. Name and address of the record please.
[SPEAKER_26]: Michelle Legler, 21 Inglewood Road, Winchester.
[Richard Caraviello]: Nick Cavazzo, 74A Pleasant Street.
[SPEAKER_07]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_26]: Thank you Mr. President Caraviello for allowing us to be here this evening. Before we get started, please allow me to start with a personal message. This process has not been an easy one. It has been a tremendous learning experience filled with both immense joy as well as huge regrets. And given the chance again, there are many things we would like to do over. This is our first time entering the business foray. For me personally, I'm a cancer researcher, and as you may have heard, last week we did something really stupid. We sent an email to a few select officials that were worded very dumbly, and for that we apologize. For having said that, we'd like to get to business at hand here because we are very excited to be able to present to you our plans for the doggie daycare so you and the rest of City Council can actually make informed decisions based on the facts. As mentioned, we are Michelle Legler and Nick Cavazos and we own the premier dog walking and pet city company called Dogs for Days. We are a unique and personalized dog walking company whose sole mission is to provide peace of mind for our clients by allowing dogs to be themselves and have a blast. We offer a range of services from walks to runs, hikes, playgroups, and boarding. At Dogs for Days, we seriously love dogs as if they were our own and would do absolutely anything for them. This isn't just a job for us, it's a complete way of life that we love every single day and we feel blessed to be able to do it. If you couldn't tell, we are truly passionate animal lovers, and collectively we have over 10 years of animal handling experience with over 100 clients both here in Medford and surrounding neighbors who trust us daily with their fur babies. It is our goal and deepest desire to be the great state of Medford's provider for not only doggy daycare, but training, overnight boarding, and bathing as well. Why Medford, you might be thinking. Medford, as we know, is a truly beautiful city. It has a long, rich history. It has the Middlesex Bells, and of course, Jingle Bells was written here. Medford is also home to over 10,000 registered dogs, with an additional 400 to 600 dogs registering each year who desperately want and need a place somewhere close to home to send their fur babies to. Likewise, given the many people who are moving here daily, they are demanding this type of business be available to them. Due to Medford's zoning ordinances, the available locations for us to choose from are severely limited, but we have actually identified a perfect location as it meets all zoning requirements according to the Code of Ordinance for the City of Medford. If you refer to map one that's being held up right here, the vast majority of Medford is zoned to allow for residencies. The residential districts are marked clearly in yellow and orange on the official zoning map. Only a small percentage of land is zoned industrial. Medford has two main industrial districts. Both are located on either side of the Wellington Circle, plus there are very few small already impacted streets in those neighborhoods scattered here and there, which regrettably will not work for us. They are marked in the purple zones on this map. Unfortunately, the industrial district in the far corner is taken up by Wellington's T Station, so that land is completely out of the question. So we are left with only one small section of the purple zone area to place our daycare. We have worked hard with the buildings department to identify the perfect location that is in an industrial area. If you refer to map 2, you will see that our building at 29 Linden Street is in a very industrial area and is surrounded by several construction companies, auto body shops, and other industrial type companies. Given that this is an established industrial district already, which contains the normal day-to-day operations that come with such industry, such as large traffic, truck traffic, huge equipment being moved around, and the beeping of vehicles backing up, all the noises and smells associated with industrial equipment and even excessive leaf blowers can be heard at all hours. You can see on map three what the area actually looks like. I would like to bring to your attention that there are three apartment buildings on Locust Street in the industrial zoned area that received a special permit to be constructed inside this zone. However, it should also be noted that they were constructed right next to a large construction company which operates heavy machinery, as can be seen in the street view, the brown buildings next to those construction companies. Dogs for Days chose 29 Linden Street because it is the only suitable property available for our business and is an industrial zoned district. We plan to operate a business that is in high demand for the city of Medford, one in which many of our constituents have expressed a great interest in, and quite frankly, given the numerous and expensive apartment buildings and condos that are going up in and around the city, they're expecting this type of service to be available to them in the city they're moving to. Now let me have Nick tell you about our building and our plans for it.
[SPEAKER_07]: Here at Dogs for Days, we're very caring and respectful people. This not only covers how we feel about the dogs, but our neighbors as well. We do not want to be the noise and smell infested business some may fear will come with bringing a doggy daycare in the neighborhood. If I may, I refer you to the renderings of our new building. as we are very proud of the state-of-the-art design we have put together. I would also like to note that all of our work has and will be performed by local Medford companies. The building itself requires very minimal time frame for construction, only taking two to three months. Our contractor will be erecting the additional fencing, knocking down a few walls inside, installing dog washing tubs, and laying down the flooring needed for the dogs. We also have K9 Grass, the only company who strictly specializes in dog turf, install our turf in the play area. Once it is complete, as you can see in our rendering, it'll look absolutely amazing. However, let's spend some time addressing the potential annoyance to our neighbors. In regard to light, we will be installing our outdoor lighting below fence height facing downwards as not to disturb any of the neighbors and will not be used late into the evening. We have spent a considerable amount of time and research on soundproofing plans, and after speaking with experts who have performed these services on other daycares, we have come up with a great plan. We've hired New England Soundproofing to install their high-quality reverb material inside that has a noise reduction rating of 1, which is the highest rating you can have. They have installed this soundproofing in other daycares in Burlington, Woburn, and Waltham, all of which have had no complaints from neighbors since the installation. We already have an 8-foot chain-link fence with privacy slats and will also be erecting an additional 8-foot vinyl fence within the currently existing one to double up on sound reduction. The inner fence will be draped with mass-loaded vinyl, a heavy-duty outdoor soundproofing material. Having two non-see-through fences with soundproofing material filled in between them will create a state-of-the-art sound barrier. Aside from being a great sound barrier, our fencing will also help prevent dogs from escaping. We have two gates making up our vehicle bay, as well as our electronic gate system in the front of the property. The ASPCA guideline suggests a one to 15 human to dog ratio. To help with noise reduction, we've decided on a one to 10 ratio to make sure all the dogs are kept happy and have ample room. ASPCA guideline also suggests 75 square feet of space per dog. We have a plan to double that amount to allow 150 square feet per dog to ensure we don't have too many dogs and every dog is given space to play and roam. We will further discuss with Animal Control what proper maximum capacity should be at our facility. Let's also discuss another controversial subject, that of waste and potential smell. We will have several trash bins around the building that are used by many dog parks and other daycares. These bins also have lids to keep out weather and pests, as well as keep in any odor. These will not be placed near the property line and will be maintained daily. We will have weekly pickup for our dumpster that will reside behind two gates that is not accessible or visible to the public. Our outdoor play area will be lined with specialized dog turf that is made up of antimicrobial material for a cleaner, better smelling environment. It is fully permeable and has an air grid below to allow proper drainage so that puddles don't form on top and nothing flows into the streets. Our hours of operation will also help in regards to possible annoyance. We plan to allow dogs outside to play between the hours of 9 to 5 so that most residents in the neighborhood will already be at work. We'll have an overnight attendant there after hours and boarding dogs will be let outside one at a time for bathroom breaks no later than 8 p.m. and no earlier than 6 a.m. the following day. As for traffic concerns, we provide our clients with complimentary drop-off and pickup service. However, we may have some clients who choose to drop off and pick up on their own. Medford's Chief of Police, Chief Sacco, has informed us that there will be little to no impact on traffic to Linden Street due to our business coming in. Now, I hand you back to Michelle to tell you about the many benefits we will bring to Medford.
[SPEAKER_26]: Thank you, Nick. Obviously, this is not all of our plans, but with the limited time we have here, we tried to provide you with a high-level overview. We can assure you, as truly passionate dog lovers, that we have carefully, thoroughly, and thoughtfully thought about everything in order to provide a state-of-the-art doggy daycare while being conscientious neighbors. We have spoken with numerous professionals throughout our industry and even checked out daycares all throughout New England in an attempt to learn their best practices so we may apply them themselves. Lastly, I'd like to spend the remainder of our time highlighting just some of the many benefits our doggie daycare will bring to the City of Medford. If you are not already aware, the pet industry is a $70 billion a year business and is growing steadily every single year. As mentioned, there are over 10,000 registered dogs here in Medford, with each year bringing an additional 400 to 600 more. So those numbers only include the registered dogs. And unfortunately, as we know, many residents do not register dogs, so in reality, that number could even be doubled. Let's start with tax revenue that Dogs for Days will plan on bringing to the city of Medford. According to our business plan and several banks that we have spoken with, who are experts in the area, doggy daycares of our caliber bring in anywhere from $1 million to $6 million annual, depending on their size. We are expected to bring to the City of Medford approximately $35,000 a year, just in taxes, according to Century Bank, who I believe sent you a letter today on our behalf asking for your approval. Keep in mind, we are not costing the city anything. There is no additional revenue that the city of Medford will need to spend because Dogs for Days is here. In fact, not only will we bring you revenue and taxes, but we will also save the city considerable amount of money. Currently, the City of Medford has nowhere to house stray dogs that are found, lost, or abandoned, so you are paying the North Shore Animal Hospital in Lynn to house them for you. Since 2012, Medford has paid them approximately $8,200, averaging $650 a year. We would rectify this immediately by teaming up with Animal Control and allow you to place your dogs with us and even help unclayed dogs get adopted. This will not only save the city additional money, but it will save the residents from having to travel to Lynn should their dogs jump a fence or get lost due to a thunderstorm. They can drive right down the street and know that a local trusted company has their fur baby safe and sound. We have spoken with your animal control officer who has given us an extensive amount of information regarding the regulations requirements that are needed to be kept in order to provide this service for you, and we look forward to working with him in order to comply. Furthermore, and maybe most importantly, we will be hiring locally. Nick and I are firm believers in providing high-paying jobs to great employees, and we will be offering a lot of opportunities for the residents of Medford. Right off the bat, we are looking to hire six to eight people locally, starting at $15 an hour. In addition to jobs, we will also be hosting internships for students studying animal sciences, fostering dogs, and supporting local shelters with food drives and donations. We also plan to team up with local restaurants while hosting yappy hours, events for the communities, come to get to know one another while trying out local restaurants. For those of you who do not know what a yappy hour is, it is food and drinks with your fellow dog lovers and your dog. Our state-of-the-art facilities, along with great offers and promotions, will bring people from other communities to spend money here in Medford. I have one last thing, if I could. Thank you. So we will diligently comply with 100% of the board as well as Mass General Law and ASPC guidelines. So lastly, we'd like to thank the many people who have helped and supported us along the way. Our clients, our dog groups, dog walkers, friends, families, and most importantly to all other dogs. We hope we made you proud. Please let us know if we can answer any additional questions for you.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anyone else want to speak? Any questions?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Do you want to ask questions now?
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilman Locario.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Maybe if you could expand a little bit more on the soundproofing. I know you said there's a soundproofing fence. Can you tell me at all about any soundproofing in the building as far as overnight?
[SPEAKER_07]: So we will be lining the building from floor to ceiling with The reverb material that New England soundproofing provides and as previously stated it's got the highest rating you could possibly get for soundproofing this will be covering the floor the walls and parts of the ceiling as so that dogs will not be barking and I Like we said, they will be kept busy. We'll have calming music inside 24 hours a day. And if a dog is barking, we have, like we said, we have the human to dog ratio so that one person can take a dog aside and help keep them occupied so that they don't bark.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And then with regards to the lighting, can you explain the hours for the lighting outside?
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, so the lighting, we will only use, like we said, the dogs won't be outside later than 8 p.m., so lights will not be on later than 8 p.m.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_30]: Oh, I was gonna go around.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you. Thank you for your presentation. What's the max amount of dogs you can house at one time?
[SPEAKER_07]: So, we, with 150 square feet allowed per dog at 7500 square feet of play space, that would generally allow us 100 dogs to be there at once. I'm sorry, 50 dogs at once. Sorry, that was the 75 square foot per dog, but we doubled it to allow 50 dogs at once to give them space to roam. My apologies.
[SPEAKER_26]: And however, I'd just like to add that we have agreed that with Officer Pat Hogan that we would let him make the final determination of what he determines would be the maximum number of dogs allowed there at one time. ASPC guidelines do say, as Nick mentioned, one dog per 75 square feet.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay. Now, housing them outside, how many would you house outside during walk time?
[SPEAKER_26]: Can I actually just ask, because we don't house dogs, I think you mean play?
[SPEAKER_07]: So, as stated in the speech, between 9 and 5 the dogs will be allowed outside. Usually about 20 or 30 can roam between in and out. And we will be keeping them busy. There will be one person for every 10 dogs, which is very easily managed. And, you know, with people there 24-7, keeping the dogs nice and calm, they have no reason to bark. They can't see on the other side of the fence. And there's, you know, nothing to bark at. They kept busy and nice and tired and having a blast.
[George Scarpelli]: As a dog lover and having my own dog, my wife won't let her out of her sight. But what I did do with so many concerns both for and against, I took a tour of a local kennel doggy daycare. And one thing that was very evident was a clean facility, but two things that were glaring was the smell of the urine and the dog and the barking.
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes.
[George Scarpelli]: And as I talked to the owner as much, as honestly as she could, when you, as she explained to me, when you bring 10 dogs into the play area, the recreation area, as she called it, They all set their scent, so there's constant urinating. And that was when it was pretty pungent, which they used a chemical spray that continually goes, and they used stone dust that they changed every quarter. And she said it's just been very difficult to mask that. So that's one of my concerns. The other thing is the noise issue. As she put it, when dogs do come to her facility, They are stressed for the fact that, especially new dogs. And we'll have dogs, as I witnessed, that would bark until they're exhausted. And no matter what they try to do as dog caretakers, it was very difficult for them to control. So she was very honest and open with me, and my question to you is that she finds it very difficult to tell me that she can guarantee anybody in her business where she runs that the dogs aren't going to be loud and the smell of the urine, not using maybe your product might be different, but it was pungent. Now, if you can help me with that, that would be great.
[SPEAKER_07]: Absolutely, so if I may I'll answer those in the order they were asked so as far as the smelling urine like We had said and we do have our turf expert here if you'd like to ask him any questions Our turf is specialized so that it is an antimicrobial material It's made so that it's a cleaner better smelling. You know it's it's not dirty stuff it has a air grid system below it so that when a dog urinates on it, it directly goes beneath and flows to where it drains into the ground. And so, that being said, they're not peeing on stones that are stuck there all day. They're peeing and it directly goes straight down and away from where they are. We will also be hosing the property down at least once a day, if not twice a day. We have fountains in the facility so that water is flowing constantly. It's not gonna be a dry, smelly place. With the noise, so when, sorry, if I may, we had our rendering. Sorry, my apologies. As you can see in the rendering, we have our vehicle bay. And so how we will stop the potential issue of when dogs come in, they just come out and start barking. You pull into the vehicle bay. both of these gates will be closed. The dogs are let into a door into the inside facility where they will, you know, we have this fence right here, so they are let inside. They run, they do their barking and whatnot. We try and facilitate that, calm them down, keep them cool, get their energy out, get their barking energy out while they are inside. Then we open that gate and they are let outside once they are in a calm and collected manner.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, I will tell you, I didn't witness that in that daycare.
[SPEAKER_07]: You did or did not?
[George Scarpelli]: I did not. Well, we, that's. I saw that, I mean, I'm just, I know it sounds, I appreciate the hard work. Yeah, no, absolutely. But I just, once they were let out, there's no guarantees that the dog's gonna stop barking, correct?
[SPEAKER_26]: Absolutely and actually if I could just add on to that I mean one of the reasons why Nick and I wanted to open a doggie daycare is visiting some of the places we saw and witnessed what you had and so we asked people right now when we do our play groups where we might have 10-15 dogs we aren't experiencing that and I think it's some of the engagement by us having so many people on our dog to you know a person ratio by us going above and beyond having some of the activity courses and They are running around and playing, so they're not barking because they're in an agility course. And we're trying to keep them busy. I'm not saying it's going to be perfect. We're not going to lie to you guys and say there won't be any barking. We all know dogs bark.
[John Falco]: Thank you. Councilor Belco. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank you for your presentation and thank you for your interest in opening up a business here. So you mentioned earlier that you could possibly have 50 dogs at once. But you did say, well, maybe 20 or 30 out at one time. If you had a maximum capacity of 50 dogs at one time, could you possibly have 50 dogs out in that area at one point in time, at the same time?
[SPEAKER_07]: Would you like to answer? OK. It is possible, but very highly unlikely. We have, like I said, we have a very large garage-sized space inside, as well as a secondary inside space for the little dogs. So say we have 50 dogs there, 15 of them are small dogs, they are in the little dog section, which is mostly inside. So the large dogs will be, let's see, 50 dogs minus 15 would be 35. There would be 35 dogs between the inside and outside space. The dogs are allowed in and out once they have calmed down, like we said, and we have gone through the inside and after the vehicle bay and whatnot. And they are allowed to roam in and out. So between that 35 dogs that are left on the in and outside space, some may be napping, some may be playing, some may be outside rolling around. And so you won't have all 35 of those dogs running around, barking, playing. Many are going to be napping or playing tug of war with each other inside. There are many other things that dogs can do besides just outside playing, because they get tired very easily.
[John Falco]: And I apologize, I was trying to read this at the same time as you're presenting. So as far as the, what is the inside of that building? How many rooms are we talking as far as, do you have any insight?
[SPEAKER_07]: Sorry, so.
[SPEAKER_26]: Actually.
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, so our architect, can we actually allow him to speak and present to you guys? That's fine with me.
[SPEAKER_24]: I'm Dominic Valenti, 571 Main Street, Bedford. The existing building is a tri-level building. which is at the bottom of that sheet right there, and which has a new handicap ramp being installed for accessibility, is the office area. And through a pair of doors that are in the ramp, the dog can either go down the dog slide, or they can be taken down the stairs and into the middle level, which is the garage, the existing garage. Attached to the middle level is the basement underneath the first floor entryway. So the dogs really are down in, we'll say, the basement level, the garage level. They enter probably at the upper level, but they're not going to be there. They're either in the outside plan or inside plan, or the little ones are inside plan, which is down at the basement level.
[John Falco]: Okay, thank you very much. As far as, so I've received a few calls from neighbors saying the space here is industrial space, or it used to be industrial space. It's an industrial zone. Can you talk a little bit about, because I had a couple people call me about safety. Since it was at one time industrial, is it safe for dogs? Can you maybe talk a little bit more about the turf as well? Do you want to take that, sir?
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, so as far as the street being industrial, yes it is. The dogs will not be out in the street, so they come in onto our property, and as you can see, so they come in onto our property, which will be clean as this is just pavement. We have had an environmental study done on the building. Everything is safe and good for dogs. And so this will actually be torn up and put turf down. So all of the pavement will actually be torn up, made sure it's safe for the dogs, and the turf is actually laid down. So everything will be safe for the dogs, including the inside, which we will have extra flooring laid down to ensure that everything is safe and good for the dogs.
[SPEAKER_26]: There's an electronically gate that comes all the way through it's actually pretty state-of-the-art very cool So when you first drive on to the property bay, you actually have to go through an electronic service gate so if our vans which can actually be seen right here, come in with a stream of dogs, then they would have, the gate is automatically closed behind them. As they pull into the auto bay, there is another gate that closes automatically, so they would have to leave two gates. to go to leave our property. Our employees will be housed with walkie-talkies. If an emergency were to arrive, they would be able to talk to one another. But the street right now, as you mentioned, it is a very industrial area. There are some residentials across the street, but it is very safe. There are dogs that live there now.
[John Falco]: As far as the turf goes, I think of repetitive use if you have 20, 30 dogs here a day that are outside and peeing and whatnot. What's the life expectancy of the turf? How long is that going to last?
[SPEAKER_07]: May I have our turf experts speak on that?
[John Falco]: Absolutely.
[SPEAKER_11]: Hi. John Buckley, Mansfield, Massachusetts. I'm the operations director for Evalon, Massachusetts, located in Hanover. For an application such as this, this is our canine tariff, which we would be installing here. It's a tariff specifically designed for this application. The only thing in mind is for basically dog owners, whether it be residential or commercial applications such as this. Life expectancy of this turf with the amount of dogs and the wear that it's going to take, I would put it at about upwards of 15 years from the time it's installed until it would likely have to be replaced.
[John Falco]: I'm just thinking with that many dogs over time, there's definitely a concern about odor. Sure. That's in the neighborhood, so that's.
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, so other doggy daycare facilities that we install this turf at, most try a different route at first, whether it be P-stone, turf that's not applicable for doggy daycares such as this. And what happens is there's a huge, I know we've already touched upon, a huge drainage problem. Conventional turfs, if you turn it upside down like this, it just has punch holes that are drain holes. But this, as we hold it up to the light, I don't know if you guys can see that or not, but you can see through it basically. It's completely permeable. So liquids pass through this at a rate of over 400 inches of liquid an hour. Conventional turfs, if someone were to use something else, 30, 40 inches. So the drainage is impeccable. Every blade is treated with a product called Alpha San, which is an antimicrobial agent. So that cuts down on, obviously, bacteria growth and, hence, odors that, again, other facilities experience because they don't have those controls in place.
[John Falco]: As far as the how is it how high is the fence eight feet Yes, there is currently an eight-foot fence there and we were actually going to erect an additional eight-foot fence So we will have two eight-foot fences there to all the way around all the way around it as far as I think of 20, 30 dogs, I'm thinking a lot of waste. And I'm thinking of odor, I'm thinking the residents, that could be a major problem. But you're only removing waste once a week. That sounds like that could be an issue.
[SPEAKER_07]: Let me explain to you. A typical dog, I believe we spoke about this once before, a typical dog excretes about three quarters pound of waste per day. So if we're going to just, let's just average it double the amount of dogs that we would have. If we average it 100 dogs a day, for five days a week, we're open for daycare, it comes to about 375 pounds of waste per week. That sounds like a lot. but if it's picked up by our weekly dumpster service, our 10-gallon barrels hold up about 80 pounds of waste. If we only put 65 pounds in those 10-gallon barrels, we'll only have about five to six 10-gallon trash bags a week in our dumpster. That's, you know, five to six bags of trash, that's your average household sometimes. I mean, people with a lot of trash. So, five to six, 10 gallon bags of trash in a dumpster that's locked and closed is, and smells, yeah, smells won't escape any of these barrels containing dog waste. So, they're only open for a very small amount of time, split second.
[SPEAKER_26]: No, I was just going to comment into your, Councilor Dela Russa, they are the same exact cans that are currently used at dog parks now. So they have a safety seal on it. So smell and odor is not admitted from it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you. Councilor Locario.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Can you explain, so you explained there's going to be two fences. Can you explain, it looks like there's a tree buffer. Is it only going to be on one side of the floor and how tall are the trees going to be?
[SPEAKER_26]: Yes. Thank you for that question. So if I may, it would actually be in the back side of the building where right now that's focused. So we are on Linden Street. here. The reason being is such as we actually have a company over here where we would not be able to plant some of the trees, but we will be able to plant them all. And as they grow, we will install the highest that we can possibly do and we just didn't grow. Currently this picture, you will see there are trees already there between us and Linden Street. So we would assume they would go natural over the decades. We hope to be in the city of Medford to be 15 feet flush trees.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Councilor Russo. Mr. President, thank you. I want to thank the petitioners for choosing Medford to open your business and to go through the fine work that you've done. I'm particularly impressed with the architectural renderings. You've selected a very good architect, I must say. I want to get back to and I Not ever my practice to beat a dead horse But I want to get back to one of the press questions that council Scarpelli asked And that is about the noise and sound of dogs. I You've made the case and I agree with you that that's a area that has noise in it But this is a new and different type of noise One of the rare moments in each day that I have peace and quiet is early in the morning before the Hecticness of my business gets going I sit out in the back of my office in the garage door and And it's as close as I get to being in the wilderness. And there's squirrels. And the rabbits, which have infested Medford. And the robins chasing the squirrels. And the starlings chasing the robins. And the grackles chasing the sparrows. And so I have a wonderful time enjoying nature. And in the midst of that, Traversing my property are many of my dear neighbors who walk their dogs through there and they're lovely and one by one they come but when they intersect they get loud and they start to bark and they get a little out of control and So I notice that, and as someone who doesn't own a dog, I see that in interaction, whether it's right in front of me when people are just stopping by, or at a distance out on the back road behind my office when people are just crossing and avoiding each other to stay away, to keep the dogs away from each other, and going on opposite sides of the street. So I know Councilor Scarpelli asked about the the dogs and the noise. You explained you're receiving a process on how dogs are allowed to come in and they go into a gated area and they have a little time to decompress and acclimate themselves to a new environment. And I'm sure all the smells of other dogs and the course of nature they have between girl dogs and boy dogs and all that gets some of them wound up. But I'm concerned to add in a neighborhood that is zoned industrial, is zoned for noise, that has, even though by exception, has become and pretends to become even more residential, or at least mixed use. And so could you just talk again about the issue of noise and how the addition of a new unique noise other than front end loaders backing up with their little beeps and that type of stuff, which the neighborhood is used to and has grown accustomed to, how does adding and interjecting a new and particular noise, which residents there are not accustomed to, and how you're going to deal with that.
[SPEAKER_26]: Thank you for your question. There was two actually, and let me start with the first one for choosing Medford, because we actually have your President Caraviello to thank for that. I had sent him an email in early January, and he replied right away saying, come to Medford. It's a great city. So thank you, President Caraviello, for being the one to bring us to Medford. In regards to the noise question, I'd like to refer you to what the street looks like currently now. You will see that there are several construction companies on the area as our abutters. Next to us is Cardi Construction. On the other side is Burst Construction. They are large construction companies that operate blowers every time we have gone there it's been very hard to hear yourself so I definitely agree that it is a noisy area as it is so our addition of having the dogs probably will add a little bit of noise but what is there currently between the construction companies going and operating in and out we do think that it's actually the perfect place to put a doggy day
[SPEAKER_07]: I would like to note one thing, that when I was there meeting with the fence guy, I spent about 45 minutes with him, you know, taking tour of the property. And during that time, as we said previously, there are dogs that live on the street, and you stated that this would be a new noise. During that 45 minutes, one of the residential dogs that lived on the street barked the entire 45 minutes. So, this dog, you know, that you're, Basically, this is no new noise, as people who have dogs have dogs that bark. And with this business, we'll be taking the barking dogs out of the neighborhoods and out of the houses that are currently barking because they want to get out, they want to play, they want to make friends, bringing them to our facility, getting them nice and tired, and allowing them to get their energy out in the correct and right ways and not just bark all day and annoy their neighbors.
[Richard Caraviello]: Carlos Dello Russo, you finished?
[Fred Dello Russo]: I'm done.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Over the past, actually now three years, I have had the unique opportunity to serve on a committee in the community, self-appointed, Patty Flynn's in the audience here, of residents that got together about three years ago and created our own committee to look into the need for a dog park in the city. And we did our homework. We found a grant through the Stanton Foundation. We sent out surveys. We created a committee pause for method. We've held fundraisers. And I can tell you firsthand experience working with this committee and also trying to find a location. as you just said, the perfect location. Trying to find a location was the toughest part of it all. And I won't speak for you, Patty, because you found the grant for us. But it was the toughest part to find where we could put a dog park. And naturally, what we've heard already is noise. We didn't want to be in an area that was surrounded with homes because we knew the neighborhood would come out and say, you know what, we want a dog park, but not in my neighborhood. We knew that if it was downstream from the park, you're going to get odors and smells and so forth. So after doing our homework and due diligence and sending out a citywide survey, which I wouldn't expect you to do, but we came to a point of picking behind the McGlynn School on Riverbend Park, which we all believe it's handicap accessible, it's a great location and so forth. And the primary goal was to stay away from residential homes. And I think we accomplished that. Right, the new dog park you have on the list. I'm glad to see that. It's currently under construction and we're looking in the next few months to have a full-fledged dog park in the city for both small and large dogs. But needless to say, that was the obstacle. And we sat through countless presentations on the use of turf. versus peastone. We ultimately visited a number of parks in Arlington and Somerville and found that peastone with proper irrigation was the best solution we felt to eradicate not everything but a lot of the odor. And that was through the experts and consultants that we brought on board. And I'm a little concerned that even though your turf sounds great, There is no formal irrigation. I know it leaches through and then it goes somewhere, you said. I don't know where that somewhere is. But it doesn't seem like there's a formal irrigation process, which I know in a dog park, And I'm sure in a type of setting that you have would be paramount to making sure that the odor is subsided to have this irrigation. So I was wondering if you can answer that irrigation question as well as I know you're before us tonight. I'm interested. Are there other sites that you looked at in the community? Are there other areas that you say, you know what, this would be a great area, but we were unable to do this or that? Because I'd be interested in seeing other Our committee for years said that, and we estimated at the time we had over 9,000 dogs in the city. And as the city clerk would attest to you, we register, license probably 350 dogs, 400 dogs a year. And the reason why it's not because people don't want to license their dog is because we're not a dog-friendly city. Really, it's true. And the purpose of creating a dog park was actually to make it more of a dog friendly city and also by the creation, giving an incentive to people if they want to use the park, they have to register their dog. and so forth, and that will pay for the maintenance and so forth, the upkeep. So I was wondering if you could answer the irrigation process and also what other locations did you look at and the reason why they weren't selected?
[SPEAKER_07]: So before Michelle touches on that subject, and we bring our turf guy, just along the lines of when you said you guys surveyed the entire city, obviously two people couldn't accomplish something like that, but we did make an attempt to go door-to-door, and we got many petitions signed for people who would like this, so I would like to submit this to you guys, if that is possible.
[SPEAKER_35]: To the clerk.
[SPEAKER_26]: So let me just discuss, because you asked great questions about council parties,
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: You have to talk in the microphone. Yeah, we have it.
[SPEAKER_26]: As you guys know, the zoning, and you in particularly, Officer Marks, that this is a very tough place to choose. The only place that we could actually choose is in that purple area down in the bottom area right here. If you see, it is marked industrial, the very bottom corner right there. The two industrial locations are the Wellington Square and this other particular area for us. And so, unfortunately, the real estate that has been available to us, there was only two properties that we were able to choose from. One of them was not deemed suitable. It was too large. And to be honest with you, we actually tried to acquire it, but our bank, after looking, who was the expert in this, said it was not feasible. So, 29 Linden Street was the only property that we were actually left with. If we could identify another place, I can tell you on a personal level, we would take it. We absolutely have looked and scoured and continue, our real estate has continued to look for other places, but this particular building absolutely perfectly suits not only our needs, but your residence needs as well as where it's located. The new Petco is right down the street from there, as well as the dog park is about two blocks away. So it is a perfect location on that sense. As far as, again, like I said, other sites, we have continued throughout the last nine, 10 months to look as new real estate becomes available, but as you know, Medford is a very, very hot city right now, and there isn't a lot of buildings for sale and or for lease, unfortunately. As regards to peastone and irrigation, so I would like to turn that over to you to respond to that.
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, I can comment on the peastone and lack of an irrigation system. A lot of the facilities that we go into that are very similar to this in size. We actually removed peastone because the owners have found it's not working. It smells. Dogs eat it. It's not safe for them. They want, you know, a safe product such as the canine turf here. So there's been several instances that we've done that, even one this year, a place called the Secret Garden East Bridgewater. We removed yard upon yard upon yard of their peastone and replaced it with our canine grass. Lack of an irrigation system I can address. In the seven years that we've been installing this, we've never had a smell complaint from a place and we've never had a place say that they felt they needed to add an irrigation system that just hosing the turf down on a daily basis was sufficient and that a system such as that did not need to be added to a facility.
[Michael Marks]: So just if I can add then, where exactly, once it goes underneath your dog turf, does it go into your property? Does it just leach into the ground directly below?
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, so it'll just go in the substrate.
[Michael Marks]: So it's not draining to a particular area, there's no slope where it may drain to?
[SPEAKER_11]: I mean, it's I don't think anything would ever get quick enough to run off and to get to one particular area There's yeah, you know, there's I mean there is some there is some slope to the property as I know when I was there But yeah, I mean nothing's gonna be flowing enough in that manner that you know that it's gonna kind of congregate to one area I should say Another question I have is
[Michael Marks]: What other type of services will you be providing at that particular site? Will you be doing dog walking? Will you be doing any type of grooming? Will there be any type of other services offered?
[SPEAKER_26]: Yeah, do you want to take it?
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, absolutely. We will be providing a multitude of services. We have two grooming tubs downstairs for doggy baths. We'll be having training after a certain amount of time once we hire a trainer. We will also be providing walks, so some of our employees will be out walking the dogs that can't come to the daycare. We provide runs and hikes in the woods that won't be at the facility. And as previously stated, we have an agility course, so we have some agility ramps for the dogs to do as well. Did I miss anything? Yeah, sorry, those are all of our services.
[Michael Marks]: And just if I could, what is your cost for an average stay?
[SPEAKER_26]: What our overhead cost is?
[Michael Marks]: If I'm a client, what does it cost me to take my dog there and have him run? $35 a day. $35, and that covers, that's not any grooming, correct?
[SPEAKER_26]: That is not grooming, but that would be pick up, drop off services and an entire day of daycare.
[Michael Marks]: And what percent of your business is overnight? Who are your house dogs overnight?
[SPEAKER_26]: It's actually a small percentage of our business, to be honest with you. Most people require daycare, so I would say we're looking more in the 20% of people who will want boarding.
[Michael Marks]: So 20% of your business is overnight?
[SPEAKER_26]: Other places right now, and it goes to the amount of dogs, most places are looking for daycare. We have a lot of clients here who can tell you how we operate. We pick up their dog eight, nine o'clock in the morning. We exercise them, be it whether they want us to hike or fels, and then we drop them off when they come home, five or six. Sometimes they want it at three, depending on what the hours are. When the wife comes home, the kids come home, so there's always a cycle of kids. The boarding is more when people go away, so it is not a big percentage of our business.
[Michael Marks]: Okay, and what off-street parking do you have?
[SPEAKER_26]: Linden Street is a public parking place.
[SPEAKER_21]: Is it off-street? Oh, off-street.
[SPEAKER_07]: Off-street, yes. We do have a parking lot in the front, behind our front electronic gate. So, it allows, as far as we have been able to test, between about four and five cars in the parking lot at once. So no one will need to park on the street. They can come right in, drop the dog off, and then leave. We have drop off hours so that people aren't coming in and out at all times of day. But as we previously stated, that about 80 or 90% of our clients do use the complimentary pick up and drop off service because most others charge for that. And so people really love the fact that we just come right to them, pick the dog up. and so we won't have much foot traffic or parking out front needed.
[Michael Marks]: And if you could speak a little more about, I wasn't aware there was a basement in this building.
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes.
[Michael Marks]: The dogs have access to go down through some type of shaft, you said, or something like that?
[SPEAKER_07]: Yeah, so, it is not a shaft. I guarantee you. So, if you would like to hold this up. Sorry, let me get my bearings straight here. Perfect, okay, so this is the front office to our building. They have the chance to come down and go down into the basement, so there is a stairway that goes right down under our basement area, and there is also a doggie ramp that is a nice gentle slope, it is not a shaft. And so they have the choice to come down into the basement where, you know, it's technically a basement, but it has several windows. When I say several, it's about 15 windows lining the whole basement because it is semi, the ceiling is above ground level. And so they have the chance to come down into the basement and down into the large garage area.
[Michael Marks]: Is the facility completely air conditioned?
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, and heated. You're welcome.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: One last follow-up through the chair. With regards to, that was actually going to be a question of mine too, where does the pee go? With regards to if the turf expert can explain, you had mentioned that you haven't got any complaints about the smell or odor, especially if it's washed down once per day. But what are you comparing that to as far as how large of projects have you done, how many facilities, what number of dogs have they housed?
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, I would compare that to very similar projects such as this. We've done facilities that have upwards of 80 to 100 dogs a day. Some smaller, only 20 to 25. But certainly have done facilities larger than this one. And yeah, we haven't experienced complaints such as that. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: I have a couple of questions. Your hours of operation are going to be what?
[SPEAKER_26]: So we plan to have hours of operation between 9 to 5 where most residents will be at work. it really will be a 24-hour facility that we would have attendance at the whole time.
[Richard Caraviello]: No, but what time will people be able to bring their dog to you?
[SPEAKER_07]: Oh, okay.
[SPEAKER_26]: Oh, yep.
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, so we plan to have a one-hour drop-off time before opening, so between 8 and 9, and between 5 and 6 is when people are allowed to come and pick up and drop off their dogs.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay, so no one will be coming like at 10 o'clock at night?
[SPEAKER_07]: No, absolutely not.
[Richard Caraviello]: Question, what do you do in the winter? When you have 50 dogs.
[SPEAKER_07]: So we shovel and snowblow, basically.
[Richard Caraviello]: I mean, how does that chair hold in the winter?
[SPEAKER_11]: Yeah, the turf's fine in the winter. It's perfectly capable of being shoveled, snowblowed, so any conventional means of snow removal works just as well on the turf. I mean, if you get snow off of it and there's some sun beating down on it, it's not going to be frozen throughout the whole winter. It's just as comfortable and safe for the dogs in the winter as it is in the other three months of the year.
[Richard Caraviello]: What happens to the drainage when the dogs are peeing and the ground is frozen?
[SPEAKER_11]: So basically, I don't know if everyone is able to see this good enough. So when I hold this up to the light here, you can see through all that right there. So you have a permeable product, and then we put down the base that's underneath it, the gravel base that's underneath it. liquids is still able to... It's going to freeze right on top of it. No, it's a lot of stone, so there's a lot of stone in there, so liquids can still permeate that, because you're always going to have voids and stuff in stone, it can still go through there. So it's 365 days a year it's able to drain.
[Richard Caraviello]: I have pictures of Linden Street with cars. One side is completely full, almost to the top, and the other side is resident only parking. If people stop parking cars on both sides, you're going to have 50 cars a day going down there.
[SPEAKER_26]: Yeah. Actually, thank you for that question. A couple of things. One, as mentioned, probably 90 percent of our clients do pick up and drop off, so we will have very minimal. Cars actually go there. It's more of a two-second. Somebody would run in, drive into our property, drop off the dog. We normally will meet them at their end, and they're gone. I believe, additionally, Chief Sacco, who has come down to visit our facility and felt that dogs for days would not pose any impact to traffic. for our building in there, and included that in his report as well. We're very cognizant of that. This is an important street for us, so we wouldn't want it lined with a bunch of people, hence why we do have, and hopefully maybe you guys have even seen some of our vehicles driving throughout the city of Medford now. That's why we do require pickup, or we actually offer the pickup and drop-offs, so we don't have a bunch of congestion.
[Richard Caraviello]: Getting back to the winter, when the dogs aren't able to, well, are you going to be able to house 50 dogs, 60 dogs in that building? I have a dog also, and now he gets in the winter, he gets cold, he goes out the door, he says, I'm not going out.
[SPEAKER_26]: Oh, yes. Yes, we have a lot of dogs with cute little Christmas sweaters, and so, yes. The answer is yes, and we will have a very state-of-the-art facility that will have not only air conditioning and heating, we have a very respectable Medford construction gentleman who has done this at several other places, who's providing state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating, and particularly for winter, so that there won't be a problem with dogs going outside.
[Richard Caraviello]: I'm concerned about keeping them in the building. Maybe you're saying this is winter, you might get a couple of days where you're not gonna have time to clear the outside. Where do you walk these dogs?
[SPEAKER_07]: So, I just want to note that, so before this, I worked at a doggie daycare that had no inside facility. They had about 30,000 square feet outside. They've been around for 20 years, working through the winter and through the summer, and they house about 200 dogs a day outside, and they've had zero, issue with winter dogs. Some dogs don't necessarily want to play, but if you keep them moving, you keep them active, they stay warm, you make sure that we bring the cold dogs inside. But with the amount of space that we have, we could definitely house a certain amount of dogs that need to be inside and need to be outside.
[Richard Caraviello]: So you feel that 50 would be your maximum amount of dog you have there? Yes. And how many do you plan to board at night?
[SPEAKER_26]: So again, it would be based on need, but I would think there would be, if we look at our competition, they'd have anywhere from like 10 to 15, 20 dogs.
[Richard Caraviello]: If I had to ask you now, what would your maximum be of dogs staying over?
[SPEAKER_26]: We would hope it would be more, but I would estimate right now that we're estimating about 20 dogs.
[SPEAKER_07]: 20 would be the max to stay open. Complete max.
[SPEAKER_26]: Complete max.
[SPEAKER_07]: On average, your average boarding is between one and 10. A very, very, very busy weekend is 10 or 15, and it's a weekend. It's not the whole month, it's just a couple of days, and it's not excessive in any way.
[Richard Caraviello]: And how many people are you going to have during the day?
[SPEAKER_26]: How many employees we will have? So we were looking that we will have probably ten.
[Richard Caraviello]: So... Oh, no. Like, say... And they will... We will have ten employees. On a normal Tuesday morning, and you get 50 dogs, how many employees do you have? Five.
[SPEAKER_26]: Five.
[Richard Caraviello]: So you feel that one person can handle ten dogs? Absolutely.
[SPEAKER_26]: Absolutely. In fact, that's less than the ratio of ASPCI and LICE. Okay. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_07]: May I note one more thing? That's five employees plus the two of us. So whether you believe that they can or can't handle, there's always two extra people there to handle any additional need for the dogs.
[Richard Caraviello]: Okay, well you said that one of you is not a dog trainer.
[SPEAKER_26]: No, we're not dog trainers.
[Richard Caraviello]: Are these people that are going to be there, they're going to have dog experience?
[SPEAKER_26]: Yes, well, yes.
[Richard Caraviello]: Are they just going to be, you know, 20-year-old kids, you know, walking dogs?
[SPEAKER_07]: No. We generally only hire people with dog experience and we train them very well. I usually spend about two weeks training each boy to ensure that they are good with the dogs and good with the clients and to make sure that they actually do know what they're doing.
[SPEAKER_26]: And if I may, just to go back to walking the dogs, twofold on that. One, the walking dog is a service that we offer now. It's not necessarily people come to Dogs for Days at 29 Linden Street to have their dog walked. We bring our cars over, we walk dogs in a group. The other reason why we chose this area, if I may, refer you to this map, is there is down across the street, So we will be bringing dogs into our bay, put them in the car, and walk them over here. We won't necessarily walk them.
[Richard Caraviello]: So you'll be taking your dogs to our new dog park?
[Unidentified]: If Patty will let us.
[Richard Caraviello]: No, I'm not joking, but you'll be taking 20 dogs to a dog park?
[SPEAKER_07]: No, absolutely not. What we meant was dogs, no. No, I was actually saying that we would walk them along. Yes, we would take them out two by two, three by three, and just if they need be, they will go on a walk with an employee, not 20 at once. Thank you. Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, as the chairman of the subcommittee on zoning tonight before us, we have a hearing, a public hearing on a special permit. And this hearing is governed by chapter 48, section nine of the general laws. And if we take a look at chapter 48, section nine of the general laws, you know, it will say that the special special permit granting authority has the right to allow nonconforming multifamily residential use in an industrially zoned district. It goes on to say that in order to do that, the Special Permit Granting Authority has to find that this non-conforming multifamily residential use is in the public interest. So that happened, and we have a facility on Locust Street now, a multifamily residential use on Locust Street that directly abuts this property, Mr. President. And as we read Chapter 48, Section 9, which this hearing is being governed under, it says that the non-conforming use shall not adversely affect the existing industrial uses and provided further that future permitted uses will not be noxious to the non-conforming multifamily residential use. So here before us this evening, we're gonna be asked the question on this application as to whether or not this particular site's an appropriate location, whether or not, as developed, it will not adversely affect the neighborhood, and whether or not there'll be no nuisance or serious hazards to pedestrians and to vehicles. We're also being asked the question as to whether or not these are adequate and appropriate facilities. Now, Mr. President, I personally have no problem with the facilities. I think they are adequate and appropriate for this type of business. I do have serious concerns about whether or not this is going to be a nuisance or a serious hazard to pedestrians and to vehicles on Linden Street. Linden Street's a dead-end street, Mr. President. We have the petitioner here before us saying that they're going to have five employees plus two other people there. That's seven people. They have parking, as they said already, for five bays of cars that's locked between two electronic gates, Mr. President. I think that's going to create a serious nuisance and a serious hazard to pedestrians and to vehicles alike on that street. Secondly, Mr. President, as we look at this, you know, we have to say the use as developed will not adversely affect the neighborhood. And I don't think anybody behind this rail can say with 100 percent certainty that that's going to happen. I think we all have questions about noise. We all have questions about smell. We all have questions about traffic now. Also, Mr. President, as we look at this, the question is whether or not this is an appropriate location for such a use. This directly abuts a multifamily residential use. And the people who live in that building have come up and expressed concern, Mr. President. People that live there now, residents of this community, have said that this is something that they don't want in their own backyard. And I can understand why, Mr. President. I certainly think that the petitioners have done an excellent job in putting together a strong business plan. The petitioners have done an excellent job in putting together something that's going to be successful. I just don't think this is the appropriate location, Mr. President, and it's for those reasons that I'm not going to be able to support this paper this evening. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any further questions? Would anybody else like to speak? Please come forward. Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_02]: Thank you, Mr. President. I live at 10 Brigitte Avenue in Medford. My name is Jack McGoldrick, and Medford starts with me. I'm a small business owner in Medford. I run a small ad agency called McGoldrick Marketing. I'm on the board of directors of Cache in Medford, board of directors of the Medford Chamber of Commerce. I'm a member of the Medford Vocational Technical High School Advisory Committee for the Business, Technology, and Marketing Program and the Media Technology Program, which this beautiful new studio is the housing of. As a business owner, I have a couple of hard and fast rules about clients I'll work with, and I'm nervous. I won't work for clients who sell cigarettes or guns, period. Otherwise, I'll agree to work with clients based on their individual merits. When I first started my business in Medford, I was approached by three women whom I hold in the highest esteem, Susan Altman, Susan Fairchild, and Charlotte Scuderi. They wanted to start a civic pride program. We came up with the phrase, Medford starts with me. Unfortunately, it never got legs, but nevertheless, the words Medford starts with me are something you can think about when you vote for this simple permit. It means pretty obviously that I have the power to do my part to help make Medford a better place. So back to choosing who I'll work with. So since opening my ad agency in Medford, I think I've chosen one. I've worked with the Mystic Valley chapter of the NAACP, Medford High School, Medford Vocational Technical High School, Cache in Medford, the Medford Chamber of Commerce, the Mystic Art Gallery, Made in Medford, Families Anonymous, Medford Community Housing, Team Medford, and the Mystic Valley Public Health Coalition. I think everyone in this room and everyone who will eventually watch at home will agree without a doubt that I've chosen to work with good people who do good things for Medford. While I've recently chosen to work with Dogs for Days, I've gotten to know Nick and Michelle in the process. They want to do good things for Medford. As you, the esteemed city councilors of the city of Medford, you have a golden opportunity to show your constituents that you want to do good things for Medford. Nick and Michelle just want to open a mom and pop business in an industrial district. That's all. Who doesn't? This district is zoned for businesses that need a place, as many people have said, to operate heavy machinery, to drive their trucks and cranes and forklifts and tow trucks and backhoes and other dirty, noisy things. To know that they're able to earn a living running these types of businesses because they're in an industrial district. The city of Medford zoning also dictates that an industrial district is the proper place for Dogs for Days to establish their business. This is not a residential district, even though there are residential buildings in it. It's an industrial district. You can easily discern from the extremely detailed and well thought out plans that they have presented to you that this business will be an exemplary one. They'll take a dirty, empty lot and turn it into a shiny example of the kind of business Medford so desperately needs and that the people of Medford so eagerly want. They'll be great neighbors to everyone around them. This currently sad, run-down property will become a place of great happiness. There's absolutely no reason I can think of to deny this simple request for a permit so that a small mom-and-pop business like Dogs for Days can fulfill their dream of providing a happy place for the thousands of dog owners in Medford to let their dogs stay, play, become socialized, and be treated well by people who simply want to do just that. So please, do the right thing and vote in favor of this permit.
[Richard Caraviello]: name and address to the record please.
[SPEAKER_15]: Hi my name is Kayla Heinrichsen and I live on 34 Grove Street Medford Massachusetts and I disapprove of this motion. Well good evening council members and and president and city clerk and I would like to commend the previous speaker for their very detailed research, for their very fluid and detailed presentation, but I do have a few problems with the business model and such, so I'll read this that I wrote. For the past few months, a number of colleagues and myself have been volunteering at Daily Care, a local dog daycare company, and have greatly enjoyed the opportunity. Volunteering with Daily Care involves exercising and interacting with a small group of dogs whom we have thoroughly enjoyed interacting with. Each dog is well taken care of according to their individualized needs. However, it has come to attention that this proprietorship, as well as other local businesses, have been threatened by a larger corporate entity that may harm the dog sitting businesses around the Medford area without the benefit of real economic growth. Furthermore, Mr. Gavazos has challenged small dog owners who do not need a permit to gain unneeded permits for their business models as a business smear, which I'll get to later, which they also referenced in the beginning of their speech. We propose to keep these businesses intact, focusing on care for each dog and providing a genuine and flexible volunteering setting. Within the present community-based setting of area dog sitters, each dog receives constant attention and their owners receive consistent feedback on their behavior every day of their attendance in the program. The higher rates and fewer numbers of clients per each business in the Medford area maintains a higher quality of individualized care and attention than a larger corporation would be able to provide to provide, even though this isn't necessarily a corporation, it is a much larger business than the current dog sitting businesses in the area. A larger entity's arrival would create a surplus of dogs and lower the rate per dog, resulting in an inequity of care and potential negligence among the volunteers and staff. I know they mentioned, just based on what I've heard, they were going to have 10 dogs per person. We have a maximum of about five dogs per person, and we just have more companies. Plus, I noticed that they charge $35 per dog at their daycare, where as we charge the most expensive local daycare in the area charges $35. So you're getting cheaper and more individualized care for a smaller number of dogs, and we're actually looking for business right now. We have plenty of room to grow at daily care. The structures of current dog-sitting businesses in the area are also set up to accommodate each volunteer's schedule and abilities very flexibly, while still acting as an opportunity to care for and learn about K-9 behavior. In a more corporate setting, there would be a natural increase in volunteer volume, consequently requiring more lengthy screening processes, longer waiting times before starting the work, and an overall more business-like character. Also, staff and volunteer inclusion into the programs would likely be based more on vocational paperwork rather than first-hand observations of the handler's abilities by the business owner. My colleagues and I, for example, have had little formal job experience over the past year, yet have handled animals extensively during that period. Thus, we're excited on hearing about the opportunity to work with animals at Daily Care, the business that we volunteer for. Ms. Daley takes great care in accommodating our needs, driving us to and from her home each time we work, saving us hours on public transportation. Also, my colleagues and my work at Daley Care has enriched our sense of community, interacting widely with members of the pet-only community at dog parks and on trails. And we have used the dog park on occasions. Furthermore, Mr. Gabat, this is getting to more what they were referencing in the beginning of their speech, Furthermore, Mr. Gavazos has indicated that all Kenan-related proprietorships in the Medford area must obtain a license before beginning business, which he implied to us via email, which he sent to my manager, Margaret Daly, and a few other small business owners in the Medford area, which I will eventually get to. Although this may be true for a large doggy daycare enterprise, dog walking itself requires no license in the Medford area, also enabling these owners to board up three dogs at night at their places of establishment. It becomes apparent then that Mr. Gavazos merely pressured small businesses with his attainment of a special license in order to have them out on the grounds of needing permits they are not otherwise required to have. My colleagues and I greatly rely on the authenticity of our business model and hope that Mr. Gavatsas does not further interfere with a highly genuine, flexible, and individualized small proprietorship, among which there are at least three in the area, and they are thriving right now. We're actually, as I mentioned before, we're looking for new businesses, or we're looking for new clients as we speak. Although the service may be appreciated in Winchester, the longstanding, and I understand that Winchester is not the prize location, the ideal location for the business, the longstanding small businesses in Medford do not need more competition or smearing in order to protect care, nor does the council need to award Mr. Gavazza a special permit to deny us our rights. You'll see here that the owner and all my associates have signed a petition, an informal petition, which you may actually have. And I'll go, do I still have time?
[Richard Caraviello]: You have the full moment.
[SPEAKER_15]: All right. And I'll go further into the email smearing event.
[Richard Caraviello]: She has the floor. Let her finish.
[SPEAKER_15]: Basically, my owner, my manager is in the other room. She has the email right now if you want to check it. But basically, he mentioned that an animal control officer went to one of the small business owners' home, which was also a place of business, and said that her facilities were not intact, that she was doing unethical practices and such where that, of course, never happened. Now, they have apologized, but that was right before this meeting. So, it really makes me question the business ethics of the owners. You know, if they're willing to pull something that little, you know, if they're willing to pull off something that I know you're waiting to chime in. Oh, okay. I'm sorry, I don't mean to attack them personally, but ethics-wise, business ethics-wise, I view that as, you know, just kind of a behind-the-scenes, dirty, under-the-table playing. Whereas we tend to... Can I have the floor? Thank you. I'm sorry. Whereas, you know, we are longstanding businesses. We have great reputations. And which also brings me to another point is that Before Mr. Gavazos, what I've heard from other business owners in the area, before Mr. Gavazos and his partner started this business, he was actually part of a failed company, which didn't make it and received horrible reviews.
[Richard Caraviello]: I don't think we're here to attack anybody.
[SPEAKER_15]: Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But I was just kind of doing my research. But yeah, this company has only been around for a year and I applaud them for their efforts. I really do applaud them. But I think that they have a lot more to learn about the business aspect of the operation of doggie sitting, doggie daycare and such. And I also think that they could find a different location if they really wanted to without disrupting the community setting, the community-based setting of businesses around the Medford area that already exist. And also, what's my time? I'm sorry. I just want, okay, all right, I'll go fast. Let's see. You know, and also about the stress of the dogs. I know Scarpelli, Councilor Scarpelli, you actually mentioned the stress and that is a really big part. And I actually have a firsthand view of that. There was a dog at one of our, at our facility that had a huge barking problem. And then when I started volunteering, that eventually seceded or that ceased. So, I mean, it takes a lot of individualized care and attention to deal with this. And if you have 10 dogs per person, that's not individualized care. That does not say individualized care for me. So really, I guess, in conclusion, I would emphasize the business ethics of the owners. And I worry about them overcharging or undercharging for the animals that they take care of. And I worry about the animals themselves. I mean, if they're willing to do something like that, what are they willing to do to the animals? And also, I worry about, you know, You know, I just don't think that this is going to make a big financial difference in the area to allow a permit for dogs for days. Because we charge the same thing, but for more individualized care and better care in the end.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Name and address of the director, please.
[Kelly Catalo]: Kelly Catalo, 46 Otis Street in Medford. I am also the owner of Cosmopolitan Real Estate and we deal with a lot of tenants in the city of Medford. I am going to ask you to side on housing. We are having a housing crisis. We do not have enough housing for the people that want to live here, for the people that can afford to live here. The price of housing has gotten outrageous. Everyone keeps talking about Locust Street. I can remember when those buildings were gonna go up. Medford was excited because it got rid of a lot of the auto body shops, and it brought in some housing that we needed. As far as Linden Ave always being industrial, I have been informed by one of the neighbors, and I did do some home research. Linden Ave was originally built back in the 1800s as the boarding houses for the people that worked on the ships. As far as the history behind that, I would defer to the historical society. The families that are down there, the tenants that are there, They don't choose to live in an industrial neighborhood. That's where they can afford to live. To put something like this on Linden Avenue directly across the street from an eight-unit building that was built in 1880. Those tenants are only going to be able to put up with so much. We're a tired city after all the airplanes. We're happy that those have started to succeed. I wouldn't want to live next to a daycare for dogs, and I don't think most people will. There's not a lot that 57,000 people will agree upon, but I think that is one point. Nobody wants to live next to it. As far as a special permit, I do believe that this body, whatever people were on it at that time, when they said to have a dog kennel, or livestock, you need to have a special permit. I do think the reason was because they wanted to make sure it was going to go in the right location. There is other property that is available for rent in the city of Medford that is a much more suitable location that does not abut residential homes. So I would just ask that you think about the people that live in those homes, the tenants. It doesn't matter if the owner built it with spot zoning. The people that live in the buildings all have a right to peace. They're okay with some noise during the day. Linden Ave, those tenants and those landlords and those trucking companies, they've got their own jive going. It works over there. To bring in a daycare for dogs, I think it's going to upset the neighborhood and there's only so much the people can handle. As far as the people that are living in the apartment building right behind it, I don't want to look out my back window and see 50 dogs behind me. I don't want to smell it. I don't want to put up with it. Those people chose to live there, but if they went another 100 feet down a Lumiere, they're going to be paying another $1,000 a month. A lot of this is coming down to affordability and keeping Medford home for all.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Robert Cappucci]: Name and address of the record, please. Thank you, Mr. President. Rob Capucci, 71 Evans Street. Just to address the need for more businesses in Medford, you can go across this city and see tons of empty storefronts. Bringing in a new business that's offering jobs, that's more revenues for the city of Medford, could be used to offset other things that we need, like police and equipment for the firefighters and fixing streets and roads. That's number one. Number two, I think Nick and Michelle made a really good case. to address some of the points that were just made about a lack of smell, about a lack of noise, about it being a good location. In reference to what Councilor Knight brought up under the Mass State Laws, I've seen this body of proof permits with stipulations that in six months we'll revisit it to take a look at what the impact was. I hope that you would consider that in considering this business.
[Richard Caraviello]: I don't think these people want to spend a million dollars and then in six months and have a poor impact. What if that would happen? Or hours of work stipulations. That's not an option.
[Robert Cappucci]: That's not an option for these people. But I say that based upon the fact that they've done their homework and they've done their research. And I'm confident that within a few months, you won't find the adverse impacts. I mean, these people are loving their dogs. This is going to be a good business for Medved. Me personally, I would love to live right next door. to a dog kennel. I love dogs. I've grown up with dogs my whole life. I lost my dog last summer. I got another one three weeks later. I think this is nothing but a win-win for the city of Medford. I strongly urge this board to approve this permit. Thank you for your time, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_28]: Name and address of the wreckage, please. Ray DeLovo, Woodside Road in Medford. I don't have a lot to say about the mechanics of this whole thing, but I want to tell you that we have a red-boned coonhound that sits by the front window in the morning and waits for them to come. She won't even eat. As soon as she sees that truck, she gets so excited. All you have to do is open the door, and she doesn't even run in the street. They know she doesn't even need a leash. She goes right to the back of that truck and jumps right in there. I don't know two other people in this entire world that will take better care of a dog than those two people. They are very, very good. They care. They bring them back at the right time. They pick them up at the right time. They are very, very astute people. So as far as the right people to do this, they're in. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[sBk_gQcj4fU_SPEAKER_11]: Jennifer Keenan, 250 Grove Street. Thank you for having me. I'm an 11-year resident of Medford. I'm also a local real estate agent, the newest member of the Medford Historical Commission, and an avid dog lover. I wholly support the proposed business, Dogs for Days, and their proposed location. I would kindly ask the members of the council to approve their special permit. My family, and I suspect other Medford families, would benefit greatly from having a doggie daycare here in Medford. Right now, the daycare we send our dog to is located out of town. We would love to be able to support a business in town here in Medford. We are very excited for the new dog park that is currently being built. This daycare is the perfect next step for those of us with furry children. Lastly, during these recent times of active talk regarding zoning and a master plan and other changes happening in Medford, for better or for worse, this is a great example of a business trying to open in an appropriately zoned area. We should support this kind of development and encourage other business owners to do the same, not discourage them or make them feel unwelcome in any way. Again, I strongly urge and respectfully ask the council members to approve their special permit and let this well-needed business open its doors for the residents of Medford. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the wreckage, please, sir.
[SPEAKER_54]: Name, first of all, I apologize, I left my hearing aid on the kitchen table. So make sure you talk loud enough. I'll let you borrow mine if you want. My name, you want my name, is Albert A. Massascusa, 27 Local Street, Apartment 3. I've lived in Local Street for 95 years, except for five years I went in World War II. And I've had, I've opposed a dog kennel in that area before. 25 or 30 years ago, Dr. DeCristoforo wanted to open a kennel on Locust Street. And it was a big crowd to oppose it. So after a long debate, I told the council, when these dogs start barking, these people are gonna call each and every one of you in any time of the day or night. The council defeated the kennel seven to nothing. Another thing I want to tell you, Mr. Dougherty put a fortune in building them three well-kept apartment houses. Everybody squawked about Locust Street. No sidewalk, this and that. He made it beautiful. Now they want to put, a kennel in back of it, which doesn't seem fair at all. And if you want to put a kennel in Method, it should be on either Commercial Street, Mystic Avenue, or in back of Stop and Shop in a food agency, away from the homes. If people will tell you barking doesn't carry, if you've got two minutes, I'm going to tell you a little story about barking. Years ago, they used to walk the beat, the police. And Locust Street was Officer Bell's beat. And we had a big German shepherd. And Officer Bell was way up with the bowling alley where Stop and Shop is now. And he heard this German shepherd bark way up there. And he ran down to Locust Street and had broken into one of the buildings. Now I really expect a down vote from you people. Thank you very much.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight.
[SPEAKER_48]: Back several months ago, several months ago, Albert, the council, myself and Councilor Penter, I believe, if he's still around here, had put forward a council resolution to congratulate you.
[Adam Knight]: The Medford City Council had put forward a resolution to congratulate you some months back.
[SPEAKER_54]: Several months ago.
[SPEAKER_48]: Yes about the metal.
[SPEAKER_54]: I'm really ashamed of the council the type of I'm a knight, right now, I'm a knight.
[SPEAKER_48]: Me too. Medal of Honor.
[SPEAKER_54]: I know, I know. Mr. Dello Russo, he met the Councilor for coming in to give me the medal. He met him down the hallway and he told him all about it. Do you think he'd mention it in front of the Councilor?
[SPEAKER_48]: never well the council did mention it Albert myself a Councilor and Councilor pet to put it forward to so we asked you to come down and we wanted to congratulate you and since we have you here tonight hopefully give you a round of applause thank you sir and it's also Albert's 95th birthday
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Comic relief.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_08]: ComEd, Palmezano, 43 Brackett Street, Medford. First, I'd like to thank the council and the clerk. We're bringing a piece of the city up here with you every week. I know it's a pain. We all appreciate it. That being said, also born and raised in the city and have a business on Locust Street. September will be 25 years. on a permit by this council. That being said, I have nothing against these people, and that's a great idea and what a presentation they put on. But to quote the backing up dirty backhoes and forklifts and all, that stops at 6 o'clock at night. There's no there's no 24-hour garages or 24-hour backing up trucks or what have you It's that own now you want to put 400 units next door to us with a garage people complain about it we Neighbors out back of us came and made a deal if you will and you know you live in Medford You don't want to go home and smell paint when you have a barbecue Okay that I won't spray past 4 30 at night anymore We worked it out But I don't really don't think that area and also washing it off. Where's it go? I don't know I don't, you know, there's no drains. Does it keep it on the property and you get it pumped out or something, or that's just going right down the sidewalk? There's supposed to be, you know, like I said, clarification maybe on that through you, Mr. President. And, you know, you're trying to, three years ago, you had Eddie's want to do the bakery where my golf house, where Corvino's is, and they wouldn't let them go around the clock. I just don't think if it was daycare, okay, fine, the gate's locked by 8 o'clock at night, whatever, same as that. And you have your quiet enjoyment over there and 60 families that are up against it. Again, it's nothing against these people. It's a great idea. You want to go in business and take your chance, go, I love you. But I just, I don't see it working. Thanks for your minutes.
[SPEAKER_20]: Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, members of the council, I think the petitioners did a great job putting forth their proposal and their business plan. However, I don't think they've met the threshold that Chapter 40 requires. I think it would be derogatory to the neighborhood in general. people have spent a lot of money, you know, improving the local street area. You have some great apartment buildings, and as Kelly Catalo said, you know, we need housing for our citizens. We don't necessarily need a dog kennel, so to speak. So I would respectfully urge you to vote no on this proposal. Thank you. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any further discussion?
[SPEAKER_10]: Name and address of the record, please. My name is C.J. Daugherty. I live at 14 Riling Pond Road in Lincoln, Mass. Up until two years ago, I was a lifelong resident of Medford, Saltonstall Road, Grove Street, Woburn Street. Medford is where my family settled when I was born, and we're still a huge part of the city, I like to think. I often joke that the city of Medford is a third of my personality. I care about it passionately. And it's an honor to speak here. Generally, I really enjoy public speaking. Some of you know that. But I'm nervous today, because in my house growing up, we didn't watch the Red Sox or the Bruins or the Celtics. We watched city council meetings. So Councilor Penta, Councilor Mayocco, Maloney were bigger stars to me than Wade Boggs and Robert Parish and Mike Greenwell. So it's intimidating to be here. Had it been in the hall, I would have been a little more nervous. In growing up and watching those meetings, there were hours of debate on small issues like whether or not neon lights should be allowed on Mystic Avenue. Councilor Penta would frequently lose his mind because he wanted what was right for the city, and that wasn't what was necessarily right for the businesses. And it always stuck with me that the level of stewardship historically shown by this council mattered, that the people of Medford mattered to this council. And today, we've all sat here and heard arguments for and against. We've heard support ranging far and wide from all areas of this city and beyond. but none from Hall Street, none from Linden Ave, none from Locust Street, none from Riverside Ave, very few, if any, from Wellington. And it's very easy to live on North Cedar Road, to live in Winchester, to live in Andover, and say, this city needs these dog parks. They need to be there. They go home, or they don't even go to this neighborhood. They don't know where Linden Street is. A van comes and their coonhound comes running and they go away and they come back at the end of the day. In the, and I'll speak just on a side note, the apartments that I'm here to represent, in the construction company with the beeping trucks that I also represent, are spoken of like dirty words tonight. Those apartments are there. People live there. There are 57 units, approximately 128 people. These people wake up in the morning and have their coffee there. They read their children bedtime stories there. They aren't inconvenient facts. They're people. They're citizens of Medford. Some of them work the second shift. Some of them work the third shift. Some of them sleep during the day. It was discussed that there'll be weekend boarding. That's when most of the weekend boarding will happen. That's when everyone's home. That's when you expect peace and quiet around the clock. That's when our construction companies don't operate. Furthermore, having a proximity to construction companies It's been discussed like we're building buildings at our facilities. We leave at 7 and come back at 5, unless there's a snow emergency in which we have to start our vehicles to come up here so that school opens the next day. Construction doesn't happen in the location of the construction facility. The only construction that's happening now could be addressed by the party that was here initially, because they're rebuilding Meadow Glen Mall. constant noise from landscaping, the lawn gets cut once a week. So if you time it right, there's landscaping on Locust Street. Beyond that, that's it. All those industrial companies that are there open in the morning and close at night. They're not—Cardi isn't doing test boring in their own parking lot. They go to Winchester. They go to Burlington. They're not doing it right there. Furthermore, when we talk, I am not a dog turf expert, but I'd say there are very few people who know more about digging dirt in Medford than I do, particularly in that exact proximity. Medford substrate there is clay, which is not permeable. Furthermore, the water table is down two feet. clay, Mr. President, will freeze and will not permeate. So the question of it's great that their magic carpet will permeate water, but it will not go anywhere, especially that it's not, in fact, water. Nonetheless, I can't imagine a scenario where this board can sit here and approve a business that directly impacts citizens. And especially when it's only gonna benefit such a small percentage of them. If we're saying that we live in a city of 57,000 people, if we're gonna have 50 dogs a day, five days a week, if there's turnover every day, at most they're gonna service 250 dogs. That's a minuscule percentage. And as a small just point of reference, I'm sorry if I'm off point here. The notion that this business is gonna save the city of Medford money. I contacted the animal control office. On average they spend about $2,000 a year. That is three cents per person in Medford is what we pay to house these animals. I think that is an asinine, point to make when saying this is going to be great for the city. Also, that property generates revenue as real estate tax anyway. It's not as though this business is going to dramatically change that assessment. It's already generating tax. If it's not this company that goes in there, someone else will buy it. Someone else will operate a business there. it will be improved regardless of who goes in. But I don't think it's fair to punish the residents there, who again, are people. They're women, they're men, they're children, they're families. They love Medford for such a small percentage of people who are gonna benefit from it. And if we take note of who came to support it, at least 10 of them aren't from Medford. So of the 50 dogs, 40 of them don't have a Medford accent. So with that, I humbly request that this board takes all that into consideration and says no to this permit. Thank you very much.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Does anyone else have to speak?
[Jean Nuzzo]: I'm sorry, another busy night for me.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[Jean Nuzzo]: Gene Yuzo, 35 Parris Street. I have to say, when the night first began, that I was skeptical and thought that this was a really bad idea. I did. Simply because it abuts a property that's a residential property, and I think that, as others have said, it is important that you have quiet enjoyment of your premises. But then I watched the presentation, and the details of construction. The fact that they're going to have double walls of fencing that have insulation between them to help buffer the sound of the dogs. The fact that they're going to have the largest trees they possibly can install in the back to create a barrier that separates that residential unit from the new property that they're looking to put. And the fact that they're going to also do insulation internally and do some traffic control with the animals. And to me, it seems that of all of the different presentations I've seen over the past few years, for businesses and residents and various developments, that aside from one other that I can think of, this one has been very thoughtfully put together. And so, I would say at this juncture, I'm leaning more towards looking at the fact that it's an industrial place They're looking to use it in an industrial or commercial use, which is what it's intended for, and we can look to find a way to work with them together as a business that isn't a negative or net negative solution as residential units tend to be because it costs more to educate. children in those apartments than it does for a commercial property to run. We need a delicate balance between. And this group of individuals are coming to the city of Medford because they see that as an opportunity. And we have other things that are looking to go on Locust Street that we say shouldn't be there because Locust Street is industrial. We've got a bit of a mixed message going on here. I would think that, you know, if it's the overnight issue that's truly the issue, it's a nominal amount of the business for this group of people, perhaps they would be willing to rethink that. And although it's a million dollar investment, I'm sure that a gradual increase, not 100 dogs, not 50 right away, but maybe you look at 25 or 30, and you revisit it in three or six months for that additional 25 or 30. It's a give and take. There has to be a compromise. And I feel like there could be a compromise to be reached here. And I hope that you guys consider that. And with that said, if we can find a middle ground, I would think that it would be a great thing for the city of Medford.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_30]: Patty Flynn, 139 Grand Ave, Bedford, Mass. I wasn't going to speak. I'll make it brief. I think if I, first, if I was a resident, I keep hearing about the residents of Linden Street. I don't see them. Where are they? If they're so opposed to it.
[Richard Caraviello]: The gentleman just left.
[SPEAKER_30]: He's on Locust Street, and he can't hear. I'm sorry, but where are the residents that are opposing them? Huh? Where are they? If it was me and I was bothered by something that was going to move next to me, I'd be here. I've said my piece. I think we need businesses in Medford, and I think it'd be a disservice not to grant it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Point of information, Mr. President. Point of information, Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Just to address that constituent, I did receive phone calls and emails from people from Linden and Locust Street. So, just like I received messages from the outside, so I think that we're, you know, they've sent their message to the people they elected to make sure that we understand where they stand. I appreciate everybody that came out tonight, so thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_40]: Carla LoQuante, 49 Lorena Road. What city do you live in? Winchester, Mass. Thank you. And I have been grateful and customers of Michelle and Nick for a few years. I have been in business for 27 years and I have been a resident of Mass and my parents are still residents and we're dog lovers. From where I sit, we are in Forget Medford, forget Winchester, forget Malden, forget Lynn. We are in America, and we are here to make a living. They want to make a beautiful facility, state of the art. They're crossing their T's, they're dotting their I's, they're coming before you humbled and asking. Please let us run a business. We will do what you want us to do. What is wrong with that? Every other business has to start somewhere. Like I said, I started 27 years ago. I can't believe the past six months it's been this much angst and dialogue over creating something that is legal and necessary for young people, young people that I'm not, coming into Medford for beautiful property, beautiful condos, through realtors. I would think a service business makes complete sense.
[Adam Knight]: Point of information, Mr. President? Point of information, Councilor Knighton. I don't think it's the nature of the business that's anybody's concern. It is the very nature. No, it's the location. It's not the nature, it's the location of the business.
[SPEAKER_40]: As was spoken earlier, sir.
[Adam Knight]: That's why it's required to go through a special permitting process.
[SPEAKER_40]: And I understand that, and that's what they're doing here, and I completely understand that. I respect, I understand you. But they have showed you. They have looked, and they're still looking. This is the perfect location, real estate is what is available at the time. And this is where they are.
[Adam Knight]: Right, it's a perfect location for them to operate a business that they're proposing and they're coming before the council and they're asking us whether or not we feel it's a perfect location.
[SPEAKER_40]: But it is a perfect location.
[SPEAKER_48]: In your opinion.
[SPEAKER_40]: That's it. Thank you. I hope you vote for them because if you don't, I think that's a very sad day in Medford.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much.
[SPEAKER_40]: For business.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much. Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_35]: I'm Mary Ellen Daugherty. I live at 173 Wilburn Street in Medford. I failed to pass these to you. These are... Larry will take care of them. I just want to say really briefly that the reason that this kind of facility is so difficult to place is because it's not neighborhood friendly. It's not people friendly. So it has a hard time finding a home. So that's all I have to say.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Good evening, name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_09]: Charlene Duffy Saulnier, 14 Tontine Street in West Medford. So, this is my first city council meeting. I've been in Medford all my life, and I should have been here before. But I actually am the administrator for the Middlesex Fells Reservation Dog Owners Group. I am also one of the Martab board members. We advise the governor about how to use money for trails for DCR. I'm not representing either of those institutions when I sit here tonight. I have to say that when I first met Michelle and Nick, I was introduced to them by some dog lovers who had done a lot of work in the Medford community. And I was very excited because I think if you look at the fact that if there are 57,000 of us and 10,000 of us are dog owners, then obviously that's a big percentage of the population. And I do think that Medford could use, we could do to be more dog friendly because so many of our citizens own dogs. I also think that they did an amazing presentation and that they put in a lot of effort to their presentation. But I have to say, from the perspective of, you know, Fels Dog, the Fels Dog group, which I'm co-administering, we started with about 20 members, and in the time that I've been running it, we're up to about 750. And so it's a pretty active group, you know, they try to keep the Fels clean, they do a lot of educating and things like that. And I was frantically at work one day when I got a lot of phone calls and texts saying that some pretty bad things had happened to a few of the dog walkers in Medford. And the gist of it was that some people in Medford had extended a hand and said, let us tell you what the story is about local business. they actually offered their services to help these folks get moving forward, and then found their names on a list that went to the dog officer. So, you know, I honestly can't, I can only say that all of the parties involved have confirmed to me that that's exactly what happened. I had an hour and a half long conference call with Dogs for Days and they never once said they didn't do it. I know they started their presentation tonight by saying that they wish that they had not done that. I don't think that's good behavior. I don't think it's the behavior that you look for in a business. But conversely, I can't honestly sit here and say, no, I don't think they should be here. I should hope that they learned from what happened. And I should hope that they would honor the people that are here, rather than, you know, try to push them aside. Because despite what the other gal said, I don't think that there's so many dogs in Medford. I don't think there's going to be that much competition. I think there's plenty of business for everybody. But I do really believe that it's a business that we need. It's a really good business model. And if run appropriately, I think it would be helpful for the city. So that's pretty much what I have to say.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do we have any further discussion?
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm going to read you a letter from Shipley Mason, Vice President of Century Bank.
[Richard Caraviello]: We all have that letter.
[SPEAKER_02]: Oh, I'd like to read it so everybody can hear. I believe it was emailed to all of you today. July 18, 2017. Dear Councilors of the City of Medford, Mass. You will be deciding on whether to grant a special permit to Dogs for Days LLC to allow them to open up their doggie daycare business at 29 Linden Street, Medford, Mass., this evening. As a senior vice president at Century Bank who has funded several of these types of ventures in the past, I can assure you that this business model will bring both benefits and revenue to the City of Medford. The common dog in Everett, which Century Bank also funded, would be a good model for you to compare this with. The city of Medford has developed a lot of residential apartments and condos in the past year, and people need an outlet for their pets in the city rather than going to another town. Moreover, upscale tenants and buyers, the people who are choosing to move here, are expecting this type of amenity to be available in their city. I'm sorry that I am not available to attend the special permit hearing tonight in person, as I am leaving for vacation this afternoon with my family. However, if you have any questions about the amount of revenue or other benefits this type of venture will bring to the city, please do not hesitate to reach me. He has his phone number. I have met with Michelle Legler from Dogs for Days personally, and I believe she will be a smart, hardworking business owner who will benefit the community. I am hoping that everyone in the City Council can see that this business will meet a growing demand for services from both the existing and many of the City's new residents. Sincerely, Shipley C. Mason, Senior Vice President, Central Bank. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[Heather]: Okay. For those of you who don't know me, Heather Champney Anderson. I live at 102 Brooks Street in Medford, and I did not come here tonight for this particular discussion. But what has distressed me as I sit and listen to this is that I am totally confused. First of all, I've heard almost every one of you speak specifically to encouraging and developing more business, new business, and small business in Medford on more than one occasion. In fact, many of your platforms have been based upon this. At the same time, I have been very active in the last 35 years in the community around a number of activities where citizens have come forward concerned about their neighborhoods, concerned about changes within their neighborhoods, concerned about things much worse than noise in their neighborhoods. And quite honestly, they have not found satisfaction with the council or some of its decisions. I have observed over 35 years that it does seem that there has been, and I'm not speaking to you as individuals now, because it's 35 years and some of you probably weren't even out of school. I am concerned, of course you were one of those. that I am concerned that the rules don't apply equally and evenly to everyone. We would not even be having this discussion had there not been a change to the industrial zoning approval in the first place. So I'm having great difficulty in understanding why rules apply to certain individuals in the community or certain businesses in the community and not necessarily do the rules apply to others. I think it's, I understand what a difficult position it is for all of you to have constituents who are calling, who are saying, not in my backyard, don't make noise here. But I know that you've all had this before. It is time to move Medford forward in a new direction, not to play the same 35-year-old politics that we've been hearing, and to please, let's apply rules evenly, let's not search desperately for there's going to be four ounces extra P here and, you know, two pounds of whatever here. These are people who have clearly brought forward a business plan, which in my opinion and experience is way more sophisticated than many of the business plans that have been brought before you. So I'm here speaking as a citizen just concerned about what I hear and what I've seen over 35 years and really excited by the possibility of what I felt was happening in the city that we were actually moving forward looking at what was going to happen in the city now and in the future and not just consistently responding to certain issues in certain ways. And I am really tired of the These of us who are Medford versus the rest of the world, the bottom line is you're selling your properties in this community to people who have not been born here at greatly inflated prices. People are making money all over the place. It is time to stop. And I have to ask the question. Is this property eventually becoming more valuable for more development? And I don't mean development of an industrial nature. People have already been making, many developers have come in who are not Medford residents and who have made bucks off all of us all and the rest of us in those communities and those neighborhoods have been impacted and not always in a positive way. Can't we please move forward? This is an industrial area. This is a legitimate business. These are people. I don't care about the competitive issue. I mean, competition is competition. We have pet walkers and people who board animals in their home in our neighborhood over in West Medford. They do not have any licenses. No one has asked us about the barking, et cetera. No one has complained. I think there is room for a formal business, a big business of this sort, as well as for the small businesses. But my bottom line is my concern is where is this council and where is the future of Medford going, and are we going to treat all people in a way that is fair and equal? Thank you. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do we have any further discussion?
[sBk_gQcj4fU_SPEAKER_04]: I'm Mike Lewis, 133 Pyramid Road, Medford, Mass. I'm a commissioner for the Medford Housing Authority on the CPC as well. I'm a dog owner. I have two dogs. I love them to death. I'm just here, I would support these residents, because if it's not this place, it's going to be where the housing authority is. That's where they typically put these types of businesses. I'm here to support those residents, even if they're not particularly here. The amount of noise, just because there's construction there, doesn't mean you add on additional 30, 40, 50 dogs. In addition, like the gentleman previously said, those construction companies, they shut down at night. Overnight dogs, if anyone had dogs near them during the Fourth of July, the fireworks, those dogs go nuts. I mean, my own do. So I just think it's just, I think the business plan is great. I think they did a fantastic job. I just don't think the area's right. In addition, I would say my dog walker called me in tears about fictitious claims made to the dog officer. So this company that wants to come in and do all these great things, they're going to bad mouth all the current businesses in Medford. and bring some bad publicity to them. To me, that's just not the right foot you want to make coming to the city. So it's disconcerting that they're saying, oh, we're professional, we do this, we do that, oh, look at this turf, we got all this stuff. Yet we're going to make false claims and waste the city resources of the dog officer and make false claims about the businesses that have been in Medford for a number of years.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak?
[SPEAKER_04]: I know everyone's tired and wanna go home, but I just wanna speak on behalf of Nick and Michelle, and I'm in Winchester right now, but I lived in Medford for two years and Somerville for one. I love this city, I know this city. I work at Tufts University. My mom's a high school teacher at Medford High. I think that this is a great opportunity for this town. I think that whatever concerns you guys have, I think as far as parking goes and other residents, I'm sure they can figure it out and work with the city. Maybe they'll have an off-site lot and they'll have you guys book them in. bring people in. As far as the residents go, I don't think they'll have, like he said, there was a dog barking there for 45 minutes. If no one complained about that, I don't think it's a huge issue. Also, they said they were gonna shut down at 6 p.m., the same as the construction company, and all the dogs will go inside, they'll do individual walks outside. I think that's fair, and they said, what is it, one for soundproofing? He'll be a level one. I don't think anyone will hear that. I really, truly don't. I mean, that plan looks solid. It looks on point. Also, to their character, I think they are just amazing people. I had a dog that was super leash aggressive, and I asked Nick to take care of her and try to train her. didn't charge me any extra just for the love and the passion this is their passion and she's amazing now i can take her anywhere do anything with her she's an amazing dog i don't think that i think that they are solid people this is their passion they're here to create business for the city and to bring a great aspect to the city and i think that they're willing to work with you guys in the city and everyone else around them, because this is their passion project. This is what they want to do. This is what they want to bring to the city. And I just think that we should be in support of them. That's all.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Any further discussion? Questions? Any questions?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. I appreciate everybody coming and letting us know where you stand. I would love to see some compromise. I don't know how the council stands. I'm not sure if the votes are there or not, but have you created different financial models to potentially not do overnights and close at six o'clock, or not take 50 dogs at first. We have granted special permits for, with six month reviews, with a year review, and I, not that we can do that to you, I know you probably invested not just one million on the building, but additional money. And it's hard to negotiate tonight, because we don't, we have the land owners there, but we don't have the residents that live there. and I'll speak personally, that I like to hear from residents who are going to be affected by certain projects because they come first, but at the same time they're not here. So I just wanted to maybe ask you if you can speak to that. Is there any wiggle room, maybe a little negotiation we can
[SPEAKER_26]: Absolutely. So thank you for the question. Let me address first the residents. So we actually did go down Linden Street and speak to the residents of actually Linden Street. I do speak Spanish in addition to English and we spoke to several people that spoke in English and Spanish and our concerns were that we heard was we have a dog, it's not a problem. We also spoke with Cardi and they did not have a concern as well too. In fact, they encouraged us, wished us best of luck, gave us a handshake and said, you know, we hope to have you as neighbors here. So we did speak quite a bit to the actual Linden Street residents. As far as compromise, absolutely. As Nick and I have said numerous times, we're really here to build a business and to work with the city of Medford. So this much talked about email, which we do have copies here for you. As Brianna you were actually copying on it. You do know that we actually inquired If we could look at would we need a permit for just doing daycare or do you need a permit solely just for doing for boarding and the response was you need a permit for Whether you do daycare or boarding, there absolutely was no difference. So from a business model perspective, yes, I have sat down. I do actually have another bank here as well. Brookline Bank, Century Bank, and Eastern Bank have all worked revenue models with me. And so the boarding, as I mentioned before, is not a substantial portion of our business, so we would be willing to look at different revenue models. However, having said that, according from VIVUSA, we would still require the same permit. There would be absolutely no difference in that.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So, what are the models that you've approved?
[SPEAKER_26]: Removing boarding. We would look at removing overnight boarding, but the permit, the way that the city ordinances are for Medford, the permit is the same whether we offer it or not. So, if you do a daycare in the city of Medford, you do require a special permit.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And then, I guess my other concern would be an irrigation system or some sort of, I mean, have you priced any of those?
[SPEAKER_26]: Yes, I actually tried to speak to a construction company that is here that actually specializes in that and they were not interested in further conversations with us. So we would like to explore that model further to try and figure out what we really would like to do is work with local Medford companies. and have those companies. Right now, I know there was a lot of discussions about our street, and so our neighbor across the street is a 24-hour towing company. We had tried to talk with him about who does he use, how does he work with traffic, DPW, next door. Everybody we have worked with has been tried to local, so we would like the local sewage experts, who I believe are CJ Doherty Construction, they specialize in this. We actually would like to work with them and make sure that we have the proper sewage for our building.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I guess to ask the building owner, would closing at five or six change the scenario at all?
[SPEAKER_10]: No, there's no scenario. This is a Pandora's box scenario. Can I speak for you? Yep.
[Caraviello]: Come to the podium, please.
[SPEAKER_10]: So, from our perspective, as CJ had already incorporated, runoff from a dog waste facility is not sewerage. It's a whole other matter. We wouldn't just come up with a plan, you'd need an engineer. Beyond that, from a compromise standpoint of whether or not any of the real estate LLCs would find a way to negotiate this working. The answer is no. There is no scenario, this is not a Pandora's box situation, where they've openly said we're doing half of what the EPA or the ASPCA recommends. I don't think any reasonable person In their scenario, if business is booming like they anticipate, will not slowly escalate beyond that. This is a scenario, once the door is opened and we unleash the dogs, they're not going back in. This is a permanent decision where they will have an ongoing business in a neighborhood with residents, whether it's overwhelmingly zoned otherwise. There are residents on Linden, there are residents on Locust Street, many of whom have signed the petition that was handed to you earlier. A letter from one resident on Linden included, who couldn't attend because she works. There's no scenario in which this moves forward. that it doesn't become an ongoing problem. When Michelle visited my office and we spoke outside, she had said to me, it's overwhelmingly supported by our neighbors, most of whom close their doors and go home at five or seven. She also stated that the number one complaint of apartment owners and developers in the city was dogs barking. And I had stated to her at that time, that's interesting because we do not allow dogs because in an apartment environment, they're a nuisance. So now under her proposal, we're solving other people's problems by creating one in a new area. And you have to acknowledge that the dog across the street that barks for 45 minutes will incite your dogs to bark all day. Anyone who has a dog has heard their dog bark and then a crescendo across the neighborhood. And that goes around and around. So for us to think this is a problem solely on Linden and Locust is foolish. This is a situation where once one dog goes, there's nothing stopping it from being 125. And again, for our residents, who I'm representing, that's non-starter. You can't allow that. So if they get the permit and they choose to hire us, we need to get a design. But no, there's no variation of this proposal that we can be okay with. And there's no, that's it. That's it.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: My only comment to that is when you say it's a permit and if they get it, they'll just expand. We as a council can put restrictions on that permit.
[SPEAKER_10]: Sure, but if I tried to talk to you right now and I had put my phone down on a YouTube sound of dogs barking, it's only two dogs, but you and I wouldn't be able to communicate. Whether it's 50 dogs or 100 dogs, once it starts, once they're there, The people who live on Linden Ave, who I realize aren't necessarily here, most of them speak Spanish. They may not be legal citizens. They may not feel comfortable coming here. I'm here. I'm speaking for them. It's a problem. There's still people, there's still residents, there's still our neighbors. The dogs aren't. There are other facilities, there are facilities in Malden, there are facilities all over. Do a Google search of doggie daycare. The map is pretty full. It doesn't have to be right here. That's it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Any further discussion?
[Jean Nuzzo]: I only have one last thought to add. We can either talk tonight about some type of special variance for dogs, or we'll be at the ZBA in a couple of months talking about another 10 story building.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Do we have any further discussion? Any more questions? No. You've already spoken twice on this matter, and that's the, we said at the beginning that that would be limited to two times. Do we have any further discussion on this matter? Motion in the debate, Mr. President. We have a motion on the table.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I mean, between the council. Yeah, we need to discuss it.
[Richard Caraviello]: There's a motion on the table to approve the permit.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Who put that motion forward?
[Richard Caraviello]: We're looking for one. Do we have any further discussion amongst the council? Move for approval, Mr. President. Motion by Councilor Knight for approval. Second. Do you have any concerns, Councilwoman? Any further questions?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I still do have a concern about the irrigation portion, and it is being explored, so whether that means we wait till we get, I mean, that's one of the, putting restrictions and an irrigation system are two things that I think need to be discussed amongst the council.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion for approval, Mr. President. I'm open to discussion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: What's the discussion, Mr. President?
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn has concerns about the irrigation system that is in place on the property there.
[SPEAKER_50]: What does she propose, Mr. President?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Just a lot has been discussed. I hear that there's potential clay. We hear the rock versus the grass.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I'm sure there is clay, Mr. President, if I might throw the chair. There's clay everywhere in that area. See, there is clay everywhere. My building is atop a bed of clay that wobbles and shakes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: But 50 dogs may not be peeing on your property.
[Fred Dello Russo]: They do not. I have about five or six that pee there regularly, Madam Councilor, along with the rabbits and squirrels that I mentioned earlier.
[Adam Knight]: Move the question, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Knight. Second by Councilor Dello Russo. As everyone knows, this is a special permit, and it does require five votes for approval. Mr. Clerk, please call.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: If I may. I don't believe I'm ready to vote on it unless I get an irrigation system. And we discuss reducing the hours, especially at first. Like it's been said, there's 57 units abutting the property.
[Richard Caraviello]: I'm awaiting a motion here. Motion on the table. Motion on the table. It's been seconded. Call the roll. It's been seconded. Call the roll. If you have any further discussion, now is the time.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President. Vice President Mox. Thank you Mr. President. I've been on the council a number of years and I've been through the building of new schools. which was a contentious issue, taking neighborhood schools and making centralized schools. I've been through issues relative to building a new police station, a new DPW, you know, and the list goes on and on. And I can honestly tell you, this issue, in my opinion, has taken a life of its own. And, you know, having the foresight of prior votes. I recall back, I don't know, maybe 10 years ago now, and I think Councilor Longo was on the council at the time with me, that we took a vote as a council to not approve a tattoo parlor that wanted to come into Forest Street in Method Square. And people might say, what is he talking about? This has some relevance. At the time, we were looking at revitalizing the square. And there was a lot of discussion about putting lucky tattoos on Forest Street, across from Chevalier, right next to a dialys center and so forth. Right across from the Method Y Boys and Girls Club. And at the time, I was one member, and we voted it down, Mr. President. And I don't know if you recall this or not. We did not give an adequate enough reason for voting down a special permit. And sure enough, the petitioner took us to court. and won a financial settlement in court because we didn't provide enough information on why we were against something that was legally zoned and, you know, there was no reason why We didn't vote to put it there, more or less. And the only reason why I bring that up, Mr. President, is, you know, I live the closest to that. I live on Wellington Road, right off of Riverside Ave. I come out on my street, and I can be at that location in five minutes by walk. And originally, and I've always taken this course of action, is that the neighborhood comes first. You know, if there's people there, residents, I want to hear from them, they come first. And with that being said, I am comfortable right now with the fact that many of the issues that I think were going to be potential issues, like we had with the building of the new dog park, noise, smell, you name it, seem to be addressed. Are they addressed 110%? Absolutely not. But they seem to be addressed. And as Councilor Lungo-Koehn mentioned, we always like to look for compromise, and I thought that was a good compromise, maybe removing the overnight boarding, or add some other stipulations, which we can do by right, on a special permit. And it is enforceable. And we can call back any special permit if they don't adhere to it. So based on the information that we were presented tonight, based on the fact that there is a need in the community, in my opinion, based on the fact that I believe, and I know there was some contentious stuff going back and forth, I think there's enough business, as was mentioned, in the community to not only accommodate a dog for days, but every other dog business in the community that does dog walking or so forth. Based on that knowledge that I have and the fact that I believe this could work. Mr. President in that area I will support that tonight and Like I said, it's it's not an easy issue At the beginning they were talking about a yappy hour and I think this council will need a yappy hour and after we take a vote on this tonight, because it did come to a contentious way. And I've known the Daugherties for a lot of years. They're good people. They're good business owners. I know a lot of the people that are opposed, a lot of people in favor. And in my opinion, I have to do what my heart tells me. And my heart's telling me, what right do we have to keep them out? I realize there's residents there. It's zoned for it. Is there a need in the community? If this was servicing everyone from Winchester and no method people, I'd say, you know what? Winchester, you don't want a CVS? We'll give you a dog. We'll give you, you can take a dog kennel. But that's not the case, Mr. President. This is going to service many, many Medford residents, and I think it can be done in a fashion that will be amendable to the abutters, which we always want to make sure the abutters are on notice. So for those reasons, Mr. President, I will support this petition today.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just, you know, this is, I do not question the presentation. The presentation was great. What I do question, since I've been on the council for almost two years now, a very important topic that we've been talking about probably on a weekly basis, that's zoning. And people that have come up in support of this. were the same people that helped us see the negative impact of negative zoning and how one project can negatively affect a neighborhood or people in those neighborhoods. I made a decision then that I would make sure that I do my due diligence when it comes to my vote. I visited a county and I appreciate the due diligence, The smell and the noise that I heard, and that was 11.30 in the afternoon, personally that I saw, whether it's not their daycare, whether it isn't their daycare, from what I've witnessed, my opinion, and listening to the residents of Locust Street, not the Doherty's, the residents that live in there, that have repeatedly told me This isn't a dog-friendly unit. We don't allow dogs, we don't want dogs in here, and that's why they rent there. And talking to Linden residents that have the same concerns and same issues. So, way back when we decided to sue our own zoning board to protect the residents in that neighborhood, and now sitting before us, a situation that I have to put a vote on? that affects residents of our community, that I don't care if it's, the boarding issue doesn't bother me. During the day, that the residents that called me and talked to me, that talked about the noise of possibly 50 dogs in one area, I don't care what fencing, what proofing they have, my expertise of a dog owner, they get loud. And from what my experts telling me in my field that I work with turf specialists, whatever the turf specialist says, there isn't a turf out there that will mask the odor of 50 dogs laying their scent down during a hot summer day. So I did my homework. It's funny because I get angry with residents who come up here and point their finger and say, shame on you, we want to move Medford forward. So do we, but at what cost? At what cost? Because if it was my neighborhood, I'll speak open. I wouldn't want it, because it'll affect my neighborhood. So I will not support this. And I apologize because I think it's a great plan, but for that area and for what I've seen, I just don't, I can't support it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Belco?
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank everybody for coming down. No matter what side you are on tonight, it's always good to see civic participation and people coming just to, you know, let us know how you feel, for or against. And this is a rather, it's a very interesting issue. And it's one that, you know, I feel, I felt torn about. I mean, it's, I'm a dog owner. I own a beagle hound. I love him. He's part of the family. My kids love him, and he's a great dog. And I love the passion that you bring to this tonight. Your maps, your sketches, I mean, you've obviously done your research. And you can tell you're passionate about this, and that's very impressive. And I come back to also saying, this is a great idea. This is, it's an idea I think that, yes, Medford could use, but I'm torn on the location. I really am, because I do see that, you know, although it's an industrial zone, you have apartment buildings there, you have homes, and that's the part that really, really, I struggle with, because I know, For example, I know this year we've had neighborhood meetings, police meetings in each of the neighborhoods. And as we've gone through neighborhood to neighborhood, people really care about their neighborhood and really care what happens in their neighborhood. And I have received phone calls and emails on this as well, both for and against. You know, so I really do struggle with this decision, but at the end, you know, for me it comes down to the neighborhood. And it comes down to, you know, is this going to have a positive or negative impact on, you know, I don't want to say the quality of life, but it does to some point. I mean, because if you're hearing barking all the time. I know my dog, I mean, he's part hound. When he starts going, he's barking and it can definitely be disruptive. When I hear 50 dogs, at the end of the day, 50 dogs is 50 dogs. And if they're kind of all going at the same time, that's going to be loud, inside or outside. You know, I love that you're passionate about this, but I think it's a great idea, I just think it's a bad location, and that's what it comes down to me. And I do love the idea. I wish it was a place where there was just no apartment buildings and there were no homes that were near this. Because I do think it's a great idea. And I think it's something that the city could use. And I honestly do struggle with this. I know I've talked to you both about this. But at the end of the day, to me it's the neighborhoods and to have this, even though it's an industrial neighborhood, in many ways, because there are apartment buildings there and there are homes there, in many ways it's kind of like a residential neighborhood. And getting back to the other argument of zoning, zoning needs to be looked at. We've talked about this many times. Zoning has not been looked at in this city in 50 years and it needs to be addressed. So I cannot support this.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And I'll give my last two cents here, but I've been a dog owner almost my whole life. I still have a dog. I share the same concerns with Councilor Falco, that this is a neighborhood thing. If this was one street over, I don't think I'd ever, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I know exactly where the Common Dog is, and I know, again, that's a, there are no houses over there, and for those of you who don't know, many of you know Larry White. It's about 100 yards from Larry White's building off the parkway in Everett. I know exactly where it is. Again, if this was on Hall Street, where there are no homes or commercial street without no homes, I wouldn't have a problem with either. But where there are homes in the front and the back of you, I do have a problem with that because the neighbors are what count in the city. I'm on the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. What's the motion? For the permit.
[Michael Marks]: Okay, I thought there was a motion for approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor, it is. Councilor Knight made a motion for approval. For approval. Yes.
[Clerk]: Okay. Councilor Dello Russo?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Falco? No. Councilor Knight? No. Councilor Long-Term? No. Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? No. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: No. Two in the affirmative, five in the negative, motion fails. I have reasons. Do you want them now?
[SPEAKER_50]: Motion for a brief recess, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Dela Ruzzo for a five-minute recess. I have my reasons whenever you want them. Motion to revert back to regular business. All right, what do we got left here? We got that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that. 17568, offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council to send the deepest and sincere condolences to the family of Honorable Judge Lee Johnson on his recent passage. Judge Johnson was appointed to the District Court in September 2001 by then acting Governor Jane Swift and was appointed first justice in the Malden District Court where he served with distinction until he retired in 2016. He was the first African American to serve in that position at the court. His tenure as first justice was the longest duration in the history of the Marlins District Court. For over 10 years, Judge Johnson was instrumental in the successful probation of the drug court session that empowered many defendants to leave productive drug-free lives. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I think that the resolution sums itself up. Judge Lee Johnson passed away recently. He was a great, great public servant, a great person, and a great individual, Mr. President. He went above and beyond the call of duty. to provide for his constituencies. As the first justice of the Malden District Court, he did an excellent thing in implementing drug court, Mr. President, and instead of putting individuals in the system, he got them assistance and treatment. And I think that's a compassionate and humane way of going about things, and it's become the norm, Mr. President. So I'd like to extend our deepest and sincere condolences to the family of Lee Johnson, a longtime Medford resident, on his recent passing.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And before we do that, we have one other one offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council extend its deep and sincere condolences to the family of Rosemary Alfie on her recent passing. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. It's ironic that we're here this evening having our meeting in Medford High School because this is where I first met Rosemary Alfie when she was Mr. Maskell's administrative assistant, as Mr. Maskell was the submaster and Ms. Alfie worked there on the second floor of the B building. She recently passed away unexpectedly at age 85, and I just want to say that she was someone that made my days in high school a little bit brighter every day that I came to school and I got to see her face. She was certainly someone that made my day a little bit easier and made things go a lot smoother for me in high school. So I'm very, very grateful to have her as a friend. And I'm very, very sad that she is gone. And she will be sadly missed. I ask my council colleagues to join me.
[Richard Caraviello]: Please rise for a moment of silence. I must suspend the rules, take papers in the hands of the clerk, Mr. President. Motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Okay. We have communications from the Mayor. I'm sorry, you want to take the end?
[SPEAKER_48]: No, communicate, that's what I meant. I'm sorry.
[Richard Caraviello]: Communications from the mayor. 17577, dear Mr. President, city council, I respectfully request and recommend that your honorable body approve the following home rule petition. Oh no, I'm sorry, we already did that, I apologize. We skipped around so many, I don't know what I'm doing anymore. Yeah, that was a long time ago. Yeah, that was a long time ago. Let me see, hold on. Mr. President and City Council, I respectfully request— Mr. President, motion to waive the reading and have a brief synopsis done by the financial director. Motion by Councilor Knights, seconded by Councilor De La Ruza. All those in favor, aye. Motion passes. Brief synopsis by the City Treasurer.
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: Thank you. This is a very straightforward $2,075,000 loan through the MWRA. It's a 10-year loan at 0% interest, and it's for an engineering project, and our city engineer, Cassandra Kunalitis, is here with me tonight, and she'll be able to answer all the specifics with regard to the project itself.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you. Finance question, Mr. President? Councilor Knight. Ms. Zerwan, can you explain what impact this is going to have, if appropriated this evening, on the schedule of bonded indebtedness and the plans to hopefully construct a new police station and fire station?
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: There's no impact on that whatsoever. This is a 0% loan, and the loan payments will be paid through retained earnings.
[Adam Knight]: So zero impact on our ability to bond in the future. We're still on the same track as we were. And what was that last part I missed, I'm sorry?
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: The loan payments will be paid through retained earnings.
[Adam Knight]: Retained earnings, okay, excellent. Thank you very much, I appreciate it.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Any further questions for the treasurer? If we could have the city engineer speak on this.
[SPEAKER_39]: Good evening, or should I say good morning? So the last time I was here for a loan through the MWRA was 2013. And we come back again because there are a number of infrastructure projects for water. that need to be done, some in advance of roadway work, such as Grove Street and Evans Street, and others that are necessary for reasons of large leak history, you know, tuberculation, reduced volume, reduced pressure for firefighting, and seeking improved water quality. The handout that you have tonight represents a summary of work that was issued for a contract for bids a three-year contract that is about to be awarded to a company called Joseph P. Cardello and Son, should you approve the application that's before you. There is also some money left over in the MWRA account that will be applied to some projects that we have. in anticipation. Like I said before, Evans Street and Grove Street, there's a project on Mystic Valley Parkway to clean and line a pipe that is needed to provide improved flow to the local street area and to Wellington. So that's the piece of it. In the loan application, there is also a funding request for a hydraulic model citywide. It's time that the city did something like that. It's been several years. In fact, as long as I've worked here, there has been no citywide hydraulic model. There's just been site-specific hydraulic models done, and the authority very much recommends that you undertake one. We're also requesting $200,000 for the change out of privately owned led services. This would be something that we're going to view as a pilot program. We're anticipating issuing a extra work order with the contractor and we're going to look at lines that are led Line lead services on the public side and try to change out the private side as well the logistics for the Payment from the customer. I believe it's a reimbursement or a pass-through that would be worked out with the city administration There's going to be a mechanism for doing that. But right now we start with 200,000. I know you're familiar that there's a loan program That's a hundred million dollars. The authority has said that that is a safe and potentially endless supply of money should we need in the future And we are, in the meantime, doing an inventory of private side lead lines to the best of our ability, and we'll be conducting some surveys in the future to see if those people still have lead services. And I'm happy to answer questions.
[George Scarpelli]: Councilor Scott Belli. If I can, just again, I hate to keep hopping on it, but Evans Street and Parra Street, is that on?
[SPEAKER_39]: Yes, that's in here. Evans is probably the first street they'll undertake, Evans and Grove. Now, Parris Street, we have to bundle that as part of a Chapter 90 project, so it's not just the water, but it's also the construction of the road. But getting the water done, getting the water funding is the first step.
[George Scarpelli]: So how long before that project? Because I've been telling the people that it's any date, and this is... I have a bid opening tomorrow. We have a bid opening tomorrow for complete streets So what we're doing with complete streets is potentially funding. I
[SPEAKER_39]: It was a $400,000 grant, as you all are familiar with, but the scope has changed and gotten better, so the actual budget is higher. The idea is that we're gonna supplement that money with Chapter 90 money, which will tell us how much we have left over to fund Paris and Pinkham Streets. So it could be a fall bid, or it could be a spring bid. I don't know.
[George Scarpelli]: I don't know. My irritation is bad. This was supposed to be done years ago. The water lines were changed out. They were supposed to come in the next spring. Residents, I talked to every day. And then it was said that we're gonna do it recently, then it was gonna be done by the spring. And I was saying probably not the fall. So I just have to know, if you can just get back to me, just let me know. If it's not till next year, somebody just tell me that I can tell these residents that it's not next year because this is what makes us look bad as a community. When we sit there and we're told what we're supposed to be doing and it comes back and we get, you know, again, it's not ready yet. So, thank you.
[SPEAKER_39]: Well, just to clarify, the gas needs were done, not the water lines.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, but the street was supposed to be done two years ago. That's what they told me. So, I think they told us. Maybe I'm wrong.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. So I know Councilor Schapiro just asked about Evans and Paris, and I'm just a little confused. So where are we exactly on Evans again?
[SPEAKER_39]: This loan application and the contract we issued, and also we did have a waterworks contract that went out last year, and the contractor walked away. So last year we were supposed to get Evans Street done. but because there was a lag of more than 90 days in awarding the contract, the contractor did not have to take the project.
[Adam Knight]: When did the contract ago?
[SPEAKER_39]: Where did the contractor go? He went in late fall, actually. He declined to take the project. He agreed to take it, he said he would do it, and then we couldn't reach him to schedule anything or to have him sign any of the contract language. We wrote to him, we gave him a drop-dead date to respond to us. When he did not respond, we knew that we had to put the project out to bid again. So this project was rebid from last year's. And because of staffing changes, there was a lag period in which he had the ability to walk away from it.
[Adam Knight]: Was any of that information shared with us?
[SPEAKER_39]: I believe so.
[Adam Knight]: I don't recall seeing it. You know, I echo Councilor Scarpelli's sentiment on Evans Street. This needs to get done. It's been something we've been beating our chests about now since November. You know, it's almost been a year. Even longer. Even longer. So with that being said, I'd like to see that get done as soon as possible. And I'd like to ask that we get quarterly reports on the status of the Evans Street paving project, Mr. President. Thank you. Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, seeing that it's past my bedtime, I'd like to move approval.
[Richard Caraviello]: Through the chair, I have questions. Councilor Lococo.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: My first question is with regard to the funding. Sorry. I'm getting it all together myself. $2,075,000, is that what we requested specifically or did we request more and not get it?
[SPEAKER_39]: No, that's what we're requesting specifically.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And so, how does the MWRA evaluate the amount you requested or was given? Because I appreciate the outline of a few streets that are going to get done and certain projects that are going to get done. do we have, is there anything at City Hall that outlines exactly which streets are gonna be done and how much, you know, the proposal is?
[SPEAKER_39]: Yes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So we, okay. Maybe if we, could we get a copy of that?
[Caraviello]: Would this be it?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Well, and, well, this isn't by number, I mean, because what I'm concerned with is replacement of residential lead water services with copper tubing, but one, two, and three don't, all under 1A don't list streets, so it's really, it's very good that this work's gonna get done, but as one Councilor, I would like to know where that's, how much is gonna be put towards 1, 2, and 3, and where the work is gonna be done.
[SPEAKER_39]: Under year one, it explains each street that would be worked on. Under year two, it explains each street that's programmed for year two. Under year three, and then Paris and Pinkert's a different package because that's designed already. That's already on the shelf ready to go. That's not part of this Water Works contract. So what we have is $929,000 left over from the previous borrowing. We're going to spend that money, we're going to reallocate that money. I've already talked to MWRA, they've already agreed to it. We're reallocating it to use toward these projects that are going up first. We're supplementing that $920,000 to move Grove Street up because Grove Street needs to be built. You know, we had the gas main done, and we were anticipating doing the water main. However, the contract fell apart, so we're rebidding it again this year. We're adding the hydraulic model, we're adding the lead service lines, and like I said, we're adding Paris and Pinkert because that project is designed.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Okay, so the main, the beginning of the correspondence then is further explained. Through each year?
[SPEAKER_39]: Yes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: That makes more sense.
[SPEAKER_39]: And then we can add other projects as we need to because this is not limited. This is a everything but the kitchen sink type contract that we're putting in there if we need any spot repair work, the sewer, the catch basin or anything, we can have it done. It's a good mechanism, it's a reliable contractor. We are, you know, we've checked his references, he's putting all his bonds together so as soon as we have the funding for the full three years, We're good to go.
[SPEAKER_24]: Who's the contractor?
[SPEAKER_39]: Joseph P. Caraviello and Sons. He's the lowest eligible builder.
[Richard Caraviello]: I have two questions. What is the hydraulic project?
[SPEAKER_39]: Hydraulic pressure? Yes. I'm sorry, you mean the hydraulic model?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[SPEAKER_39]: What that does is it looks at the entire city, so it takes a snapshot of where the pressure and volume problems are. We're also doing something called unidirectional flushing. This is a DPW effort, it's not really an engineering effort. I'm here representing the Department of Public Works, putting out the contract and the design on their behalf, on the water and sewer superintendents' behalf. You run a hydraulic model, to find out where your weak spots are. We did one in West Medford some years back and found out that we really needed to improve the water mains so we could have better flows and pressure. We still have a couple of projects to do there, one of them being pitcher. You know, we're raising the gallons per minute from inadequate to 1,000, 1,300, 1,500 gallons per minute. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: One other question. Cutting and patching. Are any of these streets going to be paved in full that are being done here?
[SPEAKER_39]: Well, Evans is going to be pulverized. The reason why we could not pave Evans Street before because the macadam was so big and you have to do the water mains are neck down to be about this small in diameter. So if we just paved it, we'd be digging it up promptly to repair leaks. So we're going to crush Evans. We are repaving Grove.
[Richard Caraviello]: For repavement?
[SPEAKER_39]: Not crushing, but I believe it's going to be repaved. milled and paved.
[Richard Caraviello]: Milled and paved.
[SPEAKER_39]: Yeah, and some other streets. Streets like Vista, probably not paving in full. There's a mix of different types of treatments for the road surface once we're done. Parris Street, Pinker Street, full reconstruction, sidewalks, trees, drainage.
[John Falco]: Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. If I may, with regard to the hydraulic model, so how long does that take and do the results come back to you?
[SPEAKER_39]: The results come back to us, yes. We're using some of the information that we're getting from the unidirectional flushing that's starting slowly but moving on. where the weak spots are in the city or areas that we do need to do work. So it's a month's, it's not a year's long effort, it's a month's effort. We have some good data, but we have to supplement that.
[John Falco]: So when would that begin? As far as the hydraulic model, when could we expect some sort of report back that says these are the pain points, these neighborhoods or these streets. You go up into the heights and you hear complaints all the time with regard to pressure and people not being able to take a shower or flush the toilet without losing water somewhere. It would be nice to see some sort of a report that we could get that, you know, we could just be able to identify and then, you know, I would assume when you get that report back, you come up with some sort of a plan moving forward, right?
[SPEAKER_39]: Correct. In fact, when I read the last time I did a three-year, I put together this three-year contract before we started adding streets and taking some streets out, the plan was to do Fulton Street, you know, to upgrade that line, because once you improve that line, then you're improving service to the heights. We already know, I mean, anecdotally and empirically, we know some areas that are called the spots already. a citywide sweep. And when you're asking do we have any information now, we have some results from the unidirectional flushing that took place in the Heights that we can share. Depending on when we hire somebody and we can go out for engineering services, you know, as soon as we want to, we could have results in by, I'd say, late fall and perhaps spring. You know, I'd have to talk to the consultant and see what their schedule is and what they recommend.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President? Vice President Mox. Thank you, Mr. President. And I'll be quick. The privately owned lead services, this is not the first time we've offered this. And I believe the last amount was roughly $200,000. Can you explain a little more on how it works? If I know I have a lead line that's coming into my home, what am I eligible for? Is this some type of 0 percent finance loan that I'm getting through this?
[SPEAKER_39]: Right in the past, people had to hire a contractor on their own, so the only part we took care of was the publicly owned piece, from the sidewalk to the main. But now we're saying to people, we would offer you a pass through. We're not sure of the exact mechanics just yet, but there are a few individuals that I've spoken to, and I'm sure there will be more that will come out, who would like to see some type of a program that allows them to pay over time, whether it's an attachment to their water bill, or it's broken into sections. We're flexible and neutral, I think, at this point on how it's all going to work. And then once we do know that, then we can roll that out to a larger audience and see how it works. It's the kind of project that takes more time and effort because you really have to pay attention to any disruption to somebody's property, make sure it's restored properly, make sure that you coordinate with people individually.
[Michael Marks]: I don't recall the numbers, but last I remember there were hundreds, if not maybe even thousands of lead lines still in the city, privately owned lead lines. And from what I recall, it's roughly five to six grand, and I'm not sure if that's on the city side as well as the individual homeowner. So, when we're talking 200,000, we're not talking many homes that can take advantage of this.
[SPEAKER_39]: You're correct.
[Michael Marks]: And, you know, what Fred Lasky told us a couple years back is that the MWRA provides lead-free water 30 miles to our home. And then the leaching point is the 10 feet from the street into my home where possible lead that sits in the pipe for a period of time can leach. And I find that shocking that it travels 30 miles with no lead contaminants, but it'll possibly pick up lead 10 feet from my house into my house.
[SPEAKER_39]: Or in your house, because of the solder.
[Michael Marks]: Or in the house, correct. And the fixtures. Correct. So I support that wholeheartedly. I'd like to see some figures. I don't know if it was you or Dawn Ouellette that provided the last set of figures. It was a while back. But how many lead service lines there are in the community. I think that'd be pretty interesting to find out. And maybe if, how are you gonna get this out to the public? How are they gonna be aware that this is out?
[SPEAKER_39]: Well, right now, because as you mentioned, it's not a large amount of money. We have individuals who have called in about the program. The MWRA launched it last July, so it's about a year old. And it has had some problem getting off the grounds with other cities and towns, so we're going to use the information that they've garnered to help us design something that's more you know, more foolproof. But if you said, for example, we have an estimate of potentially 600 services, then we would reach out to people that we think may still have a lead mind, you know, and then ask them if they wanted to be part of this program, and then start taking it on one service at a time. You know, almost for the 200,000 on a first come, first serve basis. Not everybody has wanted to do the work. Every time we do a project and we change out the public side, every single homeowner is approached and asked if they want to change out their service. Some of them refuse. Some of them do it later, some of them do it at the same time with that contractor for a better price because he's already paid mobilization, he's already there on site. So we try to wrap it into the project anyway. We can't force anybody to do it. I have a letter, almost a form letter saying we strongly recommend that you do this and this is the time to do it and we get some done.
[Michael Marks]: I think if people were aware that possibly they could roll it into their bill. Over a period of time so they don't feel the impact that may be helpful to get more people on board And just one one quick thing the leak detection. I know that's been an issue for a while We were told that this company is on board now. Is that correct?
[SPEAKER_39]: Okay, thank you
[SPEAKER_50]: Move to the question, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Second. On the motion by Councilor Dello Russo, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Mr. Clerk.
[SPEAKER_24]: First reading.
[Richard Caraviello]: For the first reading, please call the roll. Just woke me up.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yay. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Kern?
[Heather]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Vice President Monk? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes.
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes, seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. Motion takes its first reading. 17582, dear Mr. President, city council, I respectfully request and recommend that your honorable body approve the following transfer of $1,500,000 to be transferred from water and sewer retained earnings to a water sewer capital project account. The amount of $1.5 million is needed for replacement of water mains, valves, and appurtenances in the City of Medford. Finance Director Aleesha Nunley and Engineering Director Cassandra Coulis are on present to answer any of the council's questions regarding the matter. The remaining valves in the water sewer retained earnings after this transfer will be $5,476,978. Good evening.
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: Good evening, Councilors. Good morning. This is 1.5 is in addition to that $2 million, so we wanted to do the $2 million loan at 0% and then pay the remainder with retained earnings. To the Chair. Oh, go ahead.
[Richard Caraviello]: Councilor Lohman, go ahead.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: To the Chair, so what we were given tonight, which is the summary of work, is estimated to cost a total of $4,000? I mean $4 million?
[SPEAKER_38]: The contract, Caraviello's contract is 3.463 million. 3.463 million. So almost 3.5, and then the 200,000 for the lead service would bring it to 3.7.
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: So what are we doing with the extra monies?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Sorry, I'm taking these, my calculator.
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: Well, the little bit of what is extra, some things within the loan program, like you had asked, I believe, what was chosen by the MWRA, some items are considered to be included and eligible by MWRA, some items are not. So there's a little cushion there for that. Also, we have $125,000 in the budget towards this as well for water meters and MTUs.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I didn't hear that, I'm sorry, I was calculating the numbers.
[SPEAKER_39]: Say that one more time, I'm sorry. There's $225,000 in the loan application, there's 125,000 in the budget currently for new water meters, large meters, residential meters, and the meter reading devices.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So you have 3.463,200,000 for the lead service, and then additional money's needed?
[SPEAKER_39]: Yes, and there's money already in the loan program, there's leftover money that we're going to reallocate.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yeah, I guess the numbers just aren't adding up to me. With the leftover money, the 2.75 million and the 1.5 million, that adds up to four and a half million. And I see us only spending $3,600,000. I mean, $3,600,000. We have the hydraulic model, we have Paris and Pinkert Street. That's why I think I asked earlier, just like the breakdown. I appreciate this, but it's 11.30 and to just start reading things that contain millions of dollars, I would ask what is the timeline for this? Can we have a Committee of the Whole meeting before our August meeting and take a vote on this paper then, once everything is completely understood? We can get a better breakdown of the money portion of it and where it's being spent and on what. I feel like I'm doing calculating work.
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: If I may, through the chair, she already has a contract out there, so we would like to get the work done as soon as possible. I would absolutely be open to provide all of the Councilors with a breakdown of all the funds, but the faster we can actually get out there and start to get the work done and get that infrastructure moving, then we can start the paving. I would really hate for it to go too long.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And I understand that, to vote for 1.5 million to be taken out of water and sewer retained earnings, and maybe we only need a million, it's a big difference. No, you're gonna need 1.5. You're gonna need it. So you're gonna need the four and a half million dollars to do all this work. Yes, yes.
[SPEAKER_39]: And what's in the application. Yes. This is a combined. It's supplemental. So this is the contract and then we have water meters and meter reading devices. We have Paris and Pinkert Street. We have the hydraulic model and we have the private lead services. So what I shared with you tonight is a summary of the work in the contract, the three-year contract. So it's not everything. And I know it seems a little confusing, and I apologize for that, but it's a piecing together of different funding sources to do all of this work. And it's correct in that we do, I don't even know, it's going to be exactly 1.5, we might be slightly short. It's not that we'll have too much money. I can vouch for that as I look at my notes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just think when we're talking about $4.5 million worth of projects that were probably definitely needed within the city, and we don't get any documentation on it except two lines in our council agenda until tonight, which obviously we didn't have time to read because we had lengthy discussions on other issues.
[SPEAKER_39]: Do you all have the application directions after tonight?
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: Through the chair, Councilor, if I could help you with that a little bit. Yes. So, the 3.5 million that's needed for the three-year contract and some other little things that you have in there, like the hydraulic model, is 3.5 million. And then there's an additional 200,000 that we would like to include the lead replacement program, for the lead replacement program. we're at 3.7 million. The loan through the MWRA is for 2.075 million, so that gets us, if you take that from the 3.7 million, that leaves a difference of 1.625. Did you get that? Are you with me? Gotcha. Okay, so from that 1.625, 125,000 was in the budget. So we'd free up that money that was in the budget for water main replacement. So we take that 125 out, we're at 1.5 million, which is where we need to take from retained earnings. So that would pay for all of what we need right now.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And what about the $929,000 left over from the last time we borrowed from the MWRA?
[gwIgYT_iFzI_SPEAKER_19]: That's authorized unissued debt that we can use through MMDT to, I believe you were gonna use that for Harris and Pinkert as a separate project?
[SPEAKER_39]: It's all supplemental. When you bid a job like this, you don't say give me a price for I don't know if it's fair to say that.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So you give him how many feet of pipe we need.
[SPEAKER_39]: Total feet of pipe and he gives me a number. So I can't tell you how much he bid on Grove Street compared to some other street because he doesn't do it that way. He's giving you totals. So we have backup estimates that we put together. for an engineer's estimate, it summarizes. And ours was actually higher than what he bid. So he came in lower, but I just don't want to prorate it. I don't think that would be the way to go.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So... So if you were to give the council pricing, it would be broken down a different way.
[SPEAKER_39]: Yes, it wouldn't be the same thing. It would be estimates. I mean, we could actually, you know, we're going to use the budget numbers, you know, for the... The meters will cost whatever they cost within the $225,000. The estimate for the lead services is estimating $5,000 a service, but they may get a price of $6,000. We might have one at $7,000, one at $4,000. We don't know until we go house by house, case by case, how much each one of those will cost. And the idea would be come up with a bid in the future that would say, here is a relatively simple change out. Here's a more medium level change out. Here's a complicated one. Give us three prices for each. So we can then partition it out better.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you.
[Unidentified]: Councilor Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, I just want to say that I'm sure the people of Medford can enthusiastically look forward to these improvements that are coming to the neighborhoods and in the city. Many of them long sought after. I endorse the efforts of the engineers office and the financial offices that are putting together these great deals throughout the community. I have one question. If I may, to either Ms. Irwin or Nunley, the $1.5 million that we're going to take out of retained earnings, will the use of that and the debt payment that will come out of retained earnings in any way alter our profile for loan orders in the future or make our ability to bond and repay those bonds on those major capital products any weaker. Thank you for your foresight and your preparation. Move approval, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Dela Ruta, seconded by Councilor Knight. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco?
[SPEAKER_58]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Wendell Kern?
[SPEAKER_58]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Vice President Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli?
[Richard Caraviello]: Absent.
[Clerk]: President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. Six in the affirmative, one absent. Motion passes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion to adjourn, Mr. President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Reports from committee, 17584.
[Richard Caraviello]: Unfortunately, Mr. Dello Russo, we do have some more things under there. I'm sorry, Councilor Montgomery, what did you want?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Well, we have a few other people that'd like to speak, and we have one petition for a sign.
[Richard Caraviello]: I think that's with Councilor Marks, which would be... 17584. We're already here. 17584, Subcommittee on Business, Economic Development and Science Report, July 13th. The purpose was to review and discuss signs in our reversal petition. Councilor Marks, who is the chairman of that committee, would you like to give us a report?
[Michael Marks]: Yes, Mr. President, the subcommittee on business, economic development, and science met Thursday, July 13th at 5 p.m. for the purpose of three signed denial petitions, of which paper 17-553, the ultimate tango, was approved as resubmitted to this council. And the other two papers, 17-452 and 17-450, were received and placed on file, Mr. President, because the petitioners were not present.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Vice President.
[Michael Marks]: So I move approval on that report.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. President, I second that. On the motion by Councilor Mark, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion approval on that sign, Mr. President. Motion on the approval of the sign. As was amended and discussed in committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Dello Russo, seconded by second Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Congratulations. Keep dancing.
[Robert Penta]: August 1st.
[Richard Caraviello]: August 1st. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Motion to revert back to regular business. 17574, petition by Andrew P. Castagnetti, 23 Cushing Street, Medford, to address the council about making America a democracy again, starting in Medford. Mr. Castagnetti, if I can remind you, the 10 minute rule is in effect. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Andrew Paul Castagnetti, 23 Cushman Street Method Massachusetts. Good evening honorable city councilors. I mean, almost good morning. It's almost midnight. God bless America for allowing me to file my petition and speak on this matter with our first amendment right. I promise to be brief as possible and not ad lib. Therefore, I'll read from my teleprompter of handwritten notes before me. I only need about eight minutes. If the phone works, it's 1151 for the record. Are we a democracy or not a democracy? That is my question. An extreme concern here in 02155 and for all of the United States of America. Number two, for example, I must read two letters that were issued from the City of Medford Board of Health. The first letter was sent, I'm not sure of the date because it's not dated, from Mary Ann O'Connor, Director of the Board of Health. It states, the Board of Health recently voted to implement proposed changes to Medford tobacco regulations. As of July 10, 2017, the proposed changes will become effective. And in the bottom, it's directed towards private clubs. Smoking prohibited in private clubs slash memberships associations. Another letter was also sent out thereafter. What date, I don't know. It's not dated, again. Same department, same director. It states, Board of Health notice to private clubs. The Medford Board of Health voted at the June meeting to postpone the enactment of the private club smoking ban for six months until after the next election. Three, it seems very undemocratic, you'd think. Before I continue, I'll disclose I am an officer at the Sons of Italy in Winchester, Massachusetts. And yes, the club did ban smoking, November of 016. However, the private club membership voted amongst themselves in a democratic election period. Furthermore, the Winchester town government never dictated any such order. And also, our club did allow a special area for the people to go and enjoy their medicine, smoking. With thoughtful respect, thank you to the sons of Italy. Number five, look, we understand that smoking is a nasty addictive habit. My belief is nicotine is the most addictive drug on earth. They say smoking kills people and may indeed be killing me. However, did anyone ever think that this nicotine medicine kept me alive for 66 years? And many others. especially U.S. soldiers who are now veterans, a la VFW, American Legion, and more. Six, by the way, my point of factual information, when I started smoking in 1962, cigarettes was 28 cents a pack, the same price as a gallon of gasoline at Dick's Esso at Tufts Park. OK, so gas is now $2.10 a gallon. But a package of smokes is five times more than that in Texas. Costing the most addicted and poorest people in society more than $10 per package. PS, most of that $10 is federal, state, local taxes. hello, if we all stop smoking, the government will lose billions in tax revenue. And I don't even want to think how and what the government would tax to recoup the huge tax loss, especially with Proposition 2.5 in effect in Massachusetts. Thank you, Barbara Anderson. Rest her soul. 6A, please don't get too lost in what I just said. But at that time, I really felt that way, and I still do. In closing, sorry, I'm going to have to ad lib now. Once, I agree with the past councilor, President Robert Mayorko, when he once said, leave the people alone. I remember it because it was the only time I agreed with a man. I'll never forget it, but that never happened. It seems Big Brother, the government, has its own nasty habit. of putting their nose in people's private business. Again, again, and again. It is appalling to me and many other voters when our so-called leaders dictate to our VFW veterans of way too many wars, demanding that we cease from smoking in our private club. This is not fair and very undemocratic. We, the member peoples, are very capable to vote amongst ourselves. Furthermore, these fellow veterans who sacrificed life and limb and much more that I couldn't even comprehend, and we don't want to walk a mile on this show, I'm sure, unless you already have, you don't want to go back there, are the only reason we are not speaking German on the East Coast or Japanese on the West Coast and maybe even Mexican up to the Mason-Dixon line. Number nine, you know when I started kindergarten at the Hancock School, I no speak of the English at all. I spoke a Northern Italian dialect. Eventually I picked up your English as my second language without an ESL teacher. But I do remember quite well those 50s teachers told me, this country is based on democracy. However, I've learned since then that this may be the biggest lie of all time, because it seems to be capitalism rules, and therefore trumps over our so-called democracy. So please, back off. Leave us alone. And finally, number 10, my fellow VFW members asked me to ask you all, will you stand on this matter now tonight, July 18th, 2017? This is from seven minutes ago. It's 11.58.
[Richard Caraviello]: You have about four minutes left, three minutes left, three minutes left.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: I don't want that much time. I don't want that much time. I'm going to repeat number 10, however. I got to get off track.
[Richard Caraviello]: We have our timer going. Thank you, sir.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: My fellow VFW members, including the top three, Commander Down, and in succession, they asked me to ask you all, where you stand on this matter now, tonight, before the next general election. Thank you for listening.
[Adam Knight]: important to point out that when the Massachusetts State Legislature passed the public smoking ban back in the early 2000s, they exempted private clubs. And they exempted private clubs and they allowed local control. And they vested that local control into the local boards of health. Personally, I think if they were going to implement the ban, back then the legislature should have either implemented a ban or not implemented a ban, but they left these certain low-hanging fruit, as we'll call them. that are out there. So what's happened here in the City of Medford is we've had a couple of changes at the Office of the Board of Health, a couple of changes at the members of the Board of Health, and they've brought this proposal forward and they voted on it. It's my understanding that when the proposal went through, there were a number of individuals that were very upset in these private club settings about learning of the fact that smoking is going to be banned in these facilities that they've been smoking in for a long time. So in response to that, the administration felt as though it would make sense and the Board of Health felt as though it would make sense to sit down and give a period of time for people to have dialogue and exchange some conversation about the situation, Mr. Castagnetti. So as of right now, it's my understanding that the reason why the moratorium was put in place on the ban was to allow for the stakeholders, the people at the VFW, the people at the American Legion, the people down at the Amici Club, the people over at the Sons of Italy, and every other private club, the Elks, for example, to come and get to the table and sit down with the Board of Health and talk about what's going on and why this is happening and why they're seeking to implement it. And I understand there's also been some discussion about doing what they've done over in Winchester at your private club, which is designated smoking areas, so on and so forth. So right now it's actually a work in progress, Mr. Castagnetti. It's my understanding that the Board of Health is meeting with the leadership of the clubs, or has met with the leadership of the clubs, and they're going to continue to keep them informed. on the ongoing deliberations and discussions and include them in these conversations.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Thank you for your response. Anyone else? I think it's time to start another party call, not we the people, you the people. Because democracy doesn't seem to be working. I know we're a minority, and we're looked upon as- I know, I know Woobin did the same thing.
[Richard Caraviello]: Woobin has a, they have a special room for smokers. There is some room for- It's the most addictive drug in the world.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: My mother died from smoking. It's a tough, tough topic. I know exactly where you're coming from. Maybe I should just throw my hat in the ring for the first time ever tomorrow morning and put my papers up at city council. Good luck.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you very much, Mr. Castagnetti. Motion by Councilor Dello Russo to be received and placed on file, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. 15 by 7-5, petition by Robert M. Penta, 0 Summit Road, Medford, Mass., to address the council. to discuss a review of a home rule petition to amend Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44, Section 16 A and B, inclusive of the local legislative option provision as it relates to the Community Preservation Act and the Community Preservation Act Trust Fund.
[Robert Penta]: Mr. President, it was my intent to address this council on Tuesday, July 18th. This is now Wednesday. Councilor Dello Russo is tired, he wants to go home, so I'd like to table this to our August meeting.
[Richard Caraviello]: And the council thanks you for that. And we thank you for that also. Yes, I'll vote for that. Motion to table Mr. Penta's request to the August meeting. All those in favor? Aye. I think we did everything. Papers in the hands of the clerk. 17, 585, offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council congratulate Christopher and Caitlin Murphy on the birth of their first child, Sadie Elizabeth.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Mr. President, rather self-explanatory resolution. Very recently, Chris Murphy, one of the city's members of the Parks Commission, recently had his first child. He and his wife, Caitlin, had their first child. And he's a very happy, proud dad. Caitlin's very healthy. The baby's very healthy. And I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate them and wish them the best of luck in their new endeavor. Thank you. All right. He's still up, by the way, now that he had the baby.
[Richard Caraviello]: Absolutely. He's still up.
[Adam Knight]: I'd ask my council colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution.
[Richard Caraviello]: Seconded. Seconded by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Vice President Mox be it resolved that the potholes at the intersection of Locust and Riverside Ave and Riverside Ave and Middlesex Street be filled in the interest of public safety. Vice President Mox. On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Marks, being resolved that the area around Placid Park tennis court be paved in the interest of public safety. Mr. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Anyone that's been on this council for a number of years will know this has been an issue of many of the neighbors in the area. When it rains heavily, that particular area gets flooded out. And it makes it almost impossible for people trying to use the park to either go to the tennis courts or gain access into the tot lot in the park. And I would ask that, once and for all, Mr. President, that the area surrounding the tennis courts on Century Street Extension be repaved in the interest of public safety.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I would certainly second that motion. I think it's a great idea, and I'd like to add that if they do pave it, that they stripe it as well, so that we can have defined parking spots there, because it does get a little haphazard during the busy season.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Vice President Mox as amended by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Vice President Mox, it resolves that the recent construction on 3rd Street from 3rd and Riverside is during the Pell's Way be discussed. Vice President Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, this is the second time I've offered this resolution. As we're all aware, that end of 3rd Street from Riverside Ave to the Felsway has been dug up over the last two and a half years. And from what I'm being told, the repaving that has been done, which is shoddy work, is the final repaving that's going to get done. And I would ask that the city go out there immediately, the clerk of the works or the billing department, and take a look at what's been paved and offer a better solution, Mr. President, than currently exists there for residents.
[Richard Caraviello]: Second. On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Records were passed to Councilor Falco. Councilor Falco, at this late hour, how did you find those records, if you can still read them?
[John Falco]: Mr. President, yes, I was able to read them and I have actually a couple of amendments to make to the records.
[Richard Caraviello]: If you'd like to table them and give them to the clerk for next week, that would be,
[John Falco]: Actually, I can just read them out now. So there's just two points that were missing, and it had to do with 17-512, which was the city budget, and so if we could just add that Councilor Scarpelli disclosed that he has a relative employed by the schools, and that is reflected in the school budget, and then myself, Councilor Falco, disclosed that he had a relative employed by the city, and that is reflected in the city budget. Motion to approve is amended. These are the amendments.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Falco to adjourn. All those in favor?
[George Scarpelli]: No.
[Richard Caraviello]: First we have to approve the amendments. Approve as amended by Councilor Falco. Yes. All those in favor, aye. Motion passes. Motion by Councilor Falco. Motion passes.
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