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[Collins]: I have some ideas and suggestions in just a little bit more context that I'm ready to share, but I do want to just pause and invite through the Chair, Director O'Connor to speak first because her department is so intimately involved in both all the work that they're already doing all the time to try and respond to COVID-19 the pest issues that arise from overgrowth and also just the public access issues that arrive from overgrowth. And then of course, how this dovetails with the rodent mitigation issue. So I'm happy to pause there and I can pick it back up with sort of more perspective, more context on this and some specific proposals.
[Lazzaro]: Thank you, Vice President Collins. So that is two papers, 24-036, Resolution to Discuss an Overgrowth Ordinance and 24-461, resolution to meet and discuss updates to the rodent control ordinance. And if Director O'Connor would like to speak on these, they definitely do go hand in hand. Thank you for that clarification, Vice President Collins and Director O'Connor.
[O'Connor]: Thank you. Thank you. And thank you, Vice President Collins. Yes, so we have been working tirelessly and and the complaints have certainly skyrocketed, especially this last month, and overgrowth is a constant problem that we're seeing within the community. And it obviously is a harborage for rodents and other pests. So it's been difficult to try to enforce. And this would certainly give us a tool that we need to help enforce that issue. And overgrowth, ragweed, all of that is also a public health concern, even beyond the rodents. But we've been calling it a public health nuisance because of the harborage issues. But we really don't have this kind of a strong ordinance to fall back on. So that would be certainly helpful. As far as the rodent ordinance itself, it's been very helpful. We have restaurants, we have dumpsters, we have construction, we have street openings, all of which we require IPMs and we do issue fines. And right now those fines are going into a specific account to help us pay for road and control measures, but the fees do not. So that's one of the issues that we had discussed as to whether or not the fees could also contribute to that specific road and control account to help us, you know, sustain what we're doing. Right now we have APA funding, we're going to renew the contract. I believe that'll get us through June of next year, but beyond that, you know, there needs to be specific funding to really sustain these efforts. Right now, I believe with the IPM and the fees, with the fines and the fees that we have collected, probably close to about $30,000. However, just the fines alone are probably only $9,000 at this point from January. Um, so that's those are the two things that we're looking at, and there are the specific, you know, things that we'd like to add to the road and control ordinance that may be helpful, uh, including a residential component. Right now, like I said, we have construction, demolition, street openings, dumpsters, restaurants, but there really isn't a residential component. One of the issues that we see a lot now, damaged barrels, because rodents have eaten through or damaged it, whether it be the covers or the bottoms of the barrels are damaged, which allows access for the rodents. And it's with the new waste contract, $60 now to replace your barrel. And we need people to be aware of that. But at the same time, we need people to replace those barrels. So there's a list of other suggestions that I had put down in writing to Council Collins, including the new thank you again for the new wildlife feeding ordinance that is going to be extremely helpful as well. We know people like to feed the wildlife and birds, and that's all well and good. But however, it does attract and create food sources for the rodents and other animals. So again, if there are fines connected with that, that would be great to also go into a rodent control specific account. That would certainly help that as well. And as well as the other fees and fines that we have, whether it be even with this new overgrowth audits, if there are fines attached to that, that could then be contributed to the specific rodent control account. Again, that would help us sustain our efforts and possibly expand. Thank you.
[Lazzaro]: Thank you, Director O'Connor, Vice President Collins.
[Collins]: Thank you. Thank you so much for that overview, Director O'Connor. Really appreciate it. Appreciate the work that you and your team are doing all the time on rodent mitigation efforts in our community. Super important now more than ever, it seems. So I want to just to kind of orient us with What we're looking to do here may be helpful if I just kind of step back to that kind of 30,000 foot view to talk about kind of the multiple, again, just touch on all the multiple motivations for the Overgrowth Ordinance, and then walk through some of the suggestions that I've heard from Director O'Connor and the administration about amendments to the Road and Control Ordinance. with an eye towards kind of having this be a conversation, an initial conversation where we can try to flesh out that list of what needs to be introduced in the new ordinance, make sure we have everything on paper of what ought to be added to the rodent control ordinance, and just figure out what are those items that need to be drafted? What are those questions that need to be answered? And indeed, if there's an amendment that should be added to, for example, the wildlife feeding ordinance, to make sure that that goes into this account as well that we kind of have our punch list of legislative additions or tweaks to make. So if it's all right with you as chair, I'll just start and run through that list quickly, starting with the overgrowth ordinance. And again, just to kind of set the table. I started hearing about the need for an overgrowth ordinance a year or two ago, and actually when it first kind of came across my desk, it wasn't really related to the rodent problem specifically, but rather that people were noticing spots in the neighborhood where certain properties, neglected properties, perhaps with out-of-town property owners, where vegetation was growing, so abundantly that it was actually blocking the public right away, it was blocking the sidewalk. And it's my understanding that the building department code enforcement lacks sufficient language in our code of ordinances to actually be empowered to enforce around that. For me, even just the public access issue is kind of sufficient. I think that this is one of those areas where if it's not a problem, it's not a problem. But if a sidewalk is being blocked and somebody can't walk there or push a stroller there or roll their wheelchair there, the city needs to be empowered to intervene. And then of course, as Director O'Connor mentioned, this dovetails with the rodent control issue and that a lot of these overgrown areas also make it really hard to keep the lid on the rodent population. And I think it's kind of important to just keep observing that when it comes to rodent mitigation, We have to do a better job overall citywide because you know, none of our lovely wildlife that we have in the city observe, you know, boundaries between public property and private properties and different lots like we do as humans. So we need to be doing a better job of making sure that if there's a problem on private property, on commercial property, that is really causing for neighbors or that is really undermining citywide effects to keep the rodent population in check. We just need reasonable tools to be able to enforce around that.
[Lazzaro]: Before you go on, Vice President Collins, can you explain the difference between overgrowth on a residential property versus a commercial property versus something that may be like protected space that is natural space, I'm thinking, maybe along the Mystic River or in the fells, and why certain kinds of spaces are more susceptible to rodent increases in rodent population versus, I don't think that, this is sort of instinctual for me, I don't have data to back this up, but I think that this is true, that the fells and the area by the river isn't necessarily increasing rat populations or raccoons or things like that, because they're drawn to human waste or that this sort of human generated, spaces. So if you could, if you or it may be a question for Director O'Connor too, but I'd be curious to hear a little bit more about that because overgrowth isn't the same as natural, you know, nature just taking its course.
[Collins]: Yeah, absolutely. I think that's a really thanks for asking sort of like the important preliminary question of why is this an issue to begin with? I'll defer to Director O'Connor to give a more intelligent answer on like, why is this an issue in why is this an issue in the city when it's not an issue in the fells, like to put it simply. But in terms of the scope of the overgrowth ordinance, I would want to, I think this is one of the kind of scope issues that I'd want to drill down on in committee and with legal counsel. But in my impression, kind of our scope here would be to have this be dealing with issues on private property inclusive of residential and commercial that are either causing public health hazards. This pertains to kind of our list of nuisances that are currently in the city ordinances or that are blocking public right of way. And I think that's where the distinction between nobody's gonna be enforcing an overgrowth ordinance in like conserved land on the fells. It's an issue of making sure that if there's a plant originating on private property, that's impeding public property where we all have a right to be able to access, that's the issue we need to be able to deal with.
[Lazzaro]: So it's important to note that this isn't an issue of the visual appeal of a property. It is only when there is a problem, just like what we talked about with the wildlife feeding ordinance. It's not a problem until it's a problem. And every time you sort of say, you know, it's natural for us to think through the unintended consequences of something like this. And, you know, that's the important thing to note that this is a mechanism for when something becomes an issue, if we don't have an avenue to suggest that this is causing a problem, and there's a way for us to fix it, then we need to create an avenue to fix it.
[Collins]: Exactly. And before I pass it over to Director O'Connor, just to shore up that point, when I spoke to code enforcement about this last year, they shared that Summerville has template language that we might look to. And just for example, their overgrowth ordinance or their analog for it says, no person in control of any property abutting a sidewalk or public right of way shall allow to remain uncut or any overgrowth of grass, shrubs, weeds, et cetera. growing in or around such sidewalk or public right-of-way. So this is really just about making sure that what originates on private property does not trammel on public property. It has nothing to do with landscaping or the visual appeal or cutting branches up in the fells or anything like that.
[Lazzaro]: Director O'Connor, would you be willing to speak to how the rodent population differs in a city versus a natural landscape, just for my edification.
[O'Connor]: Sure. Well, obviously if you live near the river and such, there are going to be rodent populations there as well. But this is when we can actually mitigate some of the issues that are occurring on private property, on residential property. that is then, you know, causing issues for neighbors, so that if someone on their own private property has allowed, you know, excessive weeds, overgrowth, shrubs, that then allow burrows to be hidden or rats to harbor, that's when it becomes an issue and we need to have people address it because then they're infringing and causing a nuisance for their neighbors as well. So, you know, we do have a pest control company now that will go out and treat burrows on properties, but we have to be able to find them. And sometimes the overgrowth is such that they can't even like see the burrows or see the property. So that's when it becomes an issue. And certainly particularly when they're causing nuisances for their neighbors.
[Lazzaro]: Thank you. Okay. And again, it's not a nuisance until it's a nuisance. Okay, thank you. Vice President Collins, I'll let you continue. I just wanted to catch that moment before we moved on.
[Collins]: Yeah, no, thank you for doing that. So I think that to me, I think the kind of the scope and intent of an overgrowth ordinance feels pretty clear to me from conversations with partners and city staff. In terms of next steps of putting pen to paper. I think it makes sense for this council to look at language that's been adopted by our neighboring municipalities that are, of course, you know, reacting to all the same issues, whether it's maintaining access on public property and mitigating rodent populations. In a review of Somerville's ordinance that touches on this, which is their section 9-56, it essentially says what we went over before, which is You're not allowed to have overgrowth on your private property be impeding upon the public right of way. If you own a property that has vegetation in such a way that it is a harborage for animals in such a way that could become a public health hazard like, and this doesn't necessarily mean to be need to mean rats, but for example, if you have large pools of standing water, that might be something that the Board of Health would want the ability to look into, especially this year. That's just an example, but I'm just thinking of other relevant, relevant nuisances bordering on public health hazards. Essentially, it's covering all of these ways that there could be circumstances on private property in which the Board of Health would want to intervene because it's posing a nuisance or potential health hazard. If there are any violations, then, you know, fines can occur and those fines go into a specific fund. So I think that that is a pretty straightforward template that we can use. I think that a next step for this council would be to draft an initial version of said ordinance with everything that we typically see in our ordinances, definitions, scope and intent, running through that list of if thens, here's whys. The enforcing body, and I would wanna make sure that we're having a discussion with Director O'Connor about what other partners in City Hall should be involved, if any, for example, code enforcement or DPW, because this does involve the public way. And then just to make sure that we're really specific on that language about enforcement, fines, and the rodent control fund that Director O'Connor has suggested that any fees and fines go into. I'd be happy to propose a motion that as sponsor of the paper I, you know, review neighboring municipalities ordinances to create this first draft of the overgrowth ordinance in collaboration with Director O'Connor. Once this committee has had, you know, our full conversation on and consensus on what the scope of that should be, but I would be happy to if such a motion were passed, I'd be happy to take that on so that at our next meeting on this topic, the committee could consider a first draft and kind of iterate from there.
[Lazzaro]: Okay, are there any other comments from members about, yes, Councilor Leming.
[Leming]: Yes, thank you, and I'd be happy to second that motion, but I have one question for Marian O'Connor and I, I apologize if this already touched on during your initial, when you initially spoke about this just now, but can you talk specifically about the mechanisms for enforcing whatever the overgrowth ordinance is? What concerns day-to-day do you run into when somebody has a lot of stuff in their yard that is attracting rodents? And what would you be looking for in a new ordinance that would help you in your ability to do your job better when you do run into those situations?
[O'Connor]: Sure. Right now we issue tickets, we issue orders first. We give folks a chance to correct the violations. If those orders are adhered to, we start to issue fines, tickets basically. And those tickets can be daily for every day that the infection continues to occur. Again, we like to work with people, try to educate, try to get them to do what has to be done without going that route. But many often we need to do that to get their attention. So that's what we do now. And sometimes it's helpful, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. So we just continue to do that. That answers the question.
[Leming]: It does. Is there any other mechanisms that you've seen, you've heard about people using in other municipalities besides ticketing that just, that could work better? Because I often hear about enforcement of ordinances being an ongoing issue, especially with limited staffing capabilities. So if you've given any, if you've sort of heard about other instances of municipalities that are able to enforce what they do have, and would love to hear about that.
[O'Connor]: Yeah, I think most municipalities run the same thing we do. Obviously, some fines and tickets are able to be attached to property taxes if unpaid and if ignored. Right now, most of us, I don't believe, have that capability, and that's something we've kind of put out to KP law to look into for us. Um, but I think that's a route that that a lot of communities have taken.
[Leming]: Thank you.
[Lazzaro]: Vice President Collins.
[Collins]: Thank you. Um, before I put forth the motion, um, Director O'Connor, I didn't catch the specific name of the fund that we're talking about. Would you mind repeating that? Is that the rodent control fund?
[O'Connor]: Yes, the rodent control ordinance actually created a fund that allows all fines collected due to the ordinance violations to go into a specific account that can then be used for rodent control mitigation. And right now, according to the ordinance, it's the fines only, the violations only that would have paid go into that account as revenue.
[Collins]: Thank you. I just wanted to make sure I found the precise term, if needed.
[Lazzaro]: Do we have any other comments from councilors about the prospect of Vice President Collins drafting the ordinance and then coming back with, you know, we can discuss the particulars once that's drafted. Do we want to, before we vote on that, I have a thought about, so would we wanna talk about the rodent control ordinance and updating that? Okay, Vice President Collins.
[Collins]: Yeah, thank you so much. I appreciate this. committee being willing to take up both topics at the same time, I think that there, as Director O'Connor and others in city administration have noted, they're so related that I really, I think I appreciate the opportunity to consider them both at the same time. On the rodent control ordinance, so that already exists, that is, let me pull it up, That's article five is our rodent control ordinance and our stuff on Unicode. And essentially the goals here and updating it as I understand it is to work with the health department and code enforcement, perhaps DPW on amendments that will enforcement so that we can improve those outcomes. I think that there, it seems like there are some kind of essentially holes in the ordinance like Director O'Connor mentioned, expanding this to include, touch a little bit more on private properties. Again, I think when it comes to rodent control, it strikes me as kind of a of that like Swiss cheese method of problem solving where we need to layer things on top of each other. And if enforcement on residential areas is missing from our current ordinance and that undermines what we're trying to do in more business areas, commercial areas, development areas, etc. And in addition, those updates to make sure that the fines as much as possible finds collected for violations of the ordinance are going back into this fund that gives the city more capacity to do those reactions and preventative measures that will hopefully make us a. more rat-free community in the future. So, Director O'Connor, you mentioned before that kind of list of amendments that you had suggested to me. I have those before me. I'd like to invite you to run through them if you'd like to. I can also just kind of quickly run through them, and then you can chime in. Up to you. Vice President, go for it. Sure. Great, thank you. So first, to touch on the issues of the fines and the funding, we talked about including the overgrowth ordinance, writing that in such a way that the revenue collected through those violations will also go into the fund established by the Rodent Control Ordinance. Same for that for the Wildlife Feeding Ordinance. So just to get those two out of the way first, those include amendments to other ordinances. On the Rodent Control Ordinance itself, there's the suggestion to add IPM fees collected by the Rodent Control Ordinance to also go to the Rodent Control account because currently, so currently the fees don't go to the account, but the fines do. And actually, if I could pause there, Director O'Connor, if you don't mind breaking down for us the difference between fees and fines with the enforcement of the ordinance, I think it'd be really helpful.
[O'Connor]: Sure. So the Voting Control Ordinance includes fees, what we call for IPMs for Integrated Pest Management Plans for folks who have demisters prior to any demolition and construction, prior to street openings. They all have various fees attached to them because they're how large the plan needs to be. Restaurants, like I said, dumpsters. So those IPM fees that we collect, when we permit them, prior to permitting them, they need to submit their IPMs with the fee attached to that with the permit. Those fees right now do not go into the fund. only again, the violations when we go out and they're not maintaining their dumpster properly, or they don't have their IPMs in time, or they've gone ahead and done their construction or demolition without submitting an IPM, those violations, those fines do go into the voting control. Does that make sense?
[Collins]: Great, thank you so much. So as I understand it currently, so these kind of larger scale ventures, a utility company opening a road, a major development, places that have dumpsters, there are fines associated with doing those types of activities or being that type of entity in Medford. They're permitted as such, and there's a fine attached to Wait, is that the, that's the fee, that's not the fine.
[O'Connor]: That's the fee, right.
[Collins]: Fees associated with that, those fees are already earmarked into the road and control account. And what we're talking about is adding in.
[O'Connor]: Yep, all the way around.
[Collins]: Did I say it wrong again?
[O'Connor]: I'm sorry, yeah, so the. Oh, thank you. The violations are included to go into the account. The fees that we collect that are associated with the permit, do not. at this point. So the fees do not go into the Voting Control Ordinance. Oh. Only the fines. The fines for violations, the fees.
[Collins]: Oh, I see. Currently fines are included and fees are not, but the suggestion is to include fees as well. Correct. Thank you.
[Lazzaro]: Do we know is this a revolving fund or is it something else?
[O'Connor]: Yes, it would be a valid plan.
[Lazzaro]: Okay, got it. Councilor Callahan.
[Callahan]: Thank you. So currently those fees, I assume they are associated with not just rodent control, right, that you have to have themsters and that seems like a normal fee for any kind of construction that is not solely for rodent control. Are those fees going into the general fund? Are we, I mean, I don't know how large this is and if there will be some pushback from other parts of the administration that, you know, these fees really are not just for rodent control and perhaps should be going to the general budget.
[O'Connor]: So for the rodent control ordinance, and again, obviously we will talk to the administration, but with the rodent control ordinance, These fees are attached to the IPM that need to be submitted prior to the permit being authorized and approved. So it is directly attached. The integrated pest management plan is directly attached to road and control. And that's where the fees are attached to the submission of the IPM. The general like permit fee, That's separate, and that certainly goes into the general fund, but that's a separate fee.
[Collins]: Thank you. Great. Thank you, Director O'Connor. So it seems to me that on that point, the Road and Control Ordinance already has it set that fines for violation of the existing ordinance go into the Road and Control Account, and what we're looking to do is make sure that IPM fees are also going into that account to fund more mitigation. Great, we'll work to include that. We can work to include that language. Next, there's a suggestion that the roading control fee schedule for public works street openings should be changed to a minimum of $250 plus $1 per foot with no maximum. I do understand that that suggestion came from the city engineer's office. If you're able to speak to that, that would be great. And if you could point me to I'd wanna make sure that I'm clear on, I believe it's section 6112B currently in the Road and Patrol Ordinance. That'll be changed by that. But I wanna make sure that we're tweaking the right section.
[O'Connor]: Yeah, the street opening section right now, again, I don't have the ordinance in front of me, I should, but I believe it's $1 a foot. And there is a maximum limit put on that. I think it's $1,000. When we met a year ago as a group, the city engineer actually said that we put a base of 250 and then an additional dollar for it with no maximum.
[Collins]: Great, thank you.
[Lazzaro]: And Vice President Collins, would you be able to email this information to the rest of the, to the committee so that we can just have it after the meeting, that'd be great.
[Collins]: Absolutely, yeah, I apologize for not doing that prior to the meeting. I'll send this list of suggestions from Director O'Connor to the committee via the clerk. Thank you for that explanation, Director O'Connor. And I also want to note that I think this seems to me to be pretty aligned with the work that we have begun to do in the Administration and Finance Committee of updating fee schedules across many city departments, where when we do take a look, we realize that these are kind of insufficient to cover administrative costs or out of step with what most other of our neighboring municipalities are charging for similar circumstances or similar services. So it's my understanding that the roading control fee for street openings relates to this because I mean and a lot of people unfortunately know this because they're living it in Medford but when a street is open when there's major drilling or some such, that displaces the rodent population and then it becomes an issue. And so it's my understanding that this is another thing that is kind of very directly related to presence of rodents, rodent issues for residents, and certainly seems reasonable to me to kind of raise the floor on that.
[O'Connor]: And certainly it's not, obviously there are emergency situations, right? Or it's not reopen without notice. So, you know, we can't help that. That's not what this is alluding to. These are planned projects.
[Collins]: Great, thank you. I'll continue, I think there's just a few more. The next suggestion touches on adding a residential component to the road and control ordinance, which should reference compliance to the, you know, to be drafted overgrowth ordinance and the existing wildlife feeding ordinance, but should also touch on the storage of debris or refuse on residential properties. Specifically noted, which Director O'Connor brought up earlier, is that we need some solid language that when a trash barrel has a hole in it, it must be replaced within 15 days. And I understand that that's being suggested because there's kind of a specific problem around there being holes in trash barrels and them not getting replaced. And it's kind of a banal thing, but that is a way that rats stay happy. So we need to find a way to give the city a tool to make sure that's happening when it needs to happen. This would also touch on the mismanagement or excessive trash on private property, residential property, again, mandatory replacing damaged barrels, as well as, you know, giving the city tools to step in when there are boroughs on private property that are just not being treated. And, you know, kind of an additional stipulation that, you know, if there are other sundry conditions that are deemed conducive to rodent activity, again, overgrowth, overly abundant fruit trees, standing water, all these things that can, you know, create the right environment, that that the health director and other city partners are enabled to step in when these conditions are creating an issue. Director O'Connor, I know that there was also, I'm curious with the residential component to hear your thoughts on the enforcement piece of this and also kind of some guidance on what you think would be actionable and fair in terms of, you know, fines and penalties. I also know there's a suggestion to increase fines for violations on larger properties as opposed to smaller ones, like larger apartment buildings, as opposed to one or two families. Could you speak a bit to that?
[O'Connor]: Certainly. So, you know, if they're kind of like properties that are being, you know, greater than three units, so they're their commercial properties in the sense that folks are making money off of their rentals, right? Those, we'd like to hold those landlords accountable for their properties. Right now, again, we will go on properties, single family households, even two families sometimes to help assist with voting issues in boroughs. But once they get to a point where they're, you know, especially, for the landlords, not a resident in the property. I believe that we should get increasing those fines for those landlords.
[Collins]: Great, thank you, Director O'Connor. And I think that this is, I think that a lot of these suggestions are ones where again, At least just to get the source material for what this council will what this committee will look at, we can be looking to neighboring municipalities for language that's already being used enforcement amounts fine amounts to make sure that that is kind of. standard with our neighbors. And of course, since you know, just like this is not a neighborhood issue, but a city issue, this is not a one city issue, but a regional issue. So I think in general, where there are opportunities to align with what our neighboring communities are doing, hopefully that will make that will help us all help each other and kind of keep consistent. One specific question that I have on the enforcement mechanism for if we're adding a residential component, Director O'Connor, I'm curious if you see the health department being the main enforcing body for this section of the ordinance, or if it should also be inclusive of, for example, code enforcement, DPW, what would your perspective on that be?
[O'Connor]: Certainly code enforcement could be helpful on these issues. Where it's private property, we could work with DPW, particularly on the trash barrel replacement program. Again, I know there's a fee associated with replacing those barrels. I'm not sure if we can have any wiggle room around that, where the first barrel is replaced for free, but if we continue to have an issue and you haven't addressed the issue, You need to go forward and pay for the next replacement. I'm not sure I'm just putting that out there as an idea, but certainly we can we can team up with DPW as well to look at some of these issues. And then the other issue too that we need to really kind of look at creating maybe some sort of a partnership or program, something like how we've been talking about this a lot is some of these properties that have overgrowth and have issues, their homeowners are elders who don't have the means or the resources to address some of the issues on their property. So trying to figure out how we can create some sort of a program or team up with an agency or volunteers or something, like we do the snow shoveling, right? So something along those lines, but that's something kind of separate from this that we're really discussing because that is a true issue. Folks need help as well.
[Collins]: Thank you, Director O'Connor. I'm glad you raised that. Definitely something to put a flag on is what exemptions or exceptions or just helpful programs we can make sure exists in the language so that for folks who, you know, with all best intentions, don't have the same kind of means to respond to the new stipulations of the ordinance, that we're working with them on solutions instead of finding them where that isn't really fair.
[Lazzaro]: Excellent point. just a thought because I have a sense that Vice President Collins is going to make a motion to also draft this ordinance that maybe this could be spread around. You wanna just do it? All right, I'm gonna leave it alone because I'm not allowed to make motions. Vice President Collins?
[Collins]: Thank you. I appreciate that. I think Director O'Connor has been really proactive in bringing forward some suggested amendments for the rodent control ordinance. And I think I see these as being really closely aligned. So I hope that kind of working on the overgrowth ordinance updates the rodent control ordinance and perhaps adding that line about the fund to the wildlife feeding ordinance as well. Project that this committee recently completed. To me, as one Councilor, it seems really clear what we have to do here, so I hope that we can get these additions and amendments done pretty quickly. So I would offer another motion, or maybe it's one motion, to approve. authorize myself as sponsor of the papers to draft suggested language, discuss with department heads, and potentially submit first drafts for legal review before our next meeting on these topics.
[Lazzaro]: Is there any other discussion from members of the council on this topic? Councilor Leming seconded this motion.
[Leming]: and circulate those requirements.
[Lazzaro]: And legal. Any discussion on those before we? Okay. Clerk, can you call the roll once you have it written?
[Callahan]: Yes.
[Collins]: Yes.
[Leming]: Yes.
[Tseng]: Yes.
[Lazzaro]: Yes. Five in favor, none opposed. The motion passes. So Vice President Collins will draft those and we can bring them to the next meeting and discuss them. I really appreciate the work you've done on this so far and just a little bit of general cleanup and housekeeping for our town and our city. And it's not glamorous work, but you've created a lane for yourself, unfortunately. Don't say that.
[Hurtubise]: Here we are.
[Lazzaro]: Don't say that. It has to be done, and we're grateful to you. So is there any, or is there a motion on the floor? Anything? Yes, Vice President Collins, before we...
[Collins]: Before I motion to adjourn, unless any of my fellow councilors have something else to add, I just wanted to also thank Director O'Connor for your stalwart efforts on this and being one of our city's foremost defenders against rats. But seriously, thank you for reaching out to the council about this ordinance project that can help you and your team, code enforcement, DPW, continue to do the work that you are trying to do.
[Lazzaro]: Yes, absolutely. Director O'Connor, a solver of problems. We really appreciate you.
[O'Connor]: Thank you. Thank you for all your hard work.
[Lazzaro]: Thank you. On the motion of Vice President Collins to adjourn, all in favor? Aye. Opposed? And the meeting is adjourned.
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