[Fred Dello Russo]: The 30th regular meeting of the Medford City Council will come to order. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello. Present. Councilor Feldgaard. Present. Councilor Knight. Present. Vice President Langer-Kern. Present. Councilor Marks. Councilor Scarpelli. Present. President Del Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Present. With seven members present, none absent, please join us in rising to salute the flag. Chair. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, I'd like to move to suspend the rules, please. Motion to suspend the rules for what purpose?
[Adam Knight]: For the purpose of taking two pieces of paper out of order. Mr. President, we have a claim, claims of over a thousand dollars from the law department, paper one six seven zero three. And we also have a claim relative to an appropriation of funds.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion of councilor Knight to take your papers out of order. Uh, Request from the mayor and claim from the law department. All those in favor? Aye. Motion carries. 16-703. Request for expenditure from law department claims over $1,000. Account 0101515762. Date October 4th, 2016. To the Honorable President and members of the Medford City Council. From Stephanie M. Burke, Mayor. Claimant. Rita Musero versus the city of Medford. A date of accident, December 10th, 2014. A date of settlement, October 4th, 2016. No date of trial. Amount of request, $5,000. Claimant's attorney, Thomas Colonna. Esquire. Description of alleged claim. Claimant.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, a motion to waive the description of the claim and allow the city solicitor to make a presentation thereof. Madam solicitor.
[k3Xg1illaRI_SPEAKER_15]: Thank you Mr. President members of the city council. My name is Kimberly Scanlon acting city solicitor for the city of Medford residing at 75 Ashcroft road. This claim is this case is about a claim. Uh, the claimant was 81 years old who slipped and fell when crossing Oakland street. As a result, she fell primarily on her left knee. which resulted in a sprain, a bone contusion, and a torn meniscus. Her medical bills exceeded $6,900. She was treated at Winchester Hospital, as well as Excel Orthopedic and Precision Physical Therapy. And today, I am requesting $5,000 as a total settlement. The President.
[Adam Knight]: Chair awaits a motion. Mr. President, if I may, has the road defect been repaired since the injury?
[Fred Dello Russo]: It has.
[Adam Knight]: It has. Move for approval, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval by Councilor Mark Knight, seconded by Councilor Falco. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Yes. Councilor Falco? Yes. Councilor Knight? Yes. Vice-President Long-Wilk-Kern? Yes. Councilor Marks? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? Yes. President Donovan?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. Seven in the affirmative, none in the negative. The claim is paid. Thank you, Mr. President. Madam Solicitor. Members of the City Council. Next, we have 16-7-0-1. 16-7-0-1. Communication from the mayor, September 29th, 2016, to President Dello Russo and members of the Medford City Council, from Stephanie M. Burke, mayor. Appropriation request for public works. Dear Mr. President and city councils, I respectfully request and recommend that your honorable body approve an appropriation of $165,000 for the following purposes. Department of Public Works, highway, ordinary cash basins to account 010-422-5530 of $100,000. Highway, sidewalks, 010-429-5251, $25,000. Forestry, trees and planters, 010-495, $5,380, $30,000. And to the Traffic Commission, Ordinary Street Signs, 010-293-5530, $10,000. This money is available from the FEMA reimbursement for the winter storms occurring in the winter of 2014-15. Thank you for your consideration of this request. DPW Commissioner Brian Kearns will be on hand. to answer any questions you may have. Sincerely, signature on file, Stephanie M. Burke, Mayor.
[Brian Kerins]: Commissioner Kerins, welcome. Good evening, Mr. President, Madam Vice President, members of the Council. As stated, Mr. President, the City of Medford began to receive the reimbursement monies for the winter of 2015. That particular year, we'll probably never forget, we were highly impacted, particularly the month of January, with, you know, not inches, but feet of snow. There was a declaration declared by the governor at the time, and FEMA entered into the picture, and reimbursement process began shortly thereafter. What's happening now is the checks are beginning to arrive. back to the cities and towns that were impacted by the storm. And, you know, I have attached here a cover sheet with the breakdown of the actual monies as far as where I would like to, you know, spread them out. When the approvals came in and the money started arriving, the first order of business was to make sure that there was no outstanding debts. You know, as a result of that storm, working very closely with Auditor Baker, you know, my office staff and I, we pulled together a wish list that I went to the mayor with that we desperately could use that money, which was above and beyond what the Council had approved earlier in the budget, to assist us in trying to speed up the process in different areas that we were, you know, actually being impacted with. uh, due to, you know, time, manpower, money and so forth. Uh, the first installment as you'll see on the, uh, uh, for on the, uh, cover sheet, uh, was, uh, $287,000. Uh, that check has arrived and has been, uh, uh, deposited by the city. Um, the two other checks that are still outstanding, the one 44, three, That's still in the reviewing process within FEMA and the federal government. And an additional $174,649, that's for damages that had occurred during that storm up at the house at the cemetery and also the repair garage up there. That's still in the hands of FEMA, subject to their approval. And, you know, just a question of time that that money will be forthcoming. But getting back to the 287,000, what the Department of Public Works would like to request here is 100,000 just on catch basin repairs. We have, you know, numerous catch basins out in the city that have collapsed. They're desperately in need of repair. There's a little over 4,500 catch basins in the city, just for everybody's information here. And quite honestly, you know, we cannot keep up with the demands of it. And what, you know, we're requesting is that, you know, putting out, you know, just a rebuilding contract to rebuild the basins. Cost per basin, it could vary within the industry depending on the condition of the catch basin that you'd be repairing. It could range anywhere from as low as maybe $1,500 to possibly up to $5,000. And the reason the spread would be is whether or not you needed a new frame and a cover. whether or not you have to go five or six feet down into the actual basin and rebuild the walls of the actual basin itself. So each structure is going to vary as far as cost and as far as, you know, how many we can get done. But, you know, we would like to hit the road running just on that contract to assist, you know, the highway department in, you know, managing, you know, the storm drain system throughout the city. request was for $25,000, and that's for highway ordinary sidewalks. Now, the council was kind enough to approve and appropriate a half a million dollars for the rebuilding of sidewalks earlier this year. The bid had gone out, and the low bidder came back as Marchesi and Son, but it came back at $543,200. And again, we were appropriated, you know, $500,000. Now with some moving around of funding within our existing budget, what we need is an additional $14,000 to meet that entire cost of $543,000. Now I did ask for $25,000, the balance of the $11,000 All right, out of that 25 would go strictly, all right, for tree stump removal in the city. All right, this would go above and beyond the existing sidewalk contract, and also the language that's in there that they also remove tree stumps. This is just for stumps only, and then the repairs, whether it be for asphalt, concrete, or dirt and lumen seed, excuse me, that would be done, you know, by the in-house forces would come in behind to make, you know, the permanent repairs. That's providing that the homeowner that the stump was removed from did not request, you know, a replacement tree. Those would be handled differently. They would be boxed out and, you know, a new tree installed. Now getting on to the trees, we're requesting an additional $30,000 in the tree planting account. And the reason for that is we're going to be planting about 130, 135 trees. But the cost of the trees within one year's time, and at the very back of the packet that I gave you was a copy of last year's bid and this year's bid. And the cost per tree has really, you know, gone up substantially. You'll notice, okay, on the existing, the first page, all right, the cost per tree has gone up, all right, $90 per tree this year compared to last. That's if it's planted in concrete or hot top. an additional $100 if it's in a grass plot or a gravel area. In order to keep up with the tree program that the city has, you know, the $30,000 would cover the new contract that, you know, once it's awarded. And then we can continue, you know, come in the fall and then in the spring to, you know, plant the new trees. But the cost of trees has just dramatically increased, as you can see. The last request that we have for the Traffic Commission is for ordinary street signs, and that's for $10,000. And that's to keep up with the ever-increasing demand of replacing worn or faded out Chapter 90 signs, directional signs, and just informational signs that may be out there that could be worn, faded, distorted, or, you know, or hit as a result of a motor vehicle accident and that we want to, you know, replenish our stocks so that way we have, you know, pretty much every variety of sign that, you know, is requested and we can install them, you know, in a timely fashion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you for that detailed discourse, Commissioner. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. Terrence, this money gets appropriated, say, this evening. How soon before we see the work that starts to get performed? Are we going to try to get some of this work done before the 1st for us, or is this something that... No, Councilor.
[Brian Kerins]: This would be something that would happen right away. As far as the stump removals are concerned, I mean, we already have, um, you know, assisting our forestry division, um, uh, early odorous company, uh, who comes in and assists, all right, on, you know, removing trees, uh, lifting trees with, uh, our forestry unit. All right. I would have them come in, all right, with a stump, stump grinder unit right away. All right. So we would hit the ground running, um, on that as far as the Marchese, um, appropriation. All right. One, if, if approved, uh, then the, uh, purchasing would, uh, award the contract and, uh, my Casey and sons would be ready to go probably within, uh, you know, a week or two's time. Uh, once, uh, the word is given, uh, as far as the trees are concerned, uh, the city Arborist has already, uh, been to Leo's, uh, seen, uh, some of the product that is on hand and some of the product that we would be receiving in the spring. So that's pretty much on track as well. As far as signs are concerned, it's just a simple case of issuing a purchase order to the sign company with the quantity and the types of signs that we need, and then we'd get delivery pretty much in a timely fashion.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, this is quite a well-thought-out and thorough presentation, I think. Thank you, Mr. Kearns, for doing a wonderful job on it. This is certainly something that I have no problem approving this evening or voting in favor of this evening. So I'd move for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval, chair recognizes Vice President Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, President Dello Russo. Thank you, Mr. Kearns, for coming and bringing us all the information. The $165,000 from FEMA, can you remind me what the total reimbursement to Medford is?
[Brian Kerins]: As far as snow-related removal, the snow on the roofs plus also the snow removal from traffic intersections and the hauling of the snow in the city that had taken place at the time, that came out to be $431,489.46 total. Reimbursement to the city? Reimbursement to the city. That's the exact figure, Madam Vice President. And then a separate appropriation due to it being structures for the house at the cemetery and also the maintenance garage. That was going to be $174,649.83 once it's approved and sent by FEMA.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So this $165,000 is the first payment of approximately $600,000? OK.
[Brian Kerins]: The first payment that has been received already is $287,179, Madam Vice President. So this $165,000 then is the second payment? Mm-hmm. OK. And then if you could just remind us,
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: that we had appropriated for stump removal and sidewalk replacement. I believe we were going to try to get a majority of our stumps removed from this outline you gave us. It looks like 26 have been done within the last few months.
[Brian Kerins]: That was done by our in-house forces, Madam Vice President. The approach that we're going to try to attempt here is really a two-pronged attack. We will have the contract And in the contract, the language with my Casey and sons, as far as the removal of tree stumps and the restoration of the sidewalks that were compromised. But in addition to that, all right, this would be just strictly a stump grinding contract that would take place that would go throughout the city in areas that the sidewalks are not on the list to be repaired due to a tree that may have fallen down from a storm or motor vehicle accident. or quite honestly fatigue, but the sidewalks presently are not compromised. So we would be just simply grinding them out in place. And then if a tree was requested by that homeowner, we would be going in there once the city average gave the go ahead to plant a new tree.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Okay. Thank you. Can you, can you tell us then where we're at with the 500,000? Okay.
[Brian Kerins]: right now where we did not, the department of public works did not have enough money to cover the low bid, the low bid being 543,000. We're able to move around some of our existing money within public works, but we were still shot the 14,000. Okay. To come up to the grand total. If approved, then, uh, purchasing, okay. Would release, and award the contract to Marchese, who has already, you know, been alerted by the city that, you know, something could happen depending on the approval of the Council. And, you know, he'd start as soon as he got the word.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: So we haven't even started to expend the $500,000? No, as of this moment, no. So that would explain why only $26,000 had been removed for the $281,000? Yes. Okay, so we're going to start. If that process takes place, contract awarded, are we talking the spring then, that would be spent?
[Brian Kerins]: No, my approach right now is we probably have maybe three weeks left as far as concrete is concerned. Asphalt, okay, we can push the envelope right through the end of November. So what I would like to do, sitting with the engineers, assess the list and do the sidewalks that would be replaced with asphalt. As far as the concrete is concerned, that is going to be a weather permitting, but come the beginning of November, you know, we don't want to, you know, compromise, you know, any kind of work that would involve concrete. So, we would, you know, put a moratorium on until the beginning of April.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Okay. I think that covers everything. So, the delay in the awarding the contract was?
[Brian Kerins]: Okay. Quite honestly, the low bidder, you know, we appropriated the 500,000. but the low bidder, uh, it was my Casey and he came in at 543,000. So in order to, to move forward, we have to work, you know, cover the balance. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, madam vice president chair recognizes Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And I thank the DPW commissioner, Mr. Karen's for coming before us tonight. Um, Uh, I gotta say I'm a little disappointed because it was several months ago that, uh, the mayor requested from this body that we appropriate $500,000 for the immediate repair of sidewalks and tree stump removal. And when did that happen, Brian?
[Brian Kerins]: Uh, that happened, uh, you know, obviously prior to, uh, beginning of the fiscal year. maybe in sometime early June. I mean, I don't, I don't, I don't have the date Councilor in front of me.
[Michael Marks]: So, so early June, uh, we were told as a body that we needed this money immediately. Cause I remember some members of the council and you probably remember the night, uh, wanted to get a little more involved with what exactly we were going to do for this 500,000, which sidewalks were going to be replaced, how many sidewalks, how many stumps. And we were told at the time, Well, if you let this go on another week, uh, it's going to be a week longer before we get to the sidewalks. And here we are in October and, uh, I'm dumbfounded that the city would come before us for a half a million dollars. And you must have had a plan saying we want to accomplish this many sidewalks and this many stumps. And then for the low bidder to come back at 543,000, $43,000 above what the city was requesting either tells me one or two things. That your list was unrealistic, meaning the amount of money you were looking for for the type of work you wanted done could never be accomplished. And that's one thing. And the second thing is that I'd like to see, and I don't know if you have a copy with you, but when we originally asked for a listing of what was going to be done, and I remember specifically asking you about what was the cost per panel, and you gave us a cost, I think it was kind of on a low end of it, we figured out afterwards, but I don't understand where the miscommunication is. If you presented a list or a request for proposal, whatever went out to the bidders, and it said we want what? How many sidewalks done? Is that how it went out?
[Brian Kerins]: We're looking for?
[Michael Marks]: That's correct. And how many were asked? How many panels were asked?
[Brian Kerins]: Okay. I don't have that information, you know, in front of me or council. I wasn't prepared, uh, uh, for it, but, uh, you know, going, uh, over the entire package with our engineers, as far as, you know, what the industry standards were, you know, for the most part, uh, you know, what we've found. And it was something that I was concerned right from day one is where the economy in a very good way, is very good, very strong. Contractors, just no different than Leo's landscaping, are coming in with these prices that are far beyond our expectations. You know, if this was a few years ago, when the economy was a little tighter, I think that, you know, a lot of these contractors would have tightened their belt a little bit more. The second thing is, obviously, that we're all privy to, was the fact that our budget director had left. And as a result, of course, of the budget director leaving, you know, everything was sort of going then at a much slower pace till, you know, the permanent appointment was made. And when the permanent appointment was made by the mayor, then it was, you know, like, you know, bees to honey, where, you know, she was inundated with all kinds of paperwork, you know, to process different, you know, purchase orders, bids, awards, whatever was left there. And it unfortunately took her a little time to get up to speed and get caught up with everything that was continuing to be generated after Ms. Miller left.
[Michael Marks]: I understand that, and I can appreciate that, because I know for a period of time the city did not have a purchasing agent, and that was a problem. But on the flip side, if the bid went out and the lowest bid came back at $543,000, why as a city couldn't you go back to the drawing table and say, you know what, rather than doing 300 panels and 40 stumps, do 270 panels and 36 stumps?
[Brian Kerins]: That could have been an option, Councilor, but our first approach was where it had taken so long just to get that far and get it out on the streets. But we know why it took so long.
[Michael Marks]: Because we didn't have someone in the office. Well, exactly.
[Brian Kerins]: I wanted to make an attempt to see internally within our budget if we could just cover the balance that was needed to move it ahead rather than start to reinvent the wheel and put it back out to bid again, which would have taken several more weeks delay before we even knew if there was going to be any bidders that were going to be low enough at the time.
[Michael Marks]: I think it's fair to say, as you just mentioned, we have about a three week window to pour cement. It's fair to say, I don't think we're going to be pouring much cement within that three-week window.
[Brian Kerins]: No, and you're absolutely right. But we can continue to do asphalt. Asphalt, all right, we can continue to do, unless we get into these flash freezes. And on the breakdown that I've given all the members of the council here, it broke it down as far as what was concrete and what was asphalt. So we could continue, all right, the asphalt portion of it, all right, up to a point, and then obviously, depending on the, you know, how the weather is, you know, we just may have to cease operations till springtime.
[Michael Marks]: Okay, so that leads to my other point then. Year after year since I've been on the council, and it's been a number of years, we run a deficit in the snow and ice. I mean, you can almost bet on it. that our budget does not match what we spend for snow and ice removal every year. Now, here we have some money coming back based on a particular storm that we received some funding for, and we're taking the money from snow and ice that we know that account is going to go into a deficit. I bet you right now that that account will be in a deficit, and we're spending it on catch basins, which we need. I understand that. We're spending it on sidewalks. We're spending on other tree planters and so forth. Why wouldn't we, as a city, saying, knowing the history of this community, not funding fully the budget for snow and ice, why wouldn't we take that money and put it back in snow and ice?
[Brian Kerins]: Well, the question I have is, what if we have a winter like we had this year, and there would be a surplus? It's a risk that we take.
[Michael Marks]: You've been around a lot of years, too. And that was the first time I've ever seen a surplus. So, in the 15 years I've been on the council, one year there was a surplus, 14 years we were in deficit. If I was a betting man, I'd say we're probably going to be in deficit. And I've been in New England a long time, as well as you. And, you know, the mild winters are few and far between. So, you know, I don't know. I just, you know, I'm having deja vu again. I'm having deja vu with the sidewalks. You know, you request a half a million dollars, And I've asked the administration. I talked to the mayor a couple of weeks ago when she called me on something. That was the first thing I asked. I said, how many sidewalks and stumps have been done with the 500,000? And she said, we are in the process of awarding the bid. This is months after the fact. And now we're coming back before the council saying, give us a little more money. It's not a lot, but give us a little more money. I really have a problem with that. I really do. I'd rather see this go back out to bid. Or I'd rather see you sit down with the low bidder and say, you know what? And I don't know if you can do that. Maybe it has to go back out to bid. But sit down with the low bidder and say, give us $500,000 worth of sidewalks and stump removal. That's what I'd rather see done. The second piece you mentioned about catch basins. You mentioned there are 4,500 catch basins. And I think you remember a couple of months ago, I said you can go down any street and see a sunken catch basin. That's correct. That's how bad it's getting in this community. You provided a list to us which seems to be probably calls that were made to the mayor's office within the last year or so requesting a catch basin on the street. Do we have a full list of catch basins that need repair? Okay. Yeah.
[Brian Kerins]: The, the highway and the highway department is, has been compiling ongoing as they see, you know, a base and they make a, you know, notation of it. Um, I mean right now I think, you know, total combined, we're probably all right, you know, like 40, 45 basins that, you know, have been visually seen and verified out there that needs some form of rebuilding, maybe not total restoration, but some in addition to this list that was provided today. No, it'd be total. That'd be total. Total Councilor.
[Michael Marks]: Right. And, you know, and I realize you just started doing that check throughout the city.
[Brian Kerins]: Okay. As far as the basins are concerned. Right. Okay. No, this is something that started up once we get into, uh, you know, springtime, um, you know, obviously we were receiving calls from people, but then, uh, you know, once, uh, the weather broke, We had the big sweep, and a lot of the basins then were exposed, you know, from the leaves and everything. And the debris from the winter, we were able to actually physically see the basins out there and how many were actually, you know, collapsing or on the verge of collapsing.
[Michael Marks]: Right. So if you were going to give an estimate of how many catch basins need some type of repair, and I realize it could vary from 1,500 to 5,000, what would be your thought out of the 4,500?
[Brian Kerins]: You know, again, Council, it's hard to say. I mean, if you're talking a catch basin, all right, that is below street grade, you know, one inch. I mean, you're talking every basin in New England, all right? They all vary, all right, as far as, you know, the street grade is concerned and the pitch of them. They're not supposed to be pitched. They're supposed to be level with the street. But as far as them actually being flush is concerned, all right, you know, it's hard to guess.
[Michael Marks]: I know, but I'm not talking about being flush. I mean, our streets are riddled with potholes, our sidewalks are cracked. I'm talking about catch basins that when you look at, you say, wow, that catch basin is sinking. I mean, the average person looking at it could spot it out. Not talking about a lip between the street and the catch basin. Roughly, what do you think we have? OK, at the most. So we're looking at probably 450 catch basins that need some type of repair?
[Brian Kerins]: Some type of repair, or by spring, possibly, depending on the winter, could accelerate the process and deterioration. So do we have a listing of these catch basins? The list that I provided you was the list that came into the DPW office. In addition to that, Our engineering division and our highway department have been compiling a list as they go along, making a notation, compiling the list of basins that need some form of attention.
[Michael Marks]: So when will this list be done?
[Brian Kerins]: Excuse me? When will this list be done, finalized? It'll never be done. It's going to be an ongoing list. I could give you everything up to today, but by the end of the week, two or three more may have been already entered into it. It's hard to say.
[Michael Marks]: So, so, so we have a private contractor that's going around currently cleaning the catch basins. That's correct. Why, why wouldn't we ask the private contractor as part of cleaning the basins to also provide us a list because they do this for a living, provide us a list of catch basins that currently is sinking and that needs some type of interaction. Why wouldn't we take that step, even if it was an additional cost, why wouldn't we take that step to at least point out in the community, because I really believe we're at a real, real point of concern here with these catch basins. And, you know, if you want to talk about flooding in the community like we had in the Lawrence Estates and so forth, don't attend to your catch basins, and then you're really going to see some major flooding and flooding of basements throughout the city. And people are going to be irate. And I think we're at a point right now where many of our catch basins are going to collapse onto themselves. And that's going to be a concern. That's going to be a real major concern in this city. And I don't think we're addressing it. I'm not pointing the finger at you. You've been here a short period of time. But we're not addressing it. We have no list that we can look at, right? You can't show me a list. It's being compiled. Well, I realize that it's a work in progress, but at some point, You know, this is not the, we're not talking to the City of New York here. We're talking to the City of Medford. At some point, we should be able to get a number, a good number of catch basins that need to be attended to and what the cost is going to be. Again, we're being presented with piecemeal. Okay, here's 25. We may or may not get to them. That's what it is. We may or may not get to these.
[Brian Kerins]: If the money was appropriated, A bid would go out right away. As far as the cost is concerned, every basin that needs attention, their condition is different. Some may have steel plates on them. We've all seen that. And then you have others that may have a slight pitch. We go by what the industry standards are as far as costs are concerned. And right now, the cost could be as low as the $1,500 And that would just be simple, reset the cover, the ring, some barrel block cement, we move on. Or it could be full five feet, rebuilding the actual walls and coming up, and also a new cover and ring, which would be in the vicinity of $5,000. So each one is going to vary as far as the condition and also the cost. but it's a really simple case of going by industry standards.
[Michael Marks]: So why wouldn't we take advantage of some of the surplus money in the water and sewer accounts, the $8 million that we have in water and sewer? Why wouldn't we be looking at some of this funding to start replacing catch basins and doing some of the work we'd need throughout the community?
[Brian Kerins]: That's a mayoral decision.
[Michael Marks]: I realize that, but I think as long as this council, keeps approving anything that's presented to us, I think we're going to be faced with this piecemeal approach. And again, Brian, this is not directed at you. I'm just tired of a piecemeal approach to everything. And that seems to be, again, what we're facing here tonight. And I, as one member, am not going to support this tonight because I think, as I stated last week when we were talking about the capital plan that we wanted for this community and the mayor presented the Plan for City Hall here with nothing else. It was this council that stood up and said madam mayor We want the capital plan before we move forward and sure enough the committee the whole meeting last Wednesday the mayor presented her draft capital plan and You know again, I would ask my colleagues that we either table this tonight. I know there might be some questions. I'm just throwing this out there that we table this tonight. Uh, so we can have a full discussion with the mayor because Brian's great. He's doing yeoman's work, but I want to know the direction we're going in. And I don't think doing piecemeal, uh, 24 catch basins here, a few sidewalks here, uh, is adequate enough for our community. And maybe when we talk about capital planning, that that should be mixed in with the capital planning. What is the five-year plan for our streets? What is the five? Councilor Knight brought this up. He brought up about x-raying our streets so we can get on top of things. And here we are tonight, really, with a Band-Aid. This is a Band-Aid. And you know what happens when you pull off a Band-Aid? You get an ouch. And we've received a lot of ouches in the last couple of years. And, Mr. President, I would respectfully ask that this be sent to a committee of the whole meeting where we can invite the mayor. It was great to have the mayor here last week to discuss some of the issues going on in this community. And so we can address the catch basins, the sidewalks, tree stumps, signage, whatever else you want to address as either part of the capital plan, either part of the surplus money we have in the water and sewer account over $8 million of ratepayer money sitting there for these type of projects. That money's there for infrastructure improvements. It's not there for a barn rating so they can say, oh, look at our barn rating. We have a great barn rating because we have all the surplus money lying around. No, it's for infrastructure improvements in the community. So I would ask, Mr. President, that this be sent to a committee of the whole meeting for a further review. And I thank Mr. Kearns.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. Is that a request or a motion Councilor? I'd put in the form of a motion, Mr. President on the motion of approval by Councilor Knight with a second motion, which we'll have to take as a separate item, a B paper. Uh, uh, that would have to be a B paper. No, uh, no, it's the contrary motions. There's a motion for approval of the matter. And there's a secondary motion now introduced on the floor that this paper be sent to Committee of the Whole. But there was no motion to table.
[Michael Marks]: I didn't motion to table. I was trying to be magnanimous. But apparently, if you want to make that a B paper, I will have to draw a motion to table.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Well, it's a contradictory motion to the motion that's already been introduced, Councilor. That's your opinion.
[Michael Marks]: It's your opinion.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So whatever, whatever you want to do, I, you know, I'll, I'll, I don't know if it's a matter of opinion, if it was stating two different things. Uh, thank you.
[George Scarpelli]: Councilor. Councilor Scarpelli. Uh, thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Mr. Carnes. A few questions I have brought up from a few residents just a week ago is, um, the type of tree that, has been used in, in, in newer, um, street repairs and sidewalk repairs ended up having the same type of routing system that are now bringing up their sidewalks. Do you, are you familiar what kind of trees we're using?
[Brian Kerins]: Uh, okay. I have the list, uh, but I don't have it with me as far as the different species of trees that are available. Um, and, uh, you know, the ones that the arborist chooses.
[George Scarpelli]: All right. I think it's important that we really stress that to the arborist, because what's happening in some of the neighborhoods that have newer sidewalks, they're now starting to lift because of the old, um, what was, was told in the past, we're using a new pear tree, for instance, that the rooting system is different. So now, uh, I think it's important that as we think forward and, and with the arborist that we're not, we're not putting ourselves in the same position we are in, in 15 years after we have this, that, Now we have brand new sidewalks that are popping up and replacing those. I think that if we can just make sure that we have that answer for us. And then it's something that I offered as an idea and as the acting commissioner of DPW, other communities have actual sidewalk repair teams. And I know that I looked into a little bit of what we do every year and a year to year. uh, fix. Is that something that you would entertain as our commissioner looking to bring in a few staff people with the equipment needed? So we don't have these issues. I know one of the issues that why this wasn't moved forward from what I was told was that the bid, the bid wasn't, it was out there for a while. People weren't actually fighting on that bid. So that's why it took a little bit more time. But at the same time, we, we investigated the idea of maybe bringing in our own sidewalk crew that eliminates that? I mean, is it something that.
[Brian Kerins]: I mean, our, our existing highway department, um, you know, I, I'll match them up to anybody's salary department.
[George Scarpelli]: I don't disagree with you. I think they're great, but is that enough?
[Brian Kerins]: Uh, you know, in, in public works as a whole, I mean, the men and women do monumental work. I agree with you a thousand percent. The highway department would be the actual ones that would do, uh, the masonry work, right? They do perform it. Uh, it's unfortunately on a very limited basis because the, you know, they're, uh, responsibilities are very broad in general throughout the city, whether it be, you know, striping potholes, um, the litter baskets. I mean, the, the list is endless as far as what the, you know, daily duties are. And, you know, there was, you know, times that we were able to take on additional, uh, responsibilities like repairing a few sidewalk panels here or there, or rebuilding our, uh, uh, you know, uh, uh, ADA ramp, somewhere or a couple of panels in front of a store. But as far as, you know, being, uh, you know, taking on, um, the responsibility of, you know, a large scale contract, it'd be virtually impossible.
[George Scarpelli]: Right. So that's, we'll get to the same point. I think that our DPW staff and highway staff, they're amazing. I think for what they're trying to do with the number of people that we have working, have we, would it help if we made a motion to, to ask the mayor to look into, um, The hiring of more DPW workers for that alone, you know, the highway for sidewalk repair and catch basins. I mean, it's something we can do in-house, but if we look to hire and put that in place, would that be, you know, wish list is, you know, I'm asking.
[Brian Kerins]: Oh, absolutely. I'd never refuse additional staffing in any area of public works. But it certainly would, you know, accomplish things and the same time too, you could, you know, continue a program probably, you know, maybe nine months of a year, you know, of course, weather permitting. Um, so I mean, you were able, you'd be able to manage and maintain, um, you know, the constant workflow.
[George Scarpelli]: So if we can, I don't know if we can make a motion to the mayor to look into, you know, the, the practice of maybe looking into our own, um, sidewalk crew and, and, and future hiring. through DPW and the highway department.
[Fred Dello Russo]: So would you like to make that an amendment to the actual motion on the floor or the contradictory motion on the floor? I'll go with both.
[George Scarpelli]: Whichever one passes, that's the motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Be it amended by Councilor Scarpelli, that the mayor be requested to add additional staffing to the Department of Public Works for the purpose of sidewalk repair and assessment. Thank you, Councilor Scarpelli. Councilor Caraviello.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Councilor Scarpelli mentioned pretty much exactly what I was going to mention. You know, if we had a sidewalk department, it would be, like you said, a nine-month-a-year job because there's, I mean, you'll never ever stop fixing sidewalks.
[Brian Kerins]: That's correct.
[Richard Caraviello]: So, I mean, for us to keep coming up every year asking for more money and asking for more money and more money, it's just, it seems like we're wasting money. rather than putting, I mean, how many crew would it take to actually put on a sidewalk department?
[Brian Kerins]: You would need a supervisor, a heavy equipment operator, and two, or ideally three, men that would be the refinishes. Oh, half a dozen men would do it? At the most, yeah, if you want to focus in on that subject.
[Richard Caraviello]: We're spending $550,000 to give to another company. I'd rather hire our own men. and have a department that we know is gonna be there next year, and they'll just constantly, that'll be their job, is fixing sidewalks, and they do nothing else. I mean, it's just foolish to keep wasting money, and every year we're gonna come up, we're gonna fight every year, we need more money, I think it'll make your job a lot easier. And we're not even talking about the manual covers. You haven't even gone into those, and I would think those are just as bad as the catch basins. And I agree with Councilor Marksley, I think, We have all that money that I don't understand why that's not being used for this. Again, that should be a department just doing that on its own. I agree with that. I understand. I'm not saying it's your fault. And the guys that we have are way overworked. They do more than their share of work. But extremely talented. They're very good guys. I've got another thing. When you take out the stumps, we leave a hole there in the ground. I drive up and down the streets all the time, and I see these places where trees used to be, and they're all overgrown. And I talk about how our city lacks curb appeal. That's one of the things that irks me. Every day I drive up and down, and I see bushes growing right on the main streets. I'm gonna give you, for instance, where I live, on the corner of Woobin and High, the bus stop, that whole, I don't know how people even get on the bus anymore. I mean, the weed's gonna be three feet high for about an eight or maybe a 10-foot stretch. I mean, I don't know why somebody couldn't go by with a weed whacker and just knock them down. I mean, again. You'd be taking care of a Councilor. I'm not blaming you again. Again, it goes to lack of personnel that you don't have. There should be people that just go around doing that. I mean, let's say you drive up and down and you see that you see all the, you know, the, you see overgrowth everywhere and you can only do so much with what you get. And, uh, and I agree with council Scott, probably we shouldn't be requesting, we should be demanding that you get more people to work. That's it. Mr. President. Thank you. Counsel.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Council Falco.
[John Falco]: Thank you, Mr. President. Uh, and I'd like to thank a DPW commissioner Karen's for being here tonight. And I thank you for the report. It's very thorough. And I like to see how progress has been made. And you show that on the report by giving us the dates as to when stumps have been removed and whatnot. But I'd also like to state that I do support Councilor Scarpelli and his motion that, you know, it'd be nice to see all this labor being done in house and seeing it done by our DPW department. I do agree that our DPW department is significantly understaffed. And I really believe we need more staffing and we need, I'd like to see more money. I hope the mayor puts more money towards that in the upcoming budget. Um, so I do support the, the more in-house personnel. Uh, but one of the things that I wanted to, uh, that I'd like to amend the resolution is I'd like to see, I like the report tonight that shows the progress of what's been done. So I'd like if we could, if I could amend the resolution to actually, if we could get a report each month when this work begins to actually get, report back showing us the progress, what's being done, you know, when stumps are being removed, you know, what the addresses are, when sidewalk panels are going in, what the addresses are, because this is a significant amount of money. You're talking about a half a million dollars. Um, you know, when we should see how it's being spent. So I'd like to see a reporting each month, uh, you know, basically updated list, just a check Mark that shows these addresses, these stumps have been removed. Uh, these sidewalk panels have been replaced because I know we all get calls. on a fairly regular basis about stumps, sidewalks, catch basins, flooding, all that type of thing. So for the amount of money that's being spent, I'd like to see that as an amendment to the resolution that we get that regular reporting. So thank you very much for your report, and thank you for the hard work that you put in in your department as well. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Councilor. So as amended by Councilor Falco on the motion for approval that the City Council receive monthly updates on the progress of said projects. So we have before us, Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Just briefly, just on, I think that's a great idea, Councilor Falco, and maybe take it one step further and putting it online so the residents can see it. If we can let the residents go online and be able to look at the list and what's been removed and what's coming up, it's almost like the C-Click fix, except advance notice, and it'd be definitely helpful.
[Fred Dello Russo]: As amended by Vice President Longo-Khan. So we have before us a conundrum for me in that we have two motions. We have one, the first motion introduced, which was a motion for approval, and that has been amended. And then we have the contradictory motion, which is introduced that this be sent to the committee of the whole for meeting with the member. So on the mayor, so on the procedure would be then to take the second one as a secondary motion. So on that motion, all those in favor. There was no motion to table. There was a motion to send a committee of the whole for meeting with the mayor. Yes. On that motion. So the motion to refer is taken first. So on that motion, Mr. Clerk, call the roll, please.
[Clerk]: Councilor Caraviello? Councilor Falco?
[Unidentified]: No.
[Clerk]: Councilor Knight? No. Vice President Leclerc? Yes. Councilor Montz? No. Councilor Montz? Yes. Councilor Scarpelli? No. Vice President De La Ruza?
[Fred Dello Russo]: No. With the vote 5 in the negative, 2 in the affirmative, the motion fails. On the invocation of Rule 20, Paragraph 4, debate ceases. My apologies, Mr. Commissioner. Thank you for your presence here. Lay it on the table for the week. On the motion of Councilor Knight to return to the regular order of business. 16-702. President Dello Russo, members of the Medford City Council, from Mayor Stephanie M. Burke, home rule petition increasing the number of licenses available for the sale of wine and malt beverages.
[Adam Knight]: Dear Mr. President and city councilors, I respectfully request that we waive the reading and have a brief comment from the city solicitor.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion, Madam Vice Solicitor.
[k3Xg1illaRI_SPEAKER_15]: Thank you, Mr. President, members of the city council, I'm Kimberly Scanlon, Acting City Solicitor for the City of Medford, residing at 75 Ashcroft Road. Simply put, this Home Rule petition would increase the sale of wine and malt beverages from 25 to 40. Currently, it's 25, and after speaking with the Liquor Commission, I had learned that we currently only have three licenses left. Therefore, this increase from 25 to 40 give additional establishments the opportunity to request and receive such a license. I also spoke with our state representative who is aware of this and is in favor. Thank you.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. This is something that I got involved with way back when this first started through the Chamber of Commerce, and I think we started with 15 licenses, and we're up to 25, and I think that's good. We're looking to track those smaller type businesses and I think this is a good idea. It would help bring more business into the town where some people may, business may not want that full liquor license. They just want that beer, wine, and expertise. I would support this wholeheartedly and hope that our state delegation would push this through rather quickly.
[Adam Knight]: Mr. President, I think this is a great idea. I just think it's something that needs to be examined a little bit further. I certainly have no problem increasing the number of liquor licenses here in the community and approving a homeowner petition to do that. However, I'd like to take a little harder look maybe in the licensing subcommittee. We're increasing it by 15 licenses. That's quite a significant number. It's almost 100% increase, Mr. President. So I think it's certainly something that needs a little bit further investigation. I'd also like to have somebody from maybe the Department of Economic Development there. our community development data discussed with us a little bit about the impact that these licenses will have on their ability to attract businesses to our downtown vacant storefronts.
[Fred Dello Russo]: That's a motion to send it to the subcommittee on the motion of councilor night. All those in favor, all those opposed.
[k3Xg1illaRI_SPEAKER_15]: Thank you. Mr. President, members of the city council.
[Adam Knight]: Motion to revert back to the regular order of business, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Knight to revert back to the regular order of business. All those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries. Hearing 16-5653. Public hearing will be held in Metric City Council in the Howard F. Alderman Memorial Auditorium, 85 George B. Hassett Drive, Metric, Massachusetts, on Tuesday evening, October 4, 2016, at 7 p.m. on a petition from Boston Wings, LLC, doing business as Wingstar. for a special permit to extend hours of operation to operate its business at its restaurant in accordance with chapter 94, section 94 to 145B, extended hours of operation on said site located at 678 Felsway, Medford, Mass., in a C1, commercial 1 zoning district as follows. Monday through Sunday, moving it from 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. in accordance with the provisions of section 94 to 145B of chapter 94 of the revised ordinances of the city of Medford. Petition and plan may be seen in the office of the city clerk, Medford City Hall, Medford Mass. Call 781-393-2501 for any accommodations. The city of Medford is an EEO 80504 employer. By order of the Medford city clerk, Edward P. Finn, city clerk, advertised in Medford Daily Mercury, September 20th and September 27th, 2016. We have a public hearing. This time we ask those who are in favor to come to the podium and state as such, all those in favor. Are you in favor of this petition?
[SPEAKER_15]: Yes. John Rubello and Laura Rubello. And you are in favor of this?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes, we are in favor. Anybody else in favor? Anyone else in favor? Anyone else in favor of this petition? Hearing and seeing none, we declare that portion of the meeting closed. Anybody in opposition, please present yourself to the podium. Anybody in opposition? Hearing and seeing none, we declare that portion of the meeting closed and ask the petitioners to come forward. Come on back. Baby, come back. Hi. Can you name and address again for the record?
[SPEAKER_15]: Yeah, Jonathan Rebello, 64 Hemingway. Welcome. Thank you. You're the proprietor of the restaurant? We are. My wife, Laura, and I are the owners of the Wingstop restaurant. And you wish to just extend one hour of operation? Extend one hour. We kind of cater to the young millennial crowd that'll look for some late night dining options. And we've been turning away quite a few customers at 11 o'clock, especially now that college is back, some of the tough students. And so we were petitioning to stay open one extra hour until midnight. Has business been good? Business has been very good. It's been good. And Medford people have been very welcoming. It's been really a pleasure to become part of the community and get involved.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Two years you've been in. One year or two years?
[SPEAKER_15]: Months.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Oh, just about. We opened in July.
[SPEAKER_15]: In July. Yeah, three months. Three months.
[Adam Knight]: Thanks. Councilor Knight? Yes, Mr. President. This was a matter that came before us for a common victor's license just a short time ago. At the time, we spoke with the business owners and informed them that if they wanted to operate extended hours, as indicated on their application, they'd have to come back and get a special permit. It appears that the paperwork is in order, Mr. President. It appears that this business is looking to do everything according to the letter of the law. They haven't been violated for staying open past 11 o'clock, and they're waiting their patient opportunity to be allowed to do such, Mr. President. I see no problem with this application, and I would request that the paper be moved for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion for approval, Madam Vice President.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I just want to second the motion for approval and ask, are you planning on doing any delivery?
[SPEAKER_15]: You know, we're not sure. Maybe down the road, but right now we just want to make sure that all of our operations in-house are working well. Perfect, thanks.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: My husband's been hounding me to get on you to do business delivery, because he enjoys your wings.
[SPEAKER_15]: Yeah, I think that's definitely the way we want to go. It's just sometimes we get a little bit of concern about letting the food out of our control, because it's such a better experience. But we're working towards that. Good luck. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Very good. On the motion for approval, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Congratulations. Thank you.
[Robert Penta]: Hope to see you all there.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Motion to order is in resolution 16-697, authorized by the Vice President for Local Current.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Suspension, just to take one more, for common vigilance license. Just to get them to move along to his place.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion of the Vice President for Local Current for suspension of the rules to take the vigilance license. All those in favor? All those opposed? 16-700, petition for common vigilance license by Felicita D'Alelio, of 452 Broadway, Somerville, Mass. Batia's Place at 84 Spring Street, Medford. Is the petitioner present?
[SPEAKER_00]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Yes. Hi, please state your name and address for the record.
[SPEAKER_00]: Felicita De La Leon, 452 Broadway, Somerville, Massachusetts.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Welcome. Chair recognizes Councilor Caraviello, Chairman of the Licensing Committee.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, the paperwork appears to be in order. There's a note here that the restaurant is in process of change of ownership from nine 22. Um, I'm assuming, uh, that all this paperwork has been, uh, fulfilled, uh, and, uh, I motion for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: It's been on the motion for approval by constant caviar. All those in favor, I suppose. Congratulations. Thank you.
[SPEAKER_00]: Thank you very much.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Uh, we turn to the regular order business. All those in favor, all those opposed. 16-697 offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Call for state election November 8th, 2016. Be it ordered that the city clerk be, and he is hereby authorized and directed, to notify and warn such of all the inhabitants of the city of Medford as were qualified by law to vote for candidates at the state election on Tuesday, November 8th, 2016. to assemble at the polling places in their respective wards and precincts, then and there to give in their votes for President and Vice President, U.S. Representative, the 5th District, Governor's Counsel in the 6th District, State Senator in General Court, 2nd Middlesex District, State Representative in General Court, 23rd, 34th, and 35th Middlesex District, Sheriff Middlesex County, and such other vacancies as may exist or occur, as well as questions one, two, three, four, and the polls of said state election shall be open at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. Be it further ordered that the following named polling places be, and they are hereby designated for use at the state election, on November 8th, 2016. Ward 1, Precinct 1, Andrew Middle School. Ward 1, Precinct 2, Firefighters Club, Salem Street. Ward 2, Precinct 1, St. Francis Parish Center, Felsway and Fulton. Ward 2, Precinct 2, Roberts Elementary School, 35 Court Street. Ward 3, Precinct 1, Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Ward 3, Precinct 2, Temple Shalom. Ward 4, Precinct 1, Tufts University Gantcher Center, Rare, 161 College Ave. Ward 4, Precinct 2, Walkling Court, Auburn and North Street, the Alfonso Caro Center. Ward 5, Precinct 1, Columbus Elementary School. Ward 5, Precinct 2, Columbus Elementary School. Ward 6, Precinct 1, West Medford Fire Station. Ward 6, Precinct 2, Brooks School, 388 High Street, Austin Street entrance. Ward 7, Precinct 1, Mystic Valley Towers, North Building entrance. Ward 7, Precinct 2, McGlynn K-8 Public School, 3004 Mystic Valley Parkway. Ward 8, Precinct 1, Senior Center, 101 Riverside Avenue, Ward 8, Precinct 2, VFW Hall 114, Mystic Avenue, Medford. Motion for approval. All those in favor? Aye. Councilor Marks?
[Michael Marks]: Just a quick thing, Mr. President. This council took a vote during budget season to have poll workers fed. I realize that it didn't happen at the previous election, I'm going to ask that the clerk feed the poll workers, Mr. President, based on a vote of this council. Mr. Finn, does that look doable based on?
[Clerk]: We're working on a number of items right now for poll workers and stuff, so we'll have to talk to the registrars and see if we can incorporate something. It's a pretty daunting task with the dietary needs of some of these poll workers, so we're trying to figure out how to deliver, so it's in the works, but we just don't know what it's going to be and how it's going to be. It might not be able to pull it off, but we're just trying to, because it's a tough day, it's a tough election.
[Michael Marks]: I know, but you just said you might not be able to pull it off.
[Clerk]: Hopefully I can, but it's a matter of trying to get, say you go to a particular vendor and Can they make 16 different locations at 12 o'clock? Do they have first? Even the police, when they do it, they can't get there.
[Michael Marks]: Right. We could probably stagger it a little bit.
[Clerk]: It doesn't have to be right at 12. So it's a little bit of planning. Right. And we don't know what the product would actually be for the luncheon, because we don't know. Some of the people, they don't like this, and they don't like this. And we can't do motions. We actually can't deliver at the temple, but they do provide. You know, you have to provide.
[Fred Dello Russo]: The motion for approval of the call for the election. All those in favor? All those opposed? The election is called for. 16-698 offered by Vice President Lungo-Koehn. Be resolved that the administration provide the Medford City Council with an update regarding the Republic parking contract and what has transpired with regards to the sale of the company and the negotiations the city was working on. Madam Vice President. Did I get you?
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I think you got George. Sorry. Thank you, President Dello Russo.
[Fred Dello Russo]: I'm sorry.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Back several months ago, I believe it was before budget, So probably April, May, Republic Parking had sold, and the city was in negotiations with regards to the current contract we had with Republic Parking. We had met with the mayor and the city solicitor, and I believe I began asking questions and wanting to get answers, and I think we were told it's really out of our hands because we're not the negotiating authority. But it was in the works. It's been about four or five months now, so if we could get a written update with regards to where we're at, what changes have been made. I know that the mayor did discuss tweaks and changes in the contract. So if we could get an update, people are requesting answers from, I don't know about, from me, I don't know about the rest of the council, because people still want to see some changes with the current contract. So if we can get an update from the city solicitor or the mayor's office, whichever, seems appropriate. That would be, um, of, of help to get some answers to ask citizens and to know what's going on.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Madam Vice President.
[Richard Caraviello]: Chair recognizes council Caraviello. Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, this Councilor has requested on numerous occasions that the council meet with Republic and we've yet to have a meeting with them. So I'll ask for the third time that we have a meeting, uh, and the council of the whole with Republic parking. or the new owner. But again, this would be the third request that I've made. Mr. President. Thank you. Councilor.
[Robert Penta]: Good evening. Welcome. Please state your name and address for the record. My name is Robert Penta. I live at zero summit road, former member of the Sargas party. Uh, let's take a reflect back on what council car viola just indicated. Uh, having served on the council with your folks before it was on a couple of occasions that he pressed for the issue regarding a report forthcoming forthcoming forthcoming regarding this. The last one that I seem to have that's available is dated December 4th of 2015, with a breakdown which does not include December of last year. And it's a little bit perplexing as it relates to, number one, the citations that were appealed, which were something like 3,054 year-to-date, and the citations that were dismissed, which was 1,375. So almost 45 percent of the citations that were issued up until November of last year were dismissed. but then you go to the issue regarding strike that hearings and year to date there was 240 hearings and of those year to date hearings, I think 88 of them were dismissed. The issue I think revolves around a whole host of contingencies on with this new pay to park, you can use your phone and what have you. Since there is a new owner out there, I have seen certain problems that have existed personally. Yale Street parking lot, people in the lot after six o'clock at night. giving out tickets. Other parts of the city, the new people that have come on board with this new company, and I don't know who they are because you guys don't have a contract, you should have a copy of the contract as amended, should indicate that these folks should be aware as to what they're doing. Also, the fact that you can't go out there, these folks are supposed to be identified with a tag on them, with a face on their ID card, so to speak, and not something that's hidden behind their jacket or what have you. and I think. The other thing, and it's a concern, it's a bone of contention that I've had since day one, we were told during the last mayoral campaign by this mayor that seniors would be able to park for nothing. What you have now is if a senior wants to park in the city, that senior has to pay $25 to have the opportunity to park for nothing. They get a card or whatever it might be, and they can't transfer it to another car, because if you're a senior, and you happen to be 65, that's what they use for a standard, and 62 is social security age, So why it's 65 to be a senior, I don't know. But if you get this little placard or whatever it might be, or sticker, you can't transfer it to another car. So if you're a senior driving in the city and your car is either broken down and you wanna use another car, because you are a senior, you should be able to do it. So the requirement doesn't go to the senior, apparently it goes to the car and you're stuck to that particular car. I think that really needs to be reviewed and looked upon. But more importantly, I just think the statistical analysis should be forthcoming You folks had asked for a monthly basis. The last time you got it was eight months into the, nine months into the year. It just doesn't seem right. My suggestion would be to have you have the new people, just like you had a Republic when they first come in, have them come and appear before the council. Air your differences with them. Let them explain to you. Let them explain to the public what the changes might be. You know, it's kind of hard, you know, when people call up and they ask, you know, what can we do? How do we make this thing better? Lady comes to city hall. thinking that she can pay her ticket here. She can't. And while she's here trying to pay the ticket, she's outside and she's getting a ticket on her car. And she's coming in here thinking this is the way you're supposed to pay the ticket. You go down the street to go to pay the ticket. And then, oh, too bad, you can't. You've got a ticket. You stayed here too long. There's a whole host of issues that are still surrounding this whole thing. They're into the neighborhoods, where resident parking takes place, and late at night. These things are just multiplying, and nothing seems to be getting better. And if you speak to some of the business people in the square, in all the squares, they'll basically tell you that there are more spots open now than there were before. That's great, but their business isn't getting any much better than it was before. If anything, it's getting less. So the only reprieve that was really given during this past year is when the mayor was in, Mayor McGlynn was here, And I guess he worked out a deal with Republic at that time, during the holidays, from November 4th to, I believe, January 3rd, that on the weekends, you didn't have to pay to use the meters. But that seems to be something that's not being worked out right now by this company. I don't know what they're going to do for the holidays this year. It's a new company. They're new in town. But I strongly suggest that you have them before you, rather than having these piecemeal approaches of people with concerns and complaints, because you really need to take a look at the contract. You really need to know what they're doing in this community. And Councilor Lungo-Koehn is right, asking for that because I think the time is near. Your holidays are right around the corner. Any questions? Be more than happy to answer them. Thank you. Nice to see you all smiling tonight. Chair recognizes Councilor Knight.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Move approval. On the motion for approval, all those in favor? It's been met. Amended by Vice President Lungo-Koehn.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: If there is a new contract, that we do get a copy of the amendments.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Amended by Councilor Lange Kern that if there is a new contract that we get copies of that. Councilor Caraviello. I have asked for a third meeting with Republic Parking. And that a third meeting be held.
[Richard Caraviello]: Well, a first meeting.
[Fred Dello Russo]: First meeting, third request. That a meeting be held with Republic Parking.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Or the new.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Or the new company. On that motion, all those in favor.
[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Roll call.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Roll call has been requested. Mr. Clerk, if you would, please call the roll. Yes.
[Clerk]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: With the vote of 70 affirmative, none in the negative. The motion passes. Take a papers in the hands of the clerk and under suspension offered by council. What's that? Oops, yikes. 16-699, offered by Councilor Knight, be it resolved that the Medford City Council congratulate the following individuals on their recent election to class officer at Medford High School and Medford Vocational Technical High School. Grade 12, President Anthony McKillop, Vice President Tricia McClain, Secretary Scott Harris, Treasurer Claudie DeColin, Grade 11, President Wendy St. Jules, Vice President Justin Sheng, Secretary Caitlin Pazzialli, Treasurer Mia Magelicotti, Medford Vocational High School Representative Noah Kreatz. Grade 10, President Michael Palmer, Vice President Kevin Casey, Secretary Michael Branley, Treasurer Megan Smith, Vocational representatives, Abigail Brady and Patrick Fanning. Grade 9 president, Ariel Terranova. Vice president, Ebien Absher. Secretary, Frances Flood. Treasurer, Leanne Puccio. Vocational technical high school representatives, Savannah Marino and Cameron Hoddy. Be it further resolved that these individuals be invited to a future city council meeting for the purpose of receiving an official council commendation. Councilor Knight. Mr. President, thank you very much.
[Adam Knight]: And, um, and looking at this, I mean, I think it looks like we have either five or six, um, students in each grade level. Um, we can invite them to separate meetings and have them sit in with us as well as receive their, uh, council commendation. If the council is willing to approve this resolution, Mr. President, I think that would be very educational for these individuals who are going to be the future leaders here. in our community and who are the current leaders here in the Medford public school system. It's not easy putting your name on the ballot and putting yourself out there to run for office. And these individuals have done it at a very young age and I commend them and congratulate them on their hard work. These were the individuals that were successful in their elections and I'm sure there were others that weren't successful, but to put your name out there and to give it a run and to give of yourself and to be willing to provide a public service is something that should be commended, Mr. President. I think they're going to be responsible also for planning the future high school reunions for years to come. And I think my 20th is coming up in a couple of weeks. So as I look at this list and see these names on it, the grade 12 President Anthony McKillop is going to be a name that Medford High alumni in the class of 2017 hear from for a long time. He's going to have quite a responsibility at coordinating and organizing these reunions as he graduates and the years go on, Mr. President. But I move for approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion for approval, all those in favor? All those opposed? Motion carries.
[Adam Knight]: Motion to take papers in the hands of the clerk, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On the motion of Councilor Knight, to take the papers in the hands of the clerk. 16-706, offered by President Dello Russo, be it resolved that the Medgar City Council send sincere condolences to the family of Thomas E. English on his recent passing. We also have the same motion offered by Councilors Falco and Scarpelli. If any of the Councilors want to talk about Tom, George.
[George Scarpelli]: If I can, I was fortunate not only to be a student of Mr. English, he also mentored me as I started my journey as a teacher in physical education. I mean, just this evening at his wake, we talked to the the most popular phys ed teacher, Mr. Lou Ruggiero, and he talked to Mr. English, um, called him right away as soon as he was hired just to lend a support. And, uh, you know, I, I still remember as a young teacher, uh, running into a fisticuffs of two young men and him stopping and saying, uh, let me teach you how to do this, George. And it was comical that we He, we waited and he said, okay, now go. And I said, well, wait, he says, you get the kid on the top, I'll get the kid on the bottom. And that's typical Mr. English. If you know him, he was, uh, you know, and, and he always handled situations in such a, uh, cool and professional way. He was just a great person. And, uh, I know his family, um, graduated with the son, Danny and, uh, and his lovely wife, um, who, uh, Marlene, who's actually, former secretary at the Andrews Middle School, and just great people, great family, and he'll be missed. He'll be missed. Great person.
[John Falco]: Councilor. Thank you, Mr. President. Councilor Scarpelli hit it on the head. Great person, great sense of humor. I had him for a physical education teacher when I was at the high school, and I'd bump into him in the community off and on. Just a great person who's definitely going to be missed, and a great family as well. And thoughts and prayers to the family. Thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: A great patriot, a Marine.
[John Falco]: Yes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Outstanding athlete in his own right.
[John Falco]: And a football referee.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And a football referee. And a great, great football official. And I must also agree, he married a wonderful woman. He did. Marlene. He did. Yeah. Councilor?
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. And, uh, I had, uh, Mr. English, uh, my junior and senior year at the high school. And I can tell you that, uh, typically, uh, phys ed was the type of, uh, class that you'd skip one here, there, but not with Mr. English. Mr. English did not put up with any of that. And, uh, he was a great guy. I got to know him well. And, uh, He will be sorely missed, Mr. President. Please rise for a moment of silence.
[Fred Dello Russo]: 16-705 offered by Councilor Caraviello be it resolved that the Medford City Council readdress the growing amount of Airbnbs in the City of Medford, impose some rules and regulations, to oversee them as they are virtually untouched by all local rules and regulations. Councilor.
[Richard Caraviello]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President, this was brought up by Councilor Knight earlier in the year. And I think if you were to go home and go to the Airbnb site and type in the city of Medford, you'd be shocked the amount of homes that are offering Airbnbs. and you probably find a bunch in your own neighborhood. Many of the cities have started regulations, some have adopted them, some are in the process of doing it. I think at this point, the city of Medford should be a little proactive and develop some type of rules and regulations for them to operate if we choose that we want them to even operate in our city. I hate to see something like happen in Linfield where somebody got killed happen here in our city. So I think it's about time that we refer this to our subcommittee on ordinances or zoning, I don't know which one this would go to, to set up some type of regulations on what to do with the Airbnbs. Would this be zoning, I think?
[Fred Dello Russo]: Or ordinances? We can do zoning. Or ordinances, I don't know which one this would go to. One committee, zoning ordinances. Zoning in ordinances together. Yeah. It's the same. Yeah. Yeah. So, on the motion of Councilor Caraviello, that there be a meeting of the subcommittee of zoning and ordinances to take up the issue of these internet sponsored house letting in rooming house organizations. commonly referred to as Airbnb.
[Adam Knight]: Thank you, Mr. President. Mr. President. Yes. Thank you very much. And thank you, councilor Caraviello for keeping the conversation going on this important topic. Um, I've been keeping a close eye on what's going on when in surrounding communities and the approach that they're taking to dealing with this type of issue. And, um, they've been starting to designate some of these residences, accessory use residences for short term rental purposes. So communities that are authorizing and allowing Airbnbs and are regulating them by way of municipal ordinance are starting to develop a criteria on this. It's somewhat successful in other communities and not so successful in certain communities. So I think it's very important that we give this a long hard look, Mr. President. I'd like to amend the paper and ask that the city assessor provide us with a list of recommendations. Um, because quite frankly, if a private residence is operating as a short term rental or a hotel, there is some revenue that's out there that the city should be able to capture as well. Um, and I think that's very important. I am of the position that, um, a regulation would be more beneficial to the community and to our city and to our consumers than an outright ban. Um, some of my colleagues on the council may disagree. So I think the subcommittee is a great place to start with this so that we can make some recommendations, um, conduct some, interviews and get further educated on the topic before we move into creating some legislation, Mr. President.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you, Chairman Knight of Zoning and Ordinances. So on the motion as amended, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion carries. 7.04 offered by Councilor Marks. Be resolved that the bus stop sign that was knocked down be put back at the correct location of 213A Mills XF. Councilor Marks.
[Michael Marks]: Thank you, Mr. President. It was about three years ago I was contacted by a number of business owners at that stretch of Middlesex Ave. Anyone familiar with that? There used to be a bus stop that stretched about six car lengths in front of the businesses, and it took up a majority of the parking. We got together with the T, along with the business owners, and we narrowed the space where the bus can stop to pick up some additional spots. Just recently, a car knocked down the bus sign that was erected on a single pole, and the T erected the sign back at the old location. So it took us almost two years to get. We're back at step one again. So I would ask that the T look at their records, Mr. President, and relocate the bus stop sign in front of 213A Middlesex ave where it was voted on and approved for relocation back some two or three years ago.
[Fred Dello Russo]: And that paper is going to be sent to the mbta division of bus stops locations, yes?
[Michael Marks]: I haven't had much success with them but if that's where it goes, that's where it goes.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you.
[Michael Marks]: Do we have a representative? Do we have a representative to the T point of information council Scott?
[George Scarpelli]: I think we can actually just one name that's been receptive anyways, uh, Dan fielding department of transportation. I think he has a direct line to the T if we can.
[Michael Marks]: So maybe, maybe if we could send it to him as well, CC it to Dan.
[Clerk]: We'll end up sending it to Brian short director, general manager, and then I'll copy. Yeah. That'd be great. Okay, thank you.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On that motion, all those in favor? Carries. Citizen wishes to make a brief commercial announcement at the podium to announce honoring veterans and DAV 5K race. Madam Citizen.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you, Gene Martin, 10 Cummings Street. Thank you for letting me speak and announce this. There will be a breakfast on November 11th at 9 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, 29 Oakland Street, Medford Mass. And let me just tell you a little bit briefly about it. The church bell tower was first dedicated to 13 men and one woman who died in World War II. from the congregation of the First Baptist Church in 1948. The bells have been recently refurbished, and the congregation would like to once again honor veterans with the patriotic music from these bells. A short performance of this music will occur as veterans congregate on the steps of the church at 9 AM, followed by an honorary breakfast. Please join us. That's right here in Medford. There's no reason why everybody can't be there, veterans and their families, and especially any widows or spouses, family members, because kids suffer too. Especially with this generation, I hear a lot of kids that have to move from place to place and change school to change school when their fathers and mothers are in the service. If you're a child of a veteran, please come too. And then the DAV 5K, if you don't mind, it's a run to honor veterans and you can go to DAV5K.org and you can find out all about it. One of the things that they want to stress is if you have a track team in your high school, so Medford High, get the track team involved, go to DAV5K.org and get signed up on it. If you can't run, Like me, I'm going to volunteer, but you can sponsor somebody with money to run. And it's going to be advertised. There's going to be an RKO spot the whole day before. There's a lot of money being poured into the city for it and everything, so you'll hear about it. But just so that you can sign up early, it's the DAV 5K. It's going to be at Castle Island in South Boston.
[Richard Caraviello]: Great location for a run.
[Jeanne Martin]: I'm sorry. Yes, absolutely. That's November 11th at 9 a.m. And I know that they're going to have something at the VFW at 11 as well. So you can go, you can hop from one to the other.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you very much, Jean. Thank you for your advocacy for our veterans.
[Jeanne Martin]: Thank you.
[John Falco]: Mr. President. Councilor. If I may, before the minutes, make a quick announcement. Please do. Thank you very much. Uh, this is just to remind everyone, uh, uh, earlier this year, I had a motion about moving the community police meetings, uh, the monthly meetings out to the neighborhoods and tomorrow night the, uh, Medford police department's community service meeting will be at, uh, the Brooke school. Um, and that's going to be at 7 PM and everyone is welcome. You don't have to live in that neighborhood to go to the meeting. Anyone from all over the city is welcome to attend. to talk about issues related to the police and whatnot. So it starts at 7, over at the Brooks Elementary School.
[Fred Dello Russo]: 7 o'clock, Brooks Elementary School, Medford Police Community Meeting. Thank you, Councilor Falco, for your diligent work in that regard. Thank you very much. Bringing the police to every neighborhood of the city of Medford. Well, actually, Mr. President- Sector by sector.
[John Falco]: If I may, actually, while we're here, just to reiterate that, I guess, So tomorrow night is the Brooks Elementary School. November 2nd is St. Francis Parish Center. December 7th, Andrews Middle School. And January 4th is going to be in South Medford, most likely at the fire station. I just have to confirm that. But those are the dates moving forward over the next four months where the community, Medford Police Department community meetings are being held. So everyone is welcome to attend.
[Fred Dello Russo]: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Councilor. Thank you. And the records. are being passed to Councilor Falco for approval.
[John Falco]: Yes, thank you, Mr. President. I reviewed the records, I find them to be in order, and I move approval.
[Fred Dello Russo]: On motion for dismissal of the meeting, Councilor Vice President Lockern, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Meeting is adjourned.
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