total time: 10.2 minutes
total words: 580
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you so much for being here. Despite the weather, this is a wonderful day for the city of Medford and its Medford Police Department. So thank you all for joining us. Father Casey, elected officials, all of the officers here today, as well as the citizens. This is a historic day, a day that has been long in the coming. Welcome to the groundbreaking of the Medford Police Headquarters. This headquarters represents a new era in policing in Medford. This station is critical to 21st century policing model that our offices embody. It took perseverance by many to make this happen. Many with us today, so thank you all. This new facility will improve readiness and morale and will compliment the dedication the members of the Medford Police Department demonstrate daily. It will permit these committed men and women to come to work in a building that they are proud of each and every day. This groundbreaking ceremony is an exciting first step in the legacy of the Medford Police Department and our service to the residents of Medford. The state-of-the-art facility will be a beacon of safety for our community for years to come. So thank you, thank you, thank you, all of you. At this time, I'd like to recognize some of our elected officials that are here today. From the City Council, we have President John Falco. Vice President Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Councilor Rick Caraviello, and Councilor Adam Knight. Without the assistance of the City Council, this would not have been possible. So thank you all for the courageous votes you took to make sure that the bonding went through and that this is happening here today. Thank you. We also have with us from our state delegation, State Senator Pat Jalen walked in. Our senior representative, Paul Donato. Representative Sean Gobley. And representative Christine Bobber. Thank you for joining us today. They're also working on trying to get us a little bit of money too that can go towards this process. So thank you for all your diligence in this regard. Also from our school committee, we have Mia Mustone Quinn. Quinn Mustone. And Mr. Paul Russo. Thank you very much for being here today. At this time, I would like to recognize Father Robert Casey, the chaplain for the Medford Police Department to do an invocation.
[SPEAKER_07]: I prayed for some this morning, but let us pray. Oh God, the work we begin today gives us hope for the future, the future of Medford Police Department and its officers, and the future of the city of Medford and its citizens. We all know the familiar words of the Old Testament Psalm, if God does not build a house in vain to its builder's labor. Whenever we look to the interest of our community and serve them, we are God's coworkers. Let us today pray for God's help, that he may bring this construction to successful completion and his protection will keep those who work on it safe from injury. We reflect on the words of St. Paul, according to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder, I laid a foundation and another is building upon it. Each must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely God's word and God's presence. And so we pray for this building today. All-powerful and all-merciful Father, you have created all things. Through the gift of your eternal wisdom, grant that the undertaking we begin today on the new state-of-the-art Medford Police Headquarters may progress day by day to its successful completion. Bless Mayor Burke, and Chief of Police Buckley as they supervise the building of a new home for the police department and all those who will continue to plan and build this new headquarters. We ask this in God's name, amen.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you, Father Casey, for those remarks. At this time, I would like to introduce the President of the Medford Police Superior's Union, Mr. Bono. Please step forward.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you. I'll keep it very short. The members of the Medford Police Superior Officers Association are grateful for this day and they're grateful to Mayor Burke, City Council, Chief Buckley, and also Chief Sacco for bringing this project forward and getting it started. I know that the officers, most of whom from my association, work within the confines of the building. will appreciate the fact that they'll now be able to work in an efficient and a safe building. Once again, I want to thank all those involved, the Mayor, the Chief, City Council, and Chief Sacco as well. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you. And now the President of the Medford Patrolmen's Association, Harold McGivley, would like to say a few words. Thank you.
[McGilvey]: I wrote something down so I don't get myself in trouble. All right, good morning. I want to start by thanking Mayor Burke. Thank you, Mayor Burke. And the Medford City Councilors, most of them are present here, for a long overdue project, the building of a new Medford Police Headquarters. It's been a long, sometimes difficult road. Thank you to Chief Sacco for supporting the men and women of the Police Department throughout this process. It's unfortunate that a forced retirement prevented him from seeing the project through. He did, however, leave the keys in very capable hands. Thank you to Chief Buckley for seeing this project through and keeping the safety and well-being of the men and women that serve under you as your top priority. Thank you for also providing me the opportunity to speak this morning. Thank you. The membership of the MPPA brought the working conditions of police headquarters to the public's attention, and the support and response was truly amazing. The MPPA membership stayed on message and remained professional at all times, and the citizens of this great city spoke loud and clear that it was time for a new police headquarters. On behalf of the MPPA, we'd like to thank the citizens of Met for their unwavering support. Most of my thanks, however, has to go to the members of the MPPA. I'm so proud to represent each and every one of them. They've worked through and under some very difficult circumstances and conditions over the years. They did so without missing a beat. They represent the very best in law enforcement today. We look forward to the completion of this project. We look forward to being provided with the best tools, most modern technology available to do our job. We look forward to continuing to provide the citizens of Medford with the very best possible police service available. We look forward to finally working in a building that will meet the needs of 21st century policing. Again, we thank Mayor Burke and Medford City Council. We look forward to another groundbreaking ceremony when the firefighters get a new building. And in conclusion, I want to just say we got another MPPA fact check. We got a new building. Thank you very much.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: So Chief Sacco also left behind something else. A beautiful orange shag carpet for Chief Buckley to enjoy for the next year and a half. So kudos, right? He's a really good man. The next woman I'd like to introduce really needs no introduction, especially in the law enforcement community. Our district attorney, Marion Ryan, is one of those people that are always there by your side, 24-7. She's always on scene, always willing to talk to anyone and help anyone. And she's just a magnificent district attorney. I know that the police department and DA Ryan work very closely together. Chief Buckley, as a lieutenant, I know worked immensely with the district attorney. So she's always been a partner in crime in the city of Medford and alleviating crime more so. So I'd like to introduce our district attorney, Marion Ryan.
[SPEAKER_03]: Thank you and thank you to Mayor Burke and Chief Buckley for inviting me to be here today. And of course we thank Chief Sacco. You know, I don't want to say this has been a long anticipated project, but we used to say it would be a cold day in hell when Medford got a new police station. I'm just saying. You know, of course, as the mayor mentioned, the police department are our closest partners and we are happy to see them have this new facility to do their work. But I want to spend a minute just talking about what the groundbreaking for this new building means for the citizens of Medford. Think about what we ask of our police departments today. We ask them to do impeccable investigations, to use technology that literally changes every day, to ensure that we preserve evidence in a way that leads to convictions that are unassailable. We ask them to be here when you are lost, when you need help, when your family hurts, that's what we ask of our police departments. And there is probably no discipline that in the last 15 years has changed more and has risen to that challenge. No matter what people say, no matter what their take is on the issue, when they are hurt, they need help. They dial 911. And to have people here that we treat with dignity and show that by the places we give them to work is a very, very important statement by a community. You can be certain in Medford that you have chosen well in the people who lead you, in the people who guide your public safety. As the New Testament tells us, where your treasure is, that is where your heart is. And by making the stand to commit funds to this building, Medford has truly shown the community where the heart and the soul of this city lay. So thank you. I'm great looking forward to this building and I'm happy to be here this morning. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: So we all know that it takes many to get the job done. And I want to recognize some of the team within City Hall that has been working on this project for the last two and a half years. And there are more than I'm going to name, but these are the key people. Of course, Chief Sacco. Chief Sacco fought every day to make this happen, knowing he would not be chief when the building is completed. He knew how important it was for the members of the Medford Police Department. Thank you to Chief Sacco. I think he's enjoying a little bit of sun right now and maybe he can send some our way too but we thank Chief Sacco for all the work that he did on behalf of the Medford Police Department. And of course Chief Buckley who stepped up, carried the reins. I don't think we skipped a beat. We just continued to have our weekly meetings and instead of Chief Sacco we had Chief Buckley present. So thank you Chief Buckley also for jumping right in and keeping the process moving. We have our city solicitor Mark Rumley who I believe is here today. Mark has been through every step of this process and he has been our confidant and he has kept us moving and always how to do everything the right way. So thank you, Mark. Jen Deverwood, Chief of Staff. She's in on all the weekly meetings and she has definitely kept us moving. She keeps everybody informed and makes sure that the process is on target and on date. Annmarie Irwin, our treasurer. Where would we be without the money, right? So Annmarie's been watching the dollars, watching the cash flow, and she makes sure that everything happens right. So she's been an integral part of this process. Paul Mokia, Building Commissioner and his team. You've looked at every plan. You gave guidance. You gave advice. So you have made this a better project. So thank you, Paul and the team in the building department. Alicia Hunt, as we all know, she's actually in Boston today. Her office has been at the meetings regularly and has made sure that this building is built to our 21st century standards from an energy perspective, environmental perspective. And I think you can see the pile behind us. We had to let that wait for about six, seven months because we're building up the site. Because in 50 years, we don't know where the Mystic River is going to end up. And we wanted to protect our investment. So we spent the time in order to make this site be about four feet, four feet, am I correct? Four feet taller, higher. four feet higher. So thank you Alicia Hunt for all the work you've done and also Shab Khan from our procurement office. Shab has made sure everything has been ticked and tied and done correctly so according to the law. So thank you Shab from our team. We of course have the members of the Medford Police Department that went and visited many sites They saw some new stations, some not so new stations. They tried to pick the best of what they saw. And I think that when we open up this building, you're going to see that this is a beautiful building. It's an efficient building, and it will work for the benefit of the men and women of our Medford Police Department. And a man that I'm going to introduce up next, Jeff Shaw. Jeff Shaw has been with us for the last seven years. I know he's going to elaborate in his words, but he's been with us since we started doing the space needs assessment. And Jeff has been a partner. And if I told you he's looked at 10 sites for us, that's probably an understatement. Whenever I had an idea, or if I drove by a vacant lot, or I drove by a building, I'd say, hey, Jeff, what do you think? Can you go, can you fit a police station on that, number one? And what would it look like? in the surroundings. And Jeff has done more than one big sketch for us to see if we could find a perfect location. And it wasn't until an officer that I won't name came by and visited my office and he said, have you looked at the training center? And I'm like, you guys use the training center. And he was like, that'd be a perfect location, because we like being right here. We like this location. We like the proximity. We like being in the square. So to that officer, thank you for opening up our eyes, because we really, we were not looking at this at that time. So thank you. And today would not have been possible without our DPW crew that put together everything that you see here in the last minute, as well as the Murphy brothers that provided the tenting for us. So, you know, thank you. It takes a village, and you guys are part of our village, and we really appreciate all the work you do. And sometimes you're in the background, but we know you're there, and you're always trying to look out for our best interest. So thank you to our whole DPW department for everything you do every day. You know, Marion mentioned, D.A. Ryan mentioned, that you call 911 and people come. So we have our police that come, we have our fire that come, and a lot of times we have our DPW that come. So they're an integral role in public safety in our community. And before I turn it over to Jeff, I want to acknowledge our fire chief, Gil Birdy's in the building here. Thank you, chief, for joining us today. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce Jeff Shaw, our architect of record, to say a few words.
[Jeff Shaw]: Well it's not often that they ask the architect to speak. I will spare you the many words I could spill over the time that we've spent working on this project. I know many of you personally now over the years, but thank you to the Mayor Burke, to the City Council, and the Police Department, and all the other officials and staff and everyone else that we worked with over the course of this project, including the contractor, CTA Construction, and the Owner's Project Manager, Daedalus Projects, who have, like everybody else on this project, just seamlessly integrated with the team and the staff to keep this project moving smoothly. As the mayor mentioned, it's been about seven years to the day that we were hired and have been working on this project and it's been an honor to work alongside such dedicated public servants that we found in the city of Medford to build a new home for the Medford Police Department. Our firm does specialize in police and fire stations. We've completed many, many projects as well as many, many studies for departments across the state. But we began our work here with the completion of a study looking at both the police and the fire department. We did that because we wanted to identify the space needs that are required in this building. That study concluded with the result that the department needed 35,000 square feet for a modern police facility. We worked very closely with Chief Sacco, Captain Clemente, Captain Fowler, Lieutenant Colarusso, Lieutenant Buckley, and now Chief Buckley on the program, which is taking that space need and developing plans that identified how we would build a new station to meet the physical space requirements of the police department. During that study, As the mayor mentioned, we looked at many different sites around the city. Many that have been named, many that have not been named. And that took us to practically every corner of the city. And we ultimately, as the mayor said, came back home here to the police station site. On this site we considered all options for the police department not just in the current academy location but what could we do on other areas of the site. We looked at parking, we looked at how this site integrated with the bus stop that was out front and all the other needs that would need to be solved as part of this project went forward including working carefully with city staff the police and the City Council to look at site needs for drainage, for conservation, and for many other things that were required to get our regulatory permits for this project. were other special sessions that the city encouraged the team to to go forward with including resiliency planning as the mayor mentioned raising the site up for potential future proofing of this parcel of land it's an emergency facility it needs to be able to respond to the needs of the city we looked at planning especially for environmental and energy sustainability. There's now plans in place to put solar panels on the building, as well as the energy efficiencies that we've incorporated into the building. We looked at site and utility planning, considering that if this site were to flood, what would happen to the utilities on the site? We located our mechanical rooms on the second floor of the building. There's been a significant amount of work by all the professionals involved to help to make this a truly state-of-the-art building. I think along the way we answered just about as many questions about the technological and physical capabilities of the station that could possibly be asked. The building has the capability to house 130 staff, including a full-size training room, roll call, and physical fitness center, a modern detectives bureau with full evidence storage and processing facility, and an up-to-date flexible holding and processing center for detainees. Ultimately, we're very happy to see the city make the commitment to building a fossil fuel-free building, as I said, installing solar panels and making the building a leader in energy-efficient design for public safety facilities, which is not easy because these are 24-7 facilities that do use quite a bit of energy compared to other buildings. These are not goals that are seen in other projects, and we have not seen it in the past, so we truly applaud the city and the mayor and everyone for making this commitment. Now, seven years later, we believe the city has surpassed what it set out originally to accomplish. We are excited to begin the final phase of the project, establishing a new home for the police department. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you, Jeff. And you do feel like a member of the family to all of us, so thank you. I also want to acknowledge a few more department heads that are present with us today. We have Aleesha Nunley-Benjamin, head of our finance department at City Hall. Thank you, Alicia. We have Michael Durham, our veterans agent who's here today. Our superintendent of schools, Dr. Maurice-Edouard Vincent. I think, have I missed any other department heads? Our city engineer, Tim McGivern. Tim, thank you. And at this time, I would like to introduce the chief of police, John Jack Buckley.
[Jack Buckley]: Thank you, Madam Mayor. First, not the Madam, but that goes hand-in-hand with the John Jack. I was born a John and have been Jack since, well, go back to that one. It's a little bit unfair for me before I officially begin. I saw that I was put on the bottom of the speaking rolls. Everyone speaks so eloquently, and I'm new to this, so bear with me, especially if you saw my speech blow away in the wind a couple of minutes ago. If it's out of order, it's not my fault. But when the architect comes up and hits a home run in his speech before you, you know you're up against the wall. Good morning, and thank you all for being here, and for doing your part to bring this building to where we are today. Today we move from pre-construction to construction, and I cannot wait until we all come back in some 20 months to open the doors to this new police station. There are many people to thank for this day coming about, but I'd like to begin with my own officers. The efforts of the Medford Police Patrolmen's Association, Officer Harold McGillivray, and the support of the Medford Police Superior Officer's Association, Sergeant David Bononell, and for many years, Lieutenant Andy Michael Bryan, were the impetus, or should I say push, that got this project rolling. And I truly thank them for their support, and I thank the members of my police department for bearing with us throughout this time. The end is in sight. We will have our building soon. I also want to give a nod to a special group of officers. We often speak of the men and women of the Medford Police Department, but in this case, it's the women of this police department that took on a special role to help bring about this day, and I thank them for their loyalty and their hard work. This past year has been truly amazing for our police department. Police departments and change are two things that don't often get along. Yet for the first time in three decades, we have a new police chief. And now for the first time in almost six decades, we will have a new police station. I owe a strong debt of gratitude for the support the city has shown our department. Most importantly, I want to thank Mayor Stephanie Burke. Mayor Burke, My officers are truly grateful for your backing of this project. It wasn't easy, but somehow you pushed us through, and we stand here today to put the first shovels in the ground to a long overdue project. Your commitment to public safety is noted and appreciated. You led the process to replace a 28-year legendary police chief, and you guided this department in the city to envision a new future for the community and their police department. We have a new police station on the way. You recently purchased new firearms and equipment that were also long overdue. And you will be providing nine new police vehicles over the next few months. But most importantly, you've maintained a commitment to advancing this department's community mission. We have hired 15 to 20 officers since 2016 alone. And just yesterday, we spoke about hiring up to nine more officers in the very near future to support this building in the community vision. On a personal note, as the new chief, I want to thank you for your guidance, support, and advice. You can imagine that replacing a chief who served for three decades can be a daunting task. You have provided me your lessons learned, having yourself replaced a mayor who served almost three decades before you took office. You've shown me that once you commit to your job, you do not just own the present and the future, but you own the past. Regardless of what happened in the past, you learn, you adapt, and you move forward. I think this building is a great example of those lessons learned and I thank you and our officers. Yesterday I was on the phone with Chief Sacco. He too has had a large role in bringing this police station to life. The chief is hiding out in Florida and could not be here today. He promises he will be here when we open these doors And he wants you all to know that he's very happy that that stay is here and he's extremely overjoyed for his officers in this department. He's also overjoyed knowing this community, which he loves so much, will be getting the police station they deserve. Take a few moments to acknowledge and thank the city council. Long before I became chief, I watched those city council meetings every night. And I know what you went through. I know the decisions you had to make. They weren't easy. And I appreciate you sticking with us and pushing through. It was tough. You made some right decisions. City Council President John Falco, Vice President Brianna Lungokin, Councilor Michael Mox, Councilor Rick Caraviello, Councilor Fred Dello Russo, Councilor Adam Knight, Councilor George Schiapelle, Police Department thanks you for your part in this. We recognize it and we appreciate your advancement and going forward. I want to thank Senator Donato, Senator Jalen for your support of policing. Representative Garberlee and Christine Barber, I thank you. We're getting used to each other and we'll have long meetings. District Attorney Marion Ryan, we've had a long relationship. Your agency works well with the Medford Police Department. This station will encourage our relationship moving forward and I thank you. Jeff Shaw, Elizabeth Appledoom, Alicia Monks, Richard Marks, and Larry McDonough for all the work and for putting up with me, especially in all the changes I make at the last minute. There's one thing to replace the chief, but I'm not sure they appreciated the changes I made coming in. I also want to thank a special group of officers who sat with me through these committee meetings. Captain Kevin Fowler, Captain Barry Clemente, and Lieutenant Jim Colarusso. Your support is noted and I appreciate it. If I forget someone, I apologize. Know that I am grateful to you all. However, I do need to thank one last person, and this person comes with a remarkable story. If you haven't met Alva Erickson, take some time to talk to her today. Alva is my personal secretary, my assistant, and my advisor. I cannot get through a day without her counsel. She knows everyone and everything. She knows more about this department and the history of this department than anyone else. And for those of you who don't know her story, Alva came to work at the Medford Police Department 60 years ago. 60 years. She sat through this same process of planning, groundbreaking, and opening the doors to that building behind us. Alba will have worked in all three police stations once we open up. She has seen it all. HBO could pull her in and do their own miniseries on the things she knows and the stories she tells. Alva, I'd like to give you these items and ask that you help break the ground today. It's only fair. And I mean, it takes some time to talk to Alvin. She knows everything. So this building is good for the police department. That goes without saying. It will bring us into the 21st century and beyond. All new equipment, all the modern tools, a clean, friendly environment, and we thank you all for that. But most importantly, this building will become a pillar of our community. We will open the doors to a modern police station that is inviting to the public, evokes confidence in the community and the police partnership we work so hard to foster. The MPD community soon will flourish and be the center of our relationships, our openness and our commitment to all those who make Medford their home. When it's all said and done, we will have that new police station, but this building will stand as a monument to the public partnership our city will have with its community. You should all be proud that you had a part in that. I personally thank each and every one of you. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Congratulations, you really are amazing and you are the heart and soul of this police department. So thank you for everything you've done and being a part of this today. At this time I'd like to invite Father Robert Casey to conclude the ceremony with a convocation.
[SPEAKER_07]: Oh God, builder of all things, you have placed on all of us the obligation of toil and work. Grant that the work we begin as we break ground on the new Medford Police Headquarters may serve to better the lives of all the citizens of Medford. Watch over all who take on this work. And when it is completed, may it be a source of pride and accomplishment for all who planned it, built it, and occupy it. Bless Chief Jack Buckley and the members of the Medford Police Department. Watch over them, keep them safe, and always guide them to be respectful to all they serve. We ask this in God's name. Amen.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Thank you everybody for joining us. We're now going to kick it over there.
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total time: 10.2 minutes total words: 580 |
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