AI-generated transcript of Medford City Council Committee Of The Whole 07-19-22

[Nicole Morell]: 22-363, Committee of the Whole. Tuesday, July 19, 2022 at 5.45 PM is called to order. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Vice President Bears.

[Nicole Morell]: Vice President Bears.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Present. Councilor Caraviello. Present. Councilor Collins.

[Betsy Lister]: Present.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Councilor Knight. Present. Councilor Scarpelli. Present. Councilor Tseng. I see Councilor Tseng.

[Nicole Morell]: I didn't hear you, Justin, but we saw you mouth it. Your audio's not coming through.

[Adam Hurtubise]: OK. President Morell.

[Nicole Morell]: 7 present, 0 absent, the meeting is called to order. There will be a meeting of the Medford City Council Committee of the Whole on Tuesday, July 19th, 2022 at 5.45 p.m. The meeting will take place on the Howard F. Alden Memorial Chambers on the second floor of Medford City Hall and via Zoom. The purpose of this meeting is to draft feedback for the MBTA on changes to bus service in Medford. The City Council has invited a representative from the MBTA and Director of Traffic and Transportation, Todd Blake, to attend this meeting. more further information aids and accommodations contact the city clerk at 71 393-2425 sincerely yours Nicole Morell council president. So this meeting is the result of a paper brought before us by Councilor Tseng and you know more greatly the result of the proposed changes under the META's bus network redesign. So there's been a number of meetings I mean, there's been one meeting virtually dedicated to the inner core, which Medford is part of, held by the MBTA. There's been a few in-person meetings and other virtual meetings dedicated to the larger network. So the purpose of this meeting is to gather feedback from residents as much as we can, and we can prepare something with the clerk and have that sent to the MBTA. I do know Director of Traffic and Transportation, Blake, is also eager to hear from more residents, as well as they have been having some feedback trickle into their office. So I'm happy to, any comments from the councillors first, and then we can open it up to the public. And we do not, we could not get anyone from the MBTA to attend, we did try, they did not send anyone for us, but these recommendations will be sent to them, and we were told that they were eager for our feedback. I see Councilor Tseng.

[Justin Tseng]: You're good?

[Nicole Morell]: Yep, now we can hear you.

[Justin Tseng]: Thank you first, Madam President, for prioritizing this meeting and for putting it right in the center of the agenda. This is a meeting, as you mentioned, it's like a project for me. I believe it's important for our council to stand together and to use our united voice to really advocate for the best for our residents. And I think this meeting will do that for us. I collected a few notes and I can send this later to the clerk for his note taking purposes. I collected some notes that I got from my own look at the bus network redesign plan and from the emails and calls and texts that I've received about the plans. Generally, I've heard some of the positives I'll start with the positives. Some of the positives are that I think Medford Square, for a lot of residents, especially from those out of the city, it'll be easier for them to get there because of the M96 bus, which could in turn bring business. And I know one of this council's priorities is to make sure that we are growing that commercial tax base, growing, you know, making sure our square is as lively as possible. And this is, you know, this allows us to bring more people into Medford. I've also heard that the connection from South Medford to Davis Square on the new 95 and to Arlington Center is helpful. I believe it runs at a higher frequency and there will be some streets in South Medford that are currently not served, but will be served under this plan. Some other feedback I've heard is that I think some residents like the fact that the new 96, the M96, is connected to the red, orange, and green lines. It can serve as kind of a ring transit that allows people to get between suburbs more easily. Um, and of course, um, I think people like the frequency of the M 96 and the M 101 on which will serve Medford. It's supposed it's supposed to be, um, every 15 minutes. Um, from I forget the start time, but it's pretty much the whole day. Um. And the MBTA is treating it as if it was as if it were a transit line, and I think some residents are, um, a little skeptical that the buses will run on time, but are optimistic about the frequencies. I've also heard a lot of more, some worries from residents. In general, one of the problems is that we still have neighborhoods that aren't served, in particular North Medford. I don't think North Medford served particularly well in this plan. And there seems, I think this plan might make the neighborhood even more car dependent, even though there are people in the neighborhood who wish to take public transit. And similarly with West Medford, it seems that the frequency of service has been cut in the new plan as well. This next point was more of my point. As we seek to develop, to bring business to the Mystic Valley Parkway and the Mystic Ave Corridors, I think we might need in the future to look at increased frequencies or to redesign bus routes. I think this is one of those areas where it would have been more helpful for the MBTA to work with the city and make sure that our economic planning and housing planning goes hand in hand. And of course, I think our councillors, the councillors who were here before me have really banged on about this next point, which is that the former 710, 325, and 326 routes were really important for commuters. And of course, that's permanently gone in the new plan. Residents who are currently served by the 94 have brought up to me that they're worried about eliminated red line access for those, especially living on High Street, which is an important thoroughfare in the city. Residents who are currently using the 80 and the 96 have told me that they're worried that the M96 doesn't connect to Harvard Square, and that the loss of the 80 and the 96 service, particularly at Georgia and Winthrop and Boston and Winthrop, means that Medford Hillside is less connected. I think the expectation is that they'll use the T, here different and particularly for more elderly folks walking that extra quarter mile, half mile, even up to a mile. It's a lot to ask for a resident. And of course, I think this is again about West Medford. Some residents have written to me about cuts in service to access to Winthrop Circle and High Street and connecting that part of Medford to Medford Square. And then one person asked, how this would affect high school, the high school bus agreements that we have in place. I thank my fellow Councilors for sitting there and bearing with me, but those were all the notes that I had.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Councilor Tseng. Any other councilors would like to speak on this before we hear from the public? Councilor Bears.

[Zac Bears]: thank you madam president. I think councilmember seng did a pretty good summary of the proposed changes. I just want to add my voice to the conversation that number one, the city council has been advocating and to our state delegation as well as to the mbta around these changes. I personally contacted a number of people and submitted my own comments regarding the proposed changes. I personally believe that this is a community that where these changes are increasing service, that's great, because we've needed it for a long time. For more frequent 101 and more frequent 96, that really connects multiple train lines. Those are great things, but I don't think that we should be paying the price of losing essential routes and services like the 325, the 326, the 710, and also the reroutings and service reductions around George Street and Winthrop Street and Boston Avenue. So I would hope that our, um, MBTA folks as I mean, I was really hoping someone would be here tonight to listen to us directly, but I hope that, uh, we submit the records of this meeting, uh, the comments of residents who speak at this meeting, um, as well as comments that have been submitted to the city through there, but there's an email that you can submit to the city, um, and a phone number that the MBTA will heed our word. My understanding as well is that while they are receiving comments now and may make some adjustments to the proposal, I've heard that they're not going to come back again for a second round of public comment on their revised proposal, so I would I'd like to enter a motion. We don't have to vote on it now, but a motion that the Medford City Council requests that after the MBTA makes revisions to their proposed bus network redesign, that they come back to communities for additional comment on their revised redesign.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Vice President Bears.

[Zac Bears]: Mr. Vice President, can you repeat that motion to me? Sure. It's a motion that the MBTA hold another public comment period after any revised, redesigned proposal is released.

[George Scarpelli]: Thank you, Madam President. And I appreciate my colleagues, their comments, so I won't be redundant, but I too have shared my concerns. And I think that as we've, in the past years, have issues with our public transit and MTA and working with them, I think that we haven't really been heard. And when we talk about one of the highest paying communities in the Commonwealth, which is Medford, I think the least they could do is send someone to a meeting like we have tonight for representation. I think it's just another slap of disrespect and not understanding the true concerns of our constituents. We're trying to eliminate, you know, we're trying to get more cars off the street and open all these bus lanes. Now we're eliminating buses. So I, you know, you're biting off your nose to spite your face. So it's just disheartening to see. So when your major transportation company in your state and your local residents can't sit down at the table to discuss what is beneficial for every member of this community, I think it's disheartening. I think we want more people on public transit. And what we're seeing right now is we're not getting the same buying. Right now, it's just talk from the state and it's disheartening. So I appreciate the resolutions. I'm gonna support the resolutions. I'm gonna follow through. But again, I think that we need to have a conversation The lack of representation from the T tonight is a glaring reason why this is so frustrating. Thank you, Madam President.

[Kit Collins]: Thank you, President Morell. I'm glad that we're having this meeting. I know that there are residents in the audience who will cite specific concerns. I don't want to be redundant, but I think I agree with everything that's been said. And I also do want to reemphasize that I think where there's service improvements and increases in speed, that's all great. My main takeaway looking at the proposed redesigns is that the goals of consolidation and efficiency and the goals of increasing proximity don't necessarily go hand in hand. We have to make sure that they go hand in hand. And I think I see areas where there've been trade-offs made that hurt proximity and people's ability to quickly, reliably, safely in any kind of weather, get to their bus stop. in service of streamlining the bus routes. And if we want people to feel safe using the bus, if we want people to really be able to rely on using the bus, we have to increase frequency. And it's great that there's a focus on that. We also have to make sure that it is really, really easy and really, really safe for people to get to their bus stop. And I think that includes, you know, I'm thinking specifically about the location shifts on the hillside area, George Street, Winthrop Street, Bossa Nav, and also thinking about really the feasibility of the plan transfers now that incorporate, for example, getting rid of the 80 and relying on the Green Line instead. If that works perfectly, that's great, but I think we need to take into account that Will it work perfectly? Will it work reliably? Because that's the only situation under which people can really count on getting to work on time, using their bus safely in a way that really works for their schedule. And those are the only conditions under which we're going to succeed at having more people use public transit. Thank you.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Councilor Collins. Councilor Caraviello.

[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Madam President. You know, as we look back here, you know, we're suffering from the mismanagement of the T. This council has been out front with these roots for the last few years. As Councilor Scott mentioned, Tia slapped this group in the face many times trying to get meetings and even to get someone to just to even come here and Zoom tonight, as you see, there's nobody here. So they really don't care. And talking with people of the team the last few days, these moves were planned years ago. These aren't moves that just happened tonight or the last week. These have been planned around the opening of the station. And that was the motive all along, to get less buses and use the train. And again, I think we're the fourth or fifth highest assessed community in the Commonwealth for tea services. And every time we turn around, we're getting a cut and a cut and a cut. Councilor Collins mentioned, you know, maybe some of these routes, you know, these end around routes will work, some of them won't, but there's still areas of the community that still aren't gonna be serviced where there is no train station. So again, I would hope that our state delegation gets us a refund on the amount of money that we spend. on the TSA. And all we're doing is suffering for the mismanagement of the T for many, many years. And who pays is the taxpayers as always. So I hope someone will come down and discuss this with us when they come back with further cuts. But further cuts are gonna be coming on these lines. Not additions, but what I'm being told. So that's my two cents for the moment.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Councilor Caraviello. Just a few things before we get to public comment. So I want to note, so if you haven't yet, folks in person or on Zoom, there is a survey by the MBTA. If you search bus network redesign, you'll be able to get to this survey link. If you haven't taken that yet, please take it. I believe you can take it multiple times because the way the questions are, they ask kind of about, they assume you take one bus, one bus route all the time. So I believe you can take it multiple times and just talk about your different routes. Also, the city is gathering comment as well. So if you haven't yet you can email any comments to MBTA bus at Medford dash ma.gov. And there is also a phone line you can call with comments as well. And that's 781. 393-2480. So really, as many ways as you can reach out as you have the time, please kind of get those comments in. So now I will and there are also on the MBTA, there are website, there are additional in-person meetings but they're spread all around greater Boston which you know ironically we're talking about the challenges of getting places on the bus and they're places they're probably challenging to get to on the bus and on our limited train service at the moment so if folks want to come up in person feel free to just come up to the podium yep and we can hear from you. Oh and I do have a question I'm sorry I just want to ask director Blake a question would is there a possibility of our what we pay the MBTA being reassessed based on these service changes? Or how would that process potentially work?

[Todd Blake]: Thank you, Council President. I do not know the answer to that. I don't believe so, but we can look into that for you. But as of this time, we're being told that this plan associated with this plan will be a 25% increase in funding for bus service. And to my knowledge, there's been no mention of whether that includes an increase or decrease in the Medford's or other media strategy portions.

[Nicole Morell]: Okay, thank you. It's going over. So just name and address for the record, please.

[Betsy Lister]: Wendy Mifflin, 18 Douglas Road, Medford. Thank you. Go ahead. Okay. Sorry. I'm just gonna read the thing that I wrote here. Okay. When I asked an MBTA spokesperson recently, what is the benefit or purpose of changing the 96 bus route? The response was to increase the frequency of the service. But what is the point of increasing frequency if it becomes so much more difficult to get to a bus stop? Is the T's motto more buses, less access? Public transportation is for the public, is supposed to be accessible. That should be the priority. There are numerous reasons why eliminating all bus stops along George Street and Winthrop Street is a terrible idea. This bus is usually crowded at any time of day in both directions, sometimes with standing room only. What are all these riders supposed to do if you get rid of all these stops? The 96 bus has a diverse ridership. They depend on this bus for work, for doctor appointments, for vet appointments, for school, for shopping, etc. Most do not have cars and they do not have someone to drive them to a more distant bus stop. On this route, there are lots of elderly people like myself and my husband. who are unable to walk very far or very well. To eliminate our bus stop would create unnecessary hardship. The 96 bus includes lots of seniors like myself and my husband. We have lived here over 25 years. We bought this house because it was close to the 96 bus stop. We needed a bus that goes to Davis Square, Porter Square and Harvard Square. We would not have chosen this house if the bus stop was further away. Many of our neighbors chose their homes for the same reason. This includes old and new residents alike. Several riders who use this 96 bus are disabled. It is unfair and cruel to make them walk further to a bus stop. On the 96 bus, there are students who don't drive, people with shopping carts, riders with heavy or bulky bags, parents with baby strollers and young children, people who bring their pets to the vet and who go to various doctor appointments themselves. How are all these people supposed to cope with the T's proposed changes? They all need access to the bus stops along George Street and Winthrop Street. Imagine how difficult it would be walking much further in the pouring rain. And let's not forget about winter in New England. Then there were the several snow storms during the winter. Most sidewalks remain only partially cleared throughout the winter. Impassable piles of ice and snow remain on street corners. Walking a longer distance on ice is treacherous for everyone. Many people will be forced to walk in the street, which puts both the pedestrian and the driver at serious risk. This is an accident waiting to happen. Some years ago, a woman was raped walking from the bus stop near Boston Ave and Winthrop Street. Walking further, especially at night, poses a terrible and unnecessary risk. The MBTA says that its goal is to have no one walk more than a quarter mile to a bus stop. My husband and I would need to walk a mile with this new route. The proposed changes to the 96 bus route are indefensible. There is no justification for these changes.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Name and address for the record.

[Maryanne Adduci]: Mary Anna Ducey, 2 Nod Street, Medford. I appeared before the city council on your June 14 meeting. That was when the first announcement was sent out over the phone that the public was, MBTA was gonna make proposed changes. Since then, I've talked to a lot of people in my neighborhood. Hardly anyone knew about these changes, which I brought up before. So one of my neighbors and I decided to do a petition that we've taken around our neighborhood. My neighbor plus two other residents that I've learned in the last month have also put up notices at all the bus stops, informing the riders and other residents that these proposed changes were happening. So just so you know, to date, I have 1,200 signatures on a petition opposing the three changes to the three buses, the 94, the 80, and the 96. Most people said that they moved here or bought their houses here, like this lady just said, because of the access of public transportation. A lot of people are very concerned about this. They've structured their whole lives around public transit. Talked to a lady yesterday who does her banking in Cambridge and she uses the 96 bus to get there. She's lived in Medford for 50 years. So everybody has structured their lives around this public transportation. A lot of parents send their kids to Arlington Catholic. and they take the 80 bus to Owings and Center, which is not gonna be there if they terminate that service. So it's gonna be a big hardship if these changes happen. People have also sent in their own comments to the T in addition to this petition, but they thanked me, not that I'm looking for thanks, but they thanked me for doing this because otherwise their voices would not be heard. Now, as a coincidence, I bumped into Pat Jelen about a week and a half ago at Walgreens in Somerville, and I asked her, Pat, I said what's happening with these buses. She rolled her eyes and she said, I know poor communication I said yes. She's also finding that in Somerville, because they're eliminating some buses in Somerville. So, I said well Pat I've been going around the neighborhood with the petition and I told her but you know nobody knew about it and so forth so she stopped and she said you have a petition I said yes, she says how many signatures do you have what that time I had 800, she says 800. I said yes 800. She says, Would you like to come into the State House and present this will get the Department of Transportation to come and so forth. I said sure. So, anyway, my neighbor has been in back and forth with her emailing her, her chief of staff, and they're very busy right now because this is the end of their legislative session. So we're not sure if we're going to be able to get into the State House before the end of the legislative session or afterwards. But my neighbor and I will deposit these petitions with the MBTA before the 31st of this month. If we have this meeting with Pat Jelen and whoever else, she was going to call the media or whoever else to bring attention to this. So she was pretty upset about this too. So I just wanted to update you on what's transpired with me since I was here a month ago. And some of the comments that people say was, this is supposed to be public transit. It's for the public. Even if the state has to fund this at a loss, they should provide this service. They should not be cutting service. Not everybody wants to go into Boston. People use these buses to commute around the city. So it's important that they maintain these buses where they are. So that's it in a nutshell, but I just wanted to update you all on what's happened in the last month.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. And thank you for your hard work. Vice President Paris.

[Zac Bears]: Madam President. I just want to again echo that thank you for collecting all of the signatures. Would it be possible potentially, if I am going to give the city council a copy. Great, because I was just gonna say we may be have a copier downstairs we can use already made.

[Maryanne Adduci]: In addition to the original three other copies so. So I anticipated that I was going to give one to the city council just so you know, fantastic. But I mean most of these I haven't, I've done a little bit in West Medford, most of these are hillside residents because that's where the biggest impact of this is. If I have time before the deadline, I will go to West Medford also. But with the weather, I usually only go out a couple of hours after supper every night. So this is the result of a couple of hours after supper every night. That's how willing people are to sign this thing. So that's a statement in and of itself.

[Zac Bears]: Great, thank you so much. Thank you.

[Nicole Morell]: I think we have one hand up on Zoom. Would anyone else in person like to speak before we go to Zoom? You can also speak after we go do some Zoom folks too, if you think of something to say. I'm gonna go to Barbara Corbett on Zoom. If you could just share your name and address of the record, please.

[SPEAKER_02]: I'm gonna unmute you. Hello, let's see. I don't know if I can put my video on. Sorry, probably I don't know how. Well, I'm just gonna second what was already said because, I live in the Hillside neighborhood. I depend upon the 96. I moved here precisely for the transportation. I really don't have much to add because the last two public speakers were so eloquent. I'm also a senior citizen and I don't have good knees. I can't walk to Davis Square. Now, what am I gonna have to go up to that tough stop? That's the green line. That does me no good at all. How do I get the Harvard Square. Um, those are the places I go. that's where I have to take the bus to work. So now I don't know how to get to work, but you know, okay, so I'm close to retirement, but what about my neighborhood? I have seen in the past 10 years, the entire street I live on is now filled with young people, young couples who are taking the bus and they precisely bought their houses in this neighborhood. Because of the bus. So I just think it's, I don't understand the logic behind this, but I have to say I've also been through so many of these things and no matter how much we complain. The MBTA is going to do absolutely nothing. So my question is what is. the city council, what are the tools that the city council has to fight this? Does it have to go through representative jail into the state house or can the city council stand up and say, we won't put up with this and then ask the community to get behind the city council? So that's what I would say. Thank you very much for your attention.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Barbara. And then if I could just get your name and address for the record for us. Barbara Corbett, 68 Brookings Street. Thank you.

[George Scarpelli]: Madam President. Thank you, Barbara, for your input. Sometimes you wish we had more power. Unfortunately, we're at the same frustrations that you are. Our voice can only express your concerns to our state delegates, and hopefully they can get things done. But unfortunately, even there, you see the difficulties. I mean, so it's been very frustrating. Believe me, as the chairperson for the Subcommittee on Transportation, there are times when I've wanted to not send payment, not held back on what we can do. But unfortunately, the law states we can't do that. We can't do some of these, these, these actions so it's difficult, it's very frustrating, but it's. And I can only imagine when you live on one of those routes and it's play such a negative impact on your quality of life. You know, from what I'm hearing, a lot of people that I've talked to are senior citizens who have had these routes for virtually a whole time in Medford. And now the T is going to just uproot everyone without truly their input. And like Councilor Caraviello says, this is something that was already been done years in advance when they started talking about the Green Line extension. So that's even disheartening because this, again, here we are talking about this when? In July. Who's really listening? Who's really listening? Look at the respect we get from the T tonight. You can't even jump on a 45 minute Zoom You know, maybe you could be at your cottage in the Cape, you could still jump on a Zoom and understand the ramifications of these changes. And like we've said, this city is one of the top paying communities in the Commonwealth to the T. You know, in the past, I've asked the city solicitor to see if we can freeze all funding toward the T because we're not getting any feedback back because we don't have that power. So I share your frustration and it's, you know, all we can do is keep pounding the surveys, keep reaching out to your state delegates. And again, when you hear the comment that even after the next round comes out, there won't be any public discussions, they're having only one forum and that's passed. is just disgusting, it's disheartening. So I share in your frustration and I'll keep pushing with every ounce of being that we have to contact the governor's office and push with the state delegates and know that, listen, in my eyes, it affects one member of this community It's all off or not. I think that the comment that was made, this all that we made was that this is public transportation. I think they forgot that the most important word there is public, not transportation. It's for the public. And we're missing a huge piece here by making these moves. So, you know, it's great that they have all these forums and they have these surveys, but I share in your frustration. I'm a city councilor and I'm saying, geez, the T's gonna do what they wanna do anyway. So again, Bob or Ms. Corbett, I share in your frustration and that's why I was hoping there'd be a member of the team that we can look and talk to and say, these are real people that you're affecting. Because all they see is in a boardroom, they sit in a room and they say, ah, let's cut this one, let's cut that one, that fits, great. And they move on. They don't see the people sitting in the audience. They don't see the people at Zoom. And they don't realize that, you know, when there's three inches of snow and you're a senior citizen and you have bad knees, and now you have to detour your process of living to something that just really cripples you is disheartening. So thank you, Madam President. I'm sorry for going on, but this is a frustrating situation when it comes to this department and this Commonwealth.

[Nicole Morell]: I do see Director Blake has his hand up to you. Just going to director of traffic and transportation, Todd Blake.

[Todd Blake]: I thank you. And I want to thank the council and everyone attending because the city really does need your feedback as well and I just wanted to highlight some things, general things to to be more fruitful with our feedback, which is exactly what I'm hearing tonight. I want to stress that there are many trade-offs and possibly many pros and cons. So I would encourage all to comment as much and as detailed as possible regarding both good and bad that may involve new connections or lost connections or frequency or diversions or the topographic issue that a lot of folks pointed out in Somerville and Medford where some of our communities have a lot of hills in them. And it seems like the approach was looking at it from a horizontal standpoint and not considering those challenges. So other things to point out that may not be obvious to folks is the span of service. So the span of service is when the first bus in the morning starts and the last bus in the evening ends. Some of the changes involve ending the last bus of the evening. So some that may have ended before at 12 31am may be ending at 7pm now. So just be on the lookout for that when you're looking at how it may impact you. Yeah, yeah. So some some blocks in some communities also may have been served by multiple routes before and may only be served by one, or if they are multiple, if the frequencies are less, it still may have a negative impact on you or an improvement on you. So yeah, I just encourage all to communicate with both the city and the MBTA with as detailed comments as possible so that if and when some future version comes out, maybe if there is some good in there, it can include the good and maybe eliminate the bad, hopefully. Thank you.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Director Blake. Vice President Bears.

[Zac Bears]: Thank you, Madam President. I haven't completed my research on this, so take it with a grain of salt, but one thing that I am looking into is if a bus stop is moved, is there a city approval process for that? Does it go through the traffic commission? Does it go through the council? So that may be one, and maybe quite frankly, the only piece of leverage that the city may have within its processes around changing a bus route. I have had the idea, but haven't had the time to do the deep dive to see what that process is, but I am hoping to do that relatively soon as that could give us some ability to try to impact the changes. Is that it?

[Nicole Morell]: Yeah. Thank you, Representative Ferguson. Going to Jennifer Sullivan on Zoom. Name and address for the record, please, and I will unmute you.

[Jen Sullivan]: Hi, can you hear me? Yes, great. Jennifer Sullivan Marston street in Medford. So I won't belabor too much, because a lot of people have done a great job covering things. And I'm going to submit feedback and everything. I agree that I'm really frustrated that nobody from the MBTA is here today. So I commute to Boston University, where I work, from the Marston Street stop. And I take the 96 to Harvard Square. And then I take a bus from there to work. And then I do it on the way home as well. That's my commute. If this stops, it's going to really impact my quality of life and my job. So I have a lot of experience with this commute. And what's really frustrating for me with the MBTA is that I actually did one of those. I was one of their survey people where I got a survey, I think every week, asking me how my commute was, what could change, what could be better. And I did it for well over a year. So, and I eventually stopped because I just because I started hearing rumblings of things changing and I said you're not even listening Why am I even doing this every every like I have better things to do. But so what frustrates me is that, again, it's been said here that even when they asked for feedback they're not even looking at it. And I think a lot of these change, I attended one of the presentations that thankfully a lot of local residents attended as well. And a lot of these changes are relying on the red line running well, which is not accurate. I make a point to avoid the red line just because it's so temperamental and the stations are not in great shape. Several years ago, I tripped on a crack on the red line and shattered my ankle, and the MBTA never responded. So I just try to avoid things like that, and I'm a healthy person. So again, a couple of questions I just wanted to ask was, and these are sort of open-ended, is doesn't this impact the selling points of our houses. My parents bought this house because there was a bus that could take you to Davis, Porter, Harvard, things like that. I mean, having transit right there is a huge selling point. Also, I don't know if there's any local businesses or medical offices that can help us advocate for how needed these are. And then just my last point is in terms of accessibility, especially for older people, if the pandemic taught us anything, it's the dangers of isolation. And if it's such a pain to get somewhere, whether it's weather or just mental strength, because you're tired, people are going to put off going to appointments, going to see people. We need to be taking care of each other and keeping connected. And eliminating a lot of these stops is going to really impact that. Thanks again.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Miss Sullivan. Is there anyone else who would like to speak tonight? Members of the public?

[Betsy Lister]: I'm Wendy Mifflin again, still 18 Douglas Road, Medford. I have a question about the mayor's involvement. We get calls on a regular basis about snow removal and heat waves and street cleaning and events. And there's been no information about this meeting or anything having to do with the bus situation. I'm wondering why that is and if there's anything that can be done about that, because I don't think anybody knew about this. Thank you. And the other thing is, I'm wondering if there's other ways that we can get something happening. A friend of mine suggested writing a letter to the Globe. They print letters about various topics. And what about somehow talking to the news media, the various, you know, Channel 4, Channel whatever, the various Channel 5, whatever. I just feel like there's some way, I feel like this is so wrong. that there is that you know we have to throw everything against the wall and see what sticks and that there's got to be a good solution to this. Thank you.

[Nicole Morell]: Director Blake, can you speak to the outreach that's been done on the from City Hall as far as alerting folks to this?

[Todd Blake]: Yes, thank you. I believe the city's communications department has posted on the city website, city social media accounts, and also I believe a reverse call went out to those who are signed up for that system.

[Nicole Morell]: Do we know if there's any additional communication plan? I mean, I'm sure the council would be happy to make a motion to ask for that, but do we know if there's any additional communication plan with the deadline looming?

[Todd Blake]: Yeah, we can look into that and get back to you on any additional information. Correct. Yeah.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you, Ms. Ducey.

[Maryanne Adduci]: Yeah, I'd like to say that not everybody has access to the website. And a lot of the people I talked to did not get a voicemail at all. So they probably don't have landlines. They probably have cell phones and they probably never registered their cell phones with the city to be contacted. So maybe the city should try to enlist people to get on board here so that they can get messages. Because right now, you know, it's not the city's fault if nobody's registered to get the message. So you have to kind of recruit people to get on board here. So it's just a suggestion.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you for that.

[Zac Bears]: I just want to note as well that this council has requested that communications go out in multiple formats, that it not just be kind of digital only and hoping that everyone has access to them. That's a motion that we passed recently. And this is not anything to speak directly to Director Blake and the work that he's doing in his office, but, you know, with our Eversource meeting and with a few other meetings, we have had You know, all we can do is ask that something go out on the, as a council, all we can do is ask that something go out on the reverse 911. It's happened a couple of times, but most of the time it doesn't. I don't know what we can do to try to accelerate that or do better about that, but it has been an ongoing issue that we have been trying to get information out there. But at the end of the day, we don't control the communication channels of the city that mayor and the city administration do.

[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you for the first Councilor Caraviello. You make a good point here. Unfortunately, you know, we no longer have a newspaper here anymore, which is which was, you know, maybe not a lot of people read it, but people read it online and they bought the paper, that newspaper is gone. The only paper we have, which is isn't really a paper is the patch. And how many people subscribe to the patch to get that and it's like you said, not everybody. has access to those things. But I think, and one of the other things, Joe, you said no one gets a call, but I think sometimes we get to the point where we get too many phone calls from the city and people ignore them. So I'll go out another call from the city again. You know, so that, you know, it's a little, it goes a little bit both ways. You know, sometimes we don't call them up and then other times we call too much and people just turn us off and they don't answer the phone. So that's, I think that's part of the problem too. But again, not having a newspaper here is really a big hurt to the city because nothing gets out anymore.

[Maryanne Adduci]: Someone suggested to me that the city sends out four tax bills, real estate tax bills, and six water bills a year. If the city has enough advanced notice, they could put a notice in with the tax bill or the water bill. At least the homeowners would have some advanced notice.

[Richard Caraviello]: But as you say, it only goes to the homeowners, it doesn't, the renters.

[Maryanne Adduci]: It would be more than what's happening now.

[Richard Caraviello]: Yes, but the renters, and we have a good amount of renters, they'll never get the notice either.

[Maryanne Adduci]: I understand, but we're trying to get more than what we have now. So every little bit helps.

[Richard Caraviello]: I know we try, but again, it's either too much or not enough.

[Maryanne Adduci]: Right, right.

[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. And I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but folks who may be watching who aren't signed up for city alerts, you can sign up for those. If you go to the website medfordma.org and scroll down to alerts, you can sign up to get those on your cell phone if you're not already getting them on a landline or otherwise. Is there any further discussion from the council or anyone else from the public would like to speak? And again, so if you, let me just make sure I don't have any messages. So, sorry, just checking the chat. So again, if you don't wanna speak tonight, but you do wanna make sure your comments get in, you can email mbtabus at medford-ma.gov. That would be the city collecting feedback to then respond to the MBTA. We're gonna be collecting all the comments that were made tonight, the city clerk, and we'll put that together to deliver it to the MBTA. And you can also go to the MBTA website and take the survey as well and reach out to, you know, Rep. Barber, rep Garber Lee, rep Donato and let them know as well as Senator Jalen and let them know your feelings. So I know this puts a lot on the public. Ideally, you know, it would happen the other way where the MBTA is really working hard to solicit this but if folks can reach out any way they can, the more voices we get, hopefully, they will listen. And sorry, just checking. Okay. Um, just started this director, Blake just noting that other city departments have also posted elsewhere. For instance, this was there were notices posted in the housing facilities as far as these meetings and construction projects have flyers to shoot at them. Sometimes people mistake them from junk mail. So just Director Blake just sending me a chat mentioning some other ways that outreach has been performed. So if there is no further comment from the public or Councilors, we do have a motion on the floor from Vice President of Affairs. Mr. Clerk, I believe you have that motion. If you could read that back.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Madam President, I have that Vice President Bears moved the Medford City Council request that the MBTA hold another public comment period after any revised redesign schedule is released.

[Zac Bears]: Second motion. It would be a redesign map proposal.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Redesign map proposal, hang on.

[Zac Bears]: Yep.

[Adam Hurtubise]: And I think I heard Councilor Caraviello second that. That's correct.

[Nicole Morell]: And can you read that motion back in its entirety, please.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Yes, Vice President Bears moved at the Metric City Council request that the MBTA hold another public comment period. After any revised redesign that proposal is released.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. So on the motion of vices and bears as seconded by Councilor Caraviello Mr. Clerk if you could please call the role.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Vice President Bears. Yes. Councilor Caraviello. Councilor Collins. Yes. Councilor Knight.

[Nicole Morell]: Councilor Knight is absent from the chambers.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Okay. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. Councilor Tseng. Councilor Tseng, you can give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down if you want. Thank you. I have a thumbs up from Councilor Tseng. President Morell.

[Nicole Morell]: Yes, six in the affirmative, one absent, zero in the negative, the motion passes. Vice-President Bears.

[Zac Bears]: Madam President, motion that the committee report of this meeting be submitted to, and any records provided, you know, for example, a copy of the petition be submitted to the MBTA prior to the conclusion of the comment period on July 31st.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. Councilor Tseng. Is that a second? Go ahead, you're on a little bit of a delay.

[Justin Tseng]: Vice President Bears, would you be amenable to adding the state delegation to that? Sure.

[Nicole Morell]: Mr. Parker.

[Justin Tseng]: I'd like to second the motion. I got a second.

[Maryanne Adduci]: Could I interrupt for a minute? I have a copy that we're planning to give to Pat Jelen, City Council, the MBTA. I mean, it's quite lengthy as I showed you. I don't wanna make one for the whole delegation. I felt as though Pat John could distribute it to the rest of the delegation.

[Zac Bears]: If you provide us with a copy of the council, the clerk will make the copies and do all that work.

[Nicole Morell]: Thank you. Mr. Clerk, could you read that back when you have it?

[Adam Hurtubise]: Yeah, I have a quick question for Vice President Bears. So Vice President Bears, do you want the committee report and other relevant documentation to go to the T prior to the expiration of public comment period? Or do you want this committee report plus a list of other specific documents?

[Zac Bears]: I think at this point, I think it's just the committee report. And then if you've received any emails regarding the matter, and then the petition from Mr. Ducey.

[Adam Hurtubise]: OK, I'm going to say and other relevant documents received from the clerk's office.

[Zac Bears]: That's fine, and with Councilor Tseng's amendment, that it also go to this- I got that too.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Yep. Okay, here's the motion as I have it. Vice President Bears has moved that this committee report and other relevant documents received by the clerk's office be submitted to the MBTA prior to the expiration of public comment period on July 31st, with amendment from Councilor Tseng requesting that the report be sent to the legislative delegation as well, and then a second from Councilor Tseng.

[Nicole Morell]: Correct, thank you. Could you please call the roll?

[Adam Hurtubise]: Vice President Bears? Yes. Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Collins?

[Unidentified]: Yes.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Councilor Knight appears to be absent from the chamber. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. Councilor Tseng? Councilor Tseng, you wanna give me thumbs up? Councilor Tseng has given a thumbs up. President Morell?

[Nicole Morell]: Yes, six in the affirmative, one absent, zero in the negative, the motion passes. Before we adjourn, I do just want to note that there are a few other MBTA meetings that people can attend online or in person if they're able to get there. Those can be seen at mbta.com slash project slash bus dash network dash redesign. The next meetings, there is one on the 21st at the Wonderland Station Revere, the 26th is a, system-wide virtual meeting. And then the 28th, there is another in-person public hearing at the State Transportation Building in Boston. So again, that information is on the website if folks would like to attend either virtually or in-person. Do I have any further discussion or motion? On the motion of Councilor Collins to adjourn. Seconded by Councilor Caraviello. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.

[Adam Hurtubise]: Vice President Bears. Yes. Councilor Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Collins. Yes. Councilor Knight. Councilor Knight appears to be absent from the chamber. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. Councilor Tseng. Thumbs up from Councilor Tseng. President Morell.

[Nicole Morell]: Yes. Six in the affirmative, one absent, zero in the negative. The meeting is adjourned.