[Richard Caraviello]: Good evening. Second regular meeting of the Medford City Council, January 9th, 2018. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor De La Ruza. Councilor Falco. Vice President De La Ruza. Councilor Falco. Councilor Knight. Councilor Kern. Councilor Marx. Mr. Scarpelli. Present. President Caraviello. Present. Please rise and salute the flag.
[Richard Caraviello]: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn for suspension of the rules. Seconded by Councilor Scott Felly. All in favor? Motion passes.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Thank you, President Caraviello. Paper 18-023. We have our city solicitor here.
[Richard Caraviello]: 18-023 offered by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council go into executive session to discuss personal matters with the city solicitor. Mr. Solicitor.
[Mark Rumley]: Good evening, Mr. President, members of the council. My name is Mark Rumley. I'm the city solicitor. I reside at 50 Woodrow Avenue in Medford. I read the resolution the other day in the snow, but I want to say something at the beginning before we entertain it, and I'm sure you'll understand. I have no difficulty, nor does anyone else, discussing any personnel issue in general. If the point of the resolution is about a specific individual, and I understand if it is, then the open meeting law would require that that person get notice that we're going to be discussing her or him. And then they'd have also the ability to attend the executive session personally and with a representative. Now, I know that that sounds a little bit, it almost sounds like, well, that's putting a hurdle into the way of discussing it tonight. But if it is about a particular individual, then those procedural requirements of the open meeting law need to be followed. And I'm very, very sure of this opinion.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So if we're discussing in general anybody, any prior personnel that has or will be potentially suing the city, then that would be named specifically, each of them would have to be notified?
[Mark Rumley]: Yes, even if that weren't the case. For example, I don't know, I have not received notice of anybody suing the city about anything of this. In this general body of law, however, the statute which is Massachusetts general law chapter 38 section 21 says that if an individual is going to be discussed. In executive session, they're entitled to notice of that. So they can attend and attend with a representative if they choose. If that were, if it is about a particular personnel incident that relates to an individual, then we really should follow that in order to discuss it. And I have no difficulty with that, but I want, and I encourage the council, to follow that procedural requirement. So if it's about a certain person, then notice would have to be given to them 48 hours before the meeting, and they would have a right to attend if they so chose. So I just want to put that caveat out, which it's a point that doesn't always jump off the page when you think about discussion in executive session, but it is required. So if anybody needs it better explained, I'll try. I don't understand the moment.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I would like to discuss the matter. I don't know how my colleagues feel. It is specifically, I mean, in general, I had some questions, but it sounds like there may not be any. Well, I think we need to notify the person. I mean, there is one specific person that has been fired.
[Richard Caraviello]: There has to be a purpose for a moment in the council. We'll take a five minute recess.
[Mark Rumley]: I have no difficulty speaking with the Councilor on the side to go over this in a little bit more depth, but I think she understands.
[George Scarpelli]: As a new member and this being the first time this came across to this issue came across to myself and how do we normally I know that in With the school committee, we handle different situations a little bit differently. Do we often, have we done this in the past?
[Mark Rumley]: We've talked to personnel matters and executive session with... If you're going to discuss a particular person or an incident that relates to a particular person, it is required. The answer is yes. I've been here 34 years. It's been a while since I've seen this discussed in executive session, but it has. Sometimes I believe in the school department, although I'm not the school department's attorney, when there are discipline matters or instances of faculty that are coming up about a particular faculty member, they would get notice, and I'm sure that the superintendent is well aware of what those requirements are. And as I say, this is not a matter of saying nobody wants to discuss anything. I want the procedural requirements followed if this is about a specific person and a personnel incident. And I think that that's it. Thank you. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: I think it would be helpful maybe if the sponsor of the resolution could kind of explain to us what exactly it is we're trying to accomplish here, what the situation is, and maybe we can go from there and figure out what direction we're going to go in.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Mr. President, yes, I need the same clarification. The resolution seems vague to me, and if I might add that I'm of the opinion that personnel matters regarding specific personnel, as far as our authority in those matters is known. It's not under our purview, Mr. President, and one would wonder if it could be considered out of order.
[Richard Caraviello]: Maybe, let's see, I make the suggestion that we have a caucus in a couple of minutes. On what issue? To make sure that we're going in the right direction.
[Mark Rumley]: I'm telling you that if we're going to discuss a particular person, you're going in the wrong direction. Well, let's caucus for two minutes and see what the issue is. Right, so in order to caucus, if what you're saying, Mr. President, is you want to go into executive session to caucus, About what?
[Michael Marks]: We're going to have a two-minute recess to discuss this.
[Richard Caraviello]: All those in favor? Motion passes.
[Mark Rumley]: You just can't discuss names. We can discuss anything. No, you cannot discuss names. On the record, you cannot discuss anything in Executive Session just by going in. What is the purpose of going in? We're not going to Executive Session. We have a caucus. So what's a caucus? I leave it to the chair to unravel this procedural quagmire. Thank you for watching.
[Unidentified]: I'm going to get a bit of an inside conversation about this violation of law right now.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Caraviello. I'm just going to put a motion forward that we have a committee at the home meeting next Tuesday night, whether that be 6.30, 6.45, and invite this prior employee to be present.
[Richard Caraviello]: 6.30. On the motion by Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. So we're inviting them to a committee of the whole, as opposed to going into executive session?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes.
[Adam Knight]: Okay, no problem with that. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Councilor Dello Russo. Is the solicitor still available? I think we'll invite him. No. Is he here at present? He is here. If I can, through the Chair, Mr. President, ask the solicitor what authority the City Council has over personnel matters.
[Mark Rumley]: The authority in the sense of immediate jurisdiction, discretionary jurisdiction, the ability to make personnel decisions? Correct. None.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you. All right. On the motion by Councilor Locurando to have a committee at the whole meeting next week at 6.30. Seconded by Councilor Marks. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Opposed, Mr. President? Mox, Councilor Dela Rousseau is opposed. Mr. Spence, Mr. President, paper 1809. Following the suspension, communications from the Mayor, 1-8-0-1-9. Dear Mr. President, Councilors, I respectfully request and recommend that Your Honourable Body approve the following amendments of revised order entitled, Compensation Plans, and leave order to Chapter 66 personnel. City of Medford, Amendment 2. Mr. President, maybe we could wait for the meeting and have a presentation by the administration? That would be fine.
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President? I would ask in this paper that the paper fully be read. This is an important paper that deals with the expenditure of city funds. So I would ask that we read the paper on this one.
[Richard Caraviello]: City of Medford amendment to revise ordinances compensation plan leave ordinances chapter 66 personnel be it ordained by the Medford City Council of the City of Medford in chapter 66 entitled personnel article 2 entitled classification and compensation plans section 66.40 entitled public safety personnel is hereby amended as follows. Section 1 and subsection 66.40 effective January 1, 2016. Add 2% of the present amount of each step within the grade shown below to the said present amount of each step and adjust the sum thus obtained to the nearest and highest figure for the following grade PS-1 patrol officer. Section 2 and subsection 66.40 effective January 1, 2017 add 2% of the present amount of each step within the grade shown below to the said present amount of each step and adjust the sum thus obtained to the nearest and highest figure for the following grade PS-1 patrol officer. Section 3 in subsection 66.40 effective January 1, 2018. Add 2% of the present amount of each step within the grade shown below to the said present amount of each step and adjust the sum thus obtained to the nearest and highest figure for the following grade PS-1 patrol officer. Section 4. In subsection 66.40, effective January 1, 2018, the salary schedule shall be amended by adding a new first step to grade PS-1. The salary at each step is, Step 1, $59,201.27. Step 2, $61,000. $215.27 Step 3 $63,977.43 Step 4 $66,184.67 Step 5 $70,879.21 Section 4. In the subsection 66.40, effective January 1, 2019, add 2% of the present amount of each step within the grade shown below to the said present amount of each step, and adjust the sum thus obtained to the nearest and highest figure for the following grade. PS-1 Patrol Officer. The amendment is requested due to a recently negotiated agreement with the Method Police Patrolmen's Association that extends the predecessor agreement to June 30, 2019. It is estimated that the contract will cost approximately $400,000 in retroactive funds in fiscal year 2018. A separate paper is on the agenda for your consideration, for every truly yours, Stephanie Ann Burke, Mayor. Councilor Dello Russo. Move approval. On the motion by Councilor Dello Russo, seconded by Councilor Falco. Mr. Clerk.
[Adam Knight]: Councilor Knight. Yes, Mr. President, thank you very much. It's my understanding that this paper has already been ratified by the Metro Police Patrolmen's Association. It was voted unanimously by the membership. It also includes the cost of living adjustment retroactive to the date of expiration of the predecessor agreement, Mr. President. This was a product of a lot of hard work between the administration and the Patrolmen's Association. I think that the term, it's about time, is something that we'll all share in this one, and it's certainly something that I support wholeheartedly, and I'd concur with my colleague's motion.
[Richard Caraviello]: And this is the takings of first reading. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Vice President Dello Russo. Yes. Councilor Falco.
[Leo Sacco]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Lueb.
[Leo Sacco]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor Marx. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes.
[Richard Caraviello]: President Canvillo. Yes. 7 in the affirmative.
[Clerk]: Motion passes and takes its first reading.
[Richard Caraviello]: Motion by Councilor Knight to waive the three readings. Second by Councilor Dello Russo.
[Michael Marks]: Councilor Marks. Thank you Mr. President. This council, just for the edification of the council and the viewing audience that this council back some time ago has been on record not to waive readings which was the way it was done in the past, Mr. President. And the firefighters that came before us, I think it was roughly a year and a half, two years ago, requested the same thing of waiving the readings. And I believe it was a unanimous vote. I could be corrected if not. But what happens, Mr. President, and this body, and I'm sure the police department could agree, as well as the residents of this community is, you know, when we talk about transparency, it's not just the word transparency. It actually means something. And to waive readings is, in my opinion, doing away with the public process. And the first reading is when it appears on the council agenda. The second reading is when the city clerk puts it out for notification in the local paper. Which makes it open and notorious for people in the community if they're interested in the issue. And the final and third reading is for public input and approval or not by the council. And by waiving the readings, You're doing away, even though you still have to have the second reading, which is notification, which is required by state statute in the local paper. You're doing away with the final reading, which allows residents of this community, and even members of the union if they want to come up, and address the council before they vote on it. And it's doing away with the public process. And I offered that statement back, I believe it was about two years ago, The protocol for this council would always be to waive the readings, and the theory was that the unions would get their check a little quicker. And that sounds great in theory, and I want to make sure that the brave men and women of the police department get their check, but I also want to make sure that we follow the proper protocol. and process, Mr. President, that we're bound by as a council to this community. And I think the process, the way we want to work it with going through three readings will take roughly two and a half to three weeks by the time it comes back to us after it's published in the paper. And I think after two or three year bargaining session that the unions had with the mayor and so forth, that to wait and follow this through the entire process, which is another two or three weeks, is not much to ask, Mr. President. I think it sets good... protocol in this community to follow the letter of the law, and the letter of the law states three readings on a paper of this magnitude, Mr. President. So I could not support that here tonight, Mr. President, based on that.
[Adam Knight]: Councilman, it's my understanding that the waiving of the three readings must be unanimous by the body, so it's not necessarily a policy of this council, but it was one individual council that didn't feel as though waiving the readings was appropriate. With that being said, I feel as though the plight of the police department has been quite open and quite transparent over the past several years. They've made us very aware of what's going on. However, with that being said, if we don't have the support of the council, we don't have the right to waive the three readings, so I withdraw my motion. Mr. Clerk.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. 18-020. To the Honorable Members. Dear Mr. President, Councilors, in regards to the paper below you this evening regarding the proposed increase to the Metro Patrolmen's Association in amendment to Chapter 66, Article 2, Section 66, Please transfer $550,000 from the free cash accounts. 010-210-5110. This paper is necessary to cover retroactive payments from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2017 of $400,000 and a portion of the estimated increase to wages from January 1, To June 30, 2018 of $150,000. Further, I respectfully request that you transfer $200,000 from the negotiated salaries accounts, 010-1-2-51102. 1-1-1-2-0-1-0-2-1-0-5-1-1-0, to cover the balance of the impact on the fiscal 18 budget from January 1 to June 30, 2018. Yours truly, Stephanie Anberic, Mayor. Councilor Dello Russo. Move approval. Second. Seconded by Councilor Falco.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Councilor Longo-Kurin. Thank you, President Caraviello. If I could just ask a question about the payment from January 1 to June 30, that's going to cost... So those, the next six months till the end of the fiscal year is gonna cost $350,000? Correct. So we're looking at a $700,000 increase in the budget per fiscal year with this paper?
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: This includes a retro payment, so altogether it's $750,000 including the retro.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Including retro, but I mean, But we need the January 1st, the $350,000 to cover January 1st to June 30th, 2018 is $350,000. Correct. Okay. So that's six months and it's going to be $350,000. That doesn't, that's not retro. That's not the retro, no. I'm just saying the total paper for $750,000. That's the question I'm asking. So I agree, that's not retro. So that's $350,000 to cover from January 1st hasta junio del 30 de 2018. Así que, según mis calculaciones, estamos mirando a un aumento en el actual budget del próximo año fiscal de alrededor de $700,000.
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: Sí, 2% sobre lo que tienen ahora. Así que alrededor de $700,000, de la forma en que lo miramos.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Esa fue mi pregunta. Gracias.
[Richard Caraviello]: En la moción, por el Councilor Dello Russo, seguido por el Councilor Falco. Señor abogado, por favor, llame la rola.
[Clerk]: Vice President Dello Russo? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Maggi? Yes. Councilor Lockern?
[Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin]: Yes.
[Clerk]: Councilor March? Yes. Councilor Scott-Bell? Yes. President Caraviello?
[Richard Caraviello]: Yes. 7 in the permanent, none in the negative. While we're on the suspension, Councilor Lockern?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Carballo. I believe we just have one more resident in the audience. I think we've disposed of all the city matters. Resident in the audience would like a minute or two to speak about an issue with regards to the plowing over the last couple storms.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Name and address for the record, please.
[uOl8IpBqQPs_SPEAKER_20]: Good evening. My name is Ronald Paone. I live on 314 Winthrop Street in Medford. Thank you, Mr. President and councillors for listening. This will be my second journey up to this podium. I came here last year when the fire department and the police department were doing their thing and I didn't get called in until about 9.30. Anyway, I'm having the same issue as I did last year. We have city trucks that are being operated by individuals who really They're not really doing their job, and I'm sorry to complain about this, but before I get to the issue about where I live, I have an only sister who lives on Lewis Street in Medford, which is off of Fulton Street, and that street is deplorable, I'm sorry. During the ice storm, they didn't even come down and salt it. Uh, there was supposed to be, uh, parking just on the right, and that street was, you know, both sides were filled with cars. So those city plows didn't have an opportunity to get down there. Now, if anybody's ever been on that street, you really can't even navigate if you even try to get down there with a UPS truck or something like that. I'm not even talking about that. I'm just talking about regular people going down there. And Lewis Street, it's off Fulton. Okay, I just wanted to mention that because, again, that's my elderly sister, and, you know, I kind of have to watch out for her once in a while, you know, she slip and fall, that kind of stuff. Anyway, now the issue with me. My driveway, I have 110 foot from the street to the garage in the back, 110 feet straight in, and then I have about 60 feet to the right if you're facing the house, so it's probably about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet of pavement. And I have to do a lot of work there. As the city drivers come by on the snow days, they're pushing the snow and they're doing their job. When they get near that end of Winthrop Street, they're usually about a foot to two feet away from the curb. And it continues and continues and continues. And as we, you know, the storm is breaking and slowing down and whatever, and they're wrapping up for the night, it's usually still there. So what I usually do is I go out and I get in my, I have a bobcat and I go out in the front and I get the snow close to the curb and I stockpile it and I flatten it down so it's not too high, the banks. Council and I could have tested that. He sees that I keep my property up, up, up, up, okay? And, uh, so it was, uh, Thursday night after the storm. I wrapped up around 10, went in the house, took a shower, went to sleep around 12, 1 o'clock, hear a big bang, jump out of bed, go outside, and there's cascaded snow over the bank onto the sidewalk. Again, I'm talking chunks of snow, and there's about Six inches of just ice and snow buried in front of my driveway now. The driveway next to me is a Butman. It's the elderly nursing home. So I have a good rapport with the woman there. And I had to open it up because her plow driver had already gone home for the night. So her employees would never have been able to get on the 7 o'clock shift. So I opened her up also. It was just a real bad night. And this is not the first time this has happened. Uh, the ice storm that I previously mentioned beforehand, two storms ago, uh, where we got the inch, uh, the inch and a half of ice. Uh, one of this, I observed at 1 a.m. in the morning on that particular day, I think it was a Saturday, that the, the ice storm happened. Uh, a city truck, it was a 28,000 pound truck, one of the big dump trucks with a 10 foot plow and a salter. Goin' up and down Winthrop Street from Lawrence Road to the Circle, and there's this big bump in the middle of the street, he bottomed out as he went over it, so he was moving at an excessive speed. And he was just salting, he wasn't plowing, he was just salting. And I watched him as I stepped outside as he... went around the rotary and came back going towards Lawrence Road at excessive speed. So now, proper speed for any type of equipment should be anywhere between 5 and 10 miles an hour, and that's a fact. Okay, I've been in this business for over four decades, so I know what I'm talking about. This is not my personal opinion, but you know, I believe that the city taxpayers pay for this equipment. If I'm not mistaken. And I, you know, I would think that there would be a little bit more. And I get that, you know, I know about blood money. You're out in the snow storms. You're doing a lot of hours worth of work. You just want to get it done. You want to get home. I get that. All right. But, you know, sometimes you got to, like, understand that, like, you can't be doing, you know, hurting others, you know. And this incident happened last year where the same thing. They hit the snow bank in front of the house and cascaded the snow onto the sidewalk, and I just wrapped up. I don't like to pay for real estate twice, if anybody can understand that expression. I don't like to do jobs twice. I just, I want to get it done, I want to stop, and that's the end of it. You know, my fear is that, and this is not even a personal fear, is that maybe, you know, there could be a dog or something crossing the street, or a stray cat, and, you know, the guy's driving by doing 30 miles an hour, hits one of them, or even a person. We got a lot of people that are out in that hour, and I see it at 1 a.m. in the morning, they're crossing streets and stuff like that. You know what I mean? And, you know. I don't know what's going on, but, you know, I think it should be addressed. I'm really a little frustrated, because, like, we still got a whole couple more months of maybe more snow, and I don't want to have to, like, come back up here and complain. And it's not, again, I'm not, do not want to see anybody lose their job. I believe that the city is full of good employees that take pride in their jobs, and I'm not looking to put a hammer on anybody. I mentioned at 11 a.m. Friday morning, I called the mayor's office and I said, I'd like to make a complaint. And the person that was on the other end said, We're not taking complaints today, and then my phone went dead. Now, I have this old phone, if anybody wants to see it, it's old, and maybe it was my phone that might have disconnected, but all of a sudden, the line went dead. So, I didn't call back. I said, let me address it. to this board. You know what I mean? If you can do anything to help, please. I mean, this is something that I think should be addressed by you guys, you know, and Brianna. And let me tell you, I mean, I'm probably not the only resident that could come up here and start complaining about, you know, the services of, you know, the city. But these are just incidences that I don't like to have to, you know, continue to come up here and talk about. You know, I mean, I've been making amends to this city for 30 years. Thirty years from all the trouble that I caused back in the seventies and early eighties, okay? So I'm trying to be a nice guy.
[Fred Dello Russo]: You are forgiven.
[uOl8IpBqQPs_SPEAKER_20]: I'm trying to be a nice guy, but I'm also human, and I also have that Italian temper. Chief Sackle can attest to that. So, you know, I'm glad everybody's chuckling, but you know, I can laugh at myself these days, you know, and again, if anything you guys could do for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Please, I'm not looking to fight, get anybody fired, but just maybe pass the word down so somebody has observation on their, you know, who's ever supervising this operation.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Perfect. Thank you very much. I think we've all got a number of complaints a number of.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Good words and obviously the complaints are the ones we get the most and we've got a number of complaints. I think this is Winthrop Street where sidewalk was reblocked after, you know, taking probably hours to shovel it out. I think we also got a couple from High Street. I've got complaints about tainter and I think we're trying to, I'm trying to myself, email. I know Sergeant Hartnett and Lauren from the mayor's office is fielding a number of complaints. This is one I haven't reached out. I know you potentially were coming tonight. So I think that we need to just get a check on whoever is doing. This is the second complaint I got with regards to Winthrop Street and just the plow driver driving extremely fast. And I think that may be where the problem is. They're going too fast. They're not doing it, you know, obviously properly. So maybe if we could just send that off to our DPW to take a look at where the complaints are coming from and who's actually doing those routes if it's in-house or if I know we have a lot of contractors this was the first storm it was a huge storm we got over a foot of snow and it was it was hard for anybody to keep up the residents the DPW a lot of streets were done great but yes we're getting the complaints we we aren't Somerville I think we've got pitches tonight of Somerville streets and no we're not Somerville we did City did purchase a nice piece of equipment that's going to help us with our sidewalks but it's not in yet. So there are improvements that need to be made and hopefully we can learn from this current storm and move to make sure that those where the complaints are coming from if we can get a grip on it so that in the next couple months where we get the more snow it can be handled in a better fashion and we you know obviously will fix the problems that we had during the storm. So, obviously, Winthrop Street, if we can check out who the driver is there, just give them some feedback, as well as any other complaints that have come in from either us or the mayor's office, if we can kind of, obviously, before the next storm. Get a handle on it.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion, Councilor Scarpelli. Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you. Yes. No.
[Adam Knight]: On the motion, Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much. One of the issues that I'm seeing in the community relative to snow removal, Mr. President, is the fact that there's a lack of Equipment standards for the plows that we contract with. So we could have a, you know, three quarter ton F250 out there with a plow on it that's getting paid the same rate as somebody that has a Jeep Wrangler with a plow on it pushing snow around. And I think we're getting more bang for our buck out of somebody that has a three quarter ton truck than somebody that's driving around in a quarter ton truck pushing snow. So with that being said, Mr. President, I'd also like to ask that the DPW Director report back to the City Council what equipment standards are in place for those that are being allowed to contract plow with the City of Medford. Thank you, Councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Chair recognizes Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you Mr. President. One of the major complaints that I've received over the last few days is the fact that our corners are not being shoveled out or plowed out. Most of the plows are bringing the snow up to the corner, and you'll see snow banks five, six feet tall. It makes it very difficult for residents who want to get out there and do the right thing to shovel these giant mounds. I think the city has to do a better job in connecting our streets and our walking paths. I, as one person that commutes on the MBTA every morning, can tell you that You can't make it down many roads now. Riverside Ave, there are literally some paths down Riverside Ave that seem to be, and I don't know how you shovel like a six inch path, but the path is literally, it's six inches wide. I don't know how it gets like that, but some of the frustration that I hear from residents on main roads is the fact that they'll go out there and shovel, and then within an hour, a truck comes by and throws three times as much as they've already shoveled back on their sidewalk. They have to constantly be out there, and I don't know, maybe with this new piece of equipment, we can try to address some of the major roads, High Street, Winthrop Street, Salem Street, Main Street, you know, Fulton Street. We need, and it's great to have one piece of equipment. But in a city this size, really, you know, I know they made a big hill of blue about this one piece of equipment they just bought, but you need probably five or six of those in a city this size to do the job in our business districts and around our schools and on our major thoroughfares. So those are the complaints I received, Mr. President. Temple Street was a mess. There were a number of streets out there that seemed to be forgotten. And I'm not sure what happens when plows don't go down a street at all, if it's just an oversight or if it's something larger. The second point is that there was a number to call regarding if you had a complaint that was sent out on reverse 911. And I can tell you that that number wasn't minned around the clock. At least from the calls that I received, it wasn't manned around the clock. And when you have a snow emergency, you really have to have a 24-hour hotline, you really do, that residents can call and feel that they have someone to speak to, and at least the person on the other end is listening and letting them know, you know, ma'am, we're in a major snowstorm and, you know, we're gonna get to it, it's on our list. And I think that's extremely important that we have that set up. And I would ask that we recommend to the city administration that a 24-hour hotline during snow emergencies, so if the emergency is in effect for three days, it's three days of a 24-hour hotline that residents can call and get a response on the other end and at least know that this situation will eventually be addressed, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilman Marks.
[Richard Caraviello]: Chair recognizes President Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. Vice President. Putting the city aside, I think the city needs to contact some of the state people, because Mystic Avenue whoever plowed down there just dumped all the snow onto the sidewalks and talk about corners that you can't see around. They were just dumped, the people who own the commercial businesses just dumped it onto the corners too. So I think someone needs to go down, especially on the Mystic Avenue end and clean some of those corners off and the sidewalks where these people just dumped tremendous amounts of snow, Mr. Vice President.
[John Falco]: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. President. I would actually like to amend the resolution if it's okay. And just to find out how many independent plowers that we hire during a storm because and if there's any and if the DPW director could let us know is there any type of meeting with the I guess the hiring process for the independent plowers because it seems like I try to get it. Do these people actually check for experience? I mean, does someone just have a plow and they apply to be an independent driver and they can plow? They plowed before in the past. I wanna know, do we have any standards for hiring independent plow drivers? Because it seems like right now there's, and I'm not an expert with regard to plowing streets, but we need to know. I'd like to know, what are we looking for when we look at hiring independent plows? And I think that needs to be looked at. So if I can amend the paper to reflect that. And I also agree that hotline is needed. I did get a number of calls. from people saying that they did call the DPW number and it just rang. It was just consistently busy. So if we could, I definitely agree that a hotline would be something that we should look into. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you, Councilor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion as amended severally, Chair recognizes again Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you Mr. President. I think it's important also if we find out how many tickets were issued during this previous snowstorm. for residents not shoveling, and I had a brief conversation because he was so busy with the foreman for Highway Steve Tanaglia, and I asked him why the state highways seemed to be down to the pavement after it snowed, and why some of our streets were not. And I asked whether we were using the same mixture that they put down prior to the snow. And he said that we don't use the same mixture. And it's something that him and the DPW commissioner are going to review and see whether or not they should go closer to the formula that the state uses that they put down. In my opinion, just from living near the Felsway, whatever they put down works miracles. It does a tremendous job keeping the snow from building up, the ice, and I think whatever they're using, we should follow suit, Mr. President, on many of our side streets and roads and main roads. Thank you.
[George Scarpelli]: Chair recognizes Councilor Scarpelli. If I can I'd be remiss that I know this has been a tough time and you're talking about 16 inches of snow and obviously we will have hiccups but I will tell you I think all of us failed at many many phone calls. I personally probably about 30 in two days and some of those calls were The elderly people with health issues and one of the concerns that they couldn't get in touch with anybody at City Hall because City Hall is closed or DPW directly, but I will tell you, kudos to Brian Cairns, our director, and Steve Tenagula and his crew because I tell you what, When we did have a few issues, those people called me back within half an hour to tell me that someone did come out and did take care of some of their problems. So I wish it was that easy with everybody, but I know that when I reached out, especially for any handicapped or elderly or or medical issues, I think that has to be addressed. So I thank them, which if we can, could we also ask as part of this resolution that do we have a list of residents that have health issues that that I know that we talked about doing roadwork in closing down streets that we have a list of residents that have that are on dialysis that need to be that need to that need to be transported and I was wondering if we can ask if we have that in case of any type of Snowstorm, a natural disaster that we can assist our DPW or the community with any issues, can help them with that. So if we can ask that, if there is a list that exists, or maybe that we look into doing it. Very good. I'll have Reggie, please.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Scarpelli. On the motion, Citizen wishes to address us. Welcome, Citizen. Please state your name and address for the record.
[Joe Viglione]: Happy New Year, Council Vice President. My name is Joe Villione, 59 Garfield Ave, Medford, Mass. More observations than a complaint. I drove an elderly friend, a friend of a parent, Of the people I visited for Christmas and for New Year's, and he lives in Medford, and they live over near Logan Airport, so I do the family a big favor picking him up. His street over near Cappy's, horrendous, and this is, my street was okay, so, you know, on that side it was okay, but I'm watching like a senior citizen, it was like. Christmas, there was a lot of snow in the street. It was very difficult to drive. Um, I keep a lot of my vinyl albums over at Medford Self Storage. A lot of them. And so as I'm going through Lawrence Road, um, it's interesting that you can't see past the mounds. So Councilor Caraviello is correct. Uh, there are some areas, and I'm not blaming the plow people. We had a, this was a very serious storm. It's very dangerous because cars come clipping by and you're there and you have to just creep out slowly for public safety and just look. It's very, very dangerous. There were two issues there. Now, this is something good the community should know. Over at the senior center, if you're over 60, they do have a phone number to call, and there's high school kids that come out and help you. Last year, a couple of guys came out and helped with me, and it was great. But this year, because City Hall was closed, I got the phone call yesterday, and I said I went out and shoveled on my own. But the woman's very nice, so seniors in the community, Call the Senior Center, go over there, they have a list of people who will help you shovel. It's a really good resource Medford has, and I think that we should be aware of it. Thank you very much for what you do. Thank you, citizen.
[Fred Dello Russo]: At this time, the chair would recognize the presence of the President Emeritus in the chamber. Chair recognizes Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you Mr. President. Just also if we could follow up. Many of the schools now have safe routes that are part of their schools and how children walk to school in safe areas. And I would ask that whatever is done by the DPW that they also follow These routes to make sure the intersections and corners are all available to make sure kids can get directly to school. It's great that most of our schools now have been plowed out and many of the intersections directly around the schools look in great condition. The problem is that not every kid lives next to their school. and they're walking from three, four, five blocks, and that's where the problem lies. Getting to that particular school is where the problem lies. So I would ask that DPW also look at the safe routes that the schools have, and make sure those areas are plowed out also.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Lungo-Koehn, amended by Councilors Knight, Councilor Marks, separately, President Caraviello, Councilor Falco and Councilor Scarpelli to end this conversation. Chair recognizes Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Always in a rush. Thank you, Vice President Dello Russo. If I could just, now that Councilor Marks brought this up, I know I emailed the Mayor's office, DPW and Sergeant Hartnett about an issue with Tainter Street and snow removal. Supposedly, there's a list that's out there with regards to snow removal. So on that note, when it comes to the schools, if maybe we could take a look at those streets and areas that are on the list that are around schools. I know the seniors are having a hard time getting to the square, too. That's another complaint I've received. But with regards to, I was driving my kids to school this morning and got By the crossing guard who had a couple issues and then a couple parents. So I already emailed about the crossing guards issues. If we could amend this as you're walking into the Roberts, there is a big huge snow pile before so you can't even get into the crosswalk. So if maybe that can be on the removal list and done in the very near future, that would be greatly appreciated.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. On the motion of Councilor Lungo-Koehn that the DPW review.
[John Falco]: If I may, and I apologize for adding this last minute, but you mentioned snow pile, and that did trigger something. If the snow pile can be removed in the corner of Fern Road and Fulton Spring Road, it's right near a bus stop, and there's a significant amount of snow that I noticed it this morning, and it needs to be removed in the interest of public safety.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. On the motion of Councilor Lungo-Koehn that the DPW review complaints, direct the plows to operate at a slower speed, and that they review the list of snow removal areas to include Tainter Street and the obstructing snow pile at the Roberts School. that amended by Councilor Knight, that the DPW Director report back to us to explain the standard of snowplows that are engaged by the city for subcontractors, amended by Councilor Marks. that the corners and sidewalks in the major districts and neighborhoods of the city have the snow reduced for visibility, that the DPW director or the code enforcement officer report to the city council with the number of tickets issued for not shoveling sidewalks and that the DPW follow up on and follow through on the safe paths that students follow on to school as far as snow removal of those avenues. And that the hotline that is established for complaints and concerns regarding snow be manned 24 hours during the duration of the snow emergency. It was amended by Council President Caraviello that the DPW Commissioner contact the state regarding the quality of snow plowing and the disbursement of snow done by state contractors on the state roads that's now impeding sidewalks and businesses on the state road. It meant by council Falco to that the DPW director report to the city council. How many subcontractors are engaged by the city during the storm and the degree to which that they receive training and that the standards that they achieve in the discharge of their duties end. that the DPW Director request and require the removal of snow at the corner of Fern and Fulton Spring. Finally amended by Councilor Scarpelli that the DPW Director City Council, whether or not there is a list, an operating list within the city that the snow removal foreman engages to make sure that those who are ailing at home receive direct attention as to the quality of the snow plowing at their houses so that they may, in the interest of their safety and security. Thank you. And if I may, I haven't lost it, have I? But I am worn out. I would like to point out, if I could, through the chair, if you would indulge me, that I am delighted with the hard work of the DPW. I'm very grateful to Commissioner Kearns, Foreman Tanaglia, and the various members and division heads within the Department of Public Works for their hard work. Being jarred and banged about in those pieces of equipment is difficult, especially if you're doing it for 30 some odd hours without sleep. So thank you to you all. On the motion of approval by Councilor Lango-Curran, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor? All those opposed? The motion is passed. And so ordered. On the motion of Councilor Knight that we return to the regular order of business. All those in favour? All those opposed? The motion granted. 18-021 offered by President Caraviello. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council request the Mayor keep the lights on. Thank you Mr. Vice President. Mr. Vice President, with the opening of Shibuya on New Year's Eve,
[Richard Caraviello]: And the poor lighting that we have in the square, because I know we're investigating some new lights there. It'll be my recommendation that the city keep the lights on the trees for the remainder of the time, because... You have all these people walking from the parking lots over here, over to Chevalier, and the lighting on that part of the square is a little questionable and dim at the moment, plus the lights also look nice at Century Bank and at the other end. In the interim, until we replace the lighting on the pole lamps to brighter lights, it'd be my request that the mayor keep the lights on both on the trees of City Hall, Salem Street, and High Street, and also request that Century Bank maybe keep their lights on for the remainder of the season until we get some better lights on the square.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. On the motion of Councilor, President Caraviello, all those in favor? Councilor Marx?
[Michael Marks]: Mr. President, also maybe if we can make part of this report if the President doesn't mind. We've been waiting for an investigation on the lights in the square for over two years now. Two years. They did a section of Salem Street across from Alamo Roast Beef in that area, and they were reviewing the illumination to see if that's what the city wanted to go with, and then the issue fell off the map. I'm not sure what happened, but it really needs, we need an update from the Office of Energy and Environment to find out where we are in this process. There's no reason why it should take two years to figure out what we're going to do with the lighting in the square, Mr. President. I think this resolution speaks volumes for the fact that we've been waiting to get increased lighting in the business district. And I might add, not just Medford Square, in all our business districts, they all have the same low shabby lights that really illuminate nothing, not even the road, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Vice President, I was able to speak with the superintendent of Randazzo on the light situation, and he told me that they did have two sample heads that they were going to put up on a couple of lights to see how they work, but he also explained that part of the problem is those poles cannot accommodate Something with brighter lights because they would have to be fully replaced. But I don't know if he ever got a chance to put up the two that they had that were at the maximum brightness. I think it was right after the storm that he got them. So if you want to ask Superintendent Wyeth Randazzo for his report on what happened to those heads.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes, so that, further amended by Councilor Caraviello, that Superintendent Rendazzo report back to us as well on the matter. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight. Move the question, Mr. President. Move the question. Chair recognizes Councilor Lungo-Koehn, finally.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. If we could also just get an update. Ms. Hunt, I know Alicia Hunt was working on this and helped do the install, asked for our opinion. I'm not sure where it went, so maybe we could just get an update.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I second that. I second that. Aye. The ayes have it. Motion passes. Maybe we should go back to gas lights. And, uh, Senate 18-022, offered by Vice President, uh, Councilor Lungo-Koehn, be resolved that the administration provide Medford City Council with an update as it relates to the hiring of a traffic engineer. Councilor Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, Vice President Dello Russo. This is something we've all been interested in. I put the request that we get an update for this on maybe three months ago. At that time, I think a couple of my colleagues said yes, it was posted. Now the residents are starting to ask, those that are concerned with the speed and the traffic. Residents are starting to ask us and doing their own research, realizing that it's advertised, but not publicly. I don't know what sites they're looking on, It doesn't seem like we're making any progress, whether or not it's been posted on the city website. I mean, we need to do more to try to get qualified people to apply for this job so we can make it a reality, bottom line. I mean, it was four months ago I put this on last time. Councilor Falco's been talking about this since he got elected the first time. This needs to be done. It was in the budget. for fiscal year 2018. We are now six months out and we have nothing and it's just unfortunate.
[John Falco]: Councilor Falco. Thank you Mr. President. I do agree. I was hoping that this position would have been hired a while ago and I did actually call for an update just because I had been asked by a number of people as well with regard to this issue and what I was told is that it was posted A number of colleges and universities around here, the MMA as well, and they did interview a number of candidates. From what I was told, an offer was actually made, and last minute, the person actually rejected the offer. They decided not to take it, and this is from what I was told. So it's going to be reposted again by the end of January, the end of this month. So that's where we stand. From what I've been told is that basically it will be reposted and they're basically going to start the process again. That's what I've been told. I definitely feel your frustration because I'm just as frustrated. I mean, this is something that I've been advocating for since I got on the council, and everyone here is supportive. It's something that's long overdue. It's something that our community needs, and it's something that we need to get today. So hopefully we get some good candidates in, and hopefully they hire to this position sooner than later.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I still would like just to get a update in writing and maybe amend this and ask for a listing of all places that it will be posted for the second time the end of this month just so we can better tell the people that yes it's getting posted. It's getting posted. these ten places, and then we can maybe make recommendations, talk to people who are either in the field or who know where it should or shouldn't be posted, and give suggestions to the administration of, hey, why don't we also post it, you know, I mean, I'm not looking for a traffic engineer job, but people may know better places to post it or additional places to post it, because I think if we all work together, maybe we can make it happen.
[Richard Caraviello]: So move approval as amended. On the motion by Councilman Curran, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Chief. Chief, did you want to speak?
[Leo Sacco]: I just wanted to thank the council for approving the pay raises for the patrol offices and also the funding, the necessary funding for the patrol offices. I should have got up sooner after that was already done. You guys are moving it right along. But I really want to thank you and, you know, unanimous approval goes a long way for all of us. So I want to thank you for that. I also want to thank the hard work of Mayor Burke and her staff and the Patrolmen Association under President McGilvery and his e-board for working diligently in reaching an agreement. So they did work very hard and sometimes those things are overlooked, but thank you again for your approval tonight. Thank you, Chief.
[Richard Caraviello]: Mr. Chairman, a motion to take three is under suspension. We have some reports to Ms. Consolidosa. 17590, Method Associates, LLC, Metal Glen Mall, Special Permit, Extended Hours, 60-Day Review, January 9th, 2018, Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, this is the extended permit for Wegmans, Mr. President, to allow them to have an opening at 6 a.m. in the back. And from what I understand, based upon my conversations with the code enforcement officer, we haven't had any issue. With that being said, at this point in time, there has been a 60-day review with zero complaints, Mr. President, so I would move to accept the committee report and to move on to the next level of review.
[Richard Caraviello]: And I do have an email from him saying that, on the motion by Councilor Knife, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Motion passes. 17433, Annie's Pizzeria, Middlesex Avenue, special permit hours, 180 day review, January 9th, 2019. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Again, Mr. President, this is also a 180 day review of an extended hours permit for a pizzeria on Middlesex Avenue. It's my understanding that the operation is up and running and there haven't been any complaints or concerns. With that being said, I'd move to accept the committee report.
[Richard Caraviello]: Second by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? 17-606 Evangelical Haitian Church, 400 High Street. 90-day review on illumination, January 9, 2018. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I'd move to table this matter. I haven't had an opportunity to speak with the code enforcement officer relative to any complaints that have come in.
[Richard Caraviello]: If I can interject, there is no illuminated sign there as of yet. If we could table that. Motion by Councilor Knight to table that, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Motion passes. Motion by Councilor Scarpelli to take papers in the hands of the Clerk, seconded by Councilor Lungo-Koehn. Offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council congratulate Walter Buckley on his election to the position of President of the Medford Firefighters Local 1032. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President. We've seen Local 1032 have a number of leaders that have come before us, whether it was Rick Jordan or Billy O'Brien, who's passed on the torch now to his former vice president, Walter Edward Buckley. It's a testament to show that the colleagues in the fight department really support and believe in Mr. Buckley. He's a good Marine, a veteran of our armed forces, and I want to wish him the best of luck and congratulations on this appointment, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Scarpelli.
[George Scarpelli]: Thank you Mr. President. I too want to congratulate Mr. Buckley for his appointment and if we can, if my colleague doesn't mind, to also reach out to Bill O'Brien, former president, and thank him for all the hard work he put into such a difficult and demanding position. So thank you. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Be offered by Councilor Knight. Be resolved. The Medford City Council congratulate Michael Lukovic on his recent election to the position of Vice President of Medford Firefighters Local 1032. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Yes, Mr. President. Councilor Lando Kerr was actually supposed to be on that as well. Again, there's been a change in leadership at 1032. Vice President Buckley is now the President. That opened up the Vice Presidency seat and Mr. Lukovic has gotten there. Also another Strong veteran of our United States military, Mr. President, a great gentleman, and this is just a testament to the work that he does and the opinion that his colleagues have of him. So I'd like to congratulate him on his work. He's a great firefighter and a great person.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Knight and Councilor Falco, be it resolved that the Medford City Council request that the Code Enforcement Officer enforce the Snow Removal Ordinance at the Dunkin' Donuts on High Street and Brandon Avenue. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: I'll have it at him, sorry. Yes, Mr. President, Councilor Falco and I have been approached by a number of constituents and residents in the neighborhood that have concerns, especially when dusk falls, that the sidewalk is very difficult to traverse and it's causing a public safety hazard, so we'd like to ask that the code enforcement officer go down there and do an inspection and speak with the individuals that are responsible for snow removal at the property.
[Richard Caraviello]: The motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Offered by Council of Mox, being resolved that the City Administration provide the Council with an update on the status of the turnout gear, purchase of heavy-duty dryers, and the training councils. Council of Mox.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. The turnout gear, which we all thought brave men and women in the fire department are wearing, they still have yet to get their second suit of turnout gear. I'm not quite sure what the holdup is, but I'm asking. That the city administration report back immediately on what is the time frame for the firefighters to receive the gear regarding the training towers. I know there's meetings going along between the city administration, the fire department and other. I think it's only appropriate that we get an update now on where we stand regarding the training towers and the dryers. From what I've been told today, they are not ordering dryers for the turnout gear. They ordered washers, which we all spoke about within the budget. We all asked that dryers be purchased also to be installed at the headquarters and now being told that they are not ordering the dryers, they are going to just have them held up and blown dry by fans. Which to me seems kind of outdated and archaic way of drying turnout gear, which is a very piece, heavy piece of clothing. And to me proper drying would be through a recognized heavy duty dryer that's used throughout this country in fire stations. So I would ask Mr. President that we receive an update why dryers, after a vote of this council, in funding that was approved by this council, uh, dryers have not been, uh, purchased, and from what I'm being told, are not going to be purchased, Mr. President, uh, from this, uh, city administration.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor? All those in favor? Motion passes. Offered by Councilor Marks be it resolved that the tree at 91 Warren Street be removed by National Grid in the interest of public safety. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you Mr. President. The resident that lives at 91 Warren Street brought this tree which is ...in terrible condition to the attention of the city warden, Aggie Tudin, back in January of 2017. Aggie Tudin went out, looked at the tree, said, indeed, this tree needs to come down as a public safety concern... ...and where there are electrical wires that are mixed in with the branches of the tree, it's protocol by the tree warden... to reach out to National Grid, which Aggie Tudin reached out in January to National Grid of 2017, requesting that they go out and remove the tree in the interest of public safety. Nothing was done, Mr. President. In August 10, 2017, Aggie Tudin then reached out to National Grid again. This tree is of concern. It's in the neighborhood and it needs to be addressed by National Grid. National Grid did nothing again. And just recently in December of last year, Aggie reached out for a third time to National Grid and they have yet to respond, Mr. President, or yet to reach out. I would ask Mr. President that we immediately send a letter to National Grid, and I can tell you as one member of the Council, I'm getting tired of these utility companies, and I know Councilor Scarpelli has spoken about it on many occasions, Mr. President. running roughshod in this community. And when we have a request, a public safety request to ignore it for a year, in my opinion, coming from a department head here at City Hall is unacceptable. It's totally unacceptable. And I can tell you right now, any petitioner that comes before us, in particular for National Grid, they're not going to get my vote on, I don't care what the proposals are. until they start addressing issues in this community, Mr. President. We asked for a report regarding the double polls in the community several months back. Has anyone received a report regarding double polls in this community? Nothing at all. We have received little to no correspondence at all, Mr. President, and I think it's about time this council stands up on behalf of the residents of this community and the people that are paying the bills. National Grid's making a lot of money in this community, along with the other utility companies, and it's about time that this council stands up on behalf of the residents. And I would ask that that treaty be reviewed and taken down immediately, Mr. President, where it's a year-old request. and the tree water deemed appropriate that that tree needs to be removed immediately in the interest of public safety.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Councilman. On the motion by Councilman Mox, seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. We have several condolences this evening. So if we could do them all at once, it would be appreciated. Offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that a moment of silence be held for longtime Method resident Francis Martin Jr. on his recent passing. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. Francis is a lifelong resident and was a great community person, a great friend, and he will be sorely missed, Mr. President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. Offered by Councilor Knight, President Caraviello, and Councilor Falco, we are resolved that the Medford City Council send its deepest and sincere condolences to the family of Karen Pirro on her recent passing. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Karen Piero was a family friend for a very long time. She grew up next door to my aunt in the city of Somerville. Vinnie, her husband, and my father were very good friends, go back a number of years. The first political campaign I ever worked on was when I was seven years old, holding signs for Vinnie Piero and going door-to-door with my father, Vinnie Piero, Mr. President. over the years had an opportunity to meet Karen and develop a relationship with her. And I'm very sad to see her go. She was a great woman. She was a strong family person. And she raised a great family, Mr. President. She was always the rock behind Representative Pirro's efforts in the legislature. And I'm just sad to see her go, Mr. President. It's really a terrible loss. And she was struggling for a long time. She was ill for a long time. And during this time in the holidays, I'd just like to extend the deepest condolences to her family.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you. And again, the Peros have been long-time friends of myself and my family, and it's tough to lose a loved one on the holiday time. Offered by President Caraviello and by Councilor Knight. Being resolved, the Medford City Council sends its deepest and sincere condolences to the family of Colleen Hallisey, owner of Colleen's. Colleen was an icon of Medford Square and her presence in our community is going to be sorely missed. Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I can remember Colleen for as long as I can remember. She was a fixture at the Brigham's on the corner of Forest Street and High Street, which later became Colleen's. She did a great job turning that business around from some frailing franchise into a private endeavor that was really booming. Thinking back to all my encounters with her and remembering how many of my friends all had jobs there through high school and how much free ice cream I got from them. She brings back some great memories, Mr. President. But you weren't pulling the wool over Colleen's eyes. She knew everything that was going on in her shop. And if she saw a kid over there that needed a little bit of help or an extra scoop of ice cream to make his day, she was all for it. So with that being said, Mr. President, I extend my condolences to her family on her untimely passing. She had a very public illness, and it's something that she showed courage and poised through. And I really just want to extend my deepest condolences to her family.
[Richard Caraviello]: The great president of Colleen, very active in the Chamber of Commerce and the community, St. Joseph's Church, I mean, you know, anybody needed anything, Colleen was the first to step forward. Donations, the use of her restaurant, and again, certainly one of the longtime icons of Medford Square, and her presence will be missed in our community. Eighteen. uh... offered by president caribbean will be a result of the city council so this is also is the family of dr detector for the long-time volunteer uh... was of the communities that was very active in our community and her presence in the west of the community is going to be missed by many again uh... guardian another another icon of west medford uh... all the time and i'll spend the rest of the community center uh... people like that just uh... just don't get replaced so again uh... My condolences to her and her family. And if we could all stand for a moment of silence. Thank you. Mr. President. Dr. Del Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Before we adjourn, if I could invite a citizen who wishes to speak and share a discourse on the recycling scheduling. Thank you.
[Andrew Castagnetti]: Good evening. Name and address of the record, please. Andrew Castagnetti, Cushing Street, Eastford. First of all, I wish you all a very good, healthy New Year to everyone, sincerely. I came in this evening earlier, and downstairs I noticed this one-page flyer at the information booth table, and it jarred my memory, because I don't recollect If I ever receive this year's recycling brochure schedule. So if any of the Councilors know the answer, I'd appreciate it. Or else I'll have to go through some old mail and see if I misfiled it. I would like to know that for the sake of better disposal for, especially for the absentee owners that live on my street. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. Casagnetti. Does anyone know the answer? We do not know the answer, but we'll do our best to find it out for you.
[Adam Knight]: I'm sorry it's not in form and I'd be happy to write a resolution, but I'd like to also request that the administration investigate extending Christmas tree pickup for another week or so based upon the inclement weather that's outside. I think it might be a good gesture to allow some people some time to get their driveways and sidewalks cleared away before they get their trees out of the house.
[Richard Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco, that the administration investigate more time for the Christmas trees to be picked up. All those in favour? Motion passes. Ricketts.
[Michael Marks]: Ricketts. Councilor Marks. Yes, Mr. President. Just briefly, we all received an email today regarding the broadcast equipment that's located here at City Hall and how outdated the equipment is. And the new gentleman, his name escapes me, that's operating, Ben, The community access station put together some figures and facts on what equipment we need and the cost. This would also include the equipment that this council supported regarding having cameras televise our hearing rooms and be part of that process. And I would ask that we as a council request the city administration submit to us a funding paper. So we can move forward on these two very important issues, changing the outdated equipment here at City Hall, so people viewing this can actually make heads and tails of what's going on at this meeting, and also the meetings that are taking place in other rooms that are currently on televised, Mr. President. So I would ask that we send a correspondence to the Mayor for a funding paper.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just want to second this resolve the email we received I think was forwarded to us by the city clerk from Ben Brown. It broke down all the information that we need with regards to cost for new equipment. It's one of them. Complaints we get of how this meeting is airing, school committee, as well as the fact that we would like more boards and commissions and more of our meetings televised for the public. We need a new system. We need cameras in the different rooms in City Hall, one or two additional rooms, and I think it coincides with the funding we appropriated in the last budget with regards to videotaping and online, whether that was online streaming, I don't know exactly, but more transparency, the public's ability to watch and review documents and watch the meetings, it's extremely important, and I think it's something that is It's long overdue, so I second the resolve and hopefully we can move forward on that quickly along with the traffic engineer.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I also support this resolution. I think this is one of the key points in making the legislative software program successful. We need to make sure that we have funding to buy the latest equipment to have in the meeting rooms and here at City Hall. I think it promotes engagement with the citizens and making sure that they can see what happens here. Not only in this meeting, but with the boards and commissions as well. So I just want to go on record of supporting this. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: All those in favor. Aye. Motion passes. Records. Pass the councilor Scarpelli. On the motion by Councilor Scarpelli to accept the records. Seconded by Councilor Knight. All those in favor. Aye. Motion by Councilor Scarpelli to adjourn. Seconded by Councilor Dello Russo. All those in favor. Aye. Motion passes. Meeting adjourned. Representative Donato, call me.
|
total time: 16.99 minutes total words: 1222  |
total time: 8.61 minutes total words: 770  |
total time: 2.93 minutes total words: 251  |
total time: 5.68 minutes total words: 630  |
|
total time: 7.64 minutes total words: 328  |
total time: 16.12 minutes total words: 894  |
total time: 3.74 minutes total words: 319  |
|