[John McLaughlin]: 그것은.
[Clerk]: 감사합니다. 감사합니다. 응. 좋아요.
[Lungo-Koehn]: 내 수표 1, 둘, 내 수표 1, 둘, 하나, 둘.
[Clerk]: 좋은 질문이라고 생각합니다. 그렇게 보입니다.
[Lungo-Koehn]: 안녕하세요, 모두. 자유롭게 좌석을 가질 수 있습니다. 우리는 모든 사람들이 날씨와 함께 집에 안전하게 도착하기를 원하기 때문에 정시에 시작할 것입니다. 그리고 우리는 프로그램을 1 시간도 채 안되어 유지하려고 노력하고 있습니다. 여기에와 주셔서 감사합니다. 먼저, 오늘 밤 우리를 시작할 매우 특별한 손님이 있다고 발표하고 싶습니다. 우리는 우리에게시를 읽을 최초의 시인 수상자 인 Terry Carter를 가지고 있습니다. Terry는 Five Books의 출판 된 저자입니다. 현재 그의 여섯 번째를 쓰고 있으며 곧 인쇄 될 예정입니다. 그는 우리 지역 사회, 학교, West Medford Community Center 및 커뮤니티 전체에 대한 큰 자산입니다. 더 이상 고민하지 않고 Terry Carter.
[John McLaughlin]: 환영위원회 여야합니다.
[Carter]: Medford의 상태. 당신은 이것에 관심을 기울이고 있습니다. 우리의 의도가 강화되고 순수하다는 것을 아십시오. 우리는 도시의 사무실에서 도시 서기까지의 도시를 만들고자합니다. 숙박 시설, 자전거 차선, 공원 및 지하철역을 만나기를 바랍니다. 우리는 당신이 예술, 비영리 단체 및 기초의 협력을보기를 원합니다. 우리는 당신이 소규모 사업을 번창하고 공중 보건을 통해 사람들을 살리기를 원합니다. 전통 감각으로 진보적 인 움직임은 시민들이 문제를 해결하고 침착 함이 화난 외침을 대체함에 따라 엔진의 점화를 발사 할 수 있습니다. 인종과 이성에 대한 실제 토론, 그리고 로맨스 반역에 대한 어두운 두려움, 데이터와 증거가있는 새 학교, 구식의 구식 약속. 이것은 모든 영혼의 요구를 충족시키는 노련한 범위의 거버넌스에 대한 우리의 가장 큰 희망으로 남아 있으며, 이는 우리를 전체적으로 강하게 만들고, 투표를 당연한 것으로 여기지는 않지만, 우리의 선조들이 심은 씨앗을 존중합니다. 그것은 현명하고 정당한 솔루션으로 대중의 신뢰에 빛을 비추고 있습니다. 이 단순한 운율은 삽화에 의해이 도시의 선언을 만듭니다. Medford Mustang의 행진 밴드처럼 손을 잡고 함께 일하십시오. 노동자들이 증오가없는 협상과 믿음을 얻을 수있는 곳. 첫 번째 대응자가 존중받는 곳, 그렇습니다. 그들은 항상 봉사하고 보호합니다. 건축업자가 계약 조항을 넘어서 읽고, 드릴과 톱을 넘어서보고, 일반적인 원인의 목소리를 들으려면 건축업자가 마음에 멈추는 곳. 프라이드의 무지개가 완전히 도망 쳤고 차이가 우리가 무서워하지는 않습니다. 교회가 친절한 평화와 충실한 추종자들을 숭배하는 곳. Black Lives Matter가 기본적이며 우리는 모든 얼굴이 친절하고 온화한 것으로 보며, 우리는 아이들을 열린 눈과 소생스럽지 않고 교사가 가르 칠 수 있고 아이들이 배울 수 있고 마녀가 없습니다. 또는 모든 국가, 벵골어, 라틴어, 아이티의 새로운 사람들을 환영하는 책, 화상 책. 혁신 법원이 새로운 개선 된 상태와 유산을 형성하기위한 전통이 혁신의 대담한 발전으로 놀라운 춤을 추는 경우. 이것이 도시의 마음의 외침입니다. 이 새로운 시즌에는 우리가 시작하는 곳입니다. 제정신과 똑똑한 진보를 목표로 삼기 위해서는 함께 모여서 끊어지지 않습니다. 사회 정의가 공명하고 사람들이 건강한 토론에 참여하고 좋은 음식은 이웃이 열린 문을 걸을 때 각 가족의 접시를 채 웁니다. 이제 모든 사람들이 화합의 큰 소리와 분명한 메시지를들을 시간이지만, 다른 사람들은 분노와 불화를 옹호하고 긴장을 불러 일으키기 위해 최선을 다할 수 있습니다. 신뢰할 수있는 행정의 목표는 명확하고 투명한 의사 소통입니다. 이 코비드 시대에, 우리는 여전히 지도자들이 마스크를 안전하게 제거하도록 요청해야합니다. 도시의 단순한 진실의 상태는 사람들이 더 많은 증거를보고 싶어한다는 것입니다. 그 유능한 지도자들은 배를 조종하고 강력하고 꾸준한 그립을 가지고 있습니다. 그 새로운 아이디어는 진보가 요청할 때 역사의 깊고 발효 된 캐스트에서 발효 된 와인과 같은 지혜가 쏟아 질 때 구현됩니다. 완벽한 실행으로 이어지는 적절하고 건전한 솔루션은 무엇입니까? 이 간단한 운율은 확인에 의해 활성화에 대한 갈증을 고백하고 Medford의 최고의 협력에 대한 교정에 대한 우리의 탐구를 고백합니다. 그래서 시인은 맑은 유리 병의 불 파리와 같은 별을 읽고 희망적인 2023에있는 것에 대한 힌트를 제공합니다. 신비한 조수가 비틀고 구부러 질 것입니다. 그러나 이것은 우리의 시민 계단에서 깨진 레일을 수정할 수있는 Medford의 시간입니다. 이것은 우리를 전체적으로 강하게 만드는 모든 영혼의 요구를 충족시키는 노련한 범위의 리더십에 대한 우리의 가장 큰 희망으로 남아 있습니다. 이것은 나의 탄원, 좋은 Medfordite입니다. 그리고 이제이 시인은 잘자요. 감사합니다. 감사합니다. 감사합니다. 그리고 이제 그것은 나의 영광입니다. 감사합니다. 그리고 이제 학교위원회의 부의장 인 Jenny Graham을 발표하게되어 영광입니다.
[Graham]: 안녕하세요, 모두. 오늘 밤 말해달라고 부탁 한 Lungo-Koehn 시장에게 감사드립니다. 나는 여기에 와서 학교위원회의 부의장이되어 영광이며, Medford 시민들이 거의 4 년 동안 저에게 믿음을 전했다는 것을 더 영광으로 생각합니다. 지난 4 년 동안 작은 평생처럼 느껴집니다. 검토 연도에 대해 생각할 때, 학교위원회에 합류 한 이후로 생각하는 것은 매년 검토 한 것처럼 느껴집니다. 그래서 매년 학교위원회는 학교 행정부와 함께 열심히 노력하여 진전을 이루고 있습니다. 그리고 매년 우리 학생들이받을 자격이있는 진전이 훨씬 많다는 것이 분명합니다. 그래서 내가 그것에 대해 생각할 때, 나는 종종 압도적이지만, 나는 몇 가지 하이라이트로 시작할 것입니다. 작년에 우리는 학생들을위한 고품질 커리큘럼에서 많은 커리큘럼에 투자했습니다. 오래 기한이 지났습니다. 여기에는 많은 고등학교 과정에 대한 교과서가 포함됩니다. 중학생을위한 새로운 수학 커리큘럼이 포함되어 있으며 초등학교를위한 새로운 수학 커리큘럼이 포함되어 있습니다. 우리는 또한 초등학교 수준에서 파닉스 기반 커리큘럼을 프로그래밍에, 우리가 추구하는 동안 문해력 프로그래밍에 주입했습니다. 우리의 문해력 커리큘럼의 전체 교체. 파닉스 기반의 접근 방식은 과학이 우리에게 말하는 것은 모든 독자를 지원하고 삶을 변화시키는 방법입니다. 그래서 저는 학교 행정부에 강인함에 대해 정말 감사합니다. 그들이 학습하는 가장 근본적인 일에 대해 이야기 할 때 초등학교 수준에서 가르치고 학습이 일어나는 방식을 크게 바꾸기 위해 노력했기 때문에 정말 감사합니다. 읽으려면. 우리가 기대하는 것처럼, 나는 또한 우리가 건강 커리큘럼을 살펴보고 미래에 우리의 건강 커리큘럼이 포괄적이며 과학에 기반을두고 있는지 확인하기 위해 Medford 주민 그룹을 모았다는 것을 알게되어 기쁩니다. 학생 단체의 괴롭힘과 폭력을 방지하기 위해 노력합니다. 우리가 모은 팀은 정말 놀랍습니다. 그들은 너무 자격을 갖추고 있습니다. 난 그냥이 모든 재능이 올바르게 살고 있다고 믿을 수는 없어 우리가 Medford라고 부르는이 작은 작은 공간에서 조심하십시오. 우리가 커리큘럼 측면에서하고있는 모든 좋은 일을 넘어서, 우리가 많은 시간을 보냈으며 정말 자랑스럽게 생각하는 것은 우리가 정신 건강 지원을 강화하기 위해 한 일입니다. 우리 모두처럼, 여전히 전염병에서 벗어날 수있는 모든 방법과 영향을 미쳤던 모든 방법을 탐색하는 것에 대해 여전히 생각하고 있습니다. 그래서 우리가 그 지원과 우리가하고있는 일을 강화할 수있어서 정말 기뻤습니다. 힘들고 매우 중요합니다. 작년에 우리는 11 명의 협상 파트너와 협상하면서 큰 일이었습니다. Medford 공립학교 내에 11 개의 노동 조합이 있습니다. 그 일을 통해, 우리는 교사들에게 전염병과 그 너머에서 열심히 일한 것에 대해, 그리고 그 여파로 감사했습니다. 그리고 우리는 가장 유리한 계약을 해결했습니다 교사들을 위해 수십 년 동안. 우리는 또한 Medford Public School의 직원들에게 생계 임금을받을 자격이 있다고 약속했으며, 우리의 마비 전문가가 생계 임금 일뿐 만 아니라 직원과 학생들에게 놀라운 진전을 보장 할 수있는 방법을 찾았습니다. 우리는 또한 간호사, 학교 비서 및 목수와의 연락을 해결했습니다. 그리고 우리는 여전히 남은 계약을 해결하기 위해해야 할 일이 있지만, 직원이 학생들에게 제공하는 서비스에 대한 생활 임금을 받도록 약속합니다. Medford 공립학교에 대한 지속적인 지원에 대해 지역 사회 보존위원회에 감사의 말씀을 전합니다. 가장 최근에, 우리는 McGlynn Elementary School Playground의 지원을 지원하기 위해 자문위원회를 조립할 수있었습니다. 디자인은 놀랍습니다. 그것은 놀이가 배우고 있다는 것을 알고 있습니다. 그리고 그것은 Medford시에서 최초의 진정으로 포괄적 인 놀이터이거나있을 것입니다. 자문위원회는 우리가 다양한 이해 관계자들로부터들을 수 있도록 정말 부지런히 일했습니다. 우리는 아이들로부터 들었고, 건물의 교사들로부터 들었고, 그 공간도 지역 사회 공간이 될 것이기 때문에 지역 사회로부터 들었습니다. 그리고 우리는 지속 가능성, 포괄 성 및 재미를 중심으로하는 디자인을 생각해 낼 수있었습니다. 지속적인 지원에 대한 CPC에 감사드립니다. 우리는 건설 기금 및 시장에 대한 ARPA 기금 헌신에 대한 약속이 있습니다. 그 놀이터를 현실로 만들기 위해. 나는 학교위원회 여성 인 Melanie McLaughlin과 함께 자문위원회 자체에서 그위원회에서 봉사하게 된 것을 자랑스럽게 생각했습니다. 그리고 학교위원회 전체가 완성 된 놀이터에서 리본을 자르기를 기다릴 수 없다고 말하는 것이 안전하다고 생각합니다. 작년에는 도전 과제가되었습니다. 나는 당신이 그들 모두에 대해 들었을 것입니다. 그리고 나는 학교 건물이 Medford High School보다 더 어려움을 겪지 않았다고 말하는 것이 안전하다고 생각합니다. 우리는 지난 몇 달 동안 고등학교가 안전하고 모든 학생들을위한 학습에 도움이되도록 조치를 취했습니다. Medford의 자부심을받을 자격이있는 기후와 문화를 창조하는 것은 확실히 진행중인 작업이며, 우리 모두가 헌신하는 일입니다. 내 마음과 일은 우리의 역사 인 고통을 느꼈던 가족들에게 나가고, 그것은 그 목소리 때문이며, 우리가 옳은 일을 깊이 생각하는 것이 옳은 일이기 때문입니다. 중요하게는 변화가 필요한 것입니다. 나는 우리 학생들이 더 적은 자격이 없기 때문에 아무리 힘들더라도 그러한 변화를 일으키기 위해 노력하고 있습니다. 마지막으로, 고등학생들은 현대의 최첨단 교육을 지원할 수 있으며 직업 학생들을위한 충분한 공간이있는 건물이 필요합니다. 지난해 매사추세츠 학교 건축 당국에 제출 한 신청이 자랑스럽고, 다음 단계에 초대되지 않았다는 사실을 알게되어 기뻤습니다. 상태. 저는 주 대표단에게 내년과 앞으로 몇 년 동안 주 차원에서 자금을 늘릴 수 있도록 할 수있는 모든 일을하도록 요구하고 있습니다. 그리고 4 월에 신청서를 다시 제출할 것이라고 발표하게되어 기쁩니다. 건축 당국이 설명하고 추천 한 추가로 추가로, 우리는 우리가 어떤 옵션을 가지고 있는지에 대한 토론을 시작하고 Medford High를 재건 또는 교체하는 방법을 탐구하기 시작합니다. 또한 다시 상상 한 Medford High를 현실로 만들기 위해 시장과 협력하기를 기대합니다. 나는 이것을 말하면서, 청중의 모든 백만장 자와 억만 장자들에게도 마감 할 것이다. 주변 사람들의 삶에 영향을 미치는 방법이 궁금하다면 저에게 전화하십시오. 우리는 재구성 된 Medford High가 학생들과 우리 도시에 미칠 수있는 영향에 대해 이야기 할 수 있습니다. 그와 함께 시의회 의장 인 친구 인 Nicole Morell을 소개하게되어 기쁩니다. 감사합니다.
[Morell]: 그 소개와 지난 몇 년 동안 동료들이해온 일에 대해 그레이엄 부의장에게 감사드립니다. 나는 어떤 사람들은 학교위원회가 실제로 정치에서 가장 어려운 일이며 여러분 모두와 대화하고 있다고 말합니다. 나는 동의 할 것이다. 오늘 밤 시의회의 하이라이트를 나누기 위해 오늘 밤 연설하도록 초대해 주신 Longo Cohn 시장에게 감사합니다. 그 동안 아이가 삐걱 거리는 경우, 그것은 내 아이입니다. 그래서 완전히 괜찮습니다. 저는 Medford City Council의 회장으로 일하게되어 영광입니다. 그리고 저는 2022 년 1 월 이후 우리가 개최 한 100 개가 넘는 회의에서 우리가 성취 한 일을 매우 자랑스럽게 생각합니다. 우리는 새로운 조례에 대해 일하고, 헌장 검토에 투표했으며, 일부 변형 프로젝트에 대한 자금을 승인했으며,보다 생생하고 활기차고 지속 가능한 Medford를 지원하기 위해 구역 규범의 재구성을 완료했습니다. 우리가 협의회로하는 일의 대부분은 좋은 일이 시간이 걸리기 때문에 진행중인 작업입니다. 오늘 밤 내가 여기에서 본 카운슬러 카운슬러와 같은 카운슬러로서 서로 함께 일할 시간 주민으로부터 듣고 일할 시간, 경쟁 관점의 균형을 맞추기위한 시간, 그리고 도시 부서, 이사회 및 커미션의 엄청난 노력에 대응할 시간. 지난 1 년 동안위원회는 주택에 중점을두고, 저렴한 주택 신탁을 확립하고, 도시의 포괄적 인 계획에 대한 제안을 제공하고, 주택 생산 계획에 유리한 투표, 주택 통지 조례를 구축하기 위해 노력했습니다. 모두 주택 기회와 주민들을 지원하는 것을 목표로합니다. 작년 초, 시의회는 수십 년 동안 베드포드 구역 설정의 최초의 종합 검토 및 개혁 인 구역 설정 재조정에 찬성하여 투표했습니다. 업데이트 된 구역 설정은 명확하고 간결하며 지속 가능한 개발 및 주택 기회를위한 토대를 마련합니다. 나는 우리의 구역 지정 작업의 2 단계를 기대하며, 시장에 자금을 할당 해 주신 시장에 감사드립니다.이 작업에서 우리는 다시 한 번 도시 부서와 협력하여 구역 설정을 업데이트하고 주민들을 지원하고 포괄적 인 계획과 함께 일할 수 있습니다. 도시를 위해. 우리의 구역 지정 작업 외에도 협의회는 도시의 야외 식사 및 푸드 트럭에 대한 조례와 정책을 현대화하기 위해 노력했으며, 비즈니스 커뮤니티와 주민들에게 번화 한 Medford를 지원하기 위해 응답했습니다. 우리는 도시 내에서 폴리스티렌 금지령을 통과 시켰으며, 시민권 및 사회적 책임 센터의 학생들이 먼저 주도했습니다. 이를 통해 Medford는 주 전역의 지역 사회에 합류하여 이러한 유형의 오염의 유해한 영향과 지속 가능성에 대한 우리의 약속을 심각하게 받아들입니다. 시의회는 또한 상급 재산세 연기 한도를 상급 회로 차단기 세금 공제에 연결하기로 결정했으며, 이는 매년이 프로그램의 자격을 자동으로 확장하고 노인들이 집에 머무를 수 있도록 도와줍니다. 작년에, 우리는 눈 제거 조례를 업데이트하고 행정부에 여러 정책 제안을 전달하여 제설 안내를 간소화하고 언젠가는 Medford의 City Run Sidewalk Clearing 프로그램을 조종하기를 바랍니다. 우리는 주민들의 도움 으로이 모든 것을 해냈으며,이 건물의 도시 보드와 커미션 및 직원들의 도움을 받았습니다. 그들은이 작업의 파트너이며 귀중한 전문 지식과 통찰력을 제공합니다. 그리고 나는이 일을 지원할 시간을 주신 도시 직원들에게 감사드립니다. 우리는 여전히 많은 노력을 기울이고 있으며, 시청에서 구역 설정 업데이트를 발전시키기 위해 함께 일할 수 있고, 더 지속 가능하고 탄력적 인 Medford로 나아가고, 도시 헌장을 검토하여 반영을 반영 할 수 있다고 확신합니다. 우리가 오늘날의 도시. 나는 당신의 시간에 감사하고 우리가 함께 일하고이 건물에있는 사람들과 함께 일한 하이라이트를 공유 할 수있게 해주었습니다. 그리고 나는 Medford의 명예로운 시장 인 Brianna Lundekarp를 소개하고 싶습니다.
[Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you so much. First, I wanna start by thanking Steve. I wanna start by thanking Steve Smerity, the director of communications and Emma Tombley for helping me write this speech you're gonna hear tonight. I think Steve and I had a tougher job the last week cutting it down from 25 pages to nine. So you can thank me for that later, but there's so much that has been accomplished in this city that I wanna speak about. So I'm gonna do that tonight. And I'm not gonna rush, usually I rush, I feel so bad, I'm long-winded, but I'm not gonna rush because this work that everybody's doing on a daily basis is worth taking my time for. And just before I start, please know that just because something's written on a sign doesn't mean it's true. And I'm sorry that the horns are beeping. And I'm sorry to Terry, but the horns were beeping. Thank you for those joining us here tonight. Thank you, if you're watching from home or on Zoom, I do know that we have many elected officials here, Representative Donato, School Committee woman, Kathy Kreatz, Member Ruseau, and City Councilor Rick Caravielloa, and Member Hays. Thank you. And former member, Paulette Van der Kloots. Thank you for joining us. Thank you to Terry Carter, our poet laureate, member Jenny Graham, and President Nicole Morell for kicking off the event. Before I begin, I must thank the tireless work of our department heads, city staff, and volunteers who have committed to doing amazing things under the difficult and ongoing conditions caused by the pandemic. You're all integral to the success that I will be highlighting here tonight. You're the reason why we're here tonight. I stood before you last January and outlined my vision for Medford, listing many long-term goals, including numerous projects that are currently underway, and laid out our roadmap for the next two years and beyond. Now, as we begin this fourth year of growth and progress, I want to give an update on how things are going, what challenges lie ahead, and how we continue to deliver on the promises we made, the vision we shared, and the future we've imagined. Walking through the city, visiting places I frequented as a child, young adult, and city councilor, what struck me in many instances was how infrequently some places change. A community that does not grow does not thrive. And here in Medford, because we have done the planning the last three years, we now are about to see growth mode. We've been able to make this transition and kickstart our economic engine because of a key goal, tapping into the unrealized potential of our squares, our green spaces, and our city-owned properties. The most obvious opportunity to begin our next generation of development is at Wellington Station. The untapped 28 acres of land has been in city control for over half a century. Since 1969, and in our community was completely missing out. not only on the potential revenue streams, but also the exciting opportunities that could be realized with diverse transit oriented mixed use development designed to attract new families, workers, and students. Since we issued the request for information in September, we have spent the past few months reviewing proposals from eight highly qualified developers and released those to the public earlier this month. Each plan had a unique vision for the area's potential and suggested bringing much needed housing options and other mixed use features, such as retail, office, hospitality, and green space. We will take you through these proposals and use them to help inform a future RFP in 2023 that fits the needs of our community and brings about generational change to the Wellington area. In addition to Wellington, we're also attempting to reimagine a few underused city-owned lots in Medford Square. with the help of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council working to develop priorities and criteria for future redevelopment through a community-driven analysis and visioning process that will incorporate the needs of residents and stakeholders. We will finally see progress on this project in the coming year and get out an RFP for Medford Square in 2023. We have an opportunity with these lots to implement smart resident-focused development that aligns with our community's priorities and vision. If we do this the right way, it will benefit our downtown square by creating a more sustainable and accessible future for the area. But as I said, we can't do this in a silo. We must engage and work with our seniors in the neighborhood, our local small businesses, Chevalier Theater, and residents to access their needs, assess their needs, and implement a strategy that recognizes their importance to building a more vibrant and thriving downtown area. One of the three 40B projects we are negotiating on Mystic Ave has been a topic that has garnered much debate, controversy, and discussion over the years. There's an opportunity for meaningful, lasting development on this strip that we can't afford to miss. Director Alicia Hunt, Economic Development Director Victor Schrader, now part-time, and I would not settle for thousands of luxury apartments at this site. and have been working with the developer on a different vision, one that can bring innovation and lasting possibilities to Mystic Avenue, a $1 billion life science development equipped with open space and first floor retail. As we look to strengthen our commercial corridors, we must not lose sight of ensuring that people who will use these new developments also have the ability to continue to live in our city. It's no secret that there's a housing crunch in the region, Cities across the Commonwealth are feeling the pressure to create lasting solutions to this problem and Medford is no different. Our city, however, is finding solutions that will bring more housing, especially affordable housing to Medford. We'll have a comprehensive master plan, which is being released very soon, will help guide our housing policy in the future. We currently have two other 40B projects that my administration is negotiating and working on. We worked with the developers on the project on Mystic Valley Parkway to resubmit plans to the Zoning Board of Appeals that includes 350 units, 25% of which are affordable housing units. We're committed to using ARPA funds to support and assist with affordable housing projects, like the ones at our Housing Authority complexes at 121 Riverside Ave and Walkland Court. We've allocated 400,000 to help offset permitting costs of renovations, thanks to the help of Bill 40, for upgrades and renovations to new affordable units at 121 Riverside Ave just this past week. Using existing funding sources like ARPA are helpful and allow us to make immediate expenditures to ease the burden on partners, but we're doing so knowing that we need a long-term plan for additional revenue sources. ARPA will end in 2025 and we don't want our partners left holding the bag. That's why establishing affordable housing trust is so important and will help allow us to fund new projects in the absence of ARPA. We've done the work, communicated with stakeholders, and are ready to move forward. The next step in the process is working with the council, who I know is supportive and understands the value of the trust. Those are just a few of the over 30 development investments we are working on. A special thanks again to our planning team led by Director Hunt and our now part-time economic development administrator. Thank you. Thanks to the work of our police chief, Jack Buckley, Medford PD is setting an example for how to operate as a diverse professional police force that continually engages with the community, builds new lasting partnerships and promotes inclusion and empathy with the way each of our officers conduct themselves. Aiding in that mission is the remarkable facility that the MPD calls home. And I have made it a priority to see that the fire department has a headquarters that is just as dynamic and meets the current needs of our firefighters and emergency personnel. Also, one of the ongoing initiatives that has been moving forward over the past year is upgrades to all six of our stations. We have already spent over $1.3 million on over 20 projects to upgrade each of our stations, including lighting projects in each substation, roof repairs or replacements, kitchen upgrades, and one final one to go. And we will continue to ensure these are the best working environments to keep Medford safe. Since day one, bringing our fire stations up to the standards of the 21st century department have been a priority of mine and my chief of staff, Nina Nazarian and chief John Friedman have been working tirelessly to get an owner's project manager hired and an architect contract signed. We are happy to announce that we do have an owner's project manager that we have hired and are very close to signing a contract with an architect firm for the design of the fire head quarter building. A special thank you to Medford residents, Luke McNeely and Paul Holian Jr. who have also done a lot of work, a lot of reading as it relates to this project. Please know that these things take time, but there is a committed group pushing these projects as fast as they can with me nagging them every step of the way. In addition to the efforts underway for the fire headquarters, our fire substation, engine three on Salem Street, is going to have the garage floors replaced this year. Thanks to the work of this team, as well as the dedicated help of our chief officer, Fiona Maxwell, and her team, and available community block grant funding, we can move forward on this project exponentially. Finally, this year, we'll begin IT work of over 500,000 and are designing window repairs or replacements at all the substations too. That's an additional over $2.2 million investment in new projects at the fire stations with a potential over $20 million bond after that for the headquarters. And in order to help fund these infrastructure improvements, I spent months negotiating to have cannabis dispensaries in Medford that would benefit our community. Our terms were eventually met and in addition to receiving the maximum 3% gross revenue coming back to the city, which will be used towards roads and sidewalks. We were also able to secure funding for our library, fire stations, DPW vehicles, cruisers for the police department, local nonprofit aid, veteran aid, and so much more. With all of these new projects coming online and countless more already completed, it's critical that we have sufficient transportation infrastructure in place to handle the demand and allow people to get to move about the city safely. That's why we commissioned a street and sidewalk infrastructure assessment early in my first term and showed the city, and the city has 200 million in backlog of road and sidewalk work that needs to be fixed due to the decades of neglect. This is a huge task, and although the city does not have the funding or capacity to complete this work in a year or two, we are not shying away from planning and implementation. We have been diligently working to complete our most critical roadways. In the past few months, With the help of our city engineer, Owen Hortella, we outlined a pavement strategy for Freedom Way. The road was in dire need of repair and was used regularly to access schools and city facilities. I'm happy to report that we have done the initial repaving with plans in place. Owen, there's more work to do. For a complete road rebuild in about two years. We've made a significant investment in upgrades to our sidewalks as well. This past year, we bonded a million dollars and we'll be going to the city council for an additional bond of 1.5 million that will include equipment. So even more work can be done in-house by our DPW team. Thank you to treasurer Judy Johnson for always helping us whenever we need her, when it relates to bonds. We've also identified more cost-friendly options for some road repair. Recently, 94 streets were identified in our assessment as prime candidates for a process called crack sailing. Over 30 streets have been completed with roughly 60 more to finish this spring. We are also working on a comprehensive patchwork plan that will be finalized and released to further repair our roads. Engineering and our Department of Public Works Commissioner Tim McGivern have been instrumental in this planning. With an eye on maintaining and improving the structural integrity of our streets and sidewalks, we've made tree stump removal and tree planting a priority. Working with our tree warden, Aggie Tudin, over the past year, we've secured over a half million dollars in funding for this work. And we'll continue to invest our resources towards this over the course of the year. I want to thank our state delegation, Rep Donato, Rep Garbally, Rep Barber, for providing some of that funding for this project and many, many others. Thank you. As we upgrade infrastructure, we additionally want to continue investing in our local businesses that are so important to the fabric of community. A few weeks ago, the city awarded $75,000 to 23 local businesses for storefront improvements. With this second round of funding completed, we have awarded over 100,000 through small business facade improvement grants. I spoke about revitalizing Medford Square in my inauguration speech last year, and I'm proud to say we are working towards that goal with programs like this that inject funding and create opportunity for local businesses to thrive. I can't mention local services without mentioning directors, Pam Kelly, Kevin Bailey, and Barbara Kerr, who have done an excellent job running our senior center, recreation department, and library through the last few years of the pandemic. And of course, without the leadership and expertise of our board of health director, Marianne O'Connor, and the staff in the health department, we would not have been able to navigate our way through the early days of the pandemic. Marianne and the team, including Board of Health Nurse Sarah Harris, provided clarity and calm during a truly chaotic and scary situation. So thank you to all, including our volunteers who helped administer over 2,800 COVID vaccines and 600 flu vaccines just in 2022, including close to 190 homebound vaccinations. Vaccines were administered throughout the city with the help of our community liaisons. who connect the community to city resources and expand communications and accessibility to our non-native English speakers in Medford. Expanding opportunities to showcase Medford's growing diversity and culture offerings has been a key part of our development strategy. Our parks and recreation spaces have also been upgraded with new murals. And just today I was at Wright's Pond working on the next with a local artist and Kevin Bailey. Chevalier Theater additionally renewed a five-year contract with the city back in September, bringing world-class entertainment to our hidden gem for years to come. We have signed a contract with a cannabis dispensary company, Theory Wellness, to construct our first-ever art center on Mystic Ave. They have broken ground, and we cannot wait to see this become a reality. Medford's waterfront will also become a new place for residents to enjoy, with plans in the works to create more recreation areas and beautify the area with murals and other art from the community. We hope to release the initial design for community feedback late this winter. Our city services and facilities are not the only community driven spaces that deserve our investments. We've also been able to prioritize our local nonprofits that have been instrumental to providing critical services and resources to our community. In addition to CDBG funding, we awarded over 230,000 to 25 nonprofits through the Community Fund Committee earlier this month. Included in this round of funding was the American Legion, Temple Shalom, the Medford Chamber of Commerce, and all four of our elementary PTOs, just to name a few. We expect to open up the second round of funding of grants later this year. We've talked a lot now about our progress and excitement for future projects, but we have also been met with some challenges this year, especially in our high school. Our schools, especially the high school, have needed to make change to better address the growing issues stemming from the pandemic. And I've spent, thankfully spent a lot of time over the last month with our superintendent, Dr. Maurice-Edouard-Vincent, as well as other district leaders, pushing for plans that are sustainable, adaptable, and work in the best interest of students. We have two newly trained student resource offices, a revised bathroom plan, and are engaging with students on a much more personal level. But most importantly, we have heard the students' concerns and listened to their lived experiences. We must strengthen our relationships and trust with both the students and caregivers and ensure that our school system is safe and an inviting place for all. As Jenny stated, we're still looking to obtain an MSBA loan to build a new high school. The building we have now is not amenable to quality education, and we believe we have a strong case for the next round of loans due in April to rebuild a state-of-the-art flagship school that our students and faculty deserve. I thank the school committee, the superintendent of schools, Dr. Marice Edouard-Vincent and Mr. Dave Murphy for all their work on that application and we will be resubmitting. As our community continues to grow as a destination for families and professionals, there is a significant opportunity to expand accessible and efficient public transportation options. As I'm sure you've all seen and hopefully written, the Green Line Extension finally opened in December after many challenges, delays and questions. That was probably the happiest I've seen people at 5 a.m. on a Monday morning cramming in line to get a spot on the T. That just proves that the extension is a turning point for Medford. And I want to thank the community group that advocated and worked on this project for years. I will never stop pushing for better public transportation in and around our community as I did with the MBTA new better bus redesign and the closure of the orange line over the summer. I thank director Todd director of traffic and transportation, Todd Blake, for being the expert this city needs, advocating with us, working with us, and advising us along the way. Thank you. With his help and many others, we've also increased the scope of blue bikes around the city this year with three new docking stations at Tufts Square, Brooks Park, and Medford Square. We are working to expand this network further as alternative green transportation options support our climate action and adaptation plan, including efforts to provide residents with clean, sustainable, and affordable alternatives. I'm happy to announce that we have secured funding for seven additional Blue Bike locations, with the next three coming online later this year at Hormel Stadium, Harris Park, and Spring Street. For the four remaining, we're tentatively exploring Riverbend Park, Haines Square, West Medford, and the Hillside. As outlined in our Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, we have lofty goals of reducing our emissions by 50% by the end of this decade and have been working to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. To do this, we've taken a series of steps aimed at making our city operations, facilities, and policies more conducive and adaptable to climate resiliency. The last time I spoke at this podium to you all, I mentioned that we were in the process of securing funding for two additional electric charging stations with the hope of installation this year. Thanks to the work of the Planning, Development and Sustainability Office, especially the work of Planner Yvette Niwa, we've delivered on the promise and have two new stations, one at Hormel and one at Carr Park. And I'm happy to announce that we're expanding on that growth with two more, one at the Missittuck School and one at Tufts Park, coming online this summer with an additional seven being planned over the next year or so. But to implement real changes in the way we conduct our operations, we must commit to reversing our reliance on fossil fuels internally as well. This is also a priority of our city council and school committee. I'm happy to announce that we have secured $230,000 grant Diesel Emissions Reduction Act from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act from the state with the help of Mike Wentzel from DPW to assist with the purchasing of an all electric commercial grade sweeper, which will replace our diesel engine vehicle. We also made concerted efforts to transition our other vehicles in our fleet to more green friendly options. The police department has purchased new hybrid vehicles and is patiently waiting for their arrival, hopefully in June, which will make their daily operations much more efficient, cleaner, and adaptable to challenges. We also thank director Faye Morrison, who will also be transitioning her fleet in the near future. The city is additionally enhancing its climate resiliency and emergency preparedness efforts through our MedFit Connects program led by our office of prevention and outreach manager, Penny Fanioli. This program seeks to expand and strengthen resources for our underserved community members. And we recently secured a grant, another grant for over 400,000 from the state to accomplish this work. An important part, I'm almost done, I'm sorry. An important part of our commitment to expanding resources and programming for residents is our investment in our green spaces. Medford's many parks are a source of pride for the city. and we have plans for upgrading the construction in many of them, close to 50, actually. I engaged an internal team who have been meeting close to monthly for three years to plan, gain community input and secure funding. In projects scheduled to start this spring and summer alone, we have secured over $5 million for renovations. One of our largest upcoming projects is Carr Park. Carr Park's vision plan was released the end of 21, and we are proud to say that phase one is fully funded and in design and expected to start this spring. Carr Park recently secured additional funding for phase two, which is on the horizon as well. In phase two, we can get excited for new basketball courts, one which will be covered by solar panels, a new playground and much more. Car's solar infrastructure will be funded by $1.5 million earmark in the federal 2023 budget. I wanna thank our federal delegation, including Congresswoman Clark, Senator Markey, Senator Warren, for their work in passing this budget and helping fund community projects here in Medford. Our planning office has been instrumental in this work. Thanks to their work, especially again, Director Hunt and Planner Amanda Centrella, we have not only secured opera funding, but a match of $1 million from another grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for phase one. Awesome job. Upper funds have made a huge impact on our community in the work we are able to do throughout the city. Unlike other communities that set specific funding amounts for various sectors, Medford has taken a needs-based approach, allowing us to invest funding where it is needed most. The data we collected from the community focus survey released this past summer helped inform many of the projects I've mentioned already tonight, with many others that I don't have time for. With the help of our amazing federal funds manager, Lorena Escalero, We will be continuing to invest in areas like affordable housing, public health and infrastructure, as well as plan for the future while being transparent with the work we're doing. Throughout our opera planning process, we have been open and transparent about our financial outlook and the need to allocate a percentage of funding to revenue replacement. Like many other cities and towns in the Commonwealth, the economic effects of the pandemic left a sizable gap in several revenue streams that we traditionally have counted on. For the past two years, the years we have reduced our reliance on ARPA dollars and expect the trend to continue in fiscal year 24 and 25. It's no secret that the city has incurred a structural deficit. And though we have several dynamic development opportunities on the horizon that will inject revenue into our bottom line, thanks to our assessing team, especially, I see Jim O'Brien and Ellen as well have been great. We are analyzing the potential need to come to a solution as to how to fill and address the gap. especially when ARPA is gone. We are closely monitoring and reviewing the need for an override in the future to ensure we keep performing work at this level. These decisions are not easy and we must balance the need and the ability to pay while taking into account that we will need a debt exclusion to build a new high school in the not too distant future. Since hiring CFO Bob Dickinson and budget manager Courtney Cordello, We are back to our baseline staffing levels in the finance department, and my office and the finance team have been hard at work with department heads, collecting information early in the process for the formulation of the fiscal year 2024 budget, especially given the global economic issues that persist, such as inflation and supply chain, in addition to recovering from the structural deficit of the pandemic. Fiscal year 24 is expected to be another difficult year. However, we continue to work hard to get the city's revenue stream to the needed levels to sustain the city's needs. Again, I want to thank everyone at City Hall that made all this work possible. While we're still working to optimize our staffing levels, the strength of the team that I have put together over the last three years in office has completely changed the culture of City Hall. and other places and helped usher in much needed modernization and efficiency updates in city hall operations and policies. Together, we are building the groundwork to professionalize Medford like never before and create a more meaningful and welcome experience for our residents. We have so many new hires that have been instrumental to that change. Those that I've already mentioned, as well as Jeremy Johns, our director of veteran services, Melissa Ripley, our elections manager, Jim Silver, our special projects coordinator, Bill Forty, our building commissioner, Paul Riggi, the city's first ever facilities director, a position the council and I advocated in favor for for the last 10 years. And thank you to HR and our director, Neil Osborne, and the efforts of so many others for keeping this process moving forward and helping fill roles. Accountability has been key to transforming the way our city works and serves our residents. Without accountability, it's impossible to get a professionalized government that the city needs and the people deserve. Part of accountability is ensuring every city employee and resident is aware of the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and has the means and support to actively promote equity and accessibility. It's part of our social justice roadmap. And with the help, amazing help of our director of diversity and equity inclusion, Francis Waje, The city has and will continue to expand DEI training for all staff, city, fire, and police, including implicit bias and cultural competency training. I've said it before, there are things I will not tolerate and no one will discourage me from doing this hard work. We can do hard things. We can transform this city and rid ourselves of the antiquated, outdated, and inefficient policies. But it takes time, it takes focus, and it takes trust. So I'm asking you to trust me. Trust me to do this work. Trust me to make decisions that are in your best interests. And trust me to lead this city to where we all know that it should be. Because there is much more to do. It is often not comfortable or fun having to make these hard choices and do the necessary work. But I've seen and heard about governments run without accountability and they quickly become chaotic and corrupt. And I will not let that happen here. I am committed to a transparent ethical administration for the city and thus will not tolerate city employees who do not share that same work ethic. That said, to be clear, the vast majority of our city employees come to work every day and try their best to move the city forward. many of whom I've mentioned tonight and all of whom I just don't don't don't have all the time. I do and I will continue to do all I can to support them in every way I can. To conclude, please know that so much work has been put work has been put in over the last year to find creative solutions to any roadblocks the city faces. When searching for funding, we find grants and secure them. When presented with differing When we say we are going to do something, we do it. I am dedicated to keeping my promises to Medford and delivering on projects, no matter the challenges we face along the way. And finally, and thankfully, we have the personnel to make it happen. Thank you. I'm the emcee, too. So I want to just thank you all so very much for coming tonight. Those who are watching from home or on Zoom, past and present employees of Medford, we just, again, appreciate all your hard work. Thank you so much. We have a reception outside, so please stay, have a bite to eat, and get home safely. Thank you.
[Clerk]: 좋아요.