[Caraviello]: Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears?
[SPEAKER_09]: Present.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Falco? Present. Vice President Knight? Present. Councilor Marks? Present. Councilor Morell?
[Morell]: Present.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli is absent. President Caraviello?
[Caraviello]: Present. Six in the affirmative, one absent. Please rise. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
[Marks]: Mr. President, move suspension of the rules, Mr. President, to take paper 21-571. And after that, Mr. President, to take public participation out of order.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. 21-571, I'll put on the suspension by President Caraviello, Vice President Knight, Council Beas, Council Falco, Council Marks, and Councilor Morocco. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council offered steepest and sincere condolences to the family of Lillie Scarpelli. We have further resolved that the Medford City Council dedicate tonight's meeting in her honor. For those who don't know, Lillie Scarpelli was our colleague, Councilor George Scarpelli's mother. So if we could stand and have a moment of silence for her, it would be appreciated. Thank you. Councilor Marks, you want to take public participation next? Please, Mr. President. On the motion by Councilor Marks to take public participation under suspension.
[Marks]: Mr. President, if we could. There is several petitions before us, all of similar subject matter. I would ask that we take them all together, Mr. President. You read it once and we'll take them all together and allow the petitioners to come up and speak.
[Caraviello]: So on the motion to take public participation out of order, by Councilor Marks, seconded by? Seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. All those opposed? Five in favor, one opposed, motion passes. Public participation. I won't read all the names all at once, but I'll read the first part of the paragraph. The racist method website. be added to the next council agenda, a discussion regarding the anonymously posted website to include the impact on those targeted in the response or lack of thereof by the city administration. So before we get started on this, I want to let everybody know that this is an ongoing police matter and investigation, and it is also with the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office. So we will not discuss anything regarding that. Also, the Medford City Council has no authority to take down any website or anything further like that either. If you want to speak, please speak and do not bring up the investigation or the city's ability to take down the website. Councilor Raults.
[Morell]: If I could just go on record as just noting that I think using this body as a forum for civil and legal matters that are ongoing that the council has no jurisdiction over and no involvement with only further confuses the public about the duties of this actual body, which are clearly stated in the city charter, Massachusetts general laws and the open meeting law. So I just want to go on record as saying that.
[Caraviello]: If you can make a motion, you put that in the form of a motion. I just want to go on record with that.
[Morell]: I just want to go on record. Okay. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: All right. So, um, public participation, who would like to be first? And again, please, please be courteous. Please don't mention people's names either. I appreciate it. Thank you. Good evening. Name and address of the record.
[SPEAKER_01]: My name is Susan Panter and I live at zero summit road. I want to thank you all for allowing me this time to talk to you about the website, how racist Medford and the negative effect it has had on me. I apologize for reading my thoughts, but I want to make sure that my thoughts are clear. Last year, I received a text message from a neighborhood friend asking if I was aware that my name was on a website called the 18 Most Racist People in Medford, posted by an anonymous person. Needless to say, after checking it out, I was pretty upset. I received phone calls from friends and family that viewed the website and expressed concern for me and the other people identified by the Race of Medford group. Apparently my being called a racist stemmed from an open letter I posted about the mayors not attending the police rally held at City Hall in July 2020. I mentioned that she attended the BLM rally the week before and spoke about systemic racism, equity, and policing in Medford. I did not protest that rally, nor did I speak out against it. I believe they had every right to peacefully express their views. But I was disappointed that the mayor and or the chief didn't appear at the rally because I viewed it as an opportunity for the city to listen and show support for both sides of the issues facing Medford. Personally, I do believe that Black lives and voices matter, but I also believe that the BLM organization itself causes more racial tension and divisiveness than inclusivity. Like the people at the BLM rally, I believe I had every right to express my disappointment, and I even attached my name to my comments. I attended the police rally. The rally was peaceful until the BLM protesters standing directly behind us started yelling out comments. One young lady from the BLM group jumped up onto the stone wall in front of City Hall and began to yell things at the crowd. I chose to leave at that point, but I thought a lot about what went on that day. As a little girl, I was always taught to be kind and respectful of all. I also learned that other people's opinions matter, even when they differ from mine, and not to judge people before you know them. I even wrote a children's book about judging people that is currently on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. After the racist of Medford website was posted, negative comments were made on my book's review section, saying I was not inclusive and I was, and quite a hypocrite. Sales of the book slowed down after those comments. The person who wrote the negative comments used a web name, Promising Actress, rather than attach a real name to their comment. I also attended a wedding in New Hampshire and was called out by a person also attending that had seen the website and said to me that they didn't know racists were invited. Joking or not, it was an upsetting circumstance as I was not familiar with the person. In my entire 24-year career as an elementary teacher, I never once had a blemish or accusation made against me. I treated all my students and parents with the respect they deserved no matter their race, color, religion, or gender. I believe that all people have a right to their opinion without being chastised for it. However, they should have the courage to state their name and say it out loud so that people being accused of something can justify their position. The people behind the racist of Medford website continue to hide behind social media walls to intimidate and make accusations against people they know nothing about. To me, they are cowards and should be addressed as such. When the public reads those comments, do they also misjudge who you are and what you stand for? Why are the website creators afraid to identify themselves? This website further encourages racial tension, intimidation, and divisiveness. In life, there will always be those who, because of their behavior, ruin the reputation of the whole group they work with or associate with. One bad teacher makes the rest become under suspicion. One police officer's inexcusable behavior makes the whole force become labeled and put under the microscope. One protester's destructive act makes all protesting groups worrisome. Until we stop labeling all because of a few, we continue pitting one group against another, unrest, tension, and barriers between all people will continue. Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn had stated, hate speech, threatening behavior, or intimidation tactics have no place here and never will. And I agree with her, but I don't understand how she hasn't applied that same rule against the hate-filled and threatening tactics of this website, Racist of Medford. How can she make that statement and not condemn this anonymous group's message? Let me be clear. I care about all human beings. I love this city of Medved, and I'm concerned about where it's headed. Following the rules of this council, I would ask that a council member put the following motion on next week's agenda to vote the following, that the Medford City Council vote to condemn the racism Medford organization social media page, and that the May's July 15th, 2020 statement of the rally at city hall posted on the city webpage be removed. I respectfully submit this, I'm Susan Penta, and I would like to have this document included as part of the official notes of tonight's meeting.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mrs. Penta.
[SPEAKER_01]: Thank you for listening.
[Caraviello]: Good evening, name and address to the record, please.
[Petrella]: John Petrala, 61 Locust Street, Method Mass. Good evening, Mr. President, good evening, councilors. I'm just gonna go right into it. Because of the mayor's response to a police rally and the creators of the Racist of Method website, my family and I, were the recipients of disgusting phone calls, harassment, and threats. No one should have to endure the injustice and vile accusations that were made against my family and myself. I am sure that none of you would want your name insulted or have any harm come to your family. It's not easy to answer your spouse or children. Why are they doing this to us? My only response was this is a politically motivated attack. It was done under false pretense by unethical people. I respectfully request that a vote be taken to have the mayor's response to the police rally be taken down from the methodmass.org website immediately.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Bears]: Point of information, Mr. President. We do not have the authority to remove a Facebook post from the city's Facebook.
[Petrella]: I don't believe it's a Facebook post.
[Bears]: I believe it's any, any, we don't have control over the city to take down a website.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. When anyone else would speak. Good evening. Name and address of the record.
[SPEAKER_15]: I'm Dolly Marie. I reside at one 53 fells out. Thank you for allowing me to speak. Mr. President and city council. I appreciate it. I'm also just going to get right into it. I am a lifelong resident of Method and active member in this community. I am standing here before you this evening with hopes that the city council and mayor will condemn the acts of the racist Method page. Being included on this page has had a huge negative impact, not only on myself, but on my family as well. The statements on this website are simply not true. For the safety of myself and others targeted on this page, I ask this website not only be condemned, but be condemned and vote to remove the Mayor's statement regarding the police rally, which is on the City of Methods website. The city should not be defaming people. This is a cowardly act of whomever is sponsoring this website. The creators of this site are making strong and very serious accusations. Accusations that not only tarnish reputations, but can lead to serious safety issues in our community and result in the further divide of this great city. Most community members are being targeted by the site are active and very productive people who own local businesses, volunteer their time and raise their families in a city which they've lived in a long time in love. I would love to see Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn condemn this site with the same passion that she had when she condemned the acts of the Medford Police Rally. I put a motion that you also make a vote to condemn this site.
[Caraviello]: Residents cannot make motions.
[SPEAKER_15]: OK.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[SPEAKER_15]: You're welcome.
[Caraviello]: Nadine. Nadine, do you have your hand up? Just a quick, Nadine. Nadine, Nadine, can you unmute yourself, please?
[Moretti]: Thank you, Nadine.
[Caraviello]: Name and address of the record, please.
[Moretti]: Yes, hi, my name is Nadine Moretti, 126 Burgett Ave. Thank you for letting me speak tonight. Good evening, Mr. President and Councilors. As you can imagine, this isn't easy, speaking about being named on the Racists of Medford website. The effect this has had on me is quite profound. It literally had a direct impact on my ability to get a job. That directly impacted my family. Friends and family were contacting me to tell me I was the victim of someone's distorted work on this website. Although they knew it was to be untrue, it was still humiliating. The callous manner in which I was portrayed is mind boggling. Supporting my hometown police department, many of whom are good friends, turned into a defamation of my character and good name. My commitment to help keep Columbus Elementary's name is attached to my name via a snippet of a video on this harassing website. This is harassment. The statement by the mayor on the city website condemning the very rally I attended is what spawned this racist of Medford website. So what I respectfully ask of you is Number one, to ask that the mayor's statement be removed from the city website only, not Facebook. We're not asking about that. And to condemn the racist of Medford website. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Steve, name and address of the record, please. Name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_18]: Ray Scafro, 9 Sunset Ave. I attended that rally to support our local police department. And a couple of days later, this was what was put on Yelp, me and my business. Okay. The business owner, Ray Scaffo is a sexually deviant, sends unsolicited photos and videos of himself completely nude online. Do not trust him, your family or your information. Send your business to someone who isn't sexually harassed. This is what's going on, okay? Just because I went down and I supported our local police department, I didn't even speak. I just was there holding a flag for the police, and this is what they put online. Now, my lawyer has it, and there's gonna be reparations for this, but we're gonna go after, all right? But this is what's going on in this city when we wanna stand up for what we believe in. And I totally believe that this has to come to an end. If it doesn't, it's going to be a lot of problems. So I just want everybody to know what's, this is above and beyond this website that, uh, is going on. Well, by the way, if I had to walk by a mirror and I was nude, I turned my head myself.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Um, Kelly, uh, Kelly McGovern name and address of the record, please.
[SPEAKER_00]: It's Kelly McGovern, 25 Franklin Ave. I respectfully ask that you vote to have the mayor's statement regarding the police rally be removed from the medfordmass.org website. Her statement has given life to the racist of Medford website, where I have been named a racist. Three generations of my family have resided in Medford and given back to the community in countless ways. I am in disbelief that this is being tolerated. The creator of this website has misrepresented the intended meaning of our words. and has added to the divide that is tearing our beloved Medford apart. When I told my daughter that I was going to speak on this tonight, she said, are you sure you won't make this worse? We didn't sleep for months. And she was reminding me of our many sleepless nights, my fear of my family's safety, and the target placed on my back for all to see. My husband and my three children were fielding phone calls from so many, offering undeniable support, checking in on me, knowing how distressed I was. By condemning this website, it will be brought to light that bullying of any kind will not be condoned by our elected officials. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Ms. Gordon. Anyone else want to speak? Name and address of the record, please.
[Betsy Lister]: Betsy Lister, 12 Ross Street. I wrote a bunch of stuff down. I'm probably not going to even look at it after hearing some others talk. I came to this party late. I was one of those residents who didn't pay attention to politics in Medford because I thought things were going really well. Then I heard about the Columbus school situation and then I heard about Black Lives Matter and the mayor taking a knee and then not supporting the police rally, which I attended. As a result of my attendance of that rally, I was called a Nazi, and I was blamed for bringing the BLM children who were screaming and shouting obscenities, F the flag, F the police, F this country, F you and everything else, and then at 6.30 they went home. It was right after that that I started getting some phone calls at home and all hours and they dissipated. I had people call me and tell me, did you know that you're on the racist of Medford website? I go, what? There's a racist of Medford website? Are you kidding me? Who would do such a thing? It appears that the, comments of the mayor have spawned that website as the comments that are on the city's website also exist on the front page of that racist metric website. Quite interesting. Personally, to be called a Nazi when my relatives are were caught in the Holocaust is quite offensive to me. I've lost sleep at nights. I've lost customers over this. And I've had people calling me about this. It's, it's, travesty of justice and to have my words taken that said I do not believe in white entitlement because I believe that people of all ethnicities and races can make it here in the USA. It's a matter of choices. If they choose to commit a crime, that's their choice. If they choose to get a great job and do well for themselves, that's a choice. And this whole website has spawned more racism in the city than I can even begin to think of. And I think it's a travesty of justice that the mayor put up a statement that blames the adults for the language that was being spoken by the sweet little BLM youth. And a demand that that be taken off the, city website, and I guess we'll have to deal with the racist of Medford website through other sources, but let it be known that this trashes people, this website. It causes racism, divide, and hatred. It's libel and slander and serves as a threat to anybody that disagrees in their way of thinking and this attempt to harm both us All of us who are on there, personally and professionally, this has to cease. And all those who have put up this website, added to it, made it viable, promoted, share it, need to be held accountable, and need to remove it from the worldwide web. I know that's not your jurisdiction, but I have to speak my piece. And I want to thank you for the opportunity to allow me to speak my piece. Thank you. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: It would be my suggestion that you contact the mayor directly. Unfortunately, we do not have the authority, as Councilor Morales stated, that doesn't fall under our purview. Contact the mayor directly in her office or by phone or by email. Again, she has the authority to take down whatever is on the website. The City Council does not.
[Bears]: Motion to revert to the regular order of business, please.
[Caraviello]: We have one more person who wants to speak. Good evening. Good evening, name and address of the record, please.
[Anita Dantonio]: Anita D'Antonio, 14 Yale Street. I'd like to speak about the chilling effect this has on free speech, any kind of website like this. The message from this website is, think twice before you decide to run for public office, or even stand here and speak. or choose someone or something to support. And this site is not free expression. It is slanderous and libelous under the guise of a personal crusade fashioned by its author or authors. This chamber should be filled with residents expressing their outrage. Why aren't they here? I go back to my first point. Who wants to chance being labeled a racist or an anti-anti-racist and find themselves, as these people have, on a website, charged, tried, and convicted by an anonymous individual or individuals too cowardly to put their name or names to this disgrace and explain why they have the moral authority to judge others. It is the opposite of what we're all striving for, which is to stop prejudging, stereotyping, bullying, and intolerant behavior. I'm not here to criticize the city council. I'm here to ask you to condemn this website, its anonymous creator, and in a loud voice say, we will not tolerate this in our city. Remaining silent in the hope that no one would see this site is not an answer. The internet has become another form of reference for prospective employers, clients, financial institutions, and many more. One need only Google someone's name. Silence will not make it go away either. It is now in its third publication. I believe it's up to 30 people who have been named. I'm sure there's a chance for me coming up shortly, hopefully not. Right now, by the grace of God, I'm not on that website. Saying it's out of our realm, it's not our bailiwick to do anything is not an answer. You can do something. Condemn this site and its progeny. Your condemnation will speak volumes. Request that the mayor's statement that has been used on this website be removed from the city's official website so as not to give credence to this hateful site. And I take into, Mr. President, I'll take your commentary and heed it with regard to getting in touch with the mayor. Someone once famously said, Where do I go to get my reputation back? I suggest that the first step in your capacity as publicly elected officials is to speak out against this anonymous and defamatory website. And it's not just the individuals on this site who have been smeared. The entire city, all of us, have been labeled as a, quote, deeply racist city, unquote. That excludes no one. no one in this room, no one in this city. Perhaps the cynical individual or individuals believe Medford has become fertile ground for this behavior of anonymously shaming, condemning, and marginalizing those with whom they disagree, and that it is now acceptable to do so. I would hope you agree that it is not, nor has it ever been. Do not allow this cowardly act and behavior to find a home here in Medford. condemn it loudly and in unison. Thank you for listening to me.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. DeAntonio. Any further discussion?
[Bears]: Motion to revert to the regular order of business.
[Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank the speakers, Mr. President, who took the time to come up. And also, Mr. President, the time to relay the story of what they've been through over the past year. That's not an easy thing, Mr. President, especially in this day and age. And this council has gone on record on a number of occasions denouncing different issues within this community and sending a message, even on issues we have no authority on. sending a message if we felt strongly enough, Mr. President. And I truly believe that this is one of those issues. My opinion, Mr. President, when you have an anonymous site, as was stated by the speakers, you have a site that you can't refer to anyone. There's no contact. All it is, Mr. President, is a hate-filled site, a site used to bully, Mr. President, to defame, to slander, to maliciously misrepresent good people in our community. And I think everyone has to stand behind this and say, we're not going to tolerate it, whether it's this issue, Mr. President, or the issue we had last week. We had a petition that come before us, a Method resident, an artist that put up a banner that was approved and commissioned by the parks department to put up the banner and the banners were ripped down, Mr. President. And every member of this council was outraged because the banner was taken down, Mr. President and ripped down, outraged. And I would hope that outrage, Mr. President, continues and carries on, because now we're not dealing with a bayonet. We're dealing with human beings. We're dealing with lives, families, businesses of people in our community, long-respected people in our community. So I would hope that same outrage that I had last week continues this week, Mr. President, because hate is hate no matter where it is, no matter who it happens to. It's hate, Mr. President. And that can't be tolerated. We have a policy, Mr. President, about cyberbullying within our schools, here within the city. I can't think of any better example of cyberbullying than the Method racist site. That's cyberbullying, and I'm glad it's being investigated by the Method police, as you stated, Mr. President. I'm glad it's being investigated on the state level as well, because that site immediately needs to be taken down, Mr. President. And I have no problem, and I'd like to do it in the form of two motions. because I respect my colleagues for saying that maybe part of the original motion that was recommended by some of the public was not under our bailiwick and it involves the mayor. And I respect that. So I would respectfully ask Mr. President that we break it into two forms of resolutions and motions. The first one being, And it's a little different wording than the petitioner offered, but I'm willing to look at that language as well. But I would like to offer Mr. President, the motion that be it resolved that the method city council denounce the anonymous hate filled website, racist of method for its defamation, slander, malicious misrepresentation, and abusive attack on the character, reputation, and good name of Method residents. That would be the first motion. I do have it written down, Mr. Clerk, and I will get it to you. Well, let me just offer the second one, Mr. President. The reason why I split it is because I believe everyone behind this reeling wants to stamp out hatred and racism. I believe that, Mr. President, strongly, with all my heart. And I believe that first motion does this. Second motion is be it resolved that the mayor's response to the police rally be taken down from the City of Methods website. That would be the second one, Mr. President. and members could decide on their own whether we want to just send a statement. And again, it's up to the mayor if she wants to take that down, if we want to send a statement or not, Mr. President. But that way, we divide both. I want to thank the speakers for coming up. You know, when I ran for public office, Mr. President, I ran to fix sidewalks, lower taxes, help our seniors, affordable housing, You know, the basic city of Medford issues. And now we seem to be getting in to a lot of other issues, Mr. President. And so be it. I change with the times. I move with the flow. But as I stated last week, let's get back to the business at hand. We have a lot of important items on our table, Mr. President, that we need to move forward on. And I think, unfortunately, we're spending a lot of time on issues, as my colleague stated, that really don't involve this council. But then again, we are the only sounding board in the city. Where else do you go? I guess you can get your soapbox and go in front of Colleen's, but where else do you go in the community? This has always been the people's forum, as former President Mayorkas would say. This was the people's forum. And whether we like what's being said or not, public participation allows people to get up and air and vent, Mr. President. And it's our obligation and duty to listen and, if be, react. And I think this is one of the moments where we have to react and denounce. Thank you, Mr. President. Go.
[Caraviello]: Councilor Marks has two motions on the floor. We'll take the first one first. So the first motion by Councilor Marks.
[Bears]: Mr. President, I believe those motions should go on the agenda for next week.
[Caraviello]: Correct. We are on the suspension, Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: No, it was on the agenda, Mr. President. I guess it was taken out of order, but it's on the agenda.
[Bears]: It's clearly marked on the agenda. In that case, I would be happy to vote for the first one if those claims are proven in a court of law.
[Caraviello]: On the motion by Council Marks, seconded by Vice President Knight.
[Knight]: I understand the situation and the circumstances and why individuals are here tonight. I find the timing of it curious, but at the same time, I also find the context and subject matter and what people have to go through not fair. My mother always told me, don't put something on the internet because it's going to be there forever. Right? You have to be careful what you say and you have to guide your remarks. And the reason you have to do that is because they can be taken out of context, but at the end of the day, they're going to last forever and they're going to be on the internet forever. I certainly don't feel as though this website adds any value to this community whatsoever. I don't think it does anything to move this community forward. in terms of race relations, or having that conversation that we hear so much about. However, we also have to think about this, Mr. President, as to when's it going to stop? When's the Metro City Council going to stop? I mean, there has to be a point where we say, look, yeah, there's a website out there. Y'all mentioned on the website. The city has nothing to do with it. The city council has nothing to do with it. It's a civil matter. It's a matter that should be taken up in a court of law. So we're going to denounce, we're going to take a vote tonight to denounce this. When does it stop? Is my question. When do we stop taking votes, denouncing what somebody said on the internet? When do we stop taking votes, denouncing statements that people said? All right. It's not my job. It's not until the night has the floor. It's not our job. We're the legislative body over here. We're the legislative body. All right. We're the legislative body. So, You know, I think it's vile. I don't think that that's, you know, the way to go about business, putting people on a website anonymously. I mean, I've always been a firm believer of if you got a problem, I'm right here. Come talk to me face to face. I don't understand this, you know, behind the scenes trolling or whatever they call it, the young whippersnappers these days call it. But, you know, at the end of the day, Mr. President, we have to think about when's it going to stop? When is the council going to stop entertaining issues that don't fall within our scope and purview? We can't be the Facebook police. We can't be the internet police. We have a lot of important things to take care of. Like councilor Mark says, we have a lot of important things that are on this table that needs to be addressed. But week after week, I feel like we're spending more and more time talking about issues and items that are outside of scope and outside of our purview. So, well, you know, probably the most important piece of legislation lays before the city council right now. The recodification of our zoning. We've spent more hours talking about things that don't fall on our table, that aren't within our purview, Mr. President. So we need to take a longer look at what direction we want to go in moving forward. I certainly have no problem with public participation. Come on up, voice your concerns, say what you have to say. But there has to be some point where this council says, look it, sorry to hear that, but that's outside the council's purview. and for us to take actions out of order. And I, for one, Mr. President, don't want to be sitting here every week having this person say, oh, this person said this about me on the internet. Come down and denounce this. This person said this about me on the internet. Come denounce that. You know, it's getting to be crazy, Mr. President, with the influence that social media is having on the operations of government in this community and the direction that we're going. You know, it seems to me like it's government by press release and Facebook post correct government by press release and Facebook post. And the problem is. Social media is not real life. And we are very reactionary to what we see on the internet because it's very personal to a lot of people. Someone attacks you, you're going to take it personally. More so if they do it anonymously or they do it behind a keyboard where they're not in front of you and you can't sit there and have that dialogue and that conversation that human beings have during times where adults want to interact and iron out their differences. But the question I put forward, Mr. President, is when does it stop? When do we stop acting like we're the First Amendment police? Because we're not. This is a matter that should be before the courts. It's a matter that should be before the courts. It's liable. It's slander. It's a civil issue. It's not an issue for the Medford City Council. I feel terrible. I feel terrible for the individuals that are mentioned on the website. Many of them I know well. Many of them I know well. Growing up with them, going to school with them, know their children, have coffee with them, the Met's donuts. Many of the statements that are on that site I don't find to be true. That's my perception based upon my experiences with these individuals in this community. But Mr. President, we cannot be the Facebook police. We cannot be the social media police. If that's what we're going to turn into, we're going to waste a lot of time focusing on efforts and endeavors that don't move the city in the right direction. There's a lot of good things that are going on in this community, but if you watch our meetings, you'd think Medford is falling apart. Medford is not falling apart. Medford's not falling apart. There are a lot of good things going on in this community. We need to straighten the ship out. We need to straighten the ship, Mr. President. But ultimately, at the end of the day, in order to straighten the ship, we've got to focus on the issues that are important to move this community forward. And I don't think that us policing the Internet and posts, private posts on the Internet, are where we should be. That's just my personal opinion. Again, I feel very, very sorry, very badly, for individuals that are named on that website. No family should be put through that. As public officials, we know what we sign up for. We sign up for the abuse. Individual private citizens don't. All right. So I'm very, very, very sorry that you have to go through that. And I hope that you get the recourse that you need to reach. But the Medford City Council isn't the vessel, the vehicle for you to get that accord. The court of law is where you're going to get that. It's a civil matter. Thank you. Councilor Morell.
[Morell]: Thank you, Mr. President. I agree with Vice President Knight. I think it's a dangerous precedent to set to have the council vote to denounce what I understand in many cases to be protected speech. Organizations like the ACLU say we have to protect the speech we hate. And this goes on on both sides. I do not believe it's in our purview or something we should be doing to try to limit this, limit speech, whether we're trying to limit the speech of the mayor, trying to limit the speech of the anonymous individuals. It's not our purview. It's not something I agree with personally. It's not something that I think we should be doing as a legislative body that is essentially focused on zoning ordinances and budget. So I would be voting against both resolutions tonight for that reason. Thank you.
[Marks]: Mr. President. If I could, no one behind this reel is going to vote to limit speech. We're voting to limit hate. That's what we're voting, Mr. President. This is to limit hate. That's exactly what this is, Mr. President.
[Bears]: The First Amendment was specifically designed so that the government would not regulate or limit private speech. We are being asked to censor private speech. It's the exact inversion of the existence of the First Amendment.
[SPEAKER_09]: That's not true, Mr. President. It is. I just heard six people come up and say the government should take down this website.
[Marks]: The government should take down this private website. I have the floor, Mr. President. My motion... I have the floor, thank you. My motion... And your point of information is long over. My motion, Mr. President, was to denounce. It wasn't to limit, Mr. President. So it was to denounce. And this council has denounced many things, particularly in the last year and a half, Mr. President. And we can go through the list, Mr. President.
[Bears]: We are in the motion. What court of law has determined, beyond a reasonable doubt, or even a preponderance of the evidence, that libel, slander, and defamation has occurred? I can't vote for something that has not been proved in the court of law to the legal standard it needs to be approved by.
[Marks]: I didn't know I was serving with F. Lee Bailey now, but I guess I am, Mr. President. Wow, you know, it's nice to have our facts straight. Yeah, Mr. President, you know, I wish the outrage applied to both sides, Mr. President. I wish the outrage, you know, when someone's getting up there and stating how it hurt their family, and members of this body can't even look them in the eye and are fidgeting with papers, Mr. President. But when it comes to taking When it comes to taking a plastic banner down, the outrage was palpable. That plastic banner was palpable, Mr. President. And I supported that, Mr. President, last week. And I supported that. But I equally support, Mr. President, human beings that come up and say that this website has had a dramatic impact on their lives. whether we can control it or not, and I understand that. I understand we can't control it, but we can send a message. This council sends plenty of messages, and that's what we've been doing for the past several years, and in particular for the past year and a half. Regarding social media, this is not a post between one person and another. This is a dedicated website to attack and harm people. And the list keeps growing. So when we say, when is it going to stop? It's never going to stop. You know why? Because no one's standing up, Mr. President. That's why it's never going to stop. This website started well over a year ago. This is the first time that someone has come up to this podium asking about this website or asking that we denounce it. It's been over one year, Mr. President. So the people listed on this website haven't got out. They haven't been vigilantes. They're not taking the law into their own hands. They were waiting for the process to play out, for the investigation. And from what I hear, we're towards the end of the investigation. So what you see right now is residents standing up after one year, Mr. President, of being put through the stories that we heard, the businesses, the people, the families that were hurt. and finally say, we've had enough. And I think they have every right to do so. And as long as I'm on this council, you know, it's only for a couple more months, but as long as I'm on this council, this will be the people's forum to allow them to come up. This will always be the people's forum, Mr. President. And I'm not going to shy away from the issue. Thank you, Mr. President. Good evening. Name and address of the record, please.
[D'Antonio]: I just have a couple of thoughts, and my sister grabbed me, so I wouldn't come up and embarrass myself, but here goes. In a lot of history classrooms at Medford High School, there's a poster that says, when they come for the Jews, who will speak for them? When they come for this group, who will speak for them? You are the group. that we are asking you, if you can't denounce, if you can't, what can you do? Why have we given you the power? The other thing that bothers me is while these people were pleading with you for some justice, and we get quotes about the Constitution, and wanting to rush it through, I saw members of this committee reading other stuff, not even giving these people the courtesy of listening to them, crossing this out, looking at that, absorbed in something else, raising your eyebrows. How long do we have to put up with this? It's shameful. It's shameful.
[SPEAKER_09]: Mr. President,
[Bears]: I just think it's worth noting that is a Martin Niemoller quote, and the first line of it is, first they came for the socialists. Thank you. Can you name and address of the record, please?
[Penta]: My name is... My name is Robert Pinter, Zero Summit Road, mentioned NASS, former member of this August board. Let me just tell you something right up front. I spent 36 years behind this rail, and I never once denied anyone the ability or the action to come before the board and say whatever they thought was important to them, because this is their house, not your house. That's number one. Number two, Council Mark is only asking them to denounce. That sends the message citywide, anyone who might be watching, reporting or what have you, that we're not going to tolerate this. It makes absolutely no sense at all. And let's get to the real major thing. Mr. Vice President, you talk about how many more times are you going to do it? Well, this all started when the mayor of this community sent a message down to this council to say that the city of Medford was systematically racist, and you folks voted for it. So you've already been in, you're already in this, you're already in.
[Bears]: Point of information, Mr. President. Actually, Councilor Morell and I proposed that resolution, and I'm glad that we voted for it.
[Penta]: Well, I mean, what's kind of an idiotic remark is that we're talking about how this thing, how this thing all generated itself, you know? And if Mr. Beers wants to have a debate any day of the week on this particular issue, I am quite sure, I'm quite sure he can be accommodated. He's a Councilor. He's an elected official of the city. And that's who he is. And that's what his responsibility is, not just to move on and let's get to the next subject matter. Listen to me. You're talking about human beings out here who for the past year have gone through a life and altering whether it's their business, whether it's their family, whether it's their kids, or what have you. The city has never been subjected to this. But the cowards, and that's what they are, the cowards who are behind that racist amendment, let them come forward, take their position, and stand their ground like a man or a woman, rather than go in the cubby hole, and I'm gonna just keep throwing these bombs. Councilor Marks, you hit it right in the head. The whole idea of what this thing here tonight was, people have gotten frustrated. No matter what the outcome is with the investigation, which is now criminal, that in and of itself ought to tell you something's going on, and I hope our police department, and I hope our police department does find it out. You know, everybody tonight has kept mentioning, you know, the mayor's comments. The mayor's comments were written on July 17th regarding the July 15th rally. She wrote them on July 17. And what she said on that, and that's the reason why they're here, and they're rightfully to be here. They talk about that the attendees used language that was disgusting, abhorrent, and it has no place here. Well, can somebody please come up here and tell me what was said by any one of the 30 people now recognized? Because they stood there in behalf of, they stood there, they didn't even speak, they stood there in behalf of our Metro Police Department. The people are right there every day defending us and taking care of the needs of our community. Why would you want to turn a blind eye to that? That's ridiculous. Fire department, school department, teachers, first responders. This Medford City Council has an obligation, whether they like it or whether you don't like it. This is wrong what's going on in this city. And if you allow this to continue going on each and every day, and you allow these anonymous cowardly people to do what they're doing, we won't have a city anymore. Because the divisiveness will cause physical anxiety between people, and no one will ever get along. And you'll never see the right time of day. The city of Medford will no longer exist. And that's what we don't want. What you do want is inclusiveness. You want people to be able to sit and to talk. You have a difference of opinion? Okay, you discuss it. But you don't go and sneak around like in the middle of the night like a thief and you put something out there. Social media is public media. It's not private. It's so public it gives you an opportunity to respond, whether you're on Facebook, Instagram, or whatever you want to call it. Mr. President, I would respectfully request and hopefully that every member of this council takes its position, lets the entire city of Medford know what their positions are, because let me tell you something, this is an immediate election coming up, and it's gonna reflect badly on anyone who decides that they're afraid to take a position, because they're gonna wait for the decision from the criminal court to come back. Let me tell you something, if it was any one of you folks, and it was your name that was on there, you'd see you'd be acting a little bit different because you wouldn't want it to happen. It started in this building, it started over there, it came over here, and this council voted for it. And when you voted for it, you accepted the responsibility that went with it. Why should any citizen who had nothing to do with anything be held accountable for something they have no control over. I just don't know where to go. I am so upset with this right now, Mr. President. I cannot believe that this Medford City Council is toying with this as to whether to vote for it or not. It's as obvious and as clear as can be. Do your job, please. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: Mr. President, Councilor Marks has a motion on the floor.
[Bears]: It hasn't been seconded, actually. I'm sorry? That motion has not been seconded. I would like to make a motion to revert to the regular order of business.
[Caraviello]: Councilor Marks has a motion on the floor first.
[Bears]: Does it have a second?
[Caraviello]: Well, we haven't asked for a second yet. I have asked for a second, and we entertained another speaker. Councilor Marks, you have a motion on the floor. I have two motions. Two motions on the floor. We'll do one at a time. On the first one, do we have a second on Councilor Marks's first motion?
[Marks]: I'd be more than happy to read.
[Caraviello]: If you can read it again, please.
[Marks]: Uh, the first motion is be resolved that the method city council denounce the anonymous hate filled website, racist of method for its defamation, slander, malicious misrepresentation, and abusive attack on the character reputation in good name of method residents.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. So on the motion of my council, my second invite,
[Knight]: And the motion was the president will move to amend the resolution.
[Caraviello]: That's not vice president make.
[Knight]: If they sponsor the resolution would be so willing to amend the resolve to excuse me. Thank you. The sponsor of the resolve would be so willing to amend the resolution to put a period after the word racist of Medford and strike the remaining. language in the resolve. I will be happy to co-sponsor it. I'll second it rather.
[Marks]: Read that back. So the way I understand it, be it resolved that the method city council denounced the anonymous hate filled website, racist method period.
[Caraviello]: Is that, is that what you offer? Yes, sir. Okay. So on the motion by council mark seconded by The amended motion seconded by second by Vice President Knight. All those in favor. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Bears]: It's not in our jurisdiction, so no.
[Hurtubise]: Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Morell?
[Morell]: For the reasons I stated before, no.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli is absent.
[Caraviello]: Yes. So, four in the affirmative, two in the negative, and one absent. Motion passes. On the second motion by Councilor Maks. Councilor Maks, if you could read that back.
[Marks]: Second motion is be it resolved that the mayor's response to the police rally, uh, be taken down from the city web, uh, city of methods website.
[Caraviello]: Oh, the motion by council Mark seconded by the motion by council Mark second invite motion to revert to the regular order of business.
[Bears]: We did not have a second on your motion.
[Caraviello]: I can respond. The motion by Councilor Bears to revert back to regular business. Seconded by? Seconded by Councilor Morell. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes.
[Unidentified]: All right.
[Caraviello]: Hearings. 21515 petition for a grant of location, National Grid, North Andover, Massachusetts. You were hereby notified that by order of the Medford City Council, The Medford City Council will hold a public hearing in the Howard F. Alderman Chambers and Medford City Hall at 85 Joyce B. S. Drive via Zoom on Tuesday, October 5th, 2021.
[Marks]: A link to be posted- President, I move that you waive the remainder of the reading and just give a brief synopsis. Do we have somebody from National Grid on the call here?
[SPEAKER_17]: Hi, good evening. My name is Etel Wahed Nabat. I'm with National Grid Electric.
[Caraviello]: This is a public hearing. Are you in favor of this petition? Yes, I am. Thank you. Is there anyone else here in favor of the petition? Hearing and seeing none, we close this part of the hearing. Is there anyone here that is opposed to this petition? Hearing and seeing none, we close that part of the hearing. If you could give us a brief synopsis of this project.
[SPEAKER_17]: Yes, it's a customer at 82 Greenleaf Ave. in Medford would like to install one three-inch conduit eight feet from the pole into their property so they can have service on the ground.
[Caraviello]: Okay. Do we have any questions for the gentleman from National Grid?
[Morell]: Mr. President?
[Knight]: Council Vice President, it looks like eight feet doesn't look like it's much of a project. This seems like it's something that would probably take about a half of a day or a day to complete. Is that correct? Well, a few hours or less. A few hours. Move approval.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Councilor Falco, do you have a question?
[Falco]: When will this work be taking place if it's approved tonight?
[SPEAKER_17]: I don't have exact date or time, but, uh, Regular hours can be from 8 in the morning till 2 p.m.
[Falco]: Do you have any idea on a date? Would it be like in two weeks, three weeks, a month? Do you know what this is besides?
[SPEAKER_17]: I apologize. That's something that needs to be done by the customer. The customer is the one that applies for the permit to open the sidewalk and does the trenching. National Grid doesn't have a fixed date on that.
[Caraviello]: Okay, thank you.
[SPEAKER_17]: Thank you.
[Caraviello]: Any other questions for the gentleman? So on the motion by Vice President Knight for approval, second and by. Seconded by Councilor Bears. All those in favor?
[Falco]: Aye.
[Caraviello]: All those opposed? Motion passes. Thank you. 2-1-5-6-9. Second. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. 21569 offered by Vice President Nye, being so resolved that the City Administration establish an Abundance Advisory Committee to assist addressing the neighborhood concerns during the design phases of the car park revitalization plan.
[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Last week, there was a meeting relative to the revitalization of Carr Park and the design and construction thereof. Several weeks before that, this council, I believe, did appropriate some money from the Community Preservation Act to authorize this project to move forward. And when this meeting was scheduled, I did receive a number of phone calls from area residents who expressed some concern about the final design and what the final design was going to look like and the impact that it was going to have on their property. So with that being said, Mr. President, I thought it would make sense for us to request that the mayor put together an abutters advisory committee. So it'll be a group of abutters that live beside the project site, maybe one or two from each street that abuts. And what happens is they can kind of act as the point person for the residents on their street to discuss the neighborhood concerns that are coming up relative to design plans. I know that there's some discussion about putting walking trails, for example, in between the buffer strip. between the park and the neighborhood. So I know that some residents have expressed some concern about that. I know there's been some discussion about what type of equipment is going to be installed in the playground and whether or not there's going to have adaptive equipment there for children with special needs and disabilities. I know that there's been a lot of discussion about what the final walking track is going to look like around the track and whether or not they're going to be able to loom and see the whole field and so forth, Mr. President. So I think it would make sense for us to have some partners that are part of an advisory group that can sit there and work with the administration as well as the design team and our friends on the community preservation committee to ensure that the neighborhood concerns are getting addressed as this project moves forward. I think it's a great project for the neighborhood, it's a great project for the community, but we need to protect the neighborhood and the residents as well. So with that being said, Mr. President, we do have a resident from Harrison Street, Harris Street rather, and Mr. Marino that wants to talk a little bit about his experience at the meeting last week. I'd obviously defer to my Councilors to see if they have anything I'd like to add, but this is Mr. Marino here as well to join us to discuss this issue.
[Marks]: Thank you, Vice President. Councilor Bates.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. I'll be brief so you can speak, Mr. Marino. I just want to say thank you to Councilor for putting this on the agenda. I know that we are still in the design phase, and then after that, we'll be talking about money. So there's a lot of time to get this right. I think this is a great way to help. Um, and I also think it's long overdue to see car park revitalized as someone who grew up in the neighborhood, hasn't changed much in 25 years. So, you know, I think it's a great opportunity to add some, some new features, but, um, that we have ample time to, uh, to make sure that everyone involved feels good about it. Thanks.
[Marks]: Mr. Marino name and address for the record, please. Just press the button. Is the mic on? Okay.
[SPEAKER_16]: Joe Marino, 36 Harrison Street. So I've been living there now for 14 years. I absolutely love being up there in the heights. And my property is one of the homes that does abut the woods. I should say the trees, because I always say that it's a large chunk of trees. It's really not the woods. And we have Wright's Pond. We have the Method Woods where people can go ahead and walk through. I think that it's a safety issue, a privacy issue to be having these pathways put in inside here because you've got unsupervised children falling and getting hurt, children who are underage drinking, illegal activities, and then also the privacy issue on my part where people now walk through the woods and now they're gonna pour out into my yard, pour out into anyone else's yard who abuts the woods. So I just feel that we have a lot of trees already, in the city, woods. I ask that we should not touch the trees during this revamping of car park, if not plant more trees or go ahead and maintain the woods. There's car batteries in there, rusted bicycles, chunks of sidewalk. If we could remedy those issues and go from there. I ask that we leave the woods alone or the trees alone. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Thank you.
[Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Mr. Marino for coming down tonight and also thank Councilor Nyquist's resolution. I think this is a, I agree with this resolution a hundred percent. It's a good idea when the early stages of actually redesigning this park. I was at the meeting last week and there are a number of different options. All of them are very nice, but. We need to make sure that this park isn't a very populated area. It's in the middle of a neighborhood. And we need to make sure that the neighbors who live around this park 24 seven have some input and their concerns are addressed. So I thank council and I for bringing this forward. This is something that I believe the administration should definitely move on. And I would, I definitely support in a body's advisory committee, like Mr. Marino mentioned earlier, he lives around this property. He's impacted a number, A lot of residents are impacted. It's great to see this park refurbished. I want to see it refurbished. It's been a long time and it's in dire need of refurbishment. So I support the resolution and move approval. Thank you.
[Morell]: Thank you, Mr. President, and thanks to Vice President Knight for bringing this forward. I really appreciate the idea of an abutters advisory committee for this project and future projects. And thanks to Mr. Marino for providing insight. I think that type of insight you get from abutters is, you know, he just proved just how valuable it is. And they see things from a different perspective. They experience things every day. So I think having their voices in this very important decision process is a great idea. And I also support this resolution.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Any further discussion?
[Knight]: Mr. President, I just want to be clear. I think the conversations that Mr. Marino and I had concerning this project, it's not that there's an opposition to the project, but anybody in the neighborhood wants to stand in the way of it. What they want to do is be sure that the project comes out in a fashion that delivers the best benefit for the community, but also protects the residents in the neighborhood. You know, so this committee could be tasked with the function of determining what types of plants are going to be used as the buffer zone. Are they going to have thorn bushes and tall trees or are they going to have this type of tree or that type of tree to keep people away from the properties? Can we talk about where the path is going to go, how far away from the properties it can be, so on and so forth. We ran into a situation with the Clippership Connector where the residents felt as though they didn't have a voice, Mr. President, and I think that this right here will allow us to get ahead of that and not see some of the same mistakes repeat themselves that have in the past on projects of this sort.
[Marks]: Mr. President? Yes, thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Vice President Knight. I think this is a magnificent idea. I read an article on the Medford transcript that stated that Medford residents had their say in the redesign. There was a meeting at Carr Park, which they had some boards up, and that was great to notify residents. I'm not truly sure how much of a say in the redesign is going to happen during that period of time. I think the creation of an advisory committee really makes sure that the stakeholders are there during the negotiations and are there during the aspects of the design of the park, the use of the park, what they'd like to see, and I think it's vital that the advisory committee be accepted because, like we did with Lawrence Memorial Hospital, the creation of that advisory committee, which was comprised of area residents, was the eyes and ears of the project as it went along. And the questions that got brought up were usually brought up by the advisory committee members, alerting city officials or, uh, you know, government officials. Uh, so I think this is, I support this a thousand percent. I'd like to see this done on every project, to be quite honest with you. I think there should be some type of policy where these advisory boards, uh, created automatically, uh, in order to safeguard the residents. So I support this wholeheartedly.
[Caraviello]: All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Motion to revert, Mr. President? Motion to revert back to regular business by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Bears. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. 2-1-5-2-7, 5-2-8, 5-2-9, offered by Councilor Scarpelli, have been tabled. 5-1, excuse me, 2-1-5-6-4, offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that long-time Methodist resident, Frank Mills, be congratulated celebrating his 100th birthday.
[Marks]: Councilor Marks? Thank you, Mr. President. I think this is the first celebration of being 100 years young that I've had since I've been on the council. Frank Mills, for anyone that knows him, he was at a Veterans Memorial celebration at the cemetery just recently, Mr. President. He's up and about in this community. He's been an active member of this community. Frank Mills has been married 71 years, Mr. President. And I might add, to his sweetheart, 71 years, Lena Andrea Tola. 71 years marriage. That's a lifetime, Mr. President. And it's amazing. He's been in Method over 75 years of the 100. So when they talk about lifelong Method residents, Frank Mills is one of the best, Mr. President. He owned a grocery store on Riverside Ave many years ago. And from what I hear, he was the kindest person you'd want to bump into. You know, if you had a need, Frank Mills was there to assist. And that's just the way he was. He always operated his life that way. He coached St. Joseph's CYO basketball and baseball teams, and they both won championships. Um, you know, and, uh, you know, back in his early days, uh, hazma Pontiac, you remember hazma Pontiac on mystic have, uh, mr. President, uh, Frank sold cars many, many, many years ago, uh, on mystic have, and, uh, he truly is a gentleman, mr. President. He's an outstanding citizen of this community. And I would ask that we recognize him for being 100 years young. And we send them a citation. recognizing him, Mr. President, for that.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. So on the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. 2-1-565, offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that long-time Methodist resident, Jean Cipriani, be congratulated, celebrating her 90th birthday. Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: So, Mr. President, you have someone that's at home right now, that didn't know their name was going to be mentioned, that watches every Tuesday. And you can imagine the surprise when you sit there, right, after all the dialogue we have, and you hear your name mentioned. Gene Cipriani. It's amazing, Mr. President. Ninety years young. sweetheart of a woman, Mr. President. I've known Jean for decades. She raised a beautiful family in this community. Ray and Rose, many people know Ray and Rose, very active in their community, Mr. President. They were staples for many decades on Dexter Street in South Method, very active at their church, Mr. President, and still maintain their active nature at their church. giving people, people that will do anything for other residents of this community, has stepped forward to volunteer on a number of issues. And as I said, Jean can tell you, each and every statement, every member of this council has made over the years. You can't hide from Jean. She'll tell you a record when you bump into her. She'll let you know what you stood for, what you didn't stand for, and how you can improve. And let me tell you, she's a great woman, Mr. President, a true family woman. And I want to congratulate her on being 90 years young. Congratulations, Jean. Happy birthday, Jean.
[Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Marks, seconded by Mr. President.
[Falco]: If I may, good friends with Jean's son, Ray, and the Cipriani family. I just want to wish her a very happy birthday and thank Council of Mox for bringing this forward. I know they've, for a long time, very active in South Medford through the years, and I want to thank Council of Mox for bringing it forward and wishing Mrs. Cipriani a very happy 90th birthday.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Council Mark seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. 2-1-5-6-6. Offered by Councilor Bez, be it resolved by the Medford City Council that the City Administration issue a report on vaccination rates for all municipal employees. uh, provide information on any vaccine in testing requirements in effect and regularly update the city website with vaccination rate and test results information as it becomes available.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. I've spoken to several residents who, um, you know, just would like to know this information to kind of make a decision on whether they're going to call City Hall or come into City Hall or use other city services. You know, a lot of this also is coming out from many large corporations and municipalities as well. This data is being released and I think it's helpful for everyone to have certainty, especially around this piece around the policies. I think it's good for everyone to know what is the policy of the city? How well is it being followed? And, you know, making sure that that's public. I mean, it is public information, obviously, everything we do is, but making sure that it is posted publicly on the city website. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Bears.
[Marks]: Mr. President. Councilor Marks. Mr. President, I could support something that will request what is the city's policy on vaccination and so forth. I would not support any of the vaccination rates of municipal employees, Mr. President.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. On the motion by Councilor Bears, seconded by Second by Councilor Morell. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Opposed. Councilor Morocco is in opposition. So five in the affirmative, one in opposition, and one absent. Motion passes. 21567 offered by Councilor Falco. Be it resolved that the city administration provide a detailed update as to how the $250,000 was spent from the billboard agreement. Councilor Falco.
[Falco]: Thank you Mr. President. I brought up this resolution a while ago regarding the $250,000 from the billboard agreement. Back a while ago when this was signed in year 11, The company, the billboard company, the city of Medford, it was a payment of $250,000. It was not included in last year's budget. I found out about it afterwards when I brought it to their attention. I just want to get an accounting of exactly what the $250,000 was spent on. just an accounting of basically what it was spent on, a detailed description of what the $250,000 was spent on. That money was not included in last year's budget, but I'm just following up. They never addressed it in past resolutions, so I wanted to get a complete update, detailed accounting on how that money was spent.
[Caraviello]: Thank you. Move approval. So on the motion by Councilor Falco, seconded by
[Knight]: Mr. President, I certainly will second the motion, but this sounds very familiar to me. We did bring this up in the past. I do believe you did make this request.
[Falco]: I think if I remember correctly,
[Knight]: You raised the issue when the administration wasn't aware of the money that was associated with the billboard agreement at that time. Correct. And then we need to expend, I think, those funds before the close of the fiscal year, if I'm not mistaken. Correct.
[Falco]: It was by 630, excuse me.
[Knight]: By 630, okay. I mean, that's what it was at. So, very interesting. Yeah, I appreciate you bringing this up again, Councilor Falco, and I certainly look forward to the results of the administration's response.
[Caraviello]: Thank you.
[Knight]: Thank you.
[Caraviello]: So, on the motion by Councilor Falco.
[Bears]: Mr. President, just if I may. Councilor Bassett. I believe also we're getting an Something came across our desk that's a new billboard agreement. I believe it's for the same amount. So if possible, I'd like to not only have an understanding of what happened to the money that has already been given to the city, but make sure that we get a report on any future money that comes from the billboard agreement.
[Caraviello]: Is that an amendment to the motion?
[Bears]: Yes, yes.
[Caraviello]: Could you repeat that back for the clerk?
[Bears]: Just that the city administration also report on plans for the future funds coming from the billboard agreement.
[Caraviello]: So, on the motion by Councilor Falco, seconded by Councilor Knight, as amended by Councilor Bears. All those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. Petitions, presentations, and similar matters. 21-545 has been withdrawn. Been withdrawn. Okay. 21-545 has been withdrawn. Okay. 21568 has been tabled till next week. Okay. We have one paper in the hands of the clerk. 21570, offered by President Caraviello, being so resolved that Medford City Council come in and congratulate St. Francis of Assisi on the celebration of 100 years of dedicated service to the residents of Medford. Again, as many people don't know, St. Francis celebrated their 100th anniversary last week. They will be having a celebration, I think, this Saturday at Anthony's in Malden. So again, I thank you to St. Francis for all the work they've done throughout the community for many, many years. Councilor Falco.
[Falco]: Thank you. Thank you, President Caraviello. Thank you for bringing this, putting this on the agenda. Happy anniversary to all the parishioners in St. Francis. It's been a hundred years. and hopefully 100 more. I know there are a lot of people in the North Bedford neighborhoods that frequent St. Francis, and I wish them well in the future. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: I will be attending on Saturday, and we'll be sending them a citation from the City Council.
[Marks]: Mr. President? I too would just like to wish the residents and all the parishioners of St. Francis 100 celebration and many, many more years, Mr. President.
[Knight]: Thank you.
[Marks]: Mr. President.
[Caraviello]: Funny story, Mr. President. Maybe, oh, geez, 25, 20, 20, 28 years ago,
[Knight]: I grew up in the West Metro part of the city and I went to St. Joseph's Parish, that was my parish, and about, you know, I guess 25 years ago or so, a group of friends and I decided we were going to try out for a basketball team up at St. Francis. And there's a gentleman sitting across from me who didn't cut me, Coach Falco, kept me on the team. And that was the first time I had the opportunity to meet now City Councilor John Falco at St. Francis, Mr. President. But one thing I realized coming from such a strong parish at St. Joseph's and going up out of St. Francis and playing basketball at St. Francis was the great sense of community that they have up there and the great strength of that parish. It wasn't a Sunday that you'd drive by the parking lot and think for a second that you'd be able to find a spot. It was a very, very active parish, very active parishioners, a great Mother's Club, if I remember correctly, as well. I, too, want to join my council colleagues in extending a deep congratulations to St. Francis of Assisi Church. I wish the school was still there, but it's quite an accomplishment for a church to last that long, especially in this region when we're seeing so many Catholic churches close down. So congratulations to the St. Moritzes.
[Caraviello]: On the motion, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Reports of committees. Mr. President, before we do that, can I make a brief announcement?
[Knight]: Vice President Knight. In our packets this evening, you'll see that we have received correspondence from the mayor relative to the mayor's ad hoc small cell committee. And in that packet, we will see that the committee found that 17 5G facilities have been approved here in the community of Medford. Zero Goley Road, zero West Street, 24 Pearl Street, 26 Royal Street, 48 Clock Street, 40 Ashland Street, 12 Fulton Street, 43 Woodrow Ave, 123 Grant Ave, Zero Logan Ave. Zero Brookside Parkway. 83 Washington Street. 39 Charnwood Road. 163 and 199 Forest Street, 59 Jerome Street and zero Yale Street. So, Mr. President, those 70 plus applications that were before us before the city for quite some time and we're nearing the subject of litigation have been addressed and it appears that the Mayor's Ad Hoc Committee has granted 17 of the initial applications. I know that this was an issue of concern out there in the community. So I'd just like to ask that the city administration do a robocall to the residents on those streets to inform them that these 5G towers have been approved.
[Caraviello]: 2-1, 5-5-1, September 29th. This was a committee of the whole in regards to the precincts. And we have another one tonight. So the motion on the motion to accept 5-5-1. Move approval. Second. On the motion by Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Bears. All those in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion passes. 2, 1, 5, 6, 8, September 29th, Committee of the Whole. This was regard to zoning. Move approval.
[Bears]: Mr. President, move to refer to the Community Development Board.
[Caraviello]: That was our, this will be going up, this goes up to, Council Member's right, it goes up to the Community Development Board for their comments and recommendations. So on the motion by Council Members.
[Falco]: If I may, do we have to vote that out in a formal session?
[Caraviello]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[Bears]: We have to vote.
[Caraviello]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[SPEAKER_20]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[Caraviello]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[Falco]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[Caraviello]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote.
[Falco]: We have to vote.
[Caraviello]: We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote. We have to vote The table records of September 21, 2021 were being passed to Councilor Bears. Councilor Bears, how did you find those records?
[Bears]: Found the records in order, move approval.
[Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Bears, seconded by Councilor Falwell. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. The records of the special meeting of September 25th, 2021 passed to Councilor Falco. Councilor Falco, how did you find those records?
[Falco]: I read the records. I have a quick question with regard to the records. I thought there were a couple of resolutions that came out of that meeting, that special meeting. So if we could just table for one week. I just want to make sure we get it right. I thought there was a couple.
[Caraviello]: On the motion by Councilor Falco, table them. Seconded by? Second. Seconded by Councilor Mears. All those in favor? Aye. Motion passes. The records of the meeting of September 28th were passed to Vice President Knight. Vice President Knight, how did you find those records? Find the records in order to move approval. On the motion by Vice President Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. All those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes. Motion to adjourn by Councilor Marks, seconded by Councilor Morell. All those in favor?
[Knight]: In memory of Lily Scott-Pelly, I believe, this evening.
[Caraviello]: We did that already. We're just adjourning in her memory. This meeting is being held in Lily Scott-Pelly's honor, so thank you. So, on the motion to adjourn. By Councilor Marksley, seconded by Councilor Morell. All those in favor? Aye. All opposed? Motion passes.
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