[Falco]: In the 15th regular meeting of the Medford City Council will now come in order. Please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President Caraviello. Present. Councilor Bears. Present. Councilor Knight. President McConnell. Councilor Marks. Present. Councilor Morell. Present. Councilor Scarpelli. Present. President Falco.
[Falco]: Present. Seven present. All seven members are present. At this time I'd ask everyone to please rise to salute the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 orders suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, General Law Chapter 38, Section 18 and the Governor's March 15, 2020 order imposing strict limitation on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting in the Medford City Council will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. specific information and the general guidelines for remote participation by members of the public and or parties with the right and or requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the City of Medford website at www.medfordma.org. For this meeting, members of the public who wish to listen or watch the meeting may do so by accessing the meeting link contained herein. No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the City of Medford or Medford Community Media website an audio or video recording transcript or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. motions orders and resolutions to zero dash 328 offer by console and I be a result that the method city council be provided with the monthly progress reports from the city administration on the status of all draft ordinances requested by the council console tonight.
[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I think this is a rather self explanatory ordinance. Here we are. two thirds of the way through the second quarter of the calendar year. Within the first five or six meetings that the city council assembled we had requested draft ordinances related to a number of issues that are impacting our community, issues that we need to take a look at. And the council initiated as prerogative to look at these by way of ordinance. And we had a discussion about whether or not the council would have the right and ability to hire its own attorney to work on this stuff. And here we are, some almost five, almost six months later, Mr. President, and we still haven't gotten one draft ordinance back. So, I bring this resolution forward asking that we get monthly progress reports from the administration as to the status of the requested draft ordinances that the council seeks. And I'd ask my council colleagues to support me in this measure.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Any other questions or comments from the council?
[Scarpelli]: Second.
[Falco]: Councilor Scarpelli, did you have a question or were you just seconding the resolution?
[Scarpelli]: I second the amendment, the motion.
[Falco]: Thank you. Any other questions from the public or clerk or to be is do we receive any emails.
[Hurtubise]: We have no email on this topic.
[Knight]: Council night. Mr. President, I do think it's important that we also get a copy of the contract that was signed with KP Laura I believe we requested that a number of occasions and we still have not received that yet to determine what the scope of services. So moving forward we know what resources are available to us.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Knight, you broke up on me a little bit. Are you offering that as an amendment?
[Knight]: I am, Mr. President. It's a resolution that's been offered a number of times in the past and has gone unanswered.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. On the motion of Councilor Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli, as amended by Councilor Knight. Clerk Hurtubise, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President Caraviello.
[Hurtubise]: Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
[Falco]: We have resolved that the Medford City Council requests that the mayor meet with the council president to develop a plan to safely hold pre-budget and budget hearings in a non-virtual setting. Council on the night.
[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. Although technology is wonderful, it's not so wonderful sometimes when we're trying to conduct the efficient operation of government. So with that being said, Mr. President, I think that we're at a point right now where we understand COVID-19 and the coronavirus to ensure that we're protected and meet in a non-virtual setting to address the very important issue of the city's finances in the upcoming budget for the fiscal year. So I'd ask my council colleagues to support this measure. Although virtual meetings are great, I don't think that they have the same.
[Unidentified]: I think we lost Councilor Knight.
[Falco]: We had number two, Vice President Caraviello, you wanted to speak on this if you could.
[Caraviello]: Yes, sir. Thank you, Mr. President. I had made a suggestion to you I think some time back on a setting that we could probably do. We could probably use the little theater at the high school and place the Councilors on the stage six feet apart. the whoever department head would be down on the floor and whoever's representing the administration could be down on the floor and the clerk. And that would make 10 people which would be allowed by law. And again, like I said, this is probably the most important budget that the city's faced in the last 30 years. And I think as we all know, just being on these meetings with simple stuff is difficult, nevermind things as difficult as a budget that really should be done in person. So I offered that as a suggestion. I said the little theater is plenty big enough to put everybody on stage and keep it within the 10 people as required by law. Thank you, Councilor Caraviello.
[Morell]: Councilor Morell. Thank you, Mr. President, I think my question just got addressed I was just trying to identify whether there was idea of any in person public participation but this is solely to clarify for the council and then any representatives, relative to their specific budgets that would be presented, correct.
[Falco]: Council night.
[Knight]: Ultimately, the way I envisioned it is that we can all be in a room. conducting the business of the city. And if individual residents have questions or concerns, I do believe based upon your leadership, we've been able to enable some video conferencing in certain areas. And I think that could transcend over to the little theater or to other aspects. Our community media center is very successful. Patrick Gordon's done a great job. He's an award-winning producer that we have over here. So I'm sure that if we put our heads together, we'll be able to come up with something. But if we look at the resolution, the resolution is to ask the President and the Mayor to meet and discuss ways that we can do this. So I think we should have everything on the table, Mr. President, and come up with something that works for all.
[Falco]: Okay. Thank you, Councilor Knight. Councilor Morell, did you have any further questions? Did that answer your question? Yep, that covered it. Thank you. Okay. Any other questions from the Council? So I will be more than happy to talk with the mayor to see if that's something that we can do, see if it's feasible. So I can reach out to her to discuss that and we can go from there. Are there any other questions from the council?
[Unidentified]: Any other questions from the public? Clerk Cardavis, any emails regarding this issue? No emails on this, Mr. President. Okay, on the motion of Councilor Knight, seconded by Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Falco?
[Falco]: Yes. Seven affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 2-0-330 offered by Vice President Caraviello, be it resolved that the Medford City Council address the issues at Oak Grove Cemetery with people abusing the social criteria imposed by the city administration and potential safety issues. Vice President Caraviello?
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. When I had put this on there, there were some issues over there, and I had talked to the chief of staff and the mayor about this. And I'm glad that the mayor did put out a robo call over the weekend addressing what was going on over there. For those of you who don't know, our cemetery is nice as it is, but I don't think it was meant to be a playground for people to go there and play. Children were running over the graves and running, riding their bikes. And the day before someone is buried, they usually dig the hole and put plywood over it. And the kids were jumping on the wood. And I'd hate to see somebody, a child, get hurt over there. And also due to the fact, there's a lot of cars driving, heavy equipment. And some of the people that are over there, maybe their driving skills have been a little bit diminished over the years. You know, a young kid rides out on his bike and someone may not see them. And I said, I'd hate to see someone get hurt over there. And I'm glad the mayor took the steps to get this done. And over the weekend, there wasn't many people there. So I thank her for that. And like I say, the problem has hopefully been eliminated.
[Falco]: Thank you, Vice President Caraviello.
[Knight]: Mr. President, yes, thank you very much. I live, I can see that gate to the cemetery from my front stairs, and the amount of volume of people that are going through there is tremendous right now. And when you see the faces, they're not familiar faces. We have a lot of out-of-state license plates parking along, out-of-city license, out-of-city stickers, out-of-city people parking along Placeland Road, utilizing the cemetery for open space because the parks and their communities have been closed down too. You know, we utilize it quite frequently for passive recreation purposes, but it's getting to the point now where I've had discussions with operators of heavy equipment that work in the DPW that have said that they're being approached by people saying, can you not drive the bulldozer down this street? Cause I want my kid to ride the bike down here. You know, they have a job to do as well. So I too echo councilor Caraviello's sentiment statements and I support his resolution wholeheartedly and second it.
[Falco]: Thank you councilor Light. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: It's on a separate, nevermind. Thank you.
[Unidentified]: Okay. Any other questions from the council?
[Falco]: Any other questions from the general public? Clerk Hernebies, can you let us know if you've received any emails?
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, there are no emails on this topic. Thank you, Clerk Hernebies.
[Falco]: On the motion of Councilor, Vice President Caraviello, seconded by Councilor Knight. Clerk Hernebies, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Morell?
[Falco]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Falco?
[Falco]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The motion passes. 20-331 offered by Councilor Bears, being resolved that the city administration provide an update on how residents can receive masks purchased by the city. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. I know that some information has gone out from the city since I filed this resolution. But I do know that we have joined in regional compact, brought some masks in and we're distributing them. And I'm hoping that Chief of Staff Rodriguez could share what the plan is for that.
[Unidentified]: Chief of Staff Rodriguez. Let's unmute him.
[Dave Rodrigues]: Thank you, Mr. President. I promise to keep my remarks G rated. So yes, the city was able to purchase 10,000 masks, of which 5,000 will be distributed at a drive-through this Thursday. Between 12 and two, it's available to all Medford residents. We're packaging up in Ziploc bags with three masks each, and we'll distribute as many as we can. Supplies, of course, are limited, but we'll be handing them out until we're out. We'll also be able to, we were also, We have a gifted number of plants from Encore Boston Harbor, about 1,000 different plants. So we'll be distributing those as well ahead of Mother's Day. So we do have volunteers who are going to be working there down at Hormel Stadium between 12 and 2. We're excited to be able to provide the resource as well as the benefit of the flowers to the public. But again, supplies are limited. So it's a first come, first served basis. Thank you. Councilor Bears?
[Bears]: Thanks, Dave. I appreciate that. Is this going to be the first of hopefully many or is this just as far as we've gotten in the planning right now?
[Dave Rodrigues]: We hope so. Yeah, as we all know, stuff like this is very hard to come by, but we're doing the best we can to try to track it down for the protection of first responders, as well as the general public. These are non-surgical masks, these are just face coverings. so they would not be appropriate in a medical setting or a first responder setting. So these are designed to comply with the standing Medford order that's been in place for about three and a half weeks, as well as the governor's order, which echoes our order starting tomorrow. So the 5,000 of which will be distributed at the drive-through, the other 5,000 will be available for senior citizens at the senior center and to other vulnerable populations to deliver, as well as DPW and some other public employees.
[Bears]: Great, thank you.
[Morell]: Thank you, Councilor Morell. Thank you, Mr. President. I was curious if Chief of Staff Rodriguez could clarify, are these like cotton washable masks or the single-use masks, if you could just provide a little information.
[Dave Rodrigues]: Yeah, so they're not the washable fabric ones. They're the disposable kind of medical paper ones that are suitable for everyday face coverings. So they're a little better than the fabric ones in terms of face coverings, but they don't reach the N95 or the medical grade.
[Morell]: And will information be provided as far as, I guess, the recommended number of uses of this type of mask?
[Dave Rodrigues]: Yeah, some guidance will be included within each packet by the board. appropriate amount of time to wear them. How many times you can wear them and the appropriate amount of use.
[Morell]: Thank you.
[Falco]: Any other questions from the council? Any questions from the public? On the motion of the Council of Beers, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli to receive a place on file.
[Unidentified]: Clerk, please call the roll. Hang on.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell.
[Falco]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes, 70 affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 20-332 offered by Councilor Bears be it resolved. Actually, we have a couple of similar resolutions offered by Councilor Bears and Councilor Marks. So I will read them both now, if you wouldn't mind. 20-332 offered by Councilor Bears, be it resolved that the Medford City Council congratulate Lieutenant Michael Endicott on his retirement from the Medford Fire Department after 32 years of service to the city of Medford. And we also have 20-334 offered by Councilor Marks, be it resolved that the Medford City Council commend and congratulate Lieutenant Michael Endicott on his retirement after an exemplary 32 years of dedicated service to the residents of Medford. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. I just think this is a good story and a bad time of someone who's served the city for so long and has retired with such honor. So I would be happy though to defer to Council Dean Marks to start this off.
[Falco]: Dean of the delegation, Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: In length of service, not age, by the way. Mike Endicott, anyone that knows Lieutenant Mike Endicott, he is a tremendous firefighter, led by example, well liked among his peers, was the first to volunteer for anything going on in the community. And, you know, from what I hear from other firefighters, he would be someone that you'd want to go to a fire with. That was the type of firefighter Mike was. He's a terrific husband, a great father. a family man, and I wish him well, Mr. President, on his retirement and want to thank him on behalf of the residents of this community for the exemplary service for 32 years for the life and property of Method residents. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Locks.
[Falco]: Councilor Bears?
[Bears]: Yeah, and I just want to second that. I don't know, Lieutenant Endicott, but from everything I've heard and everything I've seen, He's just been a great service to the people of Medford. So I think it's important for us to highlight small positives in this time.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Bears. Anyone else?
[Knight]: Mr. President, if I may?
[Falco]: Yes, Councilor Light.
[Knight]: Thank you very much. I've gotten to know Mike over the years, and I'll tell you, he's just someone you like to be around. He's a soft-spoken guy, a gentleman, and I really just want to congratulate him on his 32 years of service. and wish him all the best as he pursues his golden years. I think it's important to point out that right around the same time that Lieutenant Endicott retired with 32 years of service, he also turned 65 years of age. So Mr. President, that'll tell you that half of this gentleman's life was spent providing service and public safety to the city of Medford and its residents. So that's something that's certainly commendable, and I wish him all the best moving forward.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. And if I may add, I didn't meet Michael until I was actually gone out to the city council, but Lieutenant Endicott is a great person, very committed to the community and like to thank him for his continuous commitment to the city of Medford and to the highest service. So we thank him for his many years of service to our city. So thank you, Lieutenant Endicott. and congratulations on your retirement. On the motion of Councilor Mark, seconded by Councilor Bears. Clerk Hurtubise, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, I just need to clarify. Are you joining 332 and 334 together as one paper?
[Falco]: If that's okay with my fellow councilors, I'd like to do that.
[Hurtubise]: Yes. Okay, excellent. So this is on 332 and 334. Correct. Here comes the roll call. Councilor Bears?
[Unidentified]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Morell? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Falco?
[Falco]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 2-0-333 offered by Councilor Bears be a result that the Medford City Council dedicate this meeting to the residents and families who have lost loved ones during the coronavirus crisis. Councilor Bears?
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. I think we're all starting to process just the amount of people that we know that we're losing. And I don't think anything hits home more than the stories that are out today around the courtyard facility here in Medford. The projections are that we're losing 2,000 people a day across the country and hundreds of people a day in massachusetts and um, I think We just need to take every moment when we're together such as it is on zoom and and the other ways that we're communicating right now to really um, just to say talk about this to to mention and and uh honor and and Think about the folks who who we've lost and the families that are impacted. Um I don't think any of us have the answers as to what this means for us as a country to see so many people dying so fast. But I think we need to start the conversation just honoring and remembering these folks we've lost. And I'm hoping that going forward, we can think about the ways that we're going to remember the people who we're losing to this coronavirus crisis right now. I'm just hoping that my fellow Councilors will join with me in dedicating this meeting to, to the folks that we've lost in their families and hopefully going forward we can we can talk more about how we're going to, how we're going to work through this as a community. So, that's why I put this resolution forward. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Thank you Councilor Bears. Vice President Caraviello and then Councilor Knight. Vice President Caraviello.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. I thank Councilor Bears for putting this on. And like I've done in the last three weeks, I've tried to do our best to make mention every week of those who have passed and we'll continue to do so going forward. And hopefully this will pass at some point, we'll finally be able to start doing this. So I think, and I second that motion.
[Unidentified]: Thank you, Vice President Caraviello, Councilor Knight.
[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I thank Councilor Bears for bringing this measure forward and him bringing up the Courtyard nursing home and the circumstances surrounding that raised further concern and, you know, with everything that's going on in the community and all the discussions and talks and rumors about what's going on, I think it's important that we really take a long, hard look at the circumstances and situation that's been surrounding the courtyard nursing home. You know, from what I understand, I think the Holyoke Soldier's Home has the highest rate of infection for nursing homes in the state, and the courtyard isn't too far behind it. It's, you know, my understanding that various federal and state entities have reached out some help and some planning to prevent the further spread of COVID and were turned away. Rumors, I don't know if there's any truth to it, but we had the chief of staff here. Maybe he can, you know, explain to us a little bit about what circumstances had happened, when and where, who knew what, when and what was happening. The latest I heard was that the Army National Guard had offered its services to help with the circumstances at the courtyard. And then the, volunteerism was refused. Um, and I think that, you know, we really need to take a long hard look at it, but first and foremost, um, you know, I'm not one that usually chases rumors down and we have the cheapest staff this evening with us right now. So hopefully you can put it into that, uh, you know, rumor mill discussion that's been going on around the community, because if that is factual, then it's very concerning to me. Um, so with that being said, Mr. President, I do raise the question, um, you know, what's, what circumstances are going on at the courtyard that the city has been involved in, and what steps have been taken to help them address the issue there. And was any state or federal body extending help that was refused by the administration of the city during this time? Those are the questions that I have. Maybe Dave can help us out with this a little bit.
[Unidentified]: Chief of Staff Rodriguez.
[Hurtubise]: Hang on.
[Dave Rodrigues]: Thank you, Mr. President. And again, thank you, Councilor Bears, for highlighting this issue. And this is something that we've been focused on since the... opening days of the pandemic, especially in our most vulnerable locations, the long-term care facilities, the nursing homes, of which Medford has three. From the first case that we learned of at Courtyard, we mobilized immediately to try to advocate for them and get additional resources from the state level, both from the Department of Public Health, as well as the National Guard, to get them testing, to get them staffing help, to get them whatever resources they may need in order to combat it. The unfortunate reality is that this is, these are our most vulnerable populations that are all living in one place in the serious nature of the virus, in the contagious nature of the virus itself. it will spread in a place like this like wildfire. So getting them PPE, getting them testing, getting them staffing as appropriate was an immediate concern of ours. I know the mayor has been in constant contact with Secretary Sutter's office, the command center, the National Guard, Tom Mangan from MEMA. the Lieutenant Governor calling anybody and anybody in order to get resources there. I don't have any direct knowledge that Courtyard either turned down the circumstances of which the National Guard was there, and they turned away services, the nature of that, the circumstances of that. I probably refer the question to Genesis and to Courtyard for the circumstances of that, as well as DPH, because I don't wanna talk out of school. I wasn't there, I didn't see it. So what I can say is that the city has taken every step it could possibly take to advocate for these residents, for these patients to get resources to these facilities in order to help them. The National Guard has been to Medford no fewer than six or seven times to do testing, multiple rounds of testing, testing patients, testing staff, testing administrators, whatever we can do in order to do that, we've done. So I'm confident in the city's confident in the city's response to the problem. If there was more we could have done, we would have certainly done it. But connecting the resources to those that could provide it, the DPHs and the National Guards of the world is exactly what we should have done and exactly what we did.
[Knight]: Mr. President, I thank Mr. Rodriguez for that breakdown. I'd like to propose a B paper requesting that the administration provide us with a timeline of events and a breakdown of those discussions. relative to what services and assistances were offered and which ones were accepted and rendered. And I'd offer that in the form of a B paper, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Clerk Arnaviz, before we move any further, do you have the language in the B paper? Mr. President, I do. Okay, thank you. There were a number of people that wanted to speak. Vice President Caraviello, then Councilor Markson, Councilor Scarpelli, Vice President Caraviello.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, you know, having a loved one right now in one of those facilities, I can speak firsthand about them. I mean, these facilities are at their best on a good day, somewhat marginal. Um, i've noticed the difference Um where my dad and my dad's at glenridge where the situation is only slightly better there than it is up at uh courtyard and that's also owned by genesis and i've talked to many people uh at at glenridge since genesis has brought has taken them over along with the courtyard and uh, i'm i'm gonna fall genesis a little bit on this, uh, because Staffing has gone down, and the level of care has gone down since Genesis has taken these facilities over. And let's say, I know the mayor has done everything she's could. I mean, there's only so much that the administration can do. These are private facilities. And again, people that are in these facilities, a lot of them are sick, and they're frail. it's very hard to take someone that has Alzheimer's or dementia and ask them to stay in their room. So, you know, every day they're herded into this common area where they eat and convene. So, I say it just festers. You know, they say there's just really no way that they can control it. And again, I say, you know, my father's tested positive. Fortunately, he's, you know, he's not showing any signs, but, you know, these facilities, I think after this is done, they're all going to need a major wake up call going forward. Because like I said, even on a good day, they're somewhat questionable or marginal. So again, and I know the administration has done everything that they possibly can do to get help to them.
[Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President Caraviello. Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: Uh, thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank council beers for bringing this up, uh, this evening. I also want to concur with council tonight that it's very important that the council receive a timeline of events, uh, through over the past eight weeks on, uh, what has occurred within the courtyard in particular. I also heard some troubling comments by a representative. from courtyard, Mr. President, as early as today regarding what took place at the courtyard. And it was stated, well, these particular clients are all over the age of 80. And I think that's a pretty troubling comment to make, Mr. President. I realize the nature of nursing homes and long-term care facilities, but that comment, I think, Mr. President, speaks volume on how maybe the situation was handled. Um, so I appreciate what Councilor Knight offered, and I want to concur with the timeline.
[Scarpelli]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Councilor Scarpelli. Thank you, Mr. President. Again, thank you, Councilor Bears for bringing this forward. It is a time that we need to, as a community, reflect and really, uh, you know, pay homage to those people that have lost their lives. But I think that with what Councilor Knight brought up, if I could ask the Chief of Staff, Mr. Rodriguez, I'm so excited these masks are going out, but it also raises a question. Are we hitting, are we reaching our most vulnerable population? I mean, I know it's nice that we're doing our home out in this pickup of flowers, But have we set some aside that are going directly to the senior centers, that are going directly to housing, that are going to the population that probably won't get to the homeless sites, pick them up? Have we done that, have thought of that yet?
[Dave Rodrigues]: Of course, yeah. 5,000 will be handed out through the drive-thru. 5,000 are being held back for seniors and vulnerable population as well as public employees.
[Scarpelli]: All right, good. So we have identified that and that's what, okay.
[Dave Rodrigues]: They'll be, yeah, they'll be part of, they'll be at the senior center for folks to grab. Perfect. Thank you.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. Just on this courtyard thing too, you know, I've talked to some residents and seen some posts online. I think getting the timeline and also, you know, this big question around Genesis, you know, folks are posting online, you know, they made X billion dollars and they're asking us for donations and, you know, we need to protect the idea that It's insulting to say, oh, they were over 80, and then to also be making this money. So that's a question. That's not what this resolution was about, but just hearing from everybody, hearing from Vice President Caraviello, we need to do something on that, too. So I support Councilor Knight's B paper, and I hope we'll also revisit it in the future.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Bears. Any other questions from the council? Any other questions in general from the public? Or Clerk Carterby, are there any emails that have come in on this issue?
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, I'm just going to check.
[Unidentified]: I don't believe there are any emails, but I'm just double checking. There are no emails on this.
[Hurtubise]: Thank you, Clerk Hurtubise. Let me note for the record, though, that Mr. Rodriguez has responded to Councilor Knight's request and provided a copy of the KP agreement in my email. OK, thank you. Thank you.
[Falco]: So let's see. Clerk Hurtubise, could you please read back the language of the B paper offered by Councilor Knight?
[Hurtubise]: The B paper requests from the administration, the timeline of the events and responses that took place at Courtyard.
[Falco]: Okay, on that motion, the B paper offered by Councilor Knight, seconded by? Second, Mr. President. Vice President Caraviello, clerk, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell.
[Falco]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. 70 affirmative, zero the negative, the motion passes. On the main resolution that was offered by Councilor Peers, seconded by. Second, Mr. President. Vice President Caraviello, Clerk Hurtubise, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 2-0-335 offered by Councilor Marks. Be it resolved that Medford's current fiscal concerns be discussed. Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I had the opportunity to tune in last, I believe it was Thursday, the school committee had a meeting regarding concerns of budget. And they had the city's auditor present, Mr. President. And I thought it was quite enlightening to hear some of the concerns on the school side. But it was equally as stressful to hear that we're looking at potentially a 20% cut in local aid, which amounts to about a little over $5 million. We are also looking at cuts in permits. when I say cuts and permits, a reduction in permits close to $2 million. Vehicle excise is down 7%. Hotel and mails tax is down about a million dollar reduction. Fixed costs are up, health insurance and unfunded liabilities. And the list goes on, Mr. President. Ultimately, I think what was stated, we're looking at a little over $8.2 million shortfall in the budget. And depending on what happens this June 1st, they extended the deadline for taxes. If we don't receive the full $29 million in taxes, uh, which, uh, many people, uh, this community might be had press to send their taxes on time, uh, even with the extension, uh, that'll only add to our budget deficit gap. Uh, so the 8 million could quickly grow, uh, to 10, 12, 14 million, Mr. President. And I think as many Councilors are aware, our budget is probably about 85% salaries. So when you look at tightening your belt, unfortunately, the belt tightening mostly is around personnel. And that's where you can get into issues of furloughs and other options, days off and so forth, which I hope we never have to explore, Mr. President. The one thing that was stated, and it was just stated briefly, we hear so much about the federal government bailing everyone out, right? Um, and, uh, we have yet to receive, uh, any, uh, idea from the federal government, uh, about federal assistance, um, for a bailout of cities and towns that are really getting impacted by this COVID-19. And, uh, in my opinion, we as a council should be soliciting or lobbying, uh, right now. to make sure that whatever we experience in a budget gap is made up by the federal government. And I think right now, I would ask that we send a letter from the council to our federal delegation asking that the city of Medford, and I'm sure Dave is probably already in the process of doing this, but asking our federal delegation to assist us with a bailout, knowing that the state local aid is going to be cut, local receipts are down, taxes are probably going to be down, and fixed costs are up. And our options right now, we do have about 10 million in free cash. But as the mayor mentioned, we don't want to go through all our free cash because that leads us in a vulnerable position. So even though we do have an ample amount of free cash, I think we have to look for just as that kind of a rainy day fund. Um, so, um, there was some discussion during the school committee meeting and with the city auditor, uh, about what should we do with this year's budget that's coming up. And I think one of the recommendations was a level funded budget makes most sense and most appropriate at this time, uh, knowing that there's probably going to be a shortfall and any additions to the budget, uh, is going to mean deletion somewhere. Um, you know, not to say there's some good ideas floating out there that could be revenue generators, uh, or, uh, cost savings. Um, and I think those should be explored, but I think a level funded budget right now, in my opinion, uh, makes sense, Mr. President with COVID and knowing that, uh, receipts are limited right now in the city and maybe that way for some time. It's hard to put a finger on it right now. So I just wanted to bring it up. Mr. President. I know we're meeting Thanks to your leadership. I think it's what Thursday Thursday night at 530 and we're gonna get another briefing on it. Mr. President and hopefully we'll start I know we were promised we were gonna start looking at the budget in April and I realized there's a million things going on believe me and So I'm not trying to be critical at all. But the school committee has started their process. And I just want to say that I think we need to start meeting with the department heads and so forth very shortly. Because as Council Vice President Caraviello mentioned, this is going to be a trying budget for all of us. And I think the earlier we start, the earlier we get a grasp on what direction we want to go in, the better off we'll be as a council and as a community. So I just want to put that out there, Mr. President, and I look forward to hearing what my other colleagues have to say.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Councilor Marks, would you like to, as far as the, would you like to amend the resolution to include the letter to the federal delegation?
[Marks]: I would, Mr. President, and we can add our state delegation in as well. Okay.
[Unidentified]: So we will add that in as an amendment, Clerk Hurtubise. Steve. I'm sorry, I have it, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Perfect, thank you. Councilor Bears. Thank you, Mr. President.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you, Councilor Marks. I'm definitely, well, looking forward to, might not be the right words, but the meeting on Thursday is an important meeting. and it's an important discussion to have. I think I support a letter to the federal delegation from this council and also the state delegation. I'm also wondering if, and whether we do it as two separate things or one thing, sending a joint resolution from both the school committee, the council and the mayor saying that we're all in agreement on this is our need as a city and sending that. I don't know, I'm happy to discuss that or hear what my other Councilors have to say about that. The main thing I wanted to say is, you know, in many of our departments, they haven't even recovered from 2008 recession and the budgets that were passed then. So we really need to put forward any and every alternative, whether it's advocacy for this federal money or working with the state and other municipalities to find a solution on this level. You know, right now we really are at the mercy of Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump when it comes to a state and local bailout. And I think Um, that could be, we all know that could potentially change in the next, uh, several months. Um, so I think if, if they choose to follow through on some of the more ridiculous things that they've suggested, like cities and states can go bankrupt. Um, I think we might need to work with the state level to find an alternative to get us through, uh, the next several months because, um, with, with public services, we're gonna need more public services after this crisis than we needed before. schools are going to have a bigger mental health crisis. We're going to have, we need people at the Board of Health. We need people in the DPW. So we really need to be, work as hard as we can and look at every possible option and alternative to make sure that we can get through this and maintain the services that our residents are going to need even more of on the other side of this crisis.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Bears. I believe Councilor Knight, you were up next.
[Knight]: Mr. President, thank you very much. I certainly agree with Councilman Mox that a level funded budget would be a win. In fact, I think at this point in the game, it's wishful thinking to get a level funded budget for the next fiscal year. And that's the reality of the situation. There's also another reality of the situation, Mr. President, and that reality is that by law, we need to pass a fiscal year budget by July 1st. In order for us to do that, during these trying times, we need to stop meeting now. We can't wait any longer. We were supposed to meet last month. Uncontrollable circumstances have arisen. I understand that. But here we are now, another four weeks behind where we should be. I, as one councilor, am not crazy about the idea of going down the road for a 1-12 budget or an emergency budget. I don't think that's appropriate. I don't think that's the way we should handle a fiscal crisis. I think that's short-term planning, not long-term planning. So I, for one, would like to ask the question, will we have an annual budget as required by the state law for us to debate and vote upon by July 1st? So that's my question, Mr. President. Will we have a budget available for us to vote on at this point in time? And where are we in the process right now in terms of the preparations so that we can better work our schedules around what to expect in the forthcoming weeks when these budget hearings do start. So I offer that the form of a question to the administration. It can be done by way of a mentor, by way of an answer from the gentleman that's here in the audience this evening, I represent the administration.
[Falco]: Chief of staff Rodriguez, do you like to take that question?
[Dave Rodrigues]: Sure. And I think that the question begets other questions. And that's the real trouble that we've had in the budget process. And we certainly would have wanted to be further along in the process, but for the current public health crisis. The issue is that there are too many unanswered questions about how we're going to develop the budget. in this, at the state level, they've kicked out their fiscal year. So the house budget won't even be in place until June 1st. So we rely on that state level number in order to develop our revenue number. So a 112 budget is of course on the table. Final decisions haven't been made. We do want to have the meeting on Thursday with Tony Roselli so that you're able, so the council is able to ask questions and that he's able to provide his unbiased opinion on these things. So of course a 112 budget is on the table. fully aware that it is a short-term solution, but given the fact that we will have additional answers further down the road, whether there will be a federal bailout, whether there will be additional state funding, the hard number for state funding that we can rely on. There is also a bill pending that was just passed before the Senate that would push out the municipal fiscal year. So the mayor would not be required to submit a budget until July 31st. and that cities and towns will be able to pass one-quarter budgets instead of one-twelfth budgets in order to get further development and the answers and further solutions down the road. So, we're closely monitoring that legislation in order for us to be able to address that and contemplate whether that would be appropriate. But at this time, there is no decision being made whether it will be a one-twelfth budget or a full fiscal year budget. We are planning for both at this point.
[Knight]: Thank you. Cots all night. Mr. President, I request we get that response in writing if possible, just so that we can have it on the record as we move forward and are all prepared so that we're all on the same page when we begin our budget discussions. In terms of Tony Roselli now, his position with the community as outside auditor, is that what it is?
[Dave Rodrigues]: He's been the outside auditor for Medford. He's been doing work for the city for, I believe, over 30 years. So he's been the outside auditor for quite some time. He represents, I believe, 67 cities and towns in Massachusetts.
[Knight]: OK. So is it common for an outside auditor to establish new forecast municipalities?
[Dave Rodrigues]: It is in this case, given that the finance director is currently not available and out sick. So it is a common thing to have outside auditors assist in these sorts of things.
[Marks]: Point of information, Mr. President. Point of information, Councilor Larkins. I thought it was mentioned that he was hired by the city about two years ago, because Melanson was our outside auditor for 30 years.
[Dave Rodrigues]: Okay. Yeah, I only know what Tony has told me that he remembers doing work for the city back in the 80s. So I believe that there have been a number of firms that have provided outside auditing services, but he has been doing work for quite some time. It certainly predates this administration.
[Knight]: Thank you. It is common that the answer is commonplace for outside auditors to provide revenue forecast for municipalities. To assess correct. To assess, okay, thank you.
[Falco]: Councilor Knight, any further questions?
[Knight]: That does it for me, sir.
[Falco]: Thank you.
[Knight]: I do have one more comment, Mr. President. And I think it goes back to what Councilor Monk said with a level funded budget. And I've stated that I think a level funded budget is going to be wishful thinking based upon the current financial and fiscal situation that we're in. But then we also have to look at the term level funded budget. And what is a level funded budget? A level funded budget is taking the money we gave last year and giving it to them again this year. But something's getting lost in the middle there, Mr. President, and that's a measure of the performance and whether or not the goals and objectives were met or established when we made that funding. So if we're funding a department that says these are our goals and objectives for this term, we give them the money to do that, and they don't meet those goals and objectives, why are we funding them at the same level? It's obvious that they haven't been able to accomplish the job, So I think we might want to look at something what's called zero-based budgeting, which means that instead of level funding a budget every year, the goals and objectives that are set are either retained or they're not. And the money that is appropriated is not a reoccurring appropriation. We need to show that this money in this investment is giving us a return. So I think that that's something that we might want to consider and might want to look at, Mr. President, is going to a zero-based budget at this point in time. You know, we're in very strange financial times, but I think that, you know, with the amount of talent that we have here in the community, we should be able to put together an annual budget.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight.
[Knight]: I have no more, that's really it.
[Caraviello]: Vice President Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. You know, I share Councilor Mark's hope that a level funded budget would be, I think we'll wish for, but Councilor Knight is right. I think we need to start working on this now. I mean, this is new territory for, I think, everybody on this council. I mean, we've got raises that are coming through that I'm told that are close to $1.5 million, $1.6 million in negotiated raises that are going to have to be paid. You've got the rubbish contract that is coming up this year that's due. And when we met with the Waste Management last year, they told us, plan on a hefty raise. So I think that we more than have our work cut out for us. Going forward and Councilor Knight's right, the longer we wait, I think the bigger the problem is gonna be. And I think we all need to sit down together and say, and again, what we talked about earlier, this is not something you can do through a Zoom conference. We need to sit down in a room and really get this done collectively. Otherwise, I think we're really going to struggle going forward. This will be my fifth budget with the councilors. And I know how it is to do just on a regular basis when we're in the room. Never mind with the president trying to run the screen and run the budget at the same time. Very, very difficult. So we're in new waters here for a lot of us. I don't think anybody in the council has ever had a face a budget with a deficit. So I say, I agree with Councilor Knight. Let's get moving as soon as possible.
[Falco]: Thank you, Vice President Caraviello. Any other questions from the council? If I may add quickly, I thank Councilor, Councilor Knight.
[Knight]: Mr. President, I would just like to add that maybe with this new enlarged donation of PPE that the city has received, that the administration would be willing to set some aside with the intention of being able to provide that when we conduct these in-person budget hearings, if, in fact, it's something we can work out if people don't have access to that stuff, you know what I mean? So that we can use that as part of our ancillary and secondary plan to provide PPE to individuals while we try to meet non-virtually for the important issue of discussing with community scientists.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor.
[Unidentified]: Councilor Scarpelli, did you want to speak on the matter? No? Okay.
[Falco]: I want to thank Councilor Marks for bringing this forward. I am looking forward to, and it's probably not the proper term, and someone else mentioned that earlier, about meeting Thursday night. It's something that we need to be on top of this. This is a huge deficit that we're talking about. When we talk about level funding a budget, level funding a budget is basically cutting. You're starting off by cutting because level funded budget is basically cut already. So it's already a reduction of services. So this is not that we need to be on top of. I'm glad that we're meeting on Thursday night. It's definitely long overdue. I look forward to the meeting because this is something that we need to tackle head on. We need to really take a look at all of our options with the administration. And Tony is going to hopefully be able to walk us through this whole situation. I did call into the meeting last week, and it was interesting to listen to him and to listen to the really dire circumstances that we're under. But we need to take a look at everything, and that meeting will be very important Thursday night. Are there any other questions? Does anybody else want to comment on this? And while I'm at it, Claire Corderby, do you have any emails on this issue? Mr. President, I have no emails on this issue. Okay, and it seems like there's no questions from the public as well. Councilor Marks.
[Marks]: Mr. President, I just want to say in these trying times, I think it's even more more important that we as a council work collaboratively with the mayor and the school committee and You know, we're one city as you always say, mr. President one method. You're correct. We're one method and you know when I people make comments regarding putting people on the hot seat. And that does a disservice, Mr. President, to this entire community. And it's not what we need right now. We need to support and build up each other and not make comments about putting people on the hot seat and making people take tough votes. Because, you know, this is going to be extremely difficult for everyone, Mr. President. The last thing we need is people acting in a contentious way. And I just want to put that out there, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Marks. Okay, Clerk Hurtubise. Let's see, so on the motion of Councilor Marks.
[Hurtubise]: As amended by Councilor Marks.
[Falco]: As amended by Councilor Marks and seconded by? Second.
[Hurtubise]: Is that Councilor Bears? I thought that was Councilor Scarpelli, but I couldn't tell.
[Falco]: Oh, Councilor Scarpelli, I'm sorry. Seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Clerk Curnaby, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Thank you. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell.
[Falco]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes.
[Unidentified]: 2-0-336. Mr. President, we're losing you. Can you hear me now?
[Hurtubise]: Yeah, I just got the resolution over.
[Falco]: 2-0-336 offered by Councilor Lennart and Councilor Scarpelli, be it resolved that the Medford City Council be provided with a list of all supplemental appropriations requested by the school department for the period of fiscal year 2017 through 2020 and copies of the city council votes on these papers. Councilor Knight.
[Knight]: Thank you very much. As we are all aware, the school department is one of the largest city departments that we have. It comprises nearly 30% of our budget annually, and it proves to provide one of the most vital services that we can offer as a municipality along with public safety and public works. The challenge that we as a city council face is going to be balancing the many competing needs of the various departments in this community. in being able to deliver a level of services that meets the quality and expectation of our taxpayers. So with that being said, Mr. President, I think there's been a reoccurring theme this evening about the topic of discussion, and that's the budget. It's our city's finances. And that's the underlying theme of this evening's meeting, Mr. President, and these papers that have been brought forward are no different. Councilor Scarpelli and I were I'm very aware of the commentary that took place at the school committee meeting, the emergency school committee meeting last Wednesday. I quite frankly think if we were going to discuss the city's finances in such a large scope, that discussion should have started with the council and not the school committee, because it's really going to come down to all of us working together on, but the council holds the purse strings and the buck stops here. Um, so I really think that this discussion should have started with the council, Mr. President, but we are where we are. Um, so with that being said, there were several resolutions, um, that, that I put forward some by myself, some, um, as co-sponsor with councilor Scarpelli. And then the speech is going to be the same for them all. Mr. President. Um, ultimately, you know, we have a job. Here and that job is to balance the competing needs and the competing interests that the various departments have. and then meeting that objective, delivering those services to the level that our residents and taxpayers expect. So I think this information will be very helpful as we move forward in putting together our budget and preparing for our budget discussions, because we'll have a, you know, historical understanding and a historical perspective of the issue that the school department, again, largest department here in the city has been looking for, where appropriations and expenditures have been made historically, what the trends are, and then maybe we can take a look at, Mr. President, coming up with some solutions to stop the bleeding when our state aid numbers come back. It's my understanding that the new education funding formula doesn't help Medford that much. You know, we're not not much better off than we were under the old education funding formula. So with that being said, I think that it's important that, you know, we take a long, hard look at the finances of our largest departments, first and foremost. If we're going to be moving forward and, you know, looking at hopefully level funding budgets, I think the first place we need to start is public safety and public works in our school time. And then we can go from there, Mr. President. We have many needs right now in the community and many obligations. whether it be debt service, whether it be health insurance, premium inflation, unfunded pension liability, and the like, we are going to have to comply with the state and federal funded and unfunded mandates and pay the assessments on the certain and various services that we receive from our partners in government. So with that being said, this paper that's before us right now, paper 20339, paper 20337, the same goes for all three, and I won't have much to say on those, Mr. President. I'll rest my case with that, with this, that, you know, we need to get this information so that we can move forward and be prepared to address this stuff. I, as one Councilor, am prepared to roll up my sleeves and get to work to put together a 12-month budget for the next fiscal year. I hope the administration shares that goal and that objective. And as we collectively, I think we'll be in a better position to sit down and really talk numbers and talk to her.
[Unidentified]: Less time wasted asking questions, because we're all going to be upset.
[Knight]: Thank you, Councilor Layton. I raise the issue right forward, and I defer to my colleague, Councilor Scalia,
[Scarpelli]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Councilor Scarpelli. Thank you, Mr. President. And like Councilor Marks mentioned earlier and what Councilor Knight brought up, I think that I also was on the meeting with the school department and it's funny because I found myself instead of where we need to be in today's society, where as a unified front, as a mayor, a city council and school committee working together in the most trying times, It was disheartening that a member of the school committee made comments in the context that questioned what our goals are and what's driving the city council. And it left me presenting resolutions to support what we've done as a committee and to support what we'll try to do in the future. Because I talked to one constituent, you know, isn't this too early to be grandstanding politically? Isn't this destructive from another constituent? So it is. getting this information. I hope like Council Mark says this brings everything out. We as a committee work together with the school department being the amount of the budget that they do carry and that we work together. Council Falco and myself were part of the school committee that went through probably It's toughest times back in 2008, Councilor Falco, if you remember. And one of the things we did is we worked together with the city council, and we didn't leave that room at the high school until the mayor came back with $300,000 that we needed to make sure that our basic basic duties were being performed for our students in Medford. So we've been there. So I have two kids in the system right now. To say something that, whether it was meant one way or meant another way, has led us to put these resolutions in to move forward to make sure that our constituents see what we've done as a council, see how we've worked together in the past with the school committee. Listen, if we had an open bank of funds, I would love to give the school committee everything they need. But unfortunately, we're held as a group to make sure that we're holding the city fiscally responsible and making sure that we're looking at pieces of pie for everybody that's needed. And to be honest with you, we're looking at. budgets that have come to us, especially for me for the last two years on the council, that were passed unanimously to the school committee. So I was a little taken back when there were questions that evening. So, um, my hope is moving forward. The council Mark said, he's our leader. He's, he's been here the longest in years, not of age, but understanding to get through these times, we need to be together. We need to work as a group. We need to cross lines and make sure that we're doing what's right. And listen, I'm working in a municipal budget where I work, and we're already asking for furloughs, and we're already asking to hold back future raises, and we're looking at moving people out. So it's tough. These are tough times right now. So we have to use our our leadership roles in this community, why we were all voted for our positions, to make sure that we're doing what's best for our community, and rest assured that we're preparing our city to get through these tough times, because better times are coming, we know that. But we just have to work together to make sure that we get through this together. Like Councilor Knight said, Um, we were putting resolutions through the very similar, uh, working together and getting these out. I think that my comments are going to be saying every, every one of my resolutions that are in for the remainder of the evening are meant for. this point specifically, that we truly need to work together. And being contentious, it just, there's no place for it right now. There's too much going on in our society right now to have any negativity going on, especially in our leading governing body. So thank you for listening, and thank you for Councilor Knight for presenting the first half with these resolutions. So thank you. Thank you, Councilor. Scarpelli, Vice President Caraviello.
[Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. I'll thank the Dean of the Council, Councilor Marks, for saying the correct thing. This isn't the time to be putting people on hot seats and calling people out. We need to be working together on this. Again, this is gonna be a tough time. I'm gonna rely on Councilor Scarpelli and President Falco. They were recently on the school committee for their help in this school budget more than we ever have. So again, like I said, like all my councilors, this is the time that we need to be working together and putting all our collective heads together to get this done. Because again, we all live in the city and we all take part here. And that's why we're here. We're here for everybody. please, you know, going forward, people shouldn't be making comments that just aren't called for. So I would hope that going forward, cool heads will prevail and we'll all sit down and do the right thing by the people of this community.
[Falco]: Thank you, Vice President Caraviello.
[Marks]: Councilor Marks. Thank you, Mr. President. I want to thank Councilor Knight and Councilor Scarpelli for putting this on. You know, Mr. President, when the school committee votes for their budget, It's a majority vote, and that's the will of the school committee, which is then presented to the council. I can't recall, I've been on a number of years, I can't recall ever the council cutting the school budget once it's submitted to us, ever. Also, Mr. President, I can recall many times where this council has stood up and voted for new technology, school building assistance. You name it, Mr. President, we've stepped up to the plate on numerous occasions. So if there are concerns with the school budget that relies on the school committee, not the city council. We're presented with their budget, Mr. President. We can't add to it, Mr. President. We can't do anything other than approving the total city budget. And that's where we stand with this, Mr. President. So for someone to stand forward and say, well, it's the council, that's being very disingenuous, Mr. President, because it's not the council. It's the school committee that creates the budget and then passes it on to the council. So if the school committee wishes to do other things, increase their budget, that's their prerogative. That's their prerogative, and they should do so as elected officials in this community, as an autonomous body. They're not tied to the council. And that's where it is, Mr. President. So I hope we can put this behind us and work forward, Mr. President, so we can address, as Councilor Knight and Councilor Caraviello and Councilor Scarpelli mentioned, so we can address all the needs of the community. The council's here not just to address the municipal side. We're here to address all the needs as well as the school needs as well, Mr. President. So I'm willing to work with anyone. across the aisle, but we have to do this together, Mr. President. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Marks. Councilor Bears.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I completely agree with my colleagues that, and I hope we can do it on the stimulus requests and all of the budget areas that speaking with one voice is key. You know, I think actually we need to move beyond specific statements that were made. I agree, contentiousness is not where we need to be. I think what Councilor Knight said about looking at a different way to budget is actually what the comments, at least I was watching the meeting as well. And what I heard was actually a criticism of the school committee and their own internal actions similar to what you just said, Councilor Marks, and words may have been thrown around and we all know what happens when we're speaking off the cuff. So, I mean, I think we've all admitted before, not about the schools specifically, but in general, we want to be able to provide the services that the residents want. And I think what I heard, at least, is that maybe the school committee is reconsidering how they do their budget exactly to your point, Councilor Marks, to make a different request and change the process. And I'm hoping that, I don't think this budget year is going to be the year to do it, but I'd like to see in future budget years us saying, you know, from every single city department assessing all of our services and saying this is what we need. I think Councilor Knight made an exceptional point about, you know, what are our needs? What are our goals? What are our objectives? And are we achieving them every year? I think we really need to have that conversation. And then we need to be able to say, you know, this is the reason why we don't have X person at DPW. That's why this isn't getting done. So that's how I hope we can move forward. Obviously, this budget is not going to be the year for us to assess all of the needs that we have, because it doesn't seem like we're going to be able to meet many of them. But I hope that in future budgets that we can say, you know, this is what we need. This is what we're able to provide. And this is the difference because I think it's very important for all residents to know exactly where we are and exactly what we're doing to try to improve the services. So that's where I hope we'll go together. school committee Council and the mayor. Most important thing to me right now is that we all are together and send a resolution of support around federal federal and state support because, you know, just want to loop back to that we need the people that we have in city government to provide these services right now. So that's, that's my priority.
[Falco]: Thank you, Council beers.
[Unidentified]: Any other questions from the counter any other comments. Okay, all right.
[Falco]: If I may really quick Councilor Knight, I'd like to thank Councilors Knight and Councilor Scarpelli for bringing this forward. And I agree with all the comments from my colleagues. I think this is the time where we need to come together on things. And we need to work together to really move forward, come together as one community. This will be the toughest budget. I don't even know when there's been a budget that's been this bad. So this is gonna be a really tough budget, but we're gonna get things done if we work together. We need to work together as a team, and I'm sure that we will. I feel very confident in that. And we need to work together with the school committee and the mayor as well. But we need to stay positive. We need to work together as one unified body. So I thank everyone for their comments. And actually, before I call for the roll, Are there any other comments from the public or Clark Cardinese, if you could please check your email. Any questions from the email?
[Unidentified]: Mr. President, there are no emails on this topic. Thank you.
[Falco]: Any from the public? Any questions? Okay, seeing that there are no questions, and there are no questions from the council on the motion of Councilor Knight and Councilor Scarpelli, seconded by Second, Mr. President. Vice President Caraviello, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven the affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 20-337 offered by Councilor Knight being resolved that the Medford City Council be provided a summary relative to what percentage of the city budget was appropriated to fund the school district for the period of fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Councilor Knight? Mr. President, the host is dead. We've beat the death. Move for approval. Second. Thank you, Councilor Knight. On the motion of Councilor Knight, actually, If we call the roll, any questions from the public or Clark-Kennebys, are there any emails on this issue?
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, no emails on this issue.
[Falco]: Thank you. Second. On the motion of Council Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Clark-Kennebys, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears? Yes. Vice President Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven affirmative, zero negative. The motion passes. 20-338 offered by Councilor Scarpelli. Be it resolved that the Medford City Council be provided with the following information from the school department. Number one, list of all non-contractual salary increases by job title, including salary prior to increase in salary following increase for the period of fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Number two, list of all proposed budget amendments and copy of votes made by the school committee during budget debates for the period of fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Number three, a copy of the roll call vote for approval of the school department budget by the school committee for fiscal year 2017 through 2020. fiscal year 2020 budgets. Number four, a breakdown of annual and cumulative budget increases by dollar figure and percentage of increase from the previous year for the period of fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Councilor Scarpelli.
[Scarpelli]: Thank you, Mr. President. Again, um, I think that when, um, whether it's a slip of your tongue or meant a different way, the way it was presented, the way the constituents reach out to me and the questions they're having leave us to look at this in a way that we can then present them with hard numbers and making sure that we've done our due diligence and supporting the school department. So with that said, I I've talked about what we thought of and my perception of the comments, so I move approval. Second, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Scarpelli. On the motion of Councilor Scarpelli, seconded by Councilor Knight, any questions from the Council? Any comments? Any questions from the public or any emails, Councilor Hernandez? Have you received any emails on this topic, on this resolution?
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, there are no emails on this resolution.
[Falco]: Okay, thank you. On the motion of Councilor Scarpelli, seconded by Councilor Knight. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Unidentified]: Councilor Bears? Yes. Vice President Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Knight?
[Hurtubise]: Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Morell? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. 70 affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. 2-0-339 offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the city clerk provide the Medford City Council with the committee reports regarding the school department budget for fiscal year 2017 through 2020. Councilor, Councilor Knight.
[Unidentified]: Mr. President, move for approval.
[Falco]: Second. On the motion of Council of Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Any questions or comments from the Council? Clerk Hurtubise, any emails or any comments from the public?
[Hurtubise]: There are no emails on this topic, Mr. President.
[Falco]: Thank you, Clerk Hurtubise. On the motion of Council of Knight, seconded by Councilor Scarpelli. Clerk Hurtubise, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President, I'm sorry, Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Councilor Marks. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven affirmative, zero negative, the motion passes. Communications from the mayor. 2020-340, April 30th, 2020 via electronic delivery to the Honorable President and members of the Medford City Council, City Hall, Medford, Massachusetts, 02155, regarding the Community Preservation Committee. Dear Mr. President and City Councilors, I respectfully request and recommend that your Honorable body approve the following on recommendation of the Community Preservation Committee. Number one, requesting the appropriation of $4,000 from the CPA General Reserve under the small grants program to the Medford Historical Society and Museum to make electrical upgrades to the archive and research room of the historic building. The project will be tracked in the Community Preservation Fund By category, Community Housing Reserve and General Reserve. Sincerely, Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Mayor. Let's see. Dave or Roberta, would you like to speak on this or? Hang on.
[Roberta Cameron]: Is he still present? Did you hear me or was I muted? I can hear you now. OK, I would like to invite the Medford Historical Society, John Anderson, to speak, if he's still on the line here. I think he HP.
[Falco]: John? Yes. OK, John Anderson.
[SPEAKER_07]: Well, thank you. This is, I feel a little embarrassed making this request in this time and the dire situation and your efforts to deal with this. But our work goes on and we believe in our mission. And I'd like to mention that one of the things we've been able to do, a lot of our members are retired people. And have been going crazy being housebound and we've managed to come up with some projects to keep them busy We deliver boxes of materials to them for them to inventory So that we can then We can then Properly file them away and make them available to the public Which is what we use this room for when the public comes and visits visits us And what we'd like to do now is upgrade the lighting there and also the electrical work, which there's been no electrical work done there really. And I'd be happy to entertain any questions.
[Roberta Cameron]: If I may just add a little bit of context, this application was presented to the Community Preservation Committee as a small grant application, which is why you're receiving it at an odd time. We receive small grant applications in the amount of $5,000 or less with matching funds of up to an additional $5,000 that on a rolling basis throughout the year, So this gives an opportunity for applicants with smaller projects to be able to access community preservation funds. Thank you.
[Caraviello]: Vice President Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. For anyone who's been into that building, I think that we'll all agree that this upgrade is sorely needed. I can't speak for John, but I don't think what I see in there, this is probably the original electricity from when the building was built. Am I correct, John? I don't know if it's quite that ancient, but it certainly goes back decades. I think it's a well-worth project. And if I could, while we're on this historical thing, Roberta, I'd like to commend you for the work that was done on the wall on Grove Street. It came out phenomenal. And again, it's good to see that the money was well spent. And again, I support this project wholeheartedly and motion for approval.
[Falco]: Thank you. On the motion of Councilor Caraviello, we have a few questions.
[Morell]: Councilor Morell. Thank you, Mr. President. Yeah, I want to thank John and Roberta for coming out tonight. And John, to your point, I think this work is still so important. It goes on. And I think unfortunately, in times like this, cultural and art programs are usually the first to go. And so often history, personal history, city history is shared at these very meetings. So I agree with Vice President Caraviello that it's definitely a noble cause to do the upgrades we need to make sure we're preserving this history and making it accessible to the community. and particularly the elderly community that so enjoys it, as you mentioned. So I do support this.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Morell. Councilor Knight?
[SPEAKER_02]: Councilor Knight? It's really horrible to people, but if you
[Falco]: I think we're having a problem with Councilor Knight's connection. Councilor Scarpelli.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Knight, are you there? Thank you. Thank you, Councilor Knight.
[Falco]: Councilor Scarpelli. Thank you.
[Scarpelli]: Thank Councilor Morell, Councilor Caraviello. Roberta, again, thank you for all your work. I think that this is what we're talking about as a community. No matter the tough times we have and what we're going through, this is why we push so hard for the Community Preservation Act and why we made sure that helping Roberta push for this program to be voted in and so we can look at these projects. So I don't think anybody should be feeling bad when they volunteer their time to make sure that our history is preserved. So I think that I fully support this initiative. And thank you again for all your hard work for everybody involved. So thank you. Thank you, Councilman Scarpelli. Councilman Marcus.
[Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. I'd be remiss not to thank John Anderson. He's done yeoman's work, Mr. President, from archiving to making sure that that building has not given way over there. And there's many valuable archived items in that building, which saves our history. And I just want to ask John if air conditioning is in the future for that building.
[SPEAKER_07]: Yes, we have a project ongoing to put in central air.
[Marks]: Great news. How are you going to fund it, John?
[SPEAKER_07]: Well, we have a major grant from the CPA that funds the bulk of it.
[Marks]: That's great.
[SPEAKER_07]: And when's that going to take place, John? Well, it's taking place right now. The project was held up for quite some time because we're also converting to gas at the same time. And no sooner did we get the project approved than the national grid work stoppage began. And once that was over, then there was the disaster up in Lawrence, which sucked all the resources up there to remediate there. So we didn't actually get the gas in until sometime in February.
[Marks]: and you know that those are old people. Thank you, John, you do tremendous work and your group does tremendous work. Thank you. The residents are appreciative, believe me. Thank you.
[Hurtubise]: Vice President Caraviello.
[Caraviello]: Mr. President, just a little memo. History is everything, and everything is history. So again, I thank John for his work.
[Falco]: Thank you, Vice President Caraviello.
[Bears]: Councilor Bears. I'll get my word in edgewise and just say that I've been bulking up on my Medford history during this pandemic, so anything we can do to help. Thank you.
[Falco]: John, thank you very much for your hard work and your dedication, continuous dedication. We really appreciate it. Roberta, thank you for your hard work as well. Are there any questions that have come in through email, Clerk Hurtubise, or are there any questions from the public?
[Hurtubise]: Mr. President, there are no emails on this topic. Okay.
[Falco]: Okay. On the motion of, let's see, Vice President Caraviello, seconded by- Seconded, Mr. President. Councilor Morell, Clerk Hurtubise, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell.
[Unidentified]: Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes.
[Hurtubise]: President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative. The motion passes. Thank you. Paper is approved. Thank you. Okay. Clark Carnabies, besides the two suspension items, is that there's no committee reports, right?
[Hurtubise]: No, there are no committee reports. Uh, there were no committee meetings last week, uh, to make up for that. I think you're having three this week.
[Falco]: Okay. Uh, so there were a couple of, uh, items that were put in at the suspension. Uh, thank you Clark Carnabies. Um, and the, the, uh, the condolences, um, so in a, I think these were sent late in the day, so my apologies. So if you wouldn't mind, they're both offered by myself. 20-341 offered by President Falco, be it resolved that the Medford City Council extends its deep and sincere condolences to the family of Alice Durant Rapallo on a recent passing. Ms. Rapallo worked in the building department for many years and was a longtime city employee. So our thoughts and prayers go to her family. and 20-342 offered by President Falco be it resolved that the Medford City Council extends its deepest sincere condolences to the family of Dick Crocker on his recent passing. And he is a longtime, was a longtime city employee and a longtime building inspector as well. So at this point in time, if you could all rise for a brief moment of silence. Are there any other clerk enemies? Is there anything else that? Mr. President, do you want to take a vote on those, on those condolence resolutions? Yes, if we could on both of the, do you want individual votes on these? You can join them if you'd like. Okay, if we could join these on the condolence resolutions. on the motion of the, I guess President Falco seconded by?
[Hurtubise]: Second.
[Falco]: Councilor Bears, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes.
[Knight]: President, if I could just make a brief announcement. I just was driving down Main Street just this afternoon, as a matter of fact. I also drove down Main Street on Friday. And if you go past Bob's Food Store and you look to the house immediately to the right-hand side of it, it's reminiscent of a Tony Lucci sidewalk sale. is furniture all over the place, a bed, a mattress, a couch, so on and so forth. If we look at the calendar, Mr. President, Friday was the first of the month. So that would lead me to believe that there might have been a little bit of a tenant move out that occurred at that address. And I took the liberty of reaching out to Mr. Bavuso after hearing from Some neighborhood residents expressed some concern relative to it being a trip hazard and a safety hazard, and he will be out there tomorrow. So I just wanted those individuals that have expressed concern to understand that there is some follow-up that's going to occur tomorrow. And the residents of South Medford should no longer have to take a look at that disgraceful, blatant trash that's on the street. And I've expressed to Mr. Bufuso, if in fact it comes down to a circumstance where the city has to move it or there has to be a clean it or lean it situation, that I as one council would certainly support whatever measure that we can take to help appropriate funds to make that necessary. So with that being said, Mr. President, code enforcement officer will be out there tomorrow working on rectifying the situation for neighbors of Billings Avenue.
[Falco]: Thank you, Councilor Knight. Any other questions from the council? Any comments? Okay. On the motion, is there a motion to adjourn?
[Caraviello]: Motion to adjourn, Mr. President. Mr. President. Records, Mr. President. Records. Oh, that's right.
[Falco]: Councilor Griggs, you had a question. Oh, yeah, actually, you know what? Councilor Griggs, hang on. So let's see, we got the records. The records of the meeting of April 28th were passed to Councilor Marks. Councilor Marks, how did you find those records?
[Marks]: I reviewed the records, found them to be in order and move approval. Second.
[Falco]: Motion to approve the records by Councilor Marks. Second. Councilor Bears, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Affirmative. Vice President Kaviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell. Yes. Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes, 70 affirmative, zero in the negative, the motion passes. And the records are approved. Before we adjourn, I just wanted to mention really quick, I've received a, a request from the Medford Brooks Estate Land Trust to appoint someone to be the council representative to M-Belt. And Councilor Bears has expressed interest in this role. So I'm going to appoint Councilor Bears as the city council representative to the Medford Brooks Estate Land Trust. So congratulations. Congratulations, good luck.
[Bears]: Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Councilor Scarpelli.
[Falco]: Thank you. And Councilor Caraviello.
[Caraviello]: Councilor Caraviello. Mr. President, one more thing. Clerk Hurtubise has stirred up a little storm for me. He modeled a mask on Facebook, and now everyone's asking me where they can buy one. Mr. Clerk, maybe you can shed some light. Everybody wants one.
[Scarpelli]: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Weird bears get one.
[Hurtubise]: Where did these come from? You know, I got mine from the really from the GPW Brian Cairns City had one and you know, I love to show my Medford pride in my city pride and I took him up on the I Email Brian I email Brian so I'm asking me they want to buy them Oh, hang on a second, we got... I'm sure if you ask the DPW commissioner, he'll give you one.
[Caraviello]: I'll be there tomorrow morning.
[Dave Rodrigues]: I don't even have one. I don't know. I know Brian has them, but I don't even have one. So you have to take it up with Brian.
[Caraviello]: Hey, if you tell Brian it's budget time.
[Dave Rodrigues]: I will not tell him that. Nope. Nope. Okay.
[Caraviello]: Mr. President, motion to adjourn.
[Falco]: On the motion of council, Vice President Caraviello to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by.
[Hurtubise]: Second.
[Falco]: Councilor Bears, please call the roll.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Bears. Yes. Vice President Caraviello. Yes. Councilor Knight. Yes. Councilor Marks. Yes. Councilor Morell.
[Falco]: Yes.
[Hurtubise]: Councilor Scarpelli. Yes. President Falco.
[Falco]: Yes, 70 affirmative, zero in the negative. The meeting is adjourned. I hope everyone has a safe and healthy night. Be safe. Thank you.
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